Jason Wayne Autry, 39 of Holladay, Tenn., was indicted this afternoon on one count of first-degree murder and one count of especially aggravated kidnapping of Holly Bobo.
A grand jury met at 1 p.m. to make a decision on Autry’s indictments. Autry is now the second person charged in the case. Autry was described at a press conference as a “long-time friend” of Zachary Rye Adams who was initially indicted in the case.
“I can tell you that Autry and Adams were friends,” said TBI Director Mark Gwyn.
Autry was already serving a sentence prior to today’s indictment.
“Autry is currently being held at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution [in Nashville, Tenn.] without bond,” Gwyn said.
The investigation is still ongoing, but Gwyn says he wants to assure the community that the TBI will continue their efforts in the case.
“We will continue to work hard to determine what happened to Holly,” Gwyn said.
The grand jury also handed down an indictment of coercion of a witness to Zachary Adams. Gwyn says he hope this sends a message that coercion of a witness will not be tolerated.
“Anyone who had anything to do with Holly’s disappearance will be brought to justice,” Gwyn said.
District Attorney General Hansel McCadams will also prosecute the charges against Autry.
“Autry is currently serving a three-year sentence for an aggravated assault that arose out of a case in Decatur County,” McCadams said.
McCadams says his office will evaluate the case as a death penalty qualified case.
Gwyn says that he believes there are individuals who have information and were possibly involved in the case. Gwyn also announced that there have been sworn statements made from witnesses who saw Holly Bobo alive in the presence of both Autry and Adams after the kidnapping.
“We can’t go in to the particulars of the case, but I can tell you we have sworn statements from witnesses [who] saw Holly in the presence of Adams and Autry,” Gwyn said.
Gwyn also said that Bobo’s body had not yet been found, but that was a priority for the TBI.
“We haven’t located the body at this time, but that is one of our priorities to find out exactly where the body of Holly Bobo is,” Gwyn said. “We have been working on this case basically every day for three years. … Our work is not done. Obviously, we are happy to start bringing closure to this case, but we still have a long way to go. You should be expecting more announcements in the coming days and weeks.”
Zachary Adams’ brother Dylan Adams is a witness in the investigation along with others.
Anyone with information regarding the disappearance or death of Holly Bobo is asked to contact the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND (824-3462).
