KNOXVILLE - Jurors this morning convicted Letalvis Cobbins of first-degree murder in the torture-slaying of Knox County couple Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom.
The verdicts, after being reviewed by Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner, were announced before a packed courtroom.
Jurors on Wednesday will shift into a penalty phase in which they will consider evidence about whether Cobbins, 26, of Kentucky, should be executed for the January 2007 kidnapping and murders.
The jury concluded that Cobbins had responsibility in all the crimes committed against Christian, however, the same panel acquitted Cobbins of charges involving the rape of Newsom.
Those acquittals don't mean much, however, since jurors found him guilty of the first-degree murder of Christian, 21, and Newsom, 23.
"I can't even tell you what all those guilty verdicts were that he read," Gary Christian said.
"He raped my daughter. He's responsible for her murder. I've said all along he's going down. He's just started sliding, and tomorrow's going to be the nail in his coffin."
Newsom's mother, Mary Newsom, said: "We got what we wanted, but we still don't have Chris back."
Mary Newsom and her husband, Hugh Newsom, said they hoped that the same Davidson County jury will sentence Cobbins to death, but, "Life without parole would be okay. We just don't want him back on the street."
Torture-slaying trial, Day 8: Cobbins guilty; jurors to consider death penalty � Knoxville News Sentinel
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