The man suspected of the 2011 kidnapping and murder of Holly Bobo pleaded not guilty on Tuesday.

Zachary Adams was arraigned on the charges related to Bobo’s death in a Decatur County, Tenn. courtroom in a hearing that lasted approximately five minutes. Attorney Jennifer Lynn Thompson entered the plea on behalf of Adams.

When questioned about his role in the Bobo case, Adams told the Jackson Sun, “I’m not the one.”

Despite his claims, prosecutors seem prepared to go forward with a case against Adams, whose connection to the victim remains shrouded in mystery. Many questions remain, especially the role that investigators feel that Adams has to the disappearance and death of Bobo.

Nashville defense attorney David Raybin believes that the most likely explanation for the timing of charge is that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation likely found significant evidence. This would certainly explain sudden increase of activity in a case that had gone quite cold, despite the reluctance of investigators to come forward with what generated the turnaround in the case.

TBI director: Bobo suspect tried smuggling meth into jail: On the same day Zachary Adams pleaded not guilty fo… http://t.co/DfeMZPDahx

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Raybin suspects that a reason there has been no mention of a body despite the murder charge is that investigators believe that there is no way Bobo’s remains will ever be found.

Said Raybin, “They may have concluded that…the case is not going to get any stronger. Witnesses die and evidence evaporates.” The lawyer shared that he believed the prosecution was faced with a “now or never” scenario.

Ronda Philpott, a former student at the school where Bobo’s mother taught says that the community has largely accepted that the 20-year-old nursing student is probably deceased. Said Philpott, “The most important thing now is for her poor family to have some peace.”

Prior to the recent movement in the case, Bobo’s family had held on to the narrow hope that Bobo was alive, but simply unable to come home.

Should Adams be convicted for Bobo’s murder, the prosecution is considering asking for the death penalty.

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