Leslie Chance, the former elementary school teacher who was convicted of murdering her husband Todd Chance back in 2013, was sentenced today in Kern Superior CourtChance was given a sentence of 50 years to life in prison.  She may appeal the ruling

Statement from Kern District Attorney’s Office:

Convicted killer Leslie Chance was sentenced today by Superior Court Judge Charles Brehmer to 50 years to life in state prison for the murder of her husband, Todd Chance. In a case prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Andrea Kohler and Deputy District Attorney Arthur Norris, a Kern County jury on January 30, 2020 found Defendant Chance guilty of first-degree murder and found true an enhancement that she personally used a firearm to cause the death of her husband, Todd Chance. Judge Brehmer sentenced Chance to 25 years to life for the murder and denied Chance’s motion to dismiss the firearms enhancement, which added an additional 25 year to life.In her presentation at sentencing, Assistant District Attorney stated, “It is hard to imagine how Todd Chance must have felt that morning when his wife of 17 years pulled out a firearm and shot Todd at point blank range.”At about 9:00 a.m. on August 25, 2013, the body of Todd Chance was found at an almond orchard near Enos Lane and Noriega Road. Todd Chance and an adult female were seen leaving the Chance residence in Todd’s vehicle between 7:30 and 8:00 am on the day of Todd’s death. Todd’s vehicle was found later that same day, abandoned, unlocked, with a revolver identified as the murder weapon on the floorboard.The revolver belonged to Todd and Leslie Chance. Investigation by the Kern County Sheriff’s Department revealed video footage of a woman, believed to be Leslie Chance, leaving the area where the vehicle was abandoned. The woman was spotted on several different business surveillance cameras, and the video showed that she had changed clothes, discarded items, and further showed her use a pay phone to call for a taxi cab which ultimately picked her up and dropped her off at another business near the Chance residence.Additional investigation by the FBI established that Leslie Chance was not on her computer, as she had initially claimed, during the time of Todd’s murder.

Detectives further discovered Leslie Chance, who had a history of being opposed to the use of firearms,had handled and fired the murder weapon for the first time just weeks before the murder. The Chance family had also taken a vacation to “CSI: The Experience,” in Las Vegas, where topics of criminal investigation were discussed, including the use of cellular phones to track perpetrators.District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer commented that “Leslie Chance carefully premeditated and successfully executed a plan to kill her husband of 17 years; however, Chance was not successful in avoiding the ramifications of the criminal justice system. This horrific crime took the life of a beloved father and son. Judge Brehmer said it best in passing sentence, ‘No one has won, but justice has been served.’ “