Authorities have charged a second suspect in connection with the 2011 disappearance of Tennessee nursing student Holly Bobo.
Jason Wayne Autry, 39, an inmate at the Riverbend Maximum Security Prison in Nashville and a former Holladay, Tennessee resident, has been indicted by a grand jury for first-degree murder and especially aggravated kidnapping, according to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation director Mark Gwyn.
The charges against Autry come less than two months after authorities charged Zachary Adams, 29, with murder and aggravated kidnapping in the case.
"We have sworn statements from witnesses that saw Holly Bobo [alive] in the presence of both Zachary Adams and Jason Autry after her disappearance," Gwyn told reporters at a Tuesday press conference.
RELATED: HOLLY BOBO PHOTOS
Autry was served an arrest warrant at the state prison, where he has been behind bars since November 2013, on a three year sentence for aggravated assault. That conviction is unrelated to the Bobo case, police said.
Gwyn described Adams and Autry as "long-time friends," but declined to comment on whether they were known to Bobo.
"We're putting it all together," he said.
Authorities have been searching for Bobo, the cousin of country music singer Whitney Duncan, since April 13, 2011. Then 20, Bobo was last seen that morning outside her one-story, ranch-style house in Darden, a small community about 100 miles northeast of Memphis.
A neighbor called 911 when she heard a woman screaming shortly after 7:30 a.m. Bobo's 25-year-old brother, who was inside his sister's house at the time, also called 911.
According to police, Bobo's brother said he saw a man dressed in camouflage clothing drag his sister through the carport next to the home and into a wooded area behind it. A small puddle of blood was later discovered near the carport.
Local and state law enforcement authorities coordinated a massive search behind Bobo's home. Investigators found items that belonged to her, but nothing to suggest where she was taken.
Multiple searches have been conducted since that time, but none have let to the discovery of the missing woman.
"This is a case that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has been continuously working to solve now for three years ... We have not located the body at this time, but we are still working on that," Gwyn said Tuesday.
If convicted of first-degree murder, Adams and Autry each face a mandatory life prison sentence or the death penalty. District Attorney General Hansel McAdams said Tuesday his office has not decided whether they will pursue the latter.
Authorities said additional arrests in the case might be forthcoming.
"We believe there are other individuals out there that have knowledge and possible involvement," said Gwyn. "Those individuals know who they are ... and can expect us at their doorstep very soon."
Anyone with information in the case is asked to contact the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 615-744-4000. For more information, visit www.findinghollybobo.com.
Like Us On Facebook |
Follow Us On Twitter |
Contact The Author
