Family and friends of Jessica Chambers, the 19-year-old Mississippi woman who was set on fire and burned to death, wrote their goodbye messages on her white casket during the teen's wake Friday night. Hundreds attended the wake at Wells Funeral Home in Batesville, less than five miles from where the badly injured Chambers was found Saturday night. She later died in a Memphis hospital.
Friends at Chambers' wake on Friday said her family is devastated and searching for "justice." Investigators are still searching for the person who doused the young woman in lighter fluid before igniting her. "It really hurts the way that Jessica left us," said Curtis Bledsoe, a former classmate of Chambers'. "Her father came in, and he just broke down — he couldn't handle it," Bledsoe said, adding "I just hope they find the person who done it."
Heather Parker, a friend of Chambers', pleaded for anyone who knew anything about the night Chambers was killed to speak with investigators. "Anybody with any type of information on Jessica, come forward please," Parker pleaded. Parker described Chambers as an athletic girl, who enjoyed playing softball and cheerleading. "You could pull up in the driveway and she’d be doing flips in the front yard," said Chambers' friend, Alicia Faulkner, who added that she couldn't believe she was attending a wake for her friend. Bledsoe said that while the community support is encouraging, "it hurts to see everyone coming together" for such a tragic occasion.
Chambers' funeral will be held on Saturday afternoon.
IN-DEPTH
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- Mom of Jessica Chambers, Mississippi Teen Burned to Death, Seeks Killer
- Cops Question Man in Burning Death of Mississippi Teen Jessica Chambers
— Elisha Fieldstadt and Thomas Graning