Barbara Chance, mother of Jared Chance, who was found guilty in the 2018 slaying and dismemberment of Ashley Young, appears at the Kent County Courthouse in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Monday, Jan. 6, 2020. She pleaded no contest to charges that she lied to police and helped her son cover up the murder of Young. (Cory Morse/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A mother accused of helping her son move the dismembered remains of a woman pleaded no contest Monday before a trial in western Michigan.
Barbara Chance faces up to a year in jail, Kent County Judge Paul Denenfeld said.
Chance’s son, Jared Chance, was convicted in September of killing and dismembering Ashley Young. Her torso was found in December 2018 in the basement of his Grand Rapids rental home. Other remains of the 31-year-old woman haven’t been found.
Barbara Chance, 64, pleaded no contest to perjury and accessory after the fact.
Investigators said Barbara Chance and her husband, James, picked up their son and drove him to their Holland home, along with boxes of body parts, a saw and cleaning products. The saw later was found under the couple’s couch.
Police said Jared Chance returned to his home the next day with most of the items.
Jared Chance, 30, is serving a 100-year prison sentence. Meanwhile, a jury was selected Monday in the trial of his father, James Chance, a former Rock Island, Illinois, police officer. He’s charged with perjury and accessory after the fact.
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