CHATTANOOGA (Court TV) — A Tennessee man is facing life in prison if convicted in the death of his girlfriend.
Jason Chen is charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse in the 2022 death of 22-year-old Jasmine Pace. Prosecutors allege Chen murdered and dismembered Pace before leaving her remains in a suitcase.
Due to the publicity of the case, a jury was brought in from Nashville.
FILE – Jasmine Pace (Dade County Sheriff’s Office)/Jason Chen (Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office)
Pace’s family reported her missing in Nov. 2022. According to an affidavit, Pace’s parents broke into Chen’s apartment after tracking her location on Nov. 23. Her parents told police they found Pace’s identification and credit cards, but there was no sign of Pace or Chen.
Days later, police executed a search warrant and found blood throughout Chen’s apartment. Crime scene technicians also determined there were attempts to clean the alleged crime scene. An investigator noted “a large volume of blood had been cleaned up” and there signs of a “violent physical altercation.”
The affidavit also references surveillance video that appears to show Chen purchasing cleaning supplies from a Walgreens and driving Pace’s vehicle.
Pace’s body was found Dec. 1 in a suitcase. Her ankles were handcuffed and shackled to her right arm, reported Local 3 News. A medical examiner determined she had been stabbed more than 60 times.
Opening statements are scheduled for Monday, Jan. 13.
