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Author Topic: Jessica Chambers, 19 Courtland, Miss. Burned Alive 12/6/14  (Read 132149 times)
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texasmom
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ARUBA: It's all about Natalee...we won't give up!


« on: December 08, 2014, 05:43:11 PM »

There are no words...just horrible!   

http://www.kltv.com/story/27575901/family-desperate-for-answers-in-daughters-heinous-murder

Family desperate for answers in daughter's heinous murder
Posted:
Updated:
By Michael Clark

Posted: Dec 08, 2014 1:04 PM CST
Updated: Dec 08, 2014 4:46 PM CST

PANOLA CO, MS (WMC) -
Family members of a teenager burned alive on Saturday night are desperate for answers in the heinous Mississippi murder.

Jessica Chambers, 19, was found burning near her car that was also engulfed in flames. She was flown to a hospital in Memphis but later died.

Her father, Ben Chambers, said investigators told him his daughter was set on fire.

"When the fire department got there, she was walking down the road on fire," he said. "Only part of her body that wasn't burned was the bottom of her feet."

He continued as he held back tears, "They squirted lighter fluid down her throat and in her nose, and apparently they knocked her out. She had a big gash on top of her head."

Ben Chambers worked as an employee for Panola County Sheriff's Office. He has faith that his friends and co-workers will get to the bottom of the crime.

Several people in town are taking to Facebook asking for #justiceforjessica.

Assistant District Attorney Jay Hale knows someone in the community knows something and is pleading for help. Detectives are working to learn who the 19-year-old may have been with before her murder.

"We're trying to go through the information that we have, certainly interviewing all the potential witnesses we can and going through and using the phone records we can," Hale said.

 



(Source:  Chambers family)




(Source:  Chambers family)
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I stand with the girl, Natalee Holloway.

"I can look back over the past 10 years and there were no steps wasted, and there are no regrets,'' she said. "I did all I knew to do and I think that gives me greater peace now." "I've lived every parent's worst nightmare and I'm the parent that nobody wants to be," she said.

Beth Holloway, 2015 interview with Greta van Susteren
texasmom
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ARUBA: It's all about Natalee...we won't give up!


« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2014, 05:49:31 PM »

http://wreg.com/2014/12/07/father-speaks-out-after-daughter-set-on-fire-and-killed/

Father speaks out after daughter set on fire and killed

POSTED 1:39 PM, DECEMBER 7, 2014, BY MICHAEL QUANDER AND ASHLEY FOREST, UPDATED AT 10:45PM, DECEMBER 7, 2014

COURTLAND, Miss. — A family his planning their second child’s funeral after a woman was killed.

Panola County deputies believe Jessica Chambers was set on fire and are investigating her death as a homicide.

“It’s hard for me to talk,” Ben Chambers said. “It’s hard to breathe. You don’t even think about–.”

Most people do not think about losing a child the way Ben Chambers lost his.

“When the fire department got there they say she was on fire out in the road,” Chambers recalled.

 

“You couldn’t recognize her because she was unrecognizable,” Chambers described what he was told by doctors. “The doctor told us it wasn’t nothing we can do you know she was burned 98% of her body.”

Jessica died after being airlifted to Regional Medical Center in Memphis.

“They said that as far as they could tell like they squirted fluid down her throat and up her nose because it just burned her on the inside so bad,” Chambers said.

The Panola County Sheriff told WREG a driver dialed 911 after passing Jessica on a rural road near Highway 51 on Saturday night around 8:00 p.m.

Authorities revealed the victim was found next to the burning car.

The car was taken to the Panola County Jail in Batesville and is covered in a blue tarp.

“She had a big gash in her head like they knocked her out,” Chambers said.

Deputies were in the process of questioning people on Sunday.

The sheriff said deputies are on the lookout for two men they believe Jessica may have been with on Saturday night.

Chambers, who works as a mechanic for the Panola County Sheriff’s Office, is looking for answers and calling for action against his daughter’s killer.

“I want to see justice man,” Chambers said. Justice you know?”

 

Chambers lost his son in a horrific car accident a couple of years ago.
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I stand with the girl, Natalee Holloway.

"I can look back over the past 10 years and there were no steps wasted, and there are no regrets,'' she said. "I did all I knew to do and I think that gives me greater peace now." "I've lived every parent's worst nightmare and I'm the parent that nobody wants to be," she said.

Beth Holloway, 2015 interview with Greta van Susteren
texasmom
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ARUBA: It's all about Natalee...we won't give up!


« Reply #2 on: December 08, 2014, 05:56:08 PM »

https://www.facebook.com/jessica.chambers.144734
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I stand with the girl, Natalee Holloway.

"I can look back over the past 10 years and there were no steps wasted, and there are no regrets,'' she said. "I did all I knew to do and I think that gives me greater peace now." "I've lived every parent's worst nightmare and I'm the parent that nobody wants to be," she said.

Beth Holloway, 2015 interview with Greta van Susteren
texasmom
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ARUBA: It's all about Natalee...we won't give up!


« Reply #3 on: December 08, 2014, 06:04:10 PM »

http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/27567798/woman-burned-in-car-deputies-investigating-possibility-of-foul-play

19-year-old burned near car, officials investigate as homicide
Posted: Dec 07, 2014 11:03 AM CST
Updated: Dec 07, 2014 10:58 PM CST

PANOLA CO, MS (WMC) -
A 19-year-old woman was doused in lighter fluid and set on fire, leaving her family distraught as investigators try to put tragedy aside and find the people responsible.

Charred grass, tire marks and crime tape lined the road in Courtland, Mississippi Sunday afternoon. It was the aftermath of a deadly scene Saturday night.

When Panola County Deputies were called to a burning car they found Jessica Chambers. She was taken to Regional One in Memphis, where she later died.

Chamber's burned car is being stored at the Panola County Jail with the blue tarp over the top. It will be used as evidence once someone is arrested.

Meanwhile, friends and family are still trying to cope with the loss.

 

At this time no one has been officially charged, but police are treating it as a homicide case.


Source:  Facebook


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I stand with the girl, Natalee Holloway.

"I can look back over the past 10 years and there were no steps wasted, and there are no regrets,'' she said. "I did all I knew to do and I think that gives me greater peace now." "I've lived every parent's worst nightmare and I'm the parent that nobody wants to be," she said.

Beth Holloway, 2015 interview with Greta van Susteren
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« Reply #4 on: December 08, 2014, 06:24:27 PM »

Heinous crime!    

I can't begin to comprehend the pain and horror.    

Who did this?  Find them fast!

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texasmom
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ARUBA: It's all about Natalee...we won't give up!


« Reply #5 on: December 08, 2014, 08:11:12 PM »

http://wreg.com/2014/12/08/search-is-on-for-killer-who-lit-panola-county-teenager-on-fire/

Authorities searching for killer who set Panola County teenager on fire

POSTED 4:45 PM, DECEMBER 8, 2014, BY CAITLIN ALEXANDER, UPDATED AT 06:38PM, DECEMBER 8, 2014

PANOLA COUNTY, Miss. — The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the Panola County Sheriff’s Office are seeking phone records and witnesses to find out who fatally lit a teenage girl on fire.

A passerby called the sheriff’s office about the burning car along Herron Road, near Highway 51, Saturday night.

Responders took 19-year-old Jessica Chambers to the Regional Medical Center in Memphis, where she died.

Jessica’s father said his daughter tried to tell responders who killed her.

The sheriff’s office previously told WREG it’s possible Jessica had plans with two people that night, although Assistant District Attorney Jay Hale said there are no clear-cut suspects at this time.

He said her autopsy was underway Monday.

WREG met with Lisa Chambers, Jessica’s mother, Monday at a funeral home, after she finalized plans for her daughter’s burial.

Chambers said her daughter lived with her, and Jessica planned to go get her car cleaned Saturday evening. She spoke with her daughter on the phone around 6:48 p.m., and Jessica said she was going to get a bite to eat.

“[She] said ‘Bye, I love you, Mama. See you in a little while.’ Next time I seen her, she was in the Med,” Chambers said.

Chambers wants justice for her daughter, who she said was acting normally Saturday. She said her daughter had a job at a department store, cheered in high school, and didn’t currently have a boyfriend.

 
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I stand with the girl, Natalee Holloway.

"I can look back over the past 10 years and there were no steps wasted, and there are no regrets,'' she said. "I did all I knew to do and I think that gives me greater peace now." "I've lived every parent's worst nightmare and I'm the parent that nobody wants to be," she said.

Beth Holloway, 2015 interview with Greta van Susteren
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ARUBA: It's all about Natalee...we won't give up!


« Reply #6 on: December 08, 2014, 08:25:59 PM »

http://www.myfoxal.com/story/27575901/family-desperate-for-answers-in-daughters-heinous-murder

Burning victim's last words could lead detectives to her killer

Posted: Dec 08, 2014 1:04 PM CST
Updated: Dec 08, 2014 6:18 PM CST
By Michael Clark


PANOLA CO, MS (WMC) -
Family members of a teenager burned alive on Saturday night are desperate for answers in the heinous Mississippi murder.

Jessica Chambers, 19, was found burning near her car that was also engulfed in flames. She was flown to a hospital in Memphis but later died. Early autopsy results reveal that Jessica died from severe burns that covered 98 percent of her body.

 

In her last breaths, she may have sent investigators down her killer's trail.

"She told them, she told them, told him who done it," Chambers said.

Investigators won't say what Jessica said or release the chilling details about how she died.


"I love her you know, I'm so sorry daddy wasn't there for her," her dad said. "I'd trade places with her in a minute if I could."

 

Assistant District Attorney Jay Hale knows someone in the community knows something and is pleading for help. Detectives are working to learn who the 19-year-old may have been with before her murder.

"We're trying to go through the information that we have, certainly interviewing all the potential witnesses we can and going through and using the phone records we can," Hale said.

"The sheriff called me this morning he told me, he said, 'I'm working hard,'" Chambers said. “They took something from me I can't ever get back. Not ever, you know? It's a part of me gone forever."

Several people are being questioned by detectives, but no arrests have been made. The teen's car, and any potential clues inside, are charred black. Investigators did find a cell phone at the scene.

"We do have a phone that we believe is hers and that is what we are attempting to gather the information from," said Hale.


 
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I stand with the girl, Natalee Holloway.

"I can look back over the past 10 years and there were no steps wasted, and there are no regrets,'' she said. "I did all I knew to do and I think that gives me greater peace now." "I've lived every parent's worst nightmare and I'm the parent that nobody wants to be," she said.

Beth Holloway, 2015 interview with Greta van Susteren
texasmom
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ARUBA: It's all about Natalee...we won't give up!


« Reply #7 on: December 08, 2014, 08:41:19 PM »

http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/story/27578245/family-friends-seek-justice-for-jessica

Family, Friends Seek Justice For Jessica

Posted: Dec 08, 2014 5:12 PM CST
Updated: Dec 08, 2014 5:17 PM CST
By Tom Dees, Mississippi Correspondent

 

Ms. Chambers tried to tell Panola County law enforcement what happened, but she was burned so badly she couldn't speak.

Ms. Chambers of Courtland was found in in a remote spot in Panola County on Saturday night just after 8 p.m. She was near death from burns. Her car was on fire. She later died at Regional One's burn unit in Memphis.

The young woman's family and friends spent Monday making funeral arrangements.

"How can you put a 19-year-old kid in a car and catch it on fire?," said Allyssa Cotten, Chambers' best friend. "She was taken in such a cruel and such a horrible way. Just so unreal to me, I will never get to see her again. Justice will be served."

Lisa Chambers, the victim's mother, said her daughter's killer or killers would be judged by God, not her.

"And when they took her they took what was left of me," Lisa Chambers said. "They might as well have done it to me, sorry."

Sheriff Darby said the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the sheriff's department spent the day combing over what was left of Chambers' car and they have come up with new leads.

Sheriff Darby said he is taking this case personally because the victim's father works as a mechanic for the Panola County Sheriff.

"I know this father," the sheriff said. "He is a really hard working guy. He is not deserving of this. Yes, it's personal."

The family has created a Facebook page “Justice For Jessica” to help in the search for her killer.
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I stand with the girl, Natalee Holloway.

"I can look back over the past 10 years and there were no steps wasted, and there are no regrets,'' she said. "I did all I knew to do and I think that gives me greater peace now." "I've lived every parent's worst nightmare and I'm the parent that nobody wants to be," she said.

Beth Holloway, 2015 interview with Greta van Susteren
texasmom
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ARUBA: It's all about Natalee...we won't give up!


« Reply #8 on: December 08, 2014, 08:52:47 PM »

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/local-news/desoto/panola-county-state-probing-death-of-woman-found-by-burning-car_14926358


Panola County, state probing death of woman found by burning car
Henry Bailey Jr.
6:21 PM, Dec 8, 2014
Updated 1 hour ago

The death of a 19-year-old Panola County, Mississippi, woman who was found badly burned on a road near her burning car Saturday is being investigated as a homicide, said Panola County Sheriff Dennis Darby.

Jessica Lane Chambers was found near her vehicle, a Kia Rio, on a road in the Courtland area of the North Mississippi county south of DeSoto. Panola County Coroner Gracie Gulledge on Monday attributed Chambers’ death to the burns.

“We’re looking at it as a homicide,” said Darby. “We haven’t got anything solid yet” as to naming suspects, “but we’re doing interviews, ... following up on tips, a lot of legwork,”

A passing motorist called a sheriff’s employee on Saturday about 8:15 p.m. to report seeing a woman lying near a burning vehicle, Darby said. “She was severely burned; it looks like she was in the car but got out.”

Chambers was transported by helicopter to the Regional Medical Center in Memphis, “but we understand she died minutes after she got there,” said the sheriff.

Chambers, of the Courtland area, worked at the Goody’s apparel and gift store in nearby Batesville and was popular while a student at South Panola High School, said Darby. He said the case hits particularly hard because her father, Ben Chambers, is a member of the local law enforcement “family” as mechanic for the Sheriff’s Department.

“He’s a great guy, probably the best mechanic we’ve ever had,” said Darby.

Jay Hale, prosecutor for Panola County, said the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is assisting Panola, along with the State Fire Marshal’s Office. “We have everybody on call,” he said.

“They’re good people, and they’re hurting,” Hale said of Chambers’ family. “We met with her mother and father, and assured them we’ll seek justice for their daughter.”

 
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I stand with the girl, Natalee Holloway.

"I can look back over the past 10 years and there were no steps wasted, and there are no regrets,'' she said. "I did all I knew to do and I think that gives me greater peace now." "I've lived every parent's worst nightmare and I'm the parent that nobody wants to be," she said.

Beth Holloway, 2015 interview with Greta van Susteren
texasmom
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ARUBA: It's all about Natalee...we won't give up!


« Reply #9 on: December 08, 2014, 10:43:36 PM »

https://www.facebook.com/JUSTICEforJESSICALANE
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I stand with the girl, Natalee Holloway.

"I can look back over the past 10 years and there were no steps wasted, and there are no regrets,'' she said. "I did all I knew to do and I think that gives me greater peace now." "I've lived every parent's worst nightmare and I'm the parent that nobody wants to be," she said.

Beth Holloway, 2015 interview with Greta van Susteren
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« Reply #10 on: December 09, 2014, 12:56:41 PM »

Evil. Praying for a quick arrest.
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texasmom
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ARUBA: It's all about Natalee...we won't give up!


« Reply #11 on: December 09, 2014, 11:34:29 PM »

Evil. Praying for a quick arrest.


 
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I stand with the girl, Natalee Holloway.

"I can look back over the past 10 years and there were no steps wasted, and there are no regrets,'' she said. "I did all I knew to do and I think that gives me greater peace now." "I've lived every parent's worst nightmare and I'm the parent that nobody wants to be," she said.

Beth Holloway, 2015 interview with Greta van Susteren
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« Reply #12 on: December 09, 2014, 11:54:17 PM »

So sad 

Came on the SM site since I have not been here in ages...looked for latest posts and saw this. I know this is not the thread for chit chat...

Can someone please post link to the thread where it is appropriate to post off topics? Thank you
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*Avatar courtesy of CBB, a very talented and sweet monkey. Peaches and 2NJ, may you rest in peace. You will never be forgotten.
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ARUBA: It's all about Natalee...we won't give up!


« Reply #13 on: December 09, 2014, 11:56:26 PM »

http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/27586665/cell-phone-evidence-expected-in-jessica-chambers-murder-investigation-no-arrests-made

Gas station surveillance video captures Jessica Chambers' last hours
Posted: Dec 09, 2014 1:54 PM CST
Updated: Dec 09, 2014 9:49 PM CST
By WMCActionNews5.com Staff

PANOLA CO, MS (WMC) -
Surveillance video from a gas station on Highway 51 in Courtland, MS shows Jessica Chambers walking toward the gas station before being called away by someone out of the camera's view.

Jessica, 19, can be seen waving before walking over to talk to the person. Shortly afterward, from another angle, surveillance video captures a man in a striped shirt fill up what appears to be a gas can before walking off in the same direction Jessica went. Jessica eventually returned to her car, finished pumping gas, and drove away.

Investigators obtained the video, which was recorded about 90 minutes before she was burned alive, to use in connection with the investigation. The burning happened less than one mile from the gas station at which the video was recorded.

Right now, no arrests have been made in the case. People are being questioned, but investigators are not calling anyone a person of interest or a suspect in the case. The man who can be seen in the video filling a gas can has been cleared by authorities.

 


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I stand with the girl, Natalee Holloway.

"I can look back over the past 10 years and there were no steps wasted, and there are no regrets,'' she said. "I did all I knew to do and I think that gives me greater peace now." "I've lived every parent's worst nightmare and I'm the parent that nobody wants to be," she said.

Beth Holloway, 2015 interview with Greta van Susteren
texasmom
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ARUBA: It's all about Natalee...we won't give up!


« Reply #14 on: December 09, 2014, 11:58:51 PM »

So sad 

Came on the SM site since I have not been here in ages...looked for latest posts and saw this. I know this is not the thread for chit chat...

Can someone please post link to the thread where it is appropriate to post off topics? Thank you

Hi Shell!  Yes, this one is extremely sad...

Good to see you, here's the link to the monkey musings thread

http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=14385.msg1596815#new
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I stand with the girl, Natalee Holloway.

"I can look back over the past 10 years and there were no steps wasted, and there are no regrets,'' she said. "I did all I knew to do and I think that gives me greater peace now." "I've lived every parent's worst nightmare and I'm the parent that nobody wants to be," she said.

Beth Holloway, 2015 interview with Greta van Susteren
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« Reply #15 on: December 10, 2014, 06:38:38 PM »

http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Miss-investigates-case-of-woman-burned-to-death-5947419.php
Burning death inquiry eyes woman's last hours
December 10, 2014


Photo By Chambers-Prince Families/AP  This undated photograph released by the families of Jessica Chambers and her sister Amanda Prince, shows Jessica Chambers taken in Courtland, Miss. Mississippi authorities have launched a homicide investigation into the death of the 19-year-old woman who was found badly burned on a road near her car that was on fire in Panola County, Miss. Chambers was doused with a flammable liquid and set on fire Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014, said Panola County Sheriff Dennis Darby.

COURTLAND, Miss. (AP) — Surveillance video shows a woman at a convenience store gas station less than two hours before she was found badly burned along the side of a Mississippi road.

 

Convenience store manager Ali Fadhel (fuh-DEL') says Chambers came in frequently. He told The Associated Press Wednesday that nothing seemed wrong, although Chambers bought more gas than usual.

About 90 minutes later, firefighters found her on a road a few miles away. Assistant District Attorney Jay Hale says Chambers spoke to firefighters about what happened, and authorities are investigating those leads. She died at a hospital.

Slide show with three images at top link.
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« Reply #16 on: December 10, 2014, 06:45:17 PM »

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/10/us/mississippi-girl-burns-to-death/
Burned Mississippi teen's phone 'key' to finding killer, prosecutor says
December 10, 2014

 
The volunteer fire department that responded to her car blaze Saturday night got there quickly because it was at another call a couple of miles away, said John Champion, district attorney for Mississippi's 17th Circuit.
When firefighters arrived at the scene near Courtland, Mississippi, Chambers approached one of them and spoke. She was not on fire, as has been widely reported, the prosecutor said.
Champion didn't divulge what she said but told CNN, "It has certainly given us a lead we're following up on."

Though authorities are releasing sparse details of the crime and investigation, they have determined an accelerant was used in the blaze, but it's not clear whether the accelerant was poured on the car or Chambers herself, Champion said.
The state fire marshal is processing the evidence to determine what type of accelerant, and it's possible the evidence will need to be sent to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Atlanta, he said.
Investigators believe her phone will be "the key to everything," the prosecutor said. She received a call before she left her house, he said.
Despite reports she was going to a party, her appearance -- her hair was in a bun and she was wearing camouflage pajama pants -- suggests that wasn't the case, Champion said. Police have also spoken to partygoers, who don't recall seeing her there, he said.
The prosecutor also said investigators found no evidence in a store surveillance video that appears to show Chambers pre-paying for gas. She walks to the store's front door when something or someone catches her attention.
She waves and walks off camera briefly, comes back into the camera's view, enters the store where three men chat by the doorway and spends about a minute at the counter before going back outside and pumping gas.
The business, which Champion characterized as a rural mom-and-pop store, is about two miles from Chamber's home. She purchased something to drink there, the prosecutor said.

A Facebook page titled Justice for Jessica has drawn more than 63,000 likes and that number was climbing rapidly Wednesday afternoon. The page states it was created "to keep Jessica's name alive & out there."
Firefighters found Chambers and her car in a wooded area. Her sister, Amanda, told CNN affiliate KTSM that Jessica had burns over 98% of her body when she died Sunday. An autopsy was performed but results have not been made public.
"Nobody deserves what she went through," her sister told the station from her home in Fort Bliss, Texas. "She was a cheerleader. She was really well-known. She was loved."
Amanda's husband was on his way home from overseas Tuesday, she told KTSM. When he arrives, they'll travel to Mississippi to be with Amanda's family.
"They have ripped everything I have," Jessica's mother, Lisa Chambers, told CNN affiliate WMC.
The teen had left the house to clean out her car and get something to eat before her death, her mother said.
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« Reply #17 on: December 10, 2014, 06:46:40 PM »

Here we go again.  Different information than what was initially reported...

Hopefully those responsible for this terrible, terrible crime will be found soon! 
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« Reply #18 on: December 10, 2014, 08:49:17 PM »

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/burning-death-inquiry-eyes-womans-hours-27515550
Burning Death Inquiry Eyes Woman's Last Hours
December 10, 2014

Surveillance video that shows a woman at a convenience store gas station less than two hours before she was set on fire and left to die is part of the puzzle authorities were trying to piece together Wednesday about the last hours of the 19-year-old's life.

Authorities were reviewing Jessica Chambers' cellphone records and talking to possible witnesses, who could become suspects, said Jay Hale, an assistant district attorney who prosecutes cases in Panola County. They are trying to figure out what happened to her before she was found barely alive near her burning car Saturday in Mississippi.

Hale said Chambers spoke with firefighters on the scene before she was taken to a Memphis hospital, where she died. Hale said he could not discuss what she said.

"She was able to communicate. It was difficult," Hale said.

The video shows Chambers walking toward the front door of the convenience store in Courtland, which is about an hour south of Memphis, Tennessee. She then stopped, turned to her left, and walked out of the picture.

Convenience store manager Ali Fadhel said Chambers came in frequently and he would often speak with her. He told The Associated Press that Chambers spoke with someone before entering the store to purchase gas.

On her way out, Chambers got a call on her cellphone, Fadhel said. After she pumped gas, she re-entered the store, bought cigarettes, and drove away, headed south on Highway 51, he said.

According to Fadhel, Chambers was wearing a dark-colored sweater and pajama pants that looked like sweatpants. Chambers said she was going to make a stop before going home, Fadhel said.


"If she knew she had a problem with somebody, she would have told me," Fadhel said.

Chambers bought $14 worth of gas, more than the $5 or so she usually purchased, he said.

"I asked her, 'Why are you putting so much gas?' She said, 'I'm going somewhere,'" Fadhel said.

Hale said he could not comment on Fadhel's statements.

 
The grassy area alongside the road where Chambers was found about 90 minutes after she was captured on the convenience store video was cordoned off with yellow tape Wednesday.

Authorities are testing samples taken from her vehicle. The U.S. Marshals Service is helping review the cellphone records from numerous people ? including Chambers ? to try to pinpoint where she went in the hours before she died, Hale said.

"We're interviewing every possible witness. These witnesses certainly could be possible suspects," he said.

Mississippi authorities say they have received offers to help from several agencies, including the U.S. attorney's office and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Autopsy results have not been released, and it was not clear when they would be available.

"When it comes to a case like this of a burn nature, you don't get a lot of answers overnight," Hale said.
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  " Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."  - Daniel Moynihan
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ARUBA: It's all about Natalee...we won't give up!


« Reply #19 on: December 11, 2014, 10:18:34 PM »

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/12/11/teen-being-torched-shocks-small-miss-town/20231709/

Teen's fiery death shocks tight-knit small Miss. town
Therese Apel, USA TODAY 8:47 a.m. EST December 11, 2014

COURTLAND, Miss. — The town of Courtland has 420 residents.

In a town that small, everyone knows everyone. Matter of fact, everyone is practically family.

When Jessica Chambers was found walking down Herron Road on fire, only to die shortly afterwards in the hospital, it sent shock waves through the little town that most people had, up until that point, thought was safe.

Chambers was last seen alive at McCullar's First Stop on Mississippi 51 Saturday night. On Wednesday, the store was still full of people standing around, talking about what might be the next turn in the case.

Michael Eubanks, who has lived in Courtland all his life, said the scary part is that if everyone knows Chambers, that means everyone knows the person or people who did this to her.

"There are no words," he said. "I just wish justice would be done on them."

The community 70 miles south of Memphis is shaken to the core. A store worker said she was trying to sort out how the friendly little blonde who came in and made small talk all the time could actually be gone forever.

Ali Alsanai, the clerk, said he knew Chambers well. He said nothing seemed out of sorts when she came in, and that was what disturbed him the most.

"If something was going on, she would have told me. She would have told me she was having a problem with someone," he said. "But she was smiling, and she left, and that's the last time I saw her."

When Tonya Flagg walked in, she heard the conversation and immediately smiled sadly and said, "I loved Jessica."

"She was quiet, she was a typical young girl who liked to have fun, but she didn't bother nobody," she said. "There's so much going on around here it's hard to trust some people, but she was a genuine person. She was herself at all times."

Up the road in Batesville, Chambers' co-workers at Goody's department store could barely even say her name without tears.

 

Chambers had only worked there a little over a month, Lundy said, but she had already worked her way into the hearts of everyone she came in contact with.

 

At ground zero, the firefighters and first responders that worked Chambers' call are all dealing with it in their own way, said Courtland Fire Chief Cole Haley. Chambers was found hardly a mile from the department, not far from most of the firefighters' own homes.

"It's a tough one, you know. All of them stick with you, but something like this really hangs in your mind," he said. "I've been checking on all my guys making sure they're all right, and everyone seems to be coping with it, but it's something that will take some time to get over."


The scene Dec. 9, 2014, on Herron Road in Courtland, Miss., where Jessica Chambers' car burned three nights earlier.(Photo: Clay Chandler, The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger)

In the background of the grieving is the ominous feeling that even though the authorities have said the attack was not random, that danger might still be out there. People weren't afraid to speculate about the situation, but few people wanted their name involved. To them, there's no telling what could happen next.

 
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I stand with the girl, Natalee Holloway.

"I can look back over the past 10 years and there were no steps wasted, and there are no regrets,'' she said. "I did all I knew to do and I think that gives me greater peace now." "I've lived every parent's worst nightmare and I'm the parent that nobody wants to be," she said.

Beth Holloway, 2015 interview with Greta van Susteren
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