Original subtitles

- Jessica Chambers was found walking on the side of the road

near her burning car.

- Chambers may have been doused in gasoline

and then set on fire.

- Nobody deserved what he did to Jessica for no reason.

No animal deserves that.

- You had the Internet full of rumors,

and that was very damaging to the community.

- And it started bein' a race war.

- One step closer to justice for Jessica Chambers.

- I would like to announce the indictment

of Quinton Verdell Tellis.

- Word around the street is,

they had to find some low-life to put it on.

So, why not put it on him?

- The answer we've all been waiting to hear

for the last three years--

the explosive allegations from the state.

- I think he suffocated her and thought he had killed her

and that he had to get her away from his house.

- She said, "Eric set me on fire."

We will ask that you find Quinton Tellis not guilty

as a result.

- Can you describe the person depicted in this photograph?

- It's my baby, Jessica Chambers.

- Who set Jessica Chambers on fire?

- The state is expected to call at least 35 witnesses.

- In the murder trial of Quinton Tellis,

the very first witness the prosecution called

was Jessica's mother, Lisa Chambers.

She told the jury about the last phone call she received

from Jessica the night she was attacked.

The next witness up for the prosecution is Kesha Meyer,

Jessica's friend and one of the last people to see her alive.

- I think Quinton Tellis is guilty 100%--

no doubt about it.

- I have a lot of anger. Very, very much.

I wanna know why.

What could she have ever done to hurt you, ever?

- You may call your next witness.

- What is your name?

- Lakesha Meyer.

- And who is that?

- Jessica Chambers.

- Was she your friend?

- Yes.

- And the day that Jessica was burned,

did you have occasion to be with Jessica?

- Yes.

She came and picked me up that morning around 10:00,

and she had Quinton Tellis with her.

- Okay.

- What was the purpose of her coming to pick you up?

- Just to go ridin' around and just hang out a little bit.

- Did she take you home first,

or did she take Quinton home first?

- She took Quinton home first.

- Did you have occasion to ever talk to her again?

- No.

I tried to reach out to her and never got any response.

- It's Kesha, correct?

- Yes. - Okay.

Now, you have knowledge that Jessica actually was involved

with, selling drugs to some degree-- marijuana?

- Yes.

- And that would have been pretty often.

- Yes.

- Would you say she was basically serving people

every other day?

- Yes.

- I tend the witness, Your Honor.

- I don't believe Kesha on that part.

- I could tell that apparently Jessica went down a bad road.

I could just tell by her teeth 'cause I think, you know,

if you do drugs and everything, your teeth will kinda decay.

That made me feel really bad to see that her life

had took a dramatic change.

- Also expected to take the stand here today

is gonna be Courtland Chief Cole Haley.

He was among the first to get to Jessica Chambers--

spoke to her before she died.

Exactly what she said has never been revealed.

- Can you state your name for the record?

- Cole Haley.

- Mr. Haley, on December the 6th of 2014,

at 8:12 P.M.,

you responded to a car fire.

- Yes, sir.

When I arrived, I pulled on up to where the car was on fire.

- Did you know Jessica Chambers?

- I-I knew her.

We weren't, you know, friends or anything,

but I-I knew her.

- When you first arrived on the scene,

did you recognize this person?

- No, sir, I did not.

- What was this person wearing?

- When I seen her, she had nothin' on but her panties.

I got out, and I got a blanket, and she had her arms out,

was comin' towards me, sayin', "Help me, help me, help me."

- Now, Cole, I want you to describe for this jury--

what did she look like?

What was the condition of Jessica Chambers?

- Her hair was fried...

out like she had stuck it into a light socket...

and, she had black all over her face.

Her body was severely burned.

I wrapped the blanket around her to conceal her.

She reached out for my hand.

And I held onto her hand.

And her-her mouth--

inside her mouth was just charred black,

and when I asked her her name,

she said, "Jessica Tamebers."

And she was not recognizable to me,

and I know what Jessica Chambers looked like.

Knowin' this is Courtland,

I said, "This is Jessica Chambers,

"not Tamebers."

- In all your years of bein' a firefighter,

have you ever seen anything like this?

- No, sir, and I hope I never see anything like it again.

- Cole, let me ask you one final question.

As of today, are you currently

on the Courtland Fire Department?

- No, sir, I'm not.

- Your honor, I have no further questions.

I would ask that he be finally excused.

- All right.

- Cole, I mean, it-it messed that boy up.

You know, he needs professional help.

He said, "I'm so sorry I couldn't do more."

Man, it just tore me apart, you know,

how it done destroyed his life.

- Cole... I'd trade spots with that kid any day.

He's a good kid.

All he ever wanted to do, was just be a firefighter

and help somebody.

It wasn't fair what-what happened to Jessica,

but it-it all trickles downhill.

Everybody affected by it.

Yeah.

- It was one of the worst things you could imagine.

- A middle-aged black male walked up, and I told him,

I said, "Hey, man, you can't be here.

"This is a crime scene. He seemed suspicious."

- We have been gettin' threats.

We're dealin' with it.

- Jessica was threatened.

Her words were, "Mama, these bitches think I'm snitchin."

- Good mornin'.

- Hi, Quinton Tellis. How are you?

- We know that when the first responders were called,

and they arrived at the scene,

all they saw was the vehicle, at first,

and then they actually saw Jessica coming out of the woods

and walking towards them.

And what did you find when you got to the fire?

- When we got to the fire, we seen a, um,

a passenger car-- passenger size car

with heavy flames comin' out of the passenger area.

- What did you see?

- I seen a figure.

Looked like somebody comin' out of the woods.

Um, appeared to be a zombie comin' out.

I mean, I-I know that's a little harsh,

but that's what it looked like.

- One of the worst things you-you could imagine.

I mean, her hair was beautiful blonde, and, you know,

her hair is just-- it's-it's fried.

- There was soot all around her nose and her mouth.

- And her arms were out.

She was-- she looked like a zombie.

Somebody off the "Walking Dead" is what I would picture it as.

Her body was charred.

It was just black skin hangin' off of it, burnt skin.

- You ever seen anything like this before, Will?

- No, sir.

- I never fully believed it was ever Jessica.

I always had that everyone said she was so unrecognizable

that it's not her.

This is a nightmare I'm gonna wake up from.

It's not gonna be her.

- And, Will, you also saw somebody there at the scene

that concerned you. Is that correct?

- I did.

A middle-aged black male walked up, and I told him,

I said, "Hey, man, you can't be here.

"This is a crime scene. You need to leave."

He never said a word to me.

He gave me a stare that I've never seen before.

He stared straight through me.

He was looking towards where the car was at

and in the woods the whole time.

He turned around, and he began walkin' off and lookin' over

his shoulder back toward where the car was at.

He had a blue shirt on,

and by the time he got out of my sight,

he had a white t-shirt on.

I told Brandy Davis something just wasn't right about him.

He seemed suspicious.

- And they went as far as to give you a tag number

of this person that they thought was out there.

- Yes, ma'am. That's correct.

- Did you receive that?

- I do-- I do remember receiving the tag number.

They gave it to the law enforcement. Yes, ma'am.

- What a bombshell.

Who was this mystery man?

They told us nothing about him

other than he was a middle-aged black man.

It doesn't appear it was Quinton Tellis,

but they just kinda left it dangling.

- Do you solemnly swear to give the whole truth

and nothing but the truth, so help you, God?

- Brandy, what did you find upon your arrival at the scene?

- I found Jessica standin'.

I ask her her name, and she replied, "Jessica."

I asked, "Who did this to you?"

She replied, "Eric."

- From what I could hear, it sounded like

she said, "Eric."

- I asked her, "Who did this to you?"

And she said, "Eric."

- I've got 15 to 17 witnesses that all heard her say

something akin to Derrick or Eric,

and I think that we can overcome that.

- I said, "Honey."

I bent down, and I said, "Honey, who did this to you?"

And all I heard was, "Eric."

- You had your ear right to her.

- Yeah, honey.

I was tryin' to find out who-who did this to her.

- Your Honor, I tender the witness.

- Good afternoon, Mr. Perkins.

But you authored this particular report, correct?

- Yes, ma'am. - Okay.

If you would start reading right where it says,

"Patient attempted to answer questions."

- "EMS was able to obtain patient's name and that she was

"set on fire by another person named quote, Eric, unquote

"multiple times."

- You know, the evidence in this case was pretty clear.

They all said, "Eric."

- You see the date? - Yes, ma'am.

- What was the date on there? - December 6, 2014.

- "Eric" or "Derrick" is what you thought she said?

- Yes, ma'am.

- I know I made a point to recognize

the recorded statements.

The point was, you have recorded information

that is consistent with every person

where they're saying the same name.

Thank you, Mr. Perkins. - Yes, ma'am.

- I tender the witness.

- Today's testimony was fascinating.

One prosecution witness after the other

testified that Jessica Chambers said,

"Eric set me on fire."

It's going to be a big problem for the prosecution.

- Everybody get on the stand.

They said, "Eric."

I don't understand it 'cause if somebody hurt me,

before I died, I'm gonna let 'em know who it is,

and Quinton and Eric do not sound alike.

- Felt guilty for not bein' there,

but I didn't wanna go through it again.

I wished I never came that night.

I have nightmares.

I'm stressed out all the time.

I'm divorced.

I thought I could handle stuff like that,

and I slept in my truck for two weeks.

I sleep with a pistol in my lap.

I'm not gonna lie. A couple of times,

it crossed my mind to just go and end it all.

When they ask her about, "Hon, who did this,"

I mean, you heard it plain as day.

"Eric did this."

- Yeah, that's Quinton's sister's page.

"God is on our side."

He better be.

Promise you, but I know-- I know how they're feeling

because we done been through it.

Okay, this is on my page. It says--

- Right there.

- It says, "Boone, did you kill Jessica

"or order her death?"

- Everybody was pointin' their finger at me

because I kicked it with her.

Yeah, me and her dated.

That don't make me killed her 'cause I dated her.

- They really made it look like you did it.

You see what I'm sayin'?

- Damn.

- They had you on the phone with her.

They had you everywhere.

Wherever she was, they had you there,

but I think they're doin' the same thing to Quinton.

- I think they're gonna go ahead and pin it on Quinton

because they're just ready to get it over with.

It's going on three years,

and they still ain't found the right person.

- Quinton Tellis, he'll never get a fair trial

because social media everywhere.

Too many people done heard what was said about the trial.

You know, they painted a picture for society.

You hear me?

- Earlier, we heard from all the first responders

at the scene, and now we're about to hear

from a series of medical personnel

who examined Jessica's burns at the hospital.

I assume that the goal of the prosecution

will be to show that Jessica was in shock

and cast doubt on whether she really knew

what she was saying when she named Eric as the person

who set her on fire.

- To be honest with you, we all thought we were gonna get

an Eric or Derrick.

We looked at everybody,

everybody that had connections to her,

whether they were black, whether they were white.

- What is your name?

- Mary Beth Hall.

- And, Mary Beth, tell the jury please what you observed

when Jessica arrived at the burn unit.

- We took the towels off, assessed her,

noticed she had burns--

face, neck, chest, back, arms, legs.

So, a large area burn.

- Photographs that I received were those that looked like

a-a lady that had somewhere in the neighborhood of a 95%

total body surface area burn,

and the majority of those

were deep dermal to third-degree.

- And would you describe for the jury what you mean

by third-degree?

- A first-degree burn is a sunburn,

and it's basically that that,

most people have experienced sometime in their life.

A third-degree burn goes all the way through the skin,

and there's no chance of survival,

or regeneration of the top layer of the skin

in that case.

- You may call your next witness.

- Dr. Barnhart, did you, in fact,

perform an autopsy on the body of Jessica Chambers?

- Yes.

The cause of death was soot and smoke inhalation

and thermal injuries.

- And how about the manner of death?

- Homicide.

- Would you like to cross?

- Good afternoon, Dr. Barnhart.

Your report reveals that there was no evidence

of any blunt force injuries, as well.

- I did not find any evidence of that.

No.

- And then the toxicology re-revealed

that there was a presence of marijuana to some degree.

- Yes.

- Photograph in the autopsy of Jessica Chambers, of her face.

- I didn't watch the autopsy photos,

but it was flipped toward us.

It was like somebody just ripped your heart out, again.

- Can you describe and identify this photograph for me?

- Yes, that is a photograph of the, larynx and trachea.

For reference, um, your tongue would be here.

It's, quite red, and there is this,

gray-black material present throughout the airway.

- What is that gray-black material?

- It's essentially soot.

- Understanding more about the injuries she had,

certainly it-it lays a whole-whole lot more doubt

on anything she might have said.

- Would it be typical for a person with this degree of burns

and this percentage of burns to go through shock?

- Those that can live go through several phases

of that psychological reaction.

Number one is, will I live?

Will I live with all my body parts?

Will I live being able to function?

Things along those lines.

But, from this standpoint initially, it's, am--

I'm gonna die.

- We had one of the first responders refer to her

as a zombie.

Would that be consistent with the injuries that you found

to Jessica Chambers?

- Yes, sir. That skin is now like leather,

and so you can't move it like you normally would.

The facial expressions are gone.

She's not able to make any facial expressions

because that skin is tight.

- So, given the injury to her lips and her mouth,

is it likely that she would have severe difficulties

in her speech?

- Without a doubt.

- Your Honor, I tender the witness.

- One way the prosecution can try to deal with the Eric issue

was to argue that Jessica perhaps really wasn't

enunciating properly

because of the heat injury to her larynx

and her vocal cords.

Perhaps she couldn't really make the sounds.

People thought she was saying, "Eric",

but maybe she was saying something else.

- I think she had difficulty communicating.

I don't dispute that,

but I don't think she was unable to communicate,

and I think there's a huge difference

between inability to communicate and difficulty.

- There was an effort on her part

to say to say who did this.

Would you agree that, for the most part,

her condition would have worsened

from the point when she was initially found

to when she got to the burn centers?

- To a certain extent, yes, ma'am.

- There were at least ten to twelve other individuals

who were speaking to her.

That would indicate that she could speak, correct?

- She could probably speak, but not enunciate well.

- And so, you cannot say with 100% certainty

that statements that she made were not made?

- I wasn't there. - Yes, sir.

I tender the witness. Thank you, doctor.

- And we will resume court at, at 9 a.m. in the morning.

Thank you.

- They all say she said, "Eric" or "Derrick."

It just seems impossible to me.

I sincerely believe that what happened that night

was one person thought they heard,

and then next thing you know, everybody was like,

"Yeah, she said that."

- We don't know what she tried to say, you know?

Her mouth was burnt so bad.

There's no way she could spoke anything.

- I see Jessica with-- as a butterfly.

I know that sounds crazy,

but when I go to the graveyard,

there's usually a blue butterfly.

It comes down from the trees, and it sits over her.

Butterflies bring a lot of peace.

She's flying with the angels.

I do feel that judgment day is coming.

I want Jessica to have justice.

When I'm awake, I'm always on Facebook, on social media.

There's been some evil just talkin' on there.

It's just a bunch of people on a computer

that have nothin' else to do.

I feel broken.

I don't feel that I'll ever be okay.

- What they're tryin' to do to him, is just wrong.

It's wrong.

Like, I'd be on Facebook readin' little comments.

No, but I don't let it get to me

'cause they don't know him.

They just goin' by what they know here.

"He a devil.

"He need to burn in hell."

I just read it, laugh at it.

- We have been gettin' threats.

They are makin' him out to be the worst person in the world

as if he doesn't have feelings.

My brother is a lovable person.

We're dealin' with it.

It has been hard, but, at the end of the day,

God has the last say.

- So far, none of the testimony

has actually linked Quinton Tellis

to the murder of Jessica.

The state needs to start connecting Tellis to the crime.

- You may call your next witness.

- Dustin Blount.

- Dustin Blount was an FBI agent who spoke to Quinton Tellis

on December 18th,

about a week after Jessica was murdered.

Now, that's the second time Quinton talks

to law enforcement.

- Where did you go to talk with him?

- To his residence in Courtland, Mississippi.

- And when you got there, was Quinton cooperative

with you? - Yes.

- Hand you a photograph

and ask you if you can identify that for us.

- This is a photograph of Mr. Tellis' residence.

- And what is that in front of the residence?

- A shed.

- Did you go inside the shed?

- We stepped in the shed.

We asked him about a, um, gasoline container.

He said that that is his five-gallon gasoline container

that he uses for gas, that it was his gas container.

- Did you ask him about his relationship

or how he had met Jessica?

- Yes.

They struck up a friendship fairly quickly to the point

where they would ride around a lot together numerous times,

and, um, he even went as far as to say

that they'd, at one time, had a sexual relationship.

- Where was that?

- He pointed behind him to his side yard,

which-which would have been just south of the--

of his residence.

He stated they were in a vehicle.

I believe it was her vehicle.

He went into detail to, say that the passenger seat

was reclined back, and he was sitting in the passenger seat,

and Jessica Chambers was on top of him.

- And did he indicate whether this was the only time

they ever had sex?

- He stated to me that he had only had sex with her one time.

- Did he tell you what he did a few days after Jessica died?

- One of the thing-things he told me is that he, um,

erased all communications that he had had with Jessica

from his cell phone, text and phone contacts.

- Everything was completely deleted on his phone

within a couple of days of her death.

It was just as if he's erasing her out of his memory.

- This is where Champion scores some points for the prosecution,

and it should resonate with the jury.

- Cross?

- Now, he indicated to you that he had deleted

all the texts from his phone, correct?

- Yes.

- And did he-- did you ask him why he did that?

- I did not ask him.

- Would-would you want to know the reason why he did that?

- Obviously not.

- Okay, well, I'm-I'm-I'm asking.

Why did you not ask that question?

- I just failed to ask the question.

- All right, sir. You may stand down, sir.

Thank you.

- This really is a missed opportunity,

not asking him why he did it.

This is a trained FBI agent.

This is days after Jessica died.

- Why would you keep a contact of a person that done passed

in your phone when you can no longer call

or you can no longer text that person?

I'm gonna miss them,

but I'm not gonna keep their information

in my phone.

I'm gonna delete it outta my phone.

- Two days after, he-he, you know,

he erased her out of his life.

- Every single thing is still in my phone.

- I know. I don't have the heart

to delete her number out of my phone.

- And they could say it's 'cause she's significant to me,

and she absolutely is,

but I believe,

if I was ridin' around with somebody the morning of,

the evening of, I was texting them

every single day for two weeks straight,

I had sex with this person,

I believe wholeheartedly that person would be

significant to me, absolutely.

- Stand by.

- All rise!

Courtroom will come to order.

- Jury views are not real common,

but the state must feel it's important for the jury

to see for themselves these key locations

and the actual crime scene.

- Thank you. Be seated.

This proceeding will be just like we're in court.

Mr. Thompson will be the witness,

and he will be questioned by the state,

and then he will be cross-examined by the defense.

With that, we will take you to your vans,

and we will proceed to these various places.

Thank you.

- Investigator Thompson, this is, in fact,

Jessica Chambers' vehicle that she had on December 6, 2014.

Is that correct? - Yes.

- The interior of the vehicle is deteriorated immensely.

Has it not?

- Yes, sir, just due to the burning-burning all the paint

and insulation off the vehicle.

- It was really important for the jury to see the car itself.

Quinton Tellis actually told investigators

that when they had sex,

it was in the passenger seat, and the seat was reclined,

and that's how they found the car

after it was set on fire.

- Investigator Thompson, where are we standing?

- We are standing at the M&M store

in Courtland, Mississippi.

- On December 6, 2014,

where was Quinton Tellis living?

- If you look over the top of that red Ford car,

it would be the next driveway on your left

just behind those pine trees.

- Was there a camera at M&M store on December 6, 2014

that actually pointed toward Quinton Tellis' residence.

- Yes.

- Will you point out that camera for the jury?

- The camera on the corner of the building, right here.

- The camera from the store

focuses directly at Quinton Tellis' house.

So, we can see the comings and goings from inside the driveway.

You know, that was huge for us.

We saw what we believe to be Jessica's car

pulling inside the driveway,

but it was dark,

and you can't see makes and models.

- The car pulling into the driveway is Jessica's?

That's a big leap to make.

The D.A. admits you can't say for sure,

but this is a pretty important point.

The prosecution needs to put Jessica and Quinton together,

from that point on, the rest of the night.

- Mr. Peterson, you may cross.

- Major Thompson, the camera from the M&M store

depicts the entrance to this driveway.

- Yes, sir.

- As you go into this driveway,

you're actually going to go off that camera,

a blind spot.

- I would say so. Yes.

- Have you reviewed any footage where you could actually see

any of those structures in reviewing that camera footage?

- Personally, no.

- The defense brings out a good point on cross-examination.

A camera may be pointed at the Tellis driveway,

but it seems to be of limited value

because you can't see inside the driveway.

The jury is right there.

They're hearing this, but they're also seeing it,

so they can form their own conclusions.

- Ladies and gentlemen--

- I was glad that my brother was able

to get out there and walk around

and not be shackled down and handcuffed.

But, at the same time, it-it kinda hurt

because he couldn't be there with us,

walkin' with us.

- Now, in Quinton Tellis' interviews,

he actually told FBI agent Dustin Blount

where he and Jessica had parked and hung out.

Is this the area that we're referring to?

- According to Agent Blount's report,

yes, this would be the area that he pointed out,

to my knowledge. Yes.

- He claimed they had sex one time,

and this is the area.

- Yes.

- Quinton Tellis only admitted to having sex with her one time

and never admitted to having sex with her

that night.

I reviewed the autopsy report,

and there's no evidence that Jessica had sex

that night.

Prosecutors admit it was an oversight that a rape kit

was never done by the medical examiner.

- Investigator Thompson,

we are actually at the area

where the car was found on December 6, 2014.

Is that correct?

- Yes, the car was parked with what I'm gonna call the nose

or the front of the car facing toward that fence, right there.

- And, also, as part of this testimony,

some firefighters describe Jessica coming out of the woods

approximately 30 or 40 feet from their location.

Can you tell the jury

approximately where that location is

where she came out?

- From-from my review of the firefighters' statements,

she would've been coming from that way back.

- Officer, did your investigation include

any areas other than this area here?

- We did send a team of investigators down here

that actually did a-a foot search of the area.

- Okay.

Did they actually go over behind this fence?

- I can not truthfully speak intelligently

to whether they went inside there or not.

- I tender the witness, Your Honor.

- Your Honor, that's all the questions I have.

- We're ready to go back to the courtroom.

- It's quite possible that evidence related to the case

was on the other side of that fence.

So, that area could have been a secondary crime scene.

Also, the area where she was walking across the street

could have been another crime scene.

- In my opinion, I believe Quinton Tellis

tried to have sex with her,

and she refused him.

I believe he raped her.

I believe he choked her.

I don't know if he got scared or whatever

and-and realized what he done.

When he set her on fire,

I do not think he thought she was alive.

I think he thought she was dead

and was gonna try to get rid of evidence.

What I ask over, and over, and over,

what could a 19-year-old girl

do to somebody to make you do that?

- The first time I was here, summer of 2015,

Lisa, Jessica's mother,

showed me all the different places

Jessica hung out at,

and she pointed out Charlotte,

who she thought knew something about Jessica's death.

- They took her phone records, and I was in there--

- Charlotte Wilkerson said she was brought in for questioning.

- Charlotte was another person who spoke to reporters

in the days after Jessica's death

because she didn't think that she had anything to hide.

- There was a party goin' on, and she was there.

When they left-- when she left the party,

that's when it happened to her.

- Internet commenters really jumped on that inconsistency

and made a Charlotte a prime suspect in their eyes,

and I wondered whether she had finally felt the need

to go online and defend herself from the accusations.

- So, we're going to a trailer park

where Charlotte is living now.

- Hi. - Hey, how are you doing?

It's nice to see you, again.

- Good to see you, too.

- Did it bother you that were implicated online?

- To hell with 'em,

there's a bunch of idiots on there.

- Yeah. - And, I mean...

people love drama.

I don't think it's right to use the murder of a 19-year-old girl

as a way to start drama with the neighbors,

and the family, and the friends.

- So, who's Eric?

- I don't know.

They said, "Eric."

They said, "Derrick, Eric, Derrick."

Unless, I mean, she was just so messed up.

- But she said her name. - I mean, I--

- She said, "I know I'm Jessica."

She said, "I was lit on fire."

- I think you light somebody on fire,

you're either notorious for doin' that,

or you really want this person to suffer.

Whoever done this had a vendetta against her.

I really do miss that baby girl.

Jessica was a sweet kid.

She woulda did anything for anybody.

You know, it's sad enough without the Internet

and all that crap.

I wish I'da been there to protect her.

- Sorry.

- I know that Jessica had been involved

in some relationships that were less than healthy

by a lot of standards.

At one point, she was arrested for simple assault.

- Jessica had come to her crossroads in life.

She made the decision she wanted a better life.

- And that's one reason we got Jessica down to Leah's House.

- Leah's House was a place for ladies, young girls,

that were-- just needed to find their way.

It got her away from all the people that she hung out with

every day, and by bein' at Leah's House,

it inspired her.

- And she stayed there for 30 days.

She'd text me and tell me, "I'm gonna change.

"I'm gonna start doin' better," you know?

- She cleaned up.

She looked like a little lady

instead of somethin' that just rolled outta bed

and rolled into town.

- She had just gotten a job.

She was very proud of herself.

- Her whole personality changed, you know?

Lord, yeah, I was proud of her.

- Jessica was threatened.

The week that it happened, like on a Monday, that Monday,

she come to the door, and when she come in the door,

she slammed the door, and her words were, "Mama,

"these bitches think I'm snitchin', but I'm not."

- I said, "Well, Jessica, what have you done?"

"Nothing, daddy," you know?

And, then she got where she would tell me,

"Everybody think I'm snitchin'.

"Everybody thinks I"-- I said, "Who?"

She said, "Everybody, daddy.

"Everybody thinks I'm snitchin'

"'cause you work for the police."

- There was this theory that Jessica was an informant

with the sheriff's department.

Some people online came up with some theory

that she was wearing a wire

and was going to out some big-time gang members,

and that's why she was murdered.

- I do not believe Jessica was ever an informant

for the police.

Matter of fact, I can almost guarantee it.

But, if she did, she was doin' it for somebody,

for a reason.

The child was threatened.

- Is it possible? Was she a snitch?

- When something lingers in the state of Mississippi,

things have to go away real fast.

- Do you have a timeline as to when Miss Chambers

would have been set on fire?

- The-the time, the exact time, she was set on fire?

No.

- I happened to see a pink rope in a ditch

that had somethin' shiny on it.

It happened to be some keys.

- Quinton Tellis came back positive for DNA on the keys.