An account affiliated with the activist group Anonymous is following the Jessica Chambers murder case closely and has been publishing updates on the investigation.
Officials say they’ve probed what happened but haven’t come up with anything and no arrests have been made.
Chambers was found by emergency personnel burning inside of her car. Before she died, she said a name that was allegedly of whoever committed the crime of setting her car on fire with her in it.
But police haven’t been able to crack the case yet, leading others to try to figure out what happened.
One of the amateur sleuths has been posting information on the Operation Jessica C Twitter account, looking for links between locals and the information available in Jessica’s case.
For instance, friends and family members said Jessica was not in a relationship when she died but had recently broken up with someone.
One of the pictures shared by Chambers’ friends showed her kissing a former boyfriend.
The account has made some connections to what it says are local gang members, including some at the gas station that Jessica visited just prior to her death, and a home at which she allegedly enjoyed hanging out. Apparently one of the gangs is called Black Squad.
The account shared pictures of some of the members posing at the gas station, as well as others of members who knew Chambers.
The information is all unverified and is being heavily debated online by people on both sides of the issue.
Some news accounts are being referenced, such as one in which Batesville police chief Tony Jones said he and officers are dealing with lots of gang activity. “We’ve been able to solve those situations, most of ‘em, It just happens unfortunately,” Jones told Local Memphis after three people were shot a couple months back.
The police are still on the Chambers case, and asked for help from the public.
“There’s just not a lot of street talk out there about who may or may not have done this,” District attorney John Champion said at a recent news conference. “We feel like somebody out there has heard something.”
Meanwhile, NBC reported that Chambers was mourned at her funeral on Saturday.
Deborah Saunders, the 19-year-old’s aunt, said community support has helped the family but that they want justice served.
“We’re going to focus our energy on the capture of those who did this,” said Sanders.
Ben Chambers, Chambers’ father, revealed that she had left a battered women’s shelter just a few months before getting killed.
“She was getting on the right track. She had learned her lessons from being in bad relationships,” he said.
Hundreds Attend Jessica Chambers Funeral
BATESVILLE, Miss. (AP) — About 400 mourners packed a chapel in Mississippi on Saturday to say goodbye to a 19-year-old woman who was burned alive, among them classmates who used permanent markers to write heartfelt messages on her white metal coffin.
“Fly high, Jessica,” said some, a reference to the former cheerleader’s aerial acrobatics, according to the Rev. Eric Greggs, one of three speakers at the 45-minute service.
Chambers graduated from South Panola High last year and worked in sales at a Batesville clothing and gift shop.
Alabama author Linda Oliver said Chambers had recently asked her to help write a book about her life.
Oliver, of Birmingham, said Chambers approached her while she was packing up after a speech about her own book at an Oct. 25 church conference in the Batesville area.
“She thanked me for sharing some of the horrible facts of my own story” and then asked for help with hers, Oliver said. “She said, ‘I want my story to be told.’”
Contacted later by email, Oliver was asked by an Associated Press reporter if she spoke withChambers long enough to learn her story.
“No, sadly - there was not enough time that day for a long visit,” Oliver replied.
The Rev. Larry Kilgore of Crowder Baptist Church, about 15 miles from the funeral home whereChambers’ funeral was held, said she talked with him about personal problems, but had a relationship with Christ.
“Jessica was a young lady who just loved to be loved,” he said.
He didn’t talk about Chambers’ problems: “I will not expose her in death,” he said.
Greggs preaches at Community Church of God in Charleston, about 25 miles from Wells Funeral Home in Batesville, which live-streamed the service.
He said a church member called last Sunday, the day Chambers’ body was found, to tell him about her death. “I was struck with a heavy heart,” he said. “I got off the phone and told my wife, ‘I don’t even feel like preaching anymore.’”
But, he said, resurrection is the “good ending to the story.”
“We will see you on the other side. Hallelujah.”
The chapel where Chambers’ funeral took place seats about 400 and was full, said owner Tommy Wells.
Police are reconstructing the last few hours of Chambers’ life and are asking the public to come forward with information. So far, they have few solid leads, in spite of $11,000 offered in rewards.
She was still alive when a passing motorist saw her lying near her burning Kia Rio sedan about 8:15 p.m. Dec. 7, and she spoke to rescue workers, District Attorney John Champion has said.
“We’re not releasing what she said, but we’re acting on it,” he said.
