Holly Bobo

On January 18, 2018, John Dylan Adams pled guilty to charges of facilitation of first-degree murder and especially aggravated kidnapping. He was sentenced to 15 years for facilitation of first-degree murder and 35 years for especially aggravated kidnapping. Those sentences are set to run concurrently, meaning he will serve 35 years without parole. Dylan entered an Alford plea, a type of guilty plea in which the defendant does not admit to the criminal act and maintains his innocence, but concedes that the prosecution's case may result in a guilty verdict.

On September 22, 2017, a jury found Zach guilty on all charges, including first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years on September 23. He maintains his innocence. In January 2018, Zach's brother, Dylan, accepted an Alford plea and he was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

At the time of her disappearance, Holly Bobo was a 20-year-old nursing student in the Registered Nurse program at the University of Tennessee at Martin Parsons Center in Parsons, living with her parents and brother in Darden. Friends described her as shy and sweet. She was the cousin of country singer Whitney Duncan. In 2017, Duncan released a song called "Better Place" in memory of Holly.

In September 2017, Zach Adams was the first to go on trial. The prosecution's case was largely circumstantial, as there was no DNA or other forensic evidence tying him to the murder. Jason Autry, the state's key witness, testified to a series of events that was drastically different from those in Dylan Adams' confession. Autry testified that he was not involved in the abduction himself, but that he went to Austin's home to buy drugs, where he saw Austin and the Adams brothers disposing of evidence from the crime. Autry said that Zach Adams had a body in the back of his truck wrapped up in a multi-colored blanket and that Austin was disposing of evidence in a burn barrel.

On September 22, 2017, a jury found Zach Adams guilty on all charges, including first-degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping and aggravated rape. On September 23, 2017, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole and two consecutive terms of 25 years for both the kidnapping and rape convictions.

On September 29, 2017, the ABC Network aired an investigative journalism segment, "Justice for Holly Bobo", on its prime-time television program 20/20.

Shayne Kyle Austin was initially offered immunity in exchange for information regarding the location of Bobo's body. Phone records indicate that Austin was in contact with Adams several times on the day of Bobo's abduction and police believed that Austin helped dispose of the body. The agreement was withdrawn after Austin was unable or unwilling to lead them to the body and the district attorney released a statement saying that Austin "has not been completely truthful, forthcoming and cooperative as to any and all aspects of this investigation." In April, Austin's attorney filed a complaint against the State asking for an immediate and permanent injunction preventing the state from charging Austin. Austin was found deceased in February 2015 while in custody at the Henderson County Sheriff's Department located in Lexington, TN while being held on unrelated previous charges of Theft and Burglary. He had committed suicide. Austin's attorney blamed the suicide on the continual threats of prosecution as well as the "witch hunt" style of investigation, where they relied on rumors instead of evidence. His attorney insists he had nothing to do with the murder and cooperated fully with police.

The case has been met with several setbacks such as the death of a suspect, multiple changes to the prosecutorial team, and disputes with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). The prosecution has been heavily criticized for its refusal to produce evidence against the defendants, missing multiple discovery deadlines, and for making frequent changes to the charges against the defendants with little explanation. The TBI even briefly withdrew its services to the entire district after the prosecutor accused it of compromising the case by proceeding "so slowly that the culprits were always one step ahead and that TBI... was leaking information and possibly covering up evidence." Defense attorneys for the men said they still had yet to receive a bill of particulars detailing the case against their clients and the results of forensic testing done on evidence from the case over a year after the arrests were made, and filed motions to dismiss charges on the grounds of "silence or stonewalling." The arrests took place in early 2014, but it was not until July 2015 that it was announced that the defendants finally received access to all the evidence against them.

In September 2014, Bobo's partial remains were found by ginseng hunters in a wooded area of northern Decatur County, Tennessee, just off I-40, nearly 20 miles (32 km) from Darden. The owner of the property said it was not uncommon for people to hunt there without permission. One of the men who found the remains said he saw a large bucket in the woods, which he upturned. Details of the contents have not been released. He then spotted Bobo's remains spread on the ground behind him. Investigators recovered her skull, teeth, several ribs, and one shoulder blade. Her skull had a bullet hole in the back of it on the right with the trajectory going left, fracturing her left cheek bone when it exited.

A total of six men have been implicated in connection with Bobo's disappearance, with the first of the arrests occurring in March 2014, prior to the discovery of Holly's remains. Zach Adams, his brother Dylan Adams, and friend Jason Autry were ultimately charged with especially aggravated kidnapping, first-degree murder, and rape. Another two men, Jeffrey and Mark Pearcy, were arrested on charges of accessory after the fact and tampering with evidence; however charges against the Pearcy brothers were dropped. Another man, Shayne Austin, committed suicide.

In 2014, District Attorney Matt Stowe said he and the TBI were still "actively looking" to bring criminal charges against additional people, although he declined to name the parties or the charges.

In July 2014, Jeffrey Pearcy and his brother Mark Pearcy were arrested and charged with accessory after the fact and tampering with evidence. They were arrested on the basis of allegations made by Jeff's former roommate Sandra King, who alleged that in May 2014, Jeff showed her part of a video showing Adams assaulting Bobo, who was tied up and crying. She told police that she watched only a small clip and did not see the sexual assault. Police arranged for King to make a recorded call to Jeff where she told him over the phone "That video of Holly, if it had been you, I would have watched it," to which he replied, "I know." King alleges that Pearcy's brother Mark shot the video.

At the trial for Zach Adams, it was alleged that the state used unethical investigatory techniques to coerce a confession from his brother. In 2014, Dylan Adams was arrested on federal gun charges that would have ended in a lengthy prison sentence. The prosecutor, who was also handling the Bobo case, arranged a no-jail plea deal on the condition that he go live with a retired police officer, Dennis Benjamin, whom Dylan did not know. Five weeks later, Benjamin called 9-1-1 to report that he had someone in his home who wanted to confess to the murder of Holly Bobo. Despite the fact that this confession led to the arrests, much of what Adams confessed to did not match the evidence.

The criminal case against the men charged has been met with strong criticism and conflict between members of the prosecution, complicating the investigation. District Attorney Matt Stowe was elected to office in the summer of 2014 following the arrests and stated that he believes he was elected in part due to skepticism regarding the arrests and questions over whether enough evidence exists against them to obtain a conviction. "[Voters] wanted another set of eyes on this Holly Bobo case; they weren't happy with everything that was coming out of there, and I think that they wanted someone else to take a look and someone else to say, 'We know what's going on.' "

In the fall of 2014, Jason Autry's attorney, John Herbison, accused the prosecutor of arresting the defendants without probable cause as an unethical "investigatory technique", then adding and dropping charges strategically before hearings to avoid having to produce evidence against the defendants. In October 2014, when evidence tampering charges were dropped against Dylan Adams just days after he was charged with rape, Herbison said: "If those reports are correct, it means that they're just playing games," Herbison said. "They charged him with something less serious in order to keep him locked up, and then when it comes time to answer questions about the charge, they dismiss that and charge him with a more serious charge in circuit court, where he's not entitled to a preliminary hearing."

He also noted the state's similar treatment of Mark Pearcy to avoid hearings. In August 2014, the state failed to arrange transport for Pearcy to the courthouse causing the hearing to be rescheduled for September, but just prior to the new hearing the charges against him were dropped with the explanation given that Pearcy was facing unrelated federal charges and they were being forced to wait to proceed with the state charges. Herbison said the laws regarding the charges would not preclude the state charges. "If the state is claiming that is the case, the prosecutor is either ill-informed or being disingenuous," he said. Charges were never reinstated and the case against his brother, Jeff, was similarly dropped.

Zach Adams's attorney, Jennifer Thompson, repeatedly said that evidence was not turned over to the defense. For example, in 2014, DA Matt Stowe made a statement that because Holly was menstruating at the time of her abduction there was a lot of DNA evidence in Zachary Adams's Decatur County home. No DNA evidence was ever turned over to the defense or produced at trial. She also said that the medical examiner referred to materials that were never given to her.

On December 17, 2014, nine months after Zach Adams's arrest, Judge Creed McGinley chastised prosecutors for delays in the case and for the state's failure to turn over evidence to the defense. "I am absolutely out of patience with these cases not moving," he said. Judge McGinley ordered that a bill of particulars be filed for Zachary Adams's case within seven days and that discovery take place immediately. The prosecution ignored both deadlines. In response, attorneys for the men filed motions to dismiss charges. The motions filed accused the state of "silence or stonewalling", stating that, among other things, the state had yet to disclose evidence that the skull found belonged to Bobo. "It would appear to me if they had a skull with a dental match they would have given that to us right away. It's a little suspicious why we don't have that forensic information," said Autry's attorney Fletcher Long.

Following the hearing in December 2014, a dispute regarding the handling of the case led the TBI to briefly drop its investigation of the case and cut ties with the entire district, saying District Attorney Matt Stowe had accused them of misconduct. The TBI agreed to come back on the case after Stowe recused himself from the case and Jennifer Nichols was appointed as special prosecutor. Following Stowe's allegations of misconduct by the TBI, the defense attorneys working on the case stated that they intended to subpoena Stowe to question him regarding the alleged misconduct. Emails by Wally Kirby, Executive Director of Tennessee District Attorney's Conference, revealed that Stowe accused TBI of compromising the case by proceeding "so slowly that the culprits were always one step ahead and that TBI...was leaking information and possibly covering up evidence."

A timeline of events on the morning of April 13, 2011, is given below, on the basis of witness statements and reported phone records:

It is unclear what initially led law enforcement to suspect these men, but the investigation began with the arrest of Dylan Adams on unrelated weapons charges. Following this arrest, he told police that he witnessed Bobo alive with his brother at Zach's home following her abduction. An affidavit for a search warrant states that Dylan told authorities that on April 13, 2011, he went to Zach's residence to get his truck. Dylan reportedly "observed Holly Lynn Bobo sitting in a green chair in the living room wearing a pink t-shirt, with Jason Wayne Autry standing just a few feet away." He also told police Zach was "wearing camouflage shorts, black cut-off-sleeve t-shirt and a pair of green Crocs" shoes. Dylan also said that Zach told him "he had raped Bobo and videotaped it." The alleged videotape has not been found. Dylan later recanted the confession and alleged that he was coerced, but his confession led to the arrests of Zach Adams, Jason Autry, and Shayne Austin. Many of the details contained in the confession were eventually found to be inconsistent with the known evidence, and the narrative presented later in court was vastly different. In early 2017, it was announced that Jason Autry had agreed to testify against Zach in exchange for leniency.

Holly Lynn Bobo (October 12, 1990 – c. April 13, 2011) was an American woman who disappeared on April 13, 2011, from her family home in Darden, Tennessee. Bobo was last seen alive by her brother, Clint, shortly before 8 a.m., walking into the woods outside her home with a man wearing camouflage. In September 2014, partial remains were found in northern Decatur County, and her death was ruled a homicide via a gunshot to the back of the head.