On Aug. 25, 2013, Todd Chance's body was found shot dead in an almond grove near his home. When questioned by police, his wife Leslie and daughter Samantha reported that he left earlier stating he was going to a gun show with his father. However when officers interviewed the father, he told officers he made no plans with him that day.
His car was later found in another neighborhood with the murder weapon (his own gun) inside. A woman was spotted on CCTV leaving the car and walking away, visiting a Walmart pay phone, changing clothes, and dumping a bag of trash in a public bin before getting in a taxi. The police, believing that the woman featured in the CCTV footage was Leslie, arrested her a few days later, but she was released soon after as prosecutors said the footage was unclear and there was no other evidence linking her to the crime. Police found racy pics on Todd's phone of an ex, Carrie, who he had recently been back involved with, however she had an alibi and was cleared. No one else was arrested.
Jump to 2016- the case was re-opened. Police found out the family had gone to a "CSI experience" in Las Vegas the year before, and many of the details in the case matched methods the experience showed. More footage was found of the taxi, which dropped the woman off not far from the Chance house. They found CCTV from weeks before of Leslie going to the Walmart and asking about a payphone. Leslie's laptop, which she stated she had been working on that morning, was not able to show activity proving a solid alibi, although her daughter stated she had seen her that morning. Leslie was arrested again for first degree murder.
After an initial mistrial, a second trial found her guilty in 2019, based on the circumstantial evidence and twin motives of jealousy and life insurance money. However, their 3 daughters and others still doubt she did it.
The biggest point argued is lack of physical evidence tying her to the case. Shoe prints found at the scene were never matched to hers and no DNA was found at the scene, nor any blood or injury on her when she was interviewed later the same day. There was also a concern over the CCTV footage. The woman in the footage was stated as noticeably smaller than Leslie, especially compared to the CCTV of her at the same Walmart a few weeks before. 911 calls from the body and car being discovered were deleted and any clues from them apparently lost. Several early interviews were also lost when investigators didn't properly book them into evidence. Her defense stated that with the misconduct and only circumstantial evidence, he was shocked at the conviction. However appeals have since been unsuccessful.
Do you think she did it? Personally it looks suspicious but I agree that the CCTV footage, while grainy, doesn't look like her body shape at all. The person is far smaller than Leslie and I don't see any way you can hide that much weight. I'm also really surprised they managed to get a conviction with such little (and botched) evidence...
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