GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A Kent County judge will allow gruesome photos of the victim’s mutilated body to be used as evidence during the upcoming murder trial for Jared Chance.
Chance, 29, appeared in court Friday, Aug. 16, for a brief hearing in which his counsel argued that the photos of Ashley Young’s body don’t have evidentiary value and would only be used to sway the jury against the defendant.
The prosecution rebutted the claim and said the photos illustrate just how much work Chance went through in an effort to hide Young’s slaying.
“It’s not a pretty picture at all, but it’s an absolutely critical photo for the trier of fact to see," said Assistant Kent County Prosecutor Lawrence Boivin. “Until you actually see what dismemberment is, you can’t comprehend what this individual did to Ms. Young and nobody in their right mind would have done that to another human unless they were the one who caused that person’s death.”
Kent County Circuit Judge Mark Trusock sided with the prosecution and will allow five of the more than 150 photos to be used as evidence in the trial, which is slated to begin Sept. 9.
“The issue is if there’s unfair prejudice and I don’t believe there is,” Trusock said.
Chance is charged with open murder, mutilation of a body, concealing a death and three counts of tampering with evidence. He’s accused of killing Young, 31, of Kalamazoo, on Nov. 29.
The two knew each other for years and were at a local bar and hookah lounge together the night before her disappearance. Investigators think Chance shot Young in the head before dismembering her body.
Young’s torso was found Dec. 2 in the basement of Chance’s rental home in the 900 block of Franklin Street SE. Other body parts were found on the landing of his upper apartment, and her head and neck have not been located.
A forensic pathologist, David Start, said an examination of the torso, along with information from investigators, led to his conclusion that the case is a homicide, with the cause by unspecified means.
On Friday, Boivin said police found more than 450 22-caliber bullets, including two spent casings, in a furnace in the building where Chance lived. The prosecutor said the defendant “got rid of his 22-caliber revolver" -- the gun that two witnesses testified seeing Chance handle previously during his preliminary hearing in district court.
Defense Attorney Andrew Rodenhouse said whether or not Chance had a revolver was not relevant because there is no evidence to suggest Young was shot.
Motions were also filed related to the testimony of two witnesses -- Chance’s brother, Conrad, and Mario Nelson, who reported the bloody tarp in the basement of their shared duplex. Both are expected to testify about incidents in which Conrad was observed handling his revolver.
“I don’t have to prove how he killed her,” Boivin said. “Just that he did, but this is evidence that he was reckless in his use of firearms ... This suggests to a jury the manner of Ashley Young’s death.”
Rodenhouse claimed the evidence wouldn’t be drawn for proper use, but Trusock sided with the prosecution again. The judge said the testimonies would be fair to use because they dealt with “proof of motive, intent, preparation, scheme, plan or system of doing an act.”
Lastly, Trusock granted Rodenhouse the opportunity to adjust his witness list up until a week before the Sept. 9 trial, given that new information was recently obtained by the defense. Boivin didn’t object.
Chance’s parents, James and Barbara Chance, are charged with perjury under a prosecutor’s investigative subpoena and accessory after the fact. Police say the couple knew their son “cut Ashley Young’s body into multiple pieces” but did not disclose the information during questioning.
James Chance is a retired Rock Island, Illinois police sergeant.
