Jessica Chambers was burned alive in Courtland, Mississippi, on December 6, 2014. However, with the Panola County Sheriff Dennis Darby and DA John Champion claiming that no one is talking, it seems that the investigation into the burning death of Jessica Chambers is going cold. In a town of just 500 residents, Darby says that over 120 people have been interviewed to no avail. This leaves many to ask, “what will happen now?”
The last big public announcement in the Jessica Chambers’ case came in February when investigators released an official timeline for Jessica on the day of her death. From the timeline, it appears that Jessica went missing between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The Clarion Ledger reports that authorities know where Jessica was at 6:30 p.m. but have no leads on where she may have been headed after that stop.
“At around 7:31, we’ve got her on the scene where she was found. There’s that one hour gap we can’t put her in a particular spot… yet. We’re asking anyone who saw her between 6:30 and 7:30 that night to let us know.”
Darby says that most of the timeline comes from cell phone record and surveillance video footage. However, he refused to release any new information regarding the autopsy results as he says it is evidence. With a town of just 500 residents, Darby says the sheriff’s office has interviewed over 120 people . He also notes that the killer is almost certainly a resident of the community.
“We do believe it’s someone local, we don’t believe this is a random act, but other than that we’re just, it’s very frustrating.”
With nearly a quarter of all Courtland residents interviewed, it seems likely that the Panola County Sheriff’s Office has spoken, face-to-face, with the killer, albeit unknowingly. Some have pointed out that Sheriff Darby has pointed out excessively that the “street talk” surrounding the case is very limited. However, is that truly the case?
As one Conservative Treehouse writer points out, could Darby simply be trying to through the killer off?
“In essence was/is Champion trying to make the killer feel comfortable or confident; and as a consequence, more likely to slip up?”
It should be noted that Darby says the lack of an arrest is not due to a lack of manpower as the FBI became involved early on in the case.
What do you think? Is the Panola County Sheriff’s Department honing in on the killer? Or is the Jessica Chambers’ burning death case going cold?