Ashley Young's family still seeking closure three years after her murder

GRAND HAVEN — Three years after her death, Ashley Young’s family is still seeking closure.

Young, who graduated from Grand Haven High School, was murdered on Nov. 29, 2018. Jared Chance has been sentenced to a maximum of 200 years in prison for the murder of Young.

Her torso, arms and legs were found at Chance’s Grand Rapids apartment after his neighbor decided to investigate a foul smell and found a bloody tarp in the basement. However, her head and hands have never been recovered.

Ashley’s mother, Kristine Young, and Kristine’s partner, Dana Nelson, organized a memorial event earlier this week, on the anniversary of her death. They gathered at the Tri-Cities Family YMCA and released colorful balloons in Ashley’s memory.

“We wanted to keep her memory alive,” Nelson said. “We want people to remember what happened.”

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They also want to find the rest of Ashley’s remains. The family has been collecting money over the past few years to offer as a reward for any information.

“We’re trying to raise money so that if anyone comes through with real information that we can use, we can have an amount of money we can give to them,” Nelson said. “We still have hope that someone is going to tell us where the rest of her is.”

Nelson said Ashley was involved in the musical arts at Grand Haven High School. If there becomes a time when the family gives up hope of a reward, they’ll donate that money to create a scholarship to help GHHS students who hope to pursue a career in the fine arts.

Anyone who would like to contribute can donate to the Ashley Young Memorial Account at Lake Michigan Credit Union, or contact Nelson via Facebook.

Nelson said that Ashley’s 7-year-old niece dressed up as a dragonfly this Halloween in memory of her aunt.

“She wanted to be a dragonfly because we tell her, every time you see a dragonfly, that’s Aunt Ashley coming to visit you,” Nelson said. “We’re still traumatized.”

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Ashley Young's family seeks closure three years after murder