KNOXVILLE, Tenn — Twelve years after the murder of a young Knox County couple, Eric D. Boyd, 47, faces charges including kidnapping, rape and murder. He's accused of having a direct role in the attacks on Chris Newsom, 23, and Channon Christian, 21, in January 2007.
Wednesday marks day two of his trial. Get full coverage here.
WBIR will carry the trial live on WBIR.com, the WBIR app, and the WBIR YouTube channel. The live stream will not appear when court is not in session
BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS FROM DAY 2
- Convicted killer George Thomas, supposed to offer the state's best new evidence in this case, took the stand Wednesday afternoon and testified against Eric Boyd. He testified that he rode with Boyd and abound and blindfolded Newsom in Channon Christian's Toyota to a spot behind an industrial building. He said Boyd wanted his help with Newsom but he declined. No mention of anyone raping Newsom, even though we know Newsom indeed was raped. He testified Boyd marched Newsom off into the dark near a drainage ditch near railroad tracks. Thomas said he stayed behind in the vehicle.
- Thomas said he then saw three flashes and saw Boyd pull Newsom behind a building. Boyd allegedly then grabbed a can of gasoline, at which point Thomas heard a "bright whoosh" of fire.
- Thomas testified he and Boyd then returned to the Chipman Street house. No sign of Chris. Back at the house, he said he overheard Boyd telling Davidson - the group's alleged ringleader - "that's taken care of."
- Thomas testified he saw Boyd enter the front bedroom, where Channon Christian was being held, at least once.
- Thomas said he didn’t rape or kill Channon or Chris, but said he assumed Channon was raped.
- Former KPD officer Ed Kingsbury testified that it was Eric Boyd who helped authorities locate Lemaricus Davidson in the days following the Newsom-Christian slayings.
- Bernard Waggoner of ATP testified that evidence gathered from a house in Lebanon, KY included a red purse and .22 caliber revolver, and that those were the items that gave authorities permission to search the Chipman Street house.
- At the Chipman Street location, authorities confiscated pink high heel shoes, a small-sized skirt, Chris Newsom's burnt ID, and a burnt cell phone along with every item Channon Christian had in her 2005 Toyota 4Runner the night of the carjacking.
- Waggoner also found and seized a mostly empty bleach bottle from the house after the killings. The killers poured bleach in Channon’s mouth to try to destroy evidence of semen. It didn’t work though. Cobbins’ sperm was later identified.
- Former KPD evidence tech Joe Cox testified at length, walking jurors through video footage he took of the crime scene. That footage made for some of the day's most emotional moments, as the court was shown video of Channon Christian's arm sticking out of a trash bag in the can.
Eric Boyd Trial | Day Two
How Boyd helped lead authorities to Davidson
The first witness, former KPD officer Ed Kingsbury, recalled how Eric Boyd helped lead authorities to Lemaricus Davidson.
He was assigned to a Fugitive Task Force in 2007, and was tasked to help find Davidson at that time.
Kingsbury said authorities targeted Eric Boyd's mother's apartment, because Boyd was an associate of Davidson.
"Everyone has to go visit their mother at some point," Kingsbury testified.
Mr. Kingsbury then testified that it was Boyd who helped authorities locate Davidson.
Two more witnesses, Lieutenant Samantha Hill of Trina Gregory KCSO took the stand for a short while to walk through inmate intake procedures and what items were confiscated at Eric Boyd's house.
Pink heels, a mini skirt & a bleach bottle
Bernard Waggoner of ATF then took the stand to testify about how authorities apprehended Cobbins and Thomas in Lebanon, Kentucky.
He indicated in his testimony that one of the suspects' girlfriends, Stacey Lawson, told law enforcement the men were in a house owned by Vanessa Coleman.
Waggoner also testified to how a red purse containing evidence in the case were confiscated from the Kentucky home, and how a .22 caliber revolver was found inside the room where Vanessa Coleman and Letalvis Cobbins were staying.
At this point, prosecution provided no evidence that Boyd ever spent time at this home in Kentucky.
Waggoner further recounted how Cobbins and Thomas were turned over to U.S Marshalls in Louisville, Kentucky the next day. A KPD cruiser brought them to federal court in Kentucky.
Given this new evidence, Waggoner testified that authorities had occasion to give a search warrant to the house on Chipman Street.
Waggoner testified that once inside the house, they found pink high heel shoes, and also found a red skirt. There was a bottle of bleach and brown stains on the wall "which may be blood", he testified. There was also a list of maybe 24 or 30 items which were confiscated by authorities, including everything Channon Christian had in her SUV the night of the carjacking.
The defense then began cross examination. Boyd's defense attorney, Clinton Frazier asked in the interviews Waggoner conducted with Coleman if she ever mentioned Boyd but did not incriminate him.
Waggoner indicated that Coleman did not incriminate Boyd.
What they found on Chipman Street
Joe Cox, an evidence tech who worked with the Knoxville Police Department in 2007, took the stand after Waggoner. Cox was the first crime scene tech to arrive to Chipman Street. He videotaped the crime scene and processed much of the evidence.
In a lengthy testimony, he reviewed photo evidence of the Chipman Street house and helped prosecutors walk the jury through crime scene video.
Photos shown to the jury show that the house was in disarray and the TV still on when KPD served search warrant January 9, 2007.
Police found a rifle and Channon’s iPod - inscribed with 'love you mom and dad' - in the house along with everything she had in her SUV the night of the carjacking.
Cox also identified a pair of bikini bottoms found in a garbage bag in the kitchen, as well as a note Channon’s best friend Kara had written to Channon.
Among the other pieces of evidence found in the Chipman Street house was Chris Newsom's burnt ID and a burnt cell phone.
[ Warning graphic testimony ]
The house was in total disarray. The television was still on, white blankets covered the windows, random chairs were propped up throughout the house, and piles of clothes were strewn about the floor.
In the kitchen, the video showed where a can of gasoline sits beside the fridge and bleaching equipment lines the sink.
At this point in the testimony, Cox demonstrated to the jury where Channon Christian's arm is sticking out of a garbage bag in the kitchen.
Cox continued to identify pieces of physical evidence and the state submitted them into the record.
That included Channon's iPod which had "love you, mom and dad" inscribed in the back.
As of 1:48 P.M., Cox was continuing to identify pieces of physical evidence and the state was submitting them into the record.
That included Channon's iPod, which had "Channon Christian love you Mom and Dad'" inscribed on the back. More evidence includes a rifle found inside the Chipman St. house, DVDs, and casings.
For about a half hour, Cox filed more items taken from house after the killers scattered into evidence. That included a John Mayer CD, Channon’s jeans, makeup, Chris’s burned driver's license, a UT commuter parking pass and a Food City value card among other items.
For another ten minutes, Cox continued to pull items into evidence. A little before the defense cross examined him, he pulled ones that relate more directly to the case - Channon's social security card, a canister of gas, a cloth with blood on it.
Just before 2:30 P.M., the defense began to cross Cox about his testimony.
Specifically, the defense begins cross by talking about the scales found in Chipman St. with the white powder on them.
Frazier also asked about filters found nearby and three gas cans found in the house. Cox stepped down.
And then, around 2:42 P.M., convicted killer in the Christian-Newsom case George Thomas took the stand.
THOMAS TESTIMONY: "The less that I say anything...the better for myself."
George Thomas took the stand to testify against Eric Boyd at 2:42 P.M.
Prosecutor TaKisha Fitzgerald intially started by questioning Thomas' relationships to Boyd and the rest of the suspects.
Fitzgerald asked what happened once everyone in Thomas' group gets to Knoxville. Thomas indicated Lemaricus "got into it" with his girlfriend Daphne Sutton.
He recalled that he met Boyd only once they were in Knoxville.
Thomas indicated that once Newsom and Christian were back at the Chipman Street house, they were separated. Christian was put in a bedroom, Newsom was kept in a glassed porch.
Thomas testified that the first time he saw Boyd, Boyd was with the victims.
At that point in the testimony, the prosecutor backed Thomas up to have him state specifically where Eric Boyd was during the situation.
Thomas indicated Boyd was near Newsom who was "bound by cloth....strings", and also said a bound Christian was taken by Davidson into another bedroom.
Thomas says Davidson told him to go with Boyd. "We go down to the SUV." Says Newsom goes out of house first, Boyd behind him, leading him out.
Thomas said Boyd drove him and Newsom in Channon’s vehicle to a place behind an industrial building.
Boyd wanted Thomas to help him with Newsom, but Thomas said he declined.
He then testified that Boyd took Chris off in the dark away from him. He said he saw three gun flashes in the dark.
"I seen he had a gun, I didn't see him put the gun in his hand," Thomas said."I seen a bright woosh."
Thomas testified that after Chris is shot and burned, he and Boyd drove back to Chipman Street house and reenter it.
Boyd, according to Thomas, then tells Davidson, "That's taken care of."
Arguments at the house then broke out after Newsom's murder, with everyone but Boyd and Davidson wanting to get out of the house.
Thomas testified that Boyd told the group something to the effect of: "Let us finish what we're doing." Thomas said he doesn't know what Boyd and Davidson want to finish up. Then Boyd leaves, Thomas says, but returns after 20-30 minutes.
At this point, Thomas testified Channon was still in the front bedroom when Boyd came back. Boyd said something to Lemaricus. Then, he says, Davidson, Cobbins and Coleman get in SUV to go to a friend's house.
Boyd, according to Thomas, stayed back at the house with Channon Christian.
Once they were all back at the house, Thomas said not much was said between the party. They spend the night at the house, expect Boyd who left about 4 hours later. According to Thomas, the remaining suspects were smoking weed and sleeping around inside the house.
Thomas testified he saw Davidson, Boyd, and Cobbins all enter the front bedroom where Channon Christian was being held at least once, said Thomas.
When they wake up the next morning, Thomas testified that "there was nothing to say."
Cobbins, Coleman, and Thomas went to the store, leaving Davidson alone again with Christian.
"The way I was looking at it, the less that I say anything or put my two cents in than the better for myself," Thomas said.
He testified he doesn't know what happened to Channon, before recounting how he got captured by authorities in Kentucky.
The judge, again with a warning to the jurors that they need to stay away from media coverage of this case, lets them go at 4:02 P.M.
The trial of Eric Boyd will continue again tomorrow at 9:30 A.M.