Three Men in Custody (Cobbins, Davidson, Thomas) in the Murder & Rape of Channon Christian and Death of Christopher Newsom (Update: 4th Suspect Arrested)
Three men have been arrested, Letalvis Cobbins, Lemaricus Davidson and George Thomas in connect with the brutal murders of 21 year old University of Tennessee student, Channon Christian and 23 year old Christopher Newsom. Police are saying that the couple was carjacked then murdered.
Officers call the deaths brutal slayings and say they came after the couple was carjacked.
Letalvis Cobbins was picked up in Lebanon, Kentucky. His brother, Lemaricus Davidson, was found in Knoxville.
A third man, George Thomas, was found with Cobbins in Kentucky. (Eye Witness News)
Letalvis Cobbins
The tragic murders of Christian and Newsom are just horrific.
Police say Newsom was shot and his body was burned when it was found. Officers said Christian was held for a couple of days and raped before she was killed.
Lemaricus Davidson
3 men in custody after Tennessee couple found dead
Federal agents and Knox County officers raided a house Thursday in Lebanon, Ky., about 180 miles north of Knoxville, where they believed the suspects had family.
Two men were detained, Letalvis Cobbins, 24, and a friend, George Thomas. Thomas was being questioned late Thursday, while Cobbins faced federal charges of being a felon in possession of a weapon, Knighten said.
Cobbins, wanted as a “person of interest” in the deaths, had a gun authorities believe may have been used in the crime, Knighten said.
Meanwhile, Cobbins’ brother Lemaricus Davidson, 25, was picked up at an empty house in Knoxville around 3:30 p.m. EST. Also considered a “person of interest” in the case, a weeping Davidson offered no resistance, Knoxville police spokesman Darrell DeBusk said.
Christian’s body was found Tuesday in a house rented by Davidson, authorities said. (WKRN)
Marshal: Man shot, burned; woman raped
How bad must the sexual assault have been that the Marshal would actually make a point to reference what these 3 animals did? What a senseless act of depravity. There is no punishment that is bad enough for these 3 suspects, if they are convicted of the crimes they appear to have committed.
“They did some really nasty things to this lady,” Knighten said.
Newsom was shot and his body burned, Knighten said. He said he didn’t know how Christian died. (KnoxNews)
UPDATE: 4th Suspect, Eric Boyd, Arrested in the Deaths of Christopher Newsom and Channon Christian
Knoxville police confirm that four men were charged Friday in the carjacking of Chris Newsom and Channon Christian.
Lemarcus Davidson, Latalvus Cobbins and George Thomas were charged with carjacking in federal court. A fourth man, identified as Eric Boyd, has been charged as an accessory after the fact. (WBIR)
There is a national media blackout on this story.
Comment by Sam Smith | January 15, 2007
We are seriously considering moving from South Florida to TN , due to the blacks commintting violent crime. I see the same pieces of garbage are in TN. also.
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M&E: Unfortunately there are dirt bags everywhere in all shades and colors. However, I do understand people’s concerns with the media as if the rolls were reversed … we would be hearing about it.
Comment by steve | January 19, 2007
Why has CNN not show the ethnicity of these men (animals) on their website?
Comment by 602_Man | January 19, 2007
this is supposed to be some racist website?
There are criminals everywhere. You see many “white” people as child molesters/ child predetators…
Move to florida and see where that brings you or if you’re going to feel any safer.
Why CNN didn’t know show their ethnicity?? maybe it’s because it’s irrevelant. Those men commited an awful crime and should be punished for it.
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M&E: Cut the BS with labeling people as “racist” or you will be banned. Someone that would make such a comment right out of the shoot obviously is a trouble-maker, a troll and has an agenda.
The point that the previous poster is most likely making is why is this not being called a “hate crime”. It is not racist to ask that question. The brutality of this crime goes beyond normal realms of crime. The boy was shot and partially burned and the girl was savagely raped and murdered.
If the rolls were reversed … what would the media call it? That was the point and the question asked.
This brings up an even greater point as to why are there things called “hate crimes”? A murder is a murder and a rape is a rape. Is one more worse than the other if it is a white on black, black on white or straight on gay crime?
All would appear to be just as heinous as the next.
R
Comment by Vanesaa | January 19, 2007
I knew from the names they were black, but I had to
google the names to be sure, because cnn and the rest of
the media have an antiwhite agenda. Quote me on this.
Comment by william crosson | January 19, 2007
I read this on CNN’s website just a few minutes ago – and naturally came to the conclusion, “must have been some black guys”. Turns out I was right… However, it’s sad, because there are a lot of black people in the world who could never do these things. And it’s the few that give the impression that all blacks are bad…which just isn’t true. The same can be said about me; since I’m white I might fit into some KKK group…but I’m not. All Jews have money – and not all do.
It is a shame that stereotypes have to exist (yet I can’t eliminate them from my thoughts)…and they get passed to the next generation.
Take the concealed weapons course offered in your area – apply for a license, learn how to use it, properly…and carry it with you. The odds are more evened out if you ALSO have a weapon.
As far as the individuals involved in this heinous crime – they should be sentenced to death…soon. Why burden the tax payers to keep idiots like them alive and well in a prison? Take the ones who raped her and slowly electrocute them by wrapping the wire around their, well, you know what I’m talking about…and just use a variac to bring up the voltage from 0v to whatever you can muster…real slow.
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SM: We should always judge people by the content of their character, not the color of one’s skin. Yhe media could learn a thing or two about that as well.
There are plenty of bad guys to go around.
Comment by Phil | January 20, 2007
I hope all four of these pieces of trash burn in hell for what they did to that gir (OMG) God for give me for saying that…… and her boyfriend..
I dont give a dam what color you are.. white black hispanic.. whatever.. we are all inhabitants of this earth..
All we can do is pray.. that no one will replicate this type of crime and people will think first before acting..
As well.. for this type of crime.. and say.. child abduction.. There needs to be stricter laws.. and conceqences.. say perhaps being taken out into a field and shot point blank if your found guilty.. perhaps others might think twice before acting..
Comment by lem | January 20, 2007
I am simply outraged at the lack of public outrage concerning this crime. This is yet another illustration of duplicity from America’s “fair and balanced” (and so self-righteous) media. The fact is, if the suspect/victim races were reversed, this case would most certainly be all over the news. Don’t think this theory is true? Just consider a most recent shinning example: the “ok-now-it-may-be-suicide” death of Ernest Lampkins (the first black mayor of a small, predominantly white Louisiana town). Oh the outrage!
All the other racial combinations of heinous crimes (such as white-on-white, white-on-Hispanic, white-on-Asian, etc.) occasionally make the headlines, but look out if the perpetrator is white and the victim black. If so, it’s automatic top billing with American news agencies. What about OJ you may ask? Well, he was found “innocent”, right?
By the way, there’s a name for this phenomenon. It’s called “white guilt”. Trust me, though, I have no feelings of guiltiness – I am 100% of Asian decent.
PS: I wonder if Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson will soon very publicly denounce these brutal murders of Christian and Newsom. Maybe they’ll even hold a couple of press conferences like they did for the Duke/Lacrosse “ok-now-it-wasn’t-rape” victim. After all, both men are champions of equality and justice for ALL, right? Right.
Comment by Eric Lu | January 20, 2007
Tennessee has very good gun rights laws. Let this be a lesson to everyone who reads this message.
Nobody else can defend you, but you. Carry concealed!
If these victims had been armed the tables would have been turned.
I would not hesitate killing human trash like those four men if I were being carjacked.
Comment by CArrying Concealedd in Texas | January 21, 2007
I am apalled that this has not received the level of attention that the charges against the Duke Lacrosse players received. Its very difficult for people not see a racial connotation when you see wealthy white students vilified for an alleged crime, yet I had to hear about this from my son who is a student at UT and who knew Channon. It got no mention in our hometown of Atlanta. I find it discusting and wonder is the media really colorblind???
Comment by pam | January 21, 2007
I hope this doesn’t become a racist issue. This is just an issue of very, very sick and mean people who are let out of jail and only continue on the crime spree until something just like this happens. I doubt these guys were just looking for a white couple…they were just looking for someone to inflict pain and suffering upon.
I have a son the same age (attending the University of Southern Mississippi) whose precious girlfriend (who attend the local junior college) is the same age of Channon. This story is the most disburbing thing I’ve EVER read.
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M&E:
Kathy, I would agree. These pieces of garbage were looking for a target of opportunity … they did not care what race, creed or color. However, as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson interject all the time … you cannot over look what happened and to whom.
In reality … this has been my argument against hate crimes being worse than the underlying crime itself. To murder and rape victims in this manner is HATE. Does it matter what color the suspects or victims are? Not really. So if the roles were reversed would it make it any different? Say the 4 men just murdered and burned 2 gay men? Is the crime different?
Hate is hate. It comes in all shapes, sizes and colors. I do hope that these people do receive the justice they deserve both here and the the hereafter.
R
Comment by Kathy | January 24, 2007
Odd you never hear jesse jackson,al sharpton or even louis farrakhan condoning what their bretheran are doing.
Comment by bunker hill townie | January 24, 2007
Ijust cannot belive that one guy cried when they picked him up . What about the tears that this couple shed when they were going through this act of hate . All I can say is I hope they put these guys to death . Myself being a father I would not hesitate going after these guys in a heart beat . God only knows what I would do to them . I would make their life HELL .
Comment by David | January 28, 2007
A fifth suspect charged now:
Vanessa Lynn Coleman, 18, faces 40 counts including 12 counts of felony murder, one count of premeditated murder, one count of especially aggravated robbery, four counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, 20 counts of aggravated rape and two counts of theft.
As a resident of Knoxville, this story has horrified me. Truly scary to think of the type of people you possible come in contact with everyday. Will be following this story closly.
Comment by Debra | February 1, 2007
Black people don’t commit crime and if they do it is society’s fault.
I could give a rat’s arse if you are black, white, yellow, green or purple but opin the decline in our society is a direct result of the move towards liberalism and its embrace of situational ethics and their mantra of “tolerance”.
A culture that embraces violence and anti-social behavior evidenced through rap music, the film industry, and iconic sports figures (remember the basketball fight in Detroit) coupled with shunning of responsibilities (e.g., illegitimacy rates) must be held accountable for its actions. This is problematic because frank dialoge is often sacraficed at the alter of political correctness
The nature of race relations will NEVER improve unless and until the black community accepts the fact that it is part of the problem instead of always invoking the “victim mentality”.
Comment by Marco | February 2, 2007
Shall we all gather round and celebrate diversity?
“Can you cite one speck of hard evidence of the benefits of ‘diversity’ that we have heard gushed about for years? Evidence of its harm can be seen – written in blood – from Iraq to India, from Serbia to Sudan, from Fiji to the Philippines. It is scary how easily so many people canbe brainwashed by sheer repetition of a word.” – Thomas Sowell writing for the Jewish World Review August 29, 2006
Comment by Raptor Mann | February 2, 2007
That savage beast cried only because it knew it was caught. This isn’t a racist issue? Not @ all. Had these things jacked a black couple they would have followed identical procedure, right? If this had been black on black, would this would have received the same front page media attention, or would it have quickly fallen to backpage news because violent death is a norm, in certain circles? Death for these creatures? Lets just kill them, put them out of their misery, so they don’t have to suffer.
Comment by Imajica | February 4, 2007
What front page media attention do you allude to? I’m in DC, & there’s no front page news on this horrific crime here. Just like there was no front page news here of the attack and rape of a co-ed by athletes from neighboring university. You’ve heard this one before, you say? No ya didn’t– it’s not Duke and lacrosse we’re talking about, (which did get plenty of coverage) but the U of Richmond, and a white coed, assaulted by students from private Virginia Union University, an historically black institute. No coverage of this crime here, either, although committed in VA, at all. BTW, her screams attracted notice, which resulted in her assailants being caught in the act. I guess it’s too black and white for mainstream media, so let’s promote the current Tawana Brawley copycat.
Comment by scene2much | February 5, 2007
When convicted, these monsters should be taken from the courtroom and given a medieval form of punishment such as crucifixion or the Traitor’s Death (castration, debowel and beheading: in that order). We could all watch and cheer on the executioner metting out their punishment. They really do deserve this.
This case should be kept in the media since these scum are such despicable monsters!
Comment by Taylor | February 16, 2007
I’m just happy the truth is finally coming to light. I suspected Christian and Christopher knew Lemaricus and Letalvis knew each other; but I never imagined Christian was blackmailing them for the death by sexual torture.
It’s so sick and tragic.
Comment by Chicken George | March 25, 2007
I live in this area..Personally, I think they should be done exactly like they did those kids…an eye for an eye..too long we have put up with trash like this…this was a hate crime pure and simple…I hope they burn the bastards at the stake.
Comment by Christopher Carrigg | March 29, 2007
I am a California resident and I happen to catch a Geraldo At Large episode this weekend about this case. It seriously appalls me that every news media outlet would rather run reports over and over again on who Anna Nicole Smith’s baby’s father is.. what kind of country have we become? .. seriously. Here we have, this unspeakable crime.. one that should NEVER happen to anyone and no one cares to give it attention. As for my point, these dispicable people – ANIMALS should be put to death an in equally horrific way.. Iraqi punishment should be applied to the fullest.
Comment by Anna | April 16, 2007