Whitney Duncan Reacts to Verdict in Holly Bobo Case: ‘Praise God!’
The man who stood accused of kidnapping, raping and killing Holly Bobo has been convicted on all eight counts.
A jury in Tennessee handed down guilty verdicts in eight criminal counts against Zach Adams in court on Friday afternoon (Sept. 22). Nashville news channel WSMV broke the news in a tweet, writing, "Zach Adams found guilty on all eight counts, including agg. rape and agg. kidnapping, in #HollyBobo case."
Bobo was a 20-year-old nursing student when she went missing from her Tennessee home in April 2011. Her remains were found more than three years later. Zachary Adams was charged with aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder in Bobo’s death, and on Friday, the 33-year-old was found guilty in a courtroom in Savannah, Tenn. A sequestered jury of six men and six women had been deliberating the case since Thursday (Sept. 21), according to CBS News.
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The prosecutor's case against Adams hinged on the cooperation of Jason Wayne Autry, who had also been indicted on charges of aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder in the crime. He testified that he helped Adams move what he believed to be Bobo's body, which was wrapped in a blanket. When she moved, showing that she was still alive, Autry then stood watch while Adams shot her and finished her off.
Adams' brother, John Dylan Adams, has been charged with first-degree murder in the perpetration of a felony, especially aggravated kidnapping, first-degree murder in the perpetration of a felony, to wit: aggravated rape, and premeditated first-degree murder. Brothers Jeffrey and Mark Pearcy were also charged with tampering with evidence, as well as accessory after the fact. Those charges have been dismissed. Another suspect, Shayne Austin, was also charged in the Holly Bobo case, then found dead in a Florida hotel room in 2015, the victim of what police said was a suicide.
Bobo's cousin, country singer Whitney Duncan, has been avidly covering the case and sharing her reactions online. She flew from Las Vegas to Nashville Friday afternoon to try to be present for the verdict.
"So nervous I won't get to hear the verdict!!!!" she tweeted around 2:30PM.
She weighed in immediately after the verdict was read, writing simply, "Praise God!!!!!!"
Zach Adams' sentencing hearing begins Saturday (Sept. 23). He faces the possibility of the death penalty in the death of Holly Bobo.