KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – A convicted murderer in the Christian-Newsom slayings was given two life sentences plus 90 years on Wednesday after previously being sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for all 18 murder convictions related to their deaths.
Eric Boyd was given two life sentences and 90 years in prison for aggravated rape, kidnapping and robbery in the murders of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom.
Last month, Boyd was found guilty on 36 charges following the deaths of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom. During his trial, Boyd received life sentences with the possibility of parole on all 18 murder convictions related to their deaths.
Boyd was the fifth and final person convicted in the murders, rapes and carjacking of the young couple in 2007.
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 Christain and Newsom tried at a federal level, the rest were convicted in state trials.
The families of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom were in the courtroom Wednesday and gave impact statements to detail the pain and suffering caused by the murders.
“I thought we had to wait our lifetime with you getting away with (murder). But you didn’t and you’re not going to,” Andrea Newsom Bowers, sister of Chris Newsom, said during her victim impact statement.
All the friends and family members who gave statements asked the judge to never allow Boyd back on the streets ever again.
Several also directed their statements to Boyd, taking advantage of what could be their last chance to confront him face to face.
“Mr. Boyd, you are a poor excuse of a human being. You’re despicable, worthless, an evil person and you’re a coward and act worse than an animal,” Mary Newsom, Chris Newsom’s mother, said.
After the hearing, Hugh Newsom, Chris Newsom’s father, said he was proud of the work prosecutors did to put Boyd behind bars for a long time.
He said that he and his wife had been at the courthouse at least 400 times over the years, but the fight isn’t over.
Boyd told the judge he was not guilty, although he acknowledged that the jury found him guilty.
He said he would be fighting the conviction.
As Boyd was escorted out of court, he looked at the family and said “I’ll be out.”
The Newsom’s said they will be back in court on Oct. 21.
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