UPDATE: Jason Chen in court for pre-trial hearing in death of Jasmine Pace (2024)

UPDATE:The man accused of stabbing a Hamilton County woman to death in 2022 is in court on Friday for another pre-trial hearing.

Jason Chen is charged with first degree murder and abuse of corpse following a grand jury indictment.

Chen is accused of killing 22-year-old Jasmine Pace in November 2022, who police said was stabbed about 60 times.

The investigation of the murder has led to multiple pre-trial hearings regarding the evidence found in the case.

We have a crew in the court covering the proceedings.

Stay with the Local 3 News app for updates to this developing story.

PREVIOUS STORY: Jason Chen was in court again Friday morning for a pre-trial hearing.

Chen is accused of fatally stabbing Jasmine Pace 60 times in 2022.

Her body was found in a suitcase on Suck Creek Road.

Chattanooga police body camera footage was released in court Friday showing the moment Jasmine Pace's mother made a report to police.

Four Chattanooga Police Department officers, McKenzie Pierre, Matthew Braisted, Trevor Creighton, and Jarrod Justice testified as we watched their body camera footage.

Jasmine pace's mother, Catrina pace, was questioned about her efforts to find her daughter when she went missing in November of 2022.

"Tuesday night's the last time I saw my daughter. It left Frazier Avenue, came right here, hadn't been moved since. She hasn't made any phone calls. I pulled up her phone records, she hasn't made any phone calls since Tuesday night," Pace said in the body cam video.

"Someone has been resetting her password. And currently, on Snapchat, I've been talking to a couple of her friends and they've been saying it's not her, we know it's not her. Posting stuff from her account," Pace explained.

Chen has been charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse, and is being held under a $5 million-dollar bond.

Jury selection is scheduled for the week of September 3, and the trial will begin September 16.

PREVIOUS STORY:The man accused of killing a missing woman and dumping her body along Suck Creek Road is in court on Monday.

Jason Chen is charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse in the death of Jasmine Pace.

Jasmine was last seen on November 22, 2022 at her family's home.

Five days later, her car was found at Signal View Apartments on Mountain Creek Road and Jasmine was reported missing.

Her body was found in a suitcase along Suck Creek Road on December 1.

So far in court, Jasmine Pace's mother has been questioned about her efforts to find her daughter while she was still missing.

The defense asked why she entered Chen's apartment during her search for Jasmine.

Several other witnesses are expected to take the stand during Monday's hearing, including other family members of Jasmine.

We have a crew in the courtroom to bring you the latest.

Stay with the Local 3 News app for updates to this developing story.

PREVIOUS STORY: A trial date has been set for the man accused of killing 22-year-old Jasmine Pace in November 2022.

During a court appearance on Wednesday, a trial date for Jason Chen was set for January 22, 2024.

Chen remains in the Hamilton County Jail and Detention Center on a $5-million bond.

PREVIOUS STORY: A request for a new preliminary hearing for the man accused of killing 22-year-old Jasmine Pace has been denied.

The motion for a new a preliminary hearing for Jason Chen, which was filed by his defense attorney, was denied by a Hamilton County judge on Monday.

The motion was filed due to concerns over evidence in the case.

This means there will not be a second preliminary hearing for Jason Chen.

Chen remains in jail on a $5-million bond.

His trial is scheduled to begin on October 4.

PREVIOUS STORY: The man accused of killing 22-year-old Jasmine Pace last year was set to appear in court on Monday for a motions hearing but the case was pushed to next week.

Before Jason Chen appears in court, here's some background on the case.

Jasmine Pace went missing last November.

Chen is accused of stabbing her 60 times, and then putting her body in a suitcase that was found nine days later on Suck Creek Road.

Chen is charged by a grand jury with first degree murder and abuse of a corpse.

He is currently being held at the Silverdale Detention Center on a $5 million bond.

He is scheduled to appear in court on July 25.

PREVIOUS STORY:The man accused of killing Jasmine Pace will appear in court on Monday.

Last November, Jasmine Pace went missing. Chen is accused of stabbing her 60 times then putting her body in a suitcase that was found dats later on Suck Creek Road.

Chen pleaded not guilty to first degree murder and abuse of a corpse.

He is being held on a $5 million-dollar bond.

PREVIOUS STORY:On Tuesday, a judge declared murder suspect Jason Chen indigent, saying his family had run out of funds to afford the cost of his entire defense.

That means Jason Chen can no longer afford to pay for legal services like expert witnesses and legal experts.

Chen is the suspect in the 2022 murder of22-year-old Jasmine Pace. Pace was found nine days after she went missing in a suitcase off of Suck Creek Road. The medical examiner testified at Chen's bond hearing that she had been stabbed at least 60 times.

Earlier this year, prosecutors laid out evidence of a large amount of blood reagent inside of Chen's apartment and security camera video that showed Chen rolling a suitcase out of his apartment before police were able to track his phone to the location where Pace was later found.

"Mr. Chen, his family, has run out of funds, at this point, after being in custody for seven months," said Josh Weiss, Chen's attorney. "He is no longer able to afford the cost of a defense, including expert services."

Weiss clarified that he will still be able to afford to pay his attorney fees.

Anything else will be paid for by the state's indigent fund, which is paid for by taxpayers.

"Often times, in serious homicide cases, the courts will appoint an investigator to assist,"said Jerry Tidwell, a criminal defense attorney with no ties to the case."That basically levels the playing field between the state and the defense. The state has all of those things."

Weiss is also preparing to argue Chen was not given a fair preliminary hearing in February and is asking for a new one, saying the state not turning over body camera video to the defense and him not being allowed to question Catrina Pace, Jasmine's mother, during the hearing violated Chen's constitutional rights.

"The defendant was denied the ability to cross-examine Investigator Crawford and call Catrina Pace to testify regarding the potentially illegally seized evidence," Weiss wrote in a court filings.

At the preliminary hearing, Crawford testified that Pace's mother turned over evidence that was possibly taken from Chen's apartment before he was arrested. The judge did not allow Weiss to call Pace's mother to the stand to question her about it.

"Catrina Pace was not subpoenaed and was irrelevant to the issue of probable cause," District Attorney Coty Wamp wrote in her response. "In addition, the attorney representing Catrina Pace, Ben McGowan, had made the parties aware that should Catrina Pace be put on stand, she would not answer any questions and would elect to assert her right against self-incrimination."

That argument will be heard in court on Monday, June 26.

PREVIOUS STORY:The man accused of murdering 22-year-old Jasmine Pace is scheduled to appear in Hamilton County Criminal Court on Tuesday.

Jason Chen, 22, is facing charges ofFirst Degree Murder and Abuse of A Corpse, following a grand jury indictment in March.

Chen is accused of murdering Pace back in November of 2022.

Police say they were able to connect Chen to Pace's death through physical evidence and cell phone records.

Chen remains in the Hamilton County Jail and Detention Center on a $5 million bond.

PREVIOUS STORY: Local 3 has an update on the suspect arrested for the murder of Jasmine Pace last December.

Jason Chen has a new court date set for Friday, March 31st. Just last week, he was indicted on charges of First Degree Murder and Abuse of A Corpse.

A spokesperson for the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office has confirmed that Chen will be arraigned on Friday.

Right now, Chen remains in jail on a $5-million bond.

UPDATE: A Hamilton County grand jury has indicted the man accused of killing 22-year-old Jasmine Pace in November of 2022.

The grand jury has charged Jason Chen with first-degree pre-meditated murder and abuse of a corpse, according to a spokesperson with the Hamilton County District Attorney's Office.

#BREAKING: @Local3News has learned Jason Chen has been indicted on 2 counts by a Hamilton County grand jury.1 - First-degree pre-meditated murder2 - Abuse of a corpseHe remains in jail on a $5 million bond.He was arrested in Dec for the murder of 22-year-old Jasmine Pace. pic.twitter.com/ZKHIADtUYU

— Liam Collins Local 3 (@LiamLocal3) March 23, 2023

Special grand jury hearings are conducted in private. Chen's attorneys are not even allowed to attend. Prosecutors are able to lay out as much evidence as they need to get an indictment.

An indictment is a formal charge, not a conviction. It allows the case to be moved to criminal court so pre-trial hearings can begin.

"His attorneys typically can gather a lot more information," Jerry Tidwell, an attorney with no affiliation with the case, said of the legal environment that takes place after an indictment is issued. "The district attorney's office is going to give you their discovery as soon as they have it. Now, they have to wait on what's usually called a master case file from the investigating agency."

Chen's bond remains at $5 million. He is being held at the Hamilton County Jail and Detention Center.

The date for his next court appearance is unknown at this time.

PREVIOUS STORY: A judge ruled there is enough evidence laid out against Jason Chen to send his case to a grand jury for a possible indictment.

Chen is accused of killing 22-year-old Jasmine pace in November.

"The victim, in this case, was a young, vibrant member of our community who had deep roots here," said Judge Larry Ables, who presided over the preliminary hearing. "There's been a lot of interest, speculation, and accusation that has been circulated in this community."

The judge has asked for no live-streaming and no social media posts once the hearing begins, so we will share what we learn on-air on @Local3News

— Liam Collins Local 3 (@LiamLocal3) February 16, 2023

Before starting the hearing, Ables defended his decision to set Chen's bond at $5-million in December, adding it was the highest bond he had ever set and the highest bond he was aware of in Hamilton County history.

Ables said he and Chen's family had been threatened after the bond hearing in December.

"Mr. Chen's parents had to be escorted out of the building through the back hallways because of these threats," said Ables. "I also received threats after the bond hearing and security had to escort my wife and I out of the building."

Local 3 News learned Thursday that District Attorney General Coty Wamp officially upgraded Jason Chen's charge to first-degree murder.

Prosecutors showed pictures from the inside of Chen's apartment, including photos of chemical reactions to a large amount of blood.

The lead investigator on the case, Zach Crawford with the Chattanooga Police Department, testified that officers determined the blood in the apartment belonged to Jasmine Pace.

"The approximation on how much Bluestar reagent would be at least over a liter of fluid," Crawford said. "I've never seen the amount of Bluestar reagent until this case."

But defense attorneys seemed to cast doubt over the evidence presented by investigators. Crawford testified Jasmine Pace's family entered Chen's apartment after Pace went missing but before an official search warrant was executed.

Crawford testified they had taken several items from the apartment, including Pace's identification, other personal belongings and Chen's bank records.

Crawford laid out a timeline of Chen's movements the day after Jasmine Pace went missing, saying he determined Pace was with Chen at his apartment on November 22, through cellphone records, including text messages.

Crawford said Chen's cellphone records show that he went to Walmart the morning after Jasmine went missing, where he bought cleaning supplies and asparagus.

Prosecutors appeared to make the case that Chen bought more cleaning supplies through a self-checkout lane, but rang it up as asparagus.

"He did not scan the items at the self checkout aisle, which is captured on video," said Crawford. "He rang them up as asparagus and those items were further band-aids and peroxide."

The investigator said later that night right before they tied Chen to the location where Jasmine’s body was found, Chen is seen leaving his apartment with what looks like a suitcase.

About an hour later, as investigators determined using Chen's phone records, Chen was at the location where Pace's body was later found inside of a suitcase.

The investigator said Chen then later went to Walgreens again to buy more cleaning supplies.

Judge Ables sent the case to a grand jury.

Chen's bond remains at $5 million.

PREVIOUS STORY: The man accused of murdering 22-year-old Jasmine Pace in November of 2022 is back in court Thursday morning for a preliminary hearing.

We are expecting to hear more graphic details about how he is accused of killing her.

A preliminary hearing is like a mini trial. Prosecutors will call witnesses to prove they have enough evidence against their defendant to try the case in front of a jury.

Chen's defense attorney could hear details about the investigation for the very first time.

"You know what you're facing at that point," said Jerry Tidwell, a criminal defense attorney with no affiliation with the case. "In order to get the case bound over, you have to submit evidence to the judge, even if they've heard it before."

The judge has asked for no live-streaming and no social media posts once the hearing begins, so we will share what we learn on-air on @Local3News

— Liam Collins Local 3 (@LiamLocal3) February 16, 2023

Jasmine Pace went missing in November. Her family told Local 3 News she had texted her location to her mom around the time investigators believe she had died. That's how police decided that her last known location was Jason Chen's apartment in Chattanooga's Northshore.

Chen's arrest warrants say police found Pace's belongings, cleaning supplies, and a large amount of Pace's blood inside of Chen's apartment.

Police found Pace's body in a suitcase in Suck Creek nine days after she last spoke to any of her friends and family. Investigators said she had been stabbed about 60 times and her ankles were bound to her wrist.

"Her bound position is such that virtually all of the wounds can be inflicted with her in that position," Steven Cogswell, the deputy chief medical examiner for Hamilton County, said while testifying at Chen's bond hearing in December.

Many of the details of the investigation typically released during a preliminary hearing were already discussed at Chen's bond hearing, when he was issued a $5 million bond. The only piece of evidence we have not heard but know exists is Pace's autopsy report, which has not been made public yet.

If Chen does not enter a guilty plea, the judge can either bound the case to the grand jury for an indictment ahead of a trial or dismiss the charges.

"I believe there are some real issues for Mr. Chen," said Judge Larry Ables before announcing Chen's bond in December.

But all prosecutors will have to do is prove they have enough evidence to try the case, a much lower standard than what prosecutors will eventually have to prove if Chen ultimately goes to trial.

Chen is due in court on Thursday at 9:00am.