Posted on 04/10/2008 5:48:31 AM PDT by Leisler
A 21-year-old University of Tennessee student was gang-raped, choked and bound in January 2007 before being stuffed inside a trash can while still alive, a federal prosecutor told jurors in opening court statements today.
"The evidence will be when she went into that trash can, she was alive," Assistant U.S. Attorney David Jennings said this afternoon in U.S. District Court. "Probably, mercifully, Channon Christian died (later that evening)."
Jennings revealed details about the killings of Christian and her 23-year-old boyfriend, Christopher Newsom, as a jury was seated in the trial of Eric Dewayne "E" Boyd.
Boyd is charged with helping hide out Lemaricus "Slim" Davidson, the alleged ringleader in the carjacking and killing of Christian and Newsom. Jennings also told jurors that Newsom, who had been raped by his assailants, was shot three times.
"These people tie him up, gag him, wrap him in cloth material ... shot him in the back, shot him in the neck, and they shot a kill shot to his head. Then, his body was doused with gasoline and set on fire."
Christian's body was later found in a trash can in a house on Chipman Street. Newsom's body was found nearby along railroad tracks.
Defense attorney Phil Lomonaco told jurors today the slayings were horrific but had nothing to do with Boyd, who he said only learned of the killings hours before he led police to Davidson.
"What you will hear Mr. Boyd say is he told Davidson to turn himself in. You will hear Mr. Boyd say, 'When he told me what happened, I didn't want anything to do with him. That's when I left.'"
Lomonaco contends that Boyd thought Davidson had "child support issues" from which he was running. The lawyer said his client never intended to help him evade police in the federal carjacking.
Although Boyd did not go to police once he learned about the Christian-Newsom homicides and Davidson's alleged roles in them, Lomonaco said Boyd wound up being stopped by the police a few hours later anyway. He then immediately led them to a vacant house on Reynolds Street where Davidson, wearing Newsom's tennis shoes, was hiding.
Earlier today, lawyers chose 12 women and four men to sit as Boyd's jury. The panel includes four alternates.
All are white except for one black woman. Only two black prospective jurors were in the pool of 36 called this morning. One of those was a black man who was excused.
He said he had a son who had been arrested by the Knoxville Police Department, the lead investigative agency in this case.
No reason was given why he was excused, but lawyers don't have to give a reason for whom they choose to stay or let go at this stage of the process.
As the day's proceedings began, Boyd asked to address U.S. District Judge Tom Varlan about an encounter Tuesday with the relatives of Christian.
On Tuesday Boyd looked back at the Christian family, smiled and appeared to mouth the words, "Bring it on."
Christian's father, Gary Christian, left the courtroom visibly upset but returned a short time later.
Lomonaco told Varlan today that Boyd had written a statement about the incident and wanted to address the judge.
Lomonaco said he believed it would be better if Lomonaco rather than Boyd read the statement.
Jennings immediately rose from his seat and asked for a private discussion with Varlan and Lomonaco at the court bench. Boyd remained at the defense table.
After a few minutes, Lomonaco returned to the defense table, made no further comment, and jury selection continued.
Asked later what Boyd had intended to tell Varlan, Lomonaco said, "It's a private matter between Mr. Boyd and the judge."
However, Lomonaco alleged that Gary Christian initiated Tuesday's encounter by pointing at Boyd.
Gary Christian typically stares intently at all of the suspects charged in the fatal carjacking case. At Boyd's first federal court appearance in January 2007, he made a shooting gesture with his hand at Boyd after Boyd looked directly at him and grinned.
Since then Christian has not made any overt gestures toward Boyd, and the family on Tuesday disputed the notion that he prompted Boyd's actions.
Channon Christian was held captive for hours in January 2007 inside a Chipman Street home leased to Davidson's girlfriend.
Davidson and three others are charged in Knox County Criminal Court with the actual slayings. Boyd is not charged in those slayings or the carjacking that authorities say set the stage for the rape and torture that followed inside a Chipman Street house.
However, Jennings and Tracy Stone must prove Davidson's role in the fatal carjacking in order to prove Boyd guilty of being an accessory.
The case has roiled racial waters, spurring waves of dissension between those who believe the black-on-white crime should be labeled a case of racial hatred and Boyd supporters who contend that authorities gave Davidson's white girlfriend a prosecutorial pass.
Condolences to families and friends of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom.
Yes, where are all the white groups demonstrating against this hate crime?
Cowed, I’m sure.
Yes, prayers for their continued strength and for the Lord’s peace to come to them.
No doubt these “alleged perpetrators”
had rough childhoods and should be released and helped to go back to school.\
Hang their sorry asses. Do it on commercial t.v. and make an example of their sorry lives.
You can find out more here:
http://amren.com/ar/2007/07/index.html
Sorry, can't provide a direct link (hard facts from a controversial source)
- John
I think there is a moratorium on the death penalty in TN because of concerns that it is “not humane.” How utterly ironic and sickeningly stupid. These kids suffered a death so depraved and vile. It shows what’s wrong with our society when some actually are concerned about the rapist/killers having to suffer if they are executed.
The headline is a bit surprising to me though. Most of these graphic details were already known. But not widely reported of course by the national media. Heaven forbid they reveal the ugly facts.
This article does not mention mutilation. Some of those stories have been discounted but I wonder if the real facts will come out. The dead man’s father says authorities told him the bodies were intact (except for his son being set on fire of course!) but later the prosecutor said the body had been mutilated. So where is the truth, I wonder. Again, perhaps the media are unwilling to say.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Sadly what you advocate will never happen. So there will never truly be justice in this case, even if the scumbags are ever executed. Only if there is a hell will they get what’s coming to them.
As far as their upbringing goes, I am sick of the criminal coddlers making excuses by saying they have to turn to crime because of poverty and lack of opportunity. None of them looked to be starving, and obviously they were not homeless as they had this house of horrors in which to commit their perverted acts. So how exactly were they driven to these vile acts of rape because of “poverty?” I could barf thinking about it.
Actually there’ve been white supremacist groups that have shown up in Knoxville to protest. Not many, though, and they’ve generally been ignored or shouted down by counter-protestors.
Forget the whole “hate crime” shtick. Those four deserve to die just for their actions, who cares about their motivation. Boyd is “only” being accused of hiding the lead murderer after the face, not being involved in the actual murder. So even if he gets convicted, he won’t ride the needle, he’ll just get a chunk of vacation time on the taxpayers of Tennessee.
}:-)4
Yes. Fox, CNN and MSNBC all ran stories on it. CNN did an hour on it last May. What difference does that make?
Just wait, if Osama Obama gets to be president it will open season on whitey...
Anyways, I be liv’n de easy life on account of my stealing frm de poor folk.
We'll have a hung jury, or an conviction eventually overturned on appeal.
The groundwork's already being laid in Louisiana.
All it takes is one liberal judge.
Atrocity. And should be called such.
This would be headline news, if the perpetrators had been white, and the victims black.
I am tired of the hypocrisy of liberalism. I have had enough. As far as I’m concerned, they should shut up and go to Hell.
It is a hate crime because kidnapping, rape, and murder are not all common occurances in a “robbery”. Even in a “robbery gone wrong” or a “robbery with no surviving witnesses”.
Nope, the liberal MSM treated this case with just cursory attention.
They had to be careful as to not inflame whitey!
The KKK showed up and offered their SUPPORT to the ATF/FBI/Government at Waco.
The side they chose then didn’t get slurred in the media. The media decides who’s right and who’s wrong and then what details to report, including the presence of supporters/detractors.
The protesters in FLA were consistently derided and referred to as “mobs” in ALL mainstream media, daily!
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