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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jennifer Thompson, attorney for Zachary Adams, speaks to Adams during State prosecutor Jennifer Nicols’ closing argument rebuttal in the Holly Bobo murder trial, Thursday, Sept. 21, in Savannah, Tenn.
SAVANNAH, Tenn. >> A Tennessee man was convicted Friday of kidnapping, raping and murdering a 20-year-old nursing student who disappeared from her home six years ago.
Zachary Adams was found guilty after an 11-day trial in Savannah, Tennessee. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges. Holly Bobo was 20 when she was reported missing from her home in rural Parsons on April 13, 2011.
Bobo’s disappearance led to a massive search and her case received national attention. Her remains were found in September 2014 in woods not far from her home in Decatur County, located about 100 miles southwest of Nashville.
Adams showed no reaction when the verdict was read.
A sentencing hearing will begin Saturday. The murder charge can carry the death penalty.
Judge C. Creed McGinley moved the trial from Decatur County to neighboring Hardin County in search of an unbiased jury. The jury deliberated 3½ hours Thursday and all day Friday before reaching a verdict.
Two other men, Jason Autry and Adams’ brother John Dylan Adams, also face charges of kidnapping, raping and killing Bobo.
Autry testified against Adams, telling jurors that Adams told him that he, his brother and their friend Shayne Austin had raped Bobo. Autry also said that he served as a lookout as Adams shot Bobo near a river in the day she was reported missing.
Autry was on a list of witnesses who were offered immunity in the case. He said he testified because he wanted leniency.
Autry’s lawyer has told the judge that a trial does not need to be set for Autry, indicating he has reached a deal with prosecutors. A trial date has not been set for John Dylan Adams.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has said that the Bobo investigation is the most exhaustive and expensive in the agency’s history.
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