Howard Adrian Ashleman wife, Hannan Jones, helped police to gather the evidence for James Chamber’s murder case after four years of the crime.
James Chambers went missing on August 24, 2015, as reported by his family, who had not heard from him since then.
During the official investigation, it was revealed that James was last seen alive by his roommate, Brandi Surgue.
He even revealed that Chambers left for his Lifeguard job at Lake Leamon with his co-worker, Howard Adrian Ashleman.
When asked about James’s whereabouts, Adrian said he dropped him off at Coral Street and joined neighbors for a barbecue. However, his cellphone records showed he was actually at “Murphy Road” during that time.
Furthermore, when questioned about his truck, Howard claimed to have sold it to a salvage yard. These lies made him the prime suspect, but there wasn’t enough evidence to proceed.
After being free, Ashleman moved to Florida and started college at Hobe Sound Bible. While studying there, he met Hannah Jones, who later became his wife.
Jones eventually gathered evidence proving his guilt in James Chambers’ murder and persuaded him to confess to the police, leading to his arrest.
How did Howard Adrian Ashleman Wife help In solving The Case?
Despite years of investigation, authorities could not pin down Adrian as the culprit.
Having said that, Adrian Ashleman was so guilty of James Chambers’ murder that he became extremely religious and began confessing his heinous deeds to his wife, Hannah Jones, often.
During one of these confessions, Howard Adrian Ashlemans wife recorded his confession and promptly reported it to the police.
Exactly eight days later, Adrian himself confessed his crime. He admitted that he and James always had a strained relationship, and on the day of the murder, a heated argument escalated.
During the argument, Adrian confessed to pulling out his gun with the initial intention of scaring James, but tragically ended up shooting him, causing his immediate death.
Ashleman further disclosed that he first buried Chambers’ body, later burnt it, and finally disposed of it in a waterway, destroying the corpse completely.
Despite ongoing efforts by police and investigators, in collaboration with Ashleman, to locate any trace of Chambers for his family’s sake, no evidence linked to Chambers’s body has been found so far.
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Where is Howard Adrian Ashleman Now?
Following his acceptance of the crime, Ashleman was arrested on February 12, 2018.
He faced charges of first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon when it was discovered that he had also taken $100 from James.
However, he admitted his guilt the following month and received a sentence of at least 15 years and 6 months, up to a maximum of 19 years and 8 months in prison.
Currently, he is serving his sentence at Columbus Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison for males.
For further details on this case, you can watch the Dateline NBC episode titled “The Bridge,” aired on January 21, 2024.
The episode includes interviews with James’s family and investigators, providing additional information about Adrian’s confession.
