Vanessa Coleman's Christian-Newsom murder trial, Day 5
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Updated: 9:02 PM May 7, 2010
Vanessa Coleman's Christian-Newsom murder trial, Day 5
Testimony is over for the week in the double-murder case against Vanessa Coleman.
Posted: 5:42 AM May 7, 2010
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Channon Christian & Christopher Newsom share a special moment.
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UPDATE

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Testimony is over for the week in the double-murder case against Vanessa Coleman.

Coleman is the fourth suspect to stand trial for the January 2007 carjacking, kidnapping, rape and murders of Channon Christian, 21, and Chris Newsom, 23.

Coleman faces the death penalty.

The jury hearing this case lets loose a plethora of questions for the state's witnesses Friday. Judge Richard Baumgartner read the jurors' questions in court for witnesses to address.

"There's several questions about why this interview wasn't recorded, why wasn't it recorded, this interview on the 18th?"

"There's not a reason why it was not," a Knoxville Police Detective responded.

He later explained KPD doesn't require detectives to record suspect interviews. The judge chose not to answer another question that keeps coming up: "If Daphne Sutton was in the house on Chipman St., does that not make her just as guilty, or (show) that she participated in the killings?"

The questions didn't stop there.

"Did Daphne and Eric Boyd show up on the same night?" Baumgartner asked on behalf of jurors.

"From my understanding, yes," the detective responded.

"To clarify, does that mean that, according to her statements, she showered twice that night, speaking of, I guess, Vanessa?"

"From my understanding it was a long shower."

"One shower?"

"Yes, from my understanding."

Next, the jury turns its attention back to the defendant, asking about the Christian's purse, which was found with Coleman in Kentucky.

"The journal in the red purse, did you read any of the journal?" Baumgarter asks, relaying the question to the KPD Detective. "Were you able to determine whose journal it was?"

Later the judge decided to allow the journal into evidence.

One issue that did get resolved was whether court will be in session Saturday. The judge explained to jurors that Saturday court is canceled so Coleman's defense lawyer, Ted Lavit, can observe the Jewish Sabbath.

Closing out testimony Friday was a TBI forensic scientist who said she found Coleman's DNA on sheets used to bind the Christian's hands.

Defense lawyers explained Coleman's DNA was present on the sheets because they came from the bed she slept on.

Testimony will resume Monday at 9 a.m.

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Friday marks day five of Vanessa Coleman's double murder trial. Coleman is the only woman charged with the January 2007 carjacking, kidnapping, rape and murder of Channon Christian, 21, and Christopher Newsom, 23. She faces the death penalty.

Volunteer TV's Mario Boone is in the courtroom, and will be providing up-to-the-minute courtroom information on Twitter.com, just follow @WVLT.

You can watch the trial live, gavel-to-gavel, on VolunteerTV.com.