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Wednesday, September 2, 2026

375. Knoxville Nightmare: Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom

 On a cold Saturday night in January 2007, 21-year-old Channon Christian and her boyfriend, 23-year-old Christopher Newsom, set out for a party. They never arrived. By the following afternoon, two families were desperately searching Knoxville, unaware that their children had crossed paths with a group of strangers whose actions would leave behind one of the most disturbing crime scenes Tennessee had ever witnessed. This is not simply a story about extraordinary cruelty. It is also the story of two deeply loved young people, the families who refused to stop fighting for them, and a pursuit of justice that would take more than a decade to complete. 




Join Cam and Jen of Our True Crime Podcast as we discuss ‘Knoxville Nightmare: Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom.’

Listener discretion by @octoberpodVHS

All music by our executive editors @theinkypawprint

Sources: 

https://web.archive.org/web/20070522111056/http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0%2C1406%2CKNS_347_5277265%2C00.html

http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/37878832/fifth-person-charged-in-gruesome-2007-murders-of-young-knoxville-couple

https://web.archive.org/web/20070522111056/http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0%2C1406%2CKNS_347_5277265%2C00.html

http://web.knoxnews.com/pdf/0202body_presentment.pdf

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/crime/2018/04/04/christian-newsom-torture-slayings/485812002/

http://www.snopes.com/politics/crime/newsom.asp

https://web.archive.org/web/20210201085000/https://apps.tn.gov/foil-app/details.jsp

http://archive.knoxnews.com/news/local/transcript-davidson-says-he-told-christian-he-would-make-sure-she-got-out-ep-409812679-359308971.html

https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/10-years-later-remembering-christian-newsom/51-381967577

https://web.archive.org/web/20210423085932/https://casetext.com/case/us-v-boyd-6

http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/37878832/fifth-person-charged-in-gruesome-2007-murders-of-young-knoxville-couple

https://web.archive.org/web/20120526114132/http://www.wate.com/story/18618771/tennessee-supreme-court-overturns-new-trial-rulings-in-christian-newsom-murders

http://archive.knoxnews.com/news/local/judge-sentences-vanessa-coleman-to-35-years-ep-358988293-356193051.html/

https://web.archive.org/web/20130607191130/http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2013/jun/04/judges-order-ensures-george-thomas-will-die-in

https://web.archive.org/web/20070605040843/http://www.crimelibrary.com/news/original/0507/0301_channon_christian.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20160116071346/http://jacksonville.com/apnews/stories/051707/D8P6ED601.shtml

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16599622

https://web.archive.org/web/20101117170807/http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=11412794

http://archive.knoxnews.com/news/local/lemaricus-davidson-gets-80-more-years-in-torture-slaying-case-ep-408272924-358681941.html

https://www.oakridger.com/article/20090825/NEWS/308259998

https://web.archive.org/web/20100909110136/http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/aug/26/torture-slayings-trial-day-9-jury-weighs-life-deat

https://archive.knoxnews.com/news/local/the-verdicts-in-the-george-thomas-trial-ep-409259416-359047901.html/

https://web.archive.org/web/20101117170809/http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=11646588

https://web.archive.org/web/20101003193339/http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/jul/30/coleman-gets-35-years-judge-rejects-innocent-defen

https://web.archive.org/web/20220428212455/https://casetext.com/case/us-v-boyd-2

https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/local/boyd-trial/judge-cannot-rule-on-george-thomas-sentence-deal-until-scope-of-agreement-determined/51-df8fa369-639b-4a5a-a279-cc9394b94ffe

https://web.archive.org/web/20220609144811/https://www.kvue.com/article/news/crime/list-heres-what-eric-boyd-was-found-guilty-of-in-deaths-of-channon-christian-chris-newsom/51-b089fe1e-94a1-4e46-af85-1751efff1eaa

State v. Lemaricus Devall Davidson, Tennessee Supreme Court, 2016.

State v. Letalvis Darnell Cobbins, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, 2014.

State v. George Geovonni Thomas, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, 2015.

State v. Vanessa Coleman, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, 2014.

State v. Eric Boyd, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, 2021.

United States v. Eric Boyd, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 2011.

Tennessee General Assembly, Public Chapter 694, the Chris Newsom Act.

Tennessee General Assembly, Public Chapter 713, the Channon Christian Act.