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Mutilation, murder suspect expected in court; parents ordered to trial in cover-up

Posted at 5:01 AM, Jan 11, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-11 05:01:29-05

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- A suspect accused of murdering and mutilating a woman and then trying to cover up the crime is expected in court, just one day after his parents were ordered to stand trial, accused of lying to police.

Jared Chance, 29, is accused of murdering missing Kalamazoo County woman Ashley Young, after she disappeared last year, last seen at a bar in Eastown.

Neighbors led police to pieces of her body in his Grand Rapids apartment in December of 2018 after noticing a strange smell, but it took investigators a long time to identify her, since she was dismembered.

The investigation has turned into a family affair, as Jared's parents James and Barbara Chance are charged with lying to police in the case.

Thursday's preliminary hearing for James and Barbara revealed gruesome new evidence authorities have against them, such as surveillance video that shows them at Costco with Jared, purchasing items that appeared to look like a mop and a bucket.

A Grand Rapids police detective also testified that Young's purse was found in the dumpster behind a party store, where he was also seen on surveillance video purchasing ammonia believed to be used to cover up the crime.

Inside Chance's apartment on Franklin Street in Grand Rapids, police found numerous used medical gloves in the garbage and blood at the home. They also say they found a mop and sponge outside his apartment, which tested positive for human blood.

Detectives also found a saw with human blood on it at James and Barbara's home in Holland They are charged with lying to police and as accessories in Young's death.

The court also heard from Jared Chance's brother Conrad. He said he remembered going with his parents on December 1 to pick up Jared and that his brother acted "disturbed." He also testified that at one point he knew Young's dead body was in the car as they were driving between Holland and Grand Rapids.

The perjury charges against James and Barbara Chance mean they both face life sentences if convicted. Investigators allege the couple helped their son take pieces of Young's body to their home in an attempt to cover up her death.

Jared  is expected in front of a judge Friday, and he faces life in prison if convicted in Young's murder in addition to any sentence on charges of tampering with evidence.