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Murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom

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Template:Current court case Hugh Christopher Newsom, Jr., 23, and Channon Gail Christian, 21, were a couple from Knoxville, Tennessee. According to a Tennessee grand jury, they were both raped and murdered after being kidnapped early on the morning of January 7, 2007. Their vehicle had been carjacked.[1][2] Five suspects have been arrested and charged in the case.[3] The grand jury indicted four of the suspects on counts of murder, robbery, kidnapping, rape and theft, while one final suspect has already been convicted of federal charges as accessory after the fact to carjacking.[2]

Crime

According to news reports, Christian and Newsom had gone on a date at a local restaurant on Saturday, January 6, 2007, but did not return home. During their night out, the couple was "hijacked, bound and blindfolded and taken back to Lemaricus Devall 'Slim' Davidson's rented house on Chipman Street."[4]

Christian's parents found her abandoned Toyota 4-Runner two blocks away from the Chipman Street house the following Monday with the help of her mobile phone provider. An envelope recovered from the vehicle yielded fingerprint evidence that led police to Lemaricus Davidson and 2316 Chipman Street. When police went to the address on Tuesday, January 9, they found the home unoccupied and Christian's body in a trash can in the kitchen.

According to the testimony of the Knox County Acting Medical Examiner at the subsequent trial of Eric Boyd, Newsom was repeatedly raped and then blindfolded, gagged, arms and feet bound and his head covered. Barefoot, he was either led or dragged outside the house to a set of nearby railroad tracks. He was shot in the back of the head, the neck, and the back, and his body then set on fire. Christian's death would come only after hours of sexual torture, medical examiner Mileusnic-Polchan testified. Christian suffered horrific injuries to her vagina, anus and mouth. She was not only raped but savaged with "an object," possibly a broken chair leg, the doctor testified. She was beaten in the head. Some type of chemical was poured down her throat, and her body, including her bleeding and battered genital area, likely scrubbed with the same solution - all while Christian was alive, the forensic expert said. She was then "hog-tied," with curtains and strips of bedding, her face covered tightly with a small trash bag and her body stashed inside five large trash bags before being placed inside a large trash can and covered with sheets. Christian died slowly, suffocating, the medical examiner said.[5]

Reaction

The national news media was criticized by some for not giving the crime adequate coverage because the victims were white and the suspects black, but one commentator explained that "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."[4][6][7] This criticism was also fueled by erroneous early reports of dismemberment and mutilations.[8] Most of the original reports with misinformation (reported from a federal deputy after the suspects' arrest in Kentucky) were later denied by the District Attorney.[8] Police Chief Sterling Owen IV said that there is no indication the crimes were racially motivated and that the murders and assault "appears to have been a random violent act."[9]

"There is absolutely no proof of a hate crime," said John Gill, special counsel to Knox County District Atty. Randy Nichols. "We know from our investigation that the people charged in this case were friends with white people, socialized with white people, dated white people. So not only is there no evidence of any racial animus, there's evidence to the contrary."[10] Some commentators have disagreed, notably including white nationalist Hal Turner, claiming that such a crime would include a motive of racial hate. This viewpoint was also repeated, along with erroneous rumors about the crime, in some conservative-leaning media, including blogger Michelle Malkin on Fox News's O'Reilly Factor program.[11] Prior to the DA's statement, Newsom's mother sympathized with the "hate crime" position stating, "It may have started out as a carjacking, but what it developed into was blacks hating whites."[10] Christian's father (addressing those who used his daughter's death to suit their own agenda) appeared ambivalent, stating "[the crime] ain't about you."[11] However, after the conviction of Eric Boyd, Christian clarified his belief that it was a hate crime, stating that "what they did, you don't do unless you hate."[12]

Victims

Christian moved from Louisiana to Tennessee with her family in 1997. She was a graduate of Farragut High School and a senior majoring in sociology at the University of Tennessee. On January 12 her family released a statement to thank the Knoxville community "for all their prayers and everything." A candlelight vigil was held on the university campus January 25, 2007 in her honor. In 2008, a Golf Tournament and Memorial Foundation were established in Channon Christian's memory to provide a scholarship for a Farragut High School Senior to attend the University of Tennessee.

Newsom, a former baseball player for the Halls High School Red Devils, graduated in 2002. He was interred at Woodhaven Memorial Gardens.

Suspects and indictments

The four indicted were:

  • George Geovonni "Detroit" Thomas, 27, faces a total of 46 charges. Thomas was indicted on 16 counts of felony murder growing out of the rape, robbery, kidnapping, and theft of Christian and Newsom, 2 counts of premeditated murder, 2 counts of especially aggravated robbery, 4 counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, 20 counts of aggravated rape, and 2 counts of theft.
  • Lemaricus Devall "Slim" Davidson, 25, (b. June 13, 1981) faces the same 46 charges as Thomas. Davidson had also completed serving a five-year sentence in Tennessee on a previous felony conviction for carjacking and aggravated robbery on August 5, 2006.
  • Letalvis "Rome" Cobbins, 24, (b. December 20, 1982) also faces the same 46 charges as Thomas. In 2003, Cobbins was convicted of third-degree attempted robbery in New York state. He and Davidson are brothers. He has also been charged with assaulting a correctional officer while incarcerated pending trial.
  • Vanessa Coleman, 18, was arrested by police in Lebanon, Kentucky. She faces 40 Tennessee state charges. Coleman was indicted on 12 counts of felony murder growing out of the rape, robbery, kidnapping, and theft of Christian and Newsom, 1 count of premeditated murder (of Christian only), 1 count of especially aggravated robbery (of Newsom only), 4 counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, 20 counts of aggravated rape, and 2 counts of theft.

In each indictment, the large number of rape counts were included to provide a range of options for prosecutors, not to reflect the number of rapes which actually occurred.[13]

Further, Eric DeWayne "E" Boyd, 34, was arrested in connection with the fatal carjacking, though not indicted by the Knox County grand jury. Still, Boyd was charged in federal court as an accessory after the fact for helping the suspects evade the police. Later, Boyd was also accused by Thomas and Cobbins of rape and murder, and a search warrant was obtained for his DNA.[14] The accusations did not result in charges.[15]

Trials

The four suspects indicted in Knox County were originally scheduled to be tried separately, at trials scheduled between May and August 2008.[16] However, the trial date for the subjects indicted in Knox County was moved back to 2009 in February 2008.[17] In an apparent attempt to force the prosecution to try the case with the least forensic evidence first, the attorneys for Thomas filed a motion for a speedy trial, arguing there was no forensic link between their client and the crime scene.[18] Thomas has been granted the motion and is scheduled to go on trial on August 11th. Judge Baumgartner recently ruled that Thomas' phone calls made from the jailhouse to his acquaintances are admissible as evidence.[19]

District Attorney Randy Nichols has announced that the state would be seeking the death penalty for both Cobbins (currently the first to go to trial) and Coleman if convicted.[20][21] Davidson has also been indicted for a second robbery which was committed after the murders.[16] The publicity against the accused led the defense to argue that a change of venue was required in order to ensure a fair trial. However, the state argued that an impartial jury could be found during voir dire, and the presiding judge subsequently denied the motion as "premature."[22]

The trials are expected to empanel a jury from outside Knox county.

The trial of Letalvis Cobbins has been delayed to June of 2009 by Judge Richard Baumgartner due to one of Cobbins' attorneys facing disciplinary hearings.

Verdicts

On April 16, 2008, Eric Boyd was found guilty in Federal court of being an accessory to a fatal carjacking and for failing to report the location of a known fugitive. [23] Boyd's was the first case to go to trial, and he was the only suspect not charged with murder.[24] He has been sentenced to the maximum of 18 years in Federal prison.[25]

References

  1. ^ Satterfield, Jamie (2007-01-13). "Details of double slaying emerge". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved 2007-06-12. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b Grand jury presentment in Christian/Newsom case, Knoxville News Sentinel, 2007-03-03
  3. ^ Granju, Katie Allison (2007-04-18). "Female suspect arraigned in Channon Christian, Chris Newsom murders". WBIR-TV. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  4. ^ a b Lohr, David (2007-04-03). "Christopher Newsom and Channon Christian Brutally Murdered As The Nation Looks on". Court TV/Crime Library. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  5. ^ Victim's father: 'One down, four to go', knoxnews.com, April, 16, 2008.
  6. ^ "Media criticized in slayings with racial overtone". MSNBC. 2007-05-20. Retrieved 2007-06-30. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Mansfield, Duncan (2007-05-17). "Critics say news media ignoring Knoxville couple slaying". Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-05-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ a b Slaying victims lost in the furor, Knoxville News Sentinel, May 27, 2007
  9. ^ Watson, Kay (2007-05-17). "City leaders say race not an element in Christian, Newsom murders". WBIR-TV. Retrieved 2007-05-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ a b Witt, H (2007-06-10). "What is a Hate Crime?". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
  11. ^ a b Sanchez, Casey (Fall 2007). "The Big Lie". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2007-10-09.
  12. ^ Channon Christian's parents speak exclusively to WVLT, WVLT, April 17, 2008.
  13. ^ Granju, Katie Allison (2007-02-20). "Christian, Newsom murder suspects in court". WBIR-TV. Retrieved 2007-06-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ [1], Knox County, Tennessee from January 12, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-05-17
  15. ^ WBIR.com | Knoxville, TN | Boyd could get double prison sentence with new indictment
  16. ^ a b Granju, Katie Allison (2007-05-17). "Trials set for suspects in Christian, Newsom murders". WBIR-TV. Retrieved 2007-05-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ Brian, Gregory (2008-02-14). "Christian-Newsom Murders: Trial for one carjacker moved to 2009, others could follow". WVLT-TV. Retrieved 2008-02-27. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ Jamie Satterfield. "Alleged carjacker wants 1st trial". knoxnews.com. March 7, 2008.
  19. ^ Satterfield, Jamie (2008-06-25). "Judge: Recordings can be used in fatal carjackings case". knoxnews.com. Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  20. ^ Jim Balloch. "State can delay sharing evidence". knoxnews.com. October 12, 2007.
  21. ^ Barker, Scott (2008-02-15). "Another death penalty notice in Christian-Newsom slayings". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
  22. ^ Jamie Satterfield. "Judge denies change of venue for Boyd". knoxnews.com. December 1, 2007.
  23. ^ GUILTY: Eric Boyd's Christian-Newsom murder accessory trial over, VolunteerTV.com, April 16, 2008.
  24. ^ Accessory case deliberations to start Wed. in double murder, WATE.com, April 15, 2008.
  25. ^ Boyd guilty of aiding alleged ringleader in fatal carjacking, knoxnews.com, April 17, 2008.
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