190. Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom: Two Stars Lost in the Tennessee Night (Part I)

About this episode

This episode explores the lives of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom before they became victims of a brutal crime spree in Tennessee.

On January 6, 2007, Channon Christian (21) and Christopher Newsom (23) went on a date. They were young, in love, and planning to attend a friend's birthday party.They never arrived. What happened to Channon and Chris over the next 36 hours is known as one of the most brutal crime sprees in Tennessee history. But before we discuss the horror, we need to know who they were, the real people behind the headlines, the beloved children whose families would spend 18 years fighting for justice.This four-part series tells their complete story: the victims, the crimes, the trials, the judicial scandal that forced retrials, and the lasting legacy. In this episode, let's learn who Channon Gail Christian and Hugh Christopher Newsom Jr. were. Not as victims, but as the vibrant, beautiful people they were. Support ResourcesFor Survivors of Violence: https://www.rainn.org/ - RAINN (1-800-656-4673) https://www.thehotline.org/ - National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233) https://www.crisistextline.org/ - Crisis Text Line (Text HOME to 741741) https://988lifeline.org/ - 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline For Families of Murder Victims: https://www.pomc.org/ - Parents of Murdered Children…

People in this episode

Host: Paige Elmore

Topics covered

• true crime
• victim advocacy
• justice
• crime history
• Tennessee
• trials
• personal stories

Keywords

• Channon Christian
• Christopher Newsom
• Tennessee crime
• victims
• justice
• crime trials
• true crime podcast
• January 6, 2007
• crime spree
• advocacy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: RAINN, National Domestic Violence Hotline, Crisis Text Line, 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, Parents of Murdered Children, National Center for Victims of Crime, National Crime Victim Law Institute, Newspapers.com, Knox News, ABC News

More episodes of Reverie True Crime

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• 195. Sword of the Lord: The Daub Family's Descent into Darkness · January 3, 2026 · 42 min
• 194. Wilma June Nissen: The Woman in the White Go-Go Boots · December 20, 2025 · 56 min
• 193. Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom: Inside the Aftermath of a Knoxville Nightmare (Part IV) · December 13, 2025 · 36 min
• 192. Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom: The Judge, the Drugs, and the Retrials (Part III) · December 6, 2025 · 37 min
• 191. Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom: 36 Hours in Hell (Part II) · November 29, 2025 · 33 min