They tied his hands behind his back and wrapped his face in a bandana. Horrifying facts and disturbing details about real cases that shocked. He presents compelling testimony of how he is overcoming the anger that most East Tennesseans saw played out during news articles throughout the trials and appeals.[155]. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. During sentencing, Judge Baumgartner said the crime was "one of the most incredibly outrageous, cruel and inhumane cases this court has ever seen." Blackwood sentenced Coleman to 35 years in prison on February 1, 2013, minus credit for time already served. So horrific and evil. And so did all their friends. On January 6, 2007, couple Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom were out in East Knoxville. [86] The attorneys for Thomas filed a motion for a speedy trial, arguing there was no forensic link between their client and the crime scene. Channon Gail Christian, aged 21, and Hugh Christopher Newsom Jr., aged 23, were from Knoxville, Tennessee, United States.They were kidnapped on the evening of January 6, 2007, when Christian's vehicle was carjacked.The couple were taken to a rental house. However, before Lomonaco objected, Mileusnic-Polchan testified that Christian was found in "a forced fetal position" inside a trash can. [49][50][51][52][53][54], Christian was held prisoner inside Davidson's house, mostly in the north bedroom. She was a graduate of Farragut High School and a senior at the. "One down. [128], Vanessa Coleman, the only female charged and convicted in the crimes, is held at the Tennessee Prison for Women, now known as the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center, in Nashville. Chris was tied up and removed to the train tracks. Their vehicle had been carjacked. ON January 6, 2007, 15 years ago this week, a young White couple, Christopher Newsom and his girlfriend Channon Christian, went to visit a friend in Knoxville, Tennessee. .searchbrowse-wrap {width:100%; margin: 0 0 10%; padding: 0 0 5% 0; border-bottom: 1px #e5e5e5 solid;} "It appeared to be contact, which means the muzzle of the gun had touched the head," she said. More details as they develop online and in Tuesday's News Sentinel. [10][51] Though there was semen inside of Newsom's body, DNA in the semen had been destroyed by the fire. Reportedly, they had dinner at a local restaurantand then visited a friend. "I was shocked (to see Davidson) because (Davidson's) house was on the news," Armstrong said. Davidson was then interrogated about the murders. By Jamie Satterfield of the Knoxville News Sentinel. [1] Boyd and. In the interview with Knoxville Police Department Investigators Patty Tipton and Greg McKnight, Boyd insisted everything he knew about the fatal carjacking came from Davidson. On appeal, Boyd alleges 1. Browse 5,356 autopsy stock photos and images available, or search for autopsy table or autopsy reports to find more great stock photos and pictures. [47][48][49][50] He was then taken to a set of railroad tracks where he was forced to walk barefoot to the location where he was murdered. [3][49][55] Prosecutors believe that Coleman held Christian captive while the male offenders were murdering Newsom. So not only is there no evidence of any racial animus, there's evidence to the contrary. Knoxville investigators did not find Christian until the following Tuesday. She recalled crime-scene footage on an 11 p.m. newscast but insisted she paid it no mind. [9], Four of the five defendants (Eric Boyd, Letalvis Cobbins, Lemaricus Davidson, and George Thomas) had multiple prior felony convictions. We see this as a cold-blooded murder. Kicking her time and christopher autopsy report or at this world right above my comments are not edit took the weight. Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom in Knoxville, Tennessee. One of the charges against the 41-year-old Moore is torture. ul.searchbrowse {font-family:'Myriad W01 Regular', sans-serif; color: #676767; margin:0; text-transform: capitalize;} Unfortunately for Christopher, the neck gunshot didn't work, and he suffered through the sharp pain as they fatally shot him in the head. [134][135][136][137] At the December 2014 hearing, Coleman was denied parole and her next parole consideration date was set for December 2020. "I may go to Labor Ready occasionally so I can get a little more buzz money.". Upon discovering the corpses of Christopher Newsom, 23, and his girlfriend, Channon Christian, 21, on January 7 and 8, 2007, respectively, Knoxville, Tennessee authorities stonewalled the media as to the cause of death and the bodies' condition. He was later driven to nearby railroad tracks where he was shot and set afire. He also admitted that Boyd later called him, asking Armstrong to give the pair a ride "down west.". Her head was forced down onto her knees. Thomas was granted the motion and was scheduled to go on trial on August 11, 2008. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Channon was tied up and removed to a trash can. Cobbins is the first of four defendants to be tried. Then, they covered his head with a sweatshirt that they fastened around his neck with shoestrings. Jamie Satterfield is an award-winning journalist specializing in the law and crime. While Channon was forced to watch, her boyfriend was raped prison style. She returned from Atlanta later that night. Update 8/13/19:Eric Boyd was found guiltyof Channon and Christophers 2007 murder. Although Christian sustained multiple blows to the head and other trauma, she ultimately suffocated after being placed in the plastic bags. Coleman is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence set to end in 2036, officials said. Another witness who lived around one block from 2316 Chipman Street heard three pops from the direction of the train tracks at about 1:45 am. Judge Thomas T. Woodall wrote in his opinion: "The facts at trial showed that (Coleman) was in the (Chipman Street) house for nearly two days where (Christian) was confined and brutally raped before she was tied up, wrapped in five plastic trash bags and stuffed into a garbage can, where she died from asphyxiationIn journal entries (written after the slayings, Coleman) described 'one hell of an adventure in the big T.N.' On not really around my best lifetime. A woman accused him of trading legal favors for sex during breaks in court sessions. The medical examiner testified at trial that there was evidence that Christian slowly suffocated to death. In her testimony this afternoon, Milieusnic-Polchan described the path of the bullet as having a downward trajectory, which would mean that either Newsom was forced to kneel or the gunman was significantly taller than Newsom, who was more than 6 feet tall himself. That's all he'd say.". "We know from our investigation that the people charged in this case were friends with white people, socialized with white people, dated white people. "I told them when I left they were welcome to have whatever food I had," she said. [78], The four suspects indicted in Knox County were scheduled to be tried separately at trials between May and August 2008. His body would later be wrapped up in a comforter, doused in gasoline and set afire.. Tennessee courts convicted the five assailants on up to 38 counts, including capital murder, kidnap, rape, theft, accessory to carjacking, and accessory to murder. Friends and family. The Aurora Borealis over Snowdonia in North Wales on Sunday, March 26 (Image: Chris Parry/Twitter) The Northern Lights have returned to skies in the UK tonight (Monday, Fenbruary 27), for second . On June 4, 2013, Judge Kurtz sentenced Thomas to two life sentences (consecutive) for the murders and 25 years (multiple concurrent) for the rapes. But I love the fun adventures [and] lessons that I've learned. "[147] Christian's father, addressing those whom he believes used his daughter's death to further their agenda, stated: "[the crime] ain't about you. [5] Eric Boyd, who had been serving his sentence of 18 years at Federal Correctional Institution, Beckley, a medium-security prison near Beaver, West Virginia, was potentially eligible for release in 2022, but found guilty on charges of rape and first-degree murder on August 13, 2019. At one point, he said he went into the living room where he could see Davidson's girlfriend in the kitchen. According to the testimony of the Knox County Acting Medical Examiner, Newsom was sodomized with an object and raped by a minimum of one of the perpetrators. In 2007, a grand jury indicted Letalvis Darnell Cobbins, Lemaricus Devall Davidson, George Geovonni Thomas, and Vanessa Lynn Coleman on counts of kidnapping, robbery, rape, and murder. [111][112], In May 2012, the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned Blackwood's ruling ordering new trials for Cobbins, Davidson, and Thomas, saying that a trial judge's misconduct outside the courtroom does not necessarily require a new trial unless the misconduct is shown to have affected the trial proceedings, but that its decision "should not be construed as condoning or excusing" Baumgartner's misconduct. Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. We Asked, You Answered: What Would You Pick For Your Last Meal On Death Row? [18][19] He was convicted on state level charges over a decade later in 2019. The men repeatedly raped and sodomized her; they savagely kicked or had beaten her in her genital area with an object. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. He saw four black men in the car. Just watched and read about the case. [87][88], District Attorney Randy Nichols announced that the state would seek the death penalty for both Cobbins (the first to go to trial) and Coleman if convicted. [23] The Coleman and Thomas retrials resulted in convictions, but with a reduced sentence for Coleman and the same sentence for Thomas. Boyd's cousin, Kevin Armstrong, who is the brother of another cousin whose testimony implicated Boyd in the slayings, reluctantly testified that Boyd called him to come to Lightfoot's apartment on the night of Jan. 9. KNOXVILLE - The gates of Tennessee's only death row prison opened wide for Lemaricus Davidson tonight, hours after a Knox County jury sentenced him to die for his role as the ringleader in the January 2007 carjacking, torture and killings of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom. [131][132] In March 2022, the Tennessee Supreme Court denied Boyd another appeal of his convictions. Boyd's account of his visit to the house on Sunday also proved replete with contradictions. Boyd was transported from a Federal Correctional Institution in Yazoo City, Mississippi, and booked into the Knox County Jail, where he was held on a $1 million bond. However, she wasdenied paroleat the hearing. autopsy later revealed that Christopher Newsom had been shot three times, once on the right side of the head, once on the right side of the neck, and once in the back. Facts Leading to the Indictment Against Boyd On Saturday, January 6, 2007, Christophe r Newsom and his girlfriend, Channon Christian, drove to dinner and planned to attend a party. Update: She wasdenied again in December 2020. She was nude from the waist down, as was Newsom. KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- The judge ruled in a court hearing Thursday to keep most of the 70 disputed autopsy images (500 in all) the state wants as evidence in trials for the murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom. [22] The orders for retrials of Davidson and Cobbins were subsequently overturned by the Tennessee State Supreme Court, and their convictions and sentences stand. On the same day she left Davidson, she went out with a man she only identified as "Black" to "eat and hang out." #boydtrial" Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a1745f29e39c2e6 After a radio caller made him aware of the extremely disturbing story of Christopher Newsom and Channon Christian in Knoxville, Tenn., Glenn Beck researched the case and was horrified at what he found. and wrote that she 'loved her life!'. [119] She was speaking to a male. Newsom and Christian were later found brutally carjacked, raped . The parole hearing was rescheduled from October to December. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . "Something was bothering him. I didn't want to believe it.". [30], Hugh Christopher "Chris" Newsom Jr. (born September 21, 1983, in Knoxville) was a former baseball player for the Halls High School Red Devils, graduating in 2002. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Prior testimony has suggested Boyd was at the house while the couple was being held captive. May 19, 2016 - Explore Maria Narvaez's board "Channon Christian & Christopher Newsome Murders" on Pinterest. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. [24][25], Controversy arose due to differing interpretations regarding the media's coverage of the murders. Boyd claims he has no personal knowledge of the slayings of the young couple, but he offered up details of the crime anyway in a videotaped statement to police played in court today. A journal was recovered after the arrests of Thomas, Cobbins, and Coleman. He later tried to distance himself from the house, however, saying Davidson actually met him on the front porch. August 2009, Rome was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Channon & facilitation of murder in connection to the death of Chris; he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He wore only a shirt and underwear. Christian, who was naked except for her camisole and sweater, was tied in a fetal position, placed inside a residential waste disposal unit, and covered with sheets. What happened to nine-year-old Serenity Dennard? Channon Gail Christian, 21, and Hugh Christopher Newsom, Jr., 23, were from Knoxville, Tennessee. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. "As soon as I reached the bathroom door, (Davidson) grabbed me and said, 'What are you doing?'" The pair were abducted from the Washington Ridge apartment complex in Knoxville, Tennessee. Coleman was convicted of facilitation only in the rape . In exchange for his testimony, Thomas was allowed to have his first-degree murder convictions reduced to second-degree murder, his aggravated rape convictions reduced to aggravated assault, and his sentence reduced from life in prison with the possibility of parole to 50 years (two 25-year terms with the opportunity to reduce his sentence by up to 15 percent based on good behavior during incarceration). [51][53][54], On January 7, Christian failed to answer calls from her mother and friend. Coleman was up for parole because she had served eight years in prison in December 2014. [36] Christian was 21 years old when she was murdered. [61], On January 11, Thomas, Cobbins, and Coleman were arrested in Lebanon, Kentucky. "Starting a petition to indict Eric Boyd for his part in those horrible murders of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom, I thought it was the right thing to do," said Cowans. 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