Dateline NBC: Why was Howard Adrian Ashleman a suspect?

The 2014 case of the missing man from Fayetteville, James Chambers, led investigators to his co-worker and killer, Howard Adrian Ashleman, after three years. In 2018, the police got hold of a recording of Howard's confession to killing James Chambers through his girlfriend, Hannah Jones.

The Cinemaholic reported that as per Howard Ashleman's statement, Chambers had allegedly been shot accidentally in his car when he asked Ashleman to accompany him to collect a debt from a person. Howard entered a guilty plea in February 2018 to the charge of second-degree murder and his sentence ranged from 15 years and six months to a maximum of 19 years and eight months, with an additional six-month penalty for delay in his surrender.

A Dateline NBC episode titled The Bridge showcases the 2014 murder case of Chambers. It is scheduled to re-air on January 21, 2024, at 8 pm EST and its synopsis reads:

"North Carolina detectives search for answers in the murder of 28-year-old Fayetteville construction worker James Chambers; featuring interviews with James' family members and investigators at the centre of the case."

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Who is Howard Adrian Ashleman? Details explored

Howard Adrian Ashleman knew James Chambers through Chambers Concrete, where the two worked as construction workers. Per CBS17 News, Ashleman resided at 1300 Block of Main Street in Wade, Cumberland County.

Ashleman and James allegedly shared a tense relationship. However, the victim's father, Pete Chambers, asked Howard to drop his son home on August 15, 2014, as per NBC News. James Chambers' roommate Brandi Sugrue took note of his presence and eventually informed the police that he changed his clothes and fed the dog before he left with James for his job as a lifeguard at Lake Leamon.

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What made Howard Adrian Ashleman the suspect?

Cumberland District Attorney Billy West shared with the Fayetteville Observer that there had been some animosity between the two for unknown reasons and “apparently it had gotten close to violent between the two of them before."

Officials later questioned Howard, who appeared to be "friendly, laid back and cooperative," as per NBC News, and he was eventually let go as the investigators had no evidence to hold him back. He testified to dropping James at his Carol Street home and heading to a neighbor's barbecue in Wade. However, his cellphone records placed him around the area of Murphy Road.

He became a suspect in the case after officers learned that he had sold the pick-up truck he used to transport James to a scrapyard, as per The Cinemaholic.

Meanwhile, James' parents, Pete Chambers and Rachel Wellhouser, hired a private investigator, David Marshburn, who managed to get a confession from Howard's friend Reno Parks. Marshburn also found scraps of Howard's truck with apparent blood splatters in his backyard, according to The Cinemaholic. The DNA test on the blood returned inconclusive.

As per NBC News, Reno Parks told Marshburn that he saw Howard Adrian Ashleman shoot James. Reno said Howard then reportedly dismembered the victim's body and put the remains into three different bags before throwing them off a bridge.

However, Reno refused to speak to the Fayetteville Police Department, which ultimately made them reach out to Hannah Jones. She secretly recorded Ashleman confessing to the murder of James Chambers and handed evidence to the police.

Howard then agreed to confess to his crimes, following which he was arrested on February 12, 2018.

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Howard Adrian Ashleman remains incarcerated at the Columbus Correctional Institution near Brunswick, North Carolina.