Holly Lynn Bobo, a 20-year-old nursing student from Parsons, Tennessee, disappeared from her home on the morning of April 13, 2011. Her mysterious disappearance, the discovery of her body, and the subsequent murder investigation captivated the nation, resulting in a prolonged quest for justice that spanned over a decade.
The Disappearance
On the day she went missing, Holly was last seen by her brother, Clint Bobo. He said he saw her being led into the woods near their family home by a man dressed in camouflage. Clint initially thought the man was Holly's boyfriend, but after discovering blood in the garage, he called their mother, who instructed him to call 911. The search for Holly began immediately, involving local law enforcement, volunteers, and eventually the FBI and TBI (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation).
The Search and Initial Leads
The search for Holly continued for three years. Volunteers scoured the woods and surrounding areas, and her family made numerous public appeals for information. Despite extensive efforts, the investigation hit multiple dead ends. A significant break in the case came in September 2014, when hunters discovered human remains in a wooded area of Decatur County. DNA testing confirmed that the remains were those of Holly Bobo.
Arrests and Charges
The discovery of Holly's remains revitalized the investigation, leading to the arrests of multiple suspects. In March 2014, Zachary Adams was charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and first-degree felony murder. His brother, Dylan Adams, and another man, Jason Autry, were also implicated in the case.
Zachary Adams
In September 2017, Zachary Adams' trial began in Savannah, Tennessee. The prosecution presented a case based on circumstantial evidence, testimonies, and statements from co-defendant Jason Autry, who claimed to have witnessed Adams shoot Bobo.
Autry testified that he helped Adams move Holly's body and that they intended to dispose of it in the Tennessee River. However, they were interrupted by a passing boat and instead buried her remains in a nearby wooded area. Adams' defense argued that there was no physical evidence directly linking him to the crime scene or the murder.
Jason Autry
Jason Autry's testimony was crucial in the case against Zachary Adams. Autry was originally charged with Holly’s kidnapping, rape, and murder but was shown leniency in exchange for his testimony against Adams. Autry was instead allowed to plead guilty to solicitation to commit murder and facilitation of especially aggravated kidnapping. He was sentenced to eight years in prison for his part in the crime.
Only two months after his release, Autry was arrested again. In December 2020, Autry was spotted by a sheriff’s deputy with a Marlin rifle in a rural field. Autry abandoned the rifle and attempted to flee but was caught and arrested. He pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a weapon and ammunition and was sentenced this month to 19 years in federal prison earlier this week.
At this time, it is unclear if he will face additional charges for perjury in the original Adams trial.
Dylan Adams
Dylan Adams, the brother of Zachary Adams, also faced charges in connection with Holly Bobo's murder. He initially confessed to his part in the crime but later recanted, claiming that his confession was coerced. Despite this, Dylan Adams pleaded guilty in September 2018 to charges of facilitation of first-degree murder and especially aggravated kidnapping. As part of a plea deal, he received a 35-year prison sentence.
The Verdict
On September 22, 2017, after 11 days of testimony and several hours of deliberation, the jury found Zachary Adams guilty on all charges. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 50 years for the kidnapping and rape convictions. Jason Autry, having cooperated with the authorities, received a reduced sentence that saw his release on parole in 2020.
New Developments
Jason Autry has recanted his original testimony. According to court records, Autry’s testimony originally included the following statement:
“It sounded like, boom, boom, boom, underneath that bridge. It was just one shot, but it echoed. Birds went everywhere, all up under that bridge. Then just dead silence for just a second.”
It was this testimony that helped convict Adams. Now, Autry has claimed that he made it up to avoid spending the rest of his life behind bars. The reversal of his original testimony was central to the post-conviction appeals filed by Adams’ attorneys. They are asking that Adams’ conviction be overturned based on this information.
Police investigators recovered no DNA evidence to link Adams to Holly’s murder. It was the testimony from Autry and jail inmates who claimed that Adams admitted to hurting Holly while he was locked up and awaiting trial that sealed his fate.
Though the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals denied Adams’ initial appeal in 2022, his lawyers filed further appeals in the Hardin County Circuit Court on January 22. In their petition, new evidence is cited as cause for appeal. The new evidence stems from a meeting between Autry and a forensic and clinical neuropsychologist, Dr. Katie Spirko. During their discussions, Autry told her he was recanting his original testimony. He claimed that he fabricated the story because his lawyer advised him that he was certainly going to be convicted of the charges against him.
It is this claim that Adams’ attorneys have seized upon to make a new case for their client. Their new petition says that Autry made up the entire tale while in jail studying the evidence against him and others. He admitted that he had perjured himself, using cell phone data to develop a plausible story. According to the appeal, Autry “just recreated his day and added Holly to it” in order to get out of jail based on guidance from his attorney.
It is rare for a cooperating witness to recant testimony so long after a trial and it is unclear whether Autry’s doing so will affect the outcome of Adams’ original conviction. The appeal filed by post-conviction defense attorneys representing Adams also indicated that their client should have been allowed to testify, allowing him to rebut Autry’s story.
In a hearing held on June 14, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Nichols admitted that while recanted testimony is “looked upon with distrust,” it was not the sole evidence that was used to convict Adams. Additional witnesses also gave incriminating testimony about his involvement in Holly’s murder. She contended that Autry was only a single piece of evidence against Adams and he has no grounds for appeal.
Circuit Court Judge J. Brent Bradberry heard the case but has not yet ruled on whether to grant the state’s motion to dismiss the appeal without further evidentiary hearings or allow for a new appeal to proceed.
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A.W. Naves
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The Casanova Killer
Paul John Knowles, also known as The Casanova Killer, left a bloody trail of terror across the United States in 1974. Born on April 25, 1946, in Orlando, Florida, Knowles' charisma and good looks earned him his moniker, but behind the charming facade lay a ruthless murderer whose killing spree spanned multiple states and claimed the lives of at least 18 victims.
By A.W. Naves8 days ago in Criminal
THE MYSTERY OF THE MIDNIGHT RIDDER
This is one of the Lesser known of America's unsolved crimes a series of murders which took place during the early 1900s perpetrated by an enigmatic and brutal killer one who had become known over time as the Midnight Rider. There had been relatively few instances during the time he had served as County Sheriff that Arthur Turner had made the decision to attend a crime scene in person but having heard the background story regarding the incident his deputies had attended earlier that morning it seemed prudent to do so under the circumstances during the short ride from his office in Grand Forks to the premises in question Turner privately hoped that the Mata had escaped the interest of the local newspapers but as he arrived to find one of his deputies ushering a reporter from the Bismarck Daily Tribune away from the boundaries of the address he knew that he would have no such reprieve we are really acknowledging that if there was one there would be others the sheriff had assisted his subordinate in removing the Troublesome journalist before making his way across to the nearby farmhouse once inside he spoke briefly with the homeowner a somewhat emotional young man named vikulin before being led out to the rear of the household waiting alongside the beginnings of a basement which they had been digging out beneath the property were two workmen both of whom looked equally as haunted as their young employer Turner listens solemnly as the pair described what they had encountered during the course of their work and what lay beneath the tarpaulin they were standing next to then with the wave of his hand he had watched as the covering was pulled back to reveal the five skeletal bodies beneath it all with their skulls completely smashed beyond all hope of recognition it would not be until well into the late 1800s that the United States government eventually settled on a means by which to resolve the thorny issue of the Dakota territory having spent no small amount of time pondering over how best to dispose of the problem it was decided to divide the sprawling region into two separate states such a decision naturally created a need to establish New Towns and infrastructures with would-be settlers incentivized by the reward of free tracks of land granted by the authorities amongst the many groups who decided to take up this offer was a small party from New York which selected a site in the Red River Valley to found its new community christening their settlement Niagara in honor of the home county they had left behind the inhabitants soon settled down into a quiet and unassuming lifestyle that was however with the exception of one of their number a 33 year old Bachelor by the name of Eugene Butler from the moment he arrived Butler's increasingly eccentric nature brought him into direct conflict with his fellow settlers electing to build his home while away from the rest of the town in the depths of the surrounding Prairie it seemed that trouble followed hot on his heels whenever he chose to venture into town Butler was convinced that every unmarried young woman in the town was deeply intent on pursuing him romantically and that every man he encountered bore him a hidden degree of ill will he spoke openly of his belief that his life was constantly in danger with the town's inhabitants all secretly eyeing his property and monies for their own selfish desires when he did attend social functions he would refuse to have his picture taken saying that the photographer would somehow steal his soul into the device as his mental health deteriorated Butler's neighbors began to complain to the authorities that he was continually harassing them several reports were filed with the police to the effect that he was riding beyond the boundaries of his property at night screaming wild obscenities and howling at the moon when visited by deputies the farmer did not deny his activities instead justifying them by claiming that it was he who was the victim of harassment by those who had made the report at Great length he described to the officers how unknown persons were creeping around his property in the dead of night trying to gain entry to his home and steal his belongings on trusting of the police or indeed any other person within the community he had decided his only recourse was to resolve the issue himself conducting nocturnal patrols of his property on his horse he would shout challenges to any Intruder he believed he had caught sight of lurking within the surrounding Darkness eventually in 1904 it was decided that Butler's Antics had gone far enough with the town leaders seeking engagement with his extended family in New York after a brief period of consultation he was subsequently removed from his home by force and then detained in the state mental facility in Jamestown it was there that he would remain until his eventual death from natural causes in 1911. but the end of Eugene Butler would turn out to be only the beginning of his story in the years that followed his almost unnoticed passing Butler's estate was gradually divided up amongst his surviving relatives this process would take no small amount of time as his isolated and miserly lifestyle had accrued him a small fortune both in land and government bonds he had purchased reports in local newspapers suggested that the overall value of Butler's assets at the time of his death would be the equivalent of half a million dollars in modern value it would not be until 1915 that his home was finally passed into the hands of a group of lawyers before being placed on the property market for sale in no time at all it was promptly sold to a young family who were looking to settle down in the town having just migrated to the local area from Wisconsin upon first moving into The Farmstead with his wife and newborn baby the over cooling was more than satisfied with his new surroundings heralding from traditional farming Stark he immediately set about tilling the land around the property commissioning workers to dig out a basement below the homestead but hardly had this work began when the Tradesmen had immediately downed tools calling for the coolant to come and see what they had Unearthed there in the crawl space below the building with the skeletal remains of a naked human body its skull completely pulverized and crushed beyond all recognition immediately alerting the authorities the hapless homeowner had then been forced to witness a truly horrifying Revelation as over the coming days several further bodies went on to be recovered as word of the fine began to spread throughout the surrounding area journalists and crowds of onlookers were quick to attend demanding Clarity on what exactly had been discovered during a hastily convened press conference County Sheriff Arthur Turner provided what little detail he could in an effort to suppress the many rumors that were beginning to circulate in total the remains of six unknown persons were discovered beneath the property which were all believed to have been killed in an identical manner the life of each victim had been cruelly and brutally ended with a fatal blow to the left side of their head from a sharp or pointed object they had then been stripped of their clothing with their school smashed to Pieces before being pushed through a trapdoor which had been built into the floor of the homestead in the case of at least two of the deceased arms and legs had apparently been broken in order to fit them through the aperture five of the bodies had been found grouped quite closely together a sixth half buried a short distance away with nothing whatsoever to identify who they were the working theory of the investigators was that the victims were Farm Workers or Hired Hands who Butler had killed at various times over the years likely as a result of his Madness it is probable that at the time of his speech Sheriff Turner believed that however grisly the crime was it would prove relatively easy to investigate but as the months turned into years the exact opposite would be true the initial assertion by the police that the victims had been laborers or casual workers quickly began to fall apart examination of the bone suggested that only two of the deceased were adult males one of the others most likely belonged to an adult female with the remaining three being children of varying age a new Theory arose with the corpse set aside from the others being one of the two men it was now speculated that he alone may have been a laborer the rest of the bodies most likely belong to a family which had been killed all at once inquiries by deputies would soon establish that no family matching the description of the remains had ever resided in or around the local area there was also no suggestion that Butler had ever allowed Lodgers to stay at the premises prompting speculation that the victims may have been visiting members from his own extended family but liaison with the police department in New York revealed that this was not the case with Butler's surviving relatives adamant that nobody from the family had ever disappeared the only person to ever answer the public appeal for help in identifying the deceased was a businessman from Minnesota named Leo abansky in a letter to the state attorney he inquired if it was possible that his missing brother may be the dead man buried alongside the family John ivanski had last written to him in late 1902 stating that he was passing through the Niagara area but would be staying on a while to work on the farm of a local Bachelor with the suggestion that the missing a bansky brother and the lone body which had been recovered both possessed crooked noses it was hoped that this aspect of the mystery would be solved however it proved inconclusive during the 1980s the emergence of DNA analysis provided a means of identifying human remains and the authorities moved to apply this technique to the still unsolved case but when members of the team allocated to carry out the inquiry looked into the matter they discovered that the remains of the victims were nowhere to be found it transpired that there had been lengthy periods of time during the original investigation where the bodies had been left unguarded by Sheriff Turner and his deputies this had resulted in local residents being able to trespass on the farm and remove pieces of the bodies from the grounds as Grizzly souvenirs in addition to this the samples taken by the police department had either been lost or disposed of over the years leaving absolutely nothing to compare the familial DNA sample to with the passage of time that has elapsed since the incident it now seems apparent that the identities of the deceased will forever remain a mystery but as frustrating as this fact is it has not deterred investigators and commentators from continuing to examine the case in subsequent years analysis of the scene at the time would suggest that the murderer could only have been Butler himself and no one else it was he who had personally constructed the property where the bodies were discovered and added modifications such as the trapdoor where they had been disposed of there is no suggestion that any other person had resided with Butler at the address and the erratic Behavior he displayed seems to offset the lack of any obvious motive for the crime interviews with doctors at the North Dakota State Hospital suggested that Eugene Butler had been something of a model patient finally separated from his fortune his paranoia and suspicion had faded away with no signs of aggression displayed towards the medical staff or those who visited him but they remained a strong conviction that all women were attracted to him with one female nurse having to be moved to avoid the patient's aggressive and unwanted advances in an interview at the time the remains were discovered Dr a w guest stated that despite his many ramblings Butler had never once spoken of harming or killing any person it is entirely possible that he had killed the people found at his home suspecting them of trying to steal his fortune and had then completely forgotten he had done so as his mental state began to recover it was not uncommon however for Butler to describe to his doctors that he had heard Sinister voices telling him what to do on occasion he would carry out strange acts in front of the staff later claiming he had no recollection of doing so as if someone seen Force had temporarily taken control of his body this raises the prospect that had he lived to be accused of the crimes Butler May well have claimed to have been suffering from some form of Personality Disorder or even demonic possession in truth the only person who actually knew what took place at the remote farmhouse on the outskirts of Niagara died well before his crimes were discovered the house that Eugene Butler constructed and then adapted to serve his misdeeds was demolished many years later in industrial storage unit now stands on the site belonging to a local family which owns the land repeated public appeals for local residents to search their basements and attics for the bones that were stolen from the crime scene have yielded no positive results all of which seems to indicate that the victims of the Midnight Rider will remain unidentified the manner in which they came into contact with their killer is as mysterious as the reasons for which their lives were so brutally ended May their souls rest in peace...
By Mark Chinkwita2 days ago in Criminal
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