The mother of the man convicted of killing Holly Bobo and his brother, who awaits trial, has insisted both her sons are innocent and that authorities have the wrong men.
Zachary Adams, 33, was convicted earlier this month of raping and murdering 20-year-old Bobo after abducting her from her home in Parsons, Tennessee, in 2011. He avoided the death penalty and has been sentenced to life in prison.
His brother, 29-year-old Dylan Adams, is awaiting his trial date. Prosecutors say he also raped Bobo, a nursing student, and helped his brother dispose of her body.
On Friday, their mother Cindy spoke to ABC’s 20/20 to protest their innocence.
Zachary Adams (left) has been convicted of Holly Bobo’s murder and sentenced to life plus 50 years. His brother Dylan (right) is awaiting trial but their mother says they are innocent
‘In my heart of hearts, I knew, I knew. I know my boys. They’re drug addicts. They’re n not murderers,’ she said.
The pair were arrested in 2014 after Bobo’s remains were found near their property.
A third man who claimed to be there on the day of her death gave damning testimony against them in exchange for the chance of immunity.
Prosecutors say Adams took Bobo from her home then back to his property where they gang raped and beat her.
They alleged that afterwards, he rolled Bobo up in a rug or blanket and put her in the back of her truck.
Jason Autry, the third man who claimed he was there, said he watched as she suddenly moved from inside the material.
He claimed Adams – who was in a ‘dark world of methamphetamine at the time – shot her in the head to silence her.
He was convicted of first degree rape, first degree murder and first degree kidnapping in Savannah, Tennessee, earlier this month.
Bobo was 20 when was taken from her home in Parsons, Tennessee, in 2011. Her remains were found three years later near Zachary Adams’ house
However his mother believes prosecutors and the jury got it wrong.
The brothers were looked at from the beginning of the investigation but were not the only suspects.
They were charged with Dylan confessed to the killing after being called in for an interview with police.
Jason Autry said he was with the brothers when they killed Bobo after raping her at Zachary’s house. He has also been charged but gave evidence in exchange for a lighter deal with prosecutors which is yet to be determined
His mother however says he has learning difficulties and that the confession was coerced – something his brother’s defense team said during his trial.
She said he has a low IQ and has to wear a digital watch because he struggles to tell him.
The woman claims that after watching a video tape of the confession, she was convinced her son did not give it voluntarily because detectives did most of the talking.
‘I just see someone being bullied into saying something they didn’t do,’ she said.
Afterwards, her son called her and made the same confession to her.
‘I get a call from Dylan and just what he tells me just kind of blows me away. He was just like, “Mom, I got something to tell you. I know that you’re not going to believe me, and I’m just so ashamed to even tell you, but Holly was at Zach’s house that day.”‘
She said she instinctively thought he’d been forced into it and replied: ‘Who is making you say this?’
The woman admitted questioning her sons repeatedly about Bobo’s disappearance but that she was merely concerned, like the rest of the town.
‘I have asked my boys over and over and over, you know, ‘Do you know anything about Holly? Do you know anybody that knows anything about Holly?”
‘[I asked] because this young [woman] was missing, and I was just trying to see if possibly, you know, they knew something that could be beneficial to help find Holly.’
The Adams’ brothers’ mother said she asked them repeatedly if they knew what had happened to Bobo before either was charged and says they knew nothing
Zachary (at his trial earlier this month) was in a ‘dark world of methamphetamine’ at the time of Bobo’s killing
During Zachary’s trial, his defense team pointed the finger at another local man – a convicted rapist known as ‘Chester the Molestor’.
The man, whose full name is Terry Britt, was looked into by police. Detectives even searched his home but found no evidence of any connection to Bobo’s disappearance.
No forensic evidence was found inside Adams’ home to prove that she was ever there.
Instead, prosecutors relied on damning witness testimony given by Autry and several other of the brothers’ acquaintances.
They included inmates who served time behind bars with Zachary as he awaited trial.
They claimed he told them he had been involved in the young woman’s death.
Autry has not yet been granted immunity. He remains behind bars on murder and kidnapping charges.
Prosecutors will now review his case along with Dylan Adams.
Bobo’s family (above) welcomed the jury’s verdict after Zachary Adams’ trial