February 16, 2025 • 42 mins
As Day Two of the trial unfolds, the prosecution begins methodically connecting the evidence that led to Jason Chen’s arrest. Investigator Zack Crawford’s testimony reveals the blood-soaked truth hidden beneath the surface of Chen’s apartment, while forensic limitations and the defense’s strategy come into play.
We follow the digital breadcrumbs left on Chen’s phone, chilling surveillance footage of him wheeling a suitcase through Chattanooga, and the discovery of Jasmine Pace’s SIM card hidden among his belongings. With each new revelation, the picture becomes clearer, darker, and more damning.
Then, I returned to the crime scene—standing where Jasmine was found, seeing what I had only heard about in court. The weight of the trial, the evidence, and the reality of what happened here settles in like never before.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Speaker before we begin, pleasebe advised that this episode
contains graphic descriptions ofviolence as presented during the
trial. Please take care whilelistening. It's Tuesday morning,
January 14, 2025, day two of thetrial. The morning unfolds just
as it did yesterday. In fact,the daily structure is quickly
(00:24):
settling into a predictablerhythm, early mornings, strict
schedules and constantsupervision. For all of us, the
predictability of the processwas both grounding and at times,
a little suffocating. I had achance to catch up with a couple
of the jurors after the trial,and I'm eager to share some of
their thoughts with youthroughout the podcast. Here's
(00:46):
juror number one sharing hisbreakdown of our morning
routine.
Every day, we would wake up ataround 6am the sheriffs would
come knock on our door becausethey had to take the alarm
clocks out of our rooms, sincethey have radios, which could
have exposed us to details ofthe case we'd have 30 minutes
(01:09):
before we went down to the hotellobby to have breakfast, all the
TVs in the lobby had to beturned to the weather channel so
that, you know, we wouldn't seeany news coverage of the case.
I'd never really eat much, but Ienjoyed having coffee with
everybody in the morning. Afterbreakfast, they would give us an
hour of time to get ready forthe day, and then we'd be
(01:32):
shuttled to the courthouse. Whenwe got to the courthouse, we
would go to our place that wasbasically home base. Was a
conference room wheredeliberation happened. We would
chill out there for like 30minutes. Sometimes, I think one
day it was actually like almostthree hours before they brought
us into the courtroom.
(01:56):
As juror number one explains.Once we're at the courthouse, we
settle into our jury room, wherewe spend time getting to know
each other. Remember, we're notallowed to discuss the case
until deliberations, whichhonestly is harder than it
sounds, and with no cell phonesor laptops to retreat into, we
have nothing to do but talk. Sowhat do a group of random
(02:19):
strangers tasked with deciding aman's fate, but unable to talk
about it. Actually talk about,well, we get to know each other
the old fashioned way. We shareabout our jobs, families where
we grew up, and swap favoriterestaurant names among us were
people with professions likedoctor and social worker,
(02:40):
clinician and accountant,engineer and architect,
homemaker and tour manager. Weall came from different
backgrounds, worlds thatprobably would never intersect
in our daily lives. I've saidthis before, but it felt like an
unexpected social experiment.The bailiff and officers joked
(03:01):
with us back in Nashville,saying that we'd be bonded by
the end of this and they weren'twrong. What the 16 of us
experienced over these 10 dayscreated a connection that will
stay with us forever. It's notunlike how investigators had to
piece together all the fragmentsof evidence, each piece,
seemingly unrelated at first,but forming a complete picture
(03:24):
over time. Just as we werestrangers brought together by
circumstance, so were thedetectives, attorneys and even
Jasmine's family, all linked bythe pursuit of justice. Unlike
us, though, they didn't have theoption to walk away when the
trial was over, their bondforged through grief and
(03:44):
relentless determination willlast far beyond the verdict in
sentencing. Sequestration wasn'tjust about being physically
removed from the outside world.It carried an emotional and
mental weight that we all had toprocess in our own way. Juror
(04:04):
number five kept a journalthroughout the trial,
documenting her thoughts andexperiences in real time. Here's
a passage she wrote about theweight of sequestration.
Maybe it's important to beconfined without the people you
love, the things that make youcomfortable, the regular
(04:24):
distractions before sentencing aperson to life in prison. Of
course, a stay in a hotel withsupervised dining and outings to
landmarks is different. It'sdifferent than the cold
hostility of a maximum securityprison, privately run with
shareholders best interest inmind, but still the taste of
(04:46):
sequestration gives insight tothe gravity of it all you.
(05:06):
This is sequestered a juror'sperspective on the murder trial
for Jasmine pace. I'm Sarah,juror number 11 each episode,
I'll take you inside thecourtroom, behind the scenes and
into the weighty moments of thistrial as we honor Jasmine's life
and navigate the complexities ofseeking justice, let's begin.
(05:33):
This is episode three,connecting the dots. You
okay, here's what we know sofar. Jasmine pace was last seen
alive on November 22 2022 whenshe arrived at Jason Chen's
(05:55):
apartment at 110 treemont Streetin Chattanooga at 2:18am on
November 23 Jasmine sent hermother, Katrina bean, a location
pin for the same address, amessage that would go unseen for
three days by November 26 afterdays of silence, Katrina took
action at a Verizon store. Sheaccessed Jasmine's my Chevy app,
(06:17):
tracking her car to 900 mountaincreek road. Jasmine's father and
sister met her there, butJasmine was nowhere to be found.
The family knocked on doors,questioned residents and called
the police with an officerpresent, Katrina dialed one of
the last numbers on Jasmine'scall log, Jason Chen. Jason
claimed he hadn't seen jasminein a while and gave Katrina a
(06:39):
fake address, 500 TremontStreet, an abandoned house
suspicious. The family followedJasmine's location pin to 110,
Tremont Street, Her last knownlocation. A neighbor confirmed
hearing a woman scream fromapartment 210, on November 22
breaking into the unit, thefamily found Jasmine's driver's
(06:59):
license, credit cards and travelbag, and immediately called 911,
police arrived, briefly, lookedaround and left, finding nothing
suspicious. But Katrina wasn'tdone. She returned to apartment
210, collecting Jasmine'sbelongings and a box of items
she believed could be crucial.The next day, on November 27
investigator Zach Crawford tookover the case his work would
(07:23):
soon connect the evidence thatled to Jason Chen's arrest. Fast
forward to January 14, 2025 daytwo of the trial, a day that
reveals the full story ofJasmine Pace's murder and the
prosecution's case against JasonChen, soon, every piece of
(07:45):
evidence, every testimony andevery detail will come together,
exposing the truth in a way thatcan no longer be ignored. Get
ready. This was a long day forall trial goers. The 16 of us
file into the courtroom, just aswe did the day before, the
(08:06):
routine was already settling in,the knock at the door, line up,
be counted, walk across thehall, enter the courtroom and
silently file into the jury box.I adjusted my squeaky blue chair
and flipped my notebook to afresh page, then glanced toward
the bench where Judge Pattersonremained standing. He invited
(08:29):
the room to be seated witheveryone in place. He adjusted
his glasses, looked toward theattorneys and signaled for
general WAMP to take the floorlead investigator, Zach
Crawford, is already sitting inthe witness stand. Crawford
carried a composed andmethodical presence in the
(08:50):
courtroom. His dark, short hairwas neatly styled, and a
mustache and beard framed hisface, adding to his serious, no
nonsense demeanor, deep linesetched across his forehead
hinted at the weight of hisprofession. Years spent
analyzing crime scenes, piecingtogether the truth and
delivering facts with precisionwhen responding to questions, he
(09:13):
spoke with measured confidence,his steady voice reinforcing the
gravity of the evidence he hadmeticulously gathered, his sharp
eyes rarely stray, as if he ismentally retracing every step of
the investigation in real time.He answered with deliberate
precision, never rushing,ensuring the jury grasped the
significance of each detail you
(09:45):
images here were just shown tothe jury just minutes ago. This
shows some of the evidence foundin Chen's apartment, the
reaction of a forensics agentcalled Blue Star. You can see
the blue colored on the floorthere investigators that
Crawford, which had a new policetest of. About the use of this
agent. He testified in hisexperience the discoloration on
Chen's floor means the presenceof blood. He said he had never
(10:08):
seen that amount of bloodilluminated by blue star in his
homicide career.
You might recall, we ended dayone of the trial with the search
of Jason Chen's apartment at 110Tremont Street. The search
warrant was granted forapartment 210 at 11:45pm, on
(10:32):
November 28 Jason Chen was nothome when officers arrived upon
entry. Officers cleared andsecured the apartment before the
crime scene unit beganprocessing and documenting the
scene. Investigators conducted awalk through searching for
evidence and any clues aboutwhat had transpired.
(10:54):
Investigator Crawford told thejury that the search began with
gloves and a flashlight, thenwhat started as a routine search
quickly escalated into ahomicide investigation with the
first spray of blue star. Aforensic agent Crawford, who had
already noticed the stainsduring his initial walk through,
(11:16):
watched as blue star illuminateda disturbingly large area in the
living room as the crime sceneunit moved through the
apartment, more evidencesurfaced. Blue Star revealed
blood smeared in the livingroom, splattered and pooled in
the bathroom and soaked deepinto the bedroom carpet. There
(11:36):
was, as da Cody WAMP had statedin her opening argument, blood
all over the apartment. What hadfirst appeared to be a clean
apartment was now telling a muchdarker story. Crime scene
investigators photographed everystain, swabbed surfaces, and
meticulously collected evidence,each piece, bringing them closer
(11:59):
to uncovering what had trulyhappened inside apartment 210
with suspicions mounting,investigators expand their
search beyond apartment 210canvassing neighbors and
scouring the area for overlookedevidence. One conversation led
investigator Crawford to amanhole cover in the back
(12:21):
parking lot. Determined to leaveno stone unturned, he crawled 70
feet underground in search ofclues. Nothing was discovered,
but the manhole cover sat near adumpster outside of Jason Chen's
apartment, where crucialdiscovery did await inside the
wooden fencing and on the groundjust in front of two blue
(12:42):
dumpsters, investigators find apair of blue jeans with
discoloration resembling blood,a pair of white low top van's
shoes, size 11, and a bloodsoaked sanitary pad lying next
to a pair of women's underwear.These items were photographed
and collected for evidence, daCody WAMP then highlighted a
(13:04):
significant detail. Jasmine pacewas on her menstrual cycle at
the time of her disappearance,and the pad found near the
dumpster matched the one she waswearing when her body was
recovered. The photos of theseitems in front of the dumpster
are available to view on ourwebsite, adding to the
complexity of the case,investigator Crawford
(13:26):
highlighted a key forensiclimitation in major criminal
investigations, law enforcementcan submit only 10 pieces of
evidence at a time for forensictesting, compounding the
challenge most forensic labsface month long backlogs. In
this case, the Tennessee Bureauof Investigation, or TBI,
(13:47):
conducted forensic analysisthrough its crime lab,
performing DNA testing,toxicology and fingerprint
analysis to support lawenforcement. Given the urgency,
Crawford prioritized the mostcritical evidence items most
likely to connect Jason Chen tothe crime. Although
investigators collected theitems from the dumpster, they
(14:08):
were not included in the 10items submitted to TBI for
testing. District Attorney CodyWAMP presented these details
strategically, anticipating thedefense's argument, if the
dumpster evidence wasn't tested,they could claim it couldn't be
definitively linked to themurder. Despite this, forensic
testing yielded a criticalbreakthrough. The blood found
(14:30):
inside Jason Chen's apartmentwas a DNA match to Jasmine pace.
What began as a missing personcase had now shifted
dramatically, and Jason Chen wasthe main suspect,
(14:58):
you know, during Sequest.Illustration, I had a lot of
time to think, and honestly, Ikept wishing I had a speaker so
that I could just listen to agreat book. That's why I love
audiobooks. Whether I'm driving,walking the dogs or traveling, I
can just press play and get lostin an amazing story anytime and
anywhere. One of my all timefavorites is New York by Edward
(15:22):
Rutherford. This epic historicalnovel spans over 400 years
following generations offamilies through the city's most
pivotal moments, from its Dutchsettlement days and all the way
to 911 it was one of the firstaudiobooks I had ever listened
to. It felt like the narratorwas reading the story. Just for
(15:42):
me, I was completely hooked.Here's some good news. You can
listen to New York or any otherbook for free. Audible is giving
sequestered listeners a freeaudiobook with a 30 day trial.
Just go to audible trial.com,forward slash sequestered.
That's one free book yours tokeep forever. So find something
(16:05):
you love and get listening. Goto audible trial.com. Forward,
slash, sequestered. You
at this point in the case, JasonChen is officially identified as
(16:26):
a suspect. Despite multipleattempts to contact him, Jason
remains elusive. Investigatorsgather information about his
family, personal life and hismovements. They confirm Chen's
identity, not only from hisresidence at 110 Tremont street,
but also by his cell phonenumber his enrollment at
University of Tennessee atChattanooga, and finally, by
(16:50):
learning that he drove a 2018gray Toyota Camry next Crawford,
would obtain a search warrantfor Chen's cell phone Data,
revealing ping locations withcoordinates that led to 1943
Ashburn court in nolensville,Tennessee. I need to pause here,
because Hold on, did they justsay nolensville? I live about
(17:13):
four miles from nolansville,Tennessee. This case just got a
whole lot closer to home,literally in the early hours of
November 29 at 2am a searchwarrant was executed at Chen's
parents house in nolensville,Tennessee. Four homicide
detectives and crime sceneinvestigators from the
(17:35):
Chattanooga Police Departmentresponded, along with officers
from the nolansville policedepartment upon arrival, the
first contact made was withJason's parents. Investigator,
Crawford informed them of thesearch warrant and asked if
Jason Chen was inside. Jason'sfather called for him, and
(17:55):
moments later, Jason appearedfrom a room on the second floor.
Crawford testified that whenJason came to the door, his
demeanor was defensive yet calm.Crawford informed Jason that law
enforcement had a search warrantfor his parents residence and
that he would be detained at thenolensville Police Department,
where a separate search warranthad been issued for his person,
(18:17):
more specifically for his DNA.Upon hearing this, Jason's first
response was to ask if they hadspoken with his lawyer. Yet
Crawford told him no. He didn'targue or resist. Instead, he
complied with the officers,allowing them to escort him to
the patrol car waiting outsidenext District Attorney Cody WAMP
(18:39):
questioned investigator Crawfordabout photographs of Jason Chen
standing in his parents doorway,drawing attention to a notable
item on his head, a red andwhite trucker hat. The hat
featured the phrase anythinggoes, a detail investigators
carefully documented as part ofthe case. The during the search
(19:04):
of Chen's parents' house,investigators made a curious
discovery in the room whereJason Chen had been staying, his
iPhone was found inside of a redjewelry box, which had been
turned around and obscurelyplaced on the top shelf of a
cabinet. His phone would becomea gold mine of information for
investigators. On the desk inthis same room, Jason's wallet
(19:28):
was located with his ID andcredit cards inside. One of the
cards would later be linked toreceipts from Walgreens and
Walmart, where Chen was seen onsecurity footage just days
before, purchasing band aids andcleaning supplies, a laptop and
multiple handwritten notes werealso located on the desk in this
(19:48):
room. These notes provided aninteresting read. One bright
yellow post it note said,approach them. I. Another had
the name Crawford written on itwith investigator Crawford cell
phone number written next to it,some doodles, and then two other
(20:13):
names, Brooke and Cheyenne. Whowere these girls. Another
fluorescent post. It note hadtwo sets of 11 digit numbers
written on it. There was also awhite note card with a thin
black border listing fingersizes for rings and different
(20:34):
handwriting. It wasn't broughtup in trial testimony, so it may
not be relevant to the case, butit still caught my attention.
There's another dark purple postit note that caught my eye. It's
difficult to make out in thephotos, but investigator
Crawford read it aloud,revealing what it had said,
if law enforcement contactsother family members, what do
(20:56):
they do?
Other yellow post it notes readSaturday,
November 19. Last time I sawher, she would call me once a
day. Scratch that she would callme every day. Last time was on
November 22 on the phone.
Then investigators found anotebook containing organized
(21:17):
notes about Jasmine. Here's whatthe spiral notebook read
Friday, November 18, last time Isaw her, Tuesday, November 22
last time we talked. She has ahuge history of running away
from home in her teenage years.Mom was an alcoholic, ran away
to Canada for several years andwas homeless, has restraining
(21:40):
order against x. Scratch thatout. Her dad left when she was a
kid, has restraining orderagainst x. Says she was recently
online on Facebook next to Ken,
you can see all of these noteson our website, sequestered,
pod.com, we have a lot ofthoughts about them, especially
(22:00):
since they weren't reallybrought up again in the trial,
but I can see why theprosecution wanted them included
in this testimony. Also, itseemed like with Chen writing
down investigator Crawford'snumber, he had clearly listened
to his voicemail, and from theway the notes were worded, it
felt like he was trying to gethis story straight before
calling Crawford back in anotherroom of the parents house,
(22:25):
investigators located JasonChen's backpack among the items
found inside an eyeglasses casewas collected. Inside of the
case was Jasmine Pace's SIMcard. This obviously raised some
serious questions. Why did hehave it? Had he removed it to
prevent tracking? Where was hercell phone? This discovery would
(22:50):
become a critical piece of theinvestigation, suggesting a
deliberate effort to concealevidence. Finally, investigator
Crawford revealed that Jason'scar was found parked inside of
his parents garage While both ofhis parents vehicles sat outside
in the driveway. In photos shownduring the trial, the two car
(23:11):
garage, each side with its ownretracting door, appeared to
serve as a storage space for thefamily. The side closest to the
house was packed with items,leaving no clear pathway. On the
other side, a gray Toyota Camrywas wedged tightly among the
stored items, as if space hadbeen cleared just enough to fit
(23:31):
the vehicle. The placement ofChen's car tucked away while the
family's vehicles remainedoutside raised an unsettling
question, had he beendeliberately hiding his car from
view? Jason was placed under aninvestigative hold at
nolensville, PD, whileinvestigators searched his
parents home once the search hadconcluded, he was formally
(23:56):
arrested for criminal homicideand transported back to
Chattanooga, where he was bookedand fingerprinted, his Toyota
Camry was transported shortlybehind the very next day, on
December 1 2022 investigatorsmade a grim discovery, a
suitcase wedged into the brushoff of suck Creek Road, inside
(24:21):
the body of Jasmine. Pace daWAMP turned to investigator
Crawford, asking him to connectthe dots between Chen's arrest
and the chilling discovery thatfollowed just 24 hours later,
Mr. Chin was only placed underNCIC hold, investigative hold at
(24:42):
that point, but we came back notapplied for a arrest warrant to
the Hampton county magistrate'soffice, at which point you
signed off for at the time, forcriminal homicide,
and at this point in time, didanybody know where Desmond was
more. Our investigators andother law enforcement officers
(25:03):
of chatting Police Departmentactively looking for this case,
we didn't stop.
What day was that arrest warrantissued? The
arrest warrant was issued onNovember 30.
And do you recall what day itwas that Jasmine's body was
located on the side of the cityriver off Creek Road on December
(25:25):
1. I'm not going to go into toomuch detail, but were you
notified when Jasmine's body waslocated? Yes, that's correct.
Did you report to that areawhere the suitcase had been
found? Yes, that's correct. Andthen subsequently, did the
medical examiner also arrived atthat same office of regrowth.
Yes, that's correct. And was itafter the efforts you also went
(25:47):
to the medical examiner's officefor the autopsy, that's correct.
Next da want focused on Chen'sphone records, revealing call
logs between Jasmine pace andJason Chen, along with text
messages Chen sent to her phoneafter she was last seen,
investigators forensicallyaccessed his phone data,
(26:10):
uncovering multiple deleted textmessages to Jasmine and a 71
minute phone call that tookplace at 11:56am On November 22
Crawford explained to the jurythe key difference between data
extracted from a physical phoneversus call records from cell
phone service providers. Dataextracted from a phone will
(26:32):
reveal deleted text, photos, appdata and metadata, which can
expose altered timestamps orhidden messages. In contrast,
cell service records log calls,texts and tower pings, but it
doesn't store message content,making them a permanent,
unchangeable record that a usercannot delete or manipulate. Da
(26:56):
womp then shows screenshots oftext messages on Chen's phone
that didn't appear in his textrecords, suggesting that they
had been deleted. Among them wasa message sent from Jason's
phone to Jasmine's phone at7:53pm on November 28 It read,
good morning. Slept like a baby.I made myself a matcha
(27:21):
attached to the text was a photoof Jason holding a Starbucks
matcha drink. But the metadatahad revealed that this photo was
actually taken on july 23 of2021 and it had been altered on
November 23 of 2022 before itwas sent to Jasmine's phone
hours after Jasmine was lastseen. CPD investigators
(27:46):
determined that Chen manipulatedthe timestamp, making it appear
as though Jasmine was alive andresponding after her
disappearance. Later that day,he reinforced this illusion by
sending another text to herphone, attempting to create a
false trail.
Hey, are we still good fordinner tonight,
(28:06):
based on the location of thatphoto, those text messages, who
were those sent from
based on how they were capturedfrom the device? Here's their
sent from Jason Chen, sellerdevice to that of Jasmine faces
other points, because that'scorrect, that's Jasmine phone
(28:26):
number associated at the topjust doesn't have her contacting
next the prosecution introducedA critical update from Jason
Chen's former apartment complex.During renovations of Chen's
apartment, the complex managercontacted Chattanooga, PD,
(28:48):
reporting the possible discoveryof new evidence. Investigator
Crawford and crime sceneinvestigators returned to Chen's
former apartment, where ongoingrenovations revealed new
evidence that had previouslygone unnoticed with the bed and
furniture now removed, a darkdiscoloration in the carpet
became visible in the exact spotwhere Chen's bed had been during
(29:11):
their initial search, suggestinga stain that had seeped deep
into the flooring. Additionally,Crawford observed an oil stain
on the wall positioned at aheight consistent with where
someone might have sat up in bedand rested their head, further
confirming the originalplacement of the bed in his
room, and thus reinforcing thesignificance of this Newly
(29:32):
uncovered evidence. Once thecarpet was pulled back, a large
dark stain was revealed, seepingthrough to the carpet
installation and onto thefloorboard. With his experience
in homicide cases, investigatorCrawford stated that it
unmistakably looked like blood.The entire section of blood
(29:54):
soaked carpet, along with theinsulation beneath it, was
collected as evidence on daythree. Of the trial, this very
piece, the stained carpet, theblue insulation and the
unmistakable presence ofJasmine's dried blood would be
laid out on a tarp in front ofthe jury box remaining there for
the entire day, it was aninescapable haunting reminder of
(30:18):
the crime we were there to judgeyou.
What do we have here? This isgoing to be the carpet section
from the bedroom. This is goingto be the bathroom area leading
into the bedroom. This will bethe left hand side in earlier
photographs of the originalexecution of the search for it,
(30:40):
the bed would actually beenlocated in this area, right
here.
So is this evident? Because youdid not find when you were in
the apartment on the 28th ofNovember,
that's correct,
because the bed is safe.
There was a bed placed over top.The other things that are
different at this time, at thetime that the search work was
(31:02):
executed, it appeared that thelights that were placed in there
were aftermarket or some sortthey had a white light cue to
them. So it's not a very welllit apartment. So a lot of
things we did by way offlashlights. At the time, once
they reclaimed the apartment,they put new lights in there for
the assistance of renovation tothe walk rider, I could actually
(31:25):
observe a lot more things atthis point in time than having
to use just a flashlight. Andthen why do you need?
Da Cody WAMP asked investigatorCrawford to explain the Arctic
camera system, RT IC, or realtime Intelligence Center
monitors over 3000 surveillancecameras across Chattanooga.
(31:47):
We've all seen them. They'rethose cameras on telephone poles
at major intersections, youknow, with the flashing blue
lights, one of these cameras,positioned at the corner of
Tremont and Frazier, capturedmany key moments in the
investigation. Arctic footageconfirmed Jasmine paces arrival
at Jason Chen's apartment at11:42pm on November 22 2022
(32:12):
matching data from her my Chevyapp. Additional surveillance
showed Chen inside a Walmart onNovember 23 purchasing
washcloths and cleaningsupplies, which Investigators
later found inside of hisapartment. After checkout at
Walmart, he remained in theparking lot for 30 minutes,
raising questions about hisbehavior later that day, Chen
(32:35):
was seen at Walgreens at 1:39pmand again at 7:03pm with a five
and a half hour gap betweenvisits. At 8:30pm Jasmine's
vehicle was seen exiting thelofts at Tremont, driven by
Chen, who was wearing a grayhoodie and the red and white
anything goes trucker hat. Thevehicle is shown again at 8:41pm
(32:58):
arriving at the signal viewcondos, the location where her
family later found it. 12minutes later, Arctic footage
shows a dark colored ToyotaPrius dropping off a person
wearing a red and white hat anda gray hoodie at 110 Tremont
Street, which Crawford believeswas a lift ride, further piecing
together Chen's movements thatnight in the courtroom. Da WAMP
(33:22):
cues the Arctic cams up to theevening of November 23 at 5:58pm
Jason Chen exits the frontentrance of his apartment
building, pulling a largesuitcase down the sidewalk. He
appears to struggle lifting itup the stairs, then his right
arm drops as the weight of thesuitcase settles back on its
wheels, he then turns left androlls the suitcase out of frame
(33:45):
and into the parking lot.Moments later, his gray Toyota
Camry is seen leaving theparking lot and turning west
onto Frazier Avenue.
Was he traveling in the correctdirection to get
to separate. Yes, he was proud.
(34:06):
Surveillance evidence continuedto tighten the prosecution's
case. Arctic footage had alreadyshown Jason Chen leaving his
apartment with a suitcase onNovember 23 the same day he
purchased cleaning supplies atWalmart and Walgreens now,
additional ring camera footagefrom his downstairs neighbor,
Doug Lynch, captured Chenentering and exiting the
(34:28):
apartment building multipletimes. This footage, combined
with the timeline of hismovements, was painting a
clearer picture of what happenedin the hours after Jasmine
disappeared, but the mostcritical piece of evidence was
still to come at 4:42pm,Detective Stephen Bulkley took
the stand a key investigator inthe case. Bulkley described the
(34:51):
search for Jasmine pace as anall hands on deck investigation.
His testimony focused on thephone records that ultimately.
Led to the discovery of her bodyon November 28 2022 Bulkley
wrote search warrants forJason's T Mobile records on
December 1, 2022 those recordsput Jason Chen on suck Creek
(35:15):
Road, using the location datafrom Chen's phone, Detective
zeroed in on suck Creek Roadstarting their search at the
very first vehicle pull off asmall gravel turnout near the
steep embankment in under aminute, bulkley's eyes locked
onto something partially hiddenin the brush, a suitcase wedged
(35:37):
in a swath of kudzu Sitting just10 to 15 feet above the river
level. The placement suggestedit had been deliberately
discarded, but not well enoughto be swept away by the river's
current. Everything about thescene fell off. What happened
next was chilling the courtroomwatched as footage taken from
(35:59):
another investigator's phoneplays on the screen vocally,
slipped on blue medical glovesand with careful hands, unzipped
the suitcase, revealing a blacktrash bag tightly packed inside.
The way it was arranged, sent achill through him. This wasn't
random. He reached down with hisright hand and pressed gently
(36:21):
against the surface of the bag.Beneath the plastic, he could
feel the unmistakable contoursof a human form, a head,
shoulders and torso. There wasno doubt he knew they had found
Jasmine pace Bulkley wouldnotify investigator Crawford and
(36:42):
call the medical examiner andcrime scene unit to collect the
suitcase and document the scene.
Within the last hour, anotherChattanooga Police investigator
testified about how they recoverPace's body inside the suitcase.
Investigator Steve Buckley saysthey obtained warrants for chin
(37:04):
cell phone locations. Hetestified that is how he was
able to track Chen to sub CreekRoad several times on November
23 when investigators wentthere, they found the suitcase
just yards from the TennesseeRiver.
So because I had gloves on, Iplaced my hand on various parts
of that trash bag contents, andI can feel what was consistent
(37:27):
with making the head, shouldersand the torso at that point, we
were even more certain that youfound Japanese
Wow. Buckley testified, theyfound the suitcase within
minutes of getting out of theirvehicles.
(37:52):
After my sequestration, myproducer and I traveled back to
Chattanooga to see firsthand theplaces we had heard about during
the trial, to say that this wasa heavy, sad experience would be
an understatement. Standing inthese locations were key moments
in the case unfolded. Madeeverything feel even more real.
(38:12):
The weight of it all wasundeniable. I'll share more of
these clips in upcomingepisodes, but for today, I want
to take you to Sut Creek Road.
Wow.
(38:38):
We both fell silent as westepped out of the car onto the
gravel, crescent shaped turnoutoff suck Creek Road. The turnout
itself is small, stretching nomore than 30 yards, with the
river bank just steps from theroad's edge, I noticed scattered
trash in the area, a reminder ofhow time had passed. It had been
(39:01):
over two years, and though I wasvisiting in January of 2025 I
imagine the scene didn't lookmuch different. In November of
2022 a few bare tulip poplarsand a swath of dried kudzu
plants lined the banks theirtangled remains barely
concealing the Tennessee Riverrushing just 15 feet below. It
(39:27):
wasn't until writing for thispodcast that I truly understood
what Kudzu is. I had seen itbefore, tangled across trees and
swallowing entire landscapes,but I never knew just how
relentless it was. It's anunstoppable creeping vine that
grows up to a foot a day. Buthere in the dead of winter, the
(39:49):
kudzu is brittle and lifeless.Its once dense greenery reduced
to a skeletal tangle of vines.Any illusion of cover was. Gone.
The suitcase had never been wellhidden. And standing there that
day, it was clear this wasn't acarefully concealed disposal.
(40:11):
Jasmine had been found you
next week on sequestered.
These victims remains in it thisdifference
(40:37):
between the handcuffs and
the chat, well, the hangup hadtwo locations, so there was one
to attach to her hand and one toher ankle. The shackle only had
one cinch and then a chain.
CSI uncovers trash bags,shackles and a chilling truth.
(40:58):
Stay with us. Episode Four divesinto the case's most damning
details.
(41:20):
Thank you for listening tosequestered a juror's
perspective on the murder trialfor Jasmine. Pace. Each episode
brings us closer tounderstanding the trial, the
people involved, and the weightof seeking justice. If this
story speaks to you, pleasefollow, share and continue the
conversation with us. Jasmine'sstory deserves to be remembered.
(41:43):
This is a BP production. Theshow is written, edited and
produced by me Sarah Reed, withCO production by Andrea Kleid.
News clips featured in thisepisode were sourced from wtvc
News Channel Nine, local threenews, Chattanooga and the law
and crime, network music andsound design are curated to
(42:03):
reflect the gravity andsensitivity of this story, and
with the intent to honorJasmine, her family and the
community affected by her death.For more information or to
connect with us, visitsequestered pod.com or follow us
on Instagram at sequestered pod.Thank you for listening until
next time, stay curious and staysafe. You.
Speaker before we begin, pleasebe advised that this episode
contains graphic descriptions ofviolence as presented during the
trial. Please take care whilelistening. It's Tuesday morning,
January 14, 2025, day two of thetrial. The morning unfolds just
as it did yesterday. In fact,the daily structure is quickly
(00:24):
settling into a predictablerhythm, early mornings, strict
schedules and constantsupervision. For all of us, the
predictability of the processwas both grounding and at times,
a little suffocating. I had achance to catch up with a couple
of the jurors after the trial,and I'm eager to share some of
their thoughts with youthroughout the podcast. Here's
(00:46):
juror number one sharing hisbreakdown of our morning
routine.
Every day, we would wake up ataround 6am the sheriffs would
come knock on our door becausethey had to take the alarm
clocks out of our rooms, sincethey have radios, which could
have exposed us to details ofthe case we'd have 30 minutes
(01:09):
before we went down to the hotellobby to have breakfast, all the
TVs in the lobby had to beturned to the weather channel so
that, you know, we wouldn't seeany news coverage of the case.
I'd never really eat much, but Ienjoyed having coffee with
everybody in the morning. Afterbreakfast, they would give us an
hour of time to get ready forthe day, and then we'd be
(01:32):
shuttled to the courthouse. Whenwe got to the courthouse, we
would go to our place that wasbasically home base. Was a
conference room wheredeliberation happened. We would
chill out there for like 30minutes. Sometimes, I think one
day it was actually like almostthree hours before they brought
us into the courtroom.
(01:56):
As juror number one explains.Once we're at the courthouse, we
settle into our jury room, wherewe spend time getting to know
each other. Remember, we're notallowed to discuss the case
until deliberations, whichhonestly is harder than it
sounds, and with no cell phonesor laptops to retreat into, we
have nothing to do but talk. Sowhat do a group of random
(02:19):
strangers tasked with deciding aman's fate, but unable to talk
about it. Actually talk about,well, we get to know each other
the old fashioned way. We shareabout our jobs, families where
we grew up, and swap favoriterestaurant names among us were
people with professions likedoctor and social worker,
(02:40):
clinician and accountant,engineer and architect,
homemaker and tour manager. Weall came from different
backgrounds, worlds thatprobably would never intersect
in our daily lives. I've saidthis before, but it felt like an
unexpected social experiment.The bailiff and officers joked
(03:01):
with us back in Nashville,saying that we'd be bonded by
the end of this and they weren'twrong. What the 16 of us
experienced over these 10 dayscreated a connection that will
stay with us forever. It's notunlike how investigators had to
piece together all the fragmentsof evidence, each piece,
seemingly unrelated at first,but forming a complete picture
(03:24):
over time. Just as we werestrangers brought together by
circumstance, so were thedetectives, attorneys and even
Jasmine's family, all linked bythe pursuit of justice. Unlike
us, though, they didn't have theoption to walk away when the
trial was over, their bondforged through grief and
(03:44):
relentless determination willlast far beyond the verdict in
sentencing. Sequestration wasn'tjust about being physically
removed from the outside world.It carried an emotional and
mental weight that we all had toprocess in our own way. Juror
(04:04):
number five kept a journalthroughout the trial,
documenting her thoughts andexperiences in real time. Here's
a passage she wrote about theweight of sequestration.
Maybe it's important to beconfined without the people you
love, the things that make youcomfortable, the regular
(04:24):
distractions before sentencing aperson to life in prison. Of
course, a stay in a hotel withsupervised dining and outings to
landmarks is different. It'sdifferent than the cold
hostility of a maximum securityprison, privately run with
shareholders best interest inmind, but still the taste of
(04:46):
sequestration gives insight tothe gravity of it all you.
(05:06):
This is sequestered a juror'sperspective on the murder trial
for Jasmine pace. I'm Sarah,juror number 11 each episode,
I'll take you inside thecourtroom, behind the scenes and
into the weighty moments of thistrial as we honor Jasmine's life
and navigate the complexities ofseeking justice, let's begin.
(05:33):
This is episode three,connecting the dots. You
okay, here's what we know sofar. Jasmine pace was last seen
alive on November 22 2022 whenshe arrived at Jason Chen's
(05:55):
apartment at 110 treemont Streetin Chattanooga at 2:18am on
November 23 Jasmine sent hermother, Katrina bean, a location
pin for the same address, amessage that would go unseen for
three days by November 26 afterdays of silence, Katrina took
action at a Verizon store. Sheaccessed Jasmine's my Chevy app,
(06:17):
tracking her car to 900 mountaincreek road. Jasmine's father and
sister met her there, butJasmine was nowhere to be found.
The family knocked on doors,questioned residents and called
the police with an officerpresent, Katrina dialed one of
the last numbers on Jasmine'scall log, Jason Chen. Jason
claimed he hadn't seen jasminein a while and gave Katrina a
(06:39):
fake address, 500 TremontStreet, an abandoned house
suspicious. The family followedJasmine's location pin to 110,
Tremont Street, Her last knownlocation. A neighbor confirmed
hearing a woman scream fromapartment 210, on November 22
breaking into the unit, thefamily found Jasmine's driver's
(06:59):
license, credit cards and travelbag, and immediately called 911,
police arrived, briefly, lookedaround and left, finding nothing
suspicious. But Katrina wasn'tdone. She returned to apartment
210, collecting Jasmine'sbelongings and a box of items
she believed could be crucial.The next day, on November 27
investigator Zach Crawford tookover the case his work would
(07:23):
soon connect the evidence thatled to Jason Chen's arrest. Fast
forward to January 14, 2025 daytwo of the trial, a day that
reveals the full story ofJasmine Pace's murder and the
prosecution's case against JasonChen, soon, every piece of
(07:45):
evidence, every testimony andevery detail will come together,
exposing the truth in a way thatcan no longer be ignored. Get
ready. This was a long day forall trial goers. The 16 of us
file into the courtroom, just aswe did the day before, the
(08:06):
routine was already settling in,the knock at the door, line up,
be counted, walk across thehall, enter the courtroom and
silently file into the jury box.I adjusted my squeaky blue chair
and flipped my notebook to afresh page, then glanced toward
the bench where Judge Pattersonremained standing. He invited
(08:29):
the room to be seated witheveryone in place. He adjusted
his glasses, looked toward theattorneys and signaled for
general WAMP to take the floorlead investigator, Zach
Crawford, is already sitting inthe witness stand. Crawford
carried a composed andmethodical presence in the
(08:50):
courtroom. His dark, short hairwas neatly styled, and a
mustache and beard framed hisface, adding to his serious, no
nonsense demeanor, deep linesetched across his forehead
hinted at the weight of hisprofession. Years spent
analyzing crime scenes, piecingtogether the truth and
delivering facts with precisionwhen responding to questions, he
(09:13):
spoke with measured confidence,his steady voice reinforcing the
gravity of the evidence he hadmeticulously gathered, his sharp
eyes rarely stray, as if he ismentally retracing every step of
the investigation in real time.He answered with deliberate
precision, never rushing,ensuring the jury grasped the
significance of each detail you
(09:45):
images here were just shown tothe jury just minutes ago. This
shows some of the evidence foundin Chen's apartment, the
reaction of a forensics agentcalled Blue Star. You can see
the blue colored on the floorthere investigators that
Crawford, which had a new policetest of. About the use of this
agent. He testified in hisexperience the discoloration on
Chen's floor means the presenceof blood. He said he had never
(10:08):
seen that amount of bloodilluminated by blue star in his
homicide career.
You might recall, we ended dayone of the trial with the search
of Jason Chen's apartment at 110Tremont Street. The search
warrant was granted forapartment 210 at 11:45pm, on
(10:32):
November 28 Jason Chen was nothome when officers arrived upon
entry. Officers cleared andsecured the apartment before the
crime scene unit beganprocessing and documenting the
scene. Investigators conducted awalk through searching for
evidence and any clues aboutwhat had transpired.
(10:54):
Investigator Crawford told thejury that the search began with
gloves and a flashlight, thenwhat started as a routine search
quickly escalated into ahomicide investigation with the
first spray of blue star. Aforensic agent Crawford, who had
already noticed the stainsduring his initial walk through,
(11:16):
watched as blue star illuminateda disturbingly large area in the
living room as the crime sceneunit moved through the
apartment, more evidencesurfaced. Blue Star revealed
blood smeared in the livingroom, splattered and pooled in
the bathroom and soaked deepinto the bedroom carpet. There
(11:36):
was, as da Cody WAMP had statedin her opening argument, blood
all over the apartment. What hadfirst appeared to be a clean
apartment was now telling a muchdarker story. Crime scene
investigators photographed everystain, swabbed surfaces, and
meticulously collected evidence,each piece, bringing them closer
(11:59):
to uncovering what had trulyhappened inside apartment 210
with suspicions mounting,investigators expand their
search beyond apartment 210canvassing neighbors and
scouring the area for overlookedevidence. One conversation led
investigator Crawford to amanhole cover in the back
(12:21):
parking lot. Determined to leaveno stone unturned, he crawled 70
feet underground in search ofclues. Nothing was discovered,
but the manhole cover sat near adumpster outside of Jason Chen's
apartment, where crucialdiscovery did await inside the
wooden fencing and on the groundjust in front of two blue
(12:42):
dumpsters, investigators find apair of blue jeans with
discoloration resembling blood,a pair of white low top van's
shoes, size 11, and a bloodsoaked sanitary pad lying next
to a pair of women's underwear.These items were photographed
and collected for evidence, daCody WAMP then highlighted a
(13:04):
significant detail. Jasmine pacewas on her menstrual cycle at
the time of her disappearance,and the pad found near the
dumpster matched the one she waswearing when her body was
recovered. The photos of theseitems in front of the dumpster
are available to view on ourwebsite, adding to the
complexity of the case,investigator Crawford
(13:26):
highlighted a key forensiclimitation in major criminal
investigations, law enforcementcan submit only 10 pieces of
evidence at a time for forensictesting, compounding the
challenge most forensic labsface month long backlogs. In
this case, the Tennessee Bureauof Investigation, or TBI,
(13:47):
conducted forensic analysisthrough its crime lab,
performing DNA testing,toxicology and fingerprint
analysis to support lawenforcement. Given the urgency,
Crawford prioritized the mostcritical evidence items most
likely to connect Jason Chen tothe crime. Although
investigators collected theitems from the dumpster, they
(14:08):
were not included in the 10items submitted to TBI for
testing. District Attorney CodyWAMP presented these details
strategically, anticipating thedefense's argument, if the
dumpster evidence wasn't tested,they could claim it couldn't be
definitively linked to themurder. Despite this, forensic
testing yielded a criticalbreakthrough. The blood found
(14:30):
inside Jason Chen's apartmentwas a DNA match to Jasmine pace.
What began as a missing personcase had now shifted
dramatically, and Jason Chen wasthe main suspect,
(14:58):
you know, during Sequest.Illustration, I had a lot of
time to think, and honestly, Ikept wishing I had a speaker so
that I could just listen to agreat book. That's why I love
audiobooks. Whether I'm driving,walking the dogs or traveling, I
can just press play and get lostin an amazing story anytime and
anywhere. One of my all timefavorites is New York by Edward
(15:22):
Rutherford. This epic historicalnovel spans over 400 years
following generations offamilies through the city's most
pivotal moments, from its Dutchsettlement days and all the way
to 911 it was one of the firstaudiobooks I had ever listened
to. It felt like the narratorwas reading the story. Just for
(15:42):
me, I was completely hooked.Here's some good news. You can
listen to New York or any otherbook for free. Audible is giving
sequestered listeners a freeaudiobook with a 30 day trial.
Just go to audible trial.com,forward slash sequestered.
That's one free book yours tokeep forever. So find something
(16:05):
you love and get listening. Goto audible trial.com. Forward,
slash, sequestered. You
at this point in the case, JasonChen is officially identified as
(16:26):
a suspect. Despite multipleattempts to contact him, Jason
remains elusive. Investigatorsgather information about his
family, personal life and hismovements. They confirm Chen's
identity, not only from hisresidence at 110 Tremont street,
but also by his cell phonenumber his enrollment at
University of Tennessee atChattanooga, and finally, by
(16:50):
learning that he drove a 2018gray Toyota Camry next Crawford,
would obtain a search warrantfor Chen's cell phone Data,
revealing ping locations withcoordinates that led to 1943
Ashburn court in nolensville,Tennessee. I need to pause here,
because Hold on, did they justsay nolensville? I live about
(17:13):
four miles from nolansville,Tennessee. This case just got a
whole lot closer to home,literally in the early hours of
November 29 at 2am a searchwarrant was executed at Chen's
parents house in nolensville,Tennessee. Four homicide
detectives and crime sceneinvestigators from the
(17:35):
Chattanooga Police Departmentresponded, along with officers
from the nolansville policedepartment upon arrival, the
first contact made was withJason's parents. Investigator,
Crawford informed them of thesearch warrant and asked if
Jason Chen was inside. Jason'sfather called for him, and
(17:55):
moments later, Jason appearedfrom a room on the second floor.
Crawford testified that whenJason came to the door, his
demeanor was defensive yet calm.Crawford informed Jason that law
enforcement had a search warrantfor his parents residence and
that he would be detained at thenolensville Police Department,
where a separate search warranthad been issued for his person,
(18:17):
more specifically for his DNA.Upon hearing this, Jason's first
response was to ask if they hadspoken with his lawyer. Yet
Crawford told him no. He didn'targue or resist. Instead, he
complied with the officers,allowing them to escort him to
the patrol car waiting outsidenext District Attorney Cody WAMP
(18:39):
questioned investigator Crawfordabout photographs of Jason Chen
standing in his parents doorway,drawing attention to a notable
item on his head, a red andwhite trucker hat. The hat
featured the phrase anythinggoes, a detail investigators
carefully documented as part ofthe case. The during the search
(19:04):
of Chen's parents' house,investigators made a curious
discovery in the room whereJason Chen had been staying, his
iPhone was found inside of a redjewelry box, which had been
turned around and obscurelyplaced on the top shelf of a
cabinet. His phone would becomea gold mine of information for
investigators. On the desk inthis same room, Jason's wallet
(19:28):
was located with his ID andcredit cards inside. One of the
cards would later be linked toreceipts from Walgreens and
Walmart, where Chen was seen onsecurity footage just days
before, purchasing band aids andcleaning supplies, a laptop and
multiple handwritten notes werealso located on the desk in this
(19:48):
room. These notes provided aninteresting read. One bright
yellow post it note said,approach them. I. Another had
the name Crawford written on itwith investigator Crawford cell
phone number written next to it,some doodles, and then two other
(20:13):
names, Brooke and Cheyenne. Whowere these girls. Another
fluorescent post. It note hadtwo sets of 11 digit numbers
written on it. There was also awhite note card with a thin
black border listing fingersizes for rings and different
(20:34):
handwriting. It wasn't broughtup in trial testimony, so it may
not be relevant to the case, butit still caught my attention.
There's another dark purple postit note that caught my eye. It's
difficult to make out in thephotos, but investigator
Crawford read it aloud,revealing what it had said,
if law enforcement contactsother family members, what do
(20:56):
they do?
Other yellow post it notes readSaturday,
November 19. Last time I sawher, she would call me once a
day. Scratch that she would callme every day. Last time was on
November 22 on the phone.
Then investigators found anotebook containing organized
(21:17):
notes about Jasmine. Here's whatthe spiral notebook read
Friday, November 18, last time Isaw her, Tuesday, November 22
last time we talked. She has ahuge history of running away
from home in her teenage years.Mom was an alcoholic, ran away
to Canada for several years andwas homeless, has restraining
(21:40):
order against x. Scratch thatout. Her dad left when she was a
kid, has restraining orderagainst x. Says she was recently
online on Facebook next to Ken,
you can see all of these noteson our website, sequestered,
pod.com, we have a lot ofthoughts about them, especially
(22:00):
since they weren't reallybrought up again in the trial,
but I can see why theprosecution wanted them included
in this testimony. Also, itseemed like with Chen writing
down investigator Crawford'snumber, he had clearly listened
to his voicemail, and from theway the notes were worded, it
felt like he was trying to gethis story straight before
calling Crawford back in anotherroom of the parents house,
(22:25):
investigators located JasonChen's backpack among the items
found inside an eyeglasses casewas collected. Inside of the
case was Jasmine Pace's SIMcard. This obviously raised some
serious questions. Why did hehave it? Had he removed it to
prevent tracking? Where was hercell phone? This discovery would
(22:50):
become a critical piece of theinvestigation, suggesting a
deliberate effort to concealevidence. Finally, investigator
Crawford revealed that Jason'scar was found parked inside of
his parents garage While both ofhis parents vehicles sat outside
in the driveway. In photos shownduring the trial, the two car
(23:11):
garage, each side with its ownretracting door, appeared to
serve as a storage space for thefamily. The side closest to the
house was packed with items,leaving no clear pathway. On the
other side, a gray Toyota Camrywas wedged tightly among the
stored items, as if space hadbeen cleared just enough to fit
(23:31):
the vehicle. The placement ofChen's car tucked away while the
family's vehicles remainedoutside raised an unsettling
question, had he beendeliberately hiding his car from
view? Jason was placed under aninvestigative hold at
nolensville, PD, whileinvestigators searched his
parents home once the search hadconcluded, he was formally
(23:56):
arrested for criminal homicideand transported back to
Chattanooga, where he was bookedand fingerprinted, his Toyota
Camry was transported shortlybehind the very next day, on
December 1 2022 investigatorsmade a grim discovery, a
suitcase wedged into the brushoff of suck Creek Road, inside
(24:21):
the body of Jasmine. Pace daWAMP turned to investigator
Crawford, asking him to connectthe dots between Chen's arrest
and the chilling discovery thatfollowed just 24 hours later,
Mr. Chin was only placed underNCIC hold, investigative hold at
(24:42):
that point, but we came back notapplied for a arrest warrant to
the Hampton county magistrate'soffice, at which point you
signed off for at the time, forcriminal homicide,
and at this point in time, didanybody know where Desmond was
more. Our investigators andother law enforcement officers
(25:03):
of chatting Police Departmentactively looking for this case,
we didn't stop.
What day was that arrest warrantissued? The
arrest warrant was issued onNovember 30.
And do you recall what day itwas that Jasmine's body was
located on the side of the cityriver off Creek Road on December
(25:25):
1. I'm not going to go into toomuch detail, but were you
notified when Jasmine's body waslocated? Yes, that's correct.
Did you report to that areawhere the suitcase had been
found? Yes, that's correct. Andthen subsequently, did the
medical examiner also arrived atthat same office of regrowth.
Yes, that's correct. And was itafter the efforts you also went
(25:47):
to the medical examiner's officefor the autopsy, that's correct.
Next da want focused on Chen'sphone records, revealing call
logs between Jasmine pace andJason Chen, along with text
messages Chen sent to her phoneafter she was last seen,
investigators forensicallyaccessed his phone data,
(26:10):
uncovering multiple deleted textmessages to Jasmine and a 71
minute phone call that tookplace at 11:56am On November 22
Crawford explained to the jurythe key difference between data
extracted from a physical phoneversus call records from cell
phone service providers. Dataextracted from a phone will
(26:32):
reveal deleted text, photos, appdata and metadata, which can
expose altered timestamps orhidden messages. In contrast,
cell service records log calls,texts and tower pings, but it
doesn't store message content,making them a permanent,
unchangeable record that a usercannot delete or manipulate. Da
(26:56):
womp then shows screenshots oftext messages on Chen's phone
that didn't appear in his textrecords, suggesting that they
had been deleted. Among them wasa message sent from Jason's
phone to Jasmine's phone at7:53pm on November 28 It read,
good morning. Slept like a baby.I made myself a matcha
(27:21):
attached to the text was a photoof Jason holding a Starbucks
matcha drink. But the metadatahad revealed that this photo was
actually taken on july 23 of2021 and it had been altered on
November 23 of 2022 before itwas sent to Jasmine's phone
hours after Jasmine was lastseen. CPD investigators
(27:46):
determined that Chen manipulatedthe timestamp, making it appear
as though Jasmine was alive andresponding after her
disappearance. Later that day,he reinforced this illusion by
sending another text to herphone, attempting to create a
false trail.
Hey, are we still good fordinner tonight,
(28:06):
based on the location of thatphoto, those text messages, who
were those sent from
based on how they were capturedfrom the device? Here's their
sent from Jason Chen, sellerdevice to that of Jasmine faces
other points, because that'scorrect, that's Jasmine phone
(28:26):
number associated at the topjust doesn't have her contacting
next the prosecution introducedA critical update from Jason
Chen's former apartment complex.During renovations of Chen's
apartment, the complex managercontacted Chattanooga, PD,
(28:48):
reporting the possible discoveryof new evidence. Investigator
Crawford and crime sceneinvestigators returned to Chen's
former apartment, where ongoingrenovations revealed new
evidence that had previouslygone unnoticed with the bed and
furniture now removed, a darkdiscoloration in the carpet
became visible in the exact spotwhere Chen's bed had been during
(29:11):
their initial search, suggestinga stain that had seeped deep
into the flooring. Additionally,Crawford observed an oil stain
on the wall positioned at aheight consistent with where
someone might have sat up in bedand rested their head, further
confirming the originalplacement of the bed in his
room, and thus reinforcing thesignificance of this Newly
(29:32):
uncovered evidence. Once thecarpet was pulled back, a large
dark stain was revealed, seepingthrough to the carpet
installation and onto thefloorboard. With his experience
in homicide cases, investigatorCrawford stated that it
unmistakably looked like blood.The entire section of blood
(29:54):
soaked carpet, along with theinsulation beneath it, was
collected as evidence on daythree. Of the trial, this very
piece, the stained carpet, theblue insulation and the
unmistakable presence ofJasmine's dried blood would be
laid out on a tarp in front ofthe jury box remaining there for
the entire day, it was aninescapable haunting reminder of
(30:18):
the crime we were there to judgeyou.
What do we have here? This isgoing to be the carpet section
from the bedroom. This is goingto be the bathroom area leading
into the bedroom. This will bethe left hand side in earlier
photographs of the originalexecution of the search for it,
(30:40):
the bed would actually beenlocated in this area, right
here.
So is this evident? Because youdid not find when you were in
the apartment on the 28th ofNovember,
that's correct,
because the bed is safe.
There was a bed placed over top.The other things that are
different at this time, at thetime that the search work was
(31:02):
executed, it appeared that thelights that were placed in there
were aftermarket or some sortthey had a white light cue to
them. So it's not a very welllit apartment. So a lot of
things we did by way offlashlights. At the time, once
they reclaimed the apartment,they put new lights in there for
the assistance of renovation tothe walk rider, I could actually
(31:25):
observe a lot more things atthis point in time than having
to use just a flashlight. Andthen why do you need?
Da Cody WAMP asked investigatorCrawford to explain the Arctic
camera system, RT IC, or realtime Intelligence Center
monitors over 3000 surveillancecameras across Chattanooga.
(31:47):
We've all seen them. They'rethose cameras on telephone poles
at major intersections, youknow, with the flashing blue
lights, one of these cameras,positioned at the corner of
Tremont and Frazier, capturedmany key moments in the
investigation. Arctic footageconfirmed Jasmine paces arrival
at Jason Chen's apartment at11:42pm on November 22 2022
(32:12):
matching data from her my Chevyapp. Additional surveillance
showed Chen inside a Walmart onNovember 23 purchasing
washcloths and cleaningsupplies, which Investigators
later found inside of hisapartment. After checkout at
Walmart, he remained in theparking lot for 30 minutes,
raising questions about hisbehavior later that day, Chen
(32:35):
was seen at Walgreens at 1:39pmand again at 7:03pm with a five
and a half hour gap betweenvisits. At 8:30pm Jasmine's
vehicle was seen exiting thelofts at Tremont, driven by
Chen, who was wearing a grayhoodie and the red and white
anything goes trucker hat. Thevehicle is shown again at 8:41pm
(32:58):
arriving at the signal viewcondos, the location where her
family later found it. 12minutes later, Arctic footage
shows a dark colored ToyotaPrius dropping off a person
wearing a red and white hat anda gray hoodie at 110 Tremont
Street, which Crawford believeswas a lift ride, further piecing
together Chen's movements thatnight in the courtroom. Da WAMP
(33:22):
cues the Arctic cams up to theevening of November 23 at 5:58pm
Jason Chen exits the frontentrance of his apartment
building, pulling a largesuitcase down the sidewalk. He
appears to struggle lifting itup the stairs, then his right
arm drops as the weight of thesuitcase settles back on its
wheels, he then turns left androlls the suitcase out of frame
(33:45):
and into the parking lot.Moments later, his gray Toyota
Camry is seen leaving theparking lot and turning west
onto Frazier Avenue.
Was he traveling in the correctdirection to get
to separate. Yes, he was proud.
(34:06):
Surveillance evidence continuedto tighten the prosecution's
case. Arctic footage had alreadyshown Jason Chen leaving his
apartment with a suitcase onNovember 23 the same day he
purchased cleaning supplies atWalmart and Walgreens now,
additional ring camera footagefrom his downstairs neighbor,
Doug Lynch, captured Chenentering and exiting the
(34:28):
apartment building multipletimes. This footage, combined
with the timeline of hismovements, was painting a
clearer picture of what happenedin the hours after Jasmine
disappeared, but the mostcritical piece of evidence was
still to come at 4:42pm,Detective Stephen Bulkley took
the stand a key investigator inthe case. Bulkley described the
(34:51):
search for Jasmine pace as anall hands on deck investigation.
His testimony focused on thephone records that ultimately.
Led to the discovery of her bodyon November 28 2022 Bulkley
wrote search warrants forJason's T Mobile records on
December 1, 2022 those recordsput Jason Chen on suck Creek
(35:15):
Road, using the location datafrom Chen's phone, Detective
zeroed in on suck Creek Roadstarting their search at the
very first vehicle pull off asmall gravel turnout near the
steep embankment in under aminute, bulkley's eyes locked
onto something partially hiddenin the brush, a suitcase wedged
(35:37):
in a swath of kudzu Sitting just10 to 15 feet above the river
level. The placement suggestedit had been deliberately
discarded, but not well enoughto be swept away by the river's
current. Everything about thescene fell off. What happened
next was chilling the courtroomwatched as footage taken from
(35:59):
another investigator's phoneplays on the screen vocally,
slipped on blue medical glovesand with careful hands, unzipped
the suitcase, revealing a blacktrash bag tightly packed inside.
The way it was arranged, sent achill through him. This wasn't
random. He reached down with hisright hand and pressed gently
(36:21):
against the surface of the bag.Beneath the plastic, he could
feel the unmistakable contoursof a human form, a head,
shoulders and torso. There wasno doubt he knew they had found
Jasmine pace Bulkley wouldnotify investigator Crawford and
(36:42):
call the medical examiner andcrime scene unit to collect the
suitcase and document the scene.
Within the last hour, anotherChattanooga Police investigator
testified about how they recoverPace's body inside the suitcase.
Investigator Steve Buckley saysthey obtained warrants for chin
(37:04):
cell phone locations. Hetestified that is how he was
able to track Chen to sub CreekRoad several times on November
23 when investigators wentthere, they found the suitcase
just yards from the TennesseeRiver.
So because I had gloves on, Iplaced my hand on various parts
of that trash bag contents, andI can feel what was consistent
(37:27):
with making the head, shouldersand the torso at that point, we
were even more certain that youfound Japanese
Wow. Buckley testified, theyfound the suitcase within
minutes of getting out of theirvehicles.
(37:52):
After my sequestration, myproducer and I traveled back to
Chattanooga to see firsthand theplaces we had heard about during
the trial, to say that this wasa heavy, sad experience would be
an understatement. Standing inthese locations were key moments
in the case unfolded. Madeeverything feel even more real.
(38:12):
The weight of it all wasundeniable. I'll share more of
these clips in upcomingepisodes, but for today, I want
to take you to Sut Creek Road.
Wow.
(38:38):
We both fell silent as westepped out of the car onto the
gravel, crescent shaped turnoutoff suck Creek Road. The turnout
itself is small, stretching nomore than 30 yards, with the
river bank just steps from theroad's edge, I noticed scattered
trash in the area, a reminder ofhow time had passed. It had been
(39:01):
over two years, and though I wasvisiting in January of 2025 I
imagine the scene didn't lookmuch different. In November of
2022 a few bare tulip poplarsand a swath of dried kudzu
plants lined the banks theirtangled remains barely
concealing the Tennessee Riverrushing just 15 feet below. It
(39:27):
wasn't until writing for thispodcast that I truly understood
what Kudzu is. I had seen itbefore, tangled across trees and
swallowing entire landscapes,but I never knew just how
relentless it was. It's anunstoppable creeping vine that
grows up to a foot a day. Buthere in the dead of winter, the
(39:49):
kudzu is brittle and lifeless.Its once dense greenery reduced
to a skeletal tangle of vines.Any illusion of cover was. Gone.
The suitcase had never been wellhidden. And standing there that
day, it was clear this wasn't acarefully concealed disposal.
(40:11):
Jasmine had been found you
next week on sequestered.
These victims remains in it thisdifference
(40:37):
between the handcuffs and
the chat, well, the hangup hadtwo locations, so there was one
to attach to her hand and one toher ankle. The shackle only had
one cinch and then a chain.
CSI uncovers trash bags,shackles and a chilling truth.
(40:58):
Stay with us. Episode Four divesinto the case's most damning
details.
(41:20):
Thank you for listening tosequestered a juror's
perspective on the murder trialfor Jasmine. Pace. Each episode
brings us closer tounderstanding the trial, the
people involved, and the weightof seeking justice. If this
story speaks to you, pleasefollow, share and continue the
conversation with us. Jasmine'sstory deserves to be remembered.
(41:43):
This is a BP production. Theshow is written, edited and
produced by me Sarah Reed, withCO production by Andrea Kleid.
News clips featured in thisepisode were sourced from wtvc
News Channel Nine, local threenews, Chattanooga and the law
and crime, network music andsound design are curated to
(42:03):
reflect the gravity andsensitivity of this story, and
with the intent to honorJasmine, her family and the
community affected by her death.For more information or to
connect with us, visitsequestered pod.com or follow us
on Instagram at sequestered pod.Thank you for listening until
next time, stay curious and staysafe. You.
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