Lemaricus Devall Davidson

Lemaricus Devall Davidson was born on June 13, 1981, in Memphis, Tennessee. His early life was marked by instability, criminal exposure, and repeated encounters with the justice system. Public records indicate that Davidson struggled academically and socially from a young age and became involved in criminal activity during adolescence.

Prior to the murders, Davidson had already accumulated a serious felony record. He was convicted of carjacking and aggravated robbery and served approximately five years in prison, being released in August 2006, just months before committing the crimes against Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom. His criminal history demonstrated a pattern of escalating violence and disregard for the safety of others.

After his release, Davidson relocated to Knoxville, Tennessee, where he lived at 2316 Chipman Street, a rental house that would later become infamous. He associated closely with other habitual offenders, including his half‑brother Letalvis Darnell Cobbins, as well as George Geovonni Thomas, Eric DeWayne Boyd, and Vanessa Lynn Coleman. Davidson had no stable employment and was known to support himself through illegal activity.

On the evening of January 6, 2007, Davidson and his accomplices carried out one of the most brutal crimes in Tennessee history. That night, Channon Gail Christian (21) and Hugh Christopher “Chris” Newsom Jr. (23) were carjacked at gunpoint in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The victims were forced into Christian’s Toyota 4Runner, bound, and driven to Davidson’s residence at 2316 Chipman Street. Once inside, the couple was separated. Newsom was beaten, bound, sexually assaulted with an object, and ultimately transported to nearby railroad tracks. There, he was forced to walk barefoot while restrained before being shot multiple times. Though initially surviving gunshot wounds to the neck and back, Newsom was ultimately killed by a contact gunshot wound to the head, which severed his brain stem. His body was wrapped in a comforter, doused with gasoline, and set on fire.

Meanwhile, Christian was held captive inside Davidson’s house for nearly two days. During this time, she was repeatedly raped, beaten, and tortured. Medical testimony later confirmed that Davidson sexually assaulted Christian vaginally and anally and participated in oral rape. She sustained catastrophic injuries to her head, groin, mouth, and internal organs. Prosecutors described the abuse as “extreme” and far beyond a typical sexual assault.

In an attempt to destroy forensic evidence, Davidson and the others forced bleach down Christian’s throat and scrubbed her body with bleach while she was still alive. She was then hog‑tied, bound in a fetal position, wrapped in trash bags, and placed inside a garbage can in the kitchen. According to the medical examiner, Christian died slowly by suffocation sometime between January 7 and January 8, 2007.

During Christian’s final hours, Davidson left the house to visit his girlfriend, wearing Newsom’s shoes and using Newsom’s cellphone. He also gave his girlfriend some of Christian’s personal belongings.

Following the discovery of Newsom’s burned body on January 7, and Christian’s remains on January 9, investigators quickly focused on Davidson after forensic evidence—including fingerprints, shell casings, and DNA—linked him to the crimes. Davidson was arrested on January 11, 2007, in a vacant house in Knoxville, where police recovered the murder weapon and items belonging to Newsom.

Davidson gave multiple conflicting statements to police, initially denying involvement and later attempting to shift blame to his co‑defendants. However, overwhelming physical evidence, witness testimony, and his own admissions sealed the case against him.

On October 28, 2009, Davidson was convicted of first‑degree premeditated murder and felony murder for both victims. The jury unanimously sentenced him to death by lethal injection. In June 2010, he received an additional 80‑year prison sentence for related charges, to be served consecutively.

Although later appeals briefly resulted in questions surrounding judicial misconduct by the trial judge, the Tennessee Supreme Court ultimately upheld Davidson’s convictions and death sentence in 2016. As of the most recent records, Lemaricus Devall Davidson remains on death row at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, awaiting execution.