New court documents reveal the alleged killer told his neighbor "he knew how to murder someone and get away with it."

GRAND RAPIDS — Just a day after prosecutors announced an open murder charge against Jared Chance in the death of 31-year-old Ashley Young, court documents show his parents helped transport her body parts — and had a bloody saw under a couch in their Holland home.

Young, of Kalamazoo County's Oshtemo Township, was last seen with 29-year-old Jared Chance around 1:30 a.m. Nov. 29 at Miss Tracy’s Liquor Store, 1043 Franklin St. SE, according to probable cause documents.

Jared Chance, a 2007 Holland High School graduate, was originally charged with mutilation of a dead body and concealing the death of a person. Young’s torso was found Dec. 2 by a downstairs neighbor in the basement of a building where Jared Chance rented an upstairs apartment. Other body parts, later identified as belonging to Young through DNA testing, were found in Jared Chance’s second-floor apartment. Her head is still missing.

An autopsy performed by the medical examiner confirmed all the mutilation happened after she died. The court document said "Ms. Young did not die of an overdose, or of any natural causes."

However, without Young's head and neck, the medical examiner could not determine an exact cause of death. The death is being ruled a "homicide by unspecified means."

Open murder allows for a jury to determine whether a suspect is guilty of premeditated or non-premeditated murder, both of which carry up to life in prison if Jared Chance is convicted. Tampering with evidence carries up to 10 years in prison. Jared Chance is being charged as a fourth offense habitual offender and has criminal records in both Kent and Ottawa counties.

Police searched Jared Chance's Grand Rapids apartment after his downstairs neighbor found a bloody tarp in the building's basement. Neither Jared Chance nor the downstairs neighbor have legal access to the basement, but the neighbor said he could squeeze past the washer and dryer in a common area to get into the basement. The tarp was covering Young's torso, with the head, neck and arms removed. The legs were removed just above the knees.

Young's arms and legs were found in a cardboard box in the stairwell going up to Jared Chance's second-floor apartment, with a shipping label addressed to Jared Chance. Young's neck, head, hands and feet have yet to be located by police.

Police also found traces of suspected blood in the upstairs bathroom and bathtub. Suspected human tissue was located in the kitchen sink trap, with blood smears located on the stairwell leading down to the building's main level.

Jared Chance’s family home on West 20th Street in Holland was searched by Grand Rapids Police Department evidence technicians on Dec. 5 in connection to the death of Young and a car was towed from the residence.

According to the probable cause affidavit, police found a saw underneath the couch in the Chances' Holland living room. The saw was found with traces of human blood and tissue. The autopsy report indicated the saw was used in Young's mutilation.

His parents, James and Barbara Chance, were both charged with accessory after the fact to the mutilation charge and lying to police. Jared Chance’s father is a retired police sergeant from Rock Island, Ill.

Court documents show on or about Dec. 1, Jared Chance was picked up by his parents. Police say his brother, Konrad Chance was also in the family Honda, which was driven by Barbara Chance.

Investigators say that when they picked up Jared Chance, boxes from his Grand Rapids apartment were placed into the Honda. Traces of human blood and tissue were found inside the Honda.

The court documents state the parents drove Jared Chance to their Holland home, but first made a stop at Young's car so that Jared Chance could retrieve another box. Young's car has since been found by police a few streets away from Jared Chance's Grand Rapids apartment.

Court documents show both Konrad Chance and the downstairs neighbor who found Young's body were aware Jared Chance had a .22-caliber revolver. Konrad Chance told police his brother pulled out the gun on Nov. 25, in the presence of Young, emptied it of ammunition, then pointed the gun at Konrad Chance and "pulled the trigger multiple times."

Jared Chance's downstairs neighbor told police he had a conversation with Jared Chance in Jared Chance's kitchen a few days before Young's death during which the neighbor saw Jared Chance constantly picking up and moving the revolver. The neighbor said he felt "unsafe to be in Jared Chance's presence."

The neighbor told police that during this kitchen conversation, Jared Chance "described how he knew how to murder someone and get away with it."

Police found several rounds of .22-caliber ammunition in the basement Young's torso was located.

According to Jared Chance’s attorney, James Chance allegedly took his son to the Grand Rapids Police Department on Dec. 1 to tell police about Young’s body, but the Chances were turned away by police and told to contact Kalamazoo County law enforcement.



Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker told multiple media outlets that claim is “not quite how it happened.”

Jared Chance is scheduled to be arraigned on the murder and tampering with evidence charges at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4. At 8:30 a.m. the same day, Jared Chance is still scheduled to have a preliminary examination hearing on the original mutilation charges with Judge Jennifer Faber.

Becker told The Sentinel he does not expect to file any further charges against James and Barbara Chance, who were both released from jail after posting bond in December and are not in police custody.

— Follow this reporter on Twitter @SentinelAudra.