Merchant has served as a legal commentator on the AJC’s “Breakdown” podcast series.

Grinstead, 30, was last seen on Oct. 22, 2005, when she left a cookout and said she was going straight home. Two days later, she was reported missing when she didn’t show up to teach history.

The search for Grinstead made national headlines, but the case went cold for many years until the GBI announced Duke’s arrest. Days later, a second suspect, Bo Dukes, was also arrested. He’s accused of helping conceal Grinstead’s death.

According to court documents filed last week in Irwin County Superior Court, both Duke and Dukes confessed to the crimes within weeks of Grinstead’s disappearance. In a motion filed in court, Duke’s attorneys claimed investigators dropped the ball on the case. And because it took so long to arrest the suspects, most of the charges should be dropped due to the statute of limitations, the motion states.

A motions hearing is scheduled for Sept. 20 in Ocilla.

- Staff writer Bill Rankin contributed to this report.