CHATTANOOGA (Court TV) — A Tennessee man was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison without the chance of parole for his girlfriend’s brutal murder.
Jason Chen was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder and abuse of a corpse in the 2022 death of 22-year-old Jasmine Pace. Prosecutors argued Chen murdered Pace before leaving her remains in a suitcase.
Due to the publicity of the case, a jury was brought in from Nashville. The same jury that determined Chen’s guilt was then tasked with determining his sentence. While Chen had not faced the death penalty, the jury was given the option of sentencing him to life without parole or parole after 50 years.

FILE – Jasmine Pace (Dade County Sheriff’s Office)/Jason Chen (Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office)
Pace’s family reported her missing in Nov. 2022. According to an affidavit, Pace’s parents broke into Chen’s apartment after tracking her location on Nov. 23. Her parents told police they found Pace’s identification and credit cards, but there was no sign of Pace or Chen.
Days later, police executed a search warrant and found blood throughout Chen’s apartment. Crime scene technicians also determined there were attempts to clean the alleged crime scene. An investigator noted “a large volume of blood had been cleaned up” and there signs of a “violent physical altercation.”
Surveillance video shown in court and referenced in the affidavit appeared to show Chen purchasing cleaning supplies from Walgreens and driving Pace’s vehicle.
Pace’s body was found Dec. 1 in a suitcase. Her ankles were handcuffed and shackled to her right arm, reported Local 3 News. A medical examiner determined she had been stabbed more than 60 times.
DAILY TRIAL HIGHLIGHTS
DAY 8 – 1/21/25
- The jury hears victim impact statements:
- Jason Chen’s mother begged the jury for redemption and a chance at parole for her son.
- WATCH:
- Family members of Jasmine Pace recounted the brutality of her murder and the impact on their family.
- WATCH:
- In their penalty phase closing argument, the prosecution asked for life without parole, highlighting the heinous nature of Pace’s murder and the lack of remorse shown by Chen.
- The defense pleads for a chance at redemption for Chen, asking for a chance at parole.
- WATCH:
- Jason Chen was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole
DAY 7 – 1/20/25
- The jury hears closing arguments
- The jury finds Jason Chen guilty of first-degree premeditated murder and abuse of a corpse.
- WATCH:
DAY 6 – 1/18/25
- Prosecutors rested their case-in-chief.
- The defense moved for a motion of acquittal, which the judge denied.
DAY 5 – 1/17/25
- Witness: Sgt. David Franklin, Latent Print Supervisor, Chattanooga Police Department
- Testified that he was asked to analyze three black garbage bags, the Toyota, and the Chevy.
- Located latent prints on two of the garbage bags — only one was able to be analyzed: It was the exterior of the first bag.
- Witness: Investigator Mark Hamilton, Telecommunication Analyst, Chattanooga Police Department
- Jason Chen’s iPhone was recovered from his parents’ home. He had swapped out SIM cards and used the Tinder app.
- Phone records also indicated Chen traveled to a Walmart — he could be seen on camera buying items at Walmart.
- Witness: Det. Zackary Crawford, Chattanooga Police Department, is recalled to the stand
- Told the jury that the laptops and tablets taken from Chen’s apartment by the Pace family were NOT submitted for examination.
DAY 4 – 1/16/25
- Jurors were shown crime scene photos of Chen’s apartment. Investigators said a lot of blood was in the apartment and someone had attempted to clean it up.
- WATCH:
DAY 3 – 1/15/25
- Crime scene investigator Michelle Johnson testified about searching Chen’s apartment.
- First thing she noticed was coffee table was out of alignment with couch.
- Behind couch she saw what she suspected to be blood on floor. Says she saw what she suspected was blood in every room.
- Said she found glass fragments.
- Said Bluestar reaction was “very intense… the most I’ve ever seen.” (NOTE: BLUESTAR FORENSIC is a blood visualizing agent, based on luminol, used in forensics).
- Admitted that Bluestar suggests the presence of blood, but doesn’t confirm it.
- Testified that she did NOT confirm Bluestar results using a secondary test.
- Said it’s her opinion that someone tried to clean up the crime scene.
- Admitted that it’s possible that police could have contaminated the scene.
- Admitted that the initial search of Chen’s apartment could have been more thorough.
DAY 2 – 1/14/25
- Investigator Zack Crawford, a homicide detective with the Chattanooga Police, testified that the blood test was fast tracked and confirmed to have come from Jasmine Pace.
- Crawford was present for the initial autopsy; noted that Pace was menstruating when she died and the menstrual pad found on her matched the pad found by the dumpster.
- Crawford testified that a photo of a North Face backpack on a bed was consistent with the backpack Chen was seen with after the homicide; the items in the backpack were consistent with it being Chen’s.
- Crawford said that Chen had an injury to his right palm upon being taken into custody that was consistent with knife slippage.
- Det. Stephen Bulkley recalled the discovery of the suitcase along the riverbank.
- He and his team photographed the suitcase, gloved up and opened it.
- Bulkley said he often found discarded items and animals in suitcases so they hesitated to assume it was Jasmine.
- He saw a black trash bag and used a gloved hand to feel what was inside and felt a human head, shoulders and torso. They were far more certain that it was Jasmine, so we didn’t touch it anymore, called CSI, called their supervisors, and called the Medical Examiner.
DAY 1 – 1/13/25
- Prosecution and Defense deliver opening statements.
- Witness #1 is victim Jasmine Pace’s mother, Catrina Bean.
- Bean testified that she and her daughter were in almost constant contact (they saw and spoke to one another multiple times a day) so she immediately panicked when she didn’t hear from her. It was particularly unusual because Bean was trying to notify Pace that her grandmother had died.
- Bean admitted confronting Jason Chen about Pace’s whereabouts, tracking her daughter’s vehicle, and breaking into Chen’s apartment — all because she was desperate to find her daughter.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this reporting said Pace’s remains were dismembered. Our reporting has been updated.