MS - Jessica Chambers, 19, Panola County, 6 Dec 2014 ; Quinton Tellis Indicted - #13

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I'm very ready for this trial, it happened 30 mins down the road from me but the trial is happening in another county.
 
DeDee said:
There is an interesting WS thread for that fiery crash.

C130 Military plane crash Miss 8 deaths reported
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...0-Military-plane-crash-Miss-8-deaths-reported
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Thanks, DeDee, a whole new mystery to solve. Just thought it interesting, the close proximity to Jessica's own fiery death of such a violent incident along the quiet backroads of MS. Like being in the Navy I suppose, long stretches of routine punctuated by moments of absolute terror.

Best,
Inspector Clouseau
 
Will trial documents such as pre-trial motions be posted here, as I believe has been done with other trials? October draws near.

Thanks,
Inspector Clouseau
 
DeDee said:
Amazing.

Thank you, Inspector. I'm seriously considering attending the opening statements of the trial even though it would include staying overnight in Memphis. I just can't imagine what defense will be used. Any ideas, anyone?
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I would like to attend part of the trial as well. I'm only about 65 miles from Batesville.
 
DeDee said:
Amazing.

Thank you, Inspector. I'm seriously considering attending the opening statements of the trial even though it would include staying overnight in Memphis. I just can't imagine what defense will be used. Any ideas, anyone?
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DeDee,

I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest they will try for one or two of the following strategies:

(1) Cell phone calls and tower pings do not a murderer make. Without an eyewitness to the crime, how can one be sure Quentin Tellis was even there? Someone might have borrowed his phone. Thanks to the fire, it is doubtful whether any fiber or DNA evidence was recoverable. Unless the autopsy revealed something that is not public information, might be difficult to prove he saw Jessica that night.

(2) Based on the arraignment, not only is the defendant black, but his defense team is, too. The victim was white, as are the Sheriff and the DA. This is Mississippi. I think it is obvious at some point a certain card will be played.

(3) There is the matter of the chief investigator on the case being arrested for DUI at one point. Might this impune any testimony he has to offer? Also, the victim's father works for the Panola County Sheriff's Department. Can impartiality be expected, or was there a rush to judgment?

(4) The DOJ issued a policy for use of Stinger cell phone interception technology -after- the murder. If it was being used as part of illegal drug or gang activity investigations at the time, and in a manner contrary to that later policy, and the 4th Amendment, would any evidence thus obtained have to be excluded?

(5) The investigation thought it had a suspect several times, only to determine it was on a false trail. Who were those other suspects, and what exculpatory evidence might their involvement provide?

Regards,
Inspector Clouseau
 
Oh, dear. I fear I may regret asking the defense question for each of your points are valid, Inspector. I was hoping for an open and shut case but my optimism has suddenly been knocked down a notch.

A few days ago, I went to our What Happened to Jessica Chambers Poll to refresh myself on members' theories before the arrest of QT.

There was a theory of JC being gang raped at the Skyline Motel. She was taken out of the room and placed into her car and driven to the CS. The member opined that this is why the driver's seat was shoved back so far or too far for JC if she had been driving.

Could QT have been involved in a possible Skyline Motel incident with JC? The member's theory truly made sense to me when I read it.

It is Post # 42 in this thread:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?268119-What-Happened-to-Jessica-Chambers
 
DeDee said:
Oh, dear. I fear I may regret asking the defense question for each of your points are valid, Inspector. I was hoping for an open and shut case but my optimism has suddenly been knocked down a notch.

A few days ago, I went to our What Happened to Jessica Chambers Poll to refresh myself on members' theories before the arrest of QT.

There was a theory of JC being gang raped at the Skyline Motel. She was taken out of the room and placed into her car and driven to the CS. The member opined that this is why the driver's seat was shoved back so far or too far for JC if she had been driving.

Could QT have been involved in a possible Skyline Motel incident with JC? The member's theory truly made sense to me when I read it.

It is Post # 42 in this thread:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?268119-What-Happened-to-Jessica-Chambers
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Not to worry. I'm sure the trial judge will keep things on track, and the defense's heading down the various false lead trails of the investigation will probably not be permitted. There is also the matter of AR being willing to give up custody of Tellis, waiting to stand trial in that state for a serious crime, with those AR authorities noting the Jessica Chambers case has DNA evidence.

I've heard this trial is expected to last two weeks. Seems optimistic to me, but all depends on how much the judge is willing to accept as relevant.

Thanks for that link, DeDee. I did not recall reading that member's theory before, but certainly seems plausible. Auntie Sha-Sha, Jessica's confidant and neighbor across the street, comes across in videos as someone acting very cagey, knowing more than she's willing to share on camera, and choosing her words carefully. I do think Jessica's drive up to Batesville that fateful evening is important. Was there a "party" to which some have alluded? Did "things go too far" if there was one?

That WebSleuths poll, BTW, came down in favor or 3 of more involved in the murder (45%) which agrees with No. 42's theory.

Best,
Clou
 
Panola County is expected to accrue $18,000 in lodging costs alone in Batesville for sequestered jurors and alternates brought in from another county. Trial is expected to last up to 14 days. Hope nobody has to stay at the Skyline Motel...

https://www.panolian.com/2017/08/11/tellis-trial/

Regards,
Inspector Clouseu
 
tonks118 said:
I'm very ready for this trial, it happened 30 mins down the road from me but the trial is happening in another county.
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Rather than inconvenience everybody with a change in venue, the court decided to inconvenience only the jurors, who will be selected in another county and then brought (and kept) in Batesville for the duration of the trial. So you will still be as close to the trial as you are to Courtland-Batesville, and Tellis will have the equivalent of a change in venue by having a presumeably unprejudiced jury from another part of the state.

Regards,
Inspector Clouseau
 
d4j said:
Panola beefs up security for upcoming Tellis murder trial
https://www.panolian.com/2017/08/18/panola-beefs-up-security-for-upcoming-tellis-murder-trial/
August 18, 2017

"Felony charges in Louisiana connected with the death and robbery of an exchange student [Meing-Chen "Mandy" Hsiao] there may prove to be enough to keep Tellis in prison for several years regardless of the outcome of the October 10 trial ...."
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Thanks d4j. Good to see Major Barry Thompson still involved. One other interesting comment from your linked article:

"...the murder victim’s father, Ben Chambers, was an employee of the Panola County Sheriff’s Department. Chambers is no longer employed with the SO..."

What's up with that? :thinking:

Regards,
Inspector Clouseau
 
A few days ago, I gave careful consideration to this immolation. The TL [TimeLine] is critical yet I haven't been able to reconcile it.


JC receives a phone call at home at 5:30PM and goes to a residence at 6PM but first, JC purchases extra gas at M&Ms in the amount of $14 which opposes her usual $5 worth of fuel. At 6:15PM, her car is on cctv in Batesville and her phone is back in Courtland by 6:30PM.

We now know that JCs and QTs phones were tracked from Courtland to Batesville and back to Courtland. Therefore, the two are together from 6PM until 7:26 when QT leaves the crime scene area. According to the TL, the two only stayed in Batesville for a few minutes before heading back to Courtland. QTs phone places him at the scene as late as 7:26PM. However, this fire isn't called into 911 until 8:09PM.

JC spoke to her mother for a brief time. LD says it was between 6:48 - 7:12 although the length of time spent on the phone call has not yet been confirmed by LE. LD claims she heard no noise in the background yet JC was explaining her tardiness. This phone call tells me the gas had not been used and was not inside her car, up to this point, due to spontaneous combustion produced from gas fumes meeting a spark from the cell phone.

JCs phone pings at the scene at 7:31. The DA said QT left the crime scene location at 7:26PM. Where did they go until 8:09PM?
 
Where did they go until 8:09PM?
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Suddenly, I recall Auntie Sha Sha's interview from inside the M&M station. She tells the reporter that "They left the party and that's when it happened."
 
DeDee said:
Suddenly, I recall Auntie Sha Sha's interview from inside the M&M station. She tells the reporter that "They left the party and that's when it happened."
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I think Auntie Sha Sha's got some splainin to do.
Under oath.
 
Just trying to get back into the details of this murder. Although it has been a part of my thoughts for nearly three years now, some things have already begun to fade from memory. The trial is set to start in less than three weeks. Will the prosecution be able to win a conviction, and if so, will the defendant be sentenced to death?

Here is an early (December 29, 2014) Therese Apel article describing the shock, grief, and fear that descended on the towns of Courtland, Pope, and Batesville. Folks began carrying guns for protection:
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2014/12/29/week-3-chambers-investigators-seek-suspects/21005697/

This is a quote from the article, which was written barely three weeks after the murder:
"One integral part of the investigation could be whether there is any DNA evidence to be found. Officials said the state crime lab was still processing some of the information, and was still completing some of the tests, but that they hoped those results would generate some possibilities as well."

So, the big question is, was there DNA evidence found, and was it a match for Quentin Tellis? According to reports at the time that Tellis was being extradited from serving a ten-year sentence at a Parish jail in Louisiana, one of the factors in the decision to allow him to stand trial in Mississippi instead of being charged with another murder in Louisiana was the strength of the case in MS. “It’s [the Louisiana murder] a circumstantial evidence case, and Mississippi I understand has DNA and more physical evidence,” Veteran criminal prosecutor Neil Johnson told FOX13.

We shall see.

Regards,
Clouseau
 
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