Holly Bobo murder-kidnap suspect pleads not guilty
DECATUR COUNTY, Tenn. - Zachary Adams, the man charged with kidnapping and murdering Tennessee nursing student Holly Bobo, who disappeared in April 2011, pleaded not guilty Tuesday.
Adams, 29, arrived at the courthouse in Decatur County wearing a striped prison uniform and shackles on his arms and legs. He said little during the hearing, other than, "Yes, sir" when the judge asked him whether he understood the charges against him. He was accompanied by his attorney Jennifer Lynn Thompson.
Bobo's father, mother and brother were present for the arraignment.
The judge set a status date in the case for April 9 and said he wants to "keep the case moving."
Adams was charged last Wednesday with especially aggravated kidnapping and first-degree felony murder. He was initially arrested on Feb. 28 on an unrelated assault charge as his home was searched in connection with the Bobo case.
Bobo disappeared from her home in Parsons, Tenn., about 110 miles southwest of Nashville, in April 2011. Her brother told police he saw a man in camouflage leading her into the woods surrounding the family home.
In announcing the charges against Adams last week, District Attorney General Hansel McCadams said the grand jury felt there was enough evidence to prove that Bobo was "forcefully taken from her home without her consent" and "killed in the perpetration of that kidnapping."
Investigators have not commented on what led to the charges against Adams and they have not revealed whether Bobo's body has been found. A possible motive also has not been named in the case.
Adams' property in Decatur County is about 15 miles from Bobo's home but Cindy Adams, Zachary's mother, has said the two did not run in the same circles.
She did, however, say that Bobo's mother, Karen, was her son Zachary's elementary school teacher.
Authorities say they have not ruled out other arrests in the case.