Jessica Chambers' father: 'We're near the end'

Therese Apel | The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger

JACKSON, Miss. — Ben Chambers said it will be a bittersweet moment when his daughter's killer is put behind bars.

Jessica Chambers, 19, was burned alive on a rural road in Courtland in December 2014. Since then, authorities have followed hundreds of leads, trying to track down the person or people who could have committed the horrific crime.

Ben Chambers said a conversation he had with Panola County Investigator Barry Thompson has given him new hope.

"I talked to the lead detective last Thursday, and he told me — he's never lied to me before — he said, 'I'm promise you I'm going to get them, Ben,'" Chambers said.

At this point, Chambers said, he's got a good feeling about the case, and after eight grueling months, he's ready to see justice done.

"I believe it’s going to be who we thought it was from the front. I really believe it," Chambers said, adding that he thinks it's going to come down to a situation where Jessica "beat" someone over $500.

Surveillance footage of Jessica Chambers Jessica Chambers exits her black vehicle at a gas station Dec. 6, 2014, in Courtland, Miss. The footage is about 90 minutes before first responders found Chambers and her car on fire about a mile from the gas station.

When asked to elaborate on the situation, Chambers simply said, "I believe it's all going to boil down to that."

Panola County Sheriff Dennis Darby wouldn't confirm what Chambers said.

"We're still exploring leads, and there are a lot of leads to look into," he said. "When you've got possibilities, you've still got to be able to prove it."

Authorities are still looking for what they say is one missing piece. The investigation has taken them out of the county and even out of the state. Some investigators have traveled thousands of miles to try to put the pieces of what happened on Herron Road together.

Even a $53,000 reward has not brought the killer out of the woodwork yet.

Chambers said he also thinks that the person or people who killed his daughter were no strangers to such violent acts.

"These people right here, I believe in my heart they've done this before and I believe they'll do it again if they're not off the street," he said. "I think they're thinking, 'We got by with it and nobody caught us, we'll do it again.'"

It could be three or four months before an arrest, Chambers said. But after waiting eight months already, he can wait.

"I’m just as tickled as I can be as far as knowing we’re near the end," he said.