The Murder of Holly Bobo

In the early morning hours of Wednesday, April 13th, 2011, 20-year-old Holly Bobo was sitting at her kitchen table, studying for a nursing test she had that day. She said goodbye to her mother and father as they left for work. Around 7:40AM, Holly’s older brother Clint was awakened by their dog barking. He heard voices coming from the carport behind their home. Through the blinds, he saw his sister Holly kneeling on the ground facing a man in camo, arguing. They then got up and began walking into the woods.

Clint quickly called his mother who told him to grab a gun and shoot the man. The two disappeared behind the trees and Holly was never seen again. Her remains were later found in the woods leaving Holly’s family and the small, close-knit community, who would’ve murdered the promising young nursing student, and why?

Who was Holly Bobo?

Holly Lynn Bobo was born October 12, 1990 to Karen and Dana Bobo. She had a brother, Clint, who was 5 years older than her. The family lived in Darden, Tennessee, in Decatur County (duh-kay-tur) just about an hour and a half west of Nashville. Karen Bobo said that Holly and Clint were raised in a Christian household that was full of love and laughter. In school, Holly was known as a hard worker and a great student. She was never in trouble, and wouldn’t even share her work with friends, telling them that it wasn’t fair. She had one of the highest graduating GPAs at her high school, Scotts Hill High. Holly had a beautiful voice and loved to sing gospel at her church, Corinth Baptist on Sundays. Her cousin, Whitney Duncan, went on to become a country singer and said she loved helping Holly with her voice. Holly’s classmates said that she had a sweet smile and was always determined. Corinth’s pastor, Don Franks said that Holly was a bright presence at their church, “She was very instrumental in inspiring others especially in the field of music she was very talented.”

Holly’s favorite colors were pink and blue, and she was known as a momma’s girl. She and her mother were incredibly close and could finish each other’s sentences. Holly had just recently received a promise ring from her longtime boyfriend, Drew Scott. She was in nursing school at the University of Tennessee at Martin Parsons Center and couldn’t wait to start her career as a nurse and spend her life with Drew. Those who knew her saw her as a wonderful role model and someone who gave everything she could to the people around her. A former classmate of Holly’s said, “She loved everyone. She saw the best in people and was a friend to all. She showed genuine love to her friends and even to strangers, she taught everyone to laugh and have fun. She was not afraid to sing and dance. Those are qualities that came easily to her, and seeing the way she could light up a room with them made me want to work on improving those qualities within myself.”

The Day of the Disappearance

On Wednesday, April 13th, 2011, Holly woke up around 4:30AM. She’d been studying throughout the past few days for a test she was having on the 13th. She woke up extra early to get in a few more hours of studying before heading to the college campus for her exam. Her exam was scheduled for 8AM. Holly’s father, Dana, saw Holly and spoke to her before leaving for work at a tree service. Her mother, Karen, packed Holly’s lunch for her, kissed her and said goodbye before leaving to go teach second grade at Scotts Hill Elementary. Karen remembered that Holly was sitting at the kitchen table, studying and texting one of her classmates about the exam. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary to her. At 7:30AM, Drew, Holly’s boyfriend called her cellphone. Drew was turkey hunting on Holly’s grandmother’s land and another relative confronted Drew, not recognizing him. Drew explained to the relative that he was Holly’s boyfriend and had permission to be hunting on the land. He called afterwards to let Holly know what happened. After the phone call, Holly gathered her belongings and walked out to the attached carport to get in her black Ford Mustang to head to school.

At 7:40AM, Clint Bobo woke up when he heard the family dog barking. He heard voices coming from the carport behind the house. He heard a male and a female voice, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. He quickly recognized the female voice as Holly’s. Through his blinds, he could see two figures in the shadows, both knelt down and facing each other. One of the figures was his sister, and the other was a male dressed in camouflage. His first assumption was that it was her boyfriend Drew. He heard his sister say “no, why?” When he looked again, he saw the pair walking away from the yard and into the woods. He immediately called his mother and asked why Holly was going off into the woods with Drew. Karen, knowing that Drew wasn’t at the house, that he was out turkey hunting, told Clint, that’s not Drew and to grab a gun and shoot him.

Clint replied, you want me to shoot Drew? Karen hung up and called 911. Unfortunately, the 911 call went to the wrong county. She was eventually able to get in touch with the right county and quickly rushed home after calling her husband. Clint got dressed, grabbed a gun, and walked outside. He saw drops of blood in the garage, but he couldn’t see Holly or the man she was with. He later described the man he saw with Holly as about 5’10, 200 pounds, with dark hair, and holding a dark object in his hand. Police arrived on scene soon after and began searching the area. It wasn’t long before half of the county was out looking for Holly. They had search dogs, people on horseback, four-wheelers, walking, and had helicopters looking for anything out of the ordinary.

Police interviewed neighbors, hoping someone might have seen or heard something. James Barnes lived next door to the Bobos, about 750 feet away from their property. At 7:50AM, he heard screaming coming from the Bobo property. The female voice stopped screaming, then said, “Stop, I said stop!” When Barnes’ girlfriend came out, they drove to the end of the Bobo driveway to see if they could see or hear anything. They didn’t hear anything else and continued driving. Barnes said he called his mother and had her call Karen Bobo.

Another neighbor, John Babb, owned property near the Bobo home. That morning he was going fishing, and arrived at the lake around 7:30AM. He reported hearing a “screech or squall” coming from the directions of the Bobo’s house. He said it sounded similar to cats fighting. He also saw a white truck speeding down Swan Johnson Road, the road that he and the Bobos lived on.

Police contacted AT&T to have them track Holly’s phone. For about an hour and a half, her phone traveled all throughout Decatur County. It went from her home, through the woods, up to interstate 40, then back south by a different route. By 8:30-9AM, it had stopped moving.

The Search and the Investigation

It was quickly and widely believed that the man who abducted Holly was familiar with the area and her habits. Clint was questioned just after his sister disappeared. They checked his body for scratches or any signs of a physical altercation, but found nothing. They searched his phone and computer and polygraphed him twice. Clint was cleared of suspicion. Throughout the next weeks, signs of Holly were found scattered along country roads: her homework, notebooks, lunchbox, cell phone, SIM card, and underwear.

Having joined the search and the investigation, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s (TBI) lead agent on the case, Terry Dicus had zeroed in on who he thought was responsible for Holly’s disappearance: a local sex offender named Terry Britt. Britt lived close to the Bobos’ home and close to where some of Holly’s belongings had been found. Britt had spent a good majority of his life in prison for kidnapping and rape. He had a type of woman he preferred: pretty girls, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He also matched Clint’s description of who he saw walking with Holly into the woods. Britt provided police with his alibi: that he was buying a bathtub with his wife at a salvage yard, however the store had no record of this sale. There are many different reports about the validity of Britt’s alibi, with some saying that police were later able to find a handwritten receipt for the bathtub in Britt’s safe.

Others say that when police went to question him on the day that Holly was abducted, he was unloading a bathtub from his vehicle with his wife. Despite these possible verifications of Britt’s alibi, Agent Dicus still believed that he was behind Holly’s disappearance, especially since it was reported that Britt’s wife was at work that morning. He supposedly called his wife, telling her to come home from work and to say that she’d been with him all morning. Search warrants were obtained to search Britt’s home with cadaver dogs. The dogs alerted on both of his vehicles and several of the tools that were in his backyard. Police seized several things from his home, but no DNA was ever found that connected Britt to Holly.

Police wire-tapped his phone and put a bug in his home, but never got any information about Holly. During conversations with Dicus and other investigators, he seemed to fantasize about what Holly’s abductor was thinking and what he did with her. Despite his VERY icky interview and history, Britt continuously denied any involvement with Holly’s disappearance. Shortly after, Dicus was taken off of the investigation because his superiors believed he’d developed tunnel vision regarding Britt, thinking he was the only possible suspect in the case. Unfortunately, though the police had thousands of tips, no progress was made in the case until about 3 years later, in 2014.

There were several other men that were brought up during the investigation. Police investigated many false claims and tips. However, there were four men whose names were brought up early and often: brothers Zach and Dylan Adams, and cousins Shayne Austin and Jason Autry. These four young men were known around town for their affinity for drug production, sales, and use, as well as just being all around “bad guys.”

Two brothers, Jeffrey and Mark Pearcy were arrested and charged with tampering with evidence and accessory after the fact. They had reportedly shown someone a video of a man who looked like Zach Adams sexually assaulting a woman who looked like Holly Bobo. Both men denied this and no video was ever found. The charges were dropped soon after.

Police began to re-interview witnesses with fresh eyes and looked for different suspects. A man named Victor Dinsmore was interviewed, as some of Holly’s belongings were found close to his property. Like many, he gave police Zach Adam’s name. Zach Adams had reportedly been bragging around town that he murdered Holly Bobo. He threatened people that they’d end up in a hole “just like Holly.” Dinsmore suggested that police go through Zach’s brother, Dylan to see if they could get any information. He said that Dylan was in special ED and had a low IQ.

Police arrested Dylan on gun charges. It seemed that his friend, a felon, had guns on him and Dylan was with him. People speculated this was done simply to get Dylan into the police station, as well as to “have something on Dylan.” Police threatened Dylan with 10 years in federal prison for the weapons charges. They did however, offer him a plea. Rather than go to prison, Dylan was to go live with a retired police officer and Bobo family friend, Dennis Benjamin. Dylan and Benjamin had no prior connection.

After five weeks of living with Dylan, Benjamin called police and let them know that he had someone who wanted to confess to the murder of Holly Bobo. Dylan was brought to the police station and confessed to being involved in the kidnapping and murder of Holly. He said that he had been with Holly on the day she’d been taken, and that he sexually assaulted her along with Austin, Autry, and Zach at Zach’s house. He initially said Zach killed her, then later said Autry did. He later recanted this confession and said that it was coerced. Police decided to bring in the men who were reportedly with Zach and Dylan that day: Shayne Austin and Jason Autry. Austin was offered complete immunity if he would tell them everything about Zach’s involvement with the murder. Austin quickly accepted and admitted that he was involved as well. Both Dylan and Austin’s confessions lacked specifics about the crime, even directly going against some of the evidence. Police executed a search warrant on Zach’s property, where he lived with grandfather, and seized many items, but no reports of anything linking him to Holly were released.

Throughout these confessions, both Austin and Dylan changed stories multiple time, recanted certain things, and eventually said they had weren’t involved with Holly’s disappearance and murder. There’s a lot of information regarding different stories they reported to police.

The Arrests

In March of 2014, Zach Adams was arrested and charged with the aggravated kidnapping and first degree murder of Holly Bobo. About a month later, Autry was arrested with the same charges. Dylan was arrested for tampering with evidence and two counts of rape. He was later charged with aggravated kidnapping and first degree murder as well. Austin had reportedly been offered immunity for his cooperation in the case and future testimony against the other three, however, in 2015, this offer of immunity was pulled, supposedly because police found that Austin had lied in many of his initial statements. Shortly after this happened, Austin was found dead in a hotel room of an apparent suicide by hanging. His death occurred before he was able to testify against any of the men.

In September of 2014, Larry Stone was out hunting for ginseng plants in the woods of northern Decatur County when he described an eerie feeling that made him feel as though he should turn around. When he did, he saw an overturned bucket and a human skull. This skull was later identified as belonging to Holly Bobo. The contents of the bucket have never been released, however people have speculated that it was more of Holly’s remains or tools used to kill her. In addition to the skull being located, police also found several teeth, ribs, and a shoulder blade. The remains were found not far from Holly’s home.

Karen and Dana were at a mall in Jackson, Tennessee when they got the call that their daughter’s remains had been found. Karen said that she had a feeling before she got the call, the same feeling that she’d had on the day that her daughter disappeared.

There was damage noted to some of the remains, which forensics attributed to animal scavenging, however there was a noticeable hole in the back of the skull. The forensic team who analyzed the skull said that due to the beveling of the hole, they determined it was a gunshot wound. However, when questioned in court, experts said there was really no way to determine whether the gunshot wound was inflicted pre or post-mortem.

The Trial

The trial for Zach Adams began in September of 2017. The defense brought up the TBI’s initial suspicions of Terry Britt, as well as the fact that there didn’t seem to be ANY evidence that connected Zach to Holly. There was a pistol found just before the trial began in a drainage ditch that belonged to Shayne Austin, however there was no proof that this was the murder weapon. The prosecution brought forth a witness that they felt strongly implicated Zach as the mastermind behind the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Holly: Jason Autry. Autry was called as a witness and delivered a story that outlined a horrific day. The following is what Autry said happened the day of Holly’s disappearance:

Autry admitted that his vice was a mix of methamphetamine and morphine. On April 13th, 2011, he had the meth, but was out of morphine. He called Zach Adams in hopes that he could get him some morphine. He said Zach told him that he could and that he needed his help with something. Autry arrived at his cousin, Shayne Austin’s house, and saw all three men there. Zach was standing by his truck, Dylan was burning things in a large barrel, and Shayne was standing, shirtless, at his front door telling them that they needed to leave. Zach gave Autry the morphine he requested and showed him what he needed help with. Zach had a body in the bed of his truck and he asked Autry to help him dispose of it. He saw the body wrapped in a multi-colored quilt and assumed it was a man named “Jojo,” who Autry said owed Zach money for drugs. Zach corrected him and said, no that’s Holly Bobo. Autry said he didn’t know her, and agreed to help Zach. The two men drove in Zach’s truck to an underpass off I-40 in Decatur County. A news station that covered the trial described Autry’s next piece of the story: “Autry recounted his conversation with Adams without emotion; saying after realizing they had no tools to bury a body, they should ‘gut her’ and then drop the body in the deep part of the river.” He said that the turtles would take care of the rest.

Zach and Autry unloaded the body by the river, when Autry said he heard Holly make a noise and saw her foot move. He shouted to Zach that she was still alive and likely heard Autry’s name and could implicate him. Zach grabbed a gun from his truck and fired one shot at Holly. Autry recounted how it echoed under the bridge. Concerned that someone may have heard the gunshot, the men loaded Holly’s body back into the truck and left.

It was at this time that Autry said he sobered up and his high had worn off. He suddenly felt the severity of what he was helping with and decided to get himself away from the situation. However, being a drug addict, he needed another fix later that day. Autry met up with Zach at another local drug dealer’s house. He said that Austin was there as well, and Zach told him that he was equally as guilty since he’d also raped Holly. Autry said he didn’t ask anything else about what happened until he saw Zach two days later at a gas station. When asked what happened to Holly, he said that Zach said, “we threw her out.” Zach also said that he was worried because his brother, Dylan wouldn’t stop talking about the murder. He was concerned that he’d get them caught. Autry said Zach asked him to kill Dylan. He promised him some of the inheritance he’d receive once their grandfather died. Autry said he eventually agreed and lured Dylan to go fishing with him, planning on killing him there. However, a witness that knew Dylan showed up and the plan failed.

Autry said that Zach eventually told him that the rape took place in a nearby barn and that he, Dylan, and Austin took part in it. He also said that the entire situation spurned from Zach showing up at the Bobo household to meet Clint. He alleged that Zach was supposed to be teaching Clint how to cook meth that day, but ran into Holly and she started getting upset, so he took her.

NONE of this is confirmed. There is no evidence that verifies any of Autry’s story.,

The Sentencing

Zach Adams was found guilty of felony murder, especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated rape, and first degree pre-meditated murder. He was sentenced to life without parole, plus an additional 50 years. Dylan Adams took a plea deal that meant he would not admit guilt, but that the plea deal was in the best interest to all. He was charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and facilitation of first-degree murder. Jason Autry pled guilty to especially aggravated kidnapping and solicitation to commit first-degree murder and was sentenced to eight years, which included time served. In September of 2020, Autry was released from prison, however, in December of the same year, Autry was sent back to jail on charges of drug and weapons possession. Zach Adams, who now looks completely different than he did upon his arrest, is currently in prison at Williamson County Jail in Franklin, Tennessee.

Most people in Decatur County, including the Bobo family believe that the correct men are in jail for the murder of Holly, however, much speculation continues about the case. Terry Dicus remains steadfast that the wrong men were convicted. When asked why he doesn’t think the men are guilty, he said “I dont think they’re capable of doing arithmetic, much less this.” Some people still suspect that Holly’s brother Clint was involved, however there is no evidence to back this up. There has never been anything released regarding DNA or concrete evidence that linked Zach, Dylan, Autry, or Austin to Holly’s murder.