KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Eric Boyd, a convicted murderer given two life sentences for his role in the Christian-Newsom slayings, was denied a new trial Wednesday by a Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals judge.
Boyd was given two life sentences and 90 years in prison for aggravated rape, kidnapping and robbery in the 2007 murders of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom. Boyd was the fifth and final person convicted in the murders, rapes and carjacking of the young Knoxville couple.
He had filed an appeal requesting a new trial claiming there was insufficient evidence to convict and that the trial court had erred by allowing prosecutors to introduce transcripts of a witness’s testimony from a federal court proceeding and denying a motion for a change of venue for the trial.
Criminal Appeals Judge Timothy L. Easter rejected claims that the evidence from the federal trial was not submitted in accordance with state law and determined their was sufficient evidence established in the case to uphold the convictions. His ruling also states Boyd had failed to show that any of the 12 jurors or four alternate jurors selected in this case were actually prejudiced or biased against him.
Boyd was convicted in April 2008 of federal charges of accessory after the fact, not for the murders or rapes. He is the only suspect connected to the murders of Christian and Newsom tried at a federal level, the rest were convicted in state trials.
