What happened to Jasmine Pace? Details explored ahead of Dateline on NBC

The upcoming episode of Dateline explores the tragic story of Tennessee girl Jasmine Pace, who was found dead on the side of a street in Chattanooga in December 2022. According to a People report dated January 15, 2025, her body was discovered inside a suitcase, and she was brutally stabbed with knives.

A few days after her disappearance, on the complaint of the family, the police arrested Jason Chen and registered a case of murder and damage to the body against him.

When the case was being heard in court, investigators said that Jason Chen had pasted notes related to Jasmine Pace's childhood on the walls of his Nolensville house, indicating a pattern of stalking.

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What is the story of Jasmine Pace? Explored

Jasmine Pace murder (Representative image via Pexels)

In November 2022, a 22-year-old woman named Jasmine Pace suddenly went missing. When she did not return home for several days and was not even reachable on the phone, her family filed a police report. Nevertheless, they could not find any leads about her. However, in December, Jasmine's body was found in a suitcase on a deserted road in Chattanooga city.

As per People, when the police opened the suitcase, they found that Jasmine Pace’s hands were handcuffed and her body was covered with several deep knife wounds. The condition of the body indicated that the murder had been carried out with extreme violence.

As the investigation progressed, the needle of suspicion turned towards her boyfriend, Jason Chen, who met her on a dating application. Based on the complaint of the family and initial evidence, Jason was taken into custody and questioned by the police.

According to Fox Chattanooga, Dr. Steven Cogswell, the Hamilton County Medical Examiner, reiterated that the body was found in a suitcase, adding:

"That reveals the body of a young woman who is in the fetal position, is– has no clothing on the top half of her body, and is shackled and handcuffed. Obviously, there’s a lot of blood involved in this, and multiple stab wounds."

During the investigation, the authorities found some shocking evidence in Nolensville's house of Jason. Jason had put up different colored sticky notes on the walls of his room, which recorded many incidents of Jasmine's life.

Some of the notes mentioned details about Jasmine Pace's childhood, stating that she had once left home, was homeless for a period, and had fled to Canada at one point. The notes also included a detailed timeline of her relationship with Jason.

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Court presents evidence in Jason Chen's trial

Jason Chen's Trial (Representative image via Pexels)

All this evidence was presented in court, where Jason Chen faced charges of murder and abuse of a corpse. Witness statements, forensic reports, and mental health information were submitted during the trial.

As per People dated January 15, 2025, Jason Chen's lawyer had admitted that he killed Jasmine Pace. However, he said that this case is not first degree murder (intentional killing), but voluntary manslaughter (murder done in anger or excitement).

Lawyer Josh Weiss reportedly told the court that Jasmine tried to attack Chen with a wine bottle after finding out that he was chatting with other girls. Chen then allegedly stabbed Jasmine and fainted. Later when he regained consciousness, he found Jasmine unconscious.

According to Newschannel9abc, in January 2025, the court found Jason guilty of Jasmine Pace's murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

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To find out more about this case, viewers can watch Dateline's upcoming episode, which will air on Sunday, April 13, 2025, on NBC at 10 pm EST.