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The Bridge from NBC's Dateline is a prominent episode that investigates the 2014 disappearance and murder of 28-year-old James Chambers in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Howard Ashleman, the convicted killer of his co-worker, James Chambers, used many online names.
The one that stood out was Homicide Howie. His boss, Pete, had no idea about this dark nickname when he asked Ashleman to drive his son James home from work in Fayetteville on a hot day in August 2014. Ashleman kept avoiding the truth for a long time. He misled investigators and refused to give clear answers.
Years passed before the real story of what happened to James finally came out that day. In the end, the truth was uncovered and Ashleman was sent to prison for the crime. After watching this episode, many viewers criticised and said:
"Seriously, I'd rather watch Nancy Grace .........of 1000 suns. She's been doing this for far too long to be this abhorrently bad at being the host; she asks the most painfully obvious things, using ............. talking to LEOs like they're the dumbest people on the planet, and making ..........observations seem clandestine and intricate."
The episode first aired on NBC on October 1, 2021. Moreover, a two-hour updated recap aired on NBC in January 2024. The episode was re-aired as part of the show's season 8 on October 6, 2024.
Continue reading more on the complete story of the James Chambers murder case in Dateline: The Bridge.
James Chambers vanished on Dateline
In 'The Bridge' episode of Dateline, viewers saw James disappear on an afternoon after he got his payment from a regular construction job. He went to his job with his father. With that payment, he and his father planned to head to the lake that night for his part-time gig.
Pete remembered asking Ashleman, who was only 21 and known for being hardworking and respectful, to drive James home after their shift ended that day. In this episode, Pete said:
"I said, ‘Alright, Howard, do you mind taking James home?’ He said, ‘No, I don’t have a problem."
It was the last time Pete spoke to his son. James never showed up at the lake that weekend and he did not go back to his job on Monday. His mother grew worried. She sent James the family safety word, Marco. It was their method of saying that he needed to respond right away.
This time, there was no reply. Wellhouser remembered and shared on this Dateline episode:
"I was screaming inside. Five minutes. 10 minutes. An hour goes away. James has always immediately responded to anything."
Days went by with no word from James. Pete decided to contact the Fayetteville Police Department. Detective Mike Ballard felt uneasy about the case right from the beginning. The detective said:
"It was just like he fell off the face of the earth. Based on my experience, we weren’t going to find Mr. Chambers alive."
Who killed James Chamber in Dateline?
James was murdered by Howard Ashleman. Howard shot him through the back of his truck after a heated argument. Later, Howard tried to burn the body and then dismember it. He threw the remains into a creek from a bridge. The body has never been recovered.
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