DECATURVILLE, Tenn. — The judge in the Holly Bobo murder case is cracking down on the prosecutor.
Three men are charged in connection to the Holly Bobo case. Bobo was kidnapped and murdered in 2011.
Judge Creed McGinley was candid in court, and made it very clear he’s not happy with the prosecution and how slowly the Holly Bobo case is progressing.
“This indictment was returned in March. We are now at December,” McGinley said. “That is nine months, and the court can see virtually no progress.”
The attorneys for the three defendants – Zach Adams, Jason Autry, and Dylan Adams – were also frustrated.
Jennifer Lynn Thompson, Zach Adams’ attorney, said to the judge, “I still have very little understanding of what he’s accused of doing.”
Fletcher Long, Jason Autry’s attorney, told reporters, “I’m at a loss as to why he was even charged, other than some vain hope that if he was pressured and charged he would tell them something that they apparently do not know.”
The defense lawyers told Judge McGinley so far, the state has swamped them with 9,000 pages of information, but they said they’ve been given nothing that connects their clients with Holly Bobo’s murder.
That’s something Judge McGinley said he won’t stand for.
“I want discovery to begin immediately,” he told District Attorney Matt Stowe.
Lawyers for the Adams brothers and Autry both said they plan on asking for a change of venue. Given the widespread publicity, the judge said he is inclined to grant those requests.
“I don’t think there’s anyway this case could be tried Decatur County,” McGinley said.
If the state decides to pursue the death penalty against any of the defendants, Thompson told the judge even more time will be needed.
“It can take between 12 and 18 months to prepare for that,” she said.
Status hearings for Dylan Adams and Jason Autry are scheduled for January 14. The status hearing for Zach Adams will be January 23.
Learn more about this case here.
