warning: Graphic content, readers’ discretion advised. This story contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some readers discretion advised.
On December 2nd, 2018, Mario Nelson made a horrifying discovery in his landlord’s basement: a mutilated torso stuffed inside a bag.
It didn’t take long for detectives to connect the dots – the victim was 31-year-old Ashley Young, missing for four days. But the questions that followed – how had she ended up here and who could commit such a heinous act – led investigators down a dark and twisted path.
With each revelation, they began to question their sense of reality and confront the true nature of evil. If you’re already intrigued, watch the full video to uncover all the shocking details.
This is Mario Nelson,terrified after stumbling upon a horrifying secret in his landlord’s basement.
The officers questioning him had no idea just how gruesome the discovery truly was until they themselves stepped foot into the dark basement.
What they were about to uncover would make even seasoned officers question their grip of reality.
On decenber 2nd 2018 in downtown Grand Rapids ,Michigan , Mario Nelson finally noticed a foul smell as girlfriend had been complaining about for the past two days,however,he wasn’t alarmed at first, assuming it was just dead mice in the walls.
But everything changed when he headed down to the basement to fetch his cat,to his horror,he stumbled upon a large black tarp with blood seeping out of it,the scene was no less disturbing for the officers investigating the crime scene.
Although they could confirm that the torso belonged to a female, the absence of legs ,arms or a head made it nearly impossible to identify the victim or determine how she’d ended up in such a condition.
That was until Mario revealed a shocking detail,the house in which the body was found belonged to 30 year old Jared Chance.
The officers proceeded with extreme caution as soon as they heard the name.
It was the same name as the person last seen with Ashley Young,a 31 year old woman who disappeared on the night of november 28th , 2018.
Wanting to dig deeper,they questioned Mario about Jared, Ashley and anything he might knwo about their connection.
The crime scene was ndeniable gruesome, and both the detectives and Mario had their suspicions about te victim and the person responsible.
However , what Mario didn’t realize was that it wasn’t the officers who had connedted the dots,in fact , someone else had alreaady started their own investigation right after Ashley went missing.
It was the morning of november 29th , 2018 and Asley young was supposed to meet her mother,Kristine, in Kalamazoo, Michigan to cosign a lease for her new apartment.
At the time , she was actively searching for a new place to live, after recently breaking up with her boyfriend Moody Farran,and deciding to move out of the apartment they’d shared for years.
However, the morningcame and went and Ashley never showed up.
She wasn’t responding to calls or texts , and no one knew where she’d gone, Kristine even called her workplace and discovered that Ashley had missed her shift without giving any prior notice, something she’d never done before.
As the day wore on ,Kristine couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong,the last time Ashley had checked in with her mother was the previous evening,but she hadn’t mentioned where she was headed or who she was with, it had npw been 24 hours since anyone had heard from Ashley and Kristine was in a full blown panic.
Ashley was gone and the clock was ticking.
Feeling helpless, she turned to the Kalamazoo Police Departement for assistance,unfortunately, as is often the case,the police didn’t fully grasp the gravity of the situation.
The person happens to be 31 years old , that could mean a number of things, maybe the person doesn’t want to be found or is just away with friends and having a good time,so, it’s generally not assigned to a full -blown investigation at that point.
while the police had spoken to some of Ashley’s friends,the investigation wasn’t making much progress.
But Ashley’s mother couldn’t sit by and wait,gripped by an icy wave of fear, with no cleat lead to follow, Kristine turned to social media .
Meanwhile ,Kristine began combing through Ashley’s Facebook activity, desperate to uncover any clues that might hint at her daughter’s plans or location, it didn’t take long before Kristine found a potential lead.
In the days leading up to her disappearance, Ashley been communicating with a man named Jared Chance, a name that immediately set off alarm bells in Kristine’s mind.Jared was one of Ashley’s close friends,but his reputation was troubling.
Known to many as wild and unpredictable, Jarred had a history of violent outbursts fueled by substance abuse,he also had a complicated history with Ashley, back in 2013, Jared had broken into Ashley’s home, stealing her valuables and selling them off.
It was an act of betrayal that ended their friendship for four years, but in 2017, Jared managed to rekindle his connection with Ashley,true to her nature, Ashley , who always believed there was good in everyone, gave him a second chance.
Kristine was already shaken by the thought of Ashley being connected with Jared again, but her concerns grew exponentially with her next discovery.
Ashley and Jared shared more than just a friendship,there was a growing attraction between them,Ashley had confided with some of her closest friends about her feelings, suddenly hinting at this connection.
And then came the final devastating piece of evidence,a voicemail Ashey left for a friend just days before her disappearance.
Once Kristine was certain that Ashley had indeed been with Jared on Wednesday,November 28th, 2018, she obtained his phone number through Ashley’s friends,with her heart racing, she left a voicemail for him desperate for answers…
When Jared finally returned Kristine’s call , he had quite a story to tell, he explained that he and Ashley had spent the evening at the Hookah Lounge and Mulligan’s Pub in Grand Rapids on the night of the 28th.
According to Jared, after having a great time in the early morning hours of November 29th, they went their separate ways.but then ,Jared added something that made Kristine’s blood run cold.
He claimed that Ashley had just texted him, saying she’d lost her phone at the bar and was on her way to pick it up before heading to Kalamazoo to start her third shift at work.
This detail confused Kristine because it didn’t align with Ashley’s known work schedule.
Taking her concerns seriously,Kristine brought this information to the Grand Rapods Police,sharing her suspicions and everything she’d uncovered.
Kristine Young asked for the police departement to help, but if it was Jared, they need evidence.you can develop theories ,but theorties won’t get you a search warrant, you need evidence ,you need facts.
frustrated , Kristine reached out to Jared -again,this time his story took a suprising turn,he claimed that on the night in question, Ashley had been talking to one of his friends,Demetrius Taylor at the bar.
Jarred even provided Kristine with several non- working phone numbers, which he said belonged to Demetrius.
Kristine somehow managed to track down Demetrius,who had a shocking detail to share.
Fortunately, Demetrius didn’t back up Jared’s story, he told Kristine outright t hat he was prepared to show these messages to the police if necessary.
Detemined to get to the bottom of things,Christine and Dana went to Milligan’s pub and asked the owner to review the surveillance footage from the night Ashley would have been there.
The surveillance footage from Milligan’s pub showed Ashley acting completely normal , but it didn’t capture her leaving the bar.
Desperate for answers Ashley’s loved ones turned to social media
They began posting pictures of Ashley and Jared,pleading for any information from the public.
This effort brought attention to the case, but no one could have anticipated what would happen next.
on the morning of December 2nd, 2018 ,Jared Chane appeared at the Grand Rapids police departement accompanied by his father, Jame’s chance.
Jame’s demanded to speak with a few detectives ,prompting the desk lieutenant to come out to the front window to ask about the situation.
James explained that his son Jared had been harassed on Facebook by members of Ashley Young family as he was the last person to see her.
He also claimed to have information about the case, but insisted on having an attorney present before speaking further.
The lieutenant informed James that no attorney was currently at the station and that Jared would need to bring his own legal representation if he wished to proceed.
Jared became visibly upset and warned the detectives that they were making a big mistake,however,how big of a mistake that it would turn out to be…
The Grand Rapids police would only realize a few hours later when they made the horrific discovery at Jared’s house.
It was shortly after noon when Mario’s anxious 911 call came through.
while detectives were occupied with processing the crime scene, Ashley’s mother and stepmother decided to take matters into their own hands and confront Jared face to face at his home.
When they arrived ,it was secured with crime scene taped and swarming with police officers in their cars carrying the foreboding omen of death.
Although Kristine could feel her worst fears coming to life, she clung to the slim hope tht it might not be Ashley.
As the vicitm’s identity had yet to be confirmed,the detective shared her concern bt an even greater worry loomed.
Had they waited too long , allowing Jared to slip through their fingers, with caution and apprehension and armed with a search warrant detectives made their way to the seond story of the house,uncertain of what they’d find on the other side of the door.
To their utmost surprise, detectives found Jared inside his apartment. through the entire ordeal, he had simply been sleeping, as Jared was secured in the police van and transported to the station.
The detectives turned their attention to searching his apartment.little did they know they were about to make even more chilling discoveries.
Detectives also discovered that the shell casings were from a 22 caliber pistol the same type that Jared owned , though it was now missing from the home.
But the most unnerving discovery ws yet to come…
As they made their way to the stairwell, they noticed a cardboard box,inside the box wrapped in black garbage bags,they found two legs with no feet and two arms with no hands.
They also found women’s clothing , a hoodie and a pair of boots with blood on them, all these items pointed to the unmistakable signs of gruesome violence,yet , nobody knew exactly whjat had happened.
The one person who could explain it all was now in their grasp.
Initaly, Jared was somewhat talkative.
After exchanging a few words, a small tall, detectives asked Jared why he’d come to the police station earlier that day.
To the disapointment of the detectives , the interrogation lasted only a few minutes as Jared immediately exercised his right to counsel.
Sadly,this left the truth about what happened to Ashley,adding to the list of bad news, the coroner couldn’t determine the exact cause of death without the head.
however,the DNA test left no room for doubt,the poor victim was indeed Ashley.
Continuing their search for answers,the detectives made their first stop at Mulligan’s Pub to review the surveillance footage from the night of Ashley’s disappearance,unfortunately they discovered that the business had already deleted the video .
underterred ,the detecitves expanded their search to surveillance footage from nearby businesses, and soon they came across a clip from one of the establishments showing brief but clear glimpses of both Ashley and Jared together.
November 29th , approximately 1:30 in the morning,it shows Jared walong in front of the business.there he goes right now,just kind of strolling along.
And then.. a few seconds later, that’s Ashley there.
And once again we see Jared walk into screen and then eventually Ashley joins him.
Though this video didn’t provide new evidence it was crucial in establishing the timeline , confirming that Ashley was still alive at that point .
From the outside, they appeared to be an ordinary couple,Ashley mst likely had no idea of the dreadful fate that awaited her that night.
To gather more evidence, Detectives began examining Jared’s credit card information to retrace his movements.
They discovered that between November 29th and December 1st, Jared had visited a local convenience store called Miss Tracy’s Market store , located near his apartment.
Video surveillance from inside the store showed Jared making several purshases,including ammonia , alcohol and trash bags.
However ,it became even more disturbing when an external surveillance camera from the store captured Jared dumping something into a nearby garbage bin.
When police searched the bin, they discovered more evidence latex gloves, Ashley’s personal ID and Jared’s blood soaked pants.
The picture was becoming clearer and clearer now.
so, when you start looking at what he’s buying at Miss Tracy’s
and you look at his apartment it becomes pretty evident that Ashley was murdered in the kitchen.
and ultimately dragged 10, 15 feet and put in the bathtub ,and that’s where he did the grisly job of dismembering her.
Hoping that Jared’s cell phone data would help construct a clearly picture of his movements around the time of Ashley’s murder,detectives looked into the same, the findings revealed a startling detail.
Jared’s phone had traveled to Holland Michigan about 30 miles southwest of Grand Rapids where his parents James and Barbara Chance lived.
On December 4th 2018, detectives traveled to Holland with a search warrant, unaware that an appaling trtuth awaited them.
Jared’s father was a retired police officer, and he made a comment about
” I’m glad i’m not investigating this case , this is a tough case.”
And detectives thinking ;
“how do you know it’s a tough case? what do you know about this case?”
Jared’s parents stayed quite refusng to say anything without a lawyer present,but the state of their house spoke for iteslf.
There was tissue, observed on the blade,in the garage police found small trace of blood.
they also located bloody shower curtain that also was connected to Jared’s apartment in Grand Rapids.
Given the overwhelming evidence detectives brought borth James and Barbara to the Grand Police station,convinced that Jared’s parents might have helped him cover the crime.
They split the two of them up , plaicng each in a separate room.
hoping that at least one of them would open up about what they knew or how they were involved.
When Barbara’s interrogaton began , she appeared visibly shaken, in shock and clearly worried about what would happen next.
Barbara admitted that when Jared came to their house,he was crying and told them there had been an accident,in another room,James wastelling the same story
Both James and Barbara explained that Jared himself had dismembered Ashley’s body , moved some of the evidence to his parents house,disposed of some of the evidence and dumped some of the body parts.
However, when they were asked about the location, they had different thing to say,the detective, questioning James was already on edge about his shifting story.
At first,James maintained that he didn’t know anything beyond what he’d already shared.then he claimed that his age made it difficult for him to recall certan details.
But just when the detective thought he had a handle on the situation, James made an unexpected slip…
James tried to backtrack , offering excuses for why he misspoke,But it was clear to the detective that he had used the word ” he instead of she”,when asked about who had pointed the gun.
It was a small detail,but did reveal that James knew far more than he was lettting on.
Then ,to the shock of the detective, he made an atrocious statement.
” see, this is all interrogation stuff, and i’d like to make a statement to the fact that we are all vicims here.i’m a victim of this too, and i’m offended that i’ve been charged with a felony, because of the way the system is setup”
Despite repeated pleas from detectives to both Barbara and James to reveal the location of the rest of Ashley’s remains and give her family some much needed closure, they refused to cooperate.
Detectives knew that recovering Ashley’s head was crucial to understanding exactly how she died,but the C hance family offered no assistance.
To make matters worse, a horrifying realization struck them on the morning of sunday,December 2nd ,2018, when James and Jarred had come to the police station.
Their car had been parked right outside,in the trunk of that car where Ashley’s dismembered limbs,it was not just a gut Wrenching thought,it was now a haunting reminder of missed opportunities hangng over their heads.
Ultimately…
Both James and Barbara Chance were charged with perjury and accessory after the fact to a felony.
Jared Chance faced a much more serious set of charges,includíng second degree murder, mutilation of a body, tampering with evidence and concealing a death.
while Jared remained in custody awaiting his trial,his parents stayed free on bail,suprisingly, Jared agreed to speak with a reporter named Heather Walker from jail.
This marked the second time someone had attempted to get answers from them and Heather was well aware ofhow high the stakes were.
Although it seemed like Jared was hesitating for a moment as if he might reveal some details, he ultimately refused and ended the call.
Jared Chance’s trial began on September 9th 2019, the day before he’d rejected a plea deal that would have required him to disclose the location of the unrecovered remains.
Prosectuors knew that without the head or confirmed cause of death ,securing a conviction would be an uphill battle.
However ,they were determined to fight against a man who, to them didn’t even seem human.
…To take off the lower legs and the ankles , to take off the feet.
“This are actions that no normal , sane human does.”
Jared’s devense maitained that he’d not committed murder instead, he claimed it was an accident and the result of a series of poor decisions.
However, the prosecution presented a stronger argument;
“I’ts not an easy task that we have to ask of you, Ashley Young died of homicide by unspecificed emans, i do not have to proof how he killed her.
I don’t have to prove that he shot her ,i don’t have to prove that he hit her in the head with a baseball bat or a hammer,what i have to prove,is that he caused her death.”
” I stood before the jury holding this sawzall, and i said , look at the person to the right ,and imagine that they suddenly die.
If you had nothing to do with their death, would you take this and saw the head off? would you take this and saw their arms off? and their legs and their hands, and their feet, and then would you proceed to get rid of all of this evidence, if you had nothing at all to do with her death? and nobody would.”
The statements were powerful, but the prosecution had two more tricks up their sleeves that sent a chill through everyone in the courtroom.
These were two testimonies, one from Jared’s own brother ,Conrad Chance
and the other from Mario Nelson, the man who had the misfortune of making a horrifying discovery in his landlord’s basement.
Althoug conrad was hesitant to implicate his brother, his eventual admission detailed a disturbing incident that had occured just days before Ashley’s murder.
Next , it was Mario’s turn to take the stand, he testified that just a few days prior to Ashley’s murder ,he’d seen Jared with a gun.
Mario recalled that during their conversation, Jared had made a chilling claim stating that he could get away with murder if he ever needed to.
It was never clear why Jared did what he did, but the jury took only 3 hours to convict him on all charges.
On October 10th ,2019 calling him a monster,the Judge sentenced him to the maximum penalty.
“Clearly a monter without any conscience whatsoever, and you are someone who is a danger to society and should never be allowed free, accordingly .
It is the sentence of this court with regards to the second-degree murder that you be committed to the Michigan Department of Corrections to serve a minium of 100 years to a maximum of 200 years.
I’ m purposely doing this so that you will not be eligible for parole, until you are at least 130 year old.”
When Kristine was given the opportunity to address Jaews in court, she didn’t hold back.
Unfortunately , Jared’s parents didn’t face the same level of harsh punishment as their son.
Barbara pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 45 days in jail, although she ultimately served only 29 days.
James, on the other hand, chose to go to trial while he was cleared of perjury he was convicted ofbeing an accessory after the fact and received a sentence of 30 days along with one year of probation.
However , he ended up serving only 14 days.