Man Who Killed Girlfriend and Stuffed Body in Suitcase Kept Sticky Notes About Her Past in His House: Police

A Tennessee man accused of killing his girlfriend in 2022 allegedly kept detailed notes on the woman’s past in his family’s home, according to investigators.

Jasmine Pace, 22, was found handcuffed and fatally stabbed inside a suitcase along a road in Chattanooga, Tenn., in December 2022, days after she was reported missing by her family, police said at the time.  

Following days of pressure from her family, police searched the home of Pace’s on-again-off-again boyfriend Jason Chen and charged him with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse, PEOPLE previously reported, citing Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp.

This week, as Chen stands trial, investigators and prosecutors are revealing more details about the couple’s allegedly tumultuous relationship prior to Pace’s killing. 

During a search of Chen’s family home in Nolensville, police learned that Chen had pinned notes on his wall about Pace’s past, detective Zack Crawford said in court on Tuesday, Jan. 14, per the Chattanoogan and the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

The notes also documented a timeline of his relationship and interactions with Pace, News Channel 9 previously reported, citing prosecutors.

A photo presented in court, shared by News Channel 9, showed several sticky notes of different colors and sizes, some with detailed notes and some with drawings. The notes contained information about Pace’s childhood, describing it as turbulent. They also claimed she had a history of running away and was homeless at one point, and once fled to Canada, the court heard, per the Chattanooga Times Free Press, the Chattanoogan and Local 3 News.

Other evidence presented in court showed blood under the carpet in Chen’s home in a manner that Crawford testified was consistent with someone being put under the bed, Local 3 News reported. 

“The blood of Jasmine Pace was found all over that apartment,” Wamp testified in court on Monday, the Chattanoogan reported.

Prosecutors allege Pace was stabbed 60 times before she was put in the suitcase with each of her arms handcuffed to each of her legs, per the outlet.

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The 2022 murder investigation picked up steam only after Pace’s family relentlessly pushed the investigation along, Wamp said, per the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Family members tracked Pace’s phone to Chen’s home, and broke in using a credit card, the Chattanoogan reported. They located several items belonging to Pace in the residence, prompting police to investigate.

Police later located Chen at his family’s home three hours away in Nolesville.

Chen’s defense acknowledges he killed Pace but claims the circumstances warrant a voluntary manslaughter charge, not one of first-degree murder, per the Chattanoogan.

Defense attorney Josh Weiss alleged in court on Monday that Pace came at Chen with a wine bottle after learning about him messaging other women, the Chattanoogan reported.

Chen then allegedly stabbed the victim and blacked out, only to wake up and find Pace unconscious, Weiss said.

Voluntary manslaughter convictions carry a maximum sentence of 15 years and maximum fine of $10,000 in Tennessee; a first-degree murder conviction in the state can carry the death penalty, life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, or life imprisonment with possible parole.

The trial is ongoing.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.