Calif. Woman Accused Of Killing Hubby For Life Insurance

Sep. 15--Leslie Chance is schedule to appear before a Kern County Superior judge Wednesday.

Chance, 52, is scheduled to appear for a hearing on a motion. She is accused of shooting her husband to death in August 2013 and leaving his body near a commercial orchard several miles northwest of Bakersfield.

This is Chance's second trial. Her first ended in a mistrial.

Paul Cadman, Chance's former court-appointed attorney, had to excuse himself from his service due to a conflict, and a mistrial was declared June 28 during jury selection. A new attorney will be appointed to Chance by the Indigent Defense Program.

Chance was charged in the murder of her husband, Todd Chance, 45, on Aug. 25, 2013. If convicted, she could face life in prison.

Prosecutors say the couple drove that morning to the area of Noriega Road near Enos Lane, where Chance is alleged to have shot and killed her husband. Prosecutors say she abandoned the car in a nearby neighborhood and returned home by taxi and on foot.

Chance was first arrested days after her husband's body was found, but was released days later when prosecutors requested further inquiry from investigators with the Kern County Sheriff's Office. She was arrested again in December 2016.

Chance, who was principal at Fairview Elementary School during the time of the shooting, was expected to receive around $250,000 from her husband's life insurance policies, according to court documents.

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