HARDIN COUNTY, Tenn. — The Holly Bobo murder trial is scheduled to start September 11, 2017. In Hardin County Court Wednesday morning, attorneys for Zach Adams, who is the first suspect to be tried with Bobo’s murder, pushed to get the trial delayed until January.
The judge said no and also repeated what he said last year about what won’t be allowed when the trial starts.
“I will not tolerate signs, placards, T-shirts; anything like that could be perceived as trying to influence the prospective jurors,” the judge said back in 2016.
In a shocker, the state hinted at something that could indicate how Holly Bobo died. They said experts found an indentation in the nursing student’s skull similar to that of a bullet hole.
There was also another sign this trial may be a long one: The state says it plans to call 200 witnesses.
The defense says it will take them a week to present their case, meaning it may be a long time for the Bobo family to get the justice they have been seeking.
Twenty-year-old Holly Bobo was kidnapped from her family home in Decatur County, Tennessee, in April 2011. It wasn’t until 2014 that suspects Zachary Adams, Dylan Adams and Jason Autry were indicted.
Also in 2014, Holly Bobo’s partial remains were found in the woods 9 miles from her family home.
The three suspects will be tried separately, meaning the Bobo family will have to go through more trials and more testimony as they grieve losing Holly Bobo and seek closure.
This first trial was already delayed in July because of a gun that was introduced as evidence and the defense needed time to test it. The same jury pool will be used when jury selection begins September 9.