On Tuesday, a chancery court judge said that she does not have the jurisdiction to preside over an immunity agreement dispute in the Holly Bobo case. The case will be moved from the Decatur County Chancery Court to the Decatur County Circuit Court.
Holly Bobo was a 20-year-old woman who went missing in 2011. She was last seen by a relative who reported that a man was dragging Bobo toward a wooded area. Her body has not been seen since the incident.
Two men have already been charged with kidnapping and murder, but the authorities are still looking for Bobo’s body.
On March 6, the prosecution granted Shayne Austin, one of the suspects, an immunity agreement in exchange for aiding the investigators in finding the location of Bobo’s body. The agreement stated that it “agrees to grant him (Shayne Austin) immunity for all charges arising out of the disposal, destruction, burial and/or concealment of Holly Bobo’s Deaceased body, conditioned upon him assisting us in recovering the body of Holly Lynn Bobo.”
However, the prosecutors revoked the immunity agreement, as they said Austin was not cooperative with them, which makes the deal null and void. With this, Austin can now be indicted.
#HollyBobo case: Shayne Austin due in court today after immunity deal pulled. http://t.co/CVaBloKBk4 pic.twitter.com/PM33PrefBz
— WZTV FOX 17 (@wztv_fox17) May 27, 2014
Jake Evans, Austin’s lawyer, countered the prosecution by filing a breach of contract lawsuit in order to prevent the indictment of his client. Although Austin has not yet been charged, the defense states that the prosecutors are violating his rights. The defense is demanding an explanation why the immunity deal was revoked.
Shayne Austin appears in court
No date has been set for the hearing at the circuit court.
Outside the court, Austin was greeted with reporters asking for comments. He refused to answer questions and just said, “No comment.”
Bobo’s family was also present in court. Bobo’s mother, Karen, said off camera that Holly’s rights should not be forgotten. “Justice for Holly and ignore this circus side show that these attorneys are having,” she said.
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