BATESVILLE, Miss. — A new trial date has been set for the man accused of murdering Jessica Chambers back in 2014.
Quinton Tellis’ new trial is set to begin June 11.
Just last week District Attorney John Champion confirmed to WREG prosecutors are still seeking a capital murder charge in the case despite a jury being unable to reach a unanimous verdict several months ago.
“If you look at this case, none of our facts are contradictory,” Champion said back in October. “They didn’t produce an expert to contradict any of our phone data.”
Phone data, prosecutors argued, put Tellis in the same place as Chambers on the night she was doused with gasoline, set on fire and left to die in Courtland, Mississippi.
Jurors heard from several witnesses who responded to the scene, one of the lead investigators and even heard segments of Tellis’ taped interviews with officers among other things before being dismissed for deliberation.
The jury ultimately returned from deliberation three times, at one point declaring a “not guilty” verdict, only to eventually come back with the announcement that they could not reach a unanimous verdict.
Judge Gerald Chatham eventually declared a mistrial after 10 hours of deliberation.