MS - Jessica Chambers, 19, found burned near her car, Panola County, 6 Dec 2014 - #8

[SteveP]

Despite what DA Champion and local authorities may say publicly, I do not believe LE is still trying to figure out who killed Jessica. I think they know exactly who the one(s) are that set her and her car on fire, but due to early mishandling of evidence and potential evidence, they still need to make their case stronger before making arrests. I may not have much faith in PCSO, but I have great faith in the FBI, ATF, and US Marshals, all of who are or have been involved in this case. And as much as we armchair sleuths may not wish to believe, I doubt any of us are going to stumble on something that they haven't already checked out. They have all the same resources that we have, and many more. JMO

 

[imkeylime]

A lot of posters seem to think that she was dressed for just a quick run out. I live in Maryland and it seems to be the norm for girls of that age to run around dressed just as she was dressed that night, fleece pJ pants and hoodies or t shirts, etc. I've seen them in malls as well as the local 7-11's or similar stores, even just walking through town. Its not something I would do but I'm also not that age.

Yes, I agree. My daughter is a year younger than JC. When she was 15, she wouldn't have gone out in PJ pants and hoodies or even large sweatshirts. At 18 she does. Let's not tell her that I found that pretty strange at first. Now I think she's either 1) more confident and doesn't have to look "perfect" or 2) it's in style. IDK which, TBH, but JC's apparel doesn't really seem like a bit issue. She wasn't heading to a cocktail party or fancy restaurant that night, I'm pretty sure!

 

[imkeylime]

Copied from Ben Chambers Jr. GuestBook
(August 9, 1983-May 7, 2012)

By Jessica Chambers
Courtland, MS
June 7, 2012, 1:40 pm

This seems unreal! I love U big bro, I miss you soooo much. I jus wish I could pick up the phone and call you one more time and hear u tell me to smile that u only have one life! Ur the best brother god could have given me. I looked up to you. You always turned my bad days into good days, you always made me smile when I was down! But u will always be with me in my heart, it just doesn’t seem real I just talked to u 15 minutes before god took u in his hands! Well I love you so much, u mean the world to me and I know your watching over me! You always have and always will I’ll see you again someday. I know that for sure. I try not to grieve so much but its hard. (Love ALWAYS, Your lil sis Jessica Lane Chambers!

http://www.wellsfuneralhome.net/fh/obituaries/tributes.cfm?o_id=1474869&fh_id=11662

This is full of emotion and so hard to read, knowing what we know now. Also, she mentioned "down" days twice ... the stress of losing this brother must have weighed on her heavily.

It's also a good reason to never let up until this case is solved. That said, I may be on a bit less for a few days, as my house went on the market today and is still not ready to show! I'll be checking in and posting as oft as possible ... and hoping for justice.

 

[Crosby87]

What is the name of the cemetery that is close to where Jessica's car was found?
Jessica's beloved brother Ben Jr, was buried in the Chapel Hill Cemetery in Pope, MS which is where Jessica was laid to rest.

 

[liedetection]

First time posting and I hope I don't violate TOS. The subject you are referring to has an address of 23xx Herron Rd which is directly across Herron Rd from the location that JC's car was found @ 2352 Herron Rd. His address is listed as Courtland by the MS Parole Board. :thinking:

 

[SteveP]

With direct or indirect connections to so many bad characters, I just can't see Jessica's death being at the hands of some random RSO with no known connection to her, who would be stupid enough to kill and leave her basically in his front yard. This murder was personal, imho

 

[SCHMAE]

I have not checked this thread in ages. I cannot believe no arrest.

 

[MyBelle]

With so little information from LE it's easy to be discouraged that this will go unsolved. It may be the opposite. I served on a grand jury a few years ago and was amazed at how much info local LE presented and by the number of witnesses we questioned over several months about crimes-many homicides-so under-reported most people had forgotten them. Sometimes the DA puts off presenting cases-usually homicides-because it's hard to find criminal defense attorneys with experience in capital murder cases who can or will take on a high profile case on a pro bono basis.

BBM. I've never heard of a DA doing this. A defense attorney doesn't play a role in a grand jury proceeding. Plus, if someone is charged with the crime, the court will appoint an attorney if they can't afford it.

JMO

 

[samantha17]

Despite what DA Champion and local authorities may say publicly, I do not believe LE is still trying to figure out who killed Jessica. I think they know exactly who the one(s) are that set her and her car on fire, but due to early mishandling of evidence and potential evidence, they still need to make their case stronger before making arrests. I may not have much faith in PCSO, but I have great faith in the FBI, ATF, and US Marshals, all of who are or have been involved in this case. And as much as we armchair sleuths may not wish to believe, I doubt any of us are going to stumble on something that they haven't already checked out. They have all the same resources that we have, and many more. JMO

I have to disagree ..... as has already been posted numerous times, all the t's have to be crossed and all the i's dotted by the DA and LE in order to have a rock solid case before going to trial .... this is not a TV crime where many are solved in a few days .... this is real crime.

 

[samantha17]

With direct or indirect connections to so many bad characters, I just can't see Jessica's death being at the hands of some random RSO with no known connection to her, who would be stupid enough to kill and leave her basically in his front yard. This murder was personal, imho

I definitely don't believe it was random .... local(s) will eventually be arrested.

 

[samantha17]

BBM. I've never heard of a DA doing this. A defense attorney doesn't play a role in a grand jury proceeding. Plus, if someone is charged with the crime, the court will appoint an attorney if they can't afford it.

JMO

I agree ..... I've read hundreds upon hundreds of true crime books (all Ann Rule's books and many other true crime authors) and I watch ID on TV and I haven't read or heard of anything like this.

 

[jujube]

What is the name of the cemetery that is close to where Jessica's car was found?
Jessica's beloved brother Ben Jr, was buried in the Chapel Hill Cemetery in Pope, MS which is where Jessica was laid to rest.

Is it Antioch cemetery?

 

[Crosby87]

This is full of emotion and so hard to read, knowing what we know now. Also, she mentioned "down" days twice ... the stress of losing this brother must have weighed on her heavily.

It's also a good reason to never let up until this case is solved. That said, I may be on a bit less for a few days, as my house went on the market today and is still not ready to show! I'll be checking in and posting as oft as possible ... and hoping for justice.

BBM

BBM

Yes. Ben and Jessica spoke on the phone 15 minutes before he died.
Jess and Ben were both Christians who believe in the afterlife.
Ben Allen Chamber Jr, 28, was engaged to be married when he died. He has three children who live in Greenville, MS; one girl and two boys.

JMO

 

[Yvettea]

Concerning the battery being removed from the phone, I did some surfing and found multiple references to problems that can occur. Such as this:

On phones with easily removable batteries, pulling the battery out will force the phone to shut off completely. This will unfreeze a frozen phone even when normal shutdown methods won't work. As with suddenly removing power from any computer, however, pulling out the battery from your phone can potentially cause lost work, damaged files or, at worst, can break the system entirely. With phones such as the iPhone that do not have accessible batteries, you also risk damaging the hardware.

http://classroom.synonym.com/dangers-taking-battery-out-cell-phone-11316.html

Bottom line at all the sites I visited seem to be damage could occur and the contents of the phone should be backed up before removing the battery.

Also, batteries aren't particularly easy to remove from many phones. The fact that the perp took this step could imply a certain sophistication and the desire to destroy the data on the phone. JMO

 

[MyBelle]

I have to disagree ..... as has already been posted numerous times, all the t's have to be crossed and all the i's dotted by the DA and LE in order to have a rock solid case before going to trial .... this is not a TV crime where many are solved in a few days .... this is real crime.

I think it is unrealistic for anyone to think the reason an arrest has not been made is because police have bungled something. I think the likely reason is that there is still a complicated investigation underway. The fact that the FBI has upped the reward money is an indication to me that whomever killed Jessica is tied to a federal crime such as drug trafficking or gun trafficking. If they make an arrest, then that person will lawyer up and so will everybody associated with that person.

JMO

 

[Yvettea]

I think it is unrealistic for anyone to think the reason an arrest has not been made is because police have bungled something. I think the likely reason is that there is still a complicated investigation underway. The fact that the FBI has upped the reward money is an indication to me that whomever killed Jessica is tied to a federal crime such as drug trafficking or gun trafficking. If they make an arrest, then that person will lawyer up and so will everybody associated with that person.

JMO

The FBI may be involved because this is a potential hate crime.

 

[MyBelle]

Concerning the battery being removed from the phone, I did some surfing and found multiple references to problems that can occur. Such as this:



Bottom line at all the sites I visited seem to be damage could occur and the contents of the phone should be backed up before removing the battery.

Also, batteries aren't particularly easy to remove from many phones. The fact that the perp took this step could imply a certain sophistication and the desire to destroy the data on the phone. JMO

Removing the battery will also disable the GPS on her phone making it very difficult to track where Jessica had been from the point she was abducted to where she ended up on Herron Road.

JMO

 

[Yvettea]

I think it is unrealistic for anyone to think the reason an arrest has not been made is because police have bungled something. I think the likely reason is that there is still a complicated investigation underway. The fact that the FBI has upped the reward money is an indication to me that whomever killed Jessica is tied to a federal crime such as drug trafficking or gun trafficking.If they make an arrest, then that person will lawyer up and so will everybody associated with that person.

JMO

Does anything else about this case suggest drug trafficking or gun running? Or just the Feds involvement?

 

[SteveP]

I think it is unrealistic for anyone to think the reason an arrest has not been made is because police have bungled something. I think the likely reason is that there is still a complicated investigation underway. The fact that the FBI has upped the reward money is an indication to me that whomever killed Jessica is tied to a federal crime such as drug trafficking or gun trafficking. If they make an arrest, then that person will lawyer up and so will everybody associated with that person.

JMO

Regardless of whether LE knows who killed Jessica, and I believe they do, if they feel that evidence was so mishandled as to prevent a jury from concluding the accused did murder her, there is every reason to believe that they would keep suspect(s) under surveillance while they continue to try to build a case that will stand up in court before making any arrest. Most reasonable people would agree that the car was removed from the scene of the fire far too quickly for a thorough examination to have been done. The car was not covered, and seems to have been left unattended while being towed to the impound lot. The physical site of the car fire was not properly secured until the third day after the incident, when crime scene tape was finally put up. LE was spotted on day 3 or 4 picking up items from the crime scene and placing them into bags. The recording at the convenience store was allegedly not retrieved until the fourth day, after a news reporter had already reviewed it. All of these things will be brought up by any competent defense attorney, so LE SHOULD take as much time as they need to build their case with as much solid evidence as they can before making an arrest or arrests, because I am sure most of their earliest collected evidence will all be contested. JMO.

 

[machiado]

The latest issue of the Panolian has an article about the Jessica Chambers case. I don't currently have a subscription and could only view the tiny print preview version - I could make out that the county coroner has completed a "provisional" autopsy.