As a light rain began to fall on the City County Building in downtown Knoxville, jurors were deciding the fate of Lemaricus Davidson Friday afternoon. Davidson was the second person of four to go on trial for the rapes, kidnappings, murders and carjacking of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom in January 2007.

When the jury pronounced four death sentences for the 28-year-old Davidson, the palpable silence was broken with what could only be described as sighs of relief. Davidson did not react, staring blankly as the pronouncements continued.

Judge Baumgartner spoke directly to Davidson saying he had been found guilty and was sentenced to death. He added that he hoped Davidson could find peace with his maker.

Davidson's trial began on Oct. 19 with Judge Richard Baumgartner reading 46 counts to the jury on which to find him guilty or not.  Davidson pleaded not guilty to all charges.  

The case went to Doug Trant and David Eldridge to defend Davidson. Takisha Fitzgerald and Leland Price represented the state. 

The story started when friends became worried when the couple didn't appear at a party.  After contacting the cell phone company, they were able to pinpoint the tower last used by Christian's phone.  This led them to search near Cherry Street where the vehicle of Channon Christian was found abandoned.

By Jan. 9, 2007, Knoxville Police had discovered the bodies of 21 year old Christian and 23 year old Newsom.  Both had been raped and tortured before being killed.  Christian was beaten and repeatedly raped then had a bleach substance poured in her mouth before her body was wrapped in garbage bags and stuffed into a trash can where she suffocated. Her body was discovered when officers noticed an irregular shape to a trash can inside Davidson's home at 2316 Chipman Street. Newson was found raped, bound, shot, mutilated, set on fire and left beside railroad tracks near the Chipman home.

Evidence presented by Knox County Medical Examiner Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan revealed that Newsom had walked barefoot to the tracks where he was bound, gagged with a sock, raped, had an accelarant poured on him and was set on fire.  He was also shot three times.  Three bullets entered his shoulder, back and head. Forensics showed that two shots were fired by the same weapon and the third by a second gun.

Daphne Sutton, Davidson's ex-girlfriend who had recently lived with him in the Chipman house testified that she was no longer living there but that Davidson had called her and given her some clothes.  The clothes were later identified as Channon's.

Davidson never took the stand in his own defense, but his videotaped arrest statement to the police was played in its entirety for the court.  He began by saying he had never seen either Christian or Newsom, but contradicted himself later.  "I knew they were going to kill them.  That's why I left," he said. 

Davidson had been to prison before and had only been out of prison for about a year when he left Jackson, Tenn. and moved to Knoxville to sell drugs. 

He referenced that he had been to prison before and said on the video that was why he wanted nothing to do with what happened that night.  He blamed everything on the others, including his half brother Letalvis Cobbins.  He later said, "You all found a body in my house.  I ain't stupid," to officer Ryan Flores who conducted the interview.  Even defending his innocence, he said, "Either way it goes, I'm going to jail."

The fifth day of testimony was a rollercoaster of emotion as the medical examiner went methodically through each injury sustained by the couple.  She demonstrated trajectories for the bullets from Newsom's body with a dummy model for the jury.  Other evidence included photos from the autopsies. Crime scene photographs were shown as well.  Mileusnic-Polchan explained for one photo that Channon's hands looked odd because the fingernails had been removed for the autopsy.  A few slides later, an assistant for the prosecution fainted.

The next morning, the defense requested a mistrial saying that the fainting might have influenced the jury. Judge Baumgartner disagreed, but did instruct the jury not to consider the incident in their decision.

Mileusnic-Polchan stated to the extent of Newsom's injuries, "The depth of the injury was so grave that there's no way that just a regular rape could inflict this."

In his statement to police, Davidson maintained that he did not touch either victim, but DNA matches would later prove that he had raped Christian.  Prints from the palm of his hand were found on three of the garbage bags that had been used to wrap around Christian's body as well.

The court held a half day session on Saturday, then the state rested its case.  The defense then began calling their witnesses.  Ethel Freeman and Jeffrey Bradley tried to throw doubt as to where the victims had been at the alleged time of their kidnapping, but bank records seemed to contradict Freeman's story.  Bradley, a neighbor of Davidson, said that he had seen Christian with Davidson together before the murders when he was out one evening searching for the family cat.

The prosecution then challenged Bradley by asking him about a string of charges he had been arrested in connection with. He agreed that he was the person charged.

Over Sunday, a female juror became sick and was replaced by an alternate on resuming the case Monday. 

A defense witness, Sally Hill, requested that she be allowed to not testify because of fear for her safety as a witness for the defense. Her attorney interceded, and Judge Baumgartner agreed that she would not have to take the stand.

With prosecution and defense rested, the jury was released to make its decision. They returned though and asked Judge Baumgartner to instruct them on the difference between aggravated and facilitated rape. After the judge reviewed the differences, they again entered deliberations, but returned again.  They wanted to see the interrogation video of Davidson's statement to the police again. After watching the video, they adjourned.

After reading the verdicts to the court, Judge Baumgartner repeated in summation, "The report of your foreman is that you found him guilty of all counts of felony murder, especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, aggravated rape and theft, with the exception of those three counts charging the aggravated rape of Mr. Newsom."

With each guilty verdict, Channon's father Gary Christian pumped his fist in the air in victory.  The jury returned guilty verdicts on all charges except the rape of Newsom, finding evidence only for facilitation in those three counts. 

Baumgartner addressed the jury saying, "You found Mr. Davidson guilty of first degree murder, first degree felony murder, and first degree premeditated murder which carries the penalties of life in prison, life in prison without parole or death by lethal injection."  With the possibility of a death sentence, both sides would have a chance to prove their cases for aggravating and mitigating circumstances for deciding life or death for the defendant.

The report of your foreman is that you found him guilty of all counts of felony murder, especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, aggravated rape and theft, with the exception of those three counts charging the aggravated rape of Mr. Newsom. Judge BaumgartnerThe victim impact statements were rehearsed on Tuesday for the Judge to hear and comment on, in case the charge warranted the need to present the victim impact statements to the jury.  Judge Baumgartner requested some needed omissions before going forward. The families and friends of the victims were able to tell the jury what the losses had meant to their lives.  Davidson, too, had family and people who had supported him in his life testify to try to save his life. 

In Deena Christian's impact statement, she told the jury, “I was told I might never be able to have kids.  So, when Chase was born, we were ecstatic.  Then when Channon was born, we had the perfect family.”  

She described the life her daughter would have lived saying, "Channon was 21 years old when she was murdered.  She was a senior at the University of Tennessee majoring in Sociology.”  Channon would have graduated in December 2007.

Channon's brother Chase told the court about the last time he ever saw his sister alive and of how she had been his best friend. Gary Christian chose not read an impact statement.

Christopher Newsom's parents each related the sadness and emptiness that had come into their lives with the murder of their son. Hugh Newsom told the court about going to his son's empty room.  His mother told about the happiness her son had found with Channon with a "C" and the future they might have had together.  Andrea Bowers also took the stand.  She expressed her sadness as a sister who wouldn't get to see her little brother grow up.

The defense called witnesses to testify to the mitigating circumstances in Davidson's life in hopes that he would receive life in prison, but not death.

Davidson's troubled history was illustrated through testimony by relatives and his foster parents.  Davidson's uncle Hugh Wilburn testified that Davidson's mother, his sister, was a crack addict with no concern for her children.  Wilburn told of constant violence including discovery of a body when he had ridden his bike by a dumpster and found legs sticking out from underneath it. He said that Davidson's mother had been in the house when the murder occurred. He also told of Davidson's grandmother who would beat them with electrical cords and table legs and sometimes lash out at them just for being hungry. Both his mother and Davidson's mother had become pregnant in their early teens and had multiple children with multiple fathers. He said Davidson's mother Nell smoked crack and had a cocaine problem. She was a prostitute who did not care for or provide any supervision to her children.

Davidson's sister, LaQuitta Boddie, caused a stir in the court when she blew her brother a kiss when she left the stand. She also related that life had been unstable and that their mother was abusive, dismissive and usually on drugs. Davidson had learned to steal to help feed the family.

In stark contrast, Davidson's time in foster care was a remarkably normal opportunity. After Davidson's mother was supposed to pick him up at the courthouse, he found himself abandoned.  He waited for days for her, but she never came. He was eventually sent to a boys home.

Jason Bramblett worked as a weekend relief parent for the Jackson children's home that Davidson was sent to. He testified that he grew close to Davidson at first because Davidson never had anyone to visit him on visitation days. Eventually, Bramblett came to think of Davidson so highly that he asked him to be in his wedding.

Davidson discovered sports, which his sporadic to nonexistent schooling had never allowed him to play.  Through basketball, he made a friend, Seth Rudd, who asked his parents to meet Davidson. After talking it over, they brought Davidson home to live with them. Carl Rudd told him that he would never have to wonder what life would have been like if he'd had a chance, because now he had that chance. He was 16 years old.

When the jury pronounced four death sentences for the 28 year old Davidson, the palpable silence was broken with what could only be described as sighs of relief. Davidson attended Jackson Christian School and even led a bible study group at his church.  His foster parents arranged tutoring for him in math and reading and gave him his own room in their five-bedroom, middle-class home.  When asked, Flo Rudd said Davidson's mother showed no interest in him while he lived with them.  Former UT coach Phil Fulmer did show interest saying of Davidson's playing that "this is what we look for" when he was scouting the school. 

Flo Rudd said, "He was very much one of our children."  But, the happy home life ended when the Rudds discovered that Davidson had brought marijuana into their home. They warned him the first time, and when he did it again they said he would have to leave.

He went to live with a coach around May 2000. He was 18 and no longer a minor. On Sept. 9, 2000, he was sentenced to prison for aggravated robbery.

While in prison he tested positive for marijuana four times.  When he was released from prison he returned to Jackson, Tenn. for a short while then moved to Knoxville, Tenn. and became a drug dealer.

The defense also called a psychiatrist who outlined the likelihood that someone raised in the environment of neglect, rejection, lack of monitoring, lack of a male role model, violence, drugs, crime and school failure would almost inevitably turn to violence later in life.

In closing, the prosecution sought the death penalty asking the jury for "justice for Channon and Chris."  The defense said that Davidson was a victim of circumstances that put him on a difficult path and that he deserved leniency.  Letalvis Cobbins, Davidson's half brother was tried in the double slayings in August and given life without parole.

Trant said in closing, "Davidson never had a male role model period - except for men that would come in and pay for sex with his mother or sell her crack cocaine.“  He reiterated the psychiatrist's evaluation that with all the factors in Davidson’s life, “violence was almost inevitable.”

On the first day of the trial, the prosecution was able to place items of Newsom's with Davidson including tennis shoes that were found with Davidson  through Newsom's friend Josh Anderson.  Trant then cross examined Anderson asking about marijuana that had been removed from Newsom's vehicle. This was the first reference to drug use by the victims, but not the last as the parents of both became steadily angrier that their children were being put on trial instead of the alleged killer. 

Prosecutor Fitzgerald in her final comments said that Davidson's sister and uncle had that same rough life, but it didn’t define them.  She said that despite the opportunities Davidson was given, “he made the choice to come to Knoxville to sell dope.”  And that he made the decision to end the life of two people.

There are two more suspects scheduled for trial in this case. George Thomas, who is set to come before the court Dec. 4., and Vanessa Coleman, Cobbins' girlfriend, will also face a jury. 

After the trial ended, the two families held a group press conference.  When Hugh Newsom thanked the jury, the families burst into applause saying justice was finally there for their children, but that there were still two more to go.  Davidson's appeal will take at least four months, to compile and review the transcript.  Until then, he will be housed on death row in Nashville, Tenn.