A new person was named for the first time in preparation for the trial for murdered Tennessee nursing student Holly Bobo. The attorney for one of the murder suspects asked for information about convicted sex offender Terry Britt during a motion last week.

“The tape recorded interview of Terry Britt on 5-10-13,” Jennifer Thompson, attorney for Zach Adams, said at the motion, asking for information about Britt.

Adams’ trial is set to begin in September after the judge denied requests to delay it. Adams, alongside his brother John Adams and another man, Jason Autry, were charged with Bobo’s murder, kidnapping and rape. Bobo went missing in 2011 after disappearing in the woods behind her family’s West Tennessee home. Her body was found three years later near the Adams’ home.

Local news outlet WSMV-TV investigated why lawyers might be seeking additional information about Britt, a convicted sex offender. Britt was indicted for a separate kidnapping and rape just 10 months after Bobo disappeared. Their houses were also just 10 miles apart. Britt’s history of sex crimes includes a rape in 1977, sexual battery in 1987 and another rape in 1996. Britt remained behind bars at the Northwest Correctional Complex for aggravated kidnapping and attempted rape. He was set to be released in November 2018.

Britt was questioned by investigators at the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) after Bobo went missing. His wife confirmed to WSMV that their home was also searched. It remained unclear whether Britt was ever officially cleared in connection with the case, as TBI would not confirm that he was. Britt’s wife staunchly denied her husband had anything to do with Bobo’s disappearance or death and said she was with him the day Bobo disappeared.

The mother of two of the suspects, however, said she harbored suspicions about the investigation.

“It just overwhelms me to read all of this information and to not know why this guy was not further investigated. I mean, it breaks my heart,” Cindy Adams told WSMV in May. “I think the TBI just wanted an arrest. They really didn’t care who they arrest. It boils down to that.”

Adam’s attorney was reportedly set to voice an alternative argument once the trial begins, one that raised questions about why Britt wasn’t the investigators’ primary suspect. His trial was scheduled to begin September 11 after an initial delay. The trial was first delayed in July after additional evidence was found relating to the case. Authorities discovered a gun over Memorial Day weekend this year that they said was linked to Bobo’s death. Adams’ defense team argued they needed more time to analyze the gun.

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