ABC News Correspondent
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The Daily
The Life and Legacy of Jimmy Carter
The special report that we planned to bring you tonight was about domestic politics, but we think the crisis in Iran is more urgent right now than the campaign here at home.
The Daily
The Life and Legacy of Jimmy Carter
Day one of Ronald Reagan's presidency and day one of freedom for 52 Americans.
The Daily
The Life and Legacy of Jimmy Carter
Only at that point... The new president had not been in office an hour when the former hostages became free men and women again.
The Daily
The Life and Legacy of Jimmy Carter
And that does it. ABC now projects Carter is the winner with 272 electoral votes.
The Daily
The Life and Legacy of Jimmy Carter
By our projection, James Earl Carter, the next president of the United States.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
By the prosecutor's count, at least 10 were shared in court. They include statements like, I couldn't have picked a prettier It sure was fun. If he doesn't keep his mouth shut, I'm going to plant him next to that. And I'll kill you like I did Holly Bobo. One person testified that Zach asked if God would ever forgive him.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
The first few days of the trial were all building towards the testimony of Jason Autry. He was about to take the stand and share what he claimed was an eyewitness account of Holly's murder.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
After nearly six years of denying he had anything to do with Holly's kidnapping and murder, Jason Autry had completely changed his story. It was a shocking reversal. And now, Jennifer Thompson had to figure out how to handle Jason Autry's testimony.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Jason Autry entered the Hardin County Courthouse wearing a white prison jumpsuit. He was now 44 and had gray hair, a gray beard, and reading glasses with him. He was charged with the murder, kidnapping, and rape of Holly Bobo. Jason's time on the stand would go on for nearly six hours. The weather had been warm during the whole trial, but on that particular day, it was hot.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
The high reached the mid-80s. The courtroom did not have air conditioning. And as it got hotter and hotter, people were sweating and fanning themselves trying to cool off. Most of Jason's testimony detailed everything he says he witnessed on April 13, 2011. Prosecutor Jennifer Nichols put Jason on the stand. Zach's defense attorney, Jennifer Thompson, cross-examined him.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Jason said the morning of April 13th he wanted to buy morphine, so he called Shane Austin and Zach Adams. After 8 a.m., Zach called him back and said he needed Jason's help. He told Jason to meet him at Shane Austin's house. Jason said he assumed Zach needed help cooking meth.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Jason said he bought a morphine pill, got high, and then Zach told him.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
She had about eight months to do that, to go back through those hundreds and hundreds of pages in the case file and review them again, thinking about Jason Autry's new version of events.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Jason testified that Zach drove the two of them to a spot under a bridge on the Tennessee River, not far from a boat marina, and backed his truck up to a pile of rocks. Jason said he and Zach then took Holly's body out of the car and put her on the rock pile.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Jason spoke slowly, but he moved a lot on the stand. He made big hand gestures and even tried to act out the scenes he was describing. The courtroom was captivated.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Jason said he went to serve as lookout so Zach could shoot her.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Jason testified it was silent at first, but then they heard a boat coming down the river, panicked, and put Holly back in the car. Jason said Zach dropped him off at his car, and then the two didn't meet again until the afternoon. He said Zach later told him that he, his brother, and Shane Austin had kidnapped and raped Holly and that Zach had disposed of her body.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Jason Autry's hours on the stand were full of colorful, shocking details. When Jennifer Thompson cross-examined Jason, She questioned his credibility. She asked him about his past statements, denying he had anything to do with Holly's kidnapping and murder.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Thompson pointed out that at the time Autry says the murder happened, he was on phone calls with his girlfriend and also his mother.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
On September 9th, 2017, Zach Adams' trial began. In this episode, I'm going to take you into the courtroom where almost six years after Holly's abduction, the Holly Bobo case was about to enter its next chapter. I'm ABC News Senior National Correspondent Eva Pilgrim. From ABC Audio and 2020, this is what happened to Holly Bobo. Episode 5, 14 Days.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Thompson also asked Jason if he was benefiting from testifying, possibly getting a reduction in his sentence for a federal gun charge.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
She also emphasized that if Zach was guilty, Jason was not some innocent bystander.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Jason's time on the stand went into the evening hours, and when the cross-examination was over, the judge dismissed everyone for the day. The prosecution's star witness had spoken, but there were still many days of testimony left. Key pieces of the investigation came up, and key names testified.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
To try to answer a big question in the case, prosecutors showed the jury the alleged murder weapon, a .32 caliber revolver that witnesses claimed was owned by Zach Adams' friend, Shane Austin. It was recovered in a drainage ditch just months before the trial. The prosecution and defense each called a cell phone expert to explain what the troves of phone data did and did not show.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Both experts agreed that Adams and the other suspects' phones did not hit cell towers near the Bobo home at the time Holly was taken. The prosecution expert said it was possible Holly and Zach Adams' phones were in the same general locations later that morning. But the defense expert disagreed.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
The prosecution also called to the stand convicted sex offender Terry Britt, who was in prison for kidnapping and attempted rape. Prosecutor Jennifer Nichols tried once and for all to show he was not the man behind Holly's kidnapping and murder. Remember, Terry Britt said he had an alibi, and the investigation into him did not find evidence linking him to Holly.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Terry Britt was asked about the thorough investigation into his life, including the wiretapping of his home and how former TBI agent Terry Dykus wanted to pursue him as a suspect. His testimony got quite heated.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Terry Britt left the stand, not a free man, but never charged in the Holly Bobo case. There are always lots of law enforcement witnesses during a criminal trial, but there was something unusual about this trial. Six current and former law enforcement witnesses were called by the defense, not the prosecution.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
One of those six witnesses, Terry Dykus, the former TBI agent Britt criticized on the stand, testified just after Britt. Jennifer Thompson asked Dykus why he was so focused on Terry Britt during his time on the investigation.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Dykus said no one in the so-called A-Train matched Clint Bobo's description of Holly's abductor. On cross-examination, Prosecutor Paul Hagerman asked Dykus about that conclusion and whether Shane Austin could have fit the description.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Hagerman reminded the jury that Dykus had been removed from the case because of what his supervisor called his lack of objectivity and his tunnel vision on one suspect, Terry Britt, who was eventually cleared by TBI of having anything to do with Holly's kidnapping and murder.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Dykus admitted on the stand that he did not know what evidence investigators gathered against Zach Adams and the others after he was removed from the case.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
After Holly Bobo disappeared on April 13th, 2011, Decatur County became the center of a national story. But in September 2017, the jury did not file into the Decatur County Courthouse.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Aside from Jason Autry's testimony, there were no big surprises, no smoking guns. But the prosecution argued they had presented all the evidence they needed to show Zach Adams was Holly's killer. And neither the defendant, Zach Adams, nor his younger brother, Dylan Adams, ended up taking the stand. The trial lasted 14 days and included dozens of witnesses and hundreds of exhibits.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
When both sides rested their cases, the jury went off to deliberate. It took them 11 hours over two days to reach a verdict.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
There was no big reveal like in TV shows or movies, no booming announcement like guilty of all charges. Instead, the verdict arrived one bit at a time over the course of around five minutes. And by the end of those five minutes, everyone in the courtroom knew that Zach Adams had been found guilty of all charges. Zach stayed still and stoic as the verdict was slowly announced.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
The Bobo family told us in 2017 they believe Zach Adams is responsible for their daughter's murder and that Jason Autry's testimony rang true to them. Before the sentencing hearing, the prosecution and defense came to an agreement. Instead of putting the death penalty on the table for the jury to decide, Zach would get life in prison without the possibility of parole plus another 50 years.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
The Bobo family had agreed to this ahead of time. And in court, the judge asked Zach if he had consented to the agreement freely and voluntarily. And he said yes. So the judge signed off on it too, and then brought the jury in to explain that they would not need to spend the day weighing whether Zack Adams should get the death penalty. But he didn't dismiss them yet.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Instead, they took their seats in the courthouse of Hardin County, about an hour south. The courthouse is a stately southern building. It's brick with four big white columns framing its entrance. Inside the courtroom, there's ornate wood paneling and rows of chandeliers that have such a warm glow, they almost look like candlelight. The judge explained why everyone was gathered in Hardin County.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Part of the sentencing agreement was that Karen Bobo would still deliver her prepared victim impact statement, even though the sentence had already been decided. So she took the stand and looked at the jury as she spoke.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Karen turned away from the jury and towards where Zach Adams was sitting. She had taught Zach in the fourth grade, and she sounded a bit like a teacher as she addressed him.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
When Karen Bobo left the stand, the judge thanked the jury and dismissed them. Zach Adams' case was over. But two more people were still waiting for their day in court. In the months to come, Zach's younger brother Dylan Adams entered an Alford plea to facilitating murder and especially aggravated kidnapping, which means he acknowledged there was evidence against him but maintained his innocence.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
He received a 35-year prison sentence. And years later, Jason Autry pleaded guilty to solicitation to commit murder and facilitation of especially aggravated kidnapping. And with credit for time served, he was set free. The case was finally over. But in 2024, more than a decade after Holly was kidnapped and murdered, seven years after Zach Adams' guilty verdict, it was put back in the spotlight.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Just months after being released from prison in the Holly Bobo case, Jason Autry was arrested on federal firearms charges. He pleaded guilty. And while in jail, waiting for his sentencing, he changed his story about the day Holly was kidnapped and murdered again.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
And Zach Adams, who had chosen not to testify during his trial, was ready to talk. Did you kill Holly Bobo? Absolutely not. That's on the next and final episode of What Happened to Holly Bobo? What Happened to Holly Bobo is a production of ABC Audio in 2020. Hosted by me, Eva Pilgrim.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
The series was produced by Camille Peterson, Julia Nutter, Kiara Powell, Nora Hanna, and Meg Fierro, with help from Audrey Mostek and Amira Williams. Our supervising producer is Susie Liu. Music and mixing by Evan Viola. Special thanks to Liz Alessi, Janice Johnston, Michelle Margulies, Sean Dooley, Christina Corbin, Kieran McGurl, Andrew Paparella, and Emma Pescia.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Josh Cohan is our director of podcast programming. Laura Mayer is our executive producer.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
People in Decatur County had followed the ins and outs of the search and the investigation. Many had even participated in the search or shared leads with authorities. And people knew the Bobo family. They knew Zach Adams. They just knew too much for the judge to believe they could be impartial.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
In January 2017, defense attorney Jennifer Thompson was preparing for the trial of her client, Zach Adams. She was poring over the hundreds of pages of material in the Holly Bobo case file and grappling with the confession of Zach's brother, Dylan. Dylan's confession had been a big breakthrough for prosecutors.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Once the jury was seated, the judge had a prosecutor read through the long indictment against Zach Adams with charges of kidnapping, rape, and first-degree murder. Zach sat next to his attorney, listening. He had gained weight since his arrest, and his once thin, almost gaunt face looked much fuller. His dark hair had streaks of gray in it and was parted neatly to the side.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
He was wearing a gray suit and a blue tie. It didn't fit him very well because, well, it wasn't his suit. His defense attorney, Jennifer Thompson, found out he didn't have any formal clothes to wear to the trial, so she lent him her husband's suit. When the prosecutor was done reading the indictment, the judge turned to Zach and asked how he was pleading.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Zach stood up and said one of the only things he would say during the entire trial.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
And from there, the judge ordered the trial, a trial that the community had waited years for, to begin. The prosecution gave their opening statement first. Paul Hagerman spoke in a very soft, quiet voice, almost a whisper, and kept his message simple.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Hagerman kept repeating those three sentences about what Zach was accused of. It became almost like a chant, a steady drumbeat driving home just how horrific the case was.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Hagerman emphasized the contrast between Holly, safe in the home she grew up in, and Zach, who Hagerman said lived in the world of meth, then morphine.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
And then Hagerman outlined how the twists and turns of the investigation brought everyone to the courtroom, hearing a case against Zack Adams. He mentioned how investigators looked into convicted sex offender Terry Britt and cleared him when they did not find evidence tying him to Holly's kidnapping, rape, and murder.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Hagerman explained that investigators then circled back to four names that had been early leads in the investigation. Zach Adams, Dylan Adams, Shane Austin, and Jason Autry. Hagerman teased the account of their star witness, Jason Autry.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
and then tried to explain why there was no physical evidence that Zach Adams had murdered Holly.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Here was Zach's own brother saying that the four men who made up what law enforcement called the A-Train each played a role in Holly Bobo's kidnapping, rape, and murder. Zach and Dylan Adams and Jason Autry had been indicted in the case. Shane Austin died by suicide in 2015 and was never charged. Each of the three men who were charged would be tried separately.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
After Hagerman's opening statement, he sat down. Zach's lawyer, Jennifer Thompson, got up and walked across the courtroom to the jury box. If Hagerman leaned into the dramatic, emotional details of the case, Thompson tried to give the jury more context. So members of the jury... She described how sprawling the investigation into Holly's death was and how much information there was to sort through.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Thompson talked about how many people were interviewed by investigators in the case and ticked through some of the people they focused on as potential suspects. She said this was the most expensive and exhaustive investigation in the history of the state of Tennessee, but that heading into 2013, investigators didn't have anybody they could point to as the culprit.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Thompson also said prosecutors had a terrible problem. They did not have physical evidence tying Zach Adams to Holly Bobo. Investigators had searched Zach's house and the nearby house of his grandpa, Dick Adams.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
After opening statements, the prosecution called their first witnesses, Dana, Karen, and Clint Bobo. Karen Bobo's testimony encapsulated all the emotions that had built up for years around the case. Prosecutor Jennifer Nichols asked Karen about the details of the morning Holly disappeared, like what Holly was wearing and their last interactions.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
And then she had Karen unzip Holly's lunch bag, the one that had been found during the search.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Yes, ma'am. Next, the prosecutor had Karen identify Holly's purse, her keys, her wallet. Karen sounded like she was holding back tears. And eventually, she turned to the judge and said... Everyone in the courtroom stood up to see what was going on. The judge stood up, too, to maintain order. Karen had fallen to the floor. She was sobbing and had trouble catching her breath.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Zach Adams had pleaded not guilty and was going to be the first to stand trial. If Zach was convicted, he could face the death penalty. While Jennifer Thompson was deep in her preparation for the highly publicized case, she got a call from Jason Autry's attorney. ABC News spoke to her about it in 2024.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
The judge said Karen suffered a panic attack that required medical attention. The defense was worried that Karen's distress would make it impossible for the jury to listen to her testimony objectively and asked for a new jury to be called. The judge did not agree. Once Karen had recovered, he asked the jury to come back in and ordered the trial to continue.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
After Karen Bobo's testimony, Clint Bobo was called to testify. He gave the account that had been so central to the investigation, describing what he had heard and seen as Holly was kidnapped and what the man who took her looked like and sounded like. 5'10", 200 pounds, dark hair, gravelly voice. In the next couple of days, the prosecution called a range of other witnesses.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
A forensic pathologist testified that Holly was shot in the back of the head, likely at close range and likely by a .32 caliber bullet. The defense challenged this by asking the pathologist about some unknown variables in his analysis, like how far away the person who shot Holly was from her and whether the bullet fractured before hitting her.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
In response, the pathologist said it was true that because of those factors, he could not know for certain the size of the bullet that killed Holly. Zach's ex-girlfriend also took the stand. She had previously verified Zach's alibi, telling authorities that she was at his house the morning of Holly's kidnapping and he was sleeping. But she testified that she wasn't sure what he did that morning.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
She also testified that when she saw him the next day, he had scratches on his neck that she hadn't seen before. She said she did not ask Zach about them. When defense attorney Jennifer Thompson cross-examined her, she asked whether her statements in the case had changed over time.
What Happened to Holly Bobo?
Fourteen Days
Zach's ex-girlfriend said yes and later admitted that she had previously told investigators she believed the scratches on Zach were from being chased by a police officer through the woods in an unrelated incident. Overall, a total of nine witnesses, including Zach's ex-girlfriend, testified that over the years, Zach, often while on drugs or in jail, made incriminating statements.