MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Mid-South murder mystery is getting national attention this holiday season.
Panola County teenager Jessica Chambers was lit on fire and killed a year ago this month.
Monday, People magazine tweeted the cover of an edition coming up with Chambers on the cover.
Authorities hope the publicity could help generate tips in Chambers’ case.
“We felt like it could not hurt us as far as the case is concerned,” said District Attorney John Champion.
When WREG spoke with Champion on Monday, he said he had not yet read the article, marked January 4, but he said he has been communicating with the magazine for months.
“I’ve been talking with people for about six or seven months about the case,” Champion said.
Champion said investigators determined early on that they might need national coverage.
They do not know if Chambers’ killer lives around here or not.
The night Chambers died, gas station surveillance video captured images of her around 5 p.m.
She went to a place in Courtland, then somewhere near Highway 6 in Batesville, and she came back to Courtland around 6:30 p.m.
For the next hour, investigators are not sure where Chambers was until they could place her off a county road around 7:31 p.m., at the place where someone lit her on fire.
Champion said he is confident investigators are closing in.
He said data-driven evidence, from technology, will help investigators complete this timeline.
“We’re not there yet, but we feel like we’re getting close,” Champion said.
People’s website said the article will be on newsstands Monday.