Murder In America - EP. 108 TENNESSEE - The Rape, Torture & Murder of Channon Christian & Christopher Newsom

Episode Date: April 28, 2023

On January 6th, 2007, an innocent couple was kidnapped by a group of thieves with malicious plans, straight from the parking lot of their friend's apartment complex. The horrific things that were then done to the couple would go on to shock the nation, and would leave a wound in Knoxville, Tennessee that will never truly be healed. This episode is graphic and disturbing, and listener discretion is DEFINITELY advised. You're listening, to MURDER IN AMERICA. - Download JUNE'S JOURNEY today! Available on Android and iOS mobile devices, as well as on PC through Facebook Games. - Stay Connected:  Join the Murder in America fam in our free Facebook Community for a behind-the-scenes look, more insights and current events in the true crime world: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4365229996855701 If you want even more Murder in America bonus content, including ad-free episodes, come join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/murderinamerica Instagram: http://instagram.com/murderinamerica/ Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/people/Murder-in-America-Podcast/100086268848682/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MurderInAmerica TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theparanormalfiles and https://www.tiktok.com/@courtneybrowen Feeling spooky? Follow Colin as he travels state to state (and even country to country!) investigating claims of extreme paranormal activity and visiting famous haunted locations on The Paranormal Files Official Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheParanormalFilesOfficialChannel - SOURCES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqS6OFuUXe8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD1mFY_8g2Q ​ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6s1ACf5ekY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgzmzVnm9gk https://archive.knoxnews.com/news/local/graphic-details-emerge-in-christian-newsom-killings-ep-411822938-359927971.html https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/crime/2017/08/24/archives-horror-christian-newsom-killings-focus-what-happened-chipman-street/597805001/ https://archive.knoxnews.com/news/local/documents-relating-to-the--christian-newsom-murders-in-knoxville-ep-409751919-359283091.html https://www.wvlt.tv/content/news/Timeline-of-the-Channon-Christian-Christopher-Newsom-murders--513420461.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi5Y31VgEDs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JdpGKSmLP4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix1ZNe4Zrxw&t=162s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbym9Zq4D80 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPgNrlmIc2g https://www.local3news.com/bills-inspired-by-horrific-knoxville-murders-to-be-signed-into-law/article_b59ebb81-fb6a-59e8-bc96-681da9fa95bc.html https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.d8add092-8d77-c367-4b98-4fd55d8faa6f?ref_=imdbref_tt_wbr_pvc_truecrime&workflowType=Commerce-TVOD&tag=imdbtag_tt_wbr_pvc_truecrime-20& https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Channon_Christian_and_Christopher_Newsom Murderish Podcast: Episode 23  (c) BLOOD IN THE SINK PRODUCTIONS 2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The following podcast is not suitable for all audiences. We go into great detail with every case that we cover and do our best to bring viewers even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects. Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children. This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned.

Back in January of 2007, the city of Knoxville, Tennessee would be forever changed after a beautiful young couple seemingly vanished out of thin air. Shannon Christian and Chris Newsom were supposed to meet up with friends one night, but they never showed up. And over the next couple of days, their families would search all over the city trying to find them, with no avail. However, one of their cars would end up in a pretty bad part of town, and it was clear that someone had thoroughly cleaned it. The couple's family knew deep down that something horrible happened to their loved one, but no one could have ever known just how bad it really was.

While the entire city of Knoxville was on the lookout for Shannon and Chris, they were tied up in a house, facing unimaginable rape and torture at the hands of five people, who we will call the Knox County Five. And at the end of it all, one of the very very big, victims would be found shot and burned near a train track, and the other would be found suffocated to death in a trash can, making this one of the most horrific cases Knoxville, Tennessee has ever seen. This is the story of the rape, torture, and murder of Shannon Christian and Chris Newsom in the Knox County Five. I'm Courtney Browne. And I'm Colin Brown. And you're listening to Murder in America

Shannon Gail Christian was born on April 29, 1985 in Nacadocious, Texas. But eventually, she and her family would settle down in Knoxville, Tennessee, where they lived a very comfortable upper middle class lifestyle. Shannon had a great upbringing with very loving and supportive parents. She was beautiful, with pretty blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a daddy's girl, according to her family. Here is her mother, Dina. Who was Shannon?

She was a miracle. I was told I might never be able to have kids. So when Chase was born, we were ecstatic. Then when Shannon was born, we had the perfect family. She was a precious child and a very special young woman. And she loved her family. She had her daddy wrapped around her little finger. And all she had to do was look at him with those big beautiful blue eyes.

And he would melt in her arms. And according to everyone that knew her, Shannon was very accepting. Her mom said she never met a stranger and she didn't care about your social status or how much money you had. If you were a good person, she would welcome you with open arms. Here are her parents, Gary and Dina. Could have went on and played further if he chose to. She was a typical girl. I mean, she wasn't perfect.

Nobody's perfect. But she was never gave us any trouble. Always did well in school. She was beautiful, but what made her even more beautiful was the fact that she was not stuck on herself. And like a lot of people in their town, she always dreamed of graduating high school and attending the University of Tennessee.

And luckily she would get accepted. So she was achieving that dream. Her parents had actually just recently bought her a new silver forerunner as a gift for all of her accomplishments. And she was so excited about college she put all of these UT bumper stickers all over the car. But as we all know, college is expensive. So instead of living on campus, Shannon decided to save up her money and stay at home with her family. At the time of our story, she was a 21-year-old senior at UT studying sociology. Her mom said she wasn't sure exactly what job she wanted after college, but she knew she wanted to help children in need. On top of being a full-time college student, Shannon also had two part-time jobs, so she was a hard-working and busy girl. But she seemed to balance everything pretty

well. She made good grades. She was making money, and she always made time for her friends. And over the last few years of her college experience, Shannon was really branching out, meeting new people, finding lifelong friends, and also meeting boys, like many college students do. And soon enough, she would meet a 23-year-old boy named Hugh Christopher Newsom Jr., or Chris, as everyone called him. Chris was born on September 21st, 1983, and he was raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. And like Shannon, Chris came from a great family. Here's his mom, Mary, describing her son. He was just a fine person. He helped anybody that needed help. He was an honest person. I think he took after his dad with that. And he was just a loving, kind person. He was everybody's friend,

and had a huge smile that everybody loved. We were proud to be his parents. In high school, he was a star baseball player and was very well liked amongst his peers and coaches. Here's his former baseball coach. Chris was an excellent baseball player. A good boy, good kid, worked hard, had a lot of skills. Could have went on and played further if he chose to. After graduating high school, Chris worked as a trim carpenter.

And at the time of our story, it didn't seem like Shannon and Chris were going out of their way to find a love interest. but as soon as they crossed paths, it was like love at first sight. In fact, friends of theirs said that when Chris first saw Shannon, his jaw physically dropped, he thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. And Shannon liked him a lot too. He was handsome, charming, hardworking, and he had a good head on his shoulders. And soon enough, the two were spending all of their time together. They officially started dating around November of 2006, about two months before everything came crashing down.

which brings us to Saturday, January 6th, 2007. That night, Shannon drove over to the Washington Ridge Apartments to visit her best friend Kara Soward. The two were just hanging out there having a few drinks, and Chris was actually supposed to meet Shannon there later that night so they could go to a party together. But at around 7.30, he calls Shannon to let her know he's running a bit late, but he will be there shortly.

Now, Kara was ready to go to this party, so Shannon tells her to go ahead and go, and she and Chris will meet up with her later. So with that, Kara leaves expecting to see them shortly after. But eventually, the party starts, and Shannon and Chris still aren't there. Kara tries to call Shannon to see where she is, but she doesn't answer the phone,

which was strange because she always, answered the phone. But again, this is college, so no one was really worried just yet. After all, Shannon and Chris were still in the new stages of their relationship. So everyone thought that maybe they just made other plans. But after a few hours, Shannon's parents start to get worried. Like we mentioned earlier, she still lived with them. And earlier that night, she called them to let them know that she would be home later. So she should have been home by now. 1235, the phone rang that night and he spoke to, spoke to her on the phone. She called to check in to let us know that she was coming home rather than staying at care of that night.

And I sat up and she never came home. Shannon's parents called her over and over again, but no answer. And by the time Sunday came around, she still hadn't come home. Her parents were concerned, but at the same time, they were thinking that Shannon's an adult. Surely she would be coming home soon with an explanation as to where she was. As for Chris's parents, they weren't really alarmed when he didn't come home that night. He too lived with his mom and dad, but he was 23 years old and very responsible. He was at the age where he didn't have to check in all the time with them.

So according to them, there were no red flags. But by the time the next day rolls around, Shannon missed her shift at work. Her employers actually called her parents to let them know she was a no-show. And immediately their hearts dropped. Shannon was very responsible and she would have never missed work without calling in. So that's when her parents call Chris's parents to let them know what's going on. We had not seen him since Saturday night, which that's not unusual. He was 23 years old.

And he kind of came and went, you know, with not a whole lot of restrictions at that age. And the way we discovered he was missing was Shannon's mother. Dena called and said that Shannon didn't show up for work. for work. To their horror, Chris's parents hadn't seen or heard from the couple either, so their next call is to Shannon's best friend, Kara. After all, that was the last known place the two were. But once they get a hold of Kara, they learned that she hasn't seen them either. And she says that they were supposed to come to a party Saturday night, but they never showed up. Kara also tells her parents that, strangely enough, Shannon's silver four-runner wasn't in her apartment's

parking lot. But Chris's truck was, and it had been there the last couple of days. So at this point, Shannon's parents are worried beyond belief. They start calling all of the hospitals in the area to see if maybe they were in an accident. They even call the local jail to see if they got arrested. But again, they come up with nothing. So the next call they place is to the Knoxville Police Department to file a missing persons report. But can you guess what they tell them? That's right.

tell them to wait it out. In their minds, these are two college lovers who aren't answering their parents' phone calls and that they're probably just shacking up somewhere and will come home soon, which is always so frustrating when police departments do this, but Shannon's parents aren't going to waste any time. If the police didn't want to help them find their daughter, they gather everyone they can and take to the streets to look for them. and they're also keeping an eye out for Shannon's car, but it's kind of hard to even know where to look. Knoxville is a pretty big place,

and they could be anywhere by now. So Shannon's parents call their phone company to see if they can ping her last known location. And luckily they can. But when they ping her phone and see its location, their fears grow even more. Shannon's phone pinged at a tower near Cherry Street. For the last few decades, Cherry Street was infamous for being a bad part of town in Knoxville.

There's a lot of crime, drug dealing, and prostitution in that area. And it's not a place where Shannon and Chris were known to go. According to Sins and Secrets coverage on this case, residents there said that everyone in town knew not to drive through there, especially at night. In fact, that week alone, the police had been called to Cherry Street on multiple occasions because a group of people had been robbing businesses at gunpoint. So seeing that Shannon's phone pinged near Cherry Street, her parents immediately get in their car and make their way over to see if they could find her. And a large group of their family and friends joined them too, including a family friend who was an off-duty police officer. Everyone met up at a gas station and the cop helped them organize a search party. Soon enough, everyone was walking down every street in the area looking for them.

and the search went on for hours. Towards the end, it's dark out, and Shannon's parents are still driving around. They eventually turn onto the corner of Chipman Street and Glider Avenue, and as soon as they do, their headlights shine onto a silver forerunner parked at the end of the street. It was Shannon's forerunner. The Christians immediately called their caught friend,

and soon enough, Chipman Street was filled with, police presence. And the first thing they do is look through her car to see if they can find any clues as to what happened to them. With the help of her parents, they find that Shannon's phone was missing, along with her iPod and wallet. They also found Newport cigarettes, and neither Shannon nor Chris smoked. But even more concerning was that the driver's seat was pushed all the way back. Whoever had been driving her car clearly had very long legs, way longer than Shannon's would have been. Even further, it was clear that someone had recently cleaned the car. All of Shannon's CDs were missing, the pictures she kept on her visor were gone, and there were

circular white marks all over the windows. Shannon's University of Tennessee stickers had also been torn off the back, and they were actually found thrown in the grass near the car. So although Shannon and Chris are still nowhere to be found, it's clear that Shannon's car had been stolen by someone, so the police impound it so they can look for prints. And in the meantime, they tell Shannon's parents to go home and try and get some rest. But how could they? Their daughter had been missing for over 24 hours. And her car was found wiped down in a bad part of town. They surely wouldn't be getting any rest that night, but they took the cop's advice and went home. The police presence along Chitman Street would fade out. But what they didn't realize was that Shannon and Chris had been

inside of a home just yards away from where Shannon's car was found. And throughout the entire time they had been missing, the couple had faced unimaginable torture and rate with the hands of the Knoxville County five. And soon enough, this case was about to change Knoxville, Tennessee, forever. And it all started with a discovery along a train track. That next morning, a train engineer was making his way down the railroad tracks when he saw something up ahead. He couldn't make out exactly what it was at first, but as it neared closer, he saw that it was a person. They were nude, and it was clear that. that their body was charred. In fact, hours earlier, someone else had reported seeing smoke coming from the railroad tracks. But seeing that it was clearly a body, the engineer

immediately calls it in and the police make their way over. As it turns out, the location of where the body was found was not far from Chipman Street, where Shannon's car was the night before. As the police approached, they came upon a scene that they'll never forget. The male victim was dead, with burns covering about 80% of their body. They were also bound and gagged. the body was quickly taken to the medical examiner where they found three bullet wounds to the head, neck, and back. It was clear that he was kneeling down when he was shot because the bullets traveled downward, and sadly, the first two bullets didn't kill him. The first was to his neck, and the second severed his spinal cord, paralyzing him. And finally, the third shot was to his head.

Evidence showed that it was pressed right up to his head when they pulled the trigger, and that's what killed him. Following this, they burned his body likely to try to conceal evidence. The medical examiner also found severe bruising and swelling around the victim's anus, indicating that he had been brutally raped before he was murdered. It didn't take long for them to identify the body as Chris Newsom. And investigators now had to make the daunting task of telling his parents the horrific news. Detective Snotterly says it's Chris. We asked, well, how do you know? And he said, I recognized him by his eyes. everything fell apart at that moment. DNA would also prove that the body was in fact Chris.

The Newsoms were facing every parent's worst nightmare. Within minutes, their entire lives had been flipped upside down. His dad would later say that he felt, quote, anger, anguish, hurt, all rolled into one. I would never want my worst enemy to feel what I felt that morning. end quote. Here is Chris's mom describing that day. All of his friends walked in. There must have been 15 or 20 of them, come in all at the same time. And that just gave me such an eerie feeling. So I thought, why isn't Chris with him? And it just, it really put chills through me. I thought, you know, here's all his friends and he's not here.

and that was one of the hardest moments. When Shannon's parents heard about the discovery of Chris's body, they were devastated. And they knew deep down that their daughter was likely never coming home. But they weren't going to stop looking for her. In fact, more than ever, Gary Christian went into work mode. He was determined to find his daughter. And he, along with their entire search party, went back to. Cherry Street to look for her. They were looking along train tracks, going through all of the

neighborhoods, there were helicopters overhead, they even went into a number of abandoned houses in the area. But again, after hours and hours of searching, there was still no sign of Shannon Christian, but they were about to get some answers. By now, Shannon's vehicle had been thoroughly searched, and although it was wiped down pretty well, they were able to find one single piece of evidence. In the back seat on an envelope, crime scene technicians found a thumbprint. So they run it through their database and what do you know, there's a hit. It belonged to a 25-year-old man named Lamarcus Davidson, who had just recently got out of prison a few months back. and he had a pretty long rap sheet, including armed robbery,

but his most recent time in prison was for carjacking. So seeing this, the detectives are wondering if maybe this was a carjacking gone wrong. So they place a call to his parole officer who tells them that Lamarcus lives at 2316 Chitman Street, the very street where Shannon's car was found. This was enough for them to get a search warrant for his home, and on January 9th, 2007, SWAT teams descended upon the home. They make their way through, clearing each room.

The house is empty, but it's clear someone had been living there. Video footage shows a small TV playing in the living room, with porno tapes lined on the shelf above. They also found a rifle in ammunition in one of the bedrooms. And in the kitchen there was food everywhere. It seemed like someone had just recently made a meal. Also in that kitchen was a black trash can. Surely the perpetrator left evidence in there, so they put on their gloves and lift the lid. Inside, they see a figure of sorts wrapped in trash bags.

Immediately they began to prepare themselves for what could be inside. They peel back the trash bags to find another trash back, then another and another. Whatever was in this trash was heavily wrapped. And once they peeled back the fifth trash bag, they saw Shannon Christian's body. She was bound, nude from the waist down. and she had a white shopping bag wrapped around her head. The medical examiner would later say that she was in a, quote, forced fetal position. Someone had bound her thighs to her chest using a pink curtain.

And she was stuffed so deeply in the trash, her head was forced down under her knees. And on the trash bag that concealed her body, there was a fingerprint and a palm print belonging to Lamarcus Davidson. The home on 2316 Chitman Street was now a crime scene, and while Shannon's body was taken to the medical examiner, detectives made their way over to her parents' house to deliver the horrific news. Gary and Dina's worst fears had come true. Their daughter was dead. But even worse, someone out there, some monster, had stuffed her in a trash can like a piece of garbage. Her dad would later say, a very big portion of me died right then.

As a parent, the thought of your child being murdered is just about the worst news you'd think you could get. but the Christian and Newsom family had no idea just how horrific their children's deaths had been. Like we mentioned earlier, Chris had been tortured and raped before his murder. As for Shannon, she had severe injuries as well. The medical examiner found deep bruising around her arms and shoulders, likely from someone forcibly grabbing and holding her down. She had carpet burns and multiple blows to her head. There was semen found both in and on her body, and her autopsy revealed that she had been raped orally, vaginally, and anally. The oral rape had been so brutal, her upper lip was torn, and there was severe vaginal trauma, indicating that someone had

kicked her there numerous times throughout the torture. By that night, it seemed like everyone in Knoxville had heard about what happened. And as you can imagine, everyone was outraged. These were two young adults with their entire lives ahead of them. And they were good people who spent the last moments of their lives in pain, fear, and agony, and more than anything everyone wanted to catch the people responsible. But Lamarcus Davidson had clearly gotten word about the discovery at his home and he was on the run. But soon enough, someone would come forward. Like we mentioned earlier, Lamarcus Davidson was a drug dealer and one of his clients named Darren Williams had some information about something he witnessed. Darren told detectives that

around the time of the murders, he went by Davidson's home to pick up some drugs, and when he arrived, a silver forerunner was idling in front of the house. He pulls up behind it, and Lamarcus, along with two other men, came out of the forerunner to tell them that he didn't have any drugs at the time. Darren also said that it looked like another person was still in the car. So hearing this, the detectives can now confirm that Lamarcus likely did not act alone. There were at least three other people in Shannon's vehicle at the time, but they had no way of identifying who these people were. So the police take a different approach. As it turns out, Lamarcus Davidson wasn't the only person renting the house on Chipman Street.

A 22-year-old named Daphne Sutton was staying there as well. So they immediately bring her in for questioning. But Daphne claims that she has no idea someone was murdered inside of her home. And she said she had actually moved out several days before this all went down. And she had an alibi. Apparently, she and Lamarcus had been sexually involved. But at the time of the murders, she said she was actually at another man's house and was sleeping with him. and although she didn't have any information about the murders themselves,

she did offer up some interesting information. She said that Lamarcus's half-brother and a few of his friends had been staying at the house that week. So again, this was confirmation that Lamarcus didn't act alone. And this entire time, the investigators knew that Lamarcus didn't act alone, and they were sure that whoever had been staying with them likely helped him in the murders. and another witness would confirm parts of this story. Now, directly next to Chipman Street is a waste company, and an employee there had also seen the silver forerunner on the night of the murders.

His name was Xavier Jenkins. He worked the night shift at the waste company, and while he was sitting in his car waiting for his shift to start, he saw the forerunner parked in front of Lamarcus's house. Shortly after, he said that he saw four black males get inside of the forerner, and they were slouching down in the seats like they didn't want to be seen. Xavier saw another vehicle at Lamarcus's house, as well. And that car led them to a woman named Nicole Mathis. Police brought her in for questioning

and she told them that she lent her car to her cousin, Eric Boyd. But she said that Eric didn't return the car in time, telling her that it had broken down. Eventually, Nicole gets her vehicle back and inside she finds a bag filled with bullets. And she didn't want that in her car, so she just threw them away. Nicole also said that around this time she overheard her cousin Eric on the phone, saying, I might be in some trouble. Now following this, the police start to tracing Eric's phone calls. And he was still in town. Following the discovery of Shannon's body, Eric and Lamarcus were freaking out calling all of their friends trying to find a place to stay. But the majority of them didn't want any part in this. One of their friends, however, ended up

letting them stay at her house for a couple of days, but after a while she told them they had to leave. And following that, Eric and Lamarcus went to. went to hide out in some nearby woods. Eric started calling everyone he knew trying to get someone to drive them out of town, but no one was willing to. So they eventually just broke into an abandoned house and stayed there for a while. Well, Lamarcus did. Eric was actually still staying at his mother's house,

but he would go by the abandoned home several times a day to bring Lamarcus food and water. And on January 11th, Eric started driving over to the abandoned house when the police spotted him. They quickly pulled him over and placed him under arrest. But when asked about Lamarcus's whereabouts, Eric said he didn't know a Lamarcus Davidson. So they say, well, that's weird because you've been calling him almost every day. And with that, Eric gives the police the address to the abandoned. house. Once they had the location, the police immediately made their way over, and upon entry,

they found Lamarcus Davidson and placed him under arrest. They also find a revolver, which is against his parole since he just got out of prison. And they find Chris Newsom's shoes. Now, when they take Lamarcus Davidson in to question him about the murders, he denies everything, telling the detectives that, yes, he's a drug dealer, but he's not a killer. They're not really because I have anything to do with him. They then ask him to give up his accomplices, but he's not willing to rat. I'm not trying to say anybody else's life over. I'm trying to leave.

Whatever it has to do with this, I'm trying to lead or not everyone. The detectives aren't really getting anywhere with Lamarcus, so they turn to Eric, who's adamant that she was not involved in the murders. But he does know how everything went down, because Lamarcus told him all about it. According to Eric, the only part he played in this story was helping Lamarcus find a place to stay and bringing him food and water. Now, investigators didn't believe this story at all, but they played along and eventually

got Eric to drop the names of the other suspects involved, which were George Thomas, La Talvis Cobbins, and Vanessa Coleman. And investigators would eventually track them down in Lebanon, Kentucky. Following the murders, it seemed like they wanted to distance themselves from the crime. A friend of theirs would later visit them and say that the third would later visit them and say that the three were acting very strange. They didn't seem like their normal selves, likely haunted by their disgusting actions. And this friend would eventually give the police the location of where these three were staying in Kentucky. Turns out they were hiding at a friend's house.

The Knoxville detectives investigating this crime immediately made their way to Lebanon, Kentucky and placed the three under arrest. In the home, they found a 22 revolver, and in Vanessa's possession, they found Shannon's perfume and wallet. So now that everyone was under arrest, detectives could now start to try and piece together exactly what happened. But first, let me take a second to explain the relationship between all of these people. So Eric Boyd and Lamarcus Davidson are good friends who both live in Knoxville. And Lamarcus's younger half-brother is La Talvis Cobbins. At the time of this story, Latavus hadn't seen his brother in a while because he had been in prison.

So that new year, La Tauvis, his friend George Thomas, and his girlfriend Vanessa Coleman, all left Kentucky and made their way to Knoxville to stay with him. Here is Latavus himself. On New Year's of 06-07, me and my girlfriend and my best friend came down here to Knoxville to celebrate New Year's with my brother. this is the first new year that he's been out since we were young teenagers but apparently they were kind of overstaying their welcome out of everyone Lamarcus is the only person making any money from drug dealing the others don't have homes they don't have jobs so after a while Lamarcus got tired of kind of supporting everyone

and he tells them if you're going to stay here you have to find a way to make some money. And it's here where they all come up with a plan to start robbing places and stealing cars. And Lamarcus gets his friend Eric Boyd in on it too. So Eric borrows his cousin's car, and they were all going to use that car to drive around Knoxville and look for their carjacking victim. According to them, they weren't looking to kill anyone, they just wanted to steal a car. But that's not how the night would in. So on January 6th, 2007, Vanessa stays back at the house while the men get in Eric's car and begin driving around. According to La Talvis, they smoked a wet blunt as they drove around the city.

If you don't know what a wet blunt is, don't worry, I didn't either. But apparently it is weed mixed with embalming fluid. And they were just smoking it driving around looking for a car to jack. And as they're looking, they want to find a place where there isn't a lot of foot traffic and somewhere where they can easily escape. And they eventually make their way over to the Washington Ridge apartments. La Talvis says that they're circling the parking lot when they suddenly see Shannon and Chris coming out of Kara's apartment.

The couple walks over to Shannon's Silver Forerunner, where they share a few kisses. And immediately, the men, know that they have found their target. According to Littalvis, Lamarcus and Eric jump out of the car and run up to the couple with their guns drawn. And from here they force them into the back seat where they are bound, gagged, and blindfolded. Lamarcus and Eric then hop in the front seat of Shannon's car and they tell Lattalvis to follow behind in the other car. And I can't imagine what was going through Chris and Shannon's minds on the way over. But they truly had no idea just how horrible things would turn. Once at the Chipman Street house, the men look around making sure

there were no witnesses nearby. And once the coast was clear, they pulled Shannon and Chris out of the back seat and lead them into the home. My brother walks in with the girl. He got her by her arm. And he's put his hoodie over her, and the hood is over her head. Her eyes are blindfolded with a bandana. And he comes in, every boy comes in behind him holding the guy. The girl has got a bandana around her eyes and her hands bound in front of her. He comes in with the guy holding his arm. I noticed the guy has a bandana around his eyes.

and his hands are tied behind him. At this point, Lamarcus puts Chris and Shannon into two different rooms, and the group gets together to talk about their next move. Latavus claims that he, Vanessa, and George were wanting to leave, but his older brother wouldn't let him. Now, the audio you're about to hear is Latalvis testifying at his own trial, and he's obviously going to point the blame away from himself, so take what he says with a grain of salt.

He put his gun out of his pocket. He didn't point there nobody, but he just pulls it out. I'm like, dang, bro, you're going to kill me now? You pulling a gun on me? You're going to kill me? You're going to kill me? Nah, I ain't going to kill. But I'll shoot you ass, but I ain't going to key.

George, you know, I don't like you anyway. I'll shoot you. And Vanessa, don't make me shoot your little pretty butt. So according to La Talvis, they start smoking a blunt, and it's here when the Marcus turns to George and tells him that he needs a favor. So as we're in there smoking, my brother comes to the kitchen door. oh y'all ain't gonna smoke with me i can't i can't hit the blunt i can't hit the blunt so george handing him the blunt he takes the money fact come around he'd need to holl at you anyway i look up

he said not you i'm talking to g come here j me g let me hollet you right quick g look at me and he gets up they go into the living room i can hear my brother saying look you know i don't trust you so you got to do something for me to trust you you you got to do something you know what i mean so i can trust you got to earn my truck you got to earn my trust you him and George had got into it previously about a few days before that. And he had pushed G up against the wall or whatnot, so I could tell G was kind of scared of him. So she was like, all right, all right, I, I, I, all right. So about five, ten minutes later, G and my brother leave.

It's believed that the favor Lamarcus wanted was for George. to kill Chris. And the details on who did what is a little unclear because again, the victims are dead, so they can't tell us what really happened. So we have to rely on the suspects account and as you know, they usually point the blame away from themselves. But according to La Talvis, Eric Boyd brought Chris into a room where he was then raped and repeatedly sodomized with an object. Now, we don't know for sure that it was Eric because the seaman found inside of Chris couldn't be identified. And again, there are conflicting accounts. But what we do know is that Chris's last moments were filled with an incredible amount of pain, and now they are finished with him. He was a

pretty big and strong guy, and keeping him around was a liability. So according to George Tom, Thomas, he and Eric Boyd then forced Chris outside. He was nude from the waist down, barefoot, bound at the wrist and ankles. There was a sock in his mouth which was secured with a shoelace. And lastly, a hoodie was wrapped around his head. The men walk him over to the railroad tracks just a few hundred yards away. Once there, they make him kneel down. where he was shot execution style. First in the neck, then his back, and then the final and lethal

shot to his head. Following this, they wrap his body in a comforter and doused it in gasoline, and then finally they lit a match and set his body on fire. And again, all of the men point the finger at each other, so it's unknown who exactly pulled the trigger or who, who, set him on fire. But following this, they go back to the house and update the group. I would just go inside the house and then he said something to Mr. Davidson and his farm. So like, that's taken care of or whatever the case. And then he stays for a little while longer. And then he had left. Now, while all of this was happening, Shannon was still tied up in a room. She had no idea what had happened to her boyfriend.

But soon enough, the men would turn their attention to her. Now, if you remember, both brother Seaman was found both in and on Shannon. But La Talvis has an explanation for that. He said that while the men were out with Chris, Vanessa had gone to the bathroom. So he went to check on Shannon. I go and check on the girl, ask her, is she okay? She asked me because she gets some water. I brought her some water out of the refrigerator.

When I went into the room, she's laying on the air matches with her hands bound over her head. She's laying on her back. Her hands are tied. It's still tied like this and tied to a duffel bag full of free weights and books and stuff. Same thing with her feet. Her ankles are tied and it's tied to a duffel bag. bag. It's tied to a duffel bag with weights and books in it.

So I untie her hands. Well, I didn't untie her hands. I untied the string that was going to the duffel bag. I untied it so she could sit up and drink the water. I gave it the water. She drank the water like that. She asked me what's going on. I said, I don't know. She asked me where her boyfriend is. I said, I don't know. She asked me, why were we doing this?

I told her, it's not me. I don't, it's not me. It's not me. I don't have anything to do with this. Matter of fact, we're being held here against I will just like you are. The only difference is that you're tied up and we're not. So she started asking me, she started asking me, could, um, would I convince him to let her go? I said, I'll try.

She said, just please, just please. She said, please, can you just convince him to let me go? I said, I'll try. She said, I'll do anything. Just please, just let me go. She even offered oral sex. Then after a long, dramatic pause, he said he decided to take her up on that offer. She, I had her give me oral sex.

She gave me oral sex. As I started to ejaculate, I heard a noise outside, and I heard Vanessa flushing. the toilet. So I got spooked. I jumped up, fixed my clothes. As I ejaculated, it got on her shirt and some of her pants. And it's really convenient that right after he ejaculated, both his girlfriend and brother come into the room. So this is his explanation as to why his semen was all over her clothes. But it's not very believable. In fact, many sources say that it's believed Shannon was gang raped.

And let's not forget that she was orally raped so forcefully that it tore her lip. But from here, the men get back from the train tracks. A few minutes later, Slim, my brother, George, both of them come back. They come back in. George was looking crazy. when they come back, they both had on dark clothes. So you can't really tell what it is, but you can see a dark stain on George's clothes

and dark stains on my brother's clothes. Chris was now dead, and Shannon was locked up in a bedroom, tied to weighted bags with dog leashes and phone cords. But the worst of it was still to come. As the hours went on, the men retired after their long and eventful day. So Lamarcus locks himself in the bedroom with Shannon. My brother goes back into his room.

My brother keeps the back door. It got a deadbolt lock that you can only open with a key. He keeps that lock at all times. And the windows, he got nails in the windows where you can open it, but it only open. like that far. That night, Shannon was repeatedly raped inside of that bedroom by Lamarcus. Like we mentioned earlier, his semen was found in her vagina and anus, so you can only imagine the horror she endured.

I'm sure she tried to reason with him, telling him that if he would just let her go, she wouldn't tell anyone. With Shannon being such a nice and friendly person, I'm sure she was even even a very, I'm sure she was even nice to him, hoping to find some sort of humanity, some compassion inside of his heart. She spent hours in the room with him that night, and by Sunday her nightmare was still ongoing. At some point, Shannon was beaten with several hard blows to her head, and according to the autopsy, she was also repeatedly kicked in her vagina. Many believe that it was Vanessa Coleman who did this.

But it's here where Lamarcus decided she needed to die. So he brought her out into the living room, where bleach was poured all over her body and down her throat. They were hoping to kill off their DNA, but she had been raped so many times, it didn't even do the job. Sunday night, he brings the girl out of his room, and I noticed that she didn't have any clothes on from the waist down.

No shoes on, no socks. He takes her into the kitchen. Me and Vanessa and George, he make all of us come in the kitchen in the back. Utility room, make us stand there for a minute. So as we're all standing there, he puts his hand around, he puts his arm around the girl neck. Tries to kill her, tries to choke her. He lets her go and she falls. But Lamarcus's attempts to strangle Shannon didn't work,

because once he let her go, she falls to the ground but still has a pulse. So from here, they began to hog tie her with strips of fabric. Now Vanessa Coleman will say that she had nothing to do with any of this, but her DNA was found on that fabric. So take with that what you will. But after Shannon was all tied up, they put a white shopping bag around. her head and then they wrapped her in five large trash bags. Once she was concealed and all wrapped up,

they put her in the trash can. She was forced into it so that her body was curled up in the fetal position and she wasn't able to move or escape. And with the bags over her head, she slowly suffocated to death. Another disturbing fact was that she died with her eyes wide open. The following day, George Thomas, La Talvis Cobbins, and Vanessa Coleman made their way back to their hometown of Lebanon, Kentucky. And Eric and Lamarcus frantically ran around Knoxville trying to avoid the police. But it wouldn't be long until the law caught up with them. Once they were all apprehended, the city of Knoxville would finally rest, knowing that these monsters were no longer walking free. Here are some Knoxville residents talking about the case.

I have never done anything like this before. Everybody has someone in their family that dies, but they don't die. like these families, children did. My heart just felt for them. We don't know what it's like, what they're going through, and anything that we can do. Since it happened,

you know, you always got to be literally everywhere you go anyway. So, you know, you've got to be leery about people you meet and something that you do. And the entire Knoxville community was very supportive of the Christian and Newsom families. We've got a whole bunch of cards from people that don't know us

that just have to say something and want to say something, you know, that they're praying for us. And there's been an awful lot of support that we really appreciate. It really helps us get through. But with the depravity of these crimes, the community of Knoxville was outraged. They raped them. They tortured them. They beat them. Then they killed them. It's not a normal murder.

And as you can imagine, there were a ton of white supremacist groups who use this case to spread even more hate. Yeah, and race actually becomes a huge topic of discussion throughout this entire thing. The KKK even protested in downtown Knoxville, and there was definitely a wedge within the black and white communities there at the time. From what we've read and what we know about some of them, because some of the people in the community know some of the suspects, that they've always had a life of crime.

They were always unstable. they were always into something. And I do believe firmly and some of the people that I run along with that, when you practice a lot of deceit and when you're involved in a lot of things like that, it's going to catch up with you. And I didn't get caught up with them. I have a daughter. And I wouldn't want any.

I mean, as a result of that whole thing, I'm checking up on her every day. And I think it's really important to remember that within every group, there are going to be criminals. And you can't blame the group as a whole because of the actions of a few individuals. It's the same with African Americans, Muslims, law enforcement, everyone. And I think focusing on race just really takes away from the story as a whole. Shannon's father, Gary, would later say that the suspect's race had nothing to do with the anger he felt, saying, quote, I didn't care who it was. I just wanted them dead, and the Christian and Newsom families would go through a lot of heartbreak over the next

few years. With there being five perpetrators in this crime, that means they had to go through all of their individual trials, which would start in October of 2009. And everyone was facing a ton of charges. The Marcus Davidson, his half-brother La Talvis Cobbins, and their friend George Thomas were all facing 46 charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, 20 counts of aggravated rape, aggravated robbery, kidnapping, theft, you name it. As for Vanessa Coleman, she was facing charges of premeditated murder for Shannon Christian, aggravated kidnapping, raped, and theft. And Eric Boyd was the luckiest of the bunch because they weren't able to find much of his DNA at the scene,

likely because he was the one who dealt with Chris that night. And because his body was burned, there wasn't much evidence to be found. So he was only charged with accessory after the fact for helping Lamarcus flee the police. Eric's trial would actually come first, and all of the suspects said that he definitely was involved in the rape and murders. But because there was no evidence, they couldn't use any of that at trial. But they did bring up the fact that he specifically borrowed his cousin's car that night for the carjacking. And after he was arrested, he gave very detailed accounts on what happened. Eric also admitted to being in the house when Shannon was tied up in the back room and that he knew she was back there.

And Boyd's behavior at his trial was repulsive. At times, he would turn towards the Christian family smiling, and at one point, he even mouthed, bring it on. And at the end of it all, he would only be sentenced to 18 years in prison, which is the maximum sentence for the charges he faced. We will never let anyone forget my daughter and the animals that destroyed her. I will never forget, as one of Chris Newsom's sister called you a savage beast. you nodding your head up and down and smiling. I promise you that. I told you in federal court with that big grin on your face

that I would get you. Today, that promise I made you begins. And unlike someone else said, I don't think you're going to enjoy your days in prison. Not at all. and I hope I'm standing next to God when he makes his judgment on you and sentences you to hell. The next trial was for La Talvis Cobbins, whose audio we played throughout this episode.

He would actually plead guilty to the carjacking, kidnapping, and rape of Shannon Christian. But like you've heard throughout the episode, he took the stand against his lawyer's advice and tried to convince the jury that he had nothing to do with the murders, and that his brother was holding them against their will. And that, yes, Shannon did give him oral sex, but she offered to do it. and he was going to let her go afterwards, but his brother came home so he couldn't. As you can imagine, the jury did not believe his story. His attorney brought his sisters to the stand to testify about his horrible upbringing,

saying that he had an absent father and drug-addicted mother, and he did seem remorseful about what happened, telling the families, I am sorry, I am so sorry, I deserve to be punished for what I did. In the closing arguments, his attorney called him a coward, rapist, and liar, but stated that he wasn't a killer. However, the jury wasn't convinced. On August 25th, 2009, the Talvis Cobbins was found guilty of their murders as well. He was eligible for the death penalty but would ultimately be spared, sentenced to life without parole.

The next trial was for Lamarcus Davidson, who was the ringleader of the group. When he was first arrested, he said that he didn't know anything about the torture and murders, because he left before that all happened, saying, quote, I'm a convicted felon. I had a gun in my house, selling dope. That's what I do. I sell dope. I ain't gonna lie.

I'm a gang member and all that, dude. I don't kill people, though. End quote. But after everyone got arrested, his story starts to change. Now he's saying that he was there, but he wasn't a part of it, telling detectives, quote,

they had both of them in the back seat tied up. I'm telling them, man, y'all stupid as fuck. End quote. Then he said once they were home, he left his house and he went to get high with a neighbor. He even said that he tried to save Shannon, saying, quote, she grabbed me. She touched my arm. She was asking me, was she going to die? I told her that it was all going to be all right.

I didn't think my brother was going to kill that girl, man. That's all she said. She ain't want to die, and I just couldn't take that shit. I left." End quote. But as we know, Lamarcus's semen was found in her vagina and anus, and his fingerprints were everywhere, including the trash can she was in. Now, his attorneys would later say that, of course, his fingerprints are going to be on that trash can,

because it's his trash can, which is believable. But what about the seamen? It's kind of hard to explain that a way. Well, at Lamarcus's trial, his attorneys pulled a car that no one was expecting. They claimed that Shannon and Chris actually drove to the house themselves, wanting to buy drugs. Lamarcus tried to convince the jury that they were there voluntarily. Oh, and the seaman that was found inside of her, well, that was from consensual sex. he said.

And this entire part of the trial is just disgusting because they were trying to make Shannon out to be this drug addict who was willing to have sex for drugs when her boyfriend was there. As you can imagine, Sharon's parents were livid having to sit through the trial listening to this. Here is her father. I got a question.

When did someone are we, us, take our Constitution and our Bill of Rights and distort it to the point that the defense attorneys, as low life as they are, can attempt to drag our children through the mud, make them into dope deep. and hookers. And in a court of law, my wife does not have the right to say that our children should not have been put on trial. The next person that says out of their mouth that my daughter had consensual sex with him ain't got but one person in this world to deal with, and that's me, over my dead body. And no one was buying this story at all. For one, Shannon didn't have any drugs in her system.

She only had a little bit of alcohol that night, and, according to everyone that knew her, she didn't do drugs. But Lamarckish tried to say that they came there voluntarily. they had sex, and afterwards, George, La Talvis, and Vanessa were the ones that killed and tortured them. And on October 28, 2009, Lamarcus Davidson was found guilty and sentenced to death. With regard to the count charging Mr. Davidson with the first-degree felony murder of Hugh Christopher Newsom, that is, counts 1-256, 10, 13, and 14. what is the decision of the jury as to what the punishment should be with regard to those counts? The punishment is death. It is my duty as a judge in this case to impose a punishment of death by lethal injection.

May you find peace with your maker. Here are the Christian in Newsome families after his sentencing. Well, the Christians, the Christians, the names. Newsombs and all of Knoxville got justice today. We finally got the justice that the kids deserve and it makes me feel good. The jury was from Knox County. They are the pillars of our community. We should take our hats off to them and we should give them a round of applause for... Thank you. The next trial was for George Thomas, who like the others tried to deny his involvement. In fact, he claimed that he was asleep for most of the crime, and when he found out

about it all, he just went into a back bedroom to smoke weed and listen to music. He did admit to taking Chris to the railroad tracks, but he said that he stayed in the car while Eric Boyd killed Chris and burned his body. Another disturbing detail about George is that when he first got arrested and detectives asked him why he didn't intervene. He said, fuck that white girl. She didn't mean anything to me. You cops come into our neighborhood and kill us, so why should I get involved with some things that are none my business. But again, the other perpetrators all said that he was involved, and on December 8, 2009, Thomas was found guilty and sentenced to life without parole.

And finally, Vanessa Coleman was the last to stand trial. And her attorneys tried to make it seem like she was being held captive by her boyfriend and the other men in the home. They also said she barely saw or heard anything that night. but her DNA was on the fabric that was used to tie Shannon up. Vanessa also said that she never once saw Chris, but that she did see Shannon when she snuck into the bedroom to give her water. But she was too afraid to call the police because Lamarcus threatened to kill her.

But detectives would find some diary entries of Vanessa that would prove otherwise. In the days after the murders, she wrote, quote, wake up and look around. What's really going on? I don't have a clue. Or at least I used to be able to say I don't. But as much as I've seen and observed and learn, I know exactly what's going on.

Although a lot of this is new to me, life's a trip, but it's amazing how things play its own role. Life is interesting and full of surprises. Even very unexpected things happen that you don't, don't expect. Signed Nessa. The following day, she wrote, quote, last night was one of a kind. We stayed with a crackhead that was cool as hell. It snowed a little bit, but it's already melted. Let's talk about adventures. I've had one hell of an adventure since I've been in the

big TN. It's a crazy world these days, but I love the fun and adventure and lessons that I've learned. It's going to be a long and interesting. year. Ha ha. End quote. So to me, that's not the words of someone who's innocent. And the jury didn't think so either. Vanessa was acquitted of the murder charges, but for her parts in the crime, she was sentenced to 53 years. So finally, the people responsible for this horrific crime were now in prison, and three of them would never see the outside of those walls again. But this case is not over yet. Knox County Criminal Circuit Judge Richard Baumgartner, who presided over four of the five trials, had a huge scandal. He was a very prominent and respected judge in Knoxville. And around

the time of these trials, he was really struggling with addiction. Apparently, he was a huge drinker, and it eventually led to him having pancreatitis. And to cope with the pain, he started abusing painkillers. It got so bad, his doctor actually recommended that he retire, but he didn't take their advice. And according to his colleagues, he started showing up to work so high that. that he could barely even carry a conversation. Judge Baumgartner was seeing multiple doctors to keep up with his addiction, and when they couldn't give him the medicine,

he would ask his court staff. And Judge Baumgartner eventually started visiting a woman named Dina Castleman in prison, and he would use her to get hydros from someone that used to be a defendant in his drug court. And even though he was a married man, he and Dina would start a sexual relationship. And all of this stuff was going on as he was presiding over the trials of Davidson, Cobbins, Thomas, and Coleman.

It was at the height of his addiction. In fact, his assistant would monitor him every single day, and if he was too drunk or hopped up on painkillers, she would have to reschedule his appointments for him. Now, in late 2009 is where Judge Baumgarner really starts to decline. That fall, he stole money from the Knox County Drug Court and used it to buy drugs. Then, during George Thomas's jury selection, he was having Dina Castleman come stay with him at his hotel room and bring him pills. He would even use his connections to help Dina out every time she got in trouble.

Like, at one point, he helped her lie on a drug test she had to take. At Vanessa Coleman's jury selection, the prosecutor even saw him swerving all over the road. And after her sentencing, it was discovered that he had been taking long lunch breaks throughout to go have sex with Dina. Now, around this time, Dina got arrested for solicitation, and she ended up telling the cops everything. Everything about the affair, the drugs, the secret meetings, everything. And they were even able to get proof because someone took a photo of the judge at a drug dealer's

house. His government vehicle was actually parked right in the driveway. Now, after receiving all of this evidence, officers went to Judge Baumgarner's office, and they told him he was being investigated. Shortly after, he would step down as judge and check himself into rehab. But he would have to pay for his misconduct. And in May of 2013, Judge Baumgarner pleaded guilty to one count of misconduct for buying pills that weren't prescribed to him, and he was sentenced to six months in jail. And just a few years ago, in January of 2018, he was found deceased by his family. There was no foul play involved, so it seemed like everything just kind of caught up with him.

But back when this was all happening, this was a huge scandal. As you can imagine, when word got out about it, pretty much everyone that had him as a judge was motioning to have new trials. and understandably so because in some of these trials he was literally nodding off. So it all got very, very messy. And ultimately, George Thomas and Vanessa Coleman were granted new trials. The news of this, however, was devastating for Shannon and Chris's families. I mean, it was already hard enough for them to sit through the first set of trials, but now they have to do it all over again.

So in November of 2012, Vanessa got her new trial and her sentence was changed from 53 years to 35 years, and she got credit for time served. George Thomas's new trial wasn't until May of 2013, and again he was convicted for all counts and sentenced to life, but this time he got life with the possibility of parole after serving 51 years. So finally, after all of this, the Knox County Five trials were over. But then you have to consider parole meetings. Shannon and Chris's families made sure to attend all of them and they let the courts know their feelings on having these people walk the streets. In 2014, Vanessa Coleman was up for parole, but she was denied. And then again, in 2020, she had another parole meeting.

Here is Vanessa at that meeting. I didn't speak up, I didn't stand up, and I didn't help with someone needed me the most in their life. And for that, I'm sorry. And here is Shannon's mom and her thoughts on Vanessa's parole. The Newsom family and the Christian family got a life sentence. She just has to serve 35 years. And she needs to serve everyone up. And their families would get their wish, because she was ultimately,

denied parole again. Now, we're almost wrapped up on the trials, but if you remember, Eric Boyd got 18 years, the most lenient sentence of the five because they weren't able to find much of his DNA at the crime scene, and he was actually supposed to be eligible for release in 2022. But after serving the majority of his sentence, a grand jury would decide to indict him for the murders of Shannon and Chris. And on August 13, 2019, he was found guilty and sentenced to two life sentences plus 90 years for the murder, rape, and kidnapping of Shannon and Christian.

Now, George Thomas would testify at his trial and tell the jury that Eric was the one who murdered Chris and burned his body by the railroad tracks. But again, who really knows if that's the truth? Because George took a plea deal for his testimony and got his first-degree murder charge reduced to second-degree murder charges, and he now has the possibility of parole. So as of now, that is where all of the trial updates end.

I know it got pretty complicated there, that's usually the case when dealing with five defendants. But to wrap this up, I wanted to play a few of the victim impact statements from Shannon and Chris's families. Here is Chris's father. In his room, he accumulated 31 trophies. They're sitting on two dressers, along with four medallions showing his achievements in the baseball field. feel. I go up to his room from time to time, but you know, to me, that room is empty, regardless of how many trophies or ribbons are there. And I know Chris was scared to death, knowing what was happening

to him. However, I know beyond any doubt that he drew his last few breasts, that cold mud kicked on his bottoms of his feet from having to walk through that field to his execution spot that his concern was for Shannon with a sea. I know that hurt him far more

than any of those three bullets that tore into his body. And here is Shannon's mom. Gary and I regret each day that we failed our daughter. We were unable to keep her safe And as parents, you're supposed to keep her kids safe. Gary Chase and I think about Shannon

and what happened to her each and every second of every day. The thought of what she had to endure haunts us each and every day. We don't sleep. It's hard to concentrate on anything else. You never think anything like this will happen to you? Well, it can And it did

If I could trade places with Shannon I'd do it in a second I'd be sitting in that chair And she would come I bet a thousand times And slide right over the arm of that chair And set in my lap She was a tall, long leg at her feet still dragging the ground

But she would sit in my lap put her arm around me and look at me a certain way, Daddy. I would get this feeling that would come over me like, this is going to cost me. If I sit down in that chair and shut my eyes, I can feel or do it. It sure feels good. And when I open them, I got a rage in me you wouldn't believe. I hate in me That ain't normal

Now as horrific as this story is There was some good that came out of it In 2014 Lawmakers passed the Shannon Christian Act Which restricts attorneys from being able To drag victims' names through the dirt Like they did with Shannon And it makes a lot of sense

Because the Marcus' attorneys were able to accuse Shannon of being a drug addict who slept around But during his trial They weren't even allowed to bring up his past carjacking convictions So if we can protect the defendants in that that way, then the victims should get that protection too. Following these trials, they also passed the Chris Newsom Act, which eliminates the judge's need to validate a jury's verdict. So basically, if this would have been a thing back when these trials were going on, they could

have avoided all these retrials. And finally, the victim's families wanted to keep Shannon and Chris's legacy alive. So they created the Shannon Gale Christian Foundation, which gives a scholarship to a student at Farragut High School who wants to attend the University of Tennessee, which is what Shannon did. And for Chris, they also give a baseball scholarship and they hold a memorial baseball game every year in his honor. And for the house on 2316 Chitman Street, where all of these horrors took place, it was a terrible reminder of what happened that January weekend of 2007. And that wasn't just the case for Shannon and Chris's families, but for all of Knoxville. So in September of 2008,

the waste company next door bought the house, demolished it, and built a memorial park in its place. But this truly is one of the most horrific cases we've covered, and it goes to show that it's a scary world out there, and you never know if you or someone you love will have to face the amount of violence that Shannon and Chris did. So we will leave you with a message from Shannon's parents. We can't bring her back. Just always remember to tell your children that you love them, your family that you love them, because you never know when it's going to be the last time that you get to say those words. I was grateful enough to tell her that I loved her the day she walked out that door. And her daddy got to tell her he loved her that night. He talked to.

tour. Because that was one thing that we always did, we let our kids know how much we love them, and to be careful. And you just never know when it's the last time. Good hair days do more than we give them credit for. When your hair feels healthy, you show up differently. You feel more confident, more relaxed, and you're not constantly checking the mirror. Nutraful supports hair health from within and delivers results over time. So your hair becomes something you enjoy, not something you stress about. Nutraful is the number one dermatologist recommended hair growth supplement brand, and it's the number one hair growth supplement brand personally used by dermatologists. And Nutriful's hair growth supplements are peer-reviewed,

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sticky, stressful situations. I mean, we have so many crazy family memories, so many things that stick out to me, so many trips that we took and just funny moments. I mean, I remember specifically one just crazy time when we had jet skis and we took them out. We had rented them for the day and we took them out on this lake and somehow something got on the engine of the jet ski. Mine stalled, my dad stalled and my mom and sister had to come rescue us because we floated to shore on the other side the lake. We've got some hilarious pictures from that day. But it's just one of those memories that I don't want to let die. And aura frames can help keep those moments alive. So basically, an aura frame is like a virtual frame that can display photos and videos from anywhere. You can upload to the

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And actually, ORAFrams run off a top-rated app. In fact, the app reached number one on the app store on Christmas Day, 2025. So, make Mother's Day special with Aura Frames. Named number one by Wirecutter, you can save on the gifts Mom's Love by visitingoraFrames.com. For a limited time, listeners can get $25 off their best-selling Carver Matt Frame with code M-I-A. That's A-U-R-A-Frames.com promo code M-I-A. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout, terms and conditions apply. Hey, everybody, it's Colin here.

Thank you for listening to this. this week's episode of Murder in America. I know that this one was a very tough story to get through. It's just absolutely a horrific tale. And it's one that we felt like we really wanted to share because a lot of people have never heard of this crime and it really is something that sticks with you. And yeah, I think it's going to stick with everybody out there who listens to this exact episode.

But I want to shout out our new patrons this week, Dana Hyde, M., Juliet Camacho, Evan Galloway, Lisa Francis, Venetius Sutterfield, Mary Millie. Zoe Grange, Allison Hortcher, Eileen, Wailen, Luke, Dakota Frary, Lacey, Sergio Bravo, and John Paul Burks. Every single week, guys, that list just grows bigger and bigger, and we are so happy to have so many of you

people with us on Patreon. If you don't know what Patreon is, you can go sign up on Patreon, just head to patreon.com type in Murder in America, and we post the ad-free versions of every episode on Patreon as soon as the episode goes live on all streaming platforms. So if you don't like the ads, go sign up

to become a patron. We're working on something really cool that we're about to launch on our Patreon too, so this is a good time to go join. If you want to connect with Courtney and I, we love connecting with y'all and talking and hanging out. Come join our Facebook group, Murder in America on Facebook or follow us on Instagram at Murder in America. On our Instagram, we post not only crime scene photos and photos from every case that we cover on the show, but also photos of Courtney and I. So if you're curious as to what we look like in real life, head over to Instagram and maybe

it'll shock you or surprise you. I don't know. But thank you guys again for listening. You know how much we love y'all. And yeah, have a great weekend and we'll catch you next week.