KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — They got their first full glimpse Tuesday into the horrific slayings of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom.
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On Wednesday, a Knox County jury will go deeper into the case as the prosecution moves speedily through its proof. Some 10 witnesses for the state took the stand Tuesday, the opening day of testimony.
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Still to be called are such key witnesses as Daphne Sutton, the girlfriend of Lemaricus Davidson, who rented the Chipman Street home where the victims were taken after being carjacked.
Davidson tried to give Sutton some of the clothes he'd stolen out of Channon's Toyota 4Runner after the carjacking. She rejected them.
The state also will be calling at some point this week the parents of the victims, the medical examiner who had to determine the extent of the victims' injuries and George Thomas, who already has been convicted of taking part in the January 2007 killings.
It's Thomas's testimony that may offer the most new evidence against Boyd. He was in the Chipman Street house and told police he saw Boyd bring Chris Newsom into the home after the carjackings.
He would also help establish criminal responsibility in the case, showing all the people who in some form were involved in killing Christian and Newsom and what actions they took.
After the killings, Davidson, his brother Letalvis Cobbins, Cobbins' girlfriend Vanessa Coleman and Thomas were soon arrested. But what they told police about each person's conduct couldn't be used against that defendant.
Now that Thomas has agreed to testify, what he says can be used against Boyd.
The men didn't know each other well. Thomas was visiting from Kentucky; Boyd was Davidson's jailhouse friend.
Thomas didn't like Davidson, and there's no proof to show he cared for Boyd, a longtime Knoxvillian, either.
Defense attorney Clinton Frazier already has reminded jurors that they should regard Thomas's upcoming testimony as opportune and highly biased.
Thomas is expected to get a break in sentencing for his testimony. He's been serving a prison sentence at a Northeast Tennessee prison but was brought back last week to Knox County to testify.
The jury is composed of seven women and five men. There are three people of color, and the panel clearly skews toward a younger demographic. While Knox County juries often are composed of middle-aged people or even seniors, perhaps five or six jurors on this panel are in their 20s.
On Tuesday, they got a sense of the torture the victims experienced -- seeing photos of Newsom's burned body and a glimpse of Christian's hand in the trash can in which she died.
It only gets more graphic from here.
