Where Is Tara Grinstead?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This is a partial transcript from "On the Record," November 7, 2005, that has been edited for clarity.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN: We are live in Ocilla, Georgia, where a desperate search is under way for 30-year-old Tara Grinstead. The missing teacher was last seen at about 11 p.m. on October 22, and massive searches have turned up no sign of her...
Tara broke up with her long-term boyfriend, Marcus Harper, several months before she disappeared. Earlier today, we caught up with Marcus.
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Marcus, about what year and what month did you meet Tara?
MARCUS HARPER, MISSING WOMAN'S EX-BOYFRIEND: It was in the summer of 1998.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}VAN SUSTEREN: Do you remember where you met her?
HARPER: I met her at a friend's house.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did you developed some sort of relationship with her after that?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HARPER: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Tell me about your relationship with her.
HARPER: We dated for about five-and-a-half years.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}VAN SUSTEREN: When you say dated, was it a serious or a casual relationship?
HARPER: It was a commitment. We did not date other people, but I was honest with her when I said I had no intentions of marriage because of my career.
VAN SUSTEREN: And was that OK with her?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HARPER: Well, like any young woman, she planned on getting married. And she asked me about that often, but I was always honest with her.
VAN SUSTEREN: Now, during the course of time that you had this relationship with her, and it was a committed relationship, did you ever together, or was it simply a dating relationship?
HARPER: No. No, just a dating relationship.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}VAN SUSTEREN: Did there come a time when this dating relationship ended?
HARPER: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: When was that?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HARPER: October, 2004.
VAN SUSTEREN: What were the circumstances surrounding that?
HARPER: She told me she felt like it was time for her to move on.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}VAN SUSTEREN: And you're getting dumped, essentially?
HARPER: More or less.
VAN SUSTEREN: Were you upset by that at all?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HARPER: At first. We continued to remain friends, but I felt a little rejected at first. But I picked — you know, brushed my shoulders off, went on and started dating other people.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did she say why in October of 2004 she wanted to call it quits to your relationship?
HARPER: I think that she was looking more toward marriage.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}VAN SUSTEREN: And you're definitely not into the marriage.
HARPER: Not at this time.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK. So after, let's say, October 2004 until September 2005, when you're in the area — because I know that you travel for business — did you see her often?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HARPER: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: How often did you see her?
HARPER: We remained friends. Any time I was home from business, you know, we would see each other. This past summer, we even went to a movie together as friends.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}VAN SUSTEREN: In terms of the relationship, did you try to rekindle a boyfriend-girlfriend or was it...
HARPER: No.
VAN SUSTEREN: It was definitely over as of October.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HARPER: She asked several times about rekindling the relationship, and I told her we could stay friends but I didn't want any kind of commitment. She asked me one time, Can we date each other, go on dates, but not see other people? And I told her that would be commitment. That's what I don't want.
VAN SUSTEREN: So then you were reject her, essentially, at this point?
HARPER: Pretty much.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}VAN SUSTEREN: Did she accept that?
HARPER: No.
VAN SUSTEREN: When was the last time you actually saw her?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HARPER: The 14th of October. It was on a Friday morning.
VAN SUSTEREN: About what time?
HARPER: Around 9 o'clock.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}VAN SUSTEREN: And what were the circumstances?
HARPER: She woke me by knocking on my windows.
VAN SUSTEREN: About how far do you live from her?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HARPER: Six miles approximately.
VAN SUSTEREN: Is that something common, where she would knock on your windows, or not? Is that unusual?
HARPER: No, it's not unusual, but she was crying and was upset about something.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}VAN SUSTEREN: Now, is this a school day for her?
HARPER: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you know whether or not she was in school that day as a teacher?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HARPER: I do not know that information.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you know what time school usually started for her?
HARPER: I would say around 8 o'clock.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}VAN SUSTEREN: So presumably, 9 o'clock would be into the school day.
HARPER: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: What happened?
HARPER: She approached me crying. She was very irrational. And she told me that if she found out I was dating someone, she would commit suicide.
VAN SUSTEREN: So on Friday, after you saw her in the morning, did you see her again?
HARPER: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: What time did you see her again?
HARPER: She came back that afternoon.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did you actually see her that afternoon?
HARPER: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: And anything unusual about that afternoon?
HARPER: She said she wanted to hug me for a last time. And I told her it's not going to be a last time. We live in the same small town. We'll continue to see each other, meaning face to face on the street. And she told me, I don't want you hating me. And I told her, I said, Tara, I do not hate you. I don't have any hard feelings against you. We just need to move on.
VAN SUSTEREN: So did you see her at any time between that Friday, which was eight days before the 22nd, when she disappeared — did you see her another time?
HARPER: No.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did you talk to her on the phone?
HARPER: No.
VAN SUSTEREN: You've had one or two e-mails back and forth?
HARPER: Yes. She did — she e-mailed me.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. And did you respond?
HARPER: I responded to one.
VAN SUSTEREN: Have you provided that to the GBI?
HARPER: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: And are you willing to give the GBI any e-mails you have?
HARPER: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: How many times have you talked with GBI?
HARPER: Four or five times.
VAN SUSTEREN: Where do you talk to them?
HARPER: Where? It started out at the jail. We've talked to them up here. When they wanted to look at my truck, I talked to them then.
VAN SUSTEREN: So you're willing to — they've have asked you for things and asked you to talk, and you've provided all that.
HARPER: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAN SUSTEREN: Coming up: Why did Tara's ex-boyfriend hire his own polygraph expert instead of letting the police give him a polygraph test? His lawyer goes "On the Record" next.
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VAN SUSTEREN: Police have not named any suspects in the disappearance of 30-year-old Georgia teacher Tara Grinstead, but they have questioned many people, including Tara's ex-boyfriend, Marcus Harper. Earlier today, we spoke with Marcus Harper's lawyer, Thomas Pajadas.
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Tom, you represent Marcus?
THOMAS PAJADAS, ATTORNEY FOR MISSING WOMAN'S EX-BOYFRIEND: I do.
VAN SUSTEREN: How did that come about?
PAJADAS: Well, I've known Marcus since he was a small boy. His father is a paralegal in our office. Marcus called me one day when this first broke out and said that — told me that he had been going to the jail and Tara's sister there had made an accusation against him, and he felt concerned because that was — that accusation had been made down at the jail in front of the officers, he might need some assistance, somebody to sit with him all the time.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. The sister is Anita, is that right.
PAJADAS: Correct.
VAN SUSTEREN: And the allegations were what, that he needed help with?
PAJADAS: His statement to me was that she had said, What did you do to my sister?
VAN SUSTEREN: And his response?
PAJADAS: He said he didn't do anything to her sister.
VAN SUSTEREN: In terms of your client's cooperation — because people are always concerned, you know, whether someone's cooperating. And because he's an ex-boyfriend — all ex-boyfriends are always within that umbrella that we all talk about — how do you — how much is he cooperating?
PAJADAS: Fully. We've done everything that has been requested of us. We — as a matter of fact, I think we've probably provided them with more information than they cared to listen to. But everything they've asked us, we've answered. I have not objected to a single question that they have asked. I have not stopped a single question. When they wanted to meet with us, we met with them, wherever they wanted to meet with us.
They came over. They wanted to search his truck and do some tests on his truck. I told them, Come on up. I'll call Marcus. We met them right here in back of the office. They even wanted to spray this luminol stuff, and they — I guess it was that because I've never dealt with that, but they wanted to do it in a dark place, and it was not nighttime yet. So we — I located a place where we could take his truck to go into a dark place so they could spray their chemicals.
VAN SUSTEREN: Is there anything that your client has not agreed to do that the GBI has asked?
PAJADAS: Not thing. We have — the only thing is that we have — they had made an initial request for a polygraph, and I knew they had — the request was made to me. They wanted to do it on a particular day that I was going to be in court. And so I told them we couldn't do it that day, and I was told it was going to be some time before they could reschedule the thing. And I knew that it was out on the streets that other people had taken polygraphs, and I knew that was going reflect adversely on Marcus if we didn't do it immediately. So I contacted somebody and had one done as soon as possible.
And we've made the test results, we videotaped it, recorded it and made a copy of the results, the charts, the videotape, everything available to the GBI.
VAN SUSTEREN: The key question, of course, in every investigation is — you know, is, Where was your client during the important parts? I mean — and this, I guess, would be between October 22 at 11:00 PM and probably Monday morning on the 24th. Can you account for your client between those time?
PAJADAS: Marcus can account for every minute of his time during that time. He has provided that information to the GBI. They have checked with everyone of the individuals that he was with. He was in the company of somebody, either a law enforcement, Department of Natural Resources, at home asleep, at his mother's house, at his father's house, I mean. I mean, every minute of the time has been accounted for, and every individual that was there has confirmed i.
As a matter of fact, this was kind of odd, but on Sunday night, he was with a friend of his that's a Department of Natural Resources Officer. While he was with him, he got a call. The officer got a call. Marcus rode out with him. Marcus stayed in the truck. It was originally a call about one type of offense. It turned out to be a different offense. Well, the guy came into our office to hire to us represent him on the thing and confirmed that there was a guy sitting in the truck. He didn't know who.
VAN SUSTEREN: At about 11:00 o'clock, midnight on Saturday, October 22, where was Marcus?
PAJADAS: He was with his stepsister and her boyfriend and two other friends up in Fitzgerald, at a bar.
VAN SUSTEREN: Is Fitzgerald local?
PAJADAS: Ten miles up the road.
VAN SUSTEREN: And how long did they stay at the bar?
PAJADAS: I think about 1:30, so 1:00 to 1:30.
VAN SUSTEREN: And then where did your client go at 1:30?
PAJADAS: He went — he came to the Ocilla law enforcement center, Irwin County law enforcement center, to find a friend of his that was on duty at the time, and I believe the dispatcher contacted him, found out where he was, and Marcus went with him.
VAN SUSTEREN: And left the relatives behind in the bar, or they went home their own way?
PAJADAS: Oh, yes. Right.
VAN SUSTEREN: They were not there?
PAJADAS: Right.
VAN SUSTEREN: So then about 1:30...
PAJADAS: I might add Marcus doesn't drink, but they were at a bar where a friend of his was playing in the band.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. So at 1:30, Marcus is off with a law enforcement officer.
PAJADAS: Correct.
VAN SUSTEREN: All night long or until about what time?
PAJADAS: I want to say it was the early morning hours because he was home at about — he left the officer and he was home about 5:30.
VAN SUSTEREN: And then goes to sleep at 5:30?
PAJADAS: Went to sleep..
VAN SUSTEREN: Until what time, approximately?
PAJADAS: The next morning, he — I want to say it was about 10:00, 10:30, I believe it was, he came into town, as I recall.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did he — to do what on Sunday?
PAJADAS: I don't remember the specifics because I don't have my notes here in front of me, but as I recall, I think he went in to his father's house, but I'm not sure.
VAN SUSTEREN: The law enforcement officer that he was with in the middle of the night has spoken to the GBI?
PAJADAS: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: And I assume gave them all the information.
PAJADAS: I presume. Yes, he has spoken with the GBI. To my knowledge, he's answered all their questions.
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