The Deadly Seduction: Brandi Hungerford and the Rick Chance Murder

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:03]Brandy Hungerford is an exotic beauty with a real appetite for attention.

[00:00:08]>> Brandy played her part. She knew just how to sway and move her shoulders and smile. When it came to other girls, if there were guys around, it was a competition. But when she's caught with her hand in the cookie jar, she got involved in something way over her head.

[00:00:26]She may finally get her just desserts.

[00:00:45]On the morning of August 9th, 2002, a maid at a popular chain hotel in Tempe, Arizona, opens a guest's room and finds a gruesome scene. Millionaire philanthropist Rick Chance lies dead on the floor with a bullet hole in his chest.

[00:01:04]Police respond immediately.

[00:01:07]>> He appeared to have been been caught by surprise because there was no sign of a struggle to his clothing or to the hotel room.

[00:01:14]>> But police have no clue who would want Rick dead.

[00:01:19]Surveillance footage from the previous night reveals that Rick Chance was not alone when he checked in. just who is his striking Asian companion? Hoping to learn her identity, police quickly make the video public.

[00:01:36]Within moments, they got a hundred tips, all identifying the woman as Brandy Hungerford.

[00:01:43]>> But one tip in particular leaves investigators wondering why Brandy was with the rich businessman that night.

[00:01:50]And more importantly, where is she now?

[00:01:56]Bry's story begins in 1975 in South Korea when she is adopted as an infant by the Hungerford family in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They wanted children of their own. Um they weren't able to for um a really long time. So they adopted and Brandy and her brother were the two that they adopted.

[00:02:20]Brandy and Anthony thrive in the happy Midwestern home.

[00:02:25]>> Her father was in a machine shop. They were good salt of the earth bluecollar people.

[00:02:31]>> Brandy does her parents proud by earning straight A's and competing in karate.

[00:02:38]>> What are y'all up to?

[00:02:39]>> As the only girl in the house, it's no secret that Brandy is her father's favorite.

[00:02:46]But things change for Brandy when her mother gives birth to her own son in 1996.

[00:02:53]He's soon followed by another boy. The Hungerfords expand their family even more by opening their doors to several foster children.

[00:03:02]>> They want to be able to take care of kids that were, I guess, struggling with their families.

[00:03:11]Now Brandy finds herself competing with seven other kids.

[00:03:17]>> There's a inherent sense of competitiveness. How am I going to become the best child out of this eight child clan? And she was really trying to to get to the top so that she could be her father's favorite.

[00:03:28]>> But Bry's busy dad can't always be around for her.

[00:03:33]>> I think she picked up a lesson that her father's love is a little conditional.

[00:03:38]It's not going to always be there. And so I think she was also trying to do everything she could to get it back.

[00:03:44]>> Brandy also struggles with having to be the older wiser sister.

[00:03:49]Brandy is always juggling two major conflicts. You know the first conflict is I have to be this responsible older child in my family. And the other side is but I never got my childhood and I want to just do whatever I want to do.

[00:04:03]>> The pressure at home only gets worse.

[00:04:06]Teenaged Brandy butts heads with her overwhelmed mother.

[00:04:11]>> It was very up and down. Um, they would be close and then they would be at odds.

[00:04:17]>> Bry's mom needs her headstrong daughter to help out more at home.

[00:04:22]>> Brandy would sit there and just roll her eyes and, you know, there's just too many kids and and she spent uh a lot of time at out of the home because of that.

[00:04:34]And most of that time she spends looking for male attention. Boy, crazy Brandy will do anything to get noticed.

[00:04:43]>> She loved the attention and if someone expressed it or wanted anything, you know, involved with her, she would give it.

[00:04:51]>> And soon that includes taking what isn't hers.

[00:04:57]When it came to other girls being in the same environment, if there if there were guys around, it was not necessarily embracing of a of a friendship. It was a competition.

[00:05:11]And >> I think not having that maternal love was really difficult for her in terms of having a good model for herself on how she should treat other men and how she should treat other women. Randy becomes an expert at manipulating boys and makes short work of seducing her cousin Karen's boyfriend.

[00:05:29]>> After, you know, it had a date or two with with someone, she actually told me they had sex.

[00:05:37]>> While she's turning all the boys heads, she'll ultimately turn the women in her life away.

[00:05:44]She'll regret fracturing her female relationships, especially one in particular. But for now, it seems Brandy has developed a real appetite for being on top.

[00:06:01]20-year-old Brandy Hungerford will do anything to get noticed. You know, it was all about getting the attention. And so whatever was going to acquire more attention, you know, that's what she pursued.

[00:06:16]After high school, Brandy moves with the family to Tempe, Arizona.

[00:06:21]She gets a job at a medical supply company.

[00:06:27]But Brandy hates being ordinary, and nothing seems to be happening fast enough for her.

[00:06:34]I think Bry's problem was that she couldn't decide who she wanted to be.

[00:06:38]And she had never been able to clearly focus on which direction she was going to go. Nice girl who's nice to her family, nursing school, or one who is self-indulgent gets what she wants at any cost.

[00:06:51]>> Luckily, Bry's been blessed with exotic, alluring features that can help her achieve the extraordinary. So, when Brandy sees an ad in the paper for models, she jumps at the opportunity. As it turns out, modeling is a term her employers use loosely.

[00:07:12]But after all, being naughty is much more fun than being nice.

[00:07:18]She went to meet clients accompanied by a bodyguard and then she would go into the private area at a person's home or a hotel room and then she would do a strip tease.

[00:07:34]>> While Brandy never sleeps with her clients, it's still a shock to those who know.

[00:07:40]>> She just said, "Hey, I got a new job and this is what I'm doing." I'm just like, "Oh, okay." Okay. You know, within the same breath, and my parents don't know, so don't say anything. I'm like, well, I'm not going to say anything.

[00:07:50]>> Still living at home, Brandy sneaks around her parents, keeping her sexy occupation under wraps.

[00:07:58]>> I think she just claimed she worked nights. And I think she would just go out in normal clothes and she'd have a change of clothes in her car.

[00:08:06]Every night, Brandy gets her fix of power and attention, and she's loving every minute of it. There is a sense that she had control over these men that she was performing for. She gets to say what goes and what doesn't. And she was lacking that when she was growing up.

[00:08:27]>> It's not long before her dirty little secret is revealed.

[00:08:32]her parents finally found out. That may have been the reason why she moved out because they found out and just kind of said, "This ain't going to happen in our household."

[00:08:40]>> Her parents are deeply disappointed.

[00:08:43]So, Brandy is on her own making over a,000 bucks a week private dancing.

[00:08:51]Like most girls, she never seemed to be 100% pleased with what she already had.

[00:08:57]A lot of girls would kill for the figure she was born with, but she wanted more.

[00:09:03]>> She walked in and basically just said, "Look what I got. You like my new boob job?" It's like, "Looks good. You know, it it's it suits you." And she You want to feel them? I'm like, "That's okay."

[00:09:16]>> With her new and improved body, Brandy takes her private dancing public. She makes loads of cash at a new job dancing topless in a high-end gentleman's club in Phoenix.

[00:09:30]She's finally on top.

[00:09:33]But a family tragedy brings her back down to earth in 2001 when her father is diagnosed with lung cancer.

[00:09:41]>> And that's when they're like, "Holy cow, there's nothing we can do. It's cancer was everywhere."

[00:09:48]Brandy starts spending more time with her family.

[00:09:52]>> In all the family, she knew that she was daddy's girl. So, it would have been very, very hard on her.

[00:09:58]>> Sadly, despite aggressive treatment, her father passes away just 9 months later.

[00:10:06]>> Her father dying was a really huge transitioning point for her where she really felt like she was alone.

[00:10:13]With her father gone, Randy searches for a new man to fill the void.

[00:10:21]Enter Robert Lemi, a 24year-old muscular male stripper with a reputation for being a mover and a shaker. He and Brandy hit it off immediately.

[00:10:33]So, here's these two young, good-looking people in excellent shape with fabulous physiques. And for once, they got to choose who they were going to spend their sexuality on. And it must have been pretty intense between them, the attraction.

[00:10:52]>> But Bad Boy Roberts got a sorted past.

[00:10:57]>> Robert was a a hustler, um a ruthless businessman, uh took advantage of anybody and everybody.

[00:11:06]I just saw her inviting more questionable people into her circles and she could be very naive um to the people that she was around and I think she got used a lot.

[00:11:22]>> Bry's teetering on a slippery slope and Robert's about to give her a dangerous push.

[00:11:31]In her search for love and acceptance, Brandy Hungerford has fallen squarely into the lap of career criminal Robert Lemi. And Robert has big plans for Brandy. He knows the type of girl to go after. It's the girls that seem like they're a little lost. They need someone to look up to. They need a purpose in life. And I believe that's what he found in Brandy.

[00:11:55]>> Brandy loves making easy money stripping. But Robert has a foolproof plan to score even more cash, >> and Brandy will be his bait.

[00:12:07]>> It all starts in June of 2002 when the pair spots an ad placed in the paper by a local celebrity named Rick Chance.

[00:12:17]50-year-old Rick is a self-made millionaire and philanthropist.

[00:12:23]When he donated, he would always donate anonymously. And he donated a lot of money and a lot of stuff. And he would do that anonymously because he felt that the Bible instructed him.

[00:12:35]>> The recently divorced father of two has a business acquiring and selling expensive jewelry. He places classified ads and meets privately with buyers interested in making a purchase.

[00:12:49]He's the perfect mark for Brandy and Robert.

[00:12:54]>> Robert and Brandy did not have the money to buy this kind of jewelry, but they knew that someone who had the jewelry was just ripe for the pickings and they were going to rob this guy.

[00:13:06]>> So, Brandy calls Rick and says she's a college student looking to buy a luxury watch for her father. The two make plans to meet later that week.

[00:13:16]She presented herself as as an anu, as a very innocent, naive girl, as a good girl. And that was part of the allure.

[00:13:25]That was part of the tease. That was part of the manipulation. Very clever on her part.

[00:13:31]>> The plan is to lure Rick back to his home where Brandy will drug him. Once he's passed out, Robert will raid his inventory.

[00:13:42]The pair meets up as planned and Rick can't resist inviting sexy Brandy back to his mansion to check out his jewels.

[00:13:54]Brandy slips into the home with the unsuspecting millionaire.

[00:14:00]While at Rick's house, um, Brandy putting the pills into Rick's drink, uh, with the intention of Rick falling asleep, and then she would have Robert come.

[00:14:16]>> Well, Rick got tired, but he never fell asleep. Uh, he told Brandy it was time for her to leave.

[00:14:21]>> Are you okay?

[00:14:21]>> I don't feel well.

[00:14:22]>> You sure? You don't look so well.

[00:14:24]>> I think you should go.

[00:14:25]>> Panicked, Brandy phones Robert for help.

[00:14:28]>> I'm so sorry. I screwed up.

[00:14:30]>> Brandy didn't know where she was in the first place to be able to convey to Robert how to get there.

[00:14:34]>> You don't know where the address is and he's still awake. Come on. This is ridiculous.

[00:14:38]>> Their plot foiled. Brandy leaves Rick's home. Robert's furious, but Brandy promises to make it up to him.

[00:14:46]Days later, she reaches out to Rick with a different plan in mind.

[00:14:52]>> Brandy told Rick that she had some buyers who would like to look at the jewelry that he has. And Rick was always working an angle, but he's hesitant.

[00:15:04]>> He told me that night, he said, "I'm a little bit worried about this about this date." He says, "Here's what I'm going to do. I'll show her and her friend the jewelry right there in the restaurant."

[00:15:16]He said, "Public place. It'll be perfectly safe." So, that was his plan going into that date.

[00:15:22]>> But Sexy Brandy convinces Rick to change that plan. They check into a hotel where she says her friends will meet them.

[00:15:32]>> I believe Brandy really manipulated Rick. I think she used everything in her powers as she's learned by being a stripper to reel him in.

[00:15:39]>> But Brandy and Robert's plan for the perfect robbery is about to take a very unexpected turn.

[00:15:50]Brandy Hungerford has millionaire jewelry salesman Rick Chance right where she wants him. and her boyfriend's about to rob him blind.

[00:16:00]Around 10:00, Brandy steps out of the room, supposedly to fill the ice bucket.

[00:16:06]Robert is just outside. He plans to threaten Rick and steal his jewels while Brandy waits in the hallway.

[00:16:14]>> Rick was probably seated on the bed uh when when Robert entered the room, and Robert used the gun to hit Rick uh on the back of the head with with a handgun. But the gun goes off and a single bullet lodges in Rick's chest.

[00:16:32]>> Brandy heard a loud pop that she wasn't 100% sure what it was, but it was enough to make her want to run.

[00:16:40]>> Brandy left the hotel, went to the car, and was waiting for Robert in the car. A minute or two later, Robert shows up, and he has Rick's bag with a jewelry with them.

[00:16:52]>> What happened? and everything's all right.

[00:16:55]>> Brandy and Robert leave Rick Chance behind and speed off into the night.

[00:17:03]When Rick's friends and family realize he's missing, they fear the worst.

[00:17:09]>> The fact that he was meeting these people the night before weighed very heavily on everyone's mind. He's not answering his phone. Rick's body is discovered the next morning by the hotel maid.

[00:17:22]>> There was a do not disturb sign on the motel room door. At some point, the maid pushed the sign aside. The maid saw something in there she wasn't willing to clean up and she backed out. Rick Chance's murder hits the news and within hours, police get a flood of tips from viewers. But the most compelling comes from a surprising source. Bry's own mother.

[00:17:47]>> Bry's mother worked in law enforcement.

[00:17:50]So she um I believe she besides just being a good person, I think she felt an obligation that she needed to come forward and provide us with the identity of her daughter. Um she was upset that her daughter was involved in this.

[00:18:08]We had no clue. You know, they they put it as, you know, she's she's missing. Do you know where she's at? We didn't know where she was at. We hadn't been in contact with her for for a year.

[00:18:17]>> Police connect the dots as they learn more about Bry's boyfriend from Mrs. Hungerford.

[00:18:24]>> Robert had a bit of a violent and criminal past. So, everything was all starting to point towards Robert is involved in this and so is Brandy. And um now they've disappeared.

[00:18:38]Nobody knows where they are.

[00:18:40]Investigators race against the clock to find Brandy before it's too late.

[00:18:46]>> We knew that Robert kind of had a propensity for violence. And in fact, we had a concern during the investigation that um for Bry's safety if Robert would um kill Brandy and to to silence any other witnesses to this crime. 5 days later, after a national manhunt, Robert Lmi is arrested in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington. He is charged with firstdegree murder. Police find Brandy alive and well the next day at Robert's mother's house. She claims that he never told her that he shot and killed Rick Chance. If she thought the noise, the pop was such an innocent noise, a car backfiring or something, why did she run?

[00:19:30]>> Brandy soon caves and reveals the details of their plan to rob Rick Chance.

[00:19:38]In 2005, Robert Lenkey pleads guilty to the murder charge.

[00:19:44]He'll spend the rest of his life behind bars.

[00:19:48]Brandy Hungerford pleads guilty to robbery and is sentenced to 14 years in prison.

[00:19:56]>> In this case, the one witness who could really tell the story is dead.

[00:20:02]Bry's testimony ended up being true. And so in that case, the plea bargain process worked. It it brought about justice. So I don't have any qualms about it. We we got justice.

[00:20:15]I don't believe there was ever any intention to kill Rick. It just doesn't make any sense. They were already using anonymous cell phones and and bogus names and Rick didn't know Brandy other than as Kim who met him through a newspaper ad. So, it just made no sense to kill him.

[00:20:32]>> In court, Brandy says she wishes she could take it all back.

[00:20:37]>> She was very remorseful and apologetic over what had happened. No doubt she took responsibility and she took it to heart.

[00:20:45]>> Brandy is scheduled to be released in the year 2018. Having spent most of her adult life behind bars, she finally got the attention she so desperately craved, but for all the wrong reasons.