Police Calling for Witnesses in Attack on Miss. Woman Burned to Death
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iStock/Thinkstock(COURTLAND, Miss.) — Officials say that they are struggling to find the person responsible for attacking 19-year-old Jessica Chambers in rural Mississippi because there is not a lot of “street talk” about the case.
“We’re at the point where we are talking to people right now and there are a lot of people we are talking to,” District Attorney John Champion said at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
“There’s just not a lot of street talk out there about who may or may not have done this,” he said.
Chambers was found barely alive with 98 percent of her body covered in burns Saturday night around 9 p.m. and police say they are are trying to piece together her final hours. Shortly after being airlifted to a nearby hospital, she died.
Panola County Sheriff Dennis Darby said Thursday that many of the details are still being worked out by the crime lab, including the question of whether an accelerant was used to start the fire.
“We’re definitely treating this as an arson. We’re trying to determine through lab results what kind of arson,” Champion said.
They added that they have been able to determine that the attacker likely got in the car with her, although they still do not have an official suspect or person of interest.
“My heart goes out to the family,” Darby said at Thursday’s news conference. “It’s personal because I know them personally and I have two daughters of my own.”
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