A woman accused him of trading legal favors for sex during breaks in court sessions. October 22, 2009 - 9:18am [56] After murdering Newsom, the assailants returned to Davidson's house where they beat and repeatedly raped Christian. [133][138][139] Coleman again went before a parole board on December 8, 2020. She was worried it was me. On March 20, 2018, eleven years after the murders, a Knox County grand jury returned a thirty-six-count indictment charging Eric DeWayne Boyd with first-degree felony murder, first-degree premeditated murder, especially aggravated robbery, especially aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated rape in the murders. It sounded like water was on, and something fell into the sink.". In the early morning hours of January 7, 2007, Channon Christian, 21, and her boyfriend, Christopher Newsom, 23, were carjacked by three black males who took the young couple to a house on Chipman Street in Knoxville, TN, where the group tortured and killed them. The horrifying rape, torture murder of eight-year-old Nurin Jazlin Jazimin, The 1977 disappearance of Rachel Hanna Ziselman, The mystifying disappearance of 14-year-old Stacy Ann Arras. 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]. Several of the victims' belongings had Davidson's prints. Five suspects were arrested and charged in the case. The pair were abducted from the Washington Ridge apartment complex in Knoxville, Tennessee. Because we were good friends I knew something wasn't right.". This will be the gruesome autopsy photos. ", "Medical examiner testimony wraps up state case, expected to rest on Monday", "Killer in torture-slaying case denied parole", "Boyd trial, Day 1: A burned body by the tracks, a final glimpse of the victims before the murders", "Focus on torture-slaying victims' items in Coleman trial", "Vanessa Coleman retrial: She admits in interview she checked Channon Christian's pulse", "Tennessee: Jury hears testimony on fate of convicted killer", "Death sentence for torture-murder ringleader", "Torture-killing ringleader Lemaricus Davidson facing trial in Pizza Hut robbery", "Vanessa Coleman denied reprieve in torture-slaying case", "Christian-Newsom Murders: Trial for one carjacker moved to 2009, others could follow", "Judge: Recordings can be used in fatal carjackings case", "Another death penalty notice in Christian-Newsom slayings", "Prosecutors say evidence links Davidson to couple's torture deaths", "GUILTY: Eric Boyd's Christian-Newsom murder accessory trial over", Accessory case deliberations to start Wed. in double murder, "Eric Boyd gets two stacked life sentences for his role in the Christian-Newsom murders", "Death Sentence in Christian-Newsom Torture-Murder Trial", "Convicted Christian-Newsom killer Lemaricus Davidson has petition denied", "Supreme Court: Death penalty for Davidson stands in Christian-Newsom killings", "Thomas found guilty of Christian-Newsom murders", "George Thomas guilty; Family: Thomas deserves death", "Knoxville torture-murder case: Coleman acquitted of first degree murder, guilty on lesser charges", "Autopsy: Ex-judge Baumgartner died from natural causes", "Ex-judge Richard Baumgartner's drug-addicted downfall makes national spotlight", "The redacted TBI file on former judge Richard Baumgartner", "A chronology of events in the Richard Baumgartner scandal", "How Richard Baumgartner a drug addicted judge stayed on the bench despite warnings", "Drug Addicted judge had sex during court breaks", "Four defendants in Christian-Newsom case granted new trials", "State's appeal bid in Christian/Newsom case shot down", "Judge in Christian-Newsom case throws out decision to grant new trials, delays recusal decision", "Judge nixes delay in Christian/Newsom torture-slaying hearing", "Appellate court upholds Vanessa Coleman's convictions, sentence", "Guilty again: George Thomas sentenced in torture, murder retrial", "George Thomas loses appeal in Christian-Newsom murders", "Man convicted in Christian/Newsom murders wants US Supreme Court to review case", "George Thomas gets new plea deal approved, Newsom family thanks him during impact statement", "Trial set to begin for long suspected defendant in Christian Newsom torture slayings", "Judge: Eric Boyd to face Knox County jury in slayings of Channon Christian, Christopher Newsom", "Boyd trial, Day 6 Eric Boyd guilty of first-degree felony murder, kidnapping & rape", "Jury finds Eric Boyd guilty of grisly 2007 Knoxville murders", "Tennessee Supreme Court denies appeal in 2007 Knox County torture slayings", "Eric Boyd sentenced for his role in Christian-Newsom murders", "Judge denies Eric Boyd's bid for new trial in torture-slayings case", "STATE OF TENNESSEE v. ERIC BOYD - Articles", "Man convicted in Christian-Newsom murders denied new trial", "Coleman's parole denied in torture-slaying case", Vanessa Coleman's parole hearing rescheduled, "Vanessa Coleman's parole hearing eligibility pushed to December", "Vanessa Coleman to request parole next week", "Coleman's Parole Denied in Torture-Slaying Case", "Five involved in slayings of young Knoxville couple", "Woman convicted in Christian-Newsom murders denied parole", "Knox prosecutor doesn't shut the door on future charges in torture slayings", "City leaders say race not an element in Christian, Newsom murders", "Police arrest organizer at 'rally against genocide', "House linked to carjacking/slayings razed; memorial planned", "George Korda: Chipman Street: sometimes there just aren't enough rocks", "Chris Newsom, Channon Christian remembered 13 years after their murders", "Baseball tournament honors Chris Newsom, killed in 2007", "Gary Christian: From rage to restoration, a murder victim's father finds the faith he left", Extensive news coverage of the deaths in January 2007 of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom in Knoxville, TN, Newsom, Christian Family Reaction w/Video, "5th Suspect Arrested in Double Murder, Announcement Expected Soon", "Commentary: Where is the outrage when humans are abused? Follow us for a shocking dose of real life. Reportedly, the men blindfolded and gagged Newsom. He is greatly missed by his family and many friends. See more ideas about christian, christopher, hate crime. Chris and Channon were kidnapped and driven to 2316 Chipman Street where they were forced into the home at gunpoint. Letalvis Cobbins followed them. 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. Newsom survived this shooting initially, but later was shot again in the head. I had one HELL OF AN ADVENTURE since I've been in the big T.N. #searchbrowse-left {width:45%; float:left; margin: 0 2%; background: transparent;} On June 4, 2013, Judge Kurtz sentenced Thomas to two life sentences (consecutive) for the murders and 25 years (multiple concurrent) for the rapes. She admitted they all smoked marijuana. Both of them were raped, tortured, and murdered. It snowed a lil bit but it's already melted. "I was shocked (to see Davidson) because (Davidson's) house was on the news," Armstrong said. There, police found Newsom's size 9 Nike Shox athletic shoes and a .22-caliber High Standard revolver. He denied being involved in the carjacking or being at the Chipman Street house following it. He said that Davidson told him that his brother, Letalvis "Rome" Cobbins, and buddy, George "G" Thomas, gang-raped Christian. The autopsy report said that Shanann had a "history of being reported missing and subsequently found unresponsive in obvious state of death in a shallow grave." The cause of death was. 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. Coleman is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence set to end in 2036, officials said. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. [18][19] He was convicted on state level charges over a decade later in 2019. There was a blood stain on her shirt and a camisole underneath the shirt. [34][35] She planned on graduating in December 2007. The medical examiner testified at trial that there was evidence that Christian slowly suffocated to death. [26][27] Erroneous early reporting made claims of dismemberment and mutilation of Christian's body. On not really around my best lifetime. Privacy Policy. The medical examiner had just begun to describe were the most significant injuries located in the vaginal region when Varlan delayed her testimony. [10][51] Though there was semen inside of Newsom's body, DNA in the semen had been destroyed by the fire. This sentence is to be served consecutively to the death penalty, while the death sentences are also consecutive. They never made it. [11][12] Cobbins and Thomas were convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Despite that she allowed the two to stay in her apartment while she went to Atlanta. Baumgartner ruled that Thomas' phone calls from the jailhouse to his acquaintances were admissible as evidence. Newsom was shot in his neck and the back. The eRumor tells of the horrific kidnapping, torture, and murder of Christopher Newsom and his girlfriend Channon Christian from Knoxville, Tennessee. [78], The four suspects indicted in Knox County were scheduled to be tried separately at trials between May and August 2008. 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. Conservative political commentator Michelle Malkin repeated this opinion on her blog and on Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor program. He saw four black men in the car. Newsoms killers had stuffed a sock in his mouth and bound his ankles with his belt. 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. [40], After Christian and Newsom did not show up at the party, the couple's friends began calling and texting them and received no response. "[29] Pitts wrote: "I am [] unkindly disposed toward the crackpots, incendiaries and flat-out racists who have chosen this tragedy upon which to take an obscene and ludicrous stand."[29][150]. The bags had Davidson's prints. However, she wasdenied paroleat the hearing. Lomonaco next turned his attention to Sutton, who he contends is just as guilty as Boyd is alleged to be in hiding a killer. Authorities discovered Newsomfirst - on Sunday, January 7, 2007, hours after his death. [114] Retrials were denied for Cobbins and Davidson, and granted for Thomas and Coleman. He then used Christian's vehicle to deal drugs and wiped it clean. He is incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution, Yazoo City, a low-security federal prison in Yazoo County, Mississippi. He saw a 4Runner in front of the house with its porch lights on. Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom in Knoxville, Tennessee. Upon searching the premises, police found Christian and determined the attacks against Christian and Newsom occurred in the house. [47][48][49][50][59][60] According to Davidson's confession, during Christian's captivity, she said she "didn't want to die. They were met by more than 300 law enforcement officers. In testimony this afternoon, Danielle Lightfoot said that Boyd and Davidson showed up on her Ridgebrook Apartments doorstep late on Jan. 9, a Tuesday. These bills are better known as the Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom. and our [24][115][116], In 2014 the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals denied Coleman's request for a new trial and upheld her sentence. "He said he didn't.". Update 8/13/19:Eric Boyd was found guiltyof Channon and Christophers 2007 murder. She was also beaten, kicked in her groin, and beaten on the head. The thugs responsible for this crime are: The murders did not receive as much media attention as they should have, partly because the rape story at Duke University took precedence.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'truecrimediva_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_11',112,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-truecrimediva_com-large-leaderboard-2-0'); I REFUSE to put pictures of the killers in this post. In her initial trial, Coleman was acquitted of all charges in the murder of Christian's boyfriend, Christopher Newsom. Armstrong reluctantly acknowledged that he feared he might become a carjacking victim. Chris eventually shot to death before being set on fire, and Channon left to die with a plastic bag over her head in a trash can. On Monday, November 12, I drove 250 miles to Knoxville, Tennessee to attend the retrial of Vanessa Coleman for the facilitation of the rape and murder of Channon Christian. He later tried to distance himself from the house, however, saying Davidson actually met him on the front porch. Police seized a computer on which Thomas and Cobbins had been viewing news coverage of the murders. Prior testimony has suggested Boyd was at the house while the couple was being held captive. It[']s going to be a long interesting year! Channon Christian, 21, and her boyfriend Chris Newsom, 23, did not arrive at a friend's party on January 6, 2007, and never returned home to their parents. The perpetrators attacked the couple in a parking lot near an apartment complex in Knoxville, TN. ul.searchbrowse {font-family:'Myriad W01 Regular', sans-serif; color: #676767; margin:0; text-transform: capitalize;} A memorial scholarship is given annually in his name to a graduating Halls High School baseball player. and a student at the University of Tennessee and her boyfriend, Chris Newsom, 23 years old, a former baseball player and a graduate of Halls High School, had dinner plans together at a local restaurant but never made it. 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. [51][53][54], On January 7, Christian failed to answer calls from her mother and friend. Cobbins faced the possibility of the death penalty because he was convicted of first-degree felony murder in the case of Christian. "[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. Davidson asked if he and Boyd could stay the night at her apartment. Forensic evidence indicated both Davidson and Thomas fired shots, and Davidson was ultimately responsible forNewsom's demise. [22] The orders for retrials of Davidson and Cobbins were subsequently overturned by the Tennessee State Supreme Court, and their convictions and sentences stand. [16], Vanessa Coleman, the last defendant to face trial,[102] was granted immunity by federal authorities for testimony in the federal case of the carjacking, but the state courts ruled that the federal grant of immunity could not extend to the state charges of murder and rape. [1] Boyd and. [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. By Jamie Satterfield of the Knoxville News Sentinel. "That really had me worried.". One of the charges against the 41-year-old Moore is torture. He faces death if convicted. The three men - with the stolen SUV - returned to Davidsons home on Chipman Street, where George Thomas and his girlfriend, Vanessa Coleman, were also staying. Sutton admitted she never told police and repeatedly lied to them in an effort to impede their manhunt for Davidson. Update: She wasdenied again in December 2020. [148] Newsom's mother also disagreed with the assertion that the offenders were not motivated by racism. They were both raped, tortured and murdered after being kidnapped early on the morning of January 7, 2007. This evidence supports the trial court's finding that (Coleman) is a dangerous offender."[117]. Tipton and McKnight pressed him for an alibi. Stickers Christian kept on the outside windows had been removed. [119] He denied seeing her or knowing she was there. Jamie Satterfield is an award-winning journalist specializing in the law and crime. Boyd said Davidson pinned the killings on Thomas. The next day, a train conductor reported a body near the railroad tracks and 9th Avenue in East Knoxville. [13][14][15][16] Vanessa Coleman was convicted of facilitating the crimes and sentenced to 53 years. "She said, 'Oh, my God, Daphne, they found a body in your house.' The action you just performed triggered the security solution. So horrific and evil. Her head was forced down onto her knees. bodily injury and death in violation of 18 U.S.C. His bare and muddy feet indicated that he had walked barefoot to the area where he was killed. She was still alive when they placed her body into black garbage bags, wrapped her head in a white plastic grocery sack, and stuffed her body inside a trash can, where she eventually suffocated to death. A. More details as they develop online and in Tuesday's News Sentinel. "I had decided they were gonna leave because I was scared the police would come to my house," she testified. Four to go," said Gary Christian, father of Channon Christian, referring to the four suspects who face trials in state court for the killings of Channon, then 21, and her boyfriend, 23-year-old Christopher Newsom. On Saturday, January 6, 2007, Channon and Chris planned to have dinner together and then spend the . [91] Judge Baumgartner threatened to ban the Newsom family from the courtroom after they called Davidson's attorney, Doug Trant, a "jerk". A small white plastic bag was pulled over head. Dr. Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan testified that Newsom, 23, was shot and would have been dead when his body was set on fire. Prosecutors filed to have Judge Blackwood recused from the case, citing Blackwood's emotional involvement, his ex parte communication with the defense, lack of candor with the local media, and Supreme Court guidance that recusal should be considered before any other action. The sentencing judge, Richard Baumgartner, one of Knox County's three Criminal Court judges, was forced to resign from the bench in March 2011, having admitted to drug addiction and purchasing prescription pain medication from convicts. The trial continues Monday. The fourth slaying suspect, Cobbins' girlfriend, Vanessa Coleman, was nowhere in sight, she testified. True Crime Diva covers missing persons and unsolved cases around the globe. #searchbrowse-right {width:45%; float:left; margin: 0 2%; background: transparent;} Armstrong insisted he could not remember what they talked about if anything. {{bottomLinkPreText}} {{bottomLinkText}} This page is based on a Wikipedia article written by contributors (read/edit). CHRIS NEWSOM OBITUARY. Sutton testified. The victims families notified authorities the next day about the missing couple. While Channon was forced to watch, her boyfriend was raped prison style. It was days before police found Christians body. 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. Blackwood sentenced Coleman to 35 years in prison on February 1, 2013, minus credit for time already served. [64][65][66], Newsom's body was discovered near a set of nearby railroad tracks on January 7 at 12:20 pm by a Norfolk Southern Railroad employee. This Actress's Murder Changed Stalking Laws, 40 People Heard Kitty Genovese Being Murdered, Facts About The Murder Of Channon Christian And Chris Newsom. "His eyes were really big, like he knew what she was telling me.". "I asked him (Davidson) if he had anything on him as far as a weapon," she said. [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. The president of Criminal Justice Journalists, an association of crime, court, and prison writers, editors, and producers, said: I can't say that this one would have had any more coverage if five whites had been accused of doing these things to two blacks, absent a blatant racial motive as bad as this crime is, the apparent absence of any interest group involvement or any other 'angle' might also explain the lack of coverage. Get True Crime Diva's blog posts delivered to your inbox! He said he returned to the house about 20 minutes later to find Christian, who told him she did not want to die. He said he was scared. He had been shot three times; the killers delivered the final shot execution-style. [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. They were kidnapped the evening of January 6, 2007 when Christian's vehi Show more Show more. More than two years later, the first of four people who could face a death sentence in the carjacking, rape and murder of her 23-year-old son and his 21-year-old girlfriend, Channon Christian . When 21-year-old Channon Christian and 23-year-old Christopher Newsom of Knoxville, Tennessee failed to show up for their best friend's birthday party on Saturday, January 6, 2007, it would be . It's a right-and-wrong issue. He's testifying about items recovered from the medical examiner's officer after Channon Christian's autopsy, including the rape kit, the camisol she was wearing, and floral fabric found in the garbage bags with her in the trash can where her body was found. [37] They then decided to attack the couple. [9], Four of the five defendants (Eric Boyd, Letalvis Cobbins, Lemaricus Davidson, and George Thomas) had multiple prior felony convictions.
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