KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Guilty.
Twelve years after the murder of a young Knox County couple, Eric D. Boyd, 47, has been found guilty of all charges against him in the 2007 kidnapping, rape and murders of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom.
He was found guilty on all charges including kidnapping, rape and murder. He was found guilty on lesser charges on two counts, with the jury finding him not guilty of especially aggravated robbery but instead guilty on aggravated robbery. That's the charge that the jury asked for clarification on just before lunch.
RELATED: LIST: Here's what Eric Boyd was found guilty of in deaths of Channon Christian & Chris Newsom
The judge merged the 18 murder counts against him and gave Boyd the automatic sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole. He will be sentenced on the other counts on Sept. 18.
Scroll down for links to daily recaps of the trial, background on the case, and reaction to the verdict.
The couple was carjacked from a Knoxville apartment complex and taken to a home on Chipman Street, where they were tortured, raped, and murdered. Newsom was shot execution-style and his body set on fire at a nearby railroad track shortly after the kidnapping. Christian was held and violated for hours in the house before being left to slowly suffocate in a trash can.
Boyd was convicted in federal court in 2008 of helping hide ringleader Lemaricus Davidson after the killings and is still serving that sentence. At the time of the murders, state prosecutors did not pursue charges against him that were directly related to the killings.
Davidson is now on death row. Three others, Letalvis Cobbins, George Thomas, and Vanessa Coleman were also convicted on charges related to the murders and are still behind bars. The families of Channon and Chris have sat through more than a decade of trials, retrials, and appeals.
Trial coverage
- Jury seated for Eric Boyd trial
- Boyd trial day 1: Lawyers make opening statements, friends of the victims testify
- Boyd trial, Day 2: What to expect as the prosecution goes deeper into the evidence
- Boyd Trial, Day 2 | Convicted killer George Thomas takes the stand
- Boyd trial, Day 3 | Can the defense punch holes in Thomas's story about Boyd?
- Boyd trial, Day 3 | The defense crosses convicted killer George Thomas
- Boyd trial, Day 4 | Medical examiner provides devastating details of how victims died
- Boyd Trial, Day 5 | What to remember as the prosecution rests, defense takes over
- Boyd trial, Day 5 | Jury ends deliberations for the day
- Boyd trial, Day 6 | Eric Boyd guilty of first-degree felony murder, kidnapping & rape
- LIST: Here's what Eric Boyd was found guilty of in deaths of Channon Christian & Chris Newsom
- After jury finds Eric Boyd guilty in their children's death, the Newsom and Christian families want their kids' lives remembered
Verdict reaction
Analysis
Background
- 10 Years Later: Remembering the murders of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom
- Trial set to begin for long-suspected defendant in Christian-Newsom torture-slayings
- The last suspect | 'I’ve always had a mother’s instinct that he was the one who murdered my son'
- Eric Boyd now charged with murder of Channon Christian, Chris Newsom
- Trial begins next week for long-suspected defendant in Christian-Newsom torture-slayings
- Convicted killer George Thomas could get reduced sentence for testifying against Eric Boyd
- Eric Boyd's trial will take place in Knox County with a Knox County jury, judge rules
- Lawyer: Davidson would have pointed 'finger' at Boyd in killings
- Why now? Eric Boyd charged with murder 11 years later