Man raped and set on fire – two days later his girlfriend is found in rubbish bin (Image: Family of victims/CBS)
A YouTuber known for documenting true crime has disclosed that he’s encountered one of the “darkest” cases he’s ever investigated — with several aspects proving too distressing for him to share. Adrian Stewart runs Coffeehouse Crime, a channel with an impressive 2.9million subscribers who follow his weekly videos examining the world’s most disturbing cases.
Yet, his latest episode titled ‘Tennessee’s House of Secrets – America’s Most Horrific Case?’ was especially troubling.
In the video’s description, he wrote: “The murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom is one of the most horrifying stories I’ve covered. Their killers were not only barbaric, but extraordinarily brash with their decisions.”
Below, we examine the savage murders and reveal what happened to the five people responsible for their unimaginably torturous deaths.
Channon, 21, and Christopher, 23, had been in a relationship for three months when their lives were tragically cut short.
They lived in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Channon was studying sociology. She resided with her parents and older brother and was described as bubbly and outgoing. Her boyfriend earned his living as a carpenter and was regarded as a passionate baseball fan with an easy-going nature.
Disappeared
The young couple vanished on the evening of 6 January 2007. They had made plans to enjoy dinner together before meeting friends at a party – but they never showed up. The following morning, neither could be reached, and their deeply concerned families reported them missing. Both of their mobile phones were switched off, and Channon had failed to turn up to work as expected.
However, just a day after the pair disappeared, a worker made a deeply disturbing discovery on a railroad track near Chipman.
Murder
It turned out to be the naked body of Christopher, who had been raped, shot in the back and set alight. His hands were bound and clothing had been wrapped around his head and secured with shoelaces.
Christopher’s remains were in such a terrible condition that his devastated parents were advised against viewing them – meaning they could only embrace the body bag.
While the horrifying find, which left some officers requiring therapy in the aftermath, was almost impossible to comprehend, one pressing question remained – where was his girlfriend Channon?
Tragically, this was answered just two days later, when officers discovered her body inside a rubbish bin at a property with a for sale sign outside.
The four men and one woman responsible for what happened (Image: NBC/News Centre Maine)
Horrific find
A post-mortem report subsequently revealed that she had been wrapped in plastic bags and discarded in the bin while still alive.
Police were led to her body after her abandoned vehicle was located, where they uncovered fingerprints belonging to Lemaricus Davidson. Her remains were found near Davidson’s home, and further suspects were subsequently identified, including his brother, Letalvis Cobbins, and his associate, George Thomas. A fourth suspect, Eric Boyd, was later apprehended before Vanessa Coleman, who was in a relationship with Cobbins, became a person of interest.
The investigation ultimately uncovered that Channon and Christopher had been carjacked and abducted before both were raped, tortured and murdered.
While Christopher was taken to a set of railway tracks where he was shot and set alight, his partner endured two days of horrific torture.
Those named above repeatedly beat her, bound her to a chair and sexually assaulted her. They also poured bleach into her body before wrapping bags around her and forcing her inside a trash can, all while she remained conscious. She ultimately suffocated and died.
Adrian, speaking to his subscribers, said: “I have to say those details push the boundaries of this case beyond anything that I’ve ever covered before. What these five monsters did to Channon and Christopher was cruel, degrading, and utterly inhuman.
“And all of this was done towards two people who had never even wronged any of them. And I think that’s why this case still makes people so furious because Channon and Chris weren’t merely killed. They were humiliated, tortured, and literally treated like garbage.”
They were both tortured before their deaths (Image: -)
Justice
It later emerged that Davidson, Cobbins, Boyd, and Thomas transported Christopher to the railway tracks where he was killed.
This followed his sexual assault at a house where he and his girlfriend had been taken against their will. In the early hours, he was forced into a car while gagged, blindfolded and restrained with a dog chain and leash around his neck before being brought to the tracks.
Thomas fired first, the shot striking Christopher’s neck, before a second bullet hit his back. Davidson then fired a third shot, hitting the victim in the head, before the attackers doused him in petrol and set him ablaze.
The group then returned to the house, where Channon suffered a torn membrane in her mouth after being orally raped by Cobbins. She was further raped by Davidson before the perpetrators attempted to destroy evidence using bleach.
The case resulted in numerous trials and retrials, with Davidson, Cobbins and Thomas convicted on multiple charges including murder. Davidson, believed to be the ringleader, received the death penalty while the others were handed life sentences.
Boyd was subsequently found guilty of murder, robbery, kidnapping and rape-related charges and received two life sentences.
Coleman was sentenced to 53 years for her role in Channon’s death. She had remained with Channon while the others led Christopher to the tracks. A subsequent retrial saw her sentence reduced to 35 years in prison.