“The Pin at Apartment 210”: Dateline Investigates Jasmine “Jazzy” Pace Homicide April 11 2026

NBC’s Dateline returns with a devastating Weekend Mystery episode, The Pin at Apartment 210, airing Saturday, April 11, 2026, at 9/8c. Reported by Blayne Alexander, the broadcast examines the disappearance and murder of 22-year-old Jasmine “Jazzy” Pace, a Tennessee college student whose family launched their own urgent search after she failed to attend Thanksgiving dinner in November 2022. What began as growing concern over missed calls and unanswered messages became a homicide investigation that exposed disturbing evidence inside her boyfriend Jason Chen’s Chattanooga apartment.

The episode focuses on both the brutality of Jasmine’s killing and the determination of her loved ones, whose efforts helped direct investigators toward critical evidence. Through courtroom testimony, forensic findings, and family interviews, Dateline revisits how Jasmine vanished, what police discovered inside Apartment 210, and how prosecutors built their murder case against Chen.

• Who Was Jasmine “Jazzy” Pace & What Happened to Her? 2026 Update & Profile
• Who Is Jason Chen & Where Is He Now? 2026 Update & Profile

Jasmine Pace’s Disappearance Raises Immediate Alarm

Jasmine Pace’s family knew something was wrong when she suddenly stopped communicating during Thanksgiving week in 2022. According to family members, it was unlike Jasmine to disappear without contacting loved ones, especially during an important family gathering. Concern escalated when relatives realized no one had spoken with her since shortly after the death of her great-grandmother.

As they searched for answers, Jasmine’s family began tracing her digital activity. They discovered her social media passwords had been changed, and a revealing photo had been posted to her Facebook account, something relatives said did not match her normal behavior. Those signs increased fears that someone else had access to her accounts.

Refusing to wait, Jasmine’s relatives followed location clues tied to her phone and eventually focused on the Chattanooga apartment of her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Jason Chen. Family members entered Chen’s apartment themselves and found several of Jasmine’s personal belongings inside. Their discovery prompted stronger police involvement and helped shift the missing person case toward a criminal investigation.

The Crime Scene Inside Apartment 210

Investigators later searched Chen’s apartment at the Lofts at Tremont complex in Chattanooga. Prosecutors said the scene revealed extensive evidence of violence. Using BlueStar forensic technology, investigators detected large amounts of blood throughout the apartment, even in areas that appeared to have been cleaned.

Crime scene investigators testified that the BlueStar reaction inside Chen’s residence was among the strongest they had ever seen. Blood evidence was found beneath carpeting and in locations consistent with prosecutors’ theory that Jasmine had been attacked inside the apartment and that efforts had been made to hide the crime.

Jurors during Chen’s murder trial were shown blood-stained carpet removed from the apartment, knives recovered from the residence, black trash bags similar to those later found around Jasmine’s body, and diagrams marking where evidence had been collected. Investigators also examined broken glass fragments after the defense argued Jasmine may have confronted Chen with a wine bottle during an argument.

Former neighbors described the aftermath as unsettling. One resident who lived above Chen’s apartment recalled returning home and noticing a foul odor in the building shortly after Jasmine was killed. The realization that the apartment below had become a homicide scene left many residents shaken.

Discovery of Jasmine Pace’s Body

Police ultimately located Jasmine Pace’s remains in early December 2022 near Suck Creek Road along the Tennessee River outside Chattanooga. Investigators found her body inside a suitcase that had been discarded near the riverbank.

Court testimony revealed Jasmine had been wrapped in three black trash bags before being placed inside the suitcase. She was also handcuffed and shackled, with restraints connecting her limbs. Medical examiner Dr. Steven Cogswell testified that the restraints were not professional law enforcement devices but improvised bindings.

The discovery was linked to cellphone data connected to Jason Chen. Investigators tracked movement patterns that led them to the location where Jasmine’s body had been abandoned. Prosecutors argued this digital evidence played a major role in reconstructing Chen’s actions after the killing.

Autopsy Findings Reveal Brutality of Attack

During trial testimony, Hamilton County Medical Examiner Dr. Steven Cogswell provided graphic details about Jasmine Pace’s injuries. He testified that Jasmine suffered approximately 60 stab wounds concentrated within a relatively small area of her body, mainly affecting her scalp, face, chin, neck, and head.

Dr. Cogswell stated that Jasmine’s jugular vein had been severed. He also testified that one knife blade penetrated her lung deeply enough for the tip to break off against a rib. That broken knife tip was later recovered during the autopsy and presented as evidence in court.

According to the medical examiner, Jasmine did not die instantly. Based on the injuries, Dr. Cogswell estimated death occurred over several minutes, likely closer to five minutes than ten. He also testified that Jasmine appeared to have been placed on carpeting while bleeding heavily.

Under cross-examination, Dr. Cogswell acknowledged that the clustered pattern of wounds could be consistent with a frenzied attack, which supported part of the defense argument that the killing happened in the heat of the moment. Still, prosecutors emphasized the sheer number of wounds, the concealment of the body, and the cleanup efforts afterward as evidence of intentional actions.

Prosecutors Present Evidence Against Jason Chen

Jason Chen was charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse. During trial, prosecutors presented evidence that included surveillance footage, cellphone tracking, forensic analysis, and materials recovered from Chen and his family’s homes.

One of the more unusual pieces of testimony involved sticky notes allegedly found at Chen’s family home in Nolensville, Tennessee. Investigators said Chen had written detailed notes about Jasmine’s childhood, personal struggles, and their relationship timeline. Prosecutors suggested the writings reflected fixation and control.

Police also recovered Jasmine’s SIM card from Chen when he was arrested at his parents’ house near Nashville. Her cellphone itself was never found. Prosecutors argued the missing phone pointed to efforts to conceal evidence after the killing.

Surveillance footage shown during trial also captured Chen purchasing cleaning supplies after Jasmine disappeared. Prosecutors used that evidence to support their claim that Chen attempted to clean the apartment following the attack.

The Defense Strategy and Trial Outcome

Chen’s defense team acknowledged that he killed Jasmine Pace but argued the case should be treated as voluntary manslaughter rather than first-degree murder. Defense attorneys claimed Jasmine confronted Chen after finding messages to other women on his phone and allegedly attacked him with a wine bottle.

According to the defense, Chen responded violently during what they described as a crime of passion and later blacked out. Attorneys argued this version of events did not support premeditated murder.

Prosecutors rejected that argument, pointing instead to the cleanup inside the apartment, the disposal of Jasmine’s body, the restraints, and Chen’s movements after the killing. They argued those actions demonstrated awareness and intent after the stabbing.

The legal proceedings also expanded beyond the criminal trial. Jasmine Pace’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Chen’s parents, accusing them of helping their son while he was already under suspicion. That civil action added another legal dimension to a case already marked by intense public attention.

Jason Chen was ultimately convicted of first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence in connection with Jasmine Pace’s death. The verdict brought a measure of justice for Jasmine’s family after more than two years of grief, public advocacy, and courtroom proceedings.

Jasmine Pace’s Family and the Fight for Justice

One of the defining aspects of this case has been the determination shown by Jasmine Pace’s family. Their refusal to accept silence, their willingness to investigate digital clues themselves, and their persistence in pressing authorities kept attention on Jasmine when time was critical.

Family members distributed flyers, searched locations themselves, tracked online activity, and pushed for answers at every stage. Prosecutors have publicly acknowledged that the family’s actions helped accelerate the investigation.

Dateline’s The Pin at Apartment 210 places that persistence at the center of the story. Alongside the forensic evidence and courtroom testimony, the episode highlights a family’s refusal to stop searching for Jasmine and their continued effort to honor her life.

For Jasmine Pace’s loved ones, the case has always been about more than securing a conviction. It has been about making sure Jasmine is remembered not only for the violence she suffered, but for the life that was taken from those who loved her most.