Skull in Tenn. woods identified as missing student Holly Bobo's

Anonymous/ASSOCIATED PRESS

The skull found in rural Tennessee was identified late Monday as belonging to a missing nursing student, authorities said.

Two men found the human remains of Holly Bobo in Decatur County Sunday near a property owned by the family of murder suspect Zachary Adams, said Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) Director Mark Gwyn.

'You can imagine the emotional roller coaster that they've been on,' the Bobo family's attorney, Steve Farese, said.

Adams has been charged with kidnapping and murdering the 20-year-old who from her home in April 2011. He pleaded not guilty and could face the death penalty.

'The evidence is voluminous,' District Attorney Matt Stowe said, according to news3blog.blogspot.com. 'We are going to make sure that everyone who played a part in the heinous crime that has attacked the peace and dignity of the state of Tennessee faces a consequence for that.'

The recently elected official said his office is preparing to seek a death penalty in the case and that a decision is expected within weeks - after consultation with the young woman's family.

Another man, Jason Autry, also faces murder and kidnapping charges. He also pleaded not guilty.

Two brothers, Jeffrey Kurt Pearcy and Mark Pearcy, also face charges in Bobo's death: tampering with evidence and accessory after the fact in the case.

Both pleaded not guilty.

Gwyn said the Bobo investigation has been the most expensive and exhaustive in TBI history. hER family will issue a statement later Tuesday, Stowe said.

With News Wire Services

mwalsh@nydailynews.com