January 2021

On Saturday, January 6, 2007 Channon Christian (21) told her Mom she was planning to go to a party after work with her boyfriend, Chris Newsom (23). The next morning Channon’s Mom awakes & quickly realizes her daughter never came back home.

Come to find out… neither of them ever even made it to the party.

Channon’s Mom tried calling her cell phone numerous times with no answer and no return call even though Channon would always call her Mom back. Channon’s best friend called Channon’s Mom also concerned since she never showed up and she can’t get in touch with her friend. Channon’s mother tracked down contact info for her daughters boyfriend’s (Chris) parents, to see if maybe they knew anything. They did not, but at that point they didn’t suspect anything awry. Chris didn’t necessarily keep a schedule and would come and go as he pleased.

Chris & Channon’s relationship began after they met at a party and quickly hit it off. Chris’s Mom recalls that Channon was the first girl her son ever brought home to meet the family so they knew he must really like her & their relationship was growing more serious.

That next morning (Sunday, January 7, 2007) Channon was expected to arrive at work but again never showed.

Of course, Channon’s Mom had already contacted the police about her missing daughter but was told that because she was over the age of 18, she had the right to go missing until evidenced otherwise.

They soon learned Channon’s cell phone had last pinged in the Cherry Street area, which at the time was a part of town you didn’t go, not unless you lived there- it was known as a high crime neighborhood.

At this point, Chris’s parents were also been trying to get in touch with him on his cell phone, but no luck there either. They too contacted the police and were told that because he was over the age of 21, they would have to wait 24 hours to file a missing person’s report.

Neither Channon or Chris’s distraught families were willing to wait any longer…so they got together with their families & friends to start their own search in the areas surrounding where Channon’s phone last pinged.

During their own search they found Channon’s vehicle in that shady part of town. Finally this was enough for the local Police Department to get involved.

In the car they observed the drivers side seat had been pushed way back (unlike the position Channon would need to be able to reach the pedals) and it was obvious the vehicle had been wiped down in an attempt to hide any evidence.

Sadly, on January 8, 2007 Chris Newsom’s parents were informed that they have found their beloved son, murdered. His body had been found burning by the railroad tracks. He had been raped, shot 3 times (in his neck, back and head) and set on fire.

During the processing of Channon’s vehicle, a thumbprint was found, a match to someone already in the system. The fingerprint led them to Lemaricus Davidson. Davidson had just recently been released from prison after serving time for a carjacking.

A search warrant was obtained for Davidsons address and during the sweep nobody was home. The thorough search of the home included the kitchen trashcan. Inside the trashcan, they first spotted an arm… then a head…it was a body… a female… it was Channon, her lifeless beaten body hidden the trashcan. It would be determined that Channon had also been savagely raped numerous times. Evidence also indicated that her attackers even tried to break her neck. She had been stuffed into the trashcan while still alive and was covered up… left to die. She suffocated inside the trashcan, eventually resulting in her death.

In the messy small house they also found video rentals from library in Kentucky, rented by George Thomas. So not only were they looking for the whereabouts of Lemaricus Davidson but also George Thomas, to see if he had any connection to the gruesome murders of Channon & Chris.

Listed on the lease to the house, they also found a female’s name- Daphne Sutton. Daphne was Lemaricus’s girlfriend & admitted she lived in the house with Davidson up until just before Channon & Chris went missing.

During questioning, Daphne tells police that on January 7th Lemaricus had visitors at the house: Letalvis Cobbins (Lemaricus’s half brother), George Thomas and Vanessa Coleman. Daphne last saw Lemaricus when she dropped him off over at Eric Boyd’s home later on that day.

The police talked with Eric Boyd who led them to an abandoned property where Lemaricus was. They let Eric Boyd go, initially not recognizing his potential involvement in the horrific murders. But once this he was identified as being involved, they tracked him down & brought him back in. Mind you, Boyd was not formally charged until 12 years after the fact.

The police had eventually identified 5 suspects for the murder of Channon Christian & Chris Newsom. The suspects were: Lemaricus Davidson (25), George Thomas (27), Letalvis Cobbins (24), Vanessa Coleman (18), and finally Eric Boyd (34).

According to 9News, Davidson had somewhere to be, he needed a car but nobody in his circle had one, so they set out to carjack one.

Channon & Chris stopped over at a friends home and were spotted outside of Channon’s Toyota 4Runner by their attackers.

Reportedly, Davidson & Boyd planned only to carjack them but they were spooked by oncoming headlights. They say that in fear of getting caught they shoved them into the vehicle and took them with them instead back to Davidson’s house. Chris was forced out to the railroad tracks where his body was found burning. During this time, Channon was inside the Davidson home being sexually tortured and severely beaten before being left for dead.

Lemaricus Davidson was sentenced to death and is on death row awaiting execution. Eric Boyd has since been sentenced to life in prison. Letalvis Cobbins is also currently serving a life sentence without parole. George Thomas  is serving a 50-year sentence which ends in May 2053. Vanessa Coleman received only a 35 year sentence for her role in these vicious murders. In December 2014 Vanessa was denied parole with her next consideration date in December 2020. In December 2020 she again went before the parole board and was denied. It’ll be another 10 years before she’s eligible to go before parole board again.

Sources- (all available links are included below)

Christopher Newsom, Channon Christian Remembered, 6 Years After Horrific Torture Slaying

Torture-Murder Victims Brutally Killed In ‘Worst Crime’ Saw Case Derailed By Shocking Court Secret

BOYD TRIAL-The last suspect | ‘I’ve always had a mother’s instinct that he was the one who murdered my son’

Injustice with Nancy Grace on Oxygen, Season 2 episode 5: Murders & Mistrials, aired 11/5/2020

Murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murders_of_Channon_Christian_and_Christopher_Newsom&oldid=998715976 (last visited Jan. 6, 2021).