BATESVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – 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.
Quinton Tellis is seen watching the proceedings during a field trip to visit locations in Courtland that prosecutors consider key to the case Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017, in Batesville, Miss. Tellis is charged with burning 19-year-old Jessica Chambers to death almost three years ago and has pleaded not guilty to the murder. (Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal via AP, Pool)
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.
Quinton Tellis, center, stands with his defense attorneys Darla Palmer, left, and Alton Peterson, right, near the remains of Jessica Chambers car Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017, in Batesville, Miss. Tellis is charged with burning 19-year-old Jessica Chambers to death almost three years ago and has pleaded not guilty to the murder. (Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal via AP, Pool)
Major Barry Thompson, Panola County Sheriff’s Department, far left, stands near the spot Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017, in Batesville, Miss., where Jessica Chambers was burned alive in her car. Quinton Tellis is charged with burning 19-year-old Chambers to death almost three years ago and has pleaded not guilty to the murder. (Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal via AP, Pool)
Major Barry Thompson, Panola County Sheriff’s Department, center, stands near the remains of Jessica Chambers car in an impound lot behind the Panola County Sheriff’s Department Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017, in Batesville, Miss. Quinton Tellis is charged with burning 19-year-old Jessica Chambers to death almost three years ago and has pleaded not guilty to the murder. (Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal via AP, Pool)
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