Holly Bobo found deceased, discussion thread *Arrests* #8

Wednesday, April 17th:
*Appeal Hearing (@ am CT) - TN - Holly Lynn Bobo (20) (missing April 13, 2011; found Sept. 7, 2014) – *Zacharry Rye Adams (27 @ time of crime/30/now 39) arrested & charged (3/11/14) & arraigned (6/4/14) with 1st degree murder, aggravated kidnapping & aggravated rape. Plead not guilty. DA will seek DP. Hardin County
Found GUILTY (11/22/17) of 8 counts after 3 ½ hours of deliberations. Received 25 years for kidnapping, 25 years for rape & LWOP for murder one. 11/9/17: The first motion for a new trial has been filed citing the court erred in not granting Adams' motion for a change of venue & that the evidence was not sufficient for a verdict of guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Case & Court info see:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...ed-discussion-thread-arrests-8.297522/page-31

2/26/20 Update: Attorney Jennifer Thompson filed a motion Wednesday citing 56 reasons Adams should get a new trial. The motion for a new trial is expected to be heard in court on 3/27/20.
3/27/20 Update: Judge Creed McGinley, the judge said (on 6/26/20) that he will hear the appeal of Zach Adams on August 11th. Adams was convicted of killing Decatur County nursing student Holly Bobo in 2011, and was sentenced to life plus 50 years. Adams’ attorney, Jennifer Thompson, has filed his initial appeal asking for a new trial. If appeal is denied it will then be sent to State court.
8/11/20 Update: Adams appeared in court Tuesday morning for the first time since he was convicted in 2017. In court, his defense revealed 56 reasons why they said Adams should have a new trial, but so far, the judge has denied all of them. Request for a new trial is now headed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. It could take several months before the higher court makes a decision.
6/16/22 Update: Adams wants a new trial. NewsChannel5 obtained an exclusive copy of a nearly 200-page appeal alleging errors & bias by the judge, lies from a key witness & more. Appeals are commonplace for convicts serving life sentences & new trials are rarely granted. But this legal challenge comes five-years after the fact & gives the Appellate Court plenty to consider. The appeal alleges contradictions in Autry's testimony & questions whether there was bias by the judge. It also argues damaging statements from witnesses about Adams not related to the case were allowed during trial improperly influencing the jury. His attorney Jennifer Thompson said in the days after the trail there is a strong case for a reversal. "It would be malpractice not to appeal a case where somebody gets life in prison without possibility of parole." The state did respond to Adam's legal brief arguing he received a fair trial, was convicted by a jury & that Adams is Holly Bobo's killer. Hearings are now underway on the motion & the appellate court could rule before the end of the year.
9/9/22 Update: A Tennessee appeals court has denied another request for a new trial from one of the men convicted in the 2011 murder of Holly Bobo. Zach Adams was convicted in 2017 of kidnapping, raping & murdering the nursing student in Decatur County, Tennessee. His defense raised several reasons why they said Adams should have a new trial, but the court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee denied all of them.

1/22/24 Update: Petitioner/Defendant's Amended Petition for Post Conviction Relief filed re ineffective assistance of Counsel & new evidence claim (specifically James Simmons, Jennifer Thompson & Jerry Gonzalez). They want the Court to set aside his jury conviction & order a new trial or alternatively, dismiss all pending charges against him. Filed by Zacharry Rye Adams by attorney Douglas Thompson Bates, IV. 1/23/24 Update: Petition for Writ of Error Coram Nobis filed.
1/30/24 Update: A jury convicted Zach Adams after a high-profile trial, thanks to testimony from co-defendant Jason Autry who cut a deal to testify. But now, in a stunning twist all these years later, Autry is recanting his testimony — which could re-open the case. There was very little physical evidence in this case & most agree Adams would never have been convicted without the damning testimony from Autry. That revelation is now part of Adams's current appeal. A hearing will now be held in the court of record to decide whether Autry recanting merits a new trial.
2/28/24 Update: It's also unclear why Autry would recant his testimony now. A computer drive with Autry's statements was filed with the court, but it's not publicly available. A hearing to determine if the exhibit will be sealed is scheduled for 4/17/24. Douglas Bates IV, Adams' post-conviction lawyer, declined comment through an assistant at his law firm. Adams' post-conviction relief petitions also argue that Adams should have been allowed to testify by his lawyers & they failed to rebut Autry's story, the petitions say.
*Jason Autry (43/36 @ time of crime) charged with 1st degree murder, aggravated rape & aggravated kidnapping. Case will be heard after Dylan’s is thru about June. JA case will not be heard until after Dylan's case in about June of 2018; but DA Hagerman said (on 1/23/18) the state will handle Zach Adams’ motion for a new trial before moving forward with Autry.
4/13/18 update: going over plea deal. 8/23/19 Update: Jason Autry, the third and final defendant accused of murdering Holly Bobo has finished a federal prison sentence for a different crime. But he'll remain in prison for now -- waiting to see if a plea deal will set him free. Before he was arrested in the murder of Bobo, Autry was in prison on a federal gun crime. His eight year sentence on that crime is up. Autry's served his federal time, but remains locked up without bond still awaiting trial, but that trial won't happen. That's because Autry brokered a plea deal for his testimony against Adams. But before any release there's the matter of Zach Adam's appeal. But it may not be until late next year when the three state appellate court judges finally hear the appeal. Any plea deal won't kick in until the legal process is complete. 9/11/20: Hearing on 9/14/20. 1//29/24 Update: Autry has recanted his testimony against Adams.
*John Dylan Adams – Adams plead guilty (1/22/18) to facilitation of first-degree murder for 15 yrs, especially aggravated kidnapping at 35 years to run concurrent. Adams sentenced to 35 years total.
The Tennessee Supreme Court today issued an Order stating all Tennessee courts will remain open during the coronavirus outbreak, but suspending all in-person judicial proceedings through March 31, 2020.
 
Not much was done today, Judge Bradberry explains why.

“The motion to strike these exhibits is not ripe for a decision. That means it’s not time for me to make a decision on that. I need to have a further hearing on the state’s motion to dismiss the petition for writ of error coram nobis,” said Judge Bradberry.


Next court hearing scheduled for June 14 at 10 am.
 
Not much was done today, Judge Bradberry explains why.

“The motion to strike these exhibits is not ripe for a decision. That means it’s not time for me to make a decision on that. I need to have a further hearing on the state’s motion to dismiss the petition for writ of error coram nobis,” said Judge Bradberry.


Next court hearing scheduled for June 14 at 10 am.

Thank you for the info!
 
This was such a sad, horrible murder. It took forever to find and try those killers. I still have a hunch that more people knew what happened and still know all the people involved. It was a terrible shame it took so long to find this young woman.
 
I was only thinking about Holly Bobo the other day and hadn't noticed the updates here. I remember at the time thinking Adams was a fall guy, as Autry's testimony was so convenient. Like you all above, I think this is a really strange case and the whole story about her going with a man into the woods is odd. I have no idea what the truth is but I think back in the original investigation some people on here thought that perhaps there was a drugs deal going on at her house and she accidentally saw something. Hopefully, we will get the truth and justice for Holly.
 

20/20 to air new special on Holly Bobo case Friday night​

May 31, 2024
WBBJ Staff
(ABC) — Has a case we all thought was solved, been blown wide open? The all-new 20/20 True Crime on the “Holly Bobo” case premieres TONIGHT [Friday, May 31] at 9/8c on ABC. And stream on Hulu.

SEE ALSO: Family, friends gather for recent hearing in Holly Bobo murder trial (April 2024)

SEE ALSO: Holly Bobo Case: New developments, key witness admits to lying at trial (February 2024)

 
If Autry really did lie, there's still a killer out there walking free. I can see LE developing tunnel vision in this case early on.

The judge won't likely grant a new trial, IMO this is going to have to be appealed in the higher courts.
 
This is one of the first cases I watched on Nancy Grace way back. I’ll have to do some digging and refresh my memory to decide for myself but based on this newspaper article, (if untrue) I’m not completely convinced Autry could decide to formulate this entire long detailed story on his own without any prompting or suggestion.

Considering that he was offered partial immunity, it calls into question the motive someone would have for creating a story like that. If none of them are involved, why would someone make this story up and involve themselves in a murder ?

I’d be interested to see what his police interrogation looks like or when this story was told to investigators.

Autry met with Dr. Katie Spirko, a forensic and clinical neuropsychologist, and told her that he was recanting his trial testimony. Autry said he made the story up after his lawyer told him he was "95% certain of a conviction" of charges against Autry in the Bobo case, according to one of the petitions.

The petition says Autry concocted the entire story in his jail cell while reviewing discovery evidence. He admitted his testimony was false and that he used extensive cell phone data to create a story, the petition says.

"He said he just recreated his day and 'added Holly to it,'" the filing says. "He acknowledged it was all to get him out of jail at the express guidance of his attorney."


 
If Autry really did lie, there's still a killer out there walking free. I can see LE developing tunnel vision in this case early on.

The judge won't likely grant a new trial, IMO this is going to have to be appealed in the higher courts.

I think Autry was the ringleader in her killing. (He testified he was with Adams, but did almost nothing, thereby putting a story in the court record that made him appear to be a relatively innocent bystander. But he was there.)

If he insists on recanting his story, he needs to be prosecuted for her murder, and also to the max sentence allowable for perjury. There is no way he was uninvolved in her murder. He knew too much.

This is a really bad man who is dangerous on the streets to everyone, and needs to be permanently locked away (or executed). imo
 
This is one of the first cases I watched on Nancy Grace way back. I’ll have to do some digging and refresh my memory to decide for myself but based on this newspaper article, (if untrue) I’m not completely convinced Autry could decide to formulate this entire long detailed story on his own without any prompting or suggestion.

Considering that he was offered partial immunity, it calls into question the motive someone would have for creating a story like that. If none of them are involved, why would someone make this story up and involve themselves in a murder ?

I’d be interested to see what his police interrogation looks like or when this story was told to investigators.

Autry met with Dr. Katie Spirko, a forensic and clinical neuropsychologist, and told her that he was recanting his trial testimony. Autry said he made the story up after his lawyer told him he was "95% certain of a conviction" of charges against Autry in the Bobo case, according to one of the petitions.

The petition says Autry concocted the entire story in his jail cell while reviewing discovery evidence. He admitted his testimony was false and that he used extensive cell phone data to create a story, the petition says.

"He said he just recreated his day and 'added Holly to it,'" the filing says. "He acknowledged it was all to get him out of jail at the express guidance of his attorney."

They mentioned why Autry may have offered false testimony in the 20 20 special. I need to go back and refresh my facts in this case too. Too much time has passed.
 
I think they were all involved...if Autrey lied then he should be charged as well....but ONE QUESTION====if Autry lied to protect himself from being charged with murder, why tell the truth now? He's not worried about being arrested and incarcerated anymore?
 
I think they were all involved...if Autrey lied then he should be charged as well....but ONE QUESTION====if Autry lied to protect himself from being charged with murder, why tell the truth now? He's not worried about being arrested and incarcerated anymore?
I totally agree. Autrey may have been more involved than he stated, but his entire group of thugs were responsible. MOO
 
This is a case that happened a county over from me. I found it odd in the 20/20 episode when it stated DA stayed with a cop for awhile during all this. IMO don't you think that in itself could sway/effect his answers in an interview? My first suspect was TB (RSO), and I still wouldn't rule him out. I would not trust anything JA says, either. He has a criminal record a mile long. If anyone was the ringleader it would be him IMO. Just the pure size of him would scare DA, ZA, and SA. JA getting a plea deal is the biggest travesty of justice in this case. That 20/20 episode makes you question alot of what was said and done that day and through this case. I feel for the Bobo family--they have been through hell and now it looks like they are going to have to go through this.
 

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