Security was tight in a Tennessee courtroom Wednesday as three suspects in the Holly Bobo murder case appeared one after another as part of a pre-trial hearing. The family of Bobo — a 20-year-old nursing student who vanished from her western Tennessee home three years ago — filled the front row while a judge confirmed that a change in venue will be necessary in the upcoming trial.
Attorneys for suspects Zachary Rye Adams and his brother, John Dylan Adams, announced their plans to request a venue change. Decatur County Circuit Court Judge Charles McGinley said it would be up to the court to decide whether to move the trial to another location or bring in a jury from outside the area.
“I don’t think there’s any way that this case can be tried in Decatur County because of all the amounts of publicity,” McGinley said.
Several times during the hearing, McGinley expressed his frustration at how slowly the case has moved since Zachary Rye Adams first pleaded not guilty in March, and asked that prosecutors decide whether they plan to seek the death penalty and when a trial can begin. The next court date is scheduled for Jan. 14.
Bobo went missing from her family’s home in rural Darden in April 2011. But it wasn’t until this September when two hunters in nearby woods found a human skull later identified as the 20-year-old’s — the first shred of physical evidence in her death. Investigators have released few details, but allege she was raped and murdered. A third suspect, Jason Autry, claims to have an alibi during the morning Bobo disappeared.
IN-DEPTH
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