KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Knoxville trial of a third suspect in the torture slaying of a young couple is set to begin Tuesday.
George Thomas is being tried for the January 2007 slayings of 21-year-old Channon Christian and 23-year-old Christopher Newsom. The state is seeking the death penalty.
Thomas is the third person to be tried. Ringleader Lemaricus Davidson was sentenced to death. Letalvis Cobbins, his brother, was sentenced to life without parole.
The trial of a fourth suspect, Vanessa Coleman, is on hold pending a pretrial appeal, The Knoxville News Sentinel reported.
The victims were carjacked from her sport utility vehicle and later beaten and raped.
Newsom was shot and his body set on fire alongside some railroad tracks. Christian was stuffed into a garbage can where she suffocated.
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Information from: The Knoxville News Sentinel, http://www.knoxnews.com
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
