DA recuses himself from Christie murder case
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JACKSON, Tenn. — Suspected killer John Christie was back in court Tuesday after a judge rejected his plea deal with the state last week. “The family felt mistreated and didn’t like the way we were handling the case, and so therefore I had an ethical and moral obligation to recuse my office,” District Attorney General Jerry Woodall said in a rare exchange between him and Madison County Circuit Court Judge Don Allen. This comes just a week after Judge Allen said no to a deal approved by Woodall for suspected killer John Christie. “I haven’t cut off plea negotiations. I just did not accept the state’s recommendation previously, but I will allow plea negotiations to continue,” Allen said. John Christie is accused of killing his wife, Brittany Christie, in 2013 inside a Jackson motel. Her family was furious about a deal John Christie made with the state in which he would serve just less than two years in jail in exchange for his testimony against his cellmate and now-confessed killer Charlie Pittman. Pittman pleaded guilty in August to fatally shooting his girlfriend on the Union University campus in 2014. “That was the motion to continue so that John would be allowed to testify against Charlie Pittman before we ever knew that Charlie Pittman would ever plea,” Brandon Newman said. At Tuesday’s hearing, Woodall said a special prosecutor from Shelby County will take over in the case. Christie’s attorney also asked for a change of venue for any potential trial, requesting testimony from multiple news outlets. Judge Allen said he would hear all the motions later this month.
