As the trial of Zachary Adams got underway in Hardin County, Holly Bobo's father testified as the state's first witness.
PHOTOS: Day One Of Holly Bobo Murder Trial
Timeline: Holly Bobo Murder Trial Day 1
Adams' trial began Monday in Savannah, Tennessee, about 100 miles southwest of Nashville. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, rape and murder.
Bobo was 20 when she disappeared from her home in the rural West Tennessee town of Parsons in April 2011. Authorities say her remains were found in September 2014 by two men in woods not far from her home in Decatur County.
Judge C. Creed McGinley moved the trial to neighboring Hardin County because of widespread attention it received closer to Bobo's home.
As opening statements got underway, Prosecutor Paul Hagerman presented the state's case.
"He took her. He raped her. He killed her. He discarded her. He covered it up. And he almost got away it," Hagerman said.
Bobo's father, Dana, took the stand as the state's first witness.
You have to imagine that Holly's dad never thought this day would actually come. Taking the stand in his daughter's murder trial #hollybobopic.twitter.com/QfNqyCD7my
— Chris Conte (@NC5_ChrisConte) September 11, 2017
"It was the worst feeling you could possibly feel, that something bad happened to one of your kids," he said, holding back tears.
Opening Statements & Testimony of Dana Bobo
Bobo's mother, Karen Bobo, also took the stand. She pushed back tears as the initial 911 call was played in the courtroom.
"Somebody has my daughter! They have kidnapped her! Please get here now," Karen said in the phone call.
The state asked her to go through the lunch box she had packed for Holly the day she went missing. The act made her emotional. She fought through tears as she pulled out a water bottle and other items. She was also asked to identify Holly's tattered and torn purse along with the contents inside
Yet, it quickly became too much for Karen and she passed out cold on the witness stand.
Karen Bobo just passed out on the stand. Judge calls for a nurse. She can be heard sobbing uncontrollably #hollybobo
— Chris Conte (@NC5_ChrisConte) September 11, 2017
The trial went into recess for about half an hour. Before Karen and the jury returned to the courtroom the Defense asked for a mistrial due to the incident, which Judge McGinnley denied.
He also denied their request for a recess in order to cross examine Karen Tuesday, but McGinnley also denied the request.
She was cleared by the EMTs who checked her out, and she took the stand for a second time for cross examination.
Clint Bobo, Holly Bobo's brother, took the stand next. He said he was woken up by the family dog on the day his sister disappeared.
He went on to testify that he heard voices of a man and woman outside the home. He then told the jury that he saw a man dressed in camouflage talking to Holly.
The Defense cross examined Clint, saying that he may have been pushed by investigators desperate to solve the case, but Clint said with every interrogation he always told officers the truth and stuck to the same story.
Testimonies of Karen Bobo & Clint Bobo
Next was a neighbor of the Bobo family, John Babb. Babb to the jury he was outside with a friend when the alleged abduction happened.
He allegedly heard what he thought at the time was cats fighting, but his friend told him it sounded like a woman's screams.
The last person to take the stand was an officer who responded to the call and spoke to Clint.
The jury was selected Saturday. It is being sequestered. Adams faces the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder.
Timeline: Holly Bobo Murder Trial Day 2
Bobo Jurors See Crime Scene Photos As Testimony Resumes
Jurors See Items Found Near Holly Bobo's Remains
