FBI joins probe into death of Mississippi woman burned alive

By Therese Apel JACKSON, Miss. (Reuters) - Federal investigators have joined local and state authorities to probe the death of a 19-year-old woman burned alive, a county sheriff said on Tuesday, in a case that has stymied police and horrified residents of a small Mississippi town. Jessica Chambers was discovered on Dec. 6 on fire and walking away from her burning car outside the town of Courtland in northern Mississippi. Her whole body, save for the soles of her feet, were burned, and she later died of her injuries. More than a week later, authorities have not identified a suspect or person of interest in Chambers' death and have made no arrests. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are all involved in the investigation, said Panola County Sheriff Dennis Darby, whose office remains in charge of the case. "We’ve interviewed numerous, numerous people," said Darby. "Some we will reinterview." Courtland Fire Chief Cole Haley said Chambers made a dying statement to him, but he would not disclose what she said. Her sister told Reuters last week that Chambers had identified her killer before dying, but the sister has since declined further comment. The unsolved killing put the town of fewer than 500 people on edge, said Courtland resident Michael Eubanks. "It’s scary," he said. "You don’t know who it was, and it could happen to anybody else." Panola County District Attorney John Champion said there had been an unusual lack of street chatter about Chambers' death, but autopsy results and tests from the state crime lab expected later this week could help open up more leads. "I’ve been in a lot of murder investigations," he said. "This is one of the more bizarre that I’ve dealt with." (Editing by Jonathan Kaminsky and Eric Walsh)