She Was Found Handcuffed In A Suitcase, And Her Boyfriend Was Found Guilty Of Killing Her
On December 1, 2022, Jasmine Pace, a 22-year-old from Tennessee, was found handcuffed and stabbed inside a suitcase along a Chattanooga road. The heartbreaking discovery came just days after her family reported her missing.
Jasmine’s on-again-off-again boyfriend, Jason Chen, was put on trial for her alleged murder. He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse after Jasmine’s family pressured authorities to search his home.
On January 13, the trial’s first day, Jasmine’s mother, Catrina Bean, testified regarding her close relationship with her daughter. The mother-daughter pair always stayed in touch, seeing each other or speaking to each other multiple times every day.
That’s why, when Catrina didn’t hear from Jasmine, she panicked. She reportedly confronted Jason and tracked her daughter’s phone to his residence on November 23, 2022.
Then, using a credit card, Jasmine’s family broke into Jason’s apartment and found her identification and credit cards. However, there was no sign of Jason or Jasmine. This is what ultimately pushed the police to investigate him further.
During a search of Jason’s family home, located in Nolensville, authorities learned that Jason had put sticky notes of different sizes and colors on his wall. Some contained details about Jasmine’s past; meanwhile, others chronicled his interactions with Jasmine and a timeline of their relationship.
The notes referred to Jasmine’s childhood as turbulent and alleged that she had a history of running away. According to the notes, she was once homeless and supposedly went to Canada.
A jury was brought in from Nashville because of the publicity surrounding the case. As the trial unfolded, prosecutors and investigators started presenting their evidence.
Authorities reportedly found blood under the carpet in Jason’s residence. Detective Zack Crawford testified the finding was consistent with an individual being put under the bed.
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“The blood of Jasmine Pace was found all over that apartment,” Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp testified.
A “large volume of blood had been cleaned up,” and surveillance footage allegedly captured Jason as he bought cleaning supplies from a Walgreens and drove Jasmine’s vehicle.
The prosecution alleged that Jasmine had been stabbed 60 times. Then, she was placed in a suitcase. Each of her arms was allegedly handcuffed to each of her legs.
On January 14, day two of the trial, Detective Crawford stated that Jason had an injury on his right palm when he was taken into custody. The injury, he claimed, was consistent with knife slippage.
The following day, January 15, crime scene investigator Michelle Johnson detailed how, while searching Jason’s home, she first noticed the coffee table was misaligned. Additionally, there was what she suspected to be blood in every room, along with glass fragments.
Dr. Steven Cogswell, the Hamilton County Medical Examiner, began his testimony on Jasmine’s autopsy report on January 16. He claimed there were multiple bruises and abrasions on Jasmine’s neck, which is usually an indicator of strangulation. But there wasn’t a fractured bone, so he wasn’t able to determine if she had been strangled.
Dr. Cogswell explained the 60 stab wounds to Jasmine’s body, each of which he stated was not immediately fatal.
Jason’s defense reportedly acknowledged that he killed Jasmine. Yet, they argued that the circumstances called for a voluntary manslaughter charge as opposed to first-degree murder.
Josh Weiss, his defense attorney, alleged that Jasmine discovered Jason had been messaging other women and went after him with a wine bottle. Afterward, Jason allegedly stabbed her and blacked out. When he woke up, he found Jasmine unconscious.
Jason was ultimately found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
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