Friday, December 18, 2015

Seventeen gangbangers charged during investigation to find killer of Jessica Chambers



MORE than a year has passed and police have yet to find the culprit in a brutal murder case that rocked a Mississippi town to its very core.
Beloved teenager Jessica Chambers was set on fire and left to burn on the side of the highway in a shocking act of evil on a cold Saturday afternoon in December 2014.

Found doused in lighter fluid and screaming in agony she later died in hospital from burns that covered 98 per cent of her body.
The ensuing investigation involved just about every investigative branch in the country. Each of them meticulously combed through the available evidence and chased up hundreds of different leads, all to no avail.
Mississippi District Attorney John Champion called it “the most baffling case I’ve ever worked on”.
Pretty soon the lack of arrests spawned a string of online amateur investigations as blogs, social media pages and reddit threads all tried to piece together the shocking murder.
As the anniversary of her December 6 killing rolled around, it seemed whoever was responsible for the 19-year-old’s death would escape justice.
But the family of Jessica Chambers has been given a fresh glimmer of hope after authorities working on the case charged 17 people Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT) with various crimes uncovered during the course of the murder investigation.
Six of the men among 17 gangbangers charged during Jessica Chamber’s investigation.
Six of the men among 17 gangbangers charged during Jessica Chamber’s investigation.
Such is the extent of the investigation that police became aware of widespread criminal activity among local gangbanger groups while searching for Jessica’s killer.
Most of the charges were related to drugs and gun possession and while uncovered during the course of the Chambers investigation, the charges are not directly related to the murder. But those close to the case hope it could provide the crucial breakthrough needed.
District Attorney John Champion said police were in “proactive mode” following the arrests. “We’re not playing with them anymore,” he said of the criminal gangs.
“We started the deep interrogation with the Jessica case, and people began to volunteer information to us ... and we realised right away that something had to be done.”
Former FBI agent Hal Neilson who spent 23 years with the investigative bureau told Fox News 13 he thinks the arrests carried out, in what police called “Operation Bite Back”, could prove useful in solving the case.
“I think there is a possibility this could break it,” Neilson said. “Nine arrests and 17 indicted. Someone might know something that will send you in the direction of another person who could know about the crime.”
In August authorities said they were still looking for one missing piece, according toUSA Today. But it’s unknown what that piece is.
Jessica’s father Ben Chambers told the national newspaper: “I believe it’s going to be who we thought it was from the front. I really believe it.”
He added that he thinks it’s “all going to boil down to an alleged situation in which his daughter “beat” someone over $500.
Both Mr Chambers and Mississippi police reportedly declined to elaborate. His ambiguous comments have served to add fuel to the fire for the army of online sleuths intent on cracking the case.
Earlier in the year they publicly uncovered her association with known troublemakers and spread rumours that her ex-boyfriend was a member of the murderous “Black Out Squad” gang. Many involved in the online-based investigation also made the bizarre claim that the mystery surrounding her murder was a result of reverse racism.
Others have placed blame on her father who was previously imprisoned for manufacturing crystal meth saying his past deeds could be responsible for an attack by those who wanted to settle old scores.
Despite all the rampant theories, a $US53,000 reward for information leading to the killer has failed to solicit the desperately needed information.

It seems no matter what carrot the authorities dangle, no one is willing to take a bite.

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