Channon Gail Christian, 21, and Hugh Christopher Newsom, Jr., 23, were a couple from Knoxville, Tennessee. They were both raped, tortured and murdered after being kidnapped early on the morning of January 7, 2007. Their vehicle had been carjacked.

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 Dr. Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan at the subsequent trial of Eric Boyd, Newsom was repeatedly sodomized with an object 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.

Channon's death came only after hours of sexual torture, medical examiner Mileusnic-Polchan testified. Channon 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 Channon 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. Channon died slowly, suffocating, the medical examiner said.

• George Geovonni "Detroit" Thomas, 24, faced 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.

• Letalvis "Rome" Cobbins, 24, (b. December 20, 1982) faced the same 46 charges as Thomas. He has also been charged with assaulting a correctional officer while incarcerated pending trial. Previously in 2003, Cobbins was convicted of third-degree attempted robbery in New York state. He and Davidson are brothers. Cobbins was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

• Lemaricus Devall "Slim" Davidson, 25, (b. June 13, 1981) faced the same 46 charges as Thomas. Previously Davidson had just completed serving a five-year sentence in Tennessee on a previous felony conviction for carjacking and aggravated robbery on August 5, 2006.

• Vanessa Coleman, 18, was arrested by the Lebanon Police Department 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. She was convicted and sentenced to 53 years in prison on July 30, 2010.

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.

The four suspects indicted in Knox County were originally scheduled to be tried separately, at trials scheduled between May and August 2008. However, the trial date for the subjects indicted in Knox County was moved back to 2009 in February 2008. 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. Thomas was granted the motion and was scheduled to go on trial on August 11. Judge Baumgartner ruled that Thomas' phone calls made from the jailhouse to his acquaintances were admissible as evidence.

On August 25, 2009, Letalvis D. Cobbins was found guilty of the murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom. Cobbins faced the possibility of the death penalty because he was convicted of first degree felony murder in the murder of Christian. He was found guilty of facilitation of murder for Newsom but he was acquitted of Newsom's rape. The jurors worked about 10 hours Monday and on Tuesday morning before reaching a verdict. They never asked Judge Richard Baumgartner any questions during their deliberations. On August 26, Cobbins was sentenced to life without parole.

On October 28, 2009, Lemaricus Devall Davidson was found guilty on all counts. He was found not guilty on three counts of the aggravated rape of Christopher Newsom but was found guilty of the lesser included charges of facilitation of rape. The sentencing hearing began on October 29, 2009 at 9am EST. The sentence hearing ended the next day October 30, 2009 at approx 3pm EST when a jury, after deliberating approx 3 hours, sentenced Lemaricus Davidson to death on 4 of the conviction counts.

On December 8, 2009, George Thomas was found guilty on all counts, including the ones the other defendants were acquitted of despite his case being based solely on circumstantial evidence and testimony. The sentencing hearing began December 8th, 2009 and ended on December 10th, 2009 at approx 10:45 am EST when the jury, after approx 3 hours of deliberation, returned a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole on each of the 4 capital convictions.

The national news media was criticized for allegedly ignoring the story because the victims were white and the suspects black. This criticism was also fueled by erroneous early reports of dismemberment and mutilations. Most of the original reports with misinformation (reported from a federal deputy US Marshal after the suspects' arrest in Kentucky) were later denied by the District Attorney.

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." 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." "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."

Some commentators continued to disagree, claiming that such a crime would include a motive of racial hatred. Conservative political commentator Michelle Malkin repeated this accusation on her blog and on Fox News' O'Reilly Factor program. 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." Christian's father (addressing those whom he believes used his daughter's death to further their own agenda) appeared ambivalent, stating "[the crime] ain't about you."

The case also attracted the attention of white supremacists. On May 27, 2007, around 30 white supremacists led by Alex Linder rallied in downtown Knoxville in protest of the murders. They were met by a larger number of counter-protestors, many dressed as clowns (parodying the Ku Klux Klan).

After the protest, syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts dismissed claims that the crime was underreported, citing a 2001 report that found "Blacks and Latinos are underrepresented in news media as victims of crime and significantly overrepresented as perpetrators." Pitts added that he was "unkindly disposed toward the crackpots, incendiaries and flat-out racists who have chosen this tragedy upon which to take an obscene and ludicrous stand" and that they and any other white Americans who felt victimized by the perceived under reporting could "cry me a river."

The house at 2316 Chipman Street was bought by a nearby business and razed in October 2008; the new owners of the lot planned to build a simple memorial.

Wate.com

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- A loud gasp was uttered in the courtroom Friday when the first death penalty sentence was read by the jury foreman as LeMaricus Devall Davidson was given four death penalty sentences for the murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom.

The jurors unanimously found Davidson, 28, should receive the death penalty on the four called capital charges. Those are for the two first degree felony murder charges and the two premeditated first degree murders of Channon Christian and her boyfriend, Christopher Newsom, in January 2007.

The jury got the case at 10:24 a.m. and reached a decision just before 2:30 p.m.

Jurors found a long list of aggravating factors, including the torture of the victims and their ability to identify the defendant, outweighed all mitigating circumstances brought by the defense.

After the sentences were read, Judge Richard Baumgartner said to Davidson, "The state imposes the penalty of death by lethal injection. May you find peace with your maker."

Davidson was found guilty Wednesday of all the murder charges of Channon Christian and her boyfriend, Christopher Newsom, in January 2007.

Prosecutors sought called members of the victims' families to the stand Thursday to give their impact statements as they sought the death penalty.

However, the defense had hoped he would receive life in prison (with the possibility of parole after 51 years), or life in prison without parole instead.

Davidson was also found guilty of especially aggravated robbery, especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated rape and theft in this case.

The jury found Davidson guilty of the lesser charge of facilitating Newsom's rapes, rather than raping Newsom himself.

Davidson was found guilty of raping Christian.

He's now the 90th person sent to Tennessee's death row, but he's only the second to be put there with four death sentences.

The jury was given extra security to leave the court Friday afternoon.

Victims' families thank jury

"The Christians and the Newsoms got justice today," said Channon Christian's mother, Deena, as the families' press conference started.

"I finally get to go see her (my daughter) and tell her, one down," said Channon's father, Gary, referring to a promise he made to his daughter to get justice for her kidnapping, torture and murder.

Chris Newsom's father, Hugh, said the jury, which is from Knox County, is "the pillars of our community" and a round of applause by the families followed.

When asked what they thought of Davidson's attorneys already seeking a mistrial, Deena said, "He's been crying since day one. Let him cry."

"I respect this court. I respect this jury, but I do not have to respect a couple of individuals because the court made them do something," Gary said, referring to defense attorneys David Eldridge and Doug Trant, "for attacking their son (as he looked at the Newsoms) and our daughter."

"There is no vindication in this," Gary said.

Hugh Newsom said Davidson "not one time" showed remorse for his actions during the trial.

Gary Christian asked the "thousands and thousands of people praying for them to pray for the jury. I know it was hard for them to do."

The death penalty "just makes it easier to go on," Deena said. "This made a dent in it," Gary added.

"We got justice despite the system," Deena said.

Hugh Newsom said after the other trials in this case was over, he wants to sit down with all the media and set the record straight on the reprimand they received during the testimony phase of this trial for an exchange with a defense attorney.

Hugh said they "weren't the instigators." Gary Christian said with a laugh that he didn't know if he would wait that long."

State's closing: No excuses for Davidson's actions

Prosecutor Takisha Fitzgerald told the jury Friday morning that Davidson had a tough life, but "it does not excuse what he did. Life is about opportunities and decisions you make."

"So what if he had a bad childhood, a crack addicted mother? You still have choices," Fitzgerald said. "Just obey the rules, Mr. Davidson," she says, "but he doesn't. He won't."

Davidson had an opportunity at age 16 to turn his life around in the care of a loving foster family.

His foster parents don't abandon him, even in prison, Fitzgerald told the jury. "What does he do after six years in prison for aggravated robbery? "He comes to Knoxville to sell dope."

At the end, Chris Newsom had only his life left, but "he (Davidson)took that," Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald said also Christian gave Davidson some of her trust when she told him she wanted to live. "She didn't want to die."

Then Fitzgerald said, "He didn't have to kill her." 

She also said at the end of their lives, all Newsom and Christian had was that they could identify their attackers.

"A rough early life does not excuse what you do at 26 when you take the lives of two young kids," Fitzgerald said.

Defense's closing: Please spare his life

Defense attorney Doug Trant began his closing argument by saying, Davidson had a horrible childhood, "and it's not an excuse, but an explanation" on how he got here.

"Why would you sentence him to life without parole?" Trant asked. He pointed to the Rudd family, took Davidson in as their foster son. "Consider that heavily."

Trant reminded the jury of Dr. Peter Brown's statement Thursday in his testimony. "He (Davidson) knows right from wrong when he's sober" and not on a cocktail of drugs.

Trant told the jury he knows they don't want to make the decision about Davidson's sentence, "but it has to be done."

"I'm going to ask you to spare his life," Trant said. "Please, I'm begging you to do the right thing."

"Do you think this will be the last death penalty in this case," one of the media asked. "We hope so, but we don't know," Deena said.

State's rebuttal closing: Crimes overwhelm all other factors

Prosecutor Leland Price told the jury Davidson could have used his Aunt Rose as inspiration "but he didn't."

"Use your common sense. Davidson had people who tried to help him," Price said, referring to the Rudd family. "He had every opportunity in the world."

"The aggravating circumstances are overwhelming beyond the shadow of a doubt," Price said.

Think of the suffering those kids went through, Price said. "You know the physical suffering. Think about the mental anguish."

"Heinous, atrocious and cruel doesn't begin to describe what they went through," Price said.

"Why were they killed," Price asked? "They knew too much."

Price said Newsom's family didn't get to have funeral with an open casket because his body was so mutilated.

"Why burn Newsom's body? Why did they mutilate his body?" Price asked. "They left him there for the whole world to see along those railroad tracks."

"These weren't just murders," Price said. "These crimes cry out for the maximum penalty. Give us justice."