MS - Jessica Chambers, 19, found burned near her car, Panola County, 6 Dec 2014 - #1

[epiphany]

If one has never lived in a small town this interest in another's life may seem odd. But this happens in small town America where much of the population is on friendly terms...they have sincere interest in their regular customers and pick up on patterns of behavior, interests, etc. Jessica seems to be a gregarious personality, she is very attractive as well. It may be as simple as This clerk may be paying extra attn because he or a buddy or a cousin may be interested from afar and was waiting for an opportunity. I think many young suitors would rely on info from friends before getting up enough courage to ask for a date.

In summary, the clerks interest is normal in small towns were everybody knows ever bodies business. I don't find it disturbing at all. And his smalltown busybody interest has provided a good starting point for LE.

Respectfully BBM

I agree esp re regular customers and I live in a major metropolis. She has been described as very friendly, very outgoing, outward bound etc. He seems to be as well. He is interviewed on the first video below...and appears several times: IMO, he's young, outgoing and very very sweet!

http://wreg.com/2014/12/10/investigators-going-over-phone-records-of-teen-burned-alive/

 

[cuffem]

I was thinking about different ways gasoline could be introduced into the mouth or esophogus.Has anyone had a thought about Siphoning of gas or huffing?Could this have been an accident of some type?Maybe she helped someone who ran out of gas by siphoning and accidently inhaled or swallowed a little.She could have lit a ciggarette and bam!Is any of this even possible?Sorry to go out on a limb just looking at other possibilities.

 

[katydid23]

I haven't gotten the opportunity to catch up on what has been posted since 12 pm today, so if anything I write in my post has been answered, my apologies for being redundant. As I was catching up on some of the posts during lunch a whole bunch of light bulbs went off in my head and I need to write it all down before I forget.

In a previous post I had mentioned that whether or not Jessica smoked, I don't see how it could be relevant in her murder case. Now, not only do I think it could be relevant, it could also be a potential clue. In the surveillance video you can see Jessica on multiple occasions bring her fingers to her mouth and as she nears the entrance to the gas station door, bend down and what appears to be her possibly putting out a cigarette.

According to her family, Jessica doesn't smoke. They believe what she was doing was biting her nails and maybe picking up a penny. Perhaps that is the case, but to me I believe she was indeed smoking. I read the interview with the gas station clerk last night, but nothing he had said set off any light bulbs in my head, that was until today. According to the clerk, after paying for her gas she had gotten a phone call, pumped the gas and returned to buy a pack of cigarettes.

She have may bought them for herself, but it could also be possible that she bought them for someone else. If they were for someone else, who were they for? Could the person who called her while she was at the gas station ask her to pick up a pack of smokes for them? If law enforcement hasn't done this already they should...they need to ask the clerk from that night what brand of cigarettes she purchased. If Jessica did indeed smoke, while her family may have not known, someone had to. They need to ask friends, co-workers if she worked or acquaintances if she smoked and what brand it was. If it's the same brand then that just means that her family didn't know her quite as well as they thought, but if it isn't the same brand, then who? Perhaps the killer/s?

The clerk also mentioned that she normally buys $5 worth of gas. That tells me Jessica probably doesn't have much money to spend, being that she is young, that is something I would expect. Also, it sounds like she either doesn't drive that much or most of her driving is very local. I checked gasbuddy to see what the gas prices are in her area. They are currently running in the $2.30-$2.40 range. Someone just recently posted a pic of her car in her driveway taken in April. If you look at that pic and the one of the burnt car, I don't believe they are the same vehicle. The one in April appears to be larger. The rear passenger side door window also seems to be a different shape. I showed a picture of her burnt car to a friend of mine who is in the auto body field and has a lot of automotive knowledge. He said while it is hard to tell from the condition, he thinks it could be a Kia.

If it is a Kia or something similar, it probably gets good gas mileage. Let's just say as an estimate of 30 mpg. $5 worth of gas would get her roughly 60 miles worth of gas. Yet that night she bought $14 worth, which would get roughly 180 miles worth. when the clerk asked her why so much, she said she had to go somewhere. Where did she have to go? A previous poster had mentioned her ex-boyfriend no longer living in Mississippi and if I recall correctly they said he was in Tennessee. Do we know if that is indeed true?

Tennessee borders Mississippi and using google maps a drive from Courtland to Memphis is about 70 miles. $14 worth of gas would be enough to get her to Tennessee and back. Could she have possibly gone to meet up with the ex?

As in most cases of murder the victim is usually killed by someone they know and in cases of the victim being female, they are usually killed by a spouse, boyfriend, ex-boyfriend. Maybe law enforcement should surveil him. See if he is a smoker. If he is, pick up one of his discarded butts and see if they match up with the type she bought if they aren't his. I have a few more things to post regarding some other things other posters have brought, as soon as I get the chance.

I totally agree with everything you said. And I wondered about her ex as well. Many things seem to point to him in my mind.

HOWEVER, one thing I can't seem to get past. Would a pretty 19 yr old girl want to go meet up w/her ex while wearing baggy PJ pants and her hair in a messy bun? It just seems that she would want to freshen up a bit if she wanted to see her ex?

 

[cady]

Exactly!

Must have been this way

View attachment 65369

Screenshots from that direction SW (notice how the car was at the top of a small incline?)

View attachment 65370View attachment 65371View attachment 65372

Like you say if it was coming from the other direction (from the direction of Courtland) it would have had to do virtually a 180 degree spin, highly unlikely, unless it was hit by another car that spun it out, but that would leave a lot of debris, so I cannot see that happened.

View attachment 65373

Sorry for all the SS's Google Streetview link

If you look at google street views in Courtland, traveling south on 51 and turning right on Main st...Main st becomes Herron Rd which goes southwest toward Arkansas and the Tallahatchie River. I think she was heading southwest. JMO

 

[katydid23]

I was thinking about different ways gasoline could be introduced into the mouth or esophogus.Has anyone had a thought about Siphoning of gas or huffing?Could this have been an accident of some type?Maybe she helped someone who ran out of gas by siphoning and accidently inhaled or swallowed a little.She could have lit a ciggarette and bam!Is any of this even possible?Sorry to go out on a limb just looking at other possibilities.

But what about the damage to her car? And the names she told the fire men?

 

[Lanesmommy]

I was thinking about different ways gasoline could be introduced into the mouth or esophogus.Has anyone had a thought about Siphoning of gas or huffing?Could this have been an accident of some type?Maybe she helped someone who ran out of gas by siphoning and accidently inhaled or swallowed a little.She could have lit a ciggarette and bam!Is any of this even possible?Sorry to go out on a limb just looking at other possibilities.

I think this was rumor and now LE is trying to say that they don't even know IF accelerant were used... Her dad had said originally that it was down her nose and throat but im not so sure that was the case now. NG said it last night too, although I don't usually watch NG I saw it as I was flipping channels.

 

[Lanesmommy]

I also wonder whether the "clean my car" story was true. I'm sure she did tell her mom that she was going to clean her car but almost a decade ago I was Jessica's age and I would have said the same thing just to avoid a "speech". JMO.

 

[Cherokee]

Here's a MAP based on information from the articles linked below.

Thanks for that map, Bessie. I had looked at another one previously posted on this thread, but now something really stuck out to me after viewing your map.

I don't believe Jessica ever went to the car wash, which is NORTH of her house and all the rest of the activity. Here's why.

Jessica was seen (and videotaped) at the McCullars First Stop convenience store in Courtland soon after leaving her mother's house. The store is south of where her mother lives. The store clerk said when Jessica drove off, she turned SOUTH onto Hwy 51, not NORTH. Turning north would have taken her to Batesville and the car wash, but she went south instead. This is important.

Jessica also filled her gas tank with $14 worth of gas instead of her usual $5 gasoline purchase. When the clerk asker her why she had bought more, she said she was "going somewhere." It is only 8 minutes drive north from Courtland to Batesville. A sixteen minute round-trip would take less than a gallon of gas. At today's prices, $5 worth of gasoline would have been close to two gallons of gasoline. Jessica wasn't buying enough gas ($14 worth/5 gallons) to get to Batesville and back. In my opinion, because of the amount of gas Jessica bought and the fact she turned SOUTH instead of north from the convenience store, the reported "going somewhere" wasn't to the car wash in Batesville.

My thoughts, based on the evidence revealed to date:

Jessica may, or may not, have planned to wash her car, but that was the story she told to her mom. We all know teenagers who fudge the truth a bit and say they are going to do something, but end up running by a friend's house, etc. On the other hand, if Jessica did intend to get her car washed after going to the convenience store, then she changed her mind ... perhaps, after she received a phone call either inviting her to go somewhere, to come see them, or asking her stop by a party.

There is almost an hour and a half between the time Jessica left the convenience store and when the volunteer fire department found her burned body beside her car, which was still in flames. In fact, the firemen were concerned the fire would spread to the rest of the wooded area, so three of them worked furiously to put out the fire while a fourth one tried to comfort Jessica.

That missing 90 minutes is a long time for Jessica just to be driving around, especially if she did not go to Batesville. (We have not had any corroborating witnesses or evidence that she was ever at the car wash there. Please correct me if I am wrong.) I believe everything that happened to Jessica happened in an area SOUTH of the convenience store and ended on a remote part of Herron Road. If the fire department hadn't been on a call nearby, it is doubtful they would have arrived before Jessica died and in time to hear anything she might have said. I believe her killer counted on this. They could not have known the fire department would get to the crime scene before Jessica's death.

Obviously, Jessica and her car were sitting on a small embankment next to a fenced driveway pull-off. It looks like there would have been room for two cars in that driveway if someone just wanted to pull over and talk. Why was Jessica's car driven up the embankment? Was she being chased by another car after an argument? Did someone in the car with Jessica grab the steering wheel and make Jessica go off the road? Did someone in another car try to force Jessica off the road, and she tried to turn into the fenced driveway, but her speed made her miss and go up the embankment? Did they pull in behind her, forcing her to stay there, then get in the car with her?

Hopefully, the results of the complete autopsy and analysis of Jessica's cell phone pings and call record will give LE more clues to her killer. It is difficult to wait for justice in such a horrific case.

 

[NineMilly]

I've been reading this forum since it began, I have a few things that I would like to toss out there for discussion. We're talking a back road in small town America. Several things stand out to me as being a bit odd. The firefighters were at a fire, do we know much about this call that they were on? The proximity of two fires (one being her car) in such a small community seems somewhat odd, but I guess it could happen. There was a "passerby" what do we know about this person? Did they stop to render aid? In a very short amount of time, we have her car, a passerby, and a fire all in this small community? Coincidences? Given this information, the perp would have had to fled reasonably fast for the passerby and firefighters to not have witnessed them. I hope someone takes a metal detector to the location to try to locate the cell battery. I'm assuming a print may be on it, that's assuming it could be found. The steepness of the bank where her car was located makes it seem either intentional to shake a perp or as a reaction to someone surprising her from the back seat, which would make one jerk the wheel, causing such a wreck. I'd be interested in reading feedback on these items so that I can explore more avenues.

 

[bessie]

That was my original thought too @skiaboo but, her car was actually on the opposite side of the road!

location of where JC's car was found on the map

The location I noted on the map was based on the address provided in the article I linked. Google maps are not always precise on addresses, particularly rural addresses.

 

[cuffem]

I think this was rumor and now LE is trying to say that they don't even know IF accelerant were used... Her dad had said originally that it was down her nose and throat but im not so sure that was the case now. NG said it last night too, although I don't usually watch NG I saw it as I was flipping channels.

Thanks,I am a little behind on reading here and not updated on news.

 

[Hialeah]

I think this was rumor and now LE is trying to say that they don't even know IF accelerant were used... Her dad had said originally that it was down her nose and throat but im not so sure that was the case now. NG said it last night too, although I don't usually watch NG I saw it as I was flipping channels.

In CNN report, Dad said the doctor in Memphis told him lighter fluid had been squirted into her nostrils and mouth. Perhaps a characteristic pattern, or a distinctive odor. Then Dad went on to speculate this meant someone deliberately harmed her in heinous fashion. Why LE today said that what family reported about accelerants was mostly incorrect is unknown. Full autopsy will confirm or deny use of accelerants.

 

[skibaboo]

Good photo here, the tree looks pretty charred



http://www.ksl.com/?nid=157&sid=32714955&s_cid=rss-157&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

I'm beginning to wonder if it was staged to look like she crashed her car and it burst into flames (if a struggle in the car didn't happen)

 

[skibaboo]

So if she was traveling NE, is that the eay she traveled when she left the gas station? Or does this show she switched direction?

It would be back towards Courtland. Hmm she went somewhere to meet someone? Something happened and they crashed her car there to make it look like she crashed on her way back home? Just thinking out loud...

 

[Droopy]

A few posters have speculated that her car may have been hit in the rear. I showed the burnt pic to my friend who's been in the auto body business for almost 20 years and asked him if it looked like her car had been hit. Without any hesitation he said no. So I asked him if the fire could have caused that damage to the rear and he said definitely. Today's cars aren't made like they were many years ago. The panels aren't made of steel. Many panels are made of plastic, such as the bumper and other various lightweight metals. Car manufacturer's changed over to other forms of metal to make the car lighter to improve gas mileage. Also cars of today have crumple zones, so in case of an accident the force of the crash gets dispersed throughout the car, which is why even in very minor accident damage to the cars panels are more extensive then they were many years ago. The intense heat from a fire can cause those lightweight metals to buckle and warp very easily.

I as someone who enjoys detailing my car and skilled with using a rotary polisher can attest to how easily a panel can warp. There have been many instance while removing a scratch on the top surface such as the hood or trunk while running the polisher over it with minimal pressure, combined with the heat from the friction of the polisher creates have seen and heard the panel indent. As it cools it pops back up, but the car panels of today are pretty soft, so just imagine what happens to that panel when it receives extreme heat from a fire.

I also showed the same picture to my friend who has been a firefighter for 10+ years. I asked him how long would it take for a cars paint to melt like that, where it's down to bare metal. He said it could take 25 minutes or even as little as 10. it all depends on what accelerant was used, how much of it was used and where it was poured. Given that Jessica's father has stated that lighter fluid was doused on her, I asked if it was possible to cause that much damage to the car using something as simple as a bottle of lighter fluid you would use for your barbecue. He said yes. If the interior of the car was doused in it, it could easily cause that car to become engulfed.

I am curious to lighter fluid statement by her father. How did law enforcement come to that conclusion so quickly without an autopsy? Did they do some kind of chemical tests at the hospital? Did they find am empty bottle of lighter fluid near her car or inside it?

I have a few other questions regarding the fire. In early articles, it was stated that a passing motorist had called the fire in. Articles also mention the fire happening at 8:15 pm. Was 8:15 the time the motorist called it in or was that the time the fire department arrived on scene? How long did it take the fire department to show up? Looking at the map, there is a fire house just west of the railroad tracks on Herron Road, a half a mile east of where Jessica's burning car was. Being that road is pretty rural and probably not heavily traveled, I wonder how long her car may have been on fire for?

 

[LR1]

Maybe she was incapacitated elsewhere and perp drove and parked the car on the embankment before torching it.

 

[Hialeah]

A few posters have speculated that her car may have been hit in the rear. I showed the burnt pic to my friend who's been in the auto body business for almost 20 years and asked him if it looked like her car had been hit. Without any hesitation he said no. So I asked him if the fire could have caused that damage to the rear and he said definitely. Today's cars aren't made like they were many years ago. The panels aren't made of steel. Many panels are made of plastic, such as the bumper and other various lightweight metals. Car manufacturer's changed over to other forms of metal to make the car lighter to improve gas mileage. Also cars of today have crumple zones, so in case of an accident the force of the crash gets dispersed throughout the car, which is why even in very minor accident damage to the cars panels are more extensive then they were many years ago. The intense heat from a fire can cause those lightweight metals to buckle and warp very easily.

I as someone who enjoys detailing my car and skilled with using a rotary polisher can attest to how easily a panel can warp. There have been many instance while removing a scratch on the top surface such as the hood or trunk while running the polisher over it with minimal pressure, combined with the heat from the friction of the polisher creates have seen and heard the panel indent. As it cools it pops back up, but the car panels of today are pretty soft, so just imagine what happens to that panel when it receives extreme heat from a fire.

I also showed the same picture to my friend who has been a firefighter for 10+ years. I asked him how long would it take for a cars paint to melt like that, where it's down to bare metal. He said it could take 25 minutes or even as little as 10. it all depends on what accelerant was used, how much of it was used and where it was poured. Given that Jessica's father has stated that lighter fluid was doused on her, I asked if it was possible to cause that much damage to the car using something as simple as a bottle of lighter fluid you would use for your barbecue. He said yes. If the interior of the car was doused in it, it could easily cause that car to become engulfed.

I am curious to lighter fluid statement by her father. How did law enforcement come to that conclusion so quickly without an autopsy? Did they do some kind of chemical tests at the hospital? Did they find am empty bottle of lighter fluid near her car or inside it?

I have a few other questions regarding the fire. In early articles, it was stated that a passing motorist had called the fire in. Articles also mention the fire happening at 8:15 pm. Was 8:15 the time the motorist called it in or was that the time the fire department arrived on scene? How long did it take the fire department to show up? Looking at the map, there is a fire house just west of the railroad tracks on Herron Road, a half a mile east of where Jessica's burning car was. Being that road is pretty rural and probably not heavily traveled, I wonder how long her car may have been on fire for?

Re the lighter fluid. CNN report states Dad said the doctor in Memphis said she had lighter fluid squirted into her nostrils and mouth. Why, I do not know, and the autopsy will confirm or deny. Presumably law enforcement would have recognized a distinctive odor of accelerant at the scene, but this has not been stated as fact, only the doctor's opinion, so far.

 

[Cherokee]

A few posters have speculated that her car may have been hit in the rear. I showed the burnt pic to my friend who's been in the auto body business for almost 20 years and asked him if it looked like her car had been hit. Without any hesitation he said no. So I asked him if the fire could have caused that damage to the rear and he said definitely. Today's cars aren't made like they were many years ago. The panels aren't made of steel. Many panels are made of plastic, such as the bumper and other various lightweight metals. Car manufacturer's changed over to other forms of metal to make the car lighter to improve gas mileage. Also cars of today have crumple zones, so in case of an accident the force of the crash gets dispersed throughout the car, which is why even in very minor accident damage to the cars panels are more extensive then they were many years ago. The intense heat from a fire can cause those lightweight metals to buckle and warp very easily.

I as someone who enjoys detailing my car and skilled with using a rotary polisher can attest to how easily a panel can warp. There have been many instance while removing a scratch on the top surface such as the hood or trunk while running the polisher over it with minimal pressure, combined with the heat from the friction of the polisher creates have seen and heard the panel indent. As it cools it pops back up, but the car panels of today are pretty soft, so just imagine what happens to that panel when it receives extreme heat from a fire.

I also showed the same picture to my friend who has been a firefighter for 10+ years. I asked him how long would it take for a cars paint to melt like that, where it's down to bare metal. He said it could take 25 minutes or even as little as 10. it all depends on what accelerant was used, how much of it was used and where it was poured. Given that Jessica's father has stated that lighter fluid was doused on her, I asked if it was possible to cause that much damage to the car using something as simple as a bottle of lighter fluid you would use for your barbecue. He said yes. If the interior of the car was doused in it, it could easily cause that car to become engulfed.

Thanks for your post. I had the same thought that what looked like rear-end damage to the car was actually due to the fire because of the way cars are made now, but I didn't have the expertise of you and your friend. The fact that there has been no other debris, or evidence of an accident hard enough to damage the car's bumper in that way, also points to the fire causing the damage.

Now that we know from maps and crime scene photos that Jessica was headed northwest TOWARDS Courtland, it's obvious Jessica drove farther out on Herron Road and was driving back. It appears that wherever she went after leaving the convenience store was southwest of the area where she was found. Once again, I don't believe Jessica ever went NORTH from Courtland to the Batesville car wash. All of the time between her stop at the convenience store and where she was found was spent in an area south of there.

 

[Droopy]

The photo of the car wash that was posted earlier sure looks desolate. Looks like a scary place to be at night, alone. Would she have gone there alone, after dark?

I agree it does look desolate, which is why when I posted that pic I asked if anyone who lived in the area could take a ride over there to see if it was still operational. If I remember correctly an earlier poster mentioned living not too far from there. I also wonder if that is the car wash she would have used if she was indeed washing her car. It appears to be a self service car wash and not enclosed. What were the temperature like around 6:30 at night. If it was a bit cold, would you want to wash your car outside or would you use a full service car wash? Last night I came across an article that her mom had said she was planning on washing her car in Batesville. Batesville is about a 10 minute drive north of the gas station. I could be possible too that Jessica had no intention of getting her car washed and just told her mom that.

 

[Jabarn]

So today an officer stopped by in a truck and picked up a couple of items and then, later, other officers came back to examine the scene. Could this be a hit and run? Maybe parts of the other car were left at the scene? No local chatter... Is it possible this isn't as nefarious as it first looked? Someone posted that her particular Kia had been recalled due to a possibility of gas leaking and being a potential fire hazard. She could have hit her head after a collision. Anyway, just another option to consider. Also, she just got a job so maybe was a bit more inclined to pay a bit more for gas. She seems like such a lovely girl adjusting to life after high school and not the type to attract enemies. Maybe smoking was something she kept private, but that's ok. Her cheerleading pictures are so cute! I hope some answers come soon, as does everyone.