Holly Bobo Trial: Zach Adams Guilty Of Murder, Rape, Kidnapping

SAVANNAH, TN — After nearly two weeks of testimony and just over two days of deliberation, a Hardin County jury convicted Zach Adams of the 2011 rape, kidnapping and murder of nursing student Holly Bobo in Decatur County.

After a twisting trial that include climactic, almost cinematic moments, like Bobo's mother passing out during her testimony and the former lead investigator on the case for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation saying that Adams was not guilty, the jury ultimately said it was convinced of the prosecution's theory of the case, bolstered by the testimony of Jason Autry, also charged in the crime, but who reached an agreement with prosecutors for the possibility of a reduced sentence in exchange for his testimony.

(For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.)

Autry testified that Adams asked to help bury a body, which he originally believed to be that of a person named "Joe Joe" who owed Adams money in a drug deal. Once Autry arrived at the home of Adams' cousin Shayne Austin, he learned that the body was, in fact, that of Bobo, who had rapidly become one of the country's most famous missing people and subject of the largest investigation in Tennessee history.

Autry said he agreed to help but once he and Adams arrived at the Tennessee River, Bobo moved and spoke. It was then Adams grabbed a gun, reached under the blanket, felt for Bobo's head and fired a .32 pistol, killing her.

Adams, Autry and Adams' brother, John Dylan Adams, are all charged in the crime. Austin was likely to be called as a witness, but he was found dead of an apparent suicide in Florida.

Image via Shutterstock