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

[southernyankee]

Has anyone heard of the Bradford Bishop case? This is a case of a middle-aged man who didn't get the promotion he wanted. That afternoon he stopped on his way home, bought a hammer and filled a container with gasoline. That evening he murdered his three sons, his wife and his mother with the hammer. The boys were sleeping.

Then he piled their bodies in the back of the station wagon and drove to another state. There he dug a hole, threw their bodies in, doused them with gasoline and set them on fire.

He wanted his family so thoroughly out of his life he seemed to murder them twice. Bradford has not been seen since. He is on the 10 most wanted list.

This case with JC reminded me of Bradford Bishop's family savagely beaten and killed. ETA: I see this as a crime of passion something the person contemplated for a while but didn't act on. When they wanted JC out of their life they wanted her the thoroughly out and went to extreme lengths to make that happen.

Ahhhh!! I was JUST delving into this case earlier this week - had only recently found out about it + was totally fascinated. I agree that they are drastically different situations, and I do believe that Bishop had a long history of being a very tightly wound guy...with some mental instability, clearly, though he was/is a brilliant + intelligent man.

In any case, Bishop was orderly + all told, made a clean break with his former life. Whether he is dead or alive, committed suicide shortly after the murders or is living a more contented life in Italy or any theory in between - he has gotten away with it for nearly forty years now.

I'd wager that Jessica's killer(s) and/or those involved are still close to home in Mississippi. And I don't think her death will be a 40-year mystery...

 

[ms.brown]

Does anyone know why Jessica's ex moved to Iowa? Has this been stated anywhere ?

 

[Leischa]

I like the theories about the phone that you guys are coming with. I have another one that could maybe explain the not-so-planned look of this.

The perps had knocked Jessica unconscious prior to setting her car on fire, or maybe thought she was already dead. They DID think that the fire would destroy all evidence, including the cell phone that they left inside the car near her.

But..! Jessica regains consciousness as they're getting away from car. She manages to reach for her cell phone, exits her vehicule and tries to dial 911. The perps (or the one that was the last one to leave the scene) saw her, panicked and knocked the cell phone out of her hands. Then the perp(s), fearing that someone will arrive on the scene, run/drive away without looking back.

Please note that, if this is how it happened, chances are that the person who knocked the phone off Jessica's hands got burned, unless they used a tree branch or something long enough to do that without touching her already burning body and clothes.

This is just another theory to add to the bunch...

 

[Leischa]

And also, I too would like to know what type of cell phone she owned. It certainly was not an iPhone because you can't just take out the battery like that. My bet is that it, if the battery got dislodged after being thrown on the ground, it was probably a ''cheap'' phone like I used to have. Everytime I dropped the thing on the floor, the battery would fly one meter away from the cell phone itself. It was only held in place by a very cheap plastic cover.

 

[Talullah]

BBM -
I'm not sure I understand what you mean...wouldn't a public defender be assigned, if the accused couldn't afford otherwise?

Sorry about the confusing statement. My fingers work faster than my brain. The first part of my sentence should've read I've heard of DA's putting off presenting certain cases. You're right. Public defenders are assigned and defendants have a right to competent counsel. In complex cases, like capital murder-murder that occurs along with at least one other felony (say, arson, robbery or kidnapping) courts can have a hard time finding an experienced attorney that won't cost the state a fortune to represent a defendant who can't afford to hire an attorney on their own. If a court appoints an attorney without specific experience, it can open the door to an appeal.

 

[Talullah]

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

DA=district attorney.

 

[distracted]

Has anyone heard of the Bradford Bishop case? This is a case of a middle-aged man who didn't get the promotion he wanted. That afternoon he stopped on his way home, bought a hammer and filled a container with gasoline. That evening he murdered his three sons, his wife and his mother with the hammer. The boys were sleeping.

Then he piled their bodies in the back of the station wagon and drove to another state. There he dug a hole, threw their bodies in, doused them with gasoline and set them on fire.

He wanted his family so thoroughly out of his life he seemed to murder them twice. Bradford has not been seen since. He is on the 10 most wanted list.

This case with JC reminded me of Bradford Bishop's family savagely beaten and killed. ETA: I see this as a crime of passion something the person contemplated for a while but didn't act on. When they wanted JC out of their life they wanted her the thoroughly out and went to extreme lengths to make that happen.

I agree with you. It's people with a long list of grievances. IMO, it points directly at some people who hated her and blamed her for many things. FWIW, I think there were 2-4 people involved. And I do have people in mind.

 

[MyBelle]

DA=district attorney.

What point are you trying to make? The DA has made his position clear.

 

[Yvettea]

What point are you trying to make? The DA has made his position clear.

What is the DA's position?

 

[MyBelle]

What is the DA's position?

The DA's position is that Jessica's murder is a homicide.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

I don't. I still see no evidence of any crime, but I keep an open mind pending the release of actual evidence.

I have to agree. I started out with the theory of suicide by fire and everything we have learned up until now could still fit with this theory.

I don't care what the DA, FBI, ATF, MBI, or other entities have characterized it as because they have not given us anything to back up their reasoning.

 

[machiado]

I have to agree. I started out with the theory of suicide by fire and everything we have learned up until now could still fit with this theory.

I don't care what the DA, FBI, ATF, MBI, or other entities have characterized it as because they have not given us anything to back up their reasoning.

I'm not completely ruling out suicide or accidental causation of fire from an accelarant (eg. from a mobile meth lab), but I do believe that LE has evidence that this was murder. One thing I keep coming back to is the early statement that they do not believe she was alone at the Herron Rd. site, where she died. If the death was suicide or accidental, why wouldn't this person come forward with information about what they were doing at that site?

 

[Amykate]

With all of this phone talk, I am wondering why the perp or perps didn't just throw the phone in the burning car?? Wouldn't that have totally destroyed it? Nothing else in the car looks like it made it through the fire.

 

[Vedder]

What point are you trying to make? The DA has made his position clear.

Tallulah was clarifying her/his previous post:

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.

 

[Leischa]

With all of this phone talk, I am wondering why the perp or perps didn't just throw the phone in the burning car?? Wouldn't that have totally destroyed it? Nothing else in the car looks like it made it through the fire.

If the phone was knocked out of her hand after she caught fire, the reason why it was found on the ground instead or thrown back into the burning car was because 1- the phone was probably very hot and 2- they had to leave the crime scene before first responders or witnesses arrived so they didn't have the time to take care of it properly.

 

[Leischa]

I'm not completely ruling out suicide or accidental causation of fire from an accelarant (eg. from a mobile meth lab), but I do believe that LE has evidence that this was murder. One thing I keep coming back to is the early statement that they do not believe she was alone at the Herron Rd. site, where she died. If the death was suicide or accidental, why wouldn't this person come forward with information about what they were doing at that site?

I've always wondered what lead them to think that she wasn't alone at Herron Road. Could it be that the person who dialed 911 saw another car there? Or someone leaving the scene on foot?

 

[SteveP]

I've always wondered what lead them to think that she wasn't alone at Herron Road. Could it be that the person who dialed 911 saw another car there? Or someone leaving the scene on foot?

I believe the position of the front seats, and particularly the drivers seat, was probably indicative of someone considerably larger than Jessica being behind the wheel. I also believe it will be revealed that she was found by tbe passenger side of her car. JMO

 

[Damarna]

<i>Police are searching her data and text records after obtaining warrants Wednesday that compelled Google and her cell phone provider to give police access to her phone's content, Champion said. Investigators believe her phone will be &quot;the key to everything,&quot; the prosecutor said. She received a call before she left her house, he said. </i><br />
<br />
http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/11/us/mississippi-girl-burns-to-death/<br/>

The above leads me to think her phone might have been an Android (Google) - the one I have had dropped with the back popping off. The battery sometimes fell out. Could it simply have unknowingly fallen out of the pocket of a quickly departing person?

 

[ZOOL]

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

Our hands have been tied on sleuthing the background of drug trafficking but it is obvious to me that several of the main players in this drama could be heavily invested from an early period on, engulfing Jessica and influencing her development. Her entire Courtland environment is steeped in that subculture and many among those who called themselves "her friend" are drugged-out liars, thieves, addicts, and felons -- all with connections.

Sheriff Dennis Darby said, "We are a Christian community..." and he went on to explain that none of the nation's problems involving the unrest leading up to Jessica's death were prevalent in Panola County.

I think he stubbornly refused to admit that the work of the Devil was running free.

 

[Ozarka]

I don't think the perpetrators of this crime intended to leave the phone behind. I believe it was left in the car to burn along with Jessica who was somehow able to get out of the car with the phone. I don't recall if it was said what kind of condition the phone was in when it was recovered except that the battery was out of it.