More arrests are likely in connection with the disappearance and murder of Holly Bobo, a 20-year-old nursing student, officials said Tuesday.
A human skull, suspected to be that of Bobo, was found in Decatur, Sunday. Officials citing a report from a medical examiner confirmed that the remains belonged to Bobo, who was reported missing April 2011. She was a nursing student at the University of Tennessee at Martin.
During Tuesday's press conference, Decatur County Sheriff Keith Byrd said that finding Bobo's murderers and those involved in the crime is his top priority. "We're gonna hunt these people until we find them. They can run, but they can't hide," he said, reports The Tennessean.
As reported earlier, two men, Jason Wayne Autry and Zachary Rye Adams, were charged with murder and aggravated kidnapping in the case. Officials also charged Tennessee brothers Mark and Jeffrey Pearcy for tampering with the evidence.
Meanwhile, Bobo's family issued a statement Tuesday saying that her killers have "lost their souls."
"We've lost a precious daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin and friend," family attorney Steve Farese said at a news conference along with the Bobo family, reports WSMV.com. "However, those responsible have lost their souls. Holly's soul is the one thing that their brutality could not diminish or extinguish."
"We will never understand the actions or the motives of those who took Holly from us, but we continue to pray that someone will have the courage to step forward and shed more light on this senseless tragedy," Farese said in the statement.
According to family friend Tammy Ramey, the tight-knit community of Darden, where Holly vanished from her family home, will continue to come together for justice.
"Justice for Holly will be getting everyone involved in her kidnapping and her death and all of it (and) all of them prosecuted to the fullest extent," Ramey said, reports NBC News.
Prosecutors said they will try to seek death penalty.
