Bakersfield school principal arrested in husband’s slaying

A Bakersfield elementary school principal was arrested on suspicion of murder Thursday after her husband’s body was discovered by a farmworker in a dirt field earlier this week, authorities said.

Leslie Jenea Chance, 46, was arrested after the body of her husband, Todd Chance, was found in a field northwest of Bakersfield at about 9:30 a.m. on Sunday. Investigators found his 2011 black Ford Mustang abandoned in a residential neighborhood in town about 20 miles away.

According to the Kern County coroner’s office, the 45-year-old Bakersfield resident died of multiple gunshot wounds. His death was ruled a homicide.

The day after Leslie Chance’s arrest, the school of roughly 525 students where she was principal was trying to digest the news.

A Greenfield Union School District official said the Kern County Sheriff’s Department notified him of the arrest Thursday night at about 9 p.m.

Friday morning, there were “a lot of emotions, a lot of tears, a lot of confusion” at Fairview Elementary School, where Chance worked, said Ken Chichester, the district’s assistant superintendent of personnel.

Leslie Chance, he said, had been out of school on bereavement this week. District officials will consult with attorneys after her arraignment next week before taking action.

Chichester described Leslie Chance as a smart, hardworking and well-respected educator who had been with the district since 1997. This was her third year as principal of Fairview.

“It’s very shocking, so out of character for everybody that knows her,” he said. “We went from Monday, where you’re, ‘What can we do to help?’ to today, ‘What do we do?’”

Psychologists were at the school Friday to help students and staff cope, Chichester said.

Parents and staff members at the school told the Bakersfield Californian on Friday morning that they were in disbelief about Chance’s arrest.

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Twitter: @jillcowan

jill.cowan@latimes.com