Juror Number 8
speaker
104 appearances
4 recordings
1 series
first heard Jan 2025
last heard Apr 2025
Juror Number 8’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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Appearances
But what if that story held a kernel of truth, just with the roles reversed? What if Jason was the one chasing Jasmine through his apartment? I mentioned the defense's first witness. She was the neighbor living in apartment 110, directly below Jason's unit. Although her testimony aimed to support the defense, she inadvertently helped clarify the time of the attack.
Remember, at 2.11 a.m., she was jolted awake by a woman's scream from the apartment above. Following this, she described hearing sounds of someone being chased from the bedroom to the front door, culminating in the sharp slam of the door itself. Something provoked Jasmine's fear. Something made her scream. Maybe she was trying to get out of there. Maybe Jason was behind her.
And before she could make it out the front door, he slammed it shut. Did she turn back toward the bedroom in a panic? Did she try to barricade herself in the bathroom, only to be tripped up by the bath mat? And was it Jasmine, not Jason, desperately trying to pull that pocket door closed between the bathroom and the bedroom?
Remember, at 2.18 a.m., just seven minutes after that scream, Jasmine sends her mom the location pin. That tiny act says so much. Things were bad. She knew she needed help. And I can't stop wondering, when in those terrifying moments did Jason retrieve the handcuffs and shackles? Was it before or after that text was sent?
Could Jasmine have made it back to the bathroom, just barely closing the door, buying herself a few precious seconds to send her location? I keep picturing her, leaning against that wall, maybe sitting on the floor, bracing for whatever came next. Given the layout of the bathroom, it could make sense that her left side was against the wall, with Jason towering above her.
especially when you consider the pattern of stab wounds to her scalp, face, shoulders, and her free hand. We know there was a pool of blood in the bathroom, some of it crossing the threshold into the bedroom. There was blood spatter on the wall, smears on the door frames, all of it painting a chilling picture of violence in a confined space.
And that leads us to one of the biggest questions raised in the courtroom. Was Jasmine already cuffed when she was being stabbed? Or, as the defense claimed, were the restraints only used after her death to make her body fit into the trash bags?
We know her right wrist was handcuffed to the inside of her left ankle, and her right elbow was shackled to her right ankle, leaving her left arm completely free. Now try to picture her left side pressed against the bathroom floor, her right arm threaded between her legs and bound to her ankles. Some kind of cruel game of Twister. It's almost impossible to imagine, actually, let alone endure.
Then there's the blood evidence found in Jason's bedroom. Remember the massive five foot stain on the carpet? That stain tells us her body was likely moved after the attack, or at the very least, the violence ended there before she was put inside the trash bags and eventually into the suitcase.
This is the picture we're left with, pieced together from evidence, testimony, and what we can only imagine Jasmine endured that night. We'd love to hear your thoughts on this. If you've been following the case or have your own theories, we'd love to hear them. Send us an email at sequesteredpod at gmail.com.
Before the medical examiner stepped down from the stand, the jurors had a chance to ask their own questions. It's something we've mentioned before, but it's worth repeating because it's pretty rare. Not every judge allows this, but Judge Patterson does, and it gave us the opportunity to clarify facts directly from the witnesses in real time, rather than saving them for the deliberation phase.
I also think it gave the courtroom, more specifically the attorneys, a unique window into what the jury was really curious about throughout the trial. On this particular day, our questions covered everything from whether cleaning agents could have altered the appearance of Jasmine's wounds to whether any fibers or fingerprints were recovered from the scene.
Dr. Cogswell responded to each one, even opening the door to the possibility that a second knife could have been used, though he stopped short of any firm conclusions. We thought it might be interesting to share a couple of the jury's actual questions with you. so that you can get a sense of what was on our minds as we work to piece everything together.
The prosecution briefly recalls crime scene investigator Kristen Schubert to the stand. Schubert is asked about the two sanitary pads collected as evidence, one recovered from Jasmine's body and the other found outside the dumpster at Jason Chen's apartment complex.
Since neither pad was tested, we can't say with certainty that they're a match, but Schubert describes the similarity between them as striking. Next, the jury hears from Kim Lau, a special agent and forensic scientist with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, or TBI.
Garnering over 20 years of experience, Agent Lau is straightforward about the limitations her lab faces, including a six-month backlog and a policy that restricts testing to just 10 items per homicide case. Agent Lau then walks the jury through what was tested. Swabs from Jason Chen and Jasmine's parents, Jasmine's toothbrush, and carpet from Jason Chen's apartment.
Her testimony confirms several key points. The blood found in Jason Chen's apartment matches Jasmine's DNA. Swabs from the shackles, handcuffs, and even the garbage bags link back to Jason. And some evidence, like a swab from the suitcase handle, came back inconclusive. Under cross-examination, Agent Lau explains that not every piece of evidence could be tested due to limited resources.
And when jurors ask who decides which 10 items actually get tested, she's clear. The decision is hers, based on proximity to the crime and the likelihood of finding DNA evidence. By the time court adjourns for the day, it's almost 7 p.m.
Judge Patterson reminds the jurors of their obligation not to be exposed to the media or to speak to each other about the trial, then instructs us to return at 10 a.m. the next morning, giving everyone a chance to catch their breath after a long, heavy day.
The evidence, expert testimonies, and even the jurors' specific questions have left us all with as many uncertainties as clarifications, which feels like a perfect reflection of the case itself. Nothing is simple. Nothing is clear-cut. And with every new detail, the truth feels both closer and further away.
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