Video shows key witness in Holly Bobo case recanting testimony about witnessing murder
The judge is currently considering if a hearing is now warranted.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - To read about a key witness in a high-profile murder case recanting his testimony is one thing.
To watch him do it is another.
WSMV4 Investigates has obtained in-prison video of Jason Autry, the state’s key witness in the Holly Bobo case, admitting he lied about Zach Adams murdering the nursing student.
Until now, local media outlets, including WSMV4, have only been able to report on court filings that mentioned Autry’s recanting. The video shows what Autry says happened during the recanting itself.
Being interviewed by a neuropsychiatrist while in prison on Dec. 22, 2023, Autry begins by stating his name and then laughing, apparently about saying his name while looking into the camera. But the conversation then turns serious, as Autry says he doesn’t remember the details about the day Bobo disappeared, stating that she is his second cousin.
Autry asserts his innocence regarding the crime, but that his attorney made it clear that the state was closing in on him and others.
“(My attorney) said somebody’s got to pay. Jason, is it going to be you? And I said, no, I ain’t paying,” Autry said.
Autry said his attorney reminded him that his history of crimes did not bode well for him.
“I’ve done a lot of damn crimes in my life,” Autry admits.
Autry remembered asking his attorney what prosecutors wanted.
“I need to know what they want. What do they want from me? (His attorney said) they want you to testify. Straight up about it. They need someone on the stand. They need a mouthpiece. In my mind, I can go free. I think I can sell that,” Autry said.
Autry claims his attorney and a private investigator helped him fabricate the story, using phone records and details from the TBI.
“We put the story together in about three days,” Autry said.
WSMV4 Investigates is not naming his attorney or the private investigator, as there is no evidence backing up Autry’s claims and no action has been taken by the courts.
Autry received partial immunity for testifying that Adams shot and killed Bobo under a bridge.
But after Autry said he told the story in court, he felt such guilt that he attempted to take his own life in prison.
Autry talked about not making eye contact with Adams in court that day.
“That’s the worst I ever felt in my life coming back. Knowing that you just lied and put an innocent man in prison,” Autry said.
Autry said in the video that he’s dedicated to seeing Adams freed.
“If that helps me sleep better at night, so be it. I got myself in this s***, I know how to get out,” Autry said.
No physical evidence connected anyone to Bobo’s death, and Adams was ultimately sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole. Autry pleaded guilty to his involvement in the crime and left prison in 2020 but was later indicted on a federal gun charge in 2021.
A federal hearing in Jackson, TN on Monday to discuss Autry’s sentencing on the gun charge, but it is unclear if the judge made a ruling.
Following Autry’s recorded recanting, Adams’ attorney has now asked for a new hearing citing new evidence, and a judge is considering whether to grant that request.
WSMV4 Investigates will keep you posted on the judges’ decisions in both matters.
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