S9 Ep9: S9, The State v. Dylan Adams - Episode 5 - Take Me to the River

Summary of S9 Ep9: S9, The State v. Dylan Adams - Episode 5 - Take Me to the River

by Undisclosed

1h 16m•November 2, 2026
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Overview of S9 Ep9: S9, The State v. Dylan Adams - Episode 5 - Take Me to the River

This episode tracks how the prosecution’s theory in the Holly Bobo case kept shifting as investigators failed to find physical evidence at the Adams residence, then tried to build the case around increasingly conflicting witness statements, immunity deals, and a disputed timeline centered on the Tennessee River. The hosts argue that the state repeatedly reshaped the narrative around Dylan Adams, Shane Austin, and Jason Autry to fit what prosecutors wanted to prove rather than what the evidence actually showed.

Core Focus of the Episode

The failed search of the Adams residence

  • Dylan Adams claimed Holly Bobo had been brought to the Adams family home and bled there.
  • TBI agent Jeff Jackson pushed for detailed descriptions of where blood had supposedly pooled.
  • Police conducted a “down to the studs” search, tearing up floors and taking the couch and other items.
  • No DNA or forensic evidence was found connecting Holly to the house, which seriously weakened that version of events.

The coon hunt and Shane Austin theory

  • The state tried to connect Shane Austin to Holly through a witness, Candace Wood, who recalled seeing a man at the coon hunt with:
    • camouflage clothing
    • reddish hair
    • a tall, heavy build
    • a black flip phone
  • She later identified that man as Shane, but the episode highlights major problems:
    • her initial description was vague and likely influenced by later exposure to Shane’s photo
    • she did not mention Shane’s obvious facial scar or damaged eye
  • Shane’s injuries from a motorcycle crash were highly distinctive, making the identification questionable.
  • The hosts argue the TBI anchored on the coon hunt as the moment Shane supposedly fixated on Holly, even though the description was shaky.

Shane Austin’s Immunity Deal and Collapse of the State’s Theory

Immunity in exchange for cooperation

  • Shane later received immunity in exchange for assisting authorities with Holly’s body.
  • The deal covered charges tied to the disposal, burial, or concealment of Holly’s body.
  • Shane had addiction problems, no real resources, and was facing serious charges, making the deal extremely tempting.

Shane’s claimed statement

  • Authorities said Shane told them that Zach Adams admitted dumping Holly’s body in the Tennessee River.
  • Shane passed two polygraphs, but the state still claimed he was lying.
  • His immunity was later revoked, and he was recharged.

The discovery of Holly’s remains

  • Holly’s remains were found by a ginseng hunter, Larry Stone, in a wooded area northwest of her home — not in the Tennessee River.
  • Items found near the remains included:
    • parts of Holly’s skull and bones
    • jewelry and personal items
    • a .380 shell casing
  • The discovery undermined the claim that her body had been dumped in the river.
  • The episode emphasizes that the location strongly matched an earlier theory from U.S. Marshal Walker that Holly had been killed in that wooded area.

Brady Material and Internal Conflict

Marshal Walker’s warning

  • Marshal Walker said he had provided the TBI with material supporting a very different timeline and location theory.
  • He feared the state was suppressing exculpatory evidence that matched witness accounts and the phone-location data.
  • He says the TBI retaliated against him with rumors and an internal affairs complaint.

What the episode implies

  • The hosts portray the TBI as dismissive of evidence that contradicted its preferred story.
  • Walker’s account suggests the state ignored a more consistent timeline because it conflicted with the river-dump theory.

Shane Austin’s Death

  • Shane later died by suicide in a Florida hotel room.
  • The state tried to interpret his death as a guilty conscience.
  • His family argued the state’s harassment and pressure worsened his existing struggles.
  • A letter found after his death suggested he believed the TBI was willing to “hang three innocent men knowingly.”

Jason Autry’s Cooperation and Testimony

How Jason entered the case

  • Jason Autry became a cooperating witness in 2017.
  • He received a deal ensuring no extra prison time beyond a sentence he was already serving.
  • The episode suggests the state carefully shaped his testimony using discovery and guidance from investigators.

Concerns about his timeline

Jason’s trial account is presented as deeply inconsistent with Dylan’s and with physical evidence:

  • He said he was in Camden on the morning of the abduction.
  • He claimed he met Zach Adams after a phone call around 8:55 a.m.
  • He said he arrived at Shane Austin’s trailer roughly 20–30 minutes later.
  • He described buying a morphine pill, returning later, and seeing Holly’s body in the back of Zach’s truck.
  • He said Zach planned to dispose of Holly’s body and later shot her near the Tennessee River.

Major contradictions

The episode highlights several conflicts:

  • Jason’s account does not align with Dylan’s timeline.
  • Jason and Dylan give incompatible stories about where they were and what happened.
  • Jason’s story about Zach and Shane going to the Bobo home to “teach Clint how to cook meth” appears to have come from investigators, especially Jeff Jackson.
  • The state’s theory changed repeatedly, making Jason’s testimony look more like a manufactured narrative than independent truth.

The Story of the Alleged Murder and Cover-Up

Jason’s testimony included the state’s most graphic version of events:

  • Zach and Shane allegedly abducted Holly after arriving at the Bobo residence.
  • Holly was supposedly moved multiple times.
  • Jason claimed the group drove toward the Tennessee River to dispose of the body.
  • He described a moment where Holly was allegedly still alive and Zach shot her.

The episode frames this as both disturbing and implausible:

  • the body was allegedly in a truck while law enforcement was active in the area
  • the plan supposedly changed midstream
  • the locations and timelines do not match the physical evidence

Main Takeaways

  • The state’s theory kept changing: from ransom, to sexual motive, to coon-hunt fixation, to river dumping, to a shifting series of confessions.
  • Physical evidence didn’t support the prosecution’s preferred narrative at the Adams home or the Tennessee River.
  • Witness testimony appears highly contaminated by police suggestions, immunity deals, and pressure.
  • Shane Austin, Dylan Adams, and Jason Autry all became part of a prosecution story that the episode argues was built from unreliable or coached statements.
  • The discovery of Holly’s remains and related evidence more strongly supports a wooded-area death site than a Tennessee River dumping theory.

Bottom Line

This episode argues that the Holly Bobo case prosecution was driven less by solid forensic proof than by evolving theories, pressured witnesses, and investigators trying to force evidence into a predetermined storyline. The result, according to the hosts, was a deeply unstable case built on conflicting timelines and questionable identifications.