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

[MotherOcean]

... Maybe there was a party in traditional sense, but I would like to know who was at party and when it started? And who invited JC? ...

I'm thinking this "party" was not one that required an invitation. Maybe she dropped by unexpectedly. It could be that the home/property has ongoing "parties" = party house. I know people who don't really have parties per se, but they are known to welcome others who are looking to relax/have fun. Maybe someone in the community has a kind of open door policy, so others gather at their place for R & R. I'm wondering if JC knew someone like that and decided to drop in, knowing there were normally others gathered there on Saturday nights. Maybe JC had not been coming around because she had been at the shelter and then laying low at mom's house. So, she drops in... she wasn't expected, hadn't been around for months, and someone at the party was like, "Well, look here... if it isn't JC! Too good for us now, JC?"

total speculation, but I could see that happening. I could see someone being rude or making disparaging remarks because JC was attempting to move on with her life. Her father has said she was a fighter. Maybe someone at the party was hostile. JC must not have been there long. She may have wanted to leave if she didn't receive a warm welcome. Someone could have followed her, intended to show her that she wasn't any better than anyone else, intended to rough her up, but... it went too far.

 

[wfgodot]

Could she have spilled gas on her pants while putting gas in her car, drove off, lit a cig. and caught herself on fire? I saw that happen one time in Florida. The man got gas, spilled some, got into his car, lit a cig and caught fire. Some people helped him put the fire out.

Interesting. I used to work at a gas station as a teen but never saw anything like that, even with people ill-advisedly smoking while standing in spilled gas on the lot. I think accidental ignition must be rare, so I've assumed this* a purposeful act. But perhaps not.

eta....*i.e. the Chambers case

 

[BirdycatNY]

Great post, Motherocean

 

[4senthia]

Please note this post is not meant to be unnecessarily provocative, but is there any chance at all that Jessica's killer posed as a police officer/other form of LE in order to pull her over?
Definitely would not explain why she was on Herron road but in cases like this in rural areas after dark sometimes a poser is involved, complete w/bluelights and all. Just a thought. :thinking:
:moo:

 

[monster]

There are at least 3 truckstops in Batesville. As a group truckers are basically a good group. But truckstops have often been the haunts of killers, including amongst the drivers. It's 3.9 miles from Batesville Sonic to Love's Truck stop Batesville next exit up I55 to HWY 35.
MOO

I'm not following? That loves truck stop always is quiet. Never had a problem with lot lizards or pan handlers there. Usually violence that some truck drivers commit are against other drivers and it's super rare. We're are often targets because whats in the trailer or for the money or the truck itself. I highly doubt a truck driver would have done this. Now if it happened at a truck stop then yeah chances are a driver, fake pan handler, or a lizard.

 

[Alisha8191]

Interesting. I used to work at a gas station as a teen but never saw anything like that, even with people ill-advisedly smoking while standing in spilled gas on the lot. I think accidental ignition must be rare, so I've assumed this a purposeful act. But perhaps not.

It was an accident, he spilled gas on his leg and caught fire . I saw the whole thing. I was at the pumps. He did some yelling before they got the fire out.

 

[SteveP]

I still do not buy into the suicide theory but apparently females do sometimes commit suicide by fire. This just happened in my area. Such a tragedy.
http://www.wral.com/woman-killed-in-apartment-fire-never-got-over-fatal-crash-friends-say/14329967/

 

[FindHG]

Here is a slight update based upon the period August 16, 2013 to August 23, 2013

reference

• Panolian August 16 (see ppg 21-22)
• Panolian August 27, 2013 (see pg 1 "The suspects charged in death of Sardis teen", and pg 7 "Panola County Arrest Log", col 1, August 23

A week before Jessica was arrested there was a public tax notice of the taking of Ben A. Chambers property along Hwy 51 (see August 16, ppg. 21-22). The following Friday night (August 23, pg 1) there was a fatal shooting of a North Panola High School student, followed later that night by another shooting at a local, Sardis club; both shootings were believed to be gang related. The same night Jessica was arrested for simple assault. The date of the tax taking was scheduled for the end of the month.

I mention these three events only because they may have had an indirect influence upon Jessica's mindset. Leading up to this period of time, I have seen Jessica's name in Panolian only associated with cheerleading activities from 2010 until August 23rd's arrest... Until the 23rd, nothing seemed out-of-the-ordinary. As a matter of fact, in 2009 she won an second-place award for art; and as a 12 yr old, she was involved in sports.

The fact that Ben A. Chambers was about to loose his property may have been a catalyst for high emotions; Jessica may have been without a home.

The fact that her rival high school, North Panolia, was the scene of a fatal high school shooting also must have been foremost in everyone's mind.

Lastly, leading up to the August 23 arrest, Jessica had lost her brother Ben A. Chambers, Jr. on May 11, 2011, and her father and Debbie McClenic had divorced. In addition, her father's criminal background began in 2003 when Jessica was 8 years old.

None of the above explains anything specific about the August 23 arrest though.

I've searched the Panolian "Arrest logs", "Justice Court logs", and "Sheriff's logs" but there does not yet appear to be any disposition for the August 23 arrest.

Maybe someone else who like to have a go at finding something specific while I abandon WS for the night.....:shame:

Thank you, ZOOL. You're great to do all this detailed research and bring pertinent details and context to this determined very young woman's life. It seems so much like she was figuring things out like kids do at that age, in a world gone somewhat mad around them. By that night a month ago, Jessica Chambers by dint of her own will, little by little, experience by experience in her short sweet life, with some intervention, familial support, work, and a need to step up and testify to her own change, in reaching out to the author, had no intention of falling back into bad patterns, it seems to me. She was up, flying high in a direction that had her stronger. This act of burning her, of destroying her as painfully as possible alive, whatever may have preceded it, if it was personal, may have been an act of resentment and ownership, like 'you're mine' or 'she's mine.' Whatever this coward did, they will have a need to tell people about this, I do believe. This will not stay hidden even in one person, it was never meant by the act itself, personal or not. The perp/s could just as easily made her disappear and dump her somewhere hidden and hard to find. Who would that person be? Who brought violence to this girl before and may have felt like they needed to again, maybe exacerbated by what may be going on in the perp's life, to raise feelings toward Jessica to this horrible result?

 

[SeriouslySearching]

I still do not buy into the suicide theory but apparently females do sometimes commit suicide by fire. This just happened in my area. Such a tragedy.
http://www.wral.com/woman-killed-in-apartment-fire-never-got-over-fatal-crash-friends-say/14329967/

It didn't strike you that she was 19 years old? It really stood out to me. Someone mentioned earlier the probability a person committing suicide by fire would be older and male. This shows a girl of JC's age chose fire as a way to end things.

RIP Anastasiya Katherine Bergeron. So sad.

 

[imkeylime]

You would have to be one crazy woman to ever close your eyes again while living in a house with a husband that would kill his lover to appease your jealousy. I'm not buying this one. Too many other theories out there that make far more sense than this one. JMO.

I tend to agree. But there has been a case where a man, outraged over the end of a relationship, murdered a young woman JC's age: Jill Behrman, Bloomington, IL. (The convicted man, John Myers, didn't previously know her.) Maybe someone with extreme anger toward women took that anger out on JC?

 

[MotherOcean]

Pleas note this post is not meant to be unnecessarily provocative, but is there any chance at all that Jessica's killer posed as a police officer/other form of LE in order to pull her over?
Definitely would not explain why she was on Herron road but in cases like this in rural areas after dark sometimes a poser is involved, complete w/bluelights and all. Just a thought. :thinking:
:moo:

Wow, I can not believe that I didn't think of that scenario! I live in a neighboring state. From time to time, we do get warnings from local LE about this very possibility. It wasn't long ago at all that someone was impersonating LE and stopping women who were alone. I need to see if I can find any verified info. to share about that happening here and also in the panhandle of Florida.

 

[4senthia]

I'm not following? That loves truck stop always is quiet. Never had a problem with lot lizards or pan handlers there. Usually violence that some truck drivers commit are against other drivers and it's super rare. We're are often targets because whats in the trailer or for the money or the truck itself. I highly doubt a truck driver would have done this. Now if it happened at a truck stop then yeah chances are a driver, fake pan handler, or a lizard.

I have truck drivers in my family and years ago I road coast to coast with one for a month or two. It was great. But I learned from him not to go to the truckstop to use the bathroom @nite or any such thing without him accompanying me. He explained robbers/rapists/etc sometimes wait under trucks and grab women that way. Heck they do the same to men in some areas. I agree that Love's is a good stop but not all of them around there are. Also you must agree with me that there have been many notable serial killers who were truckers? I am not in anyway suggesting JC was any kind of lot lizard. No way. But she could have gone there to meet with someone or just to get a bite to eat. They also have a Subway and McDonald's. It's possible to me that she just went there out of boredom and to get out of the house for a little longer. Sure the cars don't park where the trucks do, but she might have gone there and been targeted by a criminal. She may have been followed from there by a man posing as a police officer.
Pure speculation on my part, since it makes as much sense to me as most of the other scenarios posted here. No offense intended at all I assure you. I met some of the nicest men/women truckers out there!
:moo:

 

[New1]

I wonder which side of the car Jessica was laying on when the first responder found her, driver's side, passenger side, or in front of or behind the car. IIRC a picture of the crime scene sowed the fron of the car facing the tree. Unless she was in front of the car, it's hard for me to believe any passersby didn't see her. I know it was dark, but light from those flames must have illuminated the scene enough for anyone passing by to have easily seen a person on fire unless she was still in the car at the time the 911 caller called it in. Just trying to picture it in my head as to why he didn't see her.

 

[FindHG]

I wonder which side of the car Jessica was laying on when the first responder found her, driver's side, passenger side, or in front of or behind the car. IIRC a picture of the crime scene sowed the fron of the car facing the tree. Unless she was in front of the car, it's hard for me to believe any passersby didn't see her. I know it was dark, but light from those flames must have illuminated the scene enough for anyone passing by to have easily seen a person on fire unless she was still in the car at the time the 911 caller called it in. Just trying to picture it in my head as to why he didn't see her.

The seats were down. From that angle a driver passing by, at some speed and probably with some fear for any number of possible reasons, may have had no reason to believe anyone was in the car engulfed in fire. They may not have seen Jessica Chambers' figure on fire, if she were still in the car with the seats down, to report it as anything more than a car fire. Either way, LE was reported in MSM to have tracked down the 911 caller, so they probably know exactly what the driver saw, when and what else they may have remembered that didn't mean anything at the time. Hopefully, remembering things that didn't mean anything at the time as people keep thinking about this will bring more clues. It would help to have LE share more information if their leads are growing cold, it would seem to me, to jog people's memory in more precise ways. The perp/s were done with Jessica Chambers by 8:13 pm. There is a good chance they may have ran into more people that night, for an alibi at least. Those people may have noticed something off, but not made the connection.

 

[Elle*Bee]

Wow, I can not believe that I didn't think of that scenario! I live in a neighboring state. From time to time, we do get warnings from local LE about this very possibility. It wasn't long ago at all that someone was impersonating LE and stopping women who were alone. I need to see if I can find any verified info. to share about that happening here and also in the panhandle of Florida.

I wish I had quoted the orig post about whether the perp could've posed as LEO. A middle school friend of mine ... With whom I lost touch during college.. Was reported missing around age 20. Last sighting was that perhaps she thought she was being pulled over by police. She was found dead a few hours later, ligature marks on her wrists. Prevailing theory was cop-poser. Nearly 30 yrs later justice hasn't been found for Demisha. I hope justice for Jessica comes much much sooner. This is why I visit WS.

 

[Ms Pragmatic]

I wish I had quoted the orig post about whether the perp could've posed as LEO. A middle school friend of mine ... With whom I lost touch during college.. Was reported missing around age 20. Last sighting was that perhaps she thought she was being pulled over by police. She was found dead a few hours later, ligature marks on her wrists. Prevailing theory was cop-poser. Nearly 30 yrs later justice hasn't been found for Demisha. I hope justice for Jessica comes much much sooner. This is why I visit WS.

I'm sorry about your friend. I know nothing could ever bring them back, but they at least deserve justice. I visit WS for Cherrie Mahan.

 

[FindHG]

Jessica Chambers slaying: One month, no arrests
Therese Apel, The Clarion-Ledger 8:56 pm cst Jan 5, '15

[...]

The FBI, U.S. Marshals, ATF, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, the State Fire Marshal’s Office, and the Panola County Sheriff’s Department continue to collaborate through many measures from technological research to pounding the streets to try to pin down a viable lead, officials said.

“We’re looking at everything, every agency is still involved,” District Attorney John Champion said. “We’re retracing every step we’ve taken, reviewing everything, getting different eyes on everything.”

Officials have commented on the lack of street chatter, saying that has made the case harder to crack in spite of the considerable resources dedicated to it. Sheriff Dennis Darby said in the three years he’s been sheriff, he hasn’t had a case quite like this one.

“There’s been nothing of this magnitude,” Darby said. “I spent 27 years with Highway Patrol, but it wasn’t the same type of work. Over the years, though, I’ve been involved with numerous cases, some have lasted this long, but nothing to this magnitude.”

It’s one of the biggest cases in recent memory in Panola County, Champion said.

[...]

 

[beachlvr0810]

I just don't think this was a random attack by some stranger just passing through. I think it was deliberate, malicous and commited by someone who hated Jessica for whatever reason.

 

[anonone]

I just don't think this was a random attack by some stranger just passing through. I think it was deliberate, malicous and commited by someone who hated Jessica for whatever reason.

I think by multiple people who hated her.

 

[anonone]

I still cannot figure out why Wilkerson was booked if she was in only for interrogation. One naturally when LE asks a question would not respond and then ask for a lawyer. What are they teaching in North Central Mississippi?