LAKE COUNTY, Tenn. (WOKI / WVLT) — Letalvis Cobbins, one of five people convicted in the highly publicized 2007 murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom in Knoxville, is now facing the possibility of the death penalty in a separate homicide case arising from a Tennessee prison.
According to court filings in Lake County, Cobbins has been indicted in connection with the 2025 death of inmate Moriarco Lee at the Northwest Correctional Complex. The indictment charges Cobbins with first-degree murder and possession of a prohibited weapon, commonly described as a knife or shank, inside the state prison.
District Attorney General Danny Goodman Jr. has filed notice that the state intends to seek the death penalty against Cobbins and other individuals accused in Lee’s death.
In the filing, prosecutors cite several aggravating factors they say justify capital punishment. Those factors include allegations that Cobbins has a prior history of violent felony offenses, that the killing was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel and involved torture or serious physical abuse, and that the offense occurred while he was already in custody.
Cobbins has been serving a life sentence since his 2009 conviction in the Christian-Newsom case, one of the most notorious criminal cases in East Tennessee history. He is the half-brother of Lemaricus Davidson, who prosecutors identified as the ringleader of the 2007 crimes.
The Christian-Newsom murders drew widespread attention across Tennessee and the nation. Cobbins was convicted on multiple charges related to the kidnappings, rapes, robberies, and killings of Christian, 21, and Newsom, 23.
The new case centers on the death of Moriarco Lee inside the Northwest Correctional Complex, a maximum-security prison located in far northwestern Tennessee. Prosecutors have not yet publicly detailed when a trial could begin.
If convicted of first-degree murder and if the state successfully proves the aggravating circumstances outlined in its filing, Cobbins could face a capital sentencing hearing in which a jury would determine whether to impose the death penalty.
The case remains pending in Lake County Criminal Court.
