Jason Chen is indicted on counts of murder, abuse in Jasmine Pace case
Jason Chen, the man arrested in the killing of Jasmine “Jazzy” Pace, has been formally indicted, according to Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp.
“Chen was indicted on two counts; first-degree premeditated murder, and abuse of a corpse,” Wamp told the Chattanooga Times Free Press via text Thursday.
Pace was reported missing by family members after they hadn’t heard from her for a few days and she didn’t come home for Thanksgiving.
Pace’s mother, Catrina Pace, tracked Jasmine’s vehicle to a Signal View condominium complex at 900 Mountain Creek Road, according to longtime family friend Bailey Putman.
Catrina Pace met with Chattanooga police officers at 110 Tremont St. after Jasmine Pace shared her location via text message at 2:15 a.m. Nov. 23.
After police interviewed several residents of the apartment building, it was discovered Chen, Pace’s boyfriend, was a resident at the building. Police were able to gain access to his apartment, finding Pace’s credit cards and driver’s license, but no sign of either Chen or Pace, according to a sworn affidavit from the Chattanooga Police Department.
Surveillance footage obtained by homicide investigators from a Walgreens on Tremont Street showed Chen purchasing peroxide, alcohol, bandages and paper towels, according to the affidavit.
Neighbors at the Tremont Street apartment building told officers “they heard a loud continuous female scream coming from the direction of (Chen’s) apartment” at 2:15 a.m. Nov. 23, according to the affidavit.
Chen was arrested in late November in Nolensville, Tennessee, and charged with criminal homicide.
Chen’s bond was set at $5 million during a hearing before Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Larry Ables.
Pace’s body was found Dec. 1 near Suck Creek and appeared to have been stabbed around 60 times, according to Chief Deputy Medical Examiner Steven Cogswell’s testimony at the bond hearing.