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Gas station surveillance video shows Jessica Chambers about 90 minutes before first responders found her and her car on fire about a mile away in rural Mississippi. The 19-year-old died of her injuries. VPC
Jessica Chambers was set on fire on Herron Road outside Courtland, Miss., on Dec. 6, 2014.(Photo: Courtesy of Chambers family)
COURTLAND, Miss. — The town of Courtland has 420 residents.
In a town that small, everyone knows everyone. Matter of fact, everyone is practically family.
When Jessica Chambers was found walking down Herron Road on fire, only to die shortly afterwards in the hospital, it sent shock waves through the little town that most people had, up until that point, thought was safe.
Chambers was last seen alive at McCullar's First Stop on Mississippi 51 Saturday night. On Wednesday, the store was still full of people standing around, talking about what might be the next turn in the case.
Michael Eubanks, who has lived in Courtland all his life, said the scary part is that if everyone knows Chambers, that means everyone knows the person or people who did this to her.
"There are no words," he said. "I just wish justice would be done on them."
The community 70 miles south of Memphis is shaken to the core. A store worker said she was trying to sort out how the friendly little blonde who came in and made small talk all the time could actually be gone forever.
Ali Alsanai, the clerk, said he knew Chambers well. He said nothing seemed out of sorts when she came in, and that was what disturbed him the most.
"If something was going on, she would have told me. She would have told me she was having a problem with someone," he said. "But she was smiling, and she left, and that's the last time I saw her."
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When Tonya Flagg walked in, she heard the conversation and immediately smiled sadly and said, "I loved Jessica."
"She was quiet, she was a typical young girl who liked to have fun, but she didn't bother nobody," she said. "There's so much going on around here it's hard to trust some people, but she was a genuine person. She was herself at all times."
Friends of Jessica Chambers, a 19-year-old girl who died after being set on fire, talk about the love they had for their friend. VPC
Up the road in Batesville, Chambers' co-workers at Goody's department store could barely even say her name without tears.
"The store associates are just devastated, they personally are in a place where they can hardly share their words right now," said Goody's Director of Public Relations Bria Lundy. "Our district manager had been at the store trying to talk with everybody and everybody's been really upset."
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Chambers had only worked there a little over a month, Lundy said, but she had already worked her way into the hearts of everyone she came in contact with.
"She was a joy to work with and put a smile on everyone's face every day. Her co-workers in the store and everyone here at Stage Stores was so grateful that she was part of our team," Lundy said. "She will be greatly missed. It's absolutely heartbreaking."
Fire Chief Cole Haley of Courtland, Miss., was among the firefighters who responded to a report of a vehicle fire at around 8 p.m. CT Dec. 6. Therese Apel, USA TODAY
At ground zero, the firefighters and first responders that worked Chambers' call are all dealing with it in their own way, said Courtland Fire Chief Cole Haley. Chambers was found hardly a mile from the department, not far from most of the firefighters' own homes.
"It's a tough one, you know. All of them stick with you, but something like this really hangs in your mind," he said. "I've been checking on all my guys making sure they're all right, and everyone seems to be coping with it, but it's something that will take some time to get over."
The scene Dec. 9, 2014, on Herron Road in Courtland, Miss., where Jessica Chambers' car burned three nights earlier.(Photo: Clay Chandler, The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger)
In the background of the grieving is the ominous feeling that even though the authorities have said the attack was not random, that danger might still be out there. People weren't afraid to speculate about the situation, but few people wanted their name involved. To them, there's no telling what could happen next.
"We're actually more cautious. If we see somebody walking, we're watching them walking by the house, looking to see what they're doing," said Eubanks. "If there's someone walking down the road, we're trying to figure it out."
Therese Apel also reports for The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger.
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