What happened to Todd Chance? Who was Todd Chance? What is the case of Todd Chance?
by Rubaditsha
Updated Mar 06, 2023
Who was Todd Chance?
Todd Chance, born on March 10, 1968, was a devoted father to his three daughters, Jessica, Sarah, and Samantha. He was known for his kind and loving nature towards his family, and his daughters cherished him deeply.
Apart from being a loving father, Todd also had a career as a truck driver. He had a keen interest in automobiles, particularly motorcycles, cars, and trucks. His love for these vehicles was evident to those who knew him well.
Leslie Chance was Todd's wife of 17 years. She was a local elementary school principal, and the two shared a deep bond of love and affection. Their marriage was a testament to their commitment and dedication towards each other, and they both played an essential role in each other's lives.
What happened to Todd Chance?
Todd's body was discovered on August 25, 2013, in an almond grove. The location where his body was found had tire marks that matched the ones on his 2011 Ford Mustang. However, his car was not present at the site. Upon conducting an autopsy, it was found that Todd had been shot twice from a close range, which resulted in his death.
The police immediately started investigating the case and found Todd's missing car at an intersection which was 20 miles away from the location where his body was found. Dateline NBC reported that the discovery of the car provided some crucial evidence in the case, and the police continued to investigate further to find out the person responsible for the murder.
What is the case of Todd Chance?
Leslie Chance, a former elementary school principal from Bakersfield, was convicted of murdering her husband in August 2013. The 5th District Court of Appeal upheld her conviction, despite concluding that a Kern County Sheriff's deputy, who investigated the case, should have disclosed information to the defense attorneys about interviews he conducted. The panel of judges stated that this failure did not warrant a reversal of the conviction, according to the opinion released on Friday.
Chance was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for shooting her husband, Todd Chance, after he exchanged explicit texts with an ex-girlfriend. Prosecutors claimed that Chance had planned the murder for several weeks, incorporating information she had learned at a CSI exhibit in Las Vegas and disguising herself after disposing of her husband's body in an orchard.
The appeals opinion dismissed the claims that evidence regarding the CSI exhibit and disguises should be excluded from the trial. It also acknowledged that the sheriff's deputy should have provided defense attorneys with information about an interview he conducted that favored Chance. However, there was no evidence of prosecutorial misconduct, and the prosecutors were not aware that the deputy had excluded such evidence, according to the opinion.
At the time of her arrest, Chance was the principal of Fairview Elementary School in the Greenfield Union School District. She was initially arrested in 2013 but was released after prosecutors sought more evidence. She was arrested again in December 2016 and sentenced in January 2020 for the murder of her husband.
Who was suspected of killing Todd Chance?
After Todd Chance's body was discovered, the investigation into his murder quickly progressed with the help of CCTV footage from the intersection near where his car was found and eyewitness reports from neighbors. The neighbors reported seeing a middle-aged woman leaving the car, which prompted the police to search for all possible footage of the suspect.
The police pieced together the footage and discovered that the suspect had gone to great lengths to disguise themselves and throw off the police. The footage did not reveal whether the suspect was male or female based on their clothing. Additionally, the suspect had called a cab from a pay phone and changed clothes multiple times.
Eventually, the suspect led the police back to the house of Todd and Leslie Chance, and Leslie became a suspect in her husband's murder. However, the motive behind the murder remained unclear.
Investigators had to delve deeper into Leslie's background and relationship with Todd to understand why she would want to kill him. The evidence eventually led to Leslie being convicted of the murder, and she was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison.
Did Leslie Chance kill Todd Chance?
According to court records, Leslie Chance was initially arrested on August 29, 2013, on suspicion of murdering her husband, Todd Chance. The authorities claimed that Leslie was after Todd's life insurance policy as a motive for the murder.
However, the case was later sent back for further review by the Sheriff's Office following an order from the District Attorney's office. As a result, Leslie was released.
During the continued investigation, police discovered nude photos and text messages exchanged between Todd and his ex-fiancée on his phone. This gave Leslie an additional motive for wanting to kill her husband.
After three years, Leslie was once again arrested and charged with first-degree murder. She was found guilty and sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for planning and executing the murder of her husband.
What Happened To Todd Chance: FAQs
Todd Chance was a truck driver and a devoted father to his three daughters. He had a keen interest in automobiles, especially motorcycles, cars, and trucks.
Todd's body was discovered in an almond grove on August 25, 2013. He had been shot twice from close range, resulting in his death. His car was found 20 miles away from the location where his body was found.
Leslie Chance, Todd's wife of 17 years, was convicted of murdering him. She was initially arrested but was released, and later arrested again after new evidence was discovered. She was found guilty and sentenced to 50 years to life in prison.
Authorities claimed that Leslie was after Todd's life insurance policy as a motive for the murder. However, during the continued investigation, police found nude photos and text messages exchanged between Todd and his ex-fiancée on his phone, giving Leslie an additional motive for wanting to kill her husband.
There was no evidence of prosecutorial misconduct in Leslie Chance's case, according to the appeals opinion. The sheriff's deputy should have provided defense attorneys with information about an interview he conducted that favored Chance, but prosecutors were not aware of it. The opinion upheld Leslie's conviction despite this failure.