The Murders of Channon Christian & Christopher Newsom

2023-02-23 18:55:53 Written by Antony

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 the beginning of a hunt for them that would end in the grisly discovery of their remains in two separate locations.


They had been getting ready for a party just an hour before their disappearance, but as the night wore on, phone calls to them went unanswered. However, their whereabouts were revealed in the following days when their bodies were found, and the extent of the torture they had suffered was revealed, leaving the entire community in shock.


Victims

 

 

Documentary: The murders of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom - YouTube


When Channon was 12, she and her adoptive family moved to Knoxville from Texas. They lived in a nice area and made many friends. Channon stayed at home and went to college while also working two jobs. She saved up money and bought a silver car to get to school and work.


Christopher Newsom Jr. was a Knoxville native and lived there until he passed away. He had many interests, such as baseball, golf, and woodworking. Although he enjoyed motorcycles and once considered being a mechanic, he ultimately chose to focus on carpentry and improving his woodworking abilities.


Channon and Chris were adored by their loved ones. They met each other through their parents' mutual friends and felt an instant connection. They enjoyed spending time outdoors together, often playing golf and having long conversations while on the course. As their relationship blossomed, they began discussing their future together. Chris' parents were thrilled to meet Channon and saw how happy she made their son. In just a few months, the couple became inseparable.


The Vanishing


Before the birthday party, Channon packed her party outfit, drove to the Washington Ridge Apartments, and parked her car. She intended to get ready at a friend's place, and Chris would meet her in the parking lot. They would then have dinner together before joining her friends at the party later.

Channon's friends left at around 8 p.m. Chris arrived a little later because he had dropped off a friend at the party before picking her up. They both went back to her car, and Channon drove with Chris sitting on the passenger side. Before parting ways, Chris hugged Channon from the passenger seat. Sadly, it would be their last happy moment together.

On the morning of January 7, Channon's mother, Dina Channon, woke up to find that her daughter hadn't come home the night before. She checked her phone and saw missed calls, but none were from Channon. 
She tried calling Channon's phone but it went straight to voicemail. Dina started calling back some of the unknown numbers on the phone, hoping that Channon had used another phone. To her surprise, one of the calls was from a friend who was worried that Channon and Chris had not shown up for the party the night before and had not contacted anyone to explain why.

Through her phone calls, Dina discovered that at 11 p.m. the previous night, two of Chris's friends had gone to the apartment complex to check on the couple. When they got there, they saw Chris's truck parked, but Channon's Forerunner was missing.

As Dina continued her search for her daughter, she received a call from Channon's workplace, informing her that Channon had not shown up for work. Worried and desperate for answers, Dina contacted Chris's parents to see if they had any information about the couple's whereabouts. After realizing that both Channon and Chris were missing, both sets of parents agreed that it was time to contact the police and file a missing persons report.


The Search


The parents of the couple were initially told by the police that they had to wait for 24 hours before filing a missing persons report. However, this is a common misconception, as there is no legal requirement to wait. Unfortunately, the delay in reporting may have had consequences, although it's impossible to know for certain.

Despite this setback, the families of the missing couple took it upon themselves to start their own search, beginning with the parking lot where Channon and Chris were last seen. They created a phone tree to reach out to anyone who might have information about their loved ones, including hospitals and other individuals. Friends and family members pitched in to help with the search.


Channon's family and friends got in touch with her cellphone provider and were able to access her phone records and location data. The data indicated that her phone had last connected with a tower on Cherry Street, approximately six miles away from where she was last seen. The Cherry Street location was known for high crime rates and was only frequented by residents or those seeking to engage in illicit activities such as drug or weapon transactions.

The Discoveries

While Channon and Chris's families were searching for them, a railroad worker made a shocking discovery on January 7. They found the charred body of an adult male on the railroad tracks. Authorities were called to remove the remains and conduct an autopsy. However, the families were not aware of this discovery and continued their search for Channon and Chris.

More than 24 hours after Channon and Chris went missing, their families and friends who were helping in the search discovered Channon's Forerunner on Cherry Street. However, attempts were made to make the vehicle hard to identify. The stickers on the windows, the stuffed bear, and photo on the dashboard were missing, and the phone charger and iPod that were usually in the car were gone.
The search party discovered Channon's abandoned Forerunner on Cherry Street, more than 24 hours after the couple had disappeared. The vehicle's windows were devoid of the stickers Channon had put on them, and the stuffed bear and photo she kept on the dashboard were missing. Additionally, the phone charger and iPod that were typically present in the vehicle were gone. 
The driver's seat was pushed so far back that Channon would have been unable to reach the pedals, and a pack of cigarettes was found, despite neither Channon nor Chris being smokers. The floor mats were muddy, which was unusual for Channon's otherwise impeccably maintained car.

After the parents of the couple reported the abandoned vehicle to the police, the Forerunner was impounded for further forensic examination.

Meanwhile, the body that was found on the railroad tracks was being examined by forensic experts. The body was wrapped in a comforter and a sweatshirt was tied around the head. The feet were muddy and there were no shoes. The body had multiple bullet wounds in the head, neck, and torso. The autopsy revealed that the victim had been raped, but the fire had destroyed any chances of extracting DNA.

The authorities were able to identify the body as that of Chris and informed his parents. However, they advised them not to view the remains due to the gruesome condition in which they were found. Although Channon was still missing, it was now evident that finding her alive was unlikely. Despite this, the family held on to hope as the police finally joined the search for her.

The Investigation


Police found an envelope with the address 2316 Chipman Street inside Channon's vehicle while searching for clues. The address was close to where the Forerunner was found, and the fingerprints on the envelope matched those of Lemaricus Davidson, a man who had recently been released after serving five years in prison for carjacking and aggravated robbery. 


The police went to the address on Tuesday, January 9, and after getting no answer to their knock, they broke into the rundown rental home located amidst equally dilapidated industrial buildings.

During the search of the house on Chipman Street, the police found several items that belonged to Channon and Chris, such as Channon's iPod, purse, and shoes, as well as Chris's driver's license and baseball cap. 
This led them to believe that they were in the right place. However, what they discovered next was shocking. In a trash can, they found a dirty white sheet wrapped around something heavy and secured with layers of duct tape. 


After cutting through the tape, they uncovered the remains of Channon Christian. The police cordoned off the area as a crime scene and informed Channon's parents of her death.


Channon's body was found wearing a camisole and sweater, her skin marred by blood, bruises, and deep cuts. Semen was discovered on her clothing and in multiple orifices. The same fingerprints that were found on the letter in Channon's Forerunner were discovered on the trash bag in which her body was wrapped. Police also recovered shell casings that matched the caliber of the bullets used to kill Chris, further linking the crimes.

The Suspects


After identifying Lemaricus Davidson as their primary suspect, police discovered that he had not acted alone in the crime. Phone records showed that Davidson had made multiple calls during the time frame when the couple went missing to a man named Eric Boyd. Police located Boyd and pulled over his vehicle, asking him for information that could lead them to Davidson. However, Boyd denied knowing Davidson at all.

 

In memory of : Channon Gail... - Victims of Crime - RIP | Facebook

After being interrogated further, Boyd admitted to knowing Davidson and led the police to a vacant house where they found him hiding. The house was filled with fast food wrappers and debris, and the police discovered clothes, a cell phone, binoculars, and a pistol. Most importantly, they found Davidson wearing Chris Newsom’s missing Nike shoes. 
Davidson was arrested and taken to the station for questioning. He gave multiple versions of what happened before settling on a story where he claimed that two people arrived at his house in a carjacked vehicle with Channon and Chris tied up in the back. He said he refused to be involved and left.

According to Davidson's account, he claimed that two individuals arrived at his home in a carjacked vehicle, with Chris and Channon tied up in the back. Davidson said he refused to get involved and left the house. When he returned around 20 minutes later, Chris was gone, and Channon was tied up in the living room. Davidson claimed he left again, taking Channon's Forerunner and using it to sell drugs in the area. 
He later wiped it down and abandoned it. Davidson denied raping or harming Channon and instead attributed her assault to his half-brother, Letalvis Cobbins, and his best friend, George Thomas. On January 11th, Cobbins was arrested and brought in for questioning along with Davidson and Boyd, who remained in custody.


The suspects in custody continued to provide inconsistent accounts of their involvement in the brutal killings while police waited for forensic results to be analyzed. The investigation revealed that Davidson was the mastermind behind the crime and his goal was to obtain Channon's Forerunner to facilitate his drug trafficking activities. 
Davidson and Cobbins were charged with the murder of Chris and Channon, while Boyd was accused of being an accomplice. Vanessa Coleman, who was identified by the men during questioning, was also arrested and charged in connection with the crime.

According to Cobbins, he, Thomas, and Boyd went to meet with a girl, but upon arrival, they saw the Forerunner parked in the lot. A girl, identified as Channon, was talking to a guy, Chris, outside her door. When Chris went to hug her, Boyd and Thomas took advantage of the opportunity to carjack them at gunpoint. Cobbins drove back in their original vehicle while Boyd and Thomas came back in the Forerunner with the victims.

Once they arrived at the house on Chipman Street, Davidson took Channon into the bedroom while Boyd drove away with Chris in the Forerunner. Boyd returned alone later. Cobbins claimed that he did not rape either victim, but DNA evidence showed that he had left his semen in Channon's mouth.

Forensic evidence linked Lemaricus Davidson to the rape and murder of Channon Christian, as his semen was found on her remains, as well as on her clothing. Fingerprints belonging to all the suspects were also discovered throughout the crime scene, including the Forerunner and the Chipman house.

When initially questioned, Vanessa Coleman denied any involvement in the crime and claimed that she had been taken hostage along with the victims. She maintained that she was forced to participate in torture, rape, and murder against her will.


The Horrible Truth


Police determined that Channon and Chris were forced into the back seat of the Forerunner at gunpoint. Their hands were then bound behind their backs and two of the men got into the front seats of the SUV and drove the six miles to 2316 Chipman Street. Chris and Channon were then dragged into the house where their feet were bound and gags were placed into their mouths.


Chris was taken to a different room, away from Channon's sight, where he was subjected to brutal and violent sodomy and rape by multiple members of the group. Throughout the ordeal, he was gagged with a sock and blindfolded with a bandana. 


Additionally, a dog chain was placed around his neck, which was later used to drag him from the house the next day. Chris was still bound with his hands behind his back and his feet tied together. Eventually, he was placed in the back seat of another vehicle.

After Chris was taken away, Channon was left alone at the Chipman Street house, unaware of his fate. Despite her pleas for mercy, she was brutally assaulted by the group. They stripped her of all her clothing except for her camisole and sweater and proceeded to beat her repeatedly, causing cranial injuries. She was then tied to a chair and raped orally before being thrown to the ground where she was further beaten and kicked in the head and groin.

Channon suffered at the hands of her captors for 48 hours, enduring multiple brutal assaults including being beaten, sodomized with objects, and raped orally, anally, and vaginally. When her abusers were finished with her, they determined that they needed to eliminate any possible DNA evidence of their crime. 
To do so, they forced bleach down her throat and scrubbed her entire body, both internally and externally. Even amidst the unimaginable agony and torture, she remained conscious and pleaded for her life.

Her attackers then hog-tied Channon and taped a small trash bag over her face before stuffing her body into layers of household cleaning bags and tossing her into the trash with old dirty sheets wrapped around her. With a broken neck and unable to move, Channon slowly suffocated to death while her killers went about their business around her.

Davidson left the house with Chris’s cell phone and wearing the dead man’s shoes. He stopped by his girlfriend’s house and gave her some of Channon’s personal items as a present.
A search of Coleman’s home turned up a journal with an entry dated January 9, the day after the horrific attacks. In it, she wrote;

“Last night was one of a kind we stayed with a crackhead that is cool as hell. It snowed a little bit but it’s already melted. Let’s talk about adventures. I had one hell of an adventure since I’ve been in the big TN. It’s a crazy world these days but I love the fun adventures and lessons that I’ve learned it’s going to be a long, interesting year.”

Davidson, Cobbins, and Thomas were indicted on 16 counts of felony murder, rape, robbery, and kidnapping and two counts of premeditated murder; two counts of especially aggravated robbery; four counts of especially aggravated kidnapping; 20 counts of aggravated rape; and two counts of theft.

Coleman was indicted on 12 counts of felony murder related to rape, robbery, kidnapping, and theft; one count of premeditated murder in relation to Channon; one count of especially aggravated robbery for Chris; four counts of especially aggravated kidnapping; 20 counts of aggravated rape; and two counts of theft.

Boyd was charged with being an accessory to a carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury to another person and misprision of a felony which is basically covering for someone you know has committed a crime. Detectives believed he helped the killers conceal their crimes and provided them with a hideout from police after the murders.

The Trials

It took more than two years for trials to begin in the case. This was due to the sheer volume of motions filed by attorneys for the five defendants having to be heard. One significant request was a motion for a new venue. The defense attorneys claimed that media coverage of the case would influence any jury that could be found in the area. Judge Richard Baumgartner allowed Thomas and Boyd’s trial to go ahead in nearby Davidson County to avoid any bias.

Boyd was the first to go on trial. He maintained that he only found out about the killings after they had already happened. He was ultimately found guilty and sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Cobbins, Davidson, and Thomas were tried next. Astonishingly, their primary defense was that Channon and Chris were willing participants in their torment and deaths. Davidson’s attorney laid out a defense claiming that the two victims had driven to the Chipman house to buy drugs and Channon had consented to sex. He contended that everything was going fine until Boyd and Coleman arrived and physically assaulted the couple.

Because of this despicable defense tactic, the prosecutor was forced to submit evidence defending the character of Channon and Chris. Channon’s post-mortem toxicology report showed she had no drugs in her system. Chris showed only minimal marijuana levels consistent with only occasional, limited use.

The defense insisted that Channon’s participation in sex acts had been consensual. They pointed toward semen found in the crotch of her jeans that proved she had put them back on after sex. They claimed that she would not have been putting her jeans back on if she had not been in control of the situation. The prosecution pointed to the massive injuries she incurred as evidence that no one would have incurred such brutality consensually.

The jury wasn’t buying it. They found all three men guilty of the majority of the charges against them.

The Verdicts

Cobbins was sentenced to life without parole. Davidson was given the death penalty for the murders and an additional 80-year sentence for the related crimes. Thomas was sentenced to life without parole.

Coleman was granted immunity on the carjacking charges in exchange for her testimony but state courts ruled that this did not extend to the rape and murder charges against her. She was acquitted of first-degree murder but found guilty of some of the lesser charges and given 53 years in prison.

The Judge and Retrials

All of the defendants would go on to appeal their sentences but were unsuccessful. However, Judge Baumgartner who presided over the trials was later forced to resign from his bench after he was caught having an affair with a woman from the drug court who was securing prescription pills for his drug habit from convicts. He admitted to the misconduct, was given a diversionary sentence, disbarred, and forced to resign.

However, this called many of the cases over which he presided into question. This included the convictions and sentencing of George Thomas, Lemaricus Davidson, Letalvis Cobbins, and Vanessa Coleman. After a series of appeals, Cobbins and Davidson were denied new trials. Coleman and Thomas were granted new trials.

Coleman’s second trial resulted in the same guilty verdicts, but her sentence was reduced from 53 years to 25 years. George Thomas still received a life sentence but this time he was afforded the possibility of parole after 51 years. Further appeals were denied all the way up to the Supreme Court.

As a result of his co-defendant’s retrials, Eric Boyd was indicted on an additional 36 counts that included first-degree felony murder; first-degree premeditated murder; especially aggravated robbery; especially aggravated kidnapping; and aggravated rape. 


These charges were the result of repeated testimony in the assorted appeals that revealed he was much more involved than merely hiding the killers. George Thomas testified against him as part of a plea bargain to reduce his sentence. Boyd was convicted on nearly all the added charges and sentenced to life plus 90 years. His multiple appeals have all been denied.

In 2014, Vanessa Coleman became eligible for parole after serving 7 years but was denied release. Despite subsequent attempts, she was denied parole twice more, and in 2020, the panel ruled that she would not be eligible for parole again until 2030.

The Chipman Street house where Chris and Channon were brutally tortured was purchased by a waste collection company and eventually demolished. However, to commemorate the victims, a memorial was constructed at the site.