Updated: 8/31/2009 10:48:17 AM
Judge Richard Baumgartner headed to Chattanooga Monday to find another jury for an upcoming high profile double murder case that has captivated Knox County.
George Thomas is set to go to trial on October 28th. He is accused of torturing and killing Channon Christian and Chris Newsom in January 2007.
Last Wednesday, a Nashville jury convicted Thomas' best friend Letalvis Cobbins to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing Christian.
Both Thomas and Cobbins were arrested at a house in Lebanon, Kentucky on January 11, 2007, just two days after Christian's body was found in a trash can in Knoxville.
Investigators also took Cobbins' girlfriend Vanessa Coleman in for questioning, but she wasn't charged until the end of January 2007.
Coleman and Cobbins both surrendered at the house, but officers had to go inside to force Thomas to turn himself in to law enforcement.
On Monday morning, Judge Baumgartner began asking about 200 Hamilton County residents to fill out a lengthy questionnaire. They will be polled about their views on the death penalty and if they have been exposed to publicity about the double murders.
Thomas' attorneys Thomas Dillard and Stephen Johnson, along with Assistant District Attorneys Leland Price and Takisha Fitzgerald were to also make the trip to Chattanooga on Monday.
Dillard says they will use the same questionnaire used to poll nearly 170 Nashville jurors in preparation for Cobbins' trial.
Cobbins told police that he overheard his older brother and co-defendant Lemaricus Davidson tell Thomas that he had to prove himself. Cobbins said the two left the house for hours the night that Newsom was shot, burned and left by the railroad tracks near Cherry Street.
Coleman told investigators that Thomas admitted to shooting and killing Newsom.
After the judge gets back from Chattanooga, he will start searching for a fair and impartial jury for Lemaricus Davidson's trial.
On Tuesday, the judge will give nearly 1,000 potential Knox County jurors questionnaires to see if they have already formed an opinion abou the high-profile case.
Davidson has asked for a Knox County jury for a Knox County trial. Davidson is expected to go to trial on September 21st. However, Judge Baumgartner told attorneys he believes it could take at least 2 weeks to find a jury. He is unsure what he will do, if he still can't find a panel after 2 weeks of searching.
