James Chambers' murder - 4 details explored

The 2014 James Chambers murder has been a decade-long case of manhunts as his remains are yet to be found. Chambers was allegedly on his way to his job as a lifeguard at Lake Leamon when he was fatally shot by his co-worker who had offered him a ride.

The two reportedly shared bad blood and had gotten into an argument on the way. The officials from the Fayetteville Police Department struggled to find evidence for three years until they were handed a recorded confession of the crime by Howard's girlfriend, Hannah Jones.

Howard is presently serving his sentence at the Columbus Correctional Institution near Brunswick, North Carolina.

The Dateline NBC episode The Bridge showcases the 2014 murder case of Chambers as it airs on January 21, 2024, at 8 pm EST.

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Fatally shot and 3 other details of James Chambers' murder

1) James Chambers was fatally shot in the middle of an argument

James Chambers was allegedly on his way to his job as a lifeguard at Lake Leamon with Howard Adrian Ashleman, per Fayetteville Observer, when he was killed.

The two had gotten into a heated argument which prompted Ashleman to bring out his gun to intimidate Chambers but led to him accidentally pulling the trigger.

He then burnt James' body in the woods behind his home in the Wade area of Cumberland County and buried it thereafter. However, as the investigations narrowed down to him, he dug up the corpse, dismembered it, packed the pieces into three garbage bags and dumped them into a rural waterway leading to Cape Fear River.

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2) Howard Adrian Ashleman allegedly stole James' pay from him

According to Pete Chambers, James had stopped by to cash his check and visited an ABC store on August 15. Pete had asked Howard Adrian Ashleman to drop James home earlier the same day. However, not only did Howard shoot him, he stole James' $100 leading to charges of robbery with a dangerous weapon.

Ashleman later visited a marijuana dealer and told him that the money belonged to a dead person, per Fayetteville Observer. The investigators later found the dealer and learnt of the exchange which confirmed their suspicion of Howard.

3) Ashleman's wife, Hannah Jones, presented the police with his recorded confession

Howard Adrian Ashleman was the last person James Chambers was spotted with on August 15. Even though Howard was questioned about his whereabouts, he was let free as the Fayetteville Police Department failed to gather evidence against him.

Howard Ashleman moved to Florida and enrolled at the Hobe Sound Bible College where he met his future wife, Hannah Jones. The police got in touch with Jones and informed her of Ashleman's status as a murder suspect.

Hannah confronted Howard with the murder of James Chambers and recorded the confession. While the police were armed with the recording, Howard decided to confess to his crimes himself and was scheduled to surrender at Fayetteville.

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4) James Chambers's remains still not found

While Howard Ashleman has been convicted of the second-degree murder of James Chambers, his remains remain at large.

Ashleman had entered a plea agreement with the State wherein he had promised to lead the detectives to Chambers' remains.

The detectives could narrow the search down to Keener Road Bridge with Ashleman's help but Chambers is considered missing to date.