Naman Shrestha
In the cold December of 2014, Jessica Chambers was found ablaze in her car as she was burned to death, sending the community in utter shock and horror. Over the next three years, the investigators worked hard on the case and finally, their determination brought results. They closed in on their primary suspect, Quinton Tellis, who was later taken to trial. In the court, the relationship between Jessica and Quinton is explored for the jury to come to a decision. In ‘Jessica Chambers: An ID Murder Mystery,’ we get a detailed glimpse into the tragic case and the investigation that followed.
Who is Quinton Tellis?
Born on October 6, 1988, Quinton Tellis is believed to have not just known the late 19-year-old Jessica Chambers, but also been with her the night she was killed, that is, December 6, 2014. Given the circumstantial evidence, Quinton was indicted for the same in February 2016, after more than a year or so. At the time, he was facing another murder charge in Monroe, Louisiana, in relation to the 2015 murder of Ming-Chen Hsiao, who was stabbed to death more than 30 times.
In May 2016, Quinton pleaded guilty to one count of unauthorized use of an access (debit) card belonging to Hsiao and taking out at least $1,000 from her account. Later, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his crimes as a habitual offender for the same along with another charge involving the possession of a dangerous substance, and moved to Mississippi. Back to the charges he faced for the murder of Jessica Chambers, his first trial commenced in October 2017, where the defense claimed that during her final moments, Jessica pointed to someone other than Quinton, a claim that was later solidified by first responders who said that she blamed an “Eric” for setting her on fire.
The defense further claimed, “‘Eric set me on fire.’ She didn’t say any other name, she didn’t mention any other person. She said ‘Eric did this to me.’…She didn’t know the person’s last name. She knew Quinton. Quinton Tellis is his name.'” The prosecutors put forward the fact that Quinton deleted all the texts and calls that he shared with Jessica, right after the latter’s demise. Maintaining his innocence, he defended himself by claiming that he did so because he did not want to have a dead person’s information in his phone. Another crucial claim was made by an intelligence analyst who analyzed that Jessica and Quinton were at the same location, just before the murder, or even maybe.
Unfortunately, for the prosecutors, the trial ended in a mistrial after there was some confusion surrounding the jury instructions. While it was instructed that a guilty verdict had to be unanimous, nothing direct was told about a not guilty verdict. Thus, it looked like the jury couldn’t unanimously decide whether or not Quinton was guilty, which automatically made him not guilty. A year later, in October 2018, the accused Quinton Tellis was brought in front of the court for the second time. This time around, the prosecutors took the help of two expert witnesses who testified that the extent of Chambers’ condition was so severe that anything she said at the time was likely to be unclear or inaudible. However, the result was not much different from the previous trial as the jury remained indecisive and could not reach a final verdict.
Quinton Tellis Remains Behind Bars Today
With both the trials for Jessica Chamber’s murder case having ended in a hung jury, Quinton Tellis returned to Louisiana. In 2019, he was reportedly in the custody of the Ouachita Correctional Center in Monroe. Since justice hasn’t been served for Jessica Chambers, it is still a possibility that the prosecutors might try for a third trial. As of now, Quinton is serving a five-year burglary sentence in the Dorm B of the Marshall County Correctional Facility. He is tentatively scheduled to be released from prison in October 2027.
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