GRAND RAPIDS, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — After failing to reach a verdict on Friday afternoon, the jury was ordered to reappear Monday to determine a decision on James Chance.
The 77-year-old Chance is accused of helping his son Jared conceal the murder of Oshtemo-native Ashley Young in 2018. He was facing multiple charges in connection to Young’s death, as prosecutors pressed their case that Chance had misled and lied to police, as well as helped his son shield evidence of the victims dismemberment.
After failing to reach a unanimous decision once again on the afternoon of Monday, January 13th a judge asked jurors to meet during that days closing session to determine Chance’s fate.
Just after 4 P.M. the jury foreperson had announced that they had found Chance guilty of one count of being an accessory after the fact, not guilty on one count of perjury, and did not reach a consensus on the additional count of perjury resulting in a hung jury for that charge.
In December, a judge sentenced Jared Chance to 100 to 200 years in prison for Young’s killing and dismemberment, and he now is serving the rest of his life in prison.
Now after his trial, the elder Chance faces a possible maximum of 5 years in prison for an accessory after the fact conviction, and a mandatory of 0-6 months in jail for that offense. He will remain free until he is sentenced on March 11th.
On Monday, January 6th, Jared’s mother Barbara Chance pleaded no contest to the same charges as her husband. Kent County Circuit Judge Paul J. Denenfeld says he plans to sentence Barbara to no more than one year in Kent County Jail. Her sentencing is scheduled for February 19th, and the fate of her husband could possibly influence how her plea goes forward.
Several people involved in the case were called to testify over the week, including the victim’s mother Kristine Young. While on the stand, Young spoke about what went through her head after realizing her daughter was missing, and how she felt when she found out the Jared Chance was the last person she had been with.
Young said that she recalled personally questioning Chance about her daughters whereabouts, but he claimed that she had been with someone else.
The younger Chance’s downstairs neighbor Mario Nelson, who discovered Young’s remains and called police, also testified during Tuesday court proceedings.
The couples son Konrad Chance testified that his father knew that Jared had committed the murder. He also revealed that his brother confessed to the crime when both were at home together, saying that he was “The most upset I’ve ever seen him.”
Prosecutors called several crime scene investigators to the stand, where they presented the saw believed to have been used to dismember Young’s body, and transcripts of an interrogation police held on James Chance while he was under an investigative subpoena.
They argued during the trial that James lied about the time the family drove between his son’s Franklin Street apartment in Grand Rapids and the couples home in Holland, where they allegedly shepherded body parts and tools used in dismembering Young.
Police reports detail how the inconsistency in the elder Chance’s account of what happened hampered efforts to find the rest of Young’s body parts, of which her head, hands and feet are still missing.
Thursday, January 9th was the last day for continued testimony and evidence presentation. James Chance’s defense asked for Judge Paul Denefeld to throw out the case due to lack of evidence, but he finally ordered it would be best to send all of the charges to be decided by the jury.
On Friday, January 10th, closing arguments were held for the trial by both the defense and prosecution.
Assistant Prosecutor Lawrence Bolvin argued that Chance’s 24 years in law enforcement gave him experience in helping his evade police. At one point Bolvin implied that Chance himself was the one who dispensed Young’s head in a trashcan at his home, which was not supported by evidence presented to the jury.
Defense Attorney Laura Joyce said that prosecuting Chance in the way the case progressed was both “irresponsible” and “unconscionable.” She mentioned in closing arguments that any omissions made by her client were the result of lapsed memory, not deliberate efforts to conceal the truth, and that Chance did bring his son to police initially after Young’s remains were found.
Following afternoon recess the jury was summoned in another room to reach a verdict on the defendant, with the judge setting a deadline by 4 P.M.
After exiting the room and announcing that they had failed to reach a decision, the jurors were summoned back to begin deliberations again Monday morning. Following 10 hours of closed door sessions, the jurors had announced that they could not reach unanimous agreement on all three counts levied against Chance.
Reading their decision to the judge after 4 P.M. on Monday, the jury foreperson announced that they had found James Chance guilty of being an accessory after the fact, but no guilty of perjury. A second count of perjury did not reach consensus either way among the jury, resulting in that charge being hung.
