BATESVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Latest on the trial of a man charged with burning to death a Mississippi woman (all times local): 6:40 p.m. An investigator says a man charged with burning a Mississippi woman to death acknowledged that
BATESVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Latest on the trial of a man charged with burning to death a Mississippi woman (all times local):
6:40 p.m.
An investigator says a man charged with burning a Mississippi woman to death acknowledged that he was with her on the evening she was set on fire after repeatedly denying it.
Mississippi Bureau of Investigation agent Tim Douglas testified Friday in the trial of Quinton Tellis, who has pleaded not guilty to capital murder in the death of 19-year-old Jessica Chambers.
Prosecutors say Tellis thought he suffocated Chambers during sex in her car, and then used gasoline to set her and the vehicle ablaze along a road in Courtland, Mississippi, on Dec. 6, 2014. She died at a hospital.
Douglas says Tellis was interviewed twice and Tellis said he only seen her that morning. Douglas interviewed Tellis three more times, and Douglas said he finally acknowledged that he was with Chambers in the hours before firefighters found her severely burned next to her torched car.
———
12:25 p.m.
A forensic analyst says he discovered gasoline on a piece of clothing found at the scene where a Mississippi woman was fatally burned, but other items submitted for testing did not have the ignitable liquid on them.
Matthew Simon, an explosives and fire debris expert with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, testified Friday in the trial of Quinton Tellis. Tellis is charged with capital murder in the 2014 death of 19-year-old Jessica Chambers.
Simon says he tested a piece of clothing and debris from Chambers’ car, and both had gas on them. However, other items taken from the scene, including burned hair and a blanket used by firefighters wrap Chambers did not have an ignitable liquid on them.
———
3:22 a.m.
A man charged with burning to death a Mississippi woman told an FBI agent he was miles away buying a debit card when she was set on fire.
The agent, Dustin Blount, testified Thursday in the trial of Quinton Tellis in Batesville, Mississippi. Tellis has pleaded not guilty to killing 19-year-old Jessica Chambers in December 2014.
Prosecutors say Tellis thought he suffocated Chambers during sex in her car, and then used gasoline to set her and the vehicle ablaze along a road in Courtland.
Blount said Tellis told him during an interview that he was returning to his Courtland home from buying the card in Batesville when he saw vehicles with emergency lights. He also said Tellis acknowledged having sex with Chambers once, but he didn’t mention an exact date.
