PANOLA COUNTY, Miss. — The terrible case of a Panola County teen burned alive is gaining attention from across the country and even around the globe as investigators continue to search for clues.
Family of 19-year-old Jessica Chambers say someone poured an accelerant down her throat and nose before setting her and her car on fire.
District Attorney John Champion is reviewing Chambers’ cellphone records to see who she talked to before she died.
A Facebook page called “Justice for Jessica” already has more than 67,000 likes.
Her horrific murder is being covered by news networks and publications from across the globe.
Chambers was found on Herron Road. She had a gash on her head and was burned alive. It’s a case that has shaken even senior investigators to their cores.
Family members say Chambers may have whispered the name of her killer to paramedics before she died, but investigators won’t say what she told them.
An hour-and-a-half before she was found burned, surveillance video at a gas station off of Highway 51 shows Jessica stopping to fill up her tank.
Ali Alsanai was the clerk that night and one of the last people to see her alive.
“She seemed normal,” he said. “She didn’t seem like something was going wrong, you know? She just seemed normal. She just pumped some gas, we had a talk, and she left.”
There are no suspects in the brutal killing, something that has Alsanai and others angry and worried.
“They need to find him ASAP,” Alsanai said. “He needs either prison for life or death. He deserves it.”
But Alsanai is hoping national media attention will put even more pressure on investigators to find the killer quickly.
“Pray for the family that’s all we can do about it, and hopefully, they’re going to get them,” he said.
So far, investigators have not named any suspects in the case or made any arrests.
