BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Kern County Superior Court has upheld the murder conviction of an elementary school principal following an attempted appeal.
Leslie Chance, 56, was convicted of murder in 2020 following the death of her husband in 2013. According to court documents, Chance's husband, Todd Chance, was found dead in the fields that he worked in sometime between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. on Sun, Aug 25. An investigation revealed that Leslie had shot Todd multiple times after discovering messages between Todd and his ex-fiance.
Leslie Chance's first trial was deemed a mistrial after a conflict of interest between Chance and her trial counsel, however, she was found guilty of murder during the second trial and was sentenced to prison for 25 years to life. Chance appealed that conviction, claiming that the verdict was based on circumstantial evidence and that law enforcement had failed to disclose several interviews involving her.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the verdict of the trial on Fri, Jan 27. According to the court, it was concluded that authorities should have disclosed the multiple interviews, however, that was not enough to change the outcome of the trial.
"Defendant and appellant Leslie Jenea Chance was convicted of murdering her husband," the appeals court said. "She raises several challenges to the resulting judgment. We conclude law enforcement should have disclosed several interviews to the defense but find the error nonprejudicial. We otherwise reject defendant’s claims and affirm the judgment."
