02-24-2016, 03:20 PM
WREG covered the press conference live and the video is posted below the article at this link: http://wreg.com/2016/02/24/capital-murde...-chambers/
Some highlights:
1. Quinton Tellis was one of 150 potential suspects from the start.
2. Tellis is a gang member, but the multi-agency LE team believes there is no gang or drug connection involved in Jessica's murder whatsoever; they believe Tellis acted alone and kept the murder to himself.
3. LE was frustrated early on because they talked to so many people and their street contacts and everyone they interviewed was 100% cooperative (Jessica was a hometown girl), but no one had information about the murder, not even after the $54k reward was offered. LE strongly suspected that this was one individual who acted alone as a result, which is how it turned out if they're right about Tellis.
4. Jessica had a personal relationship with Tellis for a few weeks prior to her death. She was last seen with him (no details given as to who saw them or where). Tellis was several years older, but they'd gone to the same high school and grown up in the same area.
5. DA Champion wanted to dis-spell the rumor that accelerant or lighter fluid had been poured down Jessica's throat. That did not happen. However, she and her car were doused and lit on fire. Champion declined to say what kind of accelerant was used.
6. DA Champion confirmed that Jessica did tell first responders something which helped in the investigation; he declined to reveal what that was.
7. Over 20,000 phone numbers and other sources of data were scoured by the local LE, FBI, ATF, DOJ...in the course of the investigation. Forensic and data evidence helped secure the grand jury indictment, but DA Champion said there is still a lot of work to do on the case.
8. DA Champion confirmed that in the course of the Jessica Chambers' murder investigation, many unrelated crimes and corruption were uncovered -- all of those crimes are being pursued separately and several arrests have been made.
9. Quinton Tellis moved to Louisiana last year. He married a woman there and was very shortly thereafter arrested for using credit cards belonging to a murdered female Taiwanese exchange student. Jessica was killed in Dec 2014; the exchange student was killed in August 2015. Tellis has not been charged with that young woman's murder (yet). Tellis has previous convictions for burglary, evading police, and marijuana. He will not be extradited to Mississippi until Louisiana is finished with him.
10. DA Champion was asked by a reporter if he or other members of the multi-agency task force were bothered by all of the accusations and insults leveled at them on-line or by the conspiracy theories. He laughed it off and said it didn't bother him a bit; he said those commenters didn't know what they were talking about. He did say that the team monitored the on-line discussions just in case anything of value arose.
Jessica's dad, Ben Chambers, thanked Champion, the Sheriff, and the rest of the agencies investigating the case.
Some highlights:
1. Quinton Tellis was one of 150 potential suspects from the start.
2. Tellis is a gang member, but the multi-agency LE team believes there is no gang or drug connection involved in Jessica's murder whatsoever; they believe Tellis acted alone and kept the murder to himself.
3. LE was frustrated early on because they talked to so many people and their street contacts and everyone they interviewed was 100% cooperative (Jessica was a hometown girl), but no one had information about the murder, not even after the $54k reward was offered. LE strongly suspected that this was one individual who acted alone as a result, which is how it turned out if they're right about Tellis.
4. Jessica had a personal relationship with Tellis for a few weeks prior to her death. She was last seen with him (no details given as to who saw them or where). Tellis was several years older, but they'd gone to the same high school and grown up in the same area.
5. DA Champion wanted to dis-spell the rumor that accelerant or lighter fluid had been poured down Jessica's throat. That did not happen. However, she and her car were doused and lit on fire. Champion declined to say what kind of accelerant was used.
6. DA Champion confirmed that Jessica did tell first responders something which helped in the investigation; he declined to reveal what that was.
7. Over 20,000 phone numbers and other sources of data were scoured by the local LE, FBI, ATF, DOJ...in the course of the investigation. Forensic and data evidence helped secure the grand jury indictment, but DA Champion said there is still a lot of work to do on the case.
8. DA Champion confirmed that in the course of the Jessica Chambers' murder investigation, many unrelated crimes and corruption were uncovered -- all of those crimes are being pursued separately and several arrests have been made.
9. Quinton Tellis moved to Louisiana last year. He married a woman there and was very shortly thereafter arrested for using credit cards belonging to a murdered female Taiwanese exchange student. Jessica was killed in Dec 2014; the exchange student was killed in August 2015. Tellis has not been charged with that young woman's murder (yet). Tellis has previous convictions for burglary, evading police, and marijuana. He will not be extradited to Mississippi until Louisiana is finished with him.
10. DA Champion was asked by a reporter if he or other members of the multi-agency task force were bothered by all of the accusations and insults leveled at them on-line or by the conspiracy theories. He laughed it off and said it didn't bother him a bit; he said those commenters didn't know what they were talking about. He did say that the team monitored the on-line discussions just in case anything of value arose.
Jessica's dad, Ben Chambers, thanked Champion, the Sheriff, and the rest of the agencies investigating the case.