Overview of S9 Ep7: The State v. Dylan Adams – Episode 4 (“Being There”)
This episode argues that Dylan Adams, a young man with intellectual disability, was pushed into making false or highly contaminated statements about the Holly Bobo case through prolonged, coercive police interrogations. The hosts use Being There as a framing metaphor: just as Chance rises by repeating what others say, Dylan appears to have been led into repeating investigators’ theories back to them until they became his “confession.” The episode focuses on how investigators shifted attention away from an earlier suspect and toward the “A-team” of Jason Autry, Zach Adams, Shane Austin, and Dylan Adams, while repeatedly pressuring Dylan without a lawyer present.
Core Argument
The episode’s central claim is that Dylan’s statements were not a reliable, independent confession, but the product of:
- Repeated interrogations
- Leading questions and suggestive facts from investigators
- Dylan’s intellectual disability and vulnerability
- A prosecutorial strategy that created leverage through separate gun charges
- Pressure to align his story with the state’s preferred theory
The hosts connect this to research showing that people with intellectual disability are especially vulnerable to false confessions, particularly in sexual murder cases involving multiple suspects.
Investigation Timeline and Shift in Focus
Early focus on Terry Britt
- In 2012–2013, some investigators strongly believed Terry Britt was responsible for Holly Bobo’s murder.
- TBI agent Terry Dicus reportedly built a presentation arguing Britt was the likely killer.
- After agency leadership changed, Dicus was told to stop focusing on Britt.
Change in leadership and direction
- The episode describes a broader internal shift in the TBI after John Mayer was replaced by Jack Van Hooser.
- Former agent Valerie Trout is quoted as saying the case changed after Mayer left and that Van Hooser’s approach was the “antithesis” of Mayer’s.
- Dicus was eventually removed from the case after resisting pressure to use a “re-technique” on Clint Bobo.
The A-team becomes the new focus
The investigation then redirected toward:
- Jason Autry
- Zach Adams
- Shane Austin
- Dylan Adams
The hosts argue that this shift was not driven by solid new evidence, but by a new investigative narrative and selective pressure-building.
Why Dylan Adams Was a Target
The episode emphasizes that Dylan was especially vulnerable because of his background:
- He had been in special education
- Family members described him as having a below-average IQ
- He had trouble with reading, telling time, and handling money
- He lived with family and struggled to maintain independence
- Loved ones described him as gentle, loyal, and easily influenced
This made him, in the hosts’ view, a particularly easy person for investigators to manipulate.
The Gun Case as Leverage
A major thread in the episode is how prosecutors used an unrelated federal gun case to pressure Dylan.
Jason Kilzer incident
- Dylan was associated with Jason Kilzer, whose family had a gun issue involving a revolver in a satchel bag.
- Prosecutor Beth Boswell brought federal charges against Dylan tied to the firearm.
- The hosts argue these charges were strategically used to put Dylan in custody and increase pressure on him.
Why this mattered
The episode argues that once Dylan was jailed, investigators had leverage to:
- Interview him repeatedly
- Push him toward implicating his brother and others
- Create a path toward a plea deal in the Bobo case
Sheila Kilzer’s Call and the “Confession” Theory
A major turning point comes from a phone call from Sheila Kilzer to TBI agent Brent Booth in January 2014.
What Sheila supposedly reported
According to Booth’s report, Sheila said Dylan had told her:
- He knew what happened to Holly
- He had “walked in on it”
- Holly was taken as part of a plan involving extortion
- Jason Autry (“A-Train”) and others were involved
- Holly was taken to a family property and beaten
Problems with the report
The hosts point out several issues:
- The story sounds implausible
- Booth’s report contains factual errors
- “A-Train” is actually Jason Autry’s nickname, not Zach Adams’
- Some details were later shown or suggested to be false
The episode presents three possibilities:
- Sheila invented the story to help her son
- Sheila relayed only a small portion, and Booth embellished the rest
- Sheila’s account was accurate, but investigators still pressured Dylan into adopting a more complete version
The hosts lean toward the second or third explanation, while emphasizing that law enforcement used the report as a weapon.
Coercive Interrogation of Dylan
The most important section of the episode details Dylan’s interrogations by Brent Booth and Jeff Jackson.
What the hosts say happened
- Dylan was questioned multiple times
- He was without a lawyer
- Investigators fed him details and pushed him toward adopting their theory
- They told him others had already implicated him or confessed
- They treated his brother Zach and others as already guilty
Key interrogation tactics highlighted
- Suggesting specific people, places, and timelines
- Repeating the same accusations until Dylan adjusted his story
- Creating the impression that law enforcement already knew the truth
- Telling Dylan that another suspect had confessed
- Pressuring him to “fill in” details investigators wanted
The hosts argue this is exactly the kind of environment that can produce a false confession from someone with intellectual disability.
How Dylan’s Story Changed
The episode traces how Dylan’s account evolved under pressure:
- At first, he said he was with Jason and Zach but didn’t know what they were doing
- Later, investigators introduced the idea that they were discussing abducting Holly
- Then the story expanded to include:
- Holly being taken to different locations
- A basement
- A gun being found
- Zach allegedly warning Dylan to stay quiet
- Jason and Zach forcing Dylan into participation
The hosts argue that many of these details appear to have been introduced by investigators, not spontaneously by Dylan.
Dennis Benjamin’s Role
The episode also focuses on Dennis Benjamin, a retired Memphis police officer working for the Bobos.
His involvement
- Benjamin was told Dylan was “fragile” and would talk
- He interacted with another suspect, Victor Dinsmore
- Benjamin later supervised Dylan after Dylan was released on a plea deal
Why this matters
The hosts present Benjamin’s role as deeply troubling because:
- He was part of the pressure apparatus surrounding Dylan
- He helped maintain the state’s narrative
- His placement as Dylan’s supervisor appears to have been designed to keep Dylan aligned with the state’s story
Major Takeaways
- The episode argues that Dylan Adams was not a reliable independent witness, but a vulnerable young man who was pushed into saying what investigators wanted to hear.
- Investigators appear to have used multiple-suspect dynamics to falsely strengthen the case against Dylan.
- The federal gun case gave prosecutors powerful leverage over him.
- The hosts see the investigation as increasingly built on contamination, coercion, and narrative-fitting rather than solid evidence.
- Dylan’s statements later helped the state build a case against the broader “A-team,” but the episode suggests those statements were deeply compromised.
Bottom Line
This episode portrays the Dylan Adams investigation as a cautionary example of how vulnerable suspects can be shaped by police pressure. Rather than uncovering truth, the hosts argue, investigators steered Dylan into adopting a story that fit their theory—one that may have been heavily influenced, if not outright manufactured, during custodial questioning.