She was small, weighing "90 pounds on a good day," her mother once said. However, Jessicas friends, and some family A key piece of evidence in the case occurred when at least eight first responders testified that Chambers claimed a man named Eric or Derrick had set her on fire. Palmer also said eight first responders who treated Chambers asked her if she knew who did it. An undated photo of Jessica Chambers and her father. Chambers sister AJ Prince said that his death affected her sister deeply. All rights reserved. Who did this to you? asked Daniel Cole, Director of Emergency Operations in the county. , still has some crucial bits of evidence that may prove useful in the upcoming retrial: I was face to face with her, and you could barely understand her, said Haley, according to the, Her face was fried out like she had stuck it in a light socket. All rights reserved. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. Her face was fried out like she had stuck it in a light socket. August 2015:Jessica Chambers' father: 'We're near the end' February 2015:Authorities release more details on burned teen's last day. Tellis, now 29, is serving a five-year sentence in a Mississippi state prison after an unrelated conviction for burglarizing an unoccupied dwelling, according to jail records. Watch Oxygens Unspeakable Crime: The Killing of Jessica Chambers on September 15 at 7/6c to learn more about the case. Chambers had burns on about Jurors saw autopsy photos one of which Logically, someone might have taken the keys from the crime scene to later discard them but who? The victim in that case, 34-year-old Meing-Chen Hsiao, was a Taiwanese exchange student who was tortured and stabbed more than 30 times in her apartment in July 2015 by someone allegedly trying to obtain the PIN number to her debit card, according to affidavits obtained by PEOPLE. In Palmer's opening statement Tuesday, she said at least eight first responders in the trial expected to last two weeks will testify that Chambers said someone named Eric had set her on fire. Authorities have said previously that Chambers was on fire when she was found. For more on this heartbreaking case, stream Jessica Chambers: An ID Murder Mystery on discovery+ now. But in her last moments, Chambers was able to name someone, as belabored as her speech may have been. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Some commenters have pointed to Chambers' murder as an example of "Missing White Woman" or "Beautiful Dead Girl Syndrome" that is, the idea that attractive, white female victims in general tend to get more attention from the public, and from media. WebJessica Chambers killing: Photos from case Photos: A look back at the Jessica Chambers case 80 PHOTOS More Stories Kingston Frazier murder: Court upholds Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! 2023 Warner Bros. Champion said Tellis first told investigators he only saw Chambers on the morning of her death. They know who killed her prove it., Asked why he thought prosecutors failed to win a conviction in two previous efforts, Champion tells PEOPLE: I never speculate on why they do what they do.. WebProsecutor John Champion told jurors that they will see graphic photos of a burned Chambers and they will hear from about 35 witnesses. Investigators found burned items at the crime scene, including parts of a cell phone. The inside of her mouth was charred black. Im just going to wait and see what happens in Louisiana, he says. Winfield said Chambers would be upset if she knew how racially dividedthe town became after her murder. Follow Sarah Fowler on Twitter:@FowlerSarah. His wife then ran down the street to tell Chambers' mother what had happened and they were all at the hospital in Memphis when she died. A place for forensic students, medical examiners, morticians and other morbidly interested individuals to respectfully discuss content relevant to a crime scene. He said Tellis repeatedly lied to investigators about spending time with her in the hours before she was found. WebAuthorities said Chambers was soaked in fuel in her car on a rural road, set on fire and then stumbled through a roadside ditch before she was spotted by a passing motorist who Yeah. And where did the gasoline come from? More He also said they found a lighter that was so rusty it could not be sent to the crime lab, and a cigarette butt that they thought belonged to a firefighter. teen sent back from Louisiana, Suspect indicted in Jessica Chambers burning death, Jessica Chambers' father: 'We're near the end', Authorities release more details on burned teen's last day, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. The teenager, who This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, She had burns over 98 percent of her body. Her friend Lakesha Meyer claimed that Chambers sold marijuana. And she had black all over her face. Tellis, who graduated from the same high school as Chambers,was in Batesville buying a pre-paid debit card for his girlfriend in Louisiana at the time Chambers was attacked, Palmer said. By Beth Karas Deputy Prosecutor Jay Hale holds up a Karas said that the judge concluded that any potential prosecutorial misconduct by Champion "was not prejudicial" to Tellis. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Legal Statement. Karas said that she understands why the jury was undecided. The field trip will give the Pike County jurors a chance to see first hand the sites that Prosecutor John Champion said will be tied together via cellphone records. Smoking weed was first priority to them, her stepmom recalled. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. The judge in the case declared a mistrial, opening the door for prosecutors to try Tellis a second time on the murder charge. She died a short time later at the hospital. Jessica herself had expressed concerns involving her friends to her father, who worked as a mechanic for the county sheriffs office. They even explored the possibility that her boyfriend who was in prison at the time of the murder had ordered a hit on her. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. They quickly turned their attention toward the severely burned Chambers and she was transported by helicopter from the small, All rights reserved. Rumors that she sold marijuana and dated a gang member surged in the aftermath of her death, when Chambers life became subject to just as much intense scrutiny as the mystery of her death, which occurred at a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, an hour or so away from Courtland. But, at around the age of16, she stopped wanting to be a cheerleader. On December 6, 2014, first responders in Courtland, Mississippi received a call about a vehicle fire. A lawyer on Tellis' defense team, Darla Palmer, is using Haley's initial statement as a foundation of her client's defense. Chambers' mother told the court that she last spoke to her daughter at 6:48 p.m. CT, about 90 minutes before the truck driver made his call about the car fire. Tellis was put on trial in 2017. "Her hair was fried like it had been stuck in a light socket. Web Three years after a 19-year-old woman was burned alive on a road in rural Mississippi about 60 miles south of Memphis, a man that she reportedly had a relationship with is Some commenters have pointed out that Jessica's murder stoked racial divides in the town. Champion said cellphone records show that Chambers and Tellis who had met about two weeks before her death and had become friends were together twice on the day she was burned. Jessica Chambers horrific death rocked the nation. Man indicted in teen's fiery 2014 death still awaiting trial, Suspect pleads not guilty in fiery death of 19-year-old woman, Suspect in torching death of Miss. An initial autopsy report revealed the teen died from severe burns that covered 98 percent of her body, NBC affiliate WFLA reported. A coroner later would say that Chambers had burns over 98% of her body. Like a lot of teenagers, Jessica Chambers had a rebellious streak and wasn't afraid to speak her mind. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? This undated photograph released by the families of Jessica Chambers and her sister Amanda Prince, shows Jessica Chambers taken in Courtland, Miss. I think she was making friends with the wrong people, with drug dealers, her ex-boyfriend Bryan Rudd told PEOPLE in December 2015, a year into the homicide investigation. Defense attorney Darla Palmer said Tellis is wrongly accused. Mom Found Guilty of Killing Toddler Son, Burning Body and Burying Him in Yard, How a True Crime Podcast Freed 2 Georgia Men Wrongfully Imprisoned 25 Years on Murder Conviction, Everything to Know About Viktor Bout, the Russian Arms Dealer Involved in the Brittney Griner Swap, Missing Ga. Toddler Quinton Simon's Bones Found in Landfill. Courtland has about 500 residents. Tellis' trial began in Batesville, Mississippi, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Memphis, Tennessee. Meing-Chen Hsaio [Monroe Police Department]. "She kept asking for water. 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Although Chambers had graduated from high school with all As and Bs and recently had started a new job selling clothes at a Goodys department store in nearby Batesville, she nonetheless ran with a rough crowd before her death. "It was a terrible crime. If convicted of Jessicas murder, he faces life in prison without parole. The murder case shocked a small town and made headlines around the nation and the man accused of killing her, Quinton Tellis, ended in a hung jury last fall. Her decomposing body was not found for 10 days. Her murder trial divided the tiny town of Courtland, Mississippi after Quinton Tellis, a black man, was arrested and accused of killing her. Working-class Courtland, Mississippi, population 500, is not a town with deep divisions that typically hoards its secrets. Palmer told jurors that Tellis never confessed to the killing. Archived post. The Panola County Sheriffs Lt. Edward Dickson confirmed in his testimony that he found a phone belonging to Chambers, and some burned clothing. Prosecutor John Champion, left, alleged Tells may have set Chambers and her car on fire after mistakenly believing he had suffocated her. Tellis then drove Chambers' car with her inside it to the back road, ran to his sister's house nearby, jumped in his sisters' car, stopped to pick up gasoline from a shed at his house and torched Chambers' car and her, Champion said. While in high school,Jessicawas a cheerleader at her high school football games. A former cheerleader, Chambers had ambitions of becoming a nurse. On December 6, 2014, a 19-year-old cheerleader named Jessica Chambers was set on fire in the small town of Courtland, Mississippi. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? After two juries failed to reach a verdict, Jessica Chambers' accused killer now awaits trial on an unrelated murder charge in another state. In a written statementto investigators hours after the crime, Haley said Chambers told him that someone named "Eric" had set her on fire. A criminal indictment announced on Feb. 23, 2016, appeared to crack the case, according to law enforcement, and offered a theory that would not be fully aired until a trial last fall. , an NBC affiliate in Memphis, Tennessee. Despite its small-town stature, Courtland, Mississippi and the surrounding area have seen their fair share of crime and dangerousgangs, and Chambers wasn't immune to it. But while Chambers family hopes that a third trial in the Chambers case may yet deliver the justice they seek, the Mississippi prosecutor, John Champion, tells PEOPLE that hes not rushing forward. Jessica Chambers suffered an agonizing death: Firefighters saw her walking toward them, wearing only her underwear & burned over 93 percent of her body. Discovery, Inc. (Screenshot from ID's "Jessica Chambers: An ID Murder Mystery"). WebBoyfriend Of Jessica Chambers Found Shot To Death Friday Morning Grand Jury To Consider Charges In Quinton Tellis Murder Case In Louisiana After Second Mistrial, We dont have a lot of haves and have-nots here, Rupert Howell, then the managing editor of rural Panola Countys family-owned newspaper, The Panolian, told PEOPLE in 2016. Real Name: Jessica Lane Chambers Nicknames: No known nicknames Location: Courtland, Mississippi Date: December 6, 2014 Case Details: At 8:10pm on December 6, 2014, nineteen-year-old Jessica Chambers was found burning next to her car which was also on fire. In Mississippi, Chambers' best friend, Kesha Myers, told jurors Tuesday that Chambers was "selling drugs every day.". Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. The trial ended in a hung jury, as did a second attempt to convict Tellis in 2018. But nobody really knows what happened that fateful night. Everyones in the same boat.. However, according to Buzzfeed, the case has attracted the attention of web sleuths who comb through social media looking for any clue that investigators may have missed and develop their own, oftentimes outlandish theories about who really killed Jessica Chambers. "She didn't say any other name.". Discovery, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. She died of her injuries shortly after arriving at the hospital. News-Star. Questions: Jessica Chambers, 19, was found with burns on 98 per cent of her body on Saturday night. WebIn the first day of testimony in Quinton Telliss retrial, first responders recall finding Jessica Chambers covered in burns. I am just a mother that is dying every day, she told Fox13 Memphis. They told us she was like the waking dead, her mother, Lisa Chambers, told PEOPLE in 2016. Buzzfeed got the story, and it seemed like the entire internet was trying to answer the question: Who set Jessica Chambers on fire? Early on in the docu-series, Laquntas touching interview about her shared childhood with Quinton shocked viewers when they saw she had an Eric tattoo on her hand, which was starkly visible in the show. Jurors in that first 2017 trial could not reach a decision on his guilt or innocence an outcome repeated again in 2018 when the second jury, again convened by Judge Gerald Chatham, said it, too, was stuck. He also said that Tellis had repeatedly asked Chambers for sex, and she had told him no. Another troubling point for the defense is the fact that Tellis deleted all the texts and calls between he and Chambers after her death. WebShe had burns over 98 percent of her body. In the October 2017 trial against Quinton Tellis, no verdict was reached. Security is tight - the jury is being sequestered and spectators are being screened through metal detectors before entering the courtroom. They even wrote to his mother asking for answers, "Bryan can't take this anymore," she told Buzzfeed. Market data provided by Factset. According to Karas, the first jury came from Pike County and was sequestered, while the new jury would come from Oktibbaha County. The Killing of Jessica Chambers Bonus 105: The Impact of Jessica Chambers' Death, The Killing of Jessica Chambers 105: The Defense, The Killing of Jessica Chambers Bonus 105: "I Hate this Place". They rushed to the scene and found a 2005 Kia Rio burning and started trying to put out the flames. Photo: Hollis Bennett. Theres no word yet if hell be tried a third time in Chambers murder. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. That was ruled out. In Louisiana, Tellis also had been charged withone count of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, a charge he pleaded guilty to in May 2016. Who was this mysterious person? Prosecutor John Champion told jurors that they will see graphic photos of a burned Chambers and they will hear from about 35 witnesses. However, gang members came forward to deny their involvement and offer condolences to Chambers' family (via Darkhorse Press). He also said that Tellis had repeatedly asked Chambers for sex, and she had told him no. Tellis is a suspect in a second killing: The torture and murder of Meing-Chen Hsiao, an international graduate student at the University of Louisiana in Monroe, in 2015. According to Investigation Discovery, Investigators have mapped out the first hour after Chambers left home, but much of that night and what happened leading up to Chambers' death is unknown. "Horrific pain.". Still, he added, She did nothing that was bad to get herself burnt alive., Chambers grandmother Willie Berdain recalled her as a beaming pixie atop her high school cheerleading squads pyramid at football games. While he was not able to make contact with this person, he did note the license plate number, according to. The prosecution's case in Mississippi will hinge largely on cellphone data that place Tellis and Jessica Chambers together much of the day she died. So its very important that either Louisiana get him convicted or we get him convicted., He tells PEOPLE: I just left it with them that we would meet after the Louisiana trial., The Twists & Turns After 19-Year-Old Was Burned to Death: What to Know About Murder of Jessica Chambers, Second Mistrial Declared in Ex-Cheerleaders Murder as Suspect Now Faces Trial in Another Death, Cold Cases Heat Up: How Advances in DNA Technology Are Helping to Bring Justice for Victims, Suspect in Death of Pregnant Mom Found Next to Car with Son Inside Was Recently Acquitted of Unrelated Murder, Man Charged in Rape of Slain LSU Student Madison Brooks Faces New Rape Charge in Separate Case, Will Bryan Kohberger Face Death Penalty if Convicted of Idaho Murders? Champion saidTellis and Jessica Chambers had sex in the passenger seat of her car, then Tellis smothered her and set her caron fire. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! According to Investigation Discovery, in 2019, Tellis was charged with a completely unrelated 2015 murder of University of Louisiana-Monroe graduate student Meing-Chen Hsaio. . I know we havent kept up with our page as much as we want Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. The prosecutor also said Tellis' alibi was fabricated. As the first responders got out of their vehicles, that was when they first spotted Jessica Chambers walking toward them, heavily burned. Champion said cellphone records show that Chambers and Tellis - who had met about two weeks before her death and had become friends - were together twice on the day she was burned. Tellis later acknowledged they were together in the evening, saying he met her to sell her marijuana and had sex with her in her car, Champion said. But Karas said that for her, the murder is most memorable due to the horrific nature of the crime. Her car keys were later found nearby, and they had Tellis' DNA on them, Champion said. Previously, Tellis had been in the parish jail accused of using Hsiao's debit card three times after her death. Her stepmother Debbie Chambers said that his untimely death was a catalyst for Chambers changing her social scene. Quinton Tellis, 29, could face life in prison without parole if convicted of capital murder in the death of Chambers, who was found near the remains of her car along a rural Mississippi back road on Dec. 6, 2014. Legal Expert Weighs In, Quinton Simon's Mother Allegedly Beat Toddler to Death with 'Object' After Using Drugs: Prosecutors, N.J. That trial is on hold until his alleged role in Jessicas murder is resolved. He said Tellis repeatedly lied to investigators about spending time with her in the hours before she was found. Mieke Oorts alleged killer used a GPS tracking device to stalk her and would drive up and down the road where she lived to intimidate her. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Legal Expert Weighs In, Derek Chauvin's Attorney Asks Minnesota Appeals Court to Void Guilty Verdict in George Floyd's Killing, Alex Murdaugh Goes on Trial and Snapchat Rep Will Testify After Revelation of Son's Video Before Death, Baltimore Man Who Was Accused of Murder and Stood Trial 4 Times Is Freed After Charges Are Dismissed, 'Fearless' 7-Year-Old La. This story was originally published on Dec. 22, 2015. Dec. 6, 2014: Chambers was discovered on Herron Road in Panola County, moving away from her burning car. The woman was 19-year-old, Jessica Chambers. The former cheerleader planned to be a nurse before she was burned alive in 2014. Chambers and Tellis rode around in her car for a while that morning before Chambers dropped off Tellis at his house and she went home to take a nap, the prosecutor said. Her body was severely burned, said Haley in his testimony during the trial in 2017. In the Chambers case, Tellis emerged as a suspect after investigators learned that he and Chambers were recent acquaintances in small-town Courtland, Mississippi, population 500. Her car keys were later found nearby, and they had Tellis' DNA on them, Champion said. teen sent back from Louisiana February 2016:Suspect indicted in Jessica Chambers burning death. His next hearing on the murder case is Feb. 18; a trial date has not yet been scheduled. One of Hsiaos neighbors gave police a license plate number of a man who gave her a creepy feeling, and later identified that man as Tellis, the documents state. The blaze that engulfed her was so hot, it turned her black Kia Rio white, incinerated her clothes and blinded her. WebChambers, a former high school cheerleader, was wearing nothing but underwear when she was found along a rural Mississippi road next to her burning vehicle. WebThis is seen as another effort by prosecutors to dismantle the damaging evidence that Jessica may have identified her killer as someone named Eric, and not Quinton Tellis. And there were new witnesses, including a speech expert. After Second Mistrial, Whats Next For Quinton Tellis & The Jessica Chambers Murder Case. The shocking mystery of the death of Jessica Chambers, the Mississippi teenager who was found by first responders on a highway with burns on more than 93 percent of her body on December 6, 2014, is about to be revisited in a trial this September and during Oxygens Unspeakable Crime: The Killing of Jessica Chambers on September 15 at 7/6c. Prosecutors alleged that Chambers recent local acquaintance Quinton Tellis, who was then 27, had pestered the 19-year-old Jessica for sex that she repeatedly rebuffed. First one jury, then a second, failed to reach a verdict on whether an accused man splashed fuel on Jessica Chambers and caused the 19-year-old former high school cheerleader to die by setting her on fire on a rural Mississippi road in 2014. Armchair detectives took to social media and sleuthed various "suspects" in the town. Jessicas smile would just light up a room when she came in.. The University of Louisiana-Monroe exchange student had been stabbed 34 times until she gave out the personal identification number for her debit card, according to a warrant filed in July 2016. He says he has told Chambers family that the outcome in Louisiana likely will dictate his next move. during the trial that he also heard the name Eric when he asked Chambers who burned her. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. Chambers mother said she was always smiling and she had the littlest body, she recalled, adding that her daughter loved making the I love you hand sign. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Palmer told jurors that Tellis never confessed to the killing. "She said 'Eric set me on fire,'" Palmer said. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. He also said that he saw a suspicious person in the area. Eric, said the 19-year-old, who did not give a last name or answer to other questions. According to Buzzfeed, Chambers lived with her mother, across the street from her grandmother, and her father and stepmother lived just down the street. This is breaking my heart. "He insisted this is not something he would do," Palmer said. While he was not able to make contact with this person, he did note the license plate number, according to WMC-TV, an NBC affiliate in Memphis, Tennessee. The answers to these questions may be crucial to figuring out how the fire started. Intelligence Analyst Paul Rowlett testified about Chambers' and Tellis phone data, and claimed that phone data put Chambers and Tellis together at the same location just before, or possibly even during, Chambers murder. In October 2017, Jessica Chambers accused killer, Mississippi, with burns covering 98 percent of her body. WebJessica Chambers, 19, was burned alive. Prosecutors alleged that Tellis had pestered Chambers for sex that she repeatedly rebuffed. "He insisted this is not something he would do," Palmer said. She died hours later at a Memphis hospital. Three years after a 19-year-old woman was burned alive on a road in rural Mississippi about 60 miles south of Memphis, a man that she reportedly had a relationship with is facing the death penalty in connection with her killing. Still, Jessica was well-regarded and by all accounts well-liked by pretty much everyone she knew, which is what made the shocking way she was murdered all the more mysterious. In the first episode of The Killing of Jessica Chambers,Ashunta Winfield, Chambers friend and neighbor said that Jessica loved everybody. Will Turner, another firefighter, said that the black man approached him, and that though he asked the man to leave several times, the man just gave him a blank stare. He asked Davis to note the tag number, presumably off the car. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Quinton Tellis was tried twice for her murder, each ending in a mistrial with a hung jury. Tellis won't return to Monroe to face trial in the Hsiao case until the conclusion of the Chambers trial. Former Courtland Volunteer Fire Chief Cole Haley recalled how Chambers, who was found standing in the road with the car burning beside her, couldnt speak clearly for a sickening reason. When authorities accused Tellis of Jessicas murder in 2016, they discovered him already in jail charged with the unlawful use of a credit card belonging to a college student who was stabbed to death in Louisiana in August 2015. "The prosecution has given notice of a speech pathologist," she said, who could potentially testify to the effects of severe burns on speech. No trial date has been set in that case. He also said that he saw a suspicious person in the area. Discovery, Inc. (Screenshot from ID's "Jessica Chambers: An ID Murder Mystery"), Warner Bros. The Bizarre Case Of The Jessica Chambers Murder. WebProsecutor John Champion warned jurors that they will see graphic photos of a burned Chambers and they will hear from about 35 witnesses. Over time the attention from the media started to trail off, the story had captured the attention of internet sleuths around the world.

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