Mississippi Woman Burned: Murder Trial Beginning

BATESVILLE, MS — Jessica Chambers was found ablaze next to her burning car on a back road in Courtland, Mississippi, three years ago and the 19-year-old later died at a hospital. On Tuesday, opening statements were set to begin for Quinton Tellis, 29, in Batesville, Mississippi, who has pleaded not guilty to murdering her.

The trial jury was selected in Pike County due to a bevy of publicity leading up to the trial in Panola County. The jury was being moved north to Batesville and will be sequestered for the duration of the trial.

Relatives said Chambers was friendly and outgoing. She was a cheerleader and softball player at South Panola High School. (For more information on Tellis' murder trial and other Across Mississippi stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

She suffered burns to 98 percent of her body. Chambers said something to firefighters when she was found, state prosecutors have said, but they have not revealed her words. Chambers and Tellis knew each other, District Attorney John Champion said.

Tellis could be sentenced to life in prison without parole if convicted. About 20,000 telephone numbers were analyzed as part of the investigation. About 40 people are listed in court documents as potential witnesses in the trial, including representatives from two cellphone companies.

Tellis also stands accused in the Louisiana torture death of Meing-Chen Hsiao, a 34-year-old Taiwanese graduate student at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

An indictment alleges that Tellis probably stabbed Hsiao more than 30 times in her face and body with a knife to get her to reveal her debit card's PIN number before killing her July 29, 2015. He was extradited to Mississippi from Louisiana in June after pleading guilty to fraudulent use of Hsiao's card.

No trial date has been set in the Louisiana case.

Photo credit: Monroe Police Department via AP