Prosecutor: Man who killed Holly Bobo lived in ‘dark world’
September 12, 2017 by admin
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SAVANNAH, Tenn. (AP) — A man who lived in the “dark, dark world” of methamphetamine and morphine abducted a Tennessee nursing student from her rural home in 2011, then drugged, raped and shot her before discarding her body and bragging about it, a prosecutor said Monday.
Paul Hagerman made the statements during opening arguments in the trial of Zachary Adams in Savannah, Tennessee. Adams, 33, has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping, raping and killing Holly Bobo, who was 20 when she disappeared from her home in Parsons, Tennessee, on April 13, 2011. Her remains were found 3 ½ years later near her home in Decatur County, located about 100 miles (161 kilometers) southwest of Nashville.
Bobo’s disappearance led to a massive search of the fields, farms and woods of West Tennessee. Her case received national attention, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said it was the most exhaustive and expensive investigation the agency ever conducted.
Judge C. Creed McGinley moved the trial from Decatur County to neighboring Hardin County in order to secure an unbiased jury. Adams, who has a criminal record that includes drug possession and assault, faces the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder.
After kidnapping, drugging and raping Bobo, Adams wrapped her in a blanket and took her in his truck to a friend’s home, Hagerman said. He then called another friend, Jason Autry, and they went to the Tennessee River to “gut” her and put her in the water, Hagerman said.
Bobo made a sound and moved, so Adams shot her in the head, the prosecutor said. Adams got rid of her remains and described her to others in vulgar terms. He then bragged that the world would not find out what happened to Bobo, Hagerman said.
Two men looking for ginseng found Bobo’s remains in woods not far from Adams’ home in September 2014. Hagerman said authorities found a gun Adams used to kill Bobo.
“He took her, he raped her, he killed her, he discarded her, he covered it up, he almost got away with it,” he said. “But he didn’t.”
Jennifer Thompson, Adams’ defense attorney, said in her opening argument that her client is not guilty. She said Adams was charged after investigators interviewed several other men and they needed someone to blame. Authorities found no hair, fingerprints or DNA belonging to Bobo in a search of Adams’ home before he was charged in 2014, Thompson said.
Thompson said Autry, who also is charged with kidnapping, raping and killing Bobo, gave investigators statements about her killing in return for a reduced charge.
“He basically sells his death penalty” to prosecutors, Thompson said of Autry. “There are real problems with his story.”
Autry’s attorney told the judge in February that there is no need to schedule a trial for him, raising the possibility that Autry could testify.
Testifying later Monday, Bobo’s brother Clint said he thought his sister was walking with her boyfriend into woods behind her house on the day she went missing.
Clint Bobo said he heard voices coming from the carport behind the family’s home. He said he thought his sister was having a discussion with her boyfriend, Drew Scott, and they sounded upset.
When he looked outside, Clint Bobo said he saw his sister walking with a man wearing camouflage hunting gear into the tree-line. He said he thought it was Scott at first, but later realized the man looked heavier and stockier than his sister’s boyfriend, he said.
Clint Bobo said he went outside and saw blood in the carport.
Bobo said he spoke with his mother, Karen, on the phone. He said she told him the person was not Scott and ordered her son to “get a gun and shoot him.”
Bobo said he did not do that because he was confused about what was happening.
Clint Bobo said he met both Adams and Autry after his sister disappeared, as his family investigated tips received from local residents. He said the person who walked into the woods with his sister didn’t look like Adams or Autry.
The trial was briefly delayed when Karen Bobo passed out on the witness stand. McGinley said she had a legitimate medical issue and was not trying to garner sympathy from the jury. The judge denied the defense’s motion for a mistrial.
Karen Bobo was treated by paramedics before finishing her testimony.
The jury of 15 people is being sequestered. Three alternates will be chosen after testimony concludes.
Copyright © 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
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Equifax hit with at least 23 class-action lawsuits over massive cyberbreach
September 12, 2017 by admin
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Nearly half of all Americans are affected by a cyber security breach at Equifax, one of the nation’s three major credit-reporting agencies. Here’s how to avoid being a victim.
USA TODAY
Equifax faces at least 23 proposed class-action lawsuits since its disclosure that personal identifying information for 143 million U.S. consumers may have been compromised by a massive cyberbreach.
And additional cases are likely to come.
Federal court records show the lawsuits were filed through the weekend after the credit-reporting giant’s Thursday disclosure that a cyberattack by criminal hackers provided unauthorized access to information for nearly 44% of the U.S. population.
Separately, Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, respectively the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Finance, sent Equifax detailed questions about the breach on Monday.
A copy of the letter, reviewed by USA TODAY, shows the panel wants a detailed timeline of the breach, information about the company’s efforts to identify the number of consumers affected, the breadth of information compromised and the steps Equifax has taken to identify and limit potential consumer harm.
The relatively large number of new lawsuits against Equifax that seek class-action status signal the high legal stakes over the potential for identity-theft losses by millions of Americans whose personal data was exposed.
The cases also show an eagerness by plaintiff law firms to stake swift claims on behalf of consumers who eventually might be in line for a share of either a court judgment against Equifax or a settlement by the company.
”Equifax probably injured 143 million people, which is kind of a record,” said John Coffee, a Columbia Law School professor and director of the school’s Center on Corporate Governance. Although the extent of the damage hasn’t yet been determined, “with 143 million people it doesn’t surprise me there are already 23 suits,” said Coffee.
Equifax did not respond to emails seeking comment on the cases. However, the company acknowledged last week it expects costs related to the cyberattack. Shares of Equifax (EFX) closed down 8.2% at $113.12 in Monday trading, extending Friday’s nearly 13.7% plunge.
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The news from credit reporting company Equifax that 143 million Americans had their information exposed is very serious. Experts say once your personal data is out there, it’s basically out there forever. (Sept. 8)
AP
Unknown hackers carried out the cyberattack out from mid-May through July 2017. The resulting breach primarily involved names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and in some cases, driver’s license numbers, Equifax said last week.
The company said it discovered the intrusion on July 29, but it first disclosed the attack publicly on Sept. 7, after engaging an independent cybersecurity firm to conduct a forensic assessment and provide recommendations to toughen electronic security safeguards.
The Atlanta-based firm is one of the nation’s three largest credit-reporting and monitoring firms, along with Experian and TransUnion.
Equifax organizes and analyzes data on more than 820 million consumers and more than 91 million businesses worldwide. The company’s databases hold employee data submitted by more than 7,100 employers.
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Names, Social Security numbers and addresses of millions of people were exposed during the Equifax breach.
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The complaints:
Filed in 14 states and the District of Columbia, the federal lawsuits target either Equifax or the company’s Equifax Information Services subsidiary. The legal complaints cite a range of legal claims, including alleged security negligence by Equifax, the delay in alerting the public and concerns about the free credit monitoring service the company has offered consumers.
Noting that Equifax experienced smaller cyberbreaches in 2013, 2016, and earlier this year, the lawsuit filed in California federal court on behalf of Ehud Gersten and Hannah Obradovich charges the company “knew and should have known of the inadequacy of its own data security.”
Equifax’s delay in alerting consumers was “willful, or at least negligent,” argued the case filed in Illinois federal court on behalf of Dan Lang and Russell Pantek.
As a result, “consumers were deprived of their opportunity to meaningfully consider and address issues related to the potential fraud, as well as to avail themselves of the remedies available under the FCRA (U.S. Fair Credit Reporting Act) to prevent further dissemination of their private information,” the Illinois lawsuit alleged.
A California federal court lawsuit filed on behalf of Richard Spicer and Julia Gutierrez in part focused on Equifax’s offer to register consumers for a free year of credit monitoring from TrustedID.
“Equifax failed to disclose to consumers that it owned TrustedID, and its long-term business model turns on baiting consumers into signing up for its services,” the California case alleged. “In other words, Equifax sought to turn its failure to protect consumers’ sensitive data into a clandestine money-making opportunity.”
The company separately drew legal criticism from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office over an implication that those who registered for TrustedID would waive their rights to pursue class-action lawsuits and instead would have to pursue legal claims through arbitration.
Schneiderman is investigating the Equifax cyberbreach. Late Friday, the company said the waiver requirement applied only to the offer of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection, “not the cybersecurity incident.”
How the legal process could play out:
Barring any pretrial settlement, the cases would likely go through a legal culling process.
First, a federal panel on multidistrict litigation would likely to consolidate the cases in a single lawsuit on behalf of all consumers claiming harm, and assign that case to a judge, said Coffee. In turn, the judge would likely determine which law firm or firms would serve as lead plaintiff counsel — a designation that typically brings a larger percentage share of any settlement or judgment.
Although the lawsuits seek class-action status, such a designation typically is approved by a federal court only after extensive legal arguments from plaintiff and defense lawyers.
In a Thursday online notice to investors, Equifax said it was too early “to provide specific estimates of the costs we expect to incur related to the cybersecurity incident.”
While anticipating “some disruption to our business,” Equifax said it “remains committed to delivering on the long term financial model of 7-10% revenue growth and 11%-14% growth in adjusted earnings per share on average over a business cycle.”
Follow USA TODAY reporter Kevin McCoy on Twitter: @kmccoynyc