Posted on 04/16/2008 5:36:09 AM PDT by Travis McGee
The defense in the case of an accused accessory to a fatal carjacking rested its case in U.S. District Court just before noon.
Defense attorney Phil Lomonaco sent only two witnesses to the stand, one of whom was a government witness from Monday.
The first witness was a carpenter whose sole job was to measure the distance from the Chipman Street house where a Knoxville couple was slain to the parking lot of a nearby business where an employee earlier testified he saw a car linked to Eric Dewayne "E" Boyd soon after the January 2007 fatal carjacking.
The second witness was Leesa Greer who testified Monday that she saw Boyd taking food to a vacant house where alleged ringleader of the fatal carjacking was hiding out.
Lomonaco recalled her largely to show that she had a sexual relationship with alleged ringleader Lemaricus "Slim" Davidson.
He accused her - instead of Boyd - of taking food to Davidson. She denied it.
Closing arguments will begin after lunch.
The government rested its case this morning.
"At this time, the United States of America rests its case in chief," said Assistant U.S. Attorney David Jennings.
The announcement came after graphic testimony from Knox County Acting Medical Examiner Dr. Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan about injuries sustained by Channon Christian, 21.
Authorities say Christian and her boyfriend, Christopher Newsom, 23, were carjacked, tortured and killed in January 2007. Newsom's burned boy was found along railroad tracks off Cherry Street.
Mileusnic-Polchan testified this morning that Christian suffered a slow death, suffocating inside a trash can in the kitchen of the nearby house on Chipman Street.
Boyd is accused of hiding out Davidson, who lived in the house.
Christian had been beaten with enough force to cause bruising on her brain, but the worst injuries, Mileusnic-Polchan said, were sustained in what she described as a savage sexual assault.
"It's much more than a simple sexual trauma," she testified. "It's extreme."
She said Christian was not only repeatedly raped both orally, vaginally and rectally, but that it appears an object was used in the attack.
Christian had extensive injuries in the genital region and her mouth, including the tearing of the membrane that connected Christian's lips to her gums.
She said Christian suffocated because she was placed into a forced fetal position inside the trash can as well as because of a plastic garbage bag that had been pulled tightly over her face.
"It was a slow asphyxia death," she said. "My conclusion was she actually died in the trash can."
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation serology expert Jennifer Millsaps linked brothers Davidson and Letalvis "Rome" Cobbins to the sexual attack on Christian.
Lomonaco asked U.S. District Judge Tom Varlan to toss out the case this morning, arguing that either the government had not proven its accessory-to-carjacking case or should be punished for race-based decision-making in charging Boyd but letting go Davidson's white girlfriend, Daphne Sutton.
Lomonaco made a similar claim on the eve of trial.
Jennings repeated his assertion that, at most, evidence suggested Sutton could have been an accessory to murder for allowing Davidson to stay with her after she learned of the discovery of the body Newsom.
However, murder except in limited circumstances is not a federal crime, and Jennings said there is nothing to suggest she knew about the carjacking.
"She didn't know it was a carjacking when she heard about the body being found near the railroad tracks," Jennings said, referring to Newsom, whose body was found burned along tracks near Chipman Street.
"We have to prove, to bring federal charges of accessory to carjacking, actual knowledge of the carjacking. We've proven that with regard to (Boyd), clearly, possibly, right after the crime itself."
In a videotaped statement played for jurors Monday, Boyd indicated Newsom and Christian never saw the attack coming.
Still, the young couple might have escaped the horrors that would follow but for a passing car.
"They weren't able to carjack them," Boyd recalled in a videotaped statement played for jurors. "They just, I guess, a car was coming (so they) pushed them in, right in the car, because dude was giving the girl a kiss."
Just how Boyd knew those details and more he offered up in a Jan. 11, 2007, interview with Knoxville Police Department Investigators Patty Tipton and Greg McKnight is the subject of vigorous debate between federal prosecutors trying in a week-old trial to see Boyd convicted and a defense attorney hoping to see him go free.
In addition to Davidson and Cobbins, their friend George "Detroit" Thomas and Cobbins' girlfriend, Vanessa Coleman, face state charges, including first-degree murder, in the couple's deaths.
Although those suspects implicated Boyd in the slayings and Boyd's own cousin, Nicole Mathis, offered up last week testimony linking him to the crimes, he currently is only charged as an accessory to the fatal carjacking.
To prove their case, Jennings and Tracy Stone on Monday began the day with Boyd's own words captured on police videotape and then set out to construct a timeline of Boyd's alleged assistance to Davidson in the days following the slayings.
On the videotape, Boyd insists his knowledge of the crimes came from Davidson, who he said initially blamed his brother but eventually confessed to a small role.
"He said he didn't (rape Christian) and, well, he did say he choked her," Boyd said in the interview.
A skeptical McKnight responded, "They had sex with her, but he choked and killed her? Does that make sense to you?"
"No, no it don't," Boyd answered.
DNA tests have since linked both Davidson and his brother to the rape of Christian.
According to Boyd, Davidson and the others were in a beef with drug dealers over a debt and went out on the night of Jan. 6, 2007, in search of a car. He did not explain, however, how the pair managed to travel without a vehicle. Earlier testimony suggested it was Boyd who provided the crew a ride that night. Defense attorney Phil Lomonaco denies that.
Boyd's interview with police was replete with apparent contradictions. For instance, he admitted going to Davidson's Chipman Street house. Christian would still have been alive, but Boyd insisted he never saw her.
"They had her in the back bedroom," he said Davidson later told him. "I stayed strictly in the living room."
However, he later said Davidson greeted him on the porch to warn him away and insisted he never made it past the doorway.
He initially insisted Davidson was only a casual acquaintance. But when questioned why Davidson would reveal details of the slayings to someone he barely knew, Boyd said he and Davidson spent a lot of time together.
Boyd said he had a firm alibi for the carjacking and slayings but, when pressed, could not provide the specifics he promised.
"They ain't no telling what I did," he said. "I be ripping and running. ... Walking up and down the streets of Ridgebrook, just drinking, smoking and drinking and smoking weed, that's all I do every day. I may go to Labor Ready on occasion so I can get a little more buzz money."
(Much more at the link)
One other possibility. They could have went to what is called The Old City a restored part of Downtown to eat. It’s a popular place to go to and several best in town resturants are there. If they were headed to the mall and took Cherry Street or some back roads to get over to Millertown Pike {a short cut} that too would have placed them actually in or very near that neighborhood. The Old City area used to have a real bad name until it was finally re-developed.
Something interesting. The defense lawyers tried to say the female victim was forced to shoot her boyfriend by one of the thugs. Her dad was on TV last night and said that she had been trained since age 16 to shoot. IOW he said if she would have been handed the pistol they would still be alive and the perps dead. He was highly upset over it and I sure don't blame him.
These were just “typical bitter black folks” of the type that frightened Obama’s grand mama.....
The fact this most horrific crime didn’t reach the nation’s attention to the degree it should have, proves the media’s “if it bleeds it leads” ground rule -— applies ONLY when it fits THEIR agenda.
The HORRIFIC facts of this crime are known only to the tiniest segment of society who get their news from “alternate” or “local” sources.
Compare the notoriety of this REAL crime of a racist rape AND murder, to the false rape claim against the Duke Lacrosse players... Quite different - huh? Why?????
You KNOW why!
Sadly, the feral bastards who committed this crime are far more prevalent in our cities and prisons that anyone wishes to admit..
It also points out, that in support of the complaints from Jackson and Sharpton of too many blacks in prison, there clearly are not enough being executed.
Much of the original story turned out to be incorrect. For example, some websites said their bodies had been mutilated. That turned out not to be true but the real story is almost worse. The violent sexual assaults and beating against the girl went on for hours. That the national “news” media have not said one word about this current trial is a travesty. There can be only one reason for it.
As far as how those poor kids got victimized, there is NO evidence whatever they were looking for drugs. Some morons who are sympathetic to the killers try to say they were. But they were wonderful kids by all accounts. No drugs were found in their systems. Apparently the girl was visiting her friend at an apartment complex. The boyfriend came to pick her up that night and they were together in her car. The scumbags came to that building supposedly to give money to a resident there to whom they owed money. But this accessory to carjacking who is on trial today says they needed a car, so they just busted into the car where the kids were kissing, and forced them to drive to that house of horrors where they were raped and killed. My blood is boiling just writing about it.
In any case, if they just needed a car, or money (of which they took NONE,) apparently they just committed these horrible atrocities against the victims out of pure evil and cruelty.
Not just today, its always been true.
These days however, feral humans have not only lost the fear of God, but the citizenry has been radically disarmed, which lessened the fear of armed victims as well...
LFOD...
Jury seeks clarity on how involved Boyd had to be
By Jamie Satterfield
Originally published 12:56 p.m., April 16, 2008
Updated 12:56 p.m., April 16, 2008
Continuing coverage in the Newsom/Christian double-murder case
A grammatical conjunction has jurors in the trial of accused accessory to carjacking Eric Dewayne "E" Boyd asking for clarification this afternoon.
Jurors just before noon sent a question to U.S. District Judge Tom Varlan pointing out Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Stone's closing argument, in which Stone noted that the indictment against Boyd uses the word "and" in its list of acts Boyd is accused of committing.
Stone told jurors that the conjunction ought to be "or" because jurors need only find that Boyd either assisted or aided or comforted Lemaricus "Slim" Davidson, the alleged ringleader in the carjacking, torture and slaying of Channon Christian, 21, and her boyfriend, Christopher Newsom, 23, in January 2007.
Jurors asked Varlan, "Is it and, or is it or?"
Stone told Varlan that the indictment uses the word "and" because it is a document used to put Boyd on notice of the charges he faces, whereas jurors must look to the law itself to determine whether Boyd violated it, and the law in question uses the word "or."
It may sound like grammatical minutiae, but the distinction is significant because the word "and" might cause jurors to believe the government must prove Boyd took several steps to help Davidson, as opposed to simply an act or two.
In essence, the conjunction could either increase or decrease the amount of proof jurors need to reach a decision.
Defense attorney Phil Lomonaco is arguing that the government wrote the indictment and has to live with its wording.
"It was superseded two times and they continued to use that language," Lomonaco said. "I don't think they should get any aid from the court."
Varlan is on a recess now deciding how to instruct the jury, which began deliberations at 9:30 a.m.
Among questions jurors face: What did Boyd know about the carjacking turned torture slayings of a young Knox County couple, when did he know about it, and what did he do about it? SNIP
I didn’t know that. Too bad she didn’t have a pistol, law or not.
I don’t think Nancy Grace or any of the other TV true crime touts have ever mentioned this case.
Wrong template. Mustn’t stir up anger. Better this one under the rug...
the "why" of the crime is purely, simply, that there are savage animals on our streets.....
there is no excuse ....
most people know this......we can't speak about it openly, because it would be "racist" but we all know who to stay away from and where not to go....
as far as prisons go, there are too many people in prison but the really sad part is they belong there.....a lot more belong there too...
when Jessie the "the brain" Jackson starts talking about too many blacks in prison, he's right only in that too many black men are animals....
crime in America must be sanitized....
Late word around 3:30 pm ET. Boyd found GUILTY on 2 counts of being an accessory to carjacking. If society is lucky he will get 15 years. Kind of a long time for a guy who’s only 34. No more living with his mom and spending care free days smoking marijuana for a while now. Too bad there can’t be real justice though. Maybe we could send him a lot of fatty foods in prison and hope he dies young! I got that last line of course from the wretched “journalist” Julianne Malveaux, as she wished this fate on Justice Thomas.
Hard to find any joy in this. The parents of those dead kids will have to live with their agony for the rest of their earthly lives. But at least for now some small justice has been done.
If it doesn’t fit the liberal MSM PC template, it didn’t happen.
It’s got to be one of the most horrible crimes in modern history yet they are silent. Apologists for the media and the PC left say “but CNN did do a story!” Yes, 11 months ago, and 4 months after the crime, and probably because of pressure from bloggers and irate viewers.
This Boyd trial had everything the cable nets usually would want to cover. Twists and turns, intrigue, shocking revelations, and questions about the guilt of people on the stand and others who gave testimony. Next year’s trials of the rapist/murderers might be a bit more open and shut but maybe not. In any case I expect “them” to remain silent again. Just imagine if the circumstances were different though....
Normally when a pretty blonde is murdered, Nancy and Greta are all over it, as in frequent flier points to Aruba.
But only if the alleged perps are white too.
Black on white crime? “Don’t go there!”
Excuse me?
This is a federal conviction which means state parole board politics is out of it and IIRC he'll being doing most if not all of the time sentenced. Federal appeals are also harder to come by meaning maybe it will stick. I didn't think he would get a Not Guilty around here Knoxville isn't Memphis meaning it's far more Conservative.
The parents will never get over it. I hope him and his other animal friends see their two faces nightly coming after them tormenting their ever minute they try to rest. These murderers are no better than Manson and in some ways even worse.
Since I have been going to the Knoxnews site for info about the Jan ‘07 atrocity I have been reading about some of the other crime in that area and there seems to be an awful lot of it. Those other situations you mentioned also were awful.
So far half way into the Nancy Grace show all she is talking about are these polygamist sect people. Give it a break, I say. Then on the CNN crime site there is zip about the Knoxville case. They mention plenty of other gruesome crimes but not that one. Not PC enough for them I guess.
The family killed was named Lillelid. A husband, wife, daughter, and son, all shot. Only the young boy survived it. A senseless cold blooded killing 11 years ago by some gothics. The family had been to a church function {Jehovah Witness Convention?} I think out of town and were headed back home to Knoxville. They stopped at a rest area and were approached by the kids and taken to a side road. The story is the Lillelid’s had one thing in mind and the killers quite another. I can’t find the killers pictures now but it would give you the creeps.
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