Murder of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom

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This article documents a current court case. Information may change rapidly as the case progresses.

Hugh Christopher Newsom, Jr., 23, and Channon Gail Christian, 21, were a couple from Knoxville, Tennessee. According to a Tennessee grand jury, they were murdered and both were raped 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 faces federal charges as accessory after the fact to carjacking.^[2]

Contents 1 Crime 1.1 Reaction 2 Victims 3 Suspects and indictments 4 Trials 5 Verdicts 6 References 7 External links

[edit] 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.^[5] Forensic evidence showed that Christian had also been raped vaginally, orally, and anally.^{[2] [6]} One of the suspects, Vanessa Coleman, later told police that, "she witnessed Christian's mouth being cleaned with a bottle of some type of cleaner," in an attempt to remove DNA evidence.^[7] Forensic evidence showed significant trauma caused by "an object" to Christian's vagina, anus, and mouth, and that she had died slowly in the trash can, suffocating while wrapped in curtains, sheets, and several trash bags.^[6] There was also evidence of blunt trauma to her head leading to bruising of the brain in addition to bruises found on her neck, arm, back, and anal region.^[8] Coleman also said that she had seen "clothes that were stained with blood and smelled of gas being put in the washing machine at the house."^[7] Newsom was shot three times, "his body wrapped in a blanket, set afire and dumped alongside nearby railroad tracks." ^[5][9] Evidence has also been presented that he had been anally raped.^[2][6]

[edit] Reaction

The national news media was initially 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][10][11][12]} This criticism was also fueled by erroneous reports of dismemberment, mutilations, and the duration of Christian's rapes allegedly committed by the suspects, especially in early reports.^[13] Most of the original reports along with misinformation reported from a federal deputy shortly after the suspects were apprehended in the arresting state of Kentucky were later denied by the District Attorney.^[13] This misinformation was capitalized on by white nationalist groups promoting two small demonstrations in Knoxville against the crime and its lack of mainstream media coverage.^{[14][15][16][17][18]}

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."^[19] "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."^[20] 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.^[18] 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."^[20] 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."^[18] 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."^[21]

[edit] 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.^[22][23] 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. Newsom, a former baseball player for the Halls High School Red Devils, graduated in 2002. He was interred at Woodhaven Memorial Gardens.^[24]

[edit] 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.

• 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.^[25]

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.^[26] The accusations did not result in charges.^[27]

[edit] Trials

The four suspects indicted in Knox County were originally scheduled to be tried separately, at trials scheduled between May and August of 2008.^[28] However, the trial date for the subjects indicted in Knox County was moved back to 2009 in February of 2008.^[29] 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.^[30]

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.^[31][32] Davidson has also been indicted for a second robbery which was committed after the murders.^[28] 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."^[33]

[edit] Verdicts

On April 16, 2008, Eric Boyd was found guilty in Federal court of being an accessory to murder and for harboring a felon. ^[34] Boyd's was the first case to go to trial, and he was the only suspect not charged with murder.^[8] He faces up to 22 years in prison for the convictions.^[35]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Newsom, Christian Family Reaction w/Video
• 5th Suspect Arrested in Double Murder, Announcement Expected Soon
• Volunteer TV 8 Double Murder Suspect Indicted in Court
• Martin, Roland S., "Commentary: Where is the outrage when humans are abused?," CNN