Police have suspect in slaying of Ala. woman

Name being withheld until forensic tests on evidence complete
By Don Jacobs (Contact), Matt Lakin (Contact)
Wednesday, October 1, 2008





Family photos of Jennifer Hampton

Knoxville police say they have a suspect but haven't finished building the case against him in the killing of Jennifer Lee Hampton, the missing Alabama woman found dead over the weekend.

Police wouldn't give that suspect's name Tuesday, saying only that he's in jail on "unrelated" charges with no bond.

"We are currently awaiting the results of forensic tests being performed on evidence that was recovered during the investigation," Knoxville Police Department spokesman Darrell DeBusk wrote in a press release. "Charges in the death of Ms. Hampton will be forthcoming."

Hampton, a 21-year-old native of Waterloo, Ala., disappeared Sept. 19 from her West Knoxville motel room. A fisherman found the former homecoming queen's nude body Saturday floating in Melton Hill Lake, just across the Anderson County line and fewer than 10 miles from the Days Inn on Lovell Road where friends last saw her.

Authorities have held two men on forgery charges since the day the search for Hampton began. KPD Investigator Steve Still said Rogelio Melchor, 38, and Valentino Miranda, 19, worked at the motel and showed phony Social Security cards when asked for identification.

Police say both men admitted to being illegal immigrants. They have been jailed since Sept. 20 with bond set at $10,000, but the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency put a hold on them. That means neither man can leave jail, even with bail money.

Melchor and Miranda lived at the motel, and police searched their room.

Authorities identified Hampton's body on Monday, two days after its discovery in the lake, but haven't said how she died.

Her family's lawyer, Eddie Daniel, said her parents can't thank Still, the other KPD officers or the Knox County medical examiner enough for their work.

"We look forward to this case being brought to justice," Daniel said.

DeBusk wouldn't say whether investigators have found Hampton's clothes or whether video from security cameras at nearby businesses offered any clues.

"We don't want to go into any evidence right now," he said. "There have been various personal items found, but we don't want to go into details."

Hampton left her cell phone behind, which friends said she always kept with her. Police won't say what her phone records show.

Hampton, who planned to start nursing school, had come to Knoxville to help train new workers for the opening of Mama Blue's Buffet. A friend last saw her the night of Sept. 19 heading into her motel room, and her mother talked to her on the phone around 11:30 p.m.

Hampton's co-workers reported her missing the next day, and investigators found the room in "disarray." Police searched the surrounding area for more than a week - using helicopters, dogs and officers marching shoulder-to-shoulder - before her body turned up in the lake Saturday morning.

Hampton's family plan to bury her later this week in a private service in Florence, Ala.

Memorial donations may be made to the Jennifer Hampton Memorial Fund at SunTrust Bank or at Cokesbury United Methodist Church. The family plans to use that money for travel expenses to attend any trials or hearings in the case.

Checks may be sent to the Jennifer Hampton Memorial Fund, Cokesbury United Methodist Church, 9919 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37922.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/oct/0 ... er-hampton