GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Testimony begins today in the trial of Jared Chance, who is accused of murdering and dismembering Ashley Young at his Grand Rapids apartment late last year.
Chance, 30, faces charges of second-degree murder, mutilation of a dead body, concealing a death and three counts of tampering with evidence.
On Monday, he rejected a proposed plea agreement that would have required him to plead to all the charges against him and provide a full confession in exchange for a lighter sentencing recommendation.
Prosecutors have laid out some of the evidence they have against Chance, including cellphone records that they show Young and him together just before she died, her blood and DNA evidence on a reciprocating saw found in his parents’ home and gruesome photos of her partial remains in the basement of the house where he was renting a room.
Despite the huge stack of evidence, prosecutors are pursuing a conviction for second-degree murder rather than first-degree, which would require them to prove premeditation. That’s because Young’s head, hands and feet haven’t been found so they can’t say exactly how she died, though they think she may have been shot.
Young, 31, of Oshtemo Township, was last seen alive in the early hours of Nov. 29, 2018. A few days later, Chance’s neighbor found part of her body in the basement. Chance was arrested.
Prosecutors say the neighbor will also testify that Chance tried to get him to lie about Young’s whereabouts and that Chance had previously bragged he knew how to cover up a killing.
The trial has been booked into early next week, though it could conclude before that. The jury includes 11 women and three men. Two of those people will be dismissed before deliberations begin.
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