Holly Bobo, 20, Tenn. missing. & Karen Swift

[HairOfTheDog]

Yesterday, in day 2 of Zachary Adams' first-degree capital murder trial:


It was confirmed that ^ Jason Autry was given immunity against any additional crimes admitted-to during his forthcoming testimony against Adams. The death penalty is also off the table for Autry now.

Holly's mom Karen Bobo broke down on the stand when shown evidence photos of Holly's wallet and lunch purse. She recounted her first realization that Holly had been abducted from the family home.

Holly's brother Clint Bobo explained that he'd initially assumed that the man he saw in full camouflage with Holly, from a distance, was Holly's boyfriend. When he discovered blood droplets in the carport shortly thereafter, he got suspicious and called 911.

The court viewed photos of bloodstains found near Holly's Ford Mustang in the family’s garage on the day she disappeared. Special Agent Lawrence James, a forensic scientist with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said DNA analysis showed that the 50 to 60 blood drops found on the floor of the carport belonged to Holly and indicated "there was some sort of struggle."

Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper Warren Rainey recounted how he was first to question Adams about two weeks after Bobo disappeared. Adams had a criminal record that included drug possession and assault and he lived in an area near where a credit card receipt with Bobo's signature was found, Rainey said. Rainey said that Adams was very 'shaky' and seemed nervous.

There was a mattress in good condition up against his house, which raised LE suspicions, as did fresh scratches on Zachary Adams's arms. An FBI agent took photos of the scratches at that time; those photos were shown to the jury yesterday.

[HairOfTheDog]

The prosecution's case against Zachary Adams, based in large part on information from co-defendant Jason Autry, was reiterated. It's as chilling and terrible as we imagined.

Jason Autry told investigators that Zachary Adams asked him to help dispose of Holly's body after Adams had drugged and raped her. Thinking she was already dead, Adams told Autry he was going to "gut" Holly's body so she would not float to the surface once they dumped her into the Tennessee River, according to the prosecution.

Holly allegedly was wrapped in a blanket inside the vehicle -- but apparently she was still alive. She then made a noise and moved, prompting Adams to shoot her in the head, prosecutors claimed.

Prosecutor Hagerman told jurors that evidence and testimony will show Adams told Autry that he, Shayne Austin, and John Dylan Adams -- the defendant's brother -- had kidnapped and raped Holly. Austin was found dead of an apparent suicide in 2015.

Ref: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/09/12/hol...iller.html

[Duchess]

If one chooses to, you can scroll down the page and see a live feed from this trial.

Live Feed

[Midwest Spy]

Now that I have a daughter, this is about the worst thing I can imagine happening.

I feel so bad for Holly's family and particularly her brother, knowing he was that close to saving her.

My first thought 6 years ago was that he had something to do with it.

Who'd have thought that this Adams animal would've had the balls to lie in wait for her in her own driveway in broad daylight?

Anyway, if he's eligible for the death penalty, I hope they (state) make it happen.

He's almost the worst of the worst scum living on this earth. Only one potentially worse are those killing kids younger than Holly (barely).

[HairOfTheDog]

Who'd have thought that this Adams animal would've had the balls to lie in wait for her in her own driveway in broad daylight?

Anyway, if he's eligible for the death penalty, I hope they (state) make it happen.

Yep, it's a capital murder trial. If Zachary Adams is found guilty of Holly's aggravated murder, prosecutors will push for a death sentence.

Day 3 Trial Recap:

For the first time since Holly Bobo's skull was found, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation confirmed through testimony of a forensic scientist Wednesday that Holly's teeth, ribs, and jaw were found in the woods on Sept. 7, 2014.

Along with those items, Holly's wallet — which still continued her driver's license — was uphill from her remains, marked by tooth imprints of animals in the area.

Marco Ross, a forensic scientist who was involved in Holly's autopsy, said a bullet hole in the back of her skull caused fracturing and part of the jaw to disconnect from the skull. The bullet hole could not have been made by anything larger than a .32-caliber weapon, but could have been caused by a smaller caliber gun, Ross said.

Testimony Wednesday also included Larry Stone, who cried on the stand while remembering the day he and his cousin were digging for ginseng in the woods off Interstate 40 near a cell phone tower.

"I started bawling," Stone remembered from the day he found the skull, hidden under a blue bucket. That skull was later matched to Holly Bobo by existing dental records.

http://www.jacksonsun.com/story/news/cri...644109001/

[HairOfTheDog]

The many trial delays which seemed inexplicable to some of us............ make sense to me now.

Prosecutors turned Jason Autry on his co-defendants for a reduced sentence. But, since Autry isn't exactly an upstanding character and LE was unable to collect physical evidence against the Adams brothers and now-deceased Shayne Austin, I think prosecutors really needed to find the murder weapon to strengthen their case and validate Autry's story. The gun that allegedly matches up to the small hole in Holly's head wasn't located until May of this year.

[HairOfTheDog]

LE Screw-Ups



Yesterday, TBI Special Agent Brent Booth ^ testified that the LE agency made serious terrible mistakes in the investigation.

Zachary Adams and his associates were brought to LE's attention as potential suspects early on, but the Texas Bureau of Investigations failed to follow-up on the basics like checking their stories, alibis, etc...

Booth also admitted that the agency focused on the Bobos, in part because Karen Bobo told LE that Holly was 17 instead of over 18 (she wanted them to issue an Amber Alert and feared they wouldn't since Holly was legally an adult).

It wasn't until Holly's remains were found three years later that TBI went back and really investigated Zachary Adams and associates.

[HairOfTheDog]

The Alleged Murder Weapon

Jason Autry testified on Wednesday. He said he was there when Zach Adams used a gun to shoot Holly Bobo, and that he and Shayne Austin then sold the gun to someone for drugs.


Yesterday, the court heard from the person who bought the gun — a former drug dealer named Victor Dinsmore ^. Dinsmore was given immunity to testify and said Austin and Autry gave him the gun for morphine in return.

Dinsmore testified that he gave this pistol to his wife so she could protect herself in light of what happened to Bobo. But he said when he later got word of Adams’ and associates possible involvement in Bobo’s disappearance, he told his wife to ditch the gun.

The couple recently went with investigators and attorneys to find that gun. And although it took four different tries, authorities finally got their hands on it.

Experts testified that although they did everything they could to link it to the scene where Bobo’s remains were found…they couldn’t. Man, that was disappointing to hear.

So this continues to be a case based on witness testimony…rather than physical evidence.

Ref: http://wreg.com/2017/09/15/live-day-four...der-trial/

[Duchess]

Experts testified that although they did everything they could to link it to the scene where Bobo’s remains were found…they couldn’t.

Noooooo

[Love Child]

This case hits home for me. I hadn't heard about it until you re posted in it the other day and then I went back and read the beginning posts and learned more about the story. It is terrible.

[HairOfTheDog]

Yeah, it really is a terrible case Love Child. The crime, some of the players, and the scenario are all straight out of a nightmare or horror movie.

Prosecution Rests
Yesterday.......the prosecution called several convicts to testify against Zach Adams, based on what he allegedly told them about the crime while he's been incarcerated. The prosecution then rested its case.

Hoping hard that the prosecution presented enough circumstantial evidence and incriminating witness testimony to secure a conviction. At present, I think the totality of testimony presented to the jury is strong enough to elicit a guilty verdict, BUT the defense now has its turn to plant doubt in jurors' minds.

Defense Case Begins
Defense attorney Jennifer Thompson will likely focus a lot of her case on trying to poke holes in the prosecution witnesses' credibility. 'Jason Autry is a low-life and just wanted to save his ass' -- that's what I'll think she'll contend.

'All those convicts who testified against Zach Adams are just looking for deals or attention' -- that'll probably be another strong defense assertion.

Since prosecutors don't have physical evidence nor a confession and weren't able to tie the alleged murder weapon to the defendant or the crime scene, if jurors don't believe co-defendant Jason Autry's account, the prosecution could be in trouble.

[HairOfTheDog]

Alternate Suspect presented by Defense
On day one of the defense case-in-chief, attorney Thompson pursued another common defense strategy, SODDI (some other dude did it). She put the focus on an alternate suspect named Terry Britt.

Before Zach Adams was ever arrested and charged with the kidnapping, rape and murder of Holly Bobo, authorities put the heat on Britt and considered him the prime suspect.


^ Britt, a convicted sex offender, is currently serving time in prison for the kidnapping and attempted rape of another woman in 2008.

He took the stand yesterday and claimed he had never met the Bobos and had never seen Holly Bobo in his life.

Last week the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation admitted, initially, they were convinced Britt had kidnapped Holly Bobo. The agency wire-tapped his home, something that had never been done in Tennessee before.

When Holly Bobo disappeared in April 2011, Britt delivered newspapers during the early morning hours. The defense showed he knew the area well, including the key areas like where her lunch box was found, where her cell phone cut off and where investigators ultimately found her body.

(continued)

[HairOfTheDog]

The defense said that two days before Holly Bobo disappeared, Britt bought a bunch of industrial lubricant for machinery. Afterward, he bought a chainsaw.

The defense said cadaver dogs hit on three of his tools and computer records show that he enjoyed looking at kidnapping and rape pornography.

During testimony, Britt made disturbing statements when investigators showed up to question him. “Do you remember saying that Holly Bobo had a somewhat perfect body, like a toy, some would say?” a defense attorney asked.

“I didn’t say perfect body toy,” Britt testified. “I said she was, from the picture they had on the wall while I was in the store, I said she looked good. Probably somebody, whoever got her, got her for a sex slave.”

Britt insists he had no involvement in the crimes against Holly Bobo and he has an alibi -- his wife says she was with him the entire day that Holly was abducted, including shopping together in the morning. She presented shopping receipts to investigators.

For what it's worth (which isn't much to me), Zach Adams’ mother Cindy Adams believes Britt is responsible for Holly Bobo’s murder.

Refs:
http://www.wsmv.com/story/36393008/state...holly-bobo
http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/3638...nd-session

[Duchess]

his wife says she was with him the entire day that Holly was abducted, including shopping together in the morning. She presented shopping receipts to investigators.

That means nothing to me. Without knowing anything, I don't believe her.

[Midwest Spy]

his wife says she was with him the entire day that Holly was abducted, including shopping together in the morning. She presented shopping receipts to investigators.

That means nothing to me. Without knowing anything, I don't believe her.

He sure seems like a slime ball and very capable of committing this crime, and even, likely.

The newspaper route is key obviously. It'd explain knowing their home, and if he was smart enough to stake it out prior to kidnapping, he'd know when the parents and Holly left.

The kidnapping porn along with those other notes about where her belongings were found make this seem like a slam dunk.

His wife could very easily be covering for him.

I wonder how hard the DA has pushed her to recant her story and admit he was not with her that day?

On the other hand, it does sound as if Adams and his gang are the ones responsible.

[HairOfTheDog]

He sure seems like a slime ball and very capable of committing this crime, and even, likely.

The newspaper route is key obviously. It'd explain knowing their home, and if he was smart enough to stake it out prior to kidnapping, he'd know when the parents and Holly left.

The kidnapping porn along with those other notes about where her belongings were found make this seem like a slam dunk.

His wife could very easily be covering for him.

I wonder how hard the DA has pushed her to recant her story and admit he was not with her that day?

On the other hand, it does sound as if Adams and his gang are the ones responsible.

I sure hope the Defense hasn't planted that level of doubt into any of the juror's minds, but I fear it has.

I think Zachary Adams is guilty as sin. He's a violent drug addict who shot his own mom, beat up his grandfather, and allegedly physically threatened his girlfriend (matters of public legal record).

But, I concede that the Defense has done a good job of sowing seeds of doubt with the SODDI defense -- seeds which were easier to sow considering the initial sloppiness of TBI and the lack of physical evidence against the defendants.

Today's testimony by the 'former' TBI lead detective Terry Dicus just makes me more worried that the jury is going to hang or acquit. I think a guilty verdict is about a 60% chance at this point.

[HairOfTheDog]

^ Terry Dicus, who was pulled from the case in 2013, said that prosecutors have the wrong guys and he cleared the Adams brothers when he was working on the case.

He supports the Defense's assertion that Terry Britt is 'the guy'. Dicus said he collected blonde hair from Britt's home, and noted that his criminal history included targeting eight women who resembled the blonde nursing student.

The strand of hairs, however, did not return a DNA match to Bobo, and Britt was never charged in the woman's killing.

Britt said he had an alibi and backed up his claim by providing a receipt from the All Goods store, where he said he was shopping with his wife the day Bobo disappeared.

The jury also heard on Monday from Shawn Cooper, who was being held at the Chester County Jail in March 2014 in an unrelated case when Zachary Adams was brought there after being charged in Bobo's killing.

Cooper was awaiting transfer to Obion County Jail when he says Adams told him he was involved in the 'Holly Bobo murder case.'

Cooper said Adams told him his brother was being held in Obion County Jail, and asked him to relay to John that he should stay quiet or he would 'put him in a hole beside her.' Cooper said those statements upset him.

Acquaintances and friends of Zachary Adams - as well as fellow jail inmates - have testified that Adams made comments about harming Bobo.

The Defense could rest its case today and closing arguments could begin on Thursday.

Ref: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...rn_rm=als1

[HairOfTheDog]

Headed Into Jury Deliberations

Yesterday afternoon, the State (prosecution) called a rebuttal witness to counter defense witness former TBI agent Terry Dicus.

TBI Senior Investigator Jack Van Hooser testified that Terry Dicus was placed on desk duty and barred from pursuing leads in the case in 2013. Dicus "needed to be benched" because he had lost objectivity, Van Hooser said. "He had tunnel vision on one particular suspect (Terry Britt)."

The trial of Zachary Adams is in the final stages. His attorney continued to try to plant doubt of Adams' guilt in the jury's minds yesterday afternoon.


Under questioning by Zachary Adams' defense attorney ^ Jennifer Thompson, U.S. Marshal Senior Inspector John Walker said he interviewed Britt in jail in March 2013. Walker said he told Britt that investigators believed he had kidnapped and harmed Bobo, and disposed of her belongings. Walker said Britt told him "sounds like you have it all figured out" and that he would "plead to it." (HOTD: sounds to me like Britt was being a smart-ass, not confessing.)

[HairOfTheDog]

Also Wednesday, a cellphone design expert testified that Zachary Adams' device and Holly Bobo's phone were not in the same location until about an hour after she was reporting missing.

Jonathan Reeves, president of JDR Telecom Solutions, said Bobo's and Adams' devices were in separate places in Decatur County from about 8:17 a.m. to 9:10 a.m. Bobo was reported missing by her brother at about 8 a.m.


Zachary Adams ^ elected not to testify in his own defense.

Refs:
http://www.wbbjtv.com/2017/09/20/testimo...der-trial/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marshals-of...bobo-case/

[Midwest Spy]

The cell phone pings are very interesting.

Wonder if Britt's was in the same location as hers around 8:00am?