Ashley Young Murder: Chance Conviction, Appeals, Missing Remains

The Ashley Young murder case ended with Jared James Chance sentenced to 100 to 200 years in a Michigan prison for killing the 31-year-old Kalamazoo woman in late November 2018, dismembering her body, and enlisting his parents in an attempt to cover it up. Significant portions of Young’s remains, including her head, hands, and feet, have never been recovered.

The Night Ashley Young Disappeared

Ashley Young lived in Kalamazoo. On the evening of November 28, 2018, she went out in the Eastown neighborhood of Grand Rapids with Jared Chance, an acquaintance. Surveillance video from Mulligan’s Pub captured the two together in the early morning hours of November 29, and they also visited a nearby hookah lounge.¹

She was never seen alive again. Her mother, Kristine Young, grew worried when she could not reach her daughter by phone or text, something she described as unusual. Kristine reported Ashley missing on November 29 and drove to Grand Rapids to confront Chance, who told her he and Ashley had been out at bars the night before.¹

The Body in the Basement

On December 2, 2018, Mario Nelson, the downstairs tenant in the duplex Chance rented on the 900 block of Franklin Street SE in Grand Rapids, went looking for the source of a worsening smell. In the normally locked basement he found a tarp with what appeared to be blood leaking from it. He and his girlfriend called 911.²

Officers found Young’s torso wrapped in the tarp. More body parts were in a cardboard box on the stairwell landing of Chance’s upstairs apartment, in a box carrying a shipping label with Chance’s name and address.³ Forensic testing confirmed on December 7 that the remains were Ashley Young’s.¹

The autopsy determined the dismemberment happened after death. Both arms, both legs, and the head had been severed. Because the head was never recovered, the medical examiner could not identify an exact cause of death and ruled it a “homicide by unspecified means,” while confirming Young did not die of an overdose or natural causes.³ Investigators recovered several .22-caliber shell casings near the body, and witnesses had seen Chance with a .22-caliber revolver.⁴ A forensic pathologist later testified the cause could have been blunt force trauma or a gunshot wound.⁵

How Investigators Built the Case Against Jared Chance

Inside Chance’s apartment, police found blood and human tissue in the kitchen, bathroom, and sink. Surveillance footage from a nearby party store showed Chance buying ammonia and trash bags around the time of Young’s disappearance and later dumping bags in a trash can.⁵

On December 5, a search of the home of Chance’s parents, James and Barbara Chance, in Holland, Michigan, produced a Skil reciprocating saw hidden under a couch. The saw held traces of blood and human tissue, and the autopsy identified it as the tool used in the dismemberment.³ Investigators also recovered human blood and tissue from a Honda belonging to the Chance family that had been used to move boxes from Jared’s apartment.⁴

The Kent County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against Chance on January 2, 2019: open murder, tampering with evidence, mutilation of a dead body, and concealing the death of a person.⁶

Trial Testimony

The trial began in September 2019 in Kent Circuit Court before Judge Mark Trusock. Three witnesses stood out.

Mario Nelson, the downstairs neighbor, testified that Chance had previously bragged about knowing how to “get away with killing someone,” including how to get rid of blood and fingerprints. Nelson had seen Chance with what appeared to be a small-caliber handgun. In the days after Young’s disappearance, Chance asked Nelson for help getting into Young’s car, a vehicle Nelson never saw again, and later texted Nelson telling him to say he hadn’t seen Chance.²

Demetreis Taylor, a friend of Chance’s, testified that Chance tried to recruit him into a cover story. Chance wanted Taylor to tell Kristine Young that Ashley had come to Taylor’s home, used his phone, and left. Taylor refused because the story placed him in Kalamazoo, when he actually lived in Grand Rapids. After Taylor told Kristine he had never seen Ashley, Chance sent him angry texts, including demands to delete the messages.⁷

Chance’s brother, Konrad Chance, told the jury that on an earlier occasion, when he, Jared, and Ashley Young were together, Jared pulled out a Smith & Wesson .22-caliber revolver, pointed it at Konrad’s head, and pulled the trigger multiple times. Konrad believed his brother was acting “playfully.” Ashley Young told Jared, “You’re never supposed to do that.”⁸

Conviction and a 100-to-200-Year Sentence

In mid-September 2019, the jury convicted Chance on all six counts: second-degree murder, three counts of tampering with evidence, disinterment and mutilation of a body, and concealing the death of an individual. The defense had asked for jury instructions on voluntary and involuntary manslaughter, but the trial court refused, and the appeals court later found no rational basis in the evidence for such an instruction.⁵

Chance was sentenced as a fourth-offense habitual offender, based on 38 prior interactions with law enforcement between 2006 and 2016 that included arrests for intoxication, assaulting police, and domestic disturbances.⁹ The habitual offender status pushed his sentencing range to a minimum of 26 to 87 years.¹⁰

On October 10, 2019, Judge Trusock went well beyond those guidelines and imposed 100 to 200 years, which would leave Chance ineligible for parole until age 130. From the bench, Trusock told him: “You sir in my mind are a very evil individual. You are clearly a monster without any conscience whatsoever and you are someone who is a danger to society and should never be allowed free.”¹¹

Kristine Young held up a box containing her daughter’s partial remains during her victim impact statement and told Chance: “This is what’s left of my daughter. If I want a hug I have to hug a box and close my eyes and pretend that she is hugging me back. Because you chose to murder her. Because you chose to dismember her.”¹¹

Chance’s Parents and Their Sentences

Court documents alleged that on December 1, 2018, the day before Nelson found the body, Jared Chance told his parents he had dismembered Young and hidden her remains.⁶ Instead of calling police, James and Barbara Chance drove to their son’s apartment and helped move boxes and items back to their home in Holland, stopping along the way to retrieve a box from Young’s abandoned vehicle.¹²

Both parents were charged with perjury and accessory after the fact. James Chance’s attorney said James had driven his son to a Grand Rapids police station and tried to turn him in, but investigators disputed that account and characterized the visit as a “ruse to buy time” so Jared could have an attorney present.¹³

In June 2020, James Chance, then 78, was acquitted of perjury but convicted of accessory after the fact. He received one month in jail, one year of probation, and 11 months of house arrest with electronic monitoring. Authorities said he had “intentionally omitted details” about locations the family visited while Young’s remains were in their car.¹³ Barbara Chance pleaded guilty to both accessory after the fact and perjury and was sentenced to 45 days in jail.¹⁴

Kristine Young said publicly that her family had “lost faith in the legal system” after the parents’ light sentences, and noted that their cover-up had directly hindered the search for her daughter’s missing remains.¹⁵

Appeals

Chance appealed on two grounds: that the trial court erred by refusing to instruct the jury on involuntary manslaughter, and that his sentence exceeded the recommended guidelines of 22.5 to 75 years for second-degree murder. In January 2021, a three-judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected both arguments and affirmed the conviction and sentence in full.¹⁶

On November 2, 2021, the Michigan Supreme Court declined to hear the case, stating it was “not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court.” That ended Chance’s legal options.¹⁷

The Missing Remains

Ashley Young’s head, hands, and feet were never found at Chance’s apartment or at his parents’ home, and Chance has refused to reveal their location. Before trial, he rejected a plea deal that would have required him to disclose where the remains were.¹⁸

Kristine Young and her partner, Dana Nelson, hold annual memorials on November 29 with public gatherings and balloon releases. The family established the Ashley Young Memorial Account at Lake Michigan Credit Union to collect donations toward a reward for information leading to the recovery of her remains. If the search effort eventually ends, the family plans to redirect the funds into a scholarship for Grand Haven High School students pursuing careers in the fine arts.¹⁹

Kristine has repeatedly asked anyone who spots something suspicious while hiking or on the water to investigate and report it. As of reporting in late 2020, Ashley Young remained classified as a missing person because parts of her body were still unrecovered.²⁰

1
MLive. Allegations of Murder, Mutilation and Cover-Up: Timeline in Ashley Young’s Slaying
2
WWMT. Neighbor Testifies That Jared Chance Bragged of Knowing How to Get Away With Murder
3
WOOD TV. Docs: Saw Used in Dismemberment Found in Parents’ Home
4
WWMT. Probable Cause Documents Detail Mutilation, Murder Charges
5
Michigan Court of Appeals. People v. Chance, Case Nos. 19-000455-FC; 19-000456-FH
6
The Wichita Eagle. Michigan Man Charged With Murder of Missing Woman After Body Parts Found
7
WWMT. Jared Chance’s Trial Enters Day 3
8
WWMT. Brother of Jared Chance Testifies During Murder Trial
9
Holland Sentinel. Troubled Past: Police Reports Show
10
WWMT. Jared Chance Returns to Court for Sentencing
11
Mid-Michigan NOW. Chance Sentenced to 100 to 200 Years for Second-Degree Murder
12
Fox 17. Docs: Evidence of Cover-Up Found at Jared Chance’s Parents’ Home
13
Holland Sentinel. Jared Chance’s Parents Get Jail Time in Ashley Young Case
14
Wood Radio. Convicted Killer’s Parents Sentenced to Jail Time in Ashley Young Case
15
Fox 17. Parents of Convicted Murderer Sentenced to Just Weeks in Jail
16
Holland Sentinel. Appeals Court Upholds Jared Chance Murder Conviction
17
Holland Sentinel. High Court Won’t Hear Chance Murder Appeal
18
MLive. Ashley Young’s Family Raising Reward to Help Find Missing Remains
19
Holland Sentinel. Ashley Young’s Family Seeks Closure Three Years After Murder
20
WWMT. Family Continues Search for Ashley Young’s Remains Two Years After She Went Missing