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The Bakersfield resident Todd Chance was found fatally shot to death near an almond orchard on March 25, 2013. The investigations into the death led to his elementary school principal wife, Leslie Jenea Chance, who started her career teaching at Bakersfield’s Fairview Elementary School.
Todd Chance had been exchanging flirtatious texts and explicit images with his ex-fiance, Carrie Williams, over Facebook Messenger. The prosecutors argued that jealousy, combined with the risk of alimony on divorce and a $250,000 insurance payout, led to the murder.
The Dateline: Unforgettable episode 'Point Blank' airs on February 22, 2024, at 8 pm EST on Investigation Discovery and showcases the details of the murder. The synopsis reads,
"After Todd Chance is murdered, police follow a trail of video evidence to track down their suspect. Andrea Canning recalls a particularly revealing interview, including an eye-popping detail you must see to believe."
Five details about Todd Chance's murder explored
1) Todd Chance was found shot to death near an almond orchard on March 23, 2013
Todd Chance was found shot to death by a farm worker near an almond orchard near Bakersfield on March 23, 2013. His wallet was left with him, and a cell phone was discovered 40 feet away from the body.
The former Kern County Sheriff’s Coroner Janelle Malena shared,
“I located two gunshot wounds to the side of his chest. He also had what appeared to be a gunshot wound to his hand at a very close range.”
His 2011 Ford Mustang was recovered from southwest Bakersfield later in the day, and the detectives found the car unlocked with the keys left inside. The .38-caliber revolver used as a murder weapon containing two spent shell casings, a pink towel, and two notes were found inside as well, per search-warrant documents via PEOPLE.
2) The investigators discovered that Todd Chance shared an illicit affair with his ex-fiance, Carrie Williams
The Kern County Sheriff’s Office investigators searched Todd Chance's cellphone and discovered his rekindled relationship with his ex-fiance, Carrie Williams. The two reportedly shared flirtatious texts and explicit photos over Facebook Messenger.
Todd spoke about his desire to get together with Carrie, and the two often joked about Leslie at her expense.
3) Leslie Jenea Chance's fingerprint was found inside Todd's recovered car
A sole fingerprint was recovered from the driver's side of the door along with DNA over the gear shaft, which connected the crime to Leslie Jenea, per WGET. On September 11, 2013, the detectives took Leslie's DNA swab and fingerprint samples, per The Bakersfield Californian, to match it to the DNA collected from the Mustang.
Leslie Jenea Chance had mentioned that she never drove Todd's car, which gave the police reason to suspect her involvement.
4) Todd Chance's murder was believed to be pre-mediated, per court documents
Leslie's statement fell through as she had told the police that she never drove Todd's car and was at home working on her computer. Surveillance footage, combined with internet records, led to her arrest in December 2016 for the murder of Todd Chance.
Leslie shot Todd Chance twice at close range, as the former Kern County Sheriff’s Coroner Janelle Malena mentioned,
“I located two gunshot wounds to the side of his chest. He also had what appeared to be a gunshot wound to his hand at a very close range.”
As per Oxygen, she changed her clothes at a Starbucks restroom in the neighborhood and discarded her original outfit behind bags of soil. While the court documents mentioned Leslie having Todd's car bleached to remove evidence, the prosecutors believed she learned how to do so from an exhibit on CSI: The Experience, which the family had attended on a vacation.
5) Leslie Jenea Chance was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for first-degree murder
The prosecutors took three years to build a case to pursue Leslie Chance as she maintains her innocence to date. Leslie was arrested and charged with the first-degree murder of her husband in December 2016.
The prosecutors argued about financial gain and jealousy being the motives behind the murder as she made significantly more than Todd, thereby making her eligible to pay for alimony. A $250,000 insurance payout allegedly added to the incentive.
According to KERO-TV, she was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison with an additional 25 years to life for a firearms enhancement on September 16, 2020.
New episodes of Dateline: Unforgettable airs every Thursday on Investigation Discovery.
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