Boyfriend indicted in Jessica Chambers case

A Panola County native suspected in another homicide has been indicted in the December 2014 burning death of Courtland teen Jessica Chambers.

Quinton Tellis, 27, originally of Courtland, was indicted on capital murder charges by a special grand jury in Panola County as he sat in the Ouachita Parish Jail in Monroe, La., where he is being held in the August death of a University of Louisiana-Monroe exchange student.

Tellis is believed to have been the last person with Chambers the night she was killed. The two had a relationship in the weeks leading up to her death, officials said.

Chambers and Tellis were eight years apart in age. They grew up in the same neighborhood and had gone to South Panola High School.

Further details of their relationship were not public prior to the Tuesday press conference.

Tellis was living in Monroe with a new wife when Monroe police arrested him in the stabbing death of Meing-Chen Hsiao, 34, of Taiwan. Hsiao had been missing for more than a week when her body was found Aug. 8 in her apartment.

Police said Hsiao's homicide appeared to be very personal.

Tellis has not been charged with her slaying, but according to jail records, he has been charged with three counts of unauthorized use of an access card and one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

The police report says Tellis used a Chase Bank debit card belonging to Hsiao about 11 p.m. Aug. 7. On that transaction, he withdrew $.07. When it was used again Aug. 18, it was allegedly used at 10:35 p.m. for $500 and again at 3:04 a.m. for another $500. Police said he admitted to using the debit card on all three occasions. They added there were ATM surveillance photos of him using the card.

Authorities found a quarter-pound of marijuana in a bedroom of his house, packaged for sale.

Tellis' Facebook page indicates he married his fiancee on or around the day Hsiao's body was found.

MDOC records show he was sentenced to five years in prison in January 2010 for residential burglary. He was released on probation in August 2010, but his probation was subsequently revoked. He was sentenced again in December 2011 for residential burglary.

He was also sentenced to three years in February 2012 for residential burglary. He was released on probation in October 2014 and absconded supervision in August.

In May 2011, he had a case for simple assault and domestic violence-simple dismissed after his accusers failed to appear to prosecute. He had pleaded not guilty to charges of disturbance of a family, records show.

In July 2011, he was referred to the grand jury for burglary and grand larceny.

While he was incarcerated, MDOC records show various violations, including refusing to work, and staff said he made threatening statements toward them in 2014.

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 8:03 PM with the headline "Boyfriend indicted in Jessica Chambers case ."