Dana Chandler sentenced to life in prison after third murder trial

CBS News

3 days ago

Dana Chandler, 65, was sentenced to life in prison for the 2002 murders of her ex-husband Mike Sisco and his girlfriend Karen Harkness on June 3, 2025.
Judge Cheryl Rios handed down two consecutive life terms and Chandler will not be eligible for parole for 50 years, with credit for about 13 years of time she has already served.
Hailey Seel, Chandler and Sisco's daughter, gave a victim impact statement at sentencing. According to The Kansas Reflector, Seel said about her mother in court, "I truly see her now as the evil killer. I hate it. I don't want to call you evil killer, but I can't live in a fairy tale."
Seel reportedly recommended the judge to show mercy on Chandler if she confessed to the crime and expressed remorse. But if Chandler continued to deny her involvement, Seel recommended the judge should impose the maximum sentence.
Dana Chandler at her sentencing for the 2002 murders of Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness on June 3, 2025.
Pool photography by Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal/USA Today Network
The Kansas Reflector reported Chandler continued to deny involvement in the crimes, stating, "I have always maintained my innocence. I continue to maintain my innocence. I was not in Topeka, Kansas, on July 7. I never owned or possessed a 9-millimeter firearm. What is happening in this courtroom is a grave injustice. I was not the one who killed them."
Sisco, 47, and Harkness, 53, were each shot multiple times with a 9mm gun on July 7, 2002, in Harkness' Topeka, Kansas, home. Police quickly suspected Chandler after members of the Harkness and Sisco families said she harassed Sisco with bizarre visits and frequent phone calls following their bitter divorce and custody battle. She was questioned by police but was not charged. Chandler has always maintained her innocence.
"48 Hours" has been covering the case since 2008, and most recently in "My Mother's Murder Trials" reported by contributor Jim Axelrod.
For years, the couple's families met with law enforcement and even conducted their own investigation looking for additional evidence, such as the murder weapon, which was never found. At that time, Shawnee County District Attorney Robert Hecht reportedly said there was not enough evidence to charge Chandler. In 2011, a new DA, Chad Taylor, was in office and made the decision to move the case forward.
Dana Chandler was arrested in 2011 and entered not guilty pleas to two counts of first-degree murder. A jury convicted Chandler in 2012, and she was sentenced to life in prison.
Six years later, Chandler's convictions were overturned due to prosecutorial misconduct. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled that statements made at Chandler's trial by prosecutor Jacqie Spradling was, in at least one instance, "made-up" and "misleading." Spradling was later disbarred for what the court called "intolerable acts of deception" aimed at the jury and the courts. "48 Hours" reached out to Spradling, but did not receive a response.
But the Kansas Supreme Court did not dismiss Chandler's case. It ruled that there was still sufficient evidence for a jury to find Chandler guilty. The decision whether to retry Chandler was up to the new Shawnee County DA Mike Kagay, and he chose to proceed with another trial.
Chandler's second trial began in July 2022. Defense attorney Tom Bath argued there was no DNA, fingerprint or hair evidence that placed Chandler inside the Harkness residence, or even in the state of Kansas.
Shawnee County Deputy DA Charles Kitt acknowledged the lack of physical evidence and told the jury the case was instead based on jealousy, rage and obsession.
The jury in this trial was unable to reach a unanimous decision. After six days of deliberation, the judge announced a hung jury, reportedly with seven votes to convict and five to acquit.
Following the hung jury, the judge reduced Chandler's bond, and after being incarcerated for more than a decade, she was released from jail with GPS monitoring. The defense also requested a change of venue for the upcoming trial, which the judge granted.
Chandler's third trial got underway in February 2025, in Pottawatomie County, 60 miles from Topeka. On the morning of opening statements, Chandler dismissed her attorneys and announced she would represent herself.
At trial, Chandler's children, Hailey Seel and Dustin Sisco — who were teenagers at the time of the murders — testified for the prosecution, as they had done previously. They both believe their mother, Dana Chandler, is responsible for murdering their father, Mike Sisco, and Karen Harkness. They were also questioned by their mother.
When it was time to present her case, Chandler testified for approximately 20 hours, spread over seven days. She argued that no one could place her at the scene of the murders, or even in the state of Kansas at the time of the killings, and that she had never owned or possessed a .9mm firearm.
Deputy DA Kitt focused on Chandler's obsessive behavior and told the jury she killed Sisco and Harkness because she had lost control of her ex-husband.
The jury deliberated nearly four hours before finding Chandler guilty.
Hailey Seel says she was relieved by the verdict but hopes that the lives lost are not forgotten.
"I do feel like the focus of this case has gone almost completely to Dana Chandler and that the — the victims and the families of the victims has really been lost in this case, which is really sad. And I hope that from here out the — the victims and the families can be remembered more," Seel told "48 Hours."
Chandler is filing motions to appeal the conviction. "48 Hours" reached out to Chandler for comment, but did not receive a response.
contributed to this report.