Latest news with #48Hours'
Wakala News
9 hours ago
- Wakala News
What did Dana Chandler do? Inside the case of the Kansas woman convicted of double murder after three trials
Dana Chandler has spent decades maintaining her innocence against allegations she was responsible for the 2002 murders of her ex-husband, Mike Sisco, and his girlfriend, Karen Harkness. In 2025, Chandler took on her own defense, representing herself in the third trial the state brought against her for the murders. DANA CHANDLER (in court, closing): My liberty, my freedom is hanging in the balance. Hailey Seel is Dana Chandler and Mike Sisco's daughter. She and other Sisco and Harkness family members have spent decades grieving, searching for answers and for justice. ' I want to understand what happened and why. And — and — and actually know the truth of what happened,' she tells '48 Hours' contributor Jim Axelrod. '48 Hours' first started covering the murders in 2008 and spoke with individuals involved several times over the years. THE MURDERS OF MIKE SISCO AND KAREN HARKNESS Hailey Seel: It's hard to swallow and it's hard to believe. It's insane. (crying) For Hailey, it all started on July 7, 2002. She learned her father and Harkness had been killed in Harkness' Topeka, Kansas, home. Hailey Seel: I immediately just saw a bunch of tape around the house and police. … And my grandma's sitting in there and she just told me that they had been shot. The night before the murders, Sisco and Harkness enjoyed an evening at a casino about an hour outside of Topeka. Surveillance footage shows them leaving about 1:30 a.m. They then stopped to get coffee – the last time video captured Harkness alive. Harold Worswick (2008): They were extremely happy, you could just see that. Harkness' father, Harold Worswick. Harold Worswick: Everything they did was for each other. The day after Sisco and Harkness' night out, a family get-together had been planned at Harkness' house. Relatives thought the couple might be announcing they were engaged. Harold Worswick: And I rang the doorbell and knocked on the glass and couldn't raise anybody. I thought, 'This is strange.' Worswick, who has since died, recalled that he entered Harkness' home that afternoon through an open sliding door, didn't see any sign of Karen or Mike Sisco, so he headed downstairs to the bedroom. Harold Worswick: Just as I got to the foot of the stairs, I could see Karen. … And I said, 'Oh, Christ.' I knew she was dead. And then I found Mike on the outside of the bed. Worswick would then call 911. HAROLD WORSWICK (to 911): I just located my daughter and she's downstairs and she's dead … Det. Richard Volle: I got a radio call just after two o'clock on July 7th, 2002. Richard Volle, now retired, was the Topeka Police Department's lead detective on the case. Det. Richard Volle: It was a report of two dead bodies in a basement. Five bullets had struck Harkness, 53, including in her back and buttocks. Sisco, 47, suffered between five and seven gunshot wounds. The couple had been in bed. The rest of the house appeared undisturbed. Investigators found more than $1,000 in cash, a Rolex watch and other jewelry left behind. Robbery was quickly ruled out. To understand who might want Harkness and Sisco dead, police turned to their families for information. Det. Richard Volle: What we're left with is an emotional killing. It's an emotional execution. Sisco, a salesperson for a welding company, and Harkness, who worked in the hospitality industry, were both previously married and now divorced. The well-liked couple had been dating about four years. Harkness' children, Chad and Erin, were in their 20s at the time of the murders. Chad Harkness: It was a surprise to everybody that this would happen to somebody like her. Erin Sutton: My mom was an amazing woman. … She, she didn't have enemies. … And I remember telling her on several occasions that if I could be half the mom that she was to me, then I would be the best mom in the world. Sisco had custody of his two children, Hailey, then, 17, and Dustin, 15. Dustin Sisco: My dad was really my life growing up … He was really my hero. Hailey's relationship with her dad was more complicated. Hailey Seel: I wasn't happy with my dad. I wasn't happy with my mom. I wasn't happy at my school. By Hailey's own admission, she was a difficult teen. Hailey Seel: My dad gave me an ultimatum: 'Either you follow my rules or you move out.' She chose to live with her then-boyfriend, Chris. Hailey Seel: And I moved in with Chris and then my dad was killed. That defiance made Hailey and Chris of interest to police. They were polygraphed and questioned. DET. VOLLE: I'm just curious, is everything all right with your dad and everything? HAILEY SEEL: Uh, yeah. … We weren't really getting along for a little while. Authorities said their alibis checked out. As did the alibis of Harkness' daughter, Erin, and her husband, Jeff Sutton. Harkness' son Chad was also questioned. Chad Harkness: I was hooked up to a polygraph machine and asked if I had murdered my mother or in any way participated in the murder of my mother. Police concluded none of them were involved. But family members thought they knew who was responsible: Mike Sisco's ex-wife, Dana Chandler. Cathy Boots: She just — she never fit in. Cathy Boots, Mike Sisco's sister, watched Chandler and Sisco's relationship deteriorate. After 15 years of marriage, the couple went through a bitter divorce, finalized in 1998. Sisco's relatives say Chandler had a drinking problem and she sporadically stalked Sisco during and after the divorce, with frequent calls and bizarre visits. Cathy Boots: The kids were upstairs in their room. … And we heard a noise and there she was … in the middle of the night … jumping on a trampoline in the backyard of Mike's home. Mark Boots is Mike Sisco's brother-in-law. Mark Boots: I think she became obsessed with the fact that Mike was moving on with his life. … And then when Karen entered the picture, that's when things really started, I think, escalating. Mike Sisco kept track of some of the incidents from 1998 in a day planner, writing: JULY 28: … Dana stalking neighborhood at 8:30, caught her she left. … NOVEMBER 12: Dana came in house while I was at Karens from 7:00 to 11:00 went thrus stuff … Mark Boots: She was willing to travel great distances to show up back in his life. According to the Boots, the last time Chandler showed up at Mike Sisco's home was in the spring of 2002, several months before the murders. Cathy Boots said Mike told her Chandler went there to talk about moving back in. Cathy Boots: She said, 'The kids are getting older. … They're having different issues with themselves now. They need both parents. I think I should move back in and we should parent together.' Mark Boots: All this harassment and stalking had come to the point that Mike told me that he and Karen now feared for their lives. Mark Boots says Mike Sisco made that clear to him on a fishing trip, nine days before the murders. Mark Boots: He turned to me and said, 'Mark, you're gonna wake up and find me dead. And I want you to know who did it, Dana Chandler.' But Chandler lived eight hours away in Denver and there was no sign that she had been in Harkness' house in Topeka the night of the murders. WHO WANTED THE COUPLE DEAD? Det. Richard Volle: The victims were doing absolutely nothing and may not have seen it coming at all. Investigators were trying to determine who would gun down Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness as they lay in bed. Detective Richard Volle called Sisco's ex-wife, Dana Chandler, to inform her of Mike's murder. DET. RICHARD VOLLE (phone call to Chandler): Your husband was found shot to death today, this afternoon. Your ex-husband, I'm sorry … Can you tell me when the last time was that you talked to him? Chandler, Volle says, did not ask many questions and did not seem concerned. Chandler would later say she was very upset on that call. But only Volle's side of their conversation was recorded, due to a technical error, he said, on his part. The next evening, Chandler called the Topeka Police Department, leaving a message on a different officer's voicemail: DANA CHANDLER (phone call to police): Hi, my name is Dana Chandler and I got a very disturbing phone call last night. Someone had said that my ex-husband had been killed, and I'm just calling to — to see if that's true or not … Chandler would later explain her call was simply seeking confirmation. Given the personal nature of the murders, no signs of a burglary, and those stories about a messy divorce and stalking, Chandler became the main suspect. Volle decided to talk with Chandler in person, recording this audio, four days after the murders: DET. RICHARD VOLLE ( interview audio 2002): Tell me about what happened on the 6th. DANA CHANDLER: I got up, I had my morning coffee. But again, there was an issue with the recording. In most of the rest of the conversation, Chandler is difficult to hear. Volle recounted what he said she told him. Det. Richard Volle: She said she'd been at home, Saturday morning, that's July 6th … and then made a couple of errand stops. Chandler said she bought cigarettes, snacks, and a car cigarette lighter at several stores around Denver and then got gas. But Volle says she failed to mention one purchase he saw on a credit card receipt. Det. Richard Volle: She'd bought two five-gallon gas cans, as well. Volle wondered why she didn't tell him and why she would even need gas cans, unless she had been planning a trip, perhaps to Kansas, and didn't want to stop for gas along the way. According to Volle, Chandler had also said, after running those errands, she went home to her Denver apartment. Det. Richard Volle: Didn't have any visitors. No contact with anybody. And the next day got up and went for a drive in the mountains at ten o'clock in the morning. But Volle couldn't verify that Chandler was in her apartment the night of the murders, nor that she took a drive in the mountains the next day. Volle said the area Chandler described driving through would have meant she'd have to pass Rocky Mountain National Park surveillance cameras. Those cameras were checked. Volle said there was no sign of her car. Det. Richard Volle: The particular person that I had view that tape looked at every frame slowly. … She was never there. Investigators also reviewed Chandler's cellphone records. They said that while she tended to use her cellphone frequently, she, oddly, had no activity around the time of the murders. Det. Richard Volle: What we found was there was a 27-hour window where her phone wasn't used. Still, there was no DNA, no fingerprints, or other forensic evidence to tie Chandler to the killings. The gun used in the murders hadn't been found, though investigators learned the bullets were from an Israeli weapons manufacturer. And Chandler would go on to say she didn't even own a gun. But family members remained convinced that Chandler was responsible for the murders. They say they pushed to have a meeting with then-DA Robert Hecht. Tim Sisco is Mike Sisco's brother. Tim Sisco: I specifically went into this meeting wanting to know if he would pursue a circumstantial case. … And the answer was, 'Without that murder weapon, we don't have enough hard evidence to move this forward.' The Sisco and Harkness families grew increasingly frustrated and decided to take action — looking for more information about Chandler's possible involvement in the murders. Cathy Boots: I put her picture up everywhere. 'Have you seen this person?' Several months after the murders, having more questions than answers, Mike Sisco's sister Cathy Boots said she and their mom Carol Sisco went searching for clues, even lifting up manhole covers and looking in rest stop bathrooms for the gun used in the murders. Cathy Boots: We thought, you know, maybe she threw the gun somewhere. … So I would stand on a toilet and try and push a tile up. They found nothing, but Hailey Seel, Chandler, and Mike Sisco's daughter, was also working the case. Hailey Seel: I felt the need to do something. I didn't wanna just sit back with my hands tied and helpless. In 2005, three years after the murders, Hailey began secretly recording conversations with her mother, trying to learn what happened to her dad and Harkness. HAILEY SEEL (recorded phone call): … I think that the only way I can really move on with a relationship with you is if we can get it, you know, if you can just tell me yourself that you did it. … DANA CHANDLER: Well, number one, I didn't do it and number one I, number two, I don't know what happened Hailey. … One thing Hailey asked about was why her mother had no cellphone activity for 27 hours around the time of the murders. HAILEY SEEL (recorded phone call): Why did it have no calls and was at home the whole time? You knew it could be traced. DANA CHANDLER: I was in the mountains; I didn't have a signal. Chandler insisted she had nothing to do with the murders, but did say she had violent thoughts about Mike Sisco. DANA CHANDLER (recorded conversation): I said I could kill him. You ever think about killing him? HAILEY SEEL No, but — DANA CHANDLER: I did. HAILEY SEEL: But — DANA CHANDLER: Honestly, I can say I did. The official investigation, though, seemed stalled, so authorities asked Vernon Geberth, a homicide and forensic consultant and former New York City Police Department detective, to review case files. In 2007, nearly five years after the murders, he issued a report concluding '… Dana Chandler is the one and only person who had the motive, means and opportunity to commit these murders.' It was Geberth who brought the case to the attention of '48 Hours.' In 2009, '48 Hours' aired its first report on the murders —and tried to talk with Chandler. HAROLD DOW | '48 Hours' correspondent: Did you know anything about the death of Michael and Karen? DANA CHANDLER: I have no idea what happened to Mike and Karen. '48 Hours' ended the episode asking viewers to contact police if they had any information. Again, the case seemed to be going nowhere. But two years later, a new DA, Chad Taylor, decided he was willing to take a chance with the evidence they had. He chose to move the case forward and arrest Chandler. With '48 Hours' cameras rolling, law enforcement, zeroed in on Chandler in Oklahoma, where she was staying at the time. Taylor didn't just help plan the arrest, but went on it, with a gun at the ready. And on July 24, 2011, Chandler was in custody, charged with the murders of Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness. WHERE WAS DANA CHANDLER THE NIGHT OF THE MURDERS? Hailey Seel I'd hit a point where I didn't know … if justice would ever … be served. For Hailey Seel who was convinced her mother killed her father, Dana Chandler's arrest was nearly a decade in the making. Hailey Seel It was such a feeling that I – I — it was unbelievable. She was determined to get justice as she prepared to face Dana Chandler in court. Hailey Seel: I've made it this far. … I can do anything. In March 2012, Chandler went on trial. Jacqie Spradling, then-chief deputy DA, began by referring to those conversations Hailey Seel had taped years earlier with her mother. JACQIE SPRADLING (in court): 'I could kill him. I thought about killing him.' These are the words of this defendant about her ex-husband Mike Sisco. In her opening statement, Spradling suggested a possible motive for murder. JACQIE SPRADLING (in court) Two days before the homicides, the defendant called Mike. Mike at this time told the defendant, in that five-minute phone call, that he and Karen were going to be married. But there is no recording of that call. MARK BENNETT (in court) It's easy to make allegations. It's difficult to prove those allegations. And in his opening, defense attorney Mark Bennett argued the case against Chandler was all speculation. MARK BENNETT (in court): There is no evidence that places Dana Chandler in or near the Harkness residence on July 6th or 7th, 2002. But to authorities, there was the question about exactly where Chandler was during that time. Volle says she told him she was home Saturday, the night of the murders and then drove through the mountains the next day. But Chandler's business acquaintance Jeff Bailey, testified Chandler told him something different — that she slept in her car in the mountains the Saturday night of the murders. JEFF BAILEY (in court): She told me that the story she was giving me was the truth. And the story that she'd given to the law enforcements was not the truth. And prosecutors told the jury Chandler did not use her cellphone for 27 hours the weekend of the murders. Remember, Hailey Seel accused her mother of trying to avoid being tracked. Volle found another instance when Chandler didn't use her phone a month before the murders. DET. RICHARD VOLLE (in court): There were no calls registered. There were some calls came to the phone, but none were picked up. And prosecutors say that's important, because during that time — a month before the murders — was Chandler's dry run for the killings. They called her friend Ann Carrender to the stand. Carrender says Dana told her she had driven to Topeka. ANN CARRENDER (in court): She had— gone to Mike's house— through the window. Um, nobody was home. … JACQIE SPRADLING: What else did she tell you? ANN CARRENDER: That she had gone — and sat outside Karen's house. Spradling says Chandler was obsessed with Mike Sisco and presented evidence that in the six months leading up to the murders, she called Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness more than 600 times. The defense argued Chandler was calling to talk to her kids, but Hailey Seel remembered her mother's calls differently. JACQIE SPRADLING (in court): What was the thing that she talked to you the most about? HAILEY SEEL: She talked about my dad a lot. And – I — I re — I really feel like she was — was really just obsessed — with him. An FBI analyst testified Chandler often called late at night, and frequently made repeated calls in a short time period, including a month before the murders. ALICE CASEY (in court): On June 3rd, she made 17 calls in 18 minutes. Both of Chandler's children testified for the prosecution, saying that their mother also had a history of stalking their father. DUSTIN SISCO (in court): She took me and my sister with her to go spy on my dad. … And so we were in the car and she told us, you know, we're just going to be her little helpers. HAILEY SEEL (in court): She asked if I would go — go up to the house with her. And we did. And she was looking in all the windows. And she told me to look in the windows. And – JACQIE SPRADLING: Did you? HAILEY SISCO: I did. … JACQIE SPRADLING: What was it that she was looking at in there? HAILEY SEEL: I think that she — was — was thinking there was — a lady in there with my dad. Hailey also testified about those recordings she made talking with her mother. During one of them, Chandler, who attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, gave an explanation as to why she bought those gas cans. DANA CHANDLER (audio recording): I ran into a girl that had run out of gas at an AA meeting and so I went and got gas for her. She asked me for money and we don't give people money at AA … Prosecutor Spradling told the jury that she believed Chandler used those two five-gallon gas cans to have enough gas so she would not have to stop and potentially be seen near the crime scene. But Chandler's attorney argued there was no proof she was ever in Topeka during the time of the murders. MARK BENNETT (in court): Did you or … any other members of the Topeka Police Department … ever find an eyewitness that put — the defendant, Dana Chandler, in Topeka, Kansas on either July 6 or July 7, 2002? DET. RICHARD VOLLE: No. The closest law enforcement was able to come was at a gas station in WaKeeney, Kansas, nearly halfway between Denver and Topeka. Clerk Patty Williams wasn't sure, but she thought she might have seen Chandler the night of the murders. Jacqie Spradling: Patty was shown a picture of the defendant … Patty indicated that she was 70 percent sure that that was the woman who had been there. But by the time Chandler went on trial, Patty Williams had died. A different worker from the gas station testified about seeing a black car that looked similar to the one Chandler drove that day. But she said it might have had license plates from Virginia. When it was the defense's turn, Bennett pointed out there was no proof Chandler was ever there. MARK BENNETT (in court): Wasn't any receipt from WaKeeney, was there? DET. RICHARD VOLLE: No. And Bennett questioned whether Volle investigated other suspects, like two men with criminal records who had stolen checks from Mike Sisco and cashed one after the murders. MARK BENNETT (in court): That didn't make 'em a suspect? DET. RICHARD VOLLE: No, because the check wasn't taken from Karen Harkness' house where the murders occurred. The check was actually taken from Mike Sisco's house where the murders did not occur. And one of the men was in jail when the murders occurred. In closing arguments, Bennett reiterated there was no forensic evidence linking Chandler to the crime. MARK BENNETT (in court): All this time, they've been trying to put her in Kansas when this happened. And for nine-and-a-half years, they've come up dry. Spradling reminded the jury of Chandler's stalking behavior— and tried to make sure they knew just how scared Mike Sisco was of Chandler. She said Mike Sisco had gotten a protection from abuse order against Chandler. JACQIE SPRADLING (in court): So, he got a court order saying she has to stay away. The protection from abuse order did not stop the defendant, though. After two weeks of testimony, it took the jury 83 minutes to reach a verdict: guilty of first-degree murder. Hailey Seel: I feel better in the sense that my dad's killer is paying for their actions … I don't feel better that my mom is capable of killing my dad. When it was time for sentencing, Hailey Seel asked that her mom receive the maximum sentence. HAILEY SEEL (in court:) We each have a deep scar on our souls from what this monster has done. But Chandler would also get a chance to speak. DANA CHANDLER (in court): But most importantly, I deny that I murdered Mike or Karen. I am innocent. I did not murder Mike or Karen. Chandler was sentenced to life in prison. But soon that verdict would be called into question. DANA CHANDLER'S CONVICTION REVERSED Hailey Seel: A lot of my mind has been focused on her getting away with killing my Dad, and … just drags me down. For years, Hailey Seel's thoughts were consumed with proving her mother killed her father, Mike Sisco, and Karen Harkness. With Dana Chandler in prison, Hailey was relieved she could concentrate on other things. But her relief was tinged with pain. Hailey Seel: I wanna focus on my future and what I want to do with my life. … I wanna be everything my mom wasn't. (cries) But Hailey's focus would turn again to the case. Chandler almost immediately began filing motions as she worked to appeal her conviction. She and her attorneys cited, among other things, the actions of prosecutor Jacqie Spradling. In particular, statements Spradling made at trial about that protection from abuse order. JACQIE SPRADLING (in court): Mike got a protection from abuse, a court order. He applied and said, 'Hey, judge, please order this woman to stay away from me.' And the judge agreed. Stacey Schlimmer: And that is just a blatant misstatement. Stacey Schlimmer, one of Chandler's appeal attorneys, was never able to find a protection from abuse order. Stacey Schlimmer: I went through the whole case. I went and looked for every possible order I could find. And there wasn't one that she was referring to. In 2018, Schlimmer argued that Spradling's actions constituted prosecutorial misconduct. STACEY SCHLIMMER (arguing before Kansas Supreme Court): I — I think that Ms. Chandler never had an opportunity at a fair trial from the get-go. Schlimmer contended the case against Chandler should be thrown out. The court agreed. Stacey Schlimmer: The Kansas Supreme Court held that … it's so bad that we're going to go ahead and overturn her conviction. Other issues about statements Spradling made at trial also came up, including describing a route Chandler took between Kansas and Denver when there was no evidence that she drove that way. JACQIE SPRADLING (in court): She drove directly up to Nebraska. And after she gets on Nebraska she turns around and goes home. Stacey Schlimmer: They just kinda hypothesized, 'Well, she must have went up and went over from Nebraska.' There was no evidence of that at all. Schlimmer also contended the state did not have enough evidence to prove Dana Chandler's guilt. Stacey Schlimmer: We argued insufficiency of evidence as an issue for appeal … Jim Axelrod: Meaning you don't think prosecutors had enough to make a legitimate case? Stacey Schlimmer: Jurors didn't have enough evidence before them if you took out all the evidence that should've never been presented or told to them incorrectly. The Kansas Supreme Court described Spradling's actions as, 'intolerable acts of deception.' And she was disbarred. '48 Hours' reached out to Spradling, but did not receive a response. Stacey Schlimmer: When a case gets reversed, like a case like this, we essentially have an innocent woman who's been convicted of crime because of the prosecutor. Or we have a family that has now a reversed conviction that has to go through the system again. Jim Axelrod: Either way, there's an injustice. Stacey Schlimmer: Right. So … that conduct is gonna affect someone. The Kansas Supreme Court did decide, though, there was sufficient evidence to retry Chandler if the district attorney chose to. Hailey Seel: When I found out that the Kansas Supreme Court overturned the verdict … it was very shocking. … What does this mean? Will the DA's office retry her? … Jim Axelrod: Were you angry with the prosecutor who was cited for misconduct? Hailey Seel: I've never been angry with her. … I think it was an innocent mistake. Chad Harkness, Karen Harkness' son, takes a different view of Spradling's actions. Chad Harkness: Had Jacqie not made those comments, we wouldn't be sitting here today. This — this would be over. … Now … all these years later, we're still having to, you know, live through this again. And it — it's just — it's not right. It's not fair. The decision whether to retry Chandler was now in the hands of Shawnee County's new DA, Mike Kagay. Mike Kagay: We analyzed every aspect of the case. And ultimately, we came to the conclusion that we believed justice demanded that we move forward, and we pursue another trial. Pursuing that would take years. Chandler remained incarcerated. She, and her defense lawyers, argued she should be set free, and fought against having another trial. : Unbelievable. For Hailey, the delays seemed endless. Chandler and her lawyers filed nearly 400 motions, including ones requesting a change of judge, to retain an investigator, for her bond to be reduced, and to disqualify the Shawnee County District Attorney's Office. And through it all, she fired several of her lawyers. Hailey Seel: She went through seven lawyers in that time, uh, between representing herself. There were also dozens of hearings, including one where Hailey was called to testify – and Chandler did the questioning. Hailey Seel: She took me on the stand for at least 45 minutes … and she directly questioned me. Jim Axelrod: What was that like? Hailey Seel: It was the most awful thing I've ever … I mean, the — the suspect in the killing of my dad is now having the power to question me on the stand and talk to me. … Jim Axelrod: Not just the suspect in the killing of your dad, your own mother. Hailey Seel: Yeah, yeah. I mean, It – it — it was awful. But Hailey was willing to take whatever steps necessary to ensure her mother would stand trial again for the murders. Hailey Seel: If she could bring out something to prove where she was, to say she didn't do it, prove she didn't do it — that's not just for me, that's for her and her own freedom. But she can't, and she hasn't. WOULD DANA CHANDLER BE RETRIED? Mike Kagay: Two innocent people were murdered in our community. That demands justice. Although Dana Chandler's conviction had been overturned, prosecutors were determined to retry her for the murders of Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness. By 2021, the organization, Miracle of Innocence, got involved, advocating for Chandler. Darryl Burton: Dana Chandler was someone who, we believed in her innocence. … When we looked at the case, the facts was just … nothing connected this lady to the crime. Darryl Burton is the co-founder of Miracle of Innocence. He's someone who was wrongfully imprisoned and had his murder conviction reversed. He says, before sending someone to prison, the case needs to be more convincing than the one made against Chandler. Darryl Burton: There's no evidence … no fingerprints, no DNA, no confession, no weapon, no witnesses, nothing. … When it comes to, you know, these kinds of crimes of murder, you just got to have more than that. Chandler and her attorneys also raised other issues as they tried to get the case dismissed. Some allegations related to the 2009 '48 Hours' broadcast. Chandler falsely accused law enforcement of forming 'a partnership with '48 Hours' to film an episode aimed at convincing the public that Ms. Chandler murdered Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness.' Jim Axelrod: What do you make of the idea that, if '48 Hours' had not reported, starting in 2009, on this case, that Dana Chandler would never have been arrested or tried? Stacey Schlimmer: I don't think it was '48 Hours' (laughs). 2009 is a lot different than when they arrested her. They arrested her three or four years — three years later. I think the family was what kept it going. They believe that Ms. Chandler did this. … It was the new prosecutor, and it was the family probably saying, 'Hey, we need justice done in this.' But Stacey Schlimmer, Chandler's former appeal attorney, does take issue with the handling of the 2011 arrest and the show of force. Jim Axelrod: You've seen Dana Chandler's arrest many times. Stacey Schlimmer: Right. Jim Axelrod: And it bothers you. Stacey Schlimmer: It bothers me a lot. '48 Hours,' as well as The Topeka Capital-Journal, were given advance notice of the arrest by the office of then-DA Chad Taylor. Jim Axelrod: Are you bothered by law enforcement … or are you bothered by the fact that there were cameras there? Stacey Schlimmer: I'm bothered by the prosecutor. I'm bothered by the district attorney showing up at an arrest and having that arrest filmed. … Jim Axelrod: So they wanted video of law enforcement with their guns out? Stacey Schlimmer: I think they wanted then the public to see that. … That to me was it seemed like such a production for a case. … that prosecutor should never have done that. Ultimately, the various arguments Dana Chandler's team made to dismiss the case were unsuccessful. Chandler's new trial was scheduled for the summer of 2022. Before the trial began, '48 Hours' again tried to speak with Chandler. She said she would only agree to an interview if CBS paid her million-dollar bond. We declined. Chad Harkness: Never thought we'd be sitting here again and getting ready to start a — a retrial on this … it's just mind blowing. Chad Harkness, Karen Harkness' son, was relieved the DA's office decided to retry Chandler, but was concerned about going through this yet another time. Chad Harkness: Just — us kids having to relive this again and … It just it makes me sick. Hailey, too, was not looking forward to another trial. But said testifying again could give her some control of the situation. Hailey Seel: If I can … realize my power. … And it gives me courage to go forward because I know the truth … The truth is that … she murdered them. The passage of time has left Hailey with so much loss — loss she holds her mother responsible for. And, as a mom herself, having married her high school boyfriend Chris Seel, Hailey's feelings are even more complicated. Jim Axelrod: When you think of your mom, do you think mother, or do you think Dana? Hailey Seel: I think Dana, yeah. She's Dana to me. Actually, mom is — is a — an ucky word to me, to the point where I don't even like my kids to call me mom. I don't like mom. Mom is a — a very hurtful person (cries). No matter the name, Dana Chandler is someone her daughter will have to face again in court — and someone who will eventually tell her side of the story. DANA CHANDLER (in court): Let's start by stating my name. My name is Dana Chandler. I as everyone know, have been accused of double homicide and I am innocent. DANA CHANDLER RETRIED FOR DOUBLE MURDER In the summer of 2022, Dana Chandler was on trial for the second time for the murders of Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness. As in her first trial, the defense focused on all that was lacking in the case against Chandler. TOM BATH (in court): There is no evidence that she was in the Harkness residence, no evidence she was in Topeka. There's no evidence she was in the state of Kansas. Defense attorney Tom Bath insisted Chandler was in Colorado at the time of the murders, more than 500 miles away, and faulted investigators for zeroing in on her. TOM BATH (in court): Everything they looked at, everything they examined … excluded Dana. The lack of physical evidence was acknowledged by Shawnee County Deputy District Attorney Charles Kitt. CHARLES KITT (in court): Science is not going to solve this case. This case is not based on DNA. Instead, the state focused on evidence such as Chandler's hatred of her ex-husband and his girlfriend. CHARLES KITT (in court): This case is based on jealousy, rage and obsession. Prosecutors presented evidence they say showed that obsession—including records of more than 600 phone calls Chandler made to Harkness and Sisco in the six months before the murders. And they introduced witnesses who said Harkness and Sisco told them some of those calls were menacing. Kim Warrender was Harkness' coworker. KIM WARRENDER (in court): She said she had been up all-night receiving phone calls from Dana. … CHARLES KITT: She told you she was afraid? KIM WARRENDER: Very afraid. Erin Sutton also testified that her mother, Karen Harkness, was scared of Chandler. She spoke about messages she said she heard that Chandler left on her mother's phone. ERIN SUTTON (in court): She would call my mom horrible names. CHARLES KITT: And, like, what kind of names would she call her? ERIN SUTTON: She would call her a whore. In addition to testimony about calls Chandler made, there was also attention paid to when there was no call activity on her phone– specifically during 27 hours the weekend of the murders. Authorities believed Chandler's phone was turned off so it could not be traced as she traveled to Kansas. But the defense suggested it could have just been spotty cellphone service in Colorado. Prosecutors told the jury about a purchase Chandler made the day before the murders but failed to mention to investigators. Kitt asked Richard Volle, the lead detective on the case, about the purchase. CHARLES KITT (in court): Can you tell us what that is? DET. RICHARD VOLLE (holding the receipt): This is an Auto Zone receipt … It shows the purch — first two purchases were five dollar or five-gallon gas cans. Authorities wondered why Chandler didn't tell them about the gas cans, and why she would need gas cans unless she was planning a trip — perhaps to Kansas — and did not want to stop for gas along the way. And there was the issue of Chandler's alibi — according to Detective Volle, a changing, unconfirmable one. One witness testified that Chandler said she was in the mountains in Colorado at the time of the murders, but Volle testified Chandler told him she was at home in her Denver apartment. DET. RICHARD VOLLE (in court): She said she'd stayed at her house, had no guests or phone calls and then she turned in about 9'o clock. A friend of Chandler's testified about something authorities thought might have been a dry run for the murders. She said about a month before the killings, Chandler called and told her about a trip she made to Sisco's and Harkness's homes . ANN HAMMER (in court): She told me that she knew nobody was in the house and that she went into Mike's home through the window. After that, she did go to, um, his girlfriend's house and sat outside her house, waiting for them to come home. But they didn't show up … CHARLES KITT: Did she tell you what she did when she — got into Mike's house? ANN HAMMER: She wanted to see what it looked like on the inside. But Chandler's attorney questioned the reliability of her testimony, pointing out she may have gotten some dates wrong regarding calls with Chandler. ANN HAMMER (in court): It must not have been a Monday. TOM BATH: But 20 years ago, you said it was a Monday. Right? ANN HAMMER: Sure. Testimony about Chandler's behavior also came from Cathy Boots, Mike Sisco's sister. She described an incident several years before the murders, that she said she witnessed while staying at Mike's house. CATHY BOOTS (in court): We went to bed that night and I woke up in the early morning hours … to a noise out in the backyard. And we had left the back porch lights on. And I looked out through the blinds and Dana was jumping on the trampoline out back. And Mike Sisco's brother-in-law, Mark Boots, recounted a disturbing conversation he said he had with Mike nine days before the murders. MARK BOOTS (in court): Mike told me that the patterns of harassment had increased and that he feared for he and Karen's lives. Mike Sisco and Dana Chandler's daughter, Hailey Seel, was going to be in the uncomfortable position of testifying against her mother. A DAUGHTER'S SECRET RECORDINGS PLAYED IN COURT Hailey Seel: I was absolutely still nervous — and scared. … Being up there, it causes conflict. As Hailey Seel reflected back on testifying against her mother, Dana Chandler, she recalled the stress she was under. As a prosecution witness, Seel was asked to describe some of her mother's behavior—behavior Seel said she found obsessive. CHARLES KITT (in court): Was there a time where you were asked to spy on your dad? HAILEY SEEL: Yeah. Seel recounted an incident, after her parents split up, when she said, Chandler drove her and her brother to Sisco's home, and they all sat in the car to watch the house. HAILEY SEEL (in court): She said, 'Come on. We need to watch your dad. And you can be my little helpers.' … She had me go with her to the house after so long. And — um, and she wanted to look in the windows. CHARLES KITT: Did she look in the windows? HAILEY SEEL: Yeah. We both looked in the windows. And she said, 'Did you see that? Did you see that?' And I said, 'No. I didn't see anything.' It was episodes like that which led Seel, early on, to think her mother could be responsible for the murders. Hailey Seel: I always suspected she had something to do with it because of the history of her harassment, stalking, hatred, talking bad about them to us all the time. Seel testified about some of the ways her mother expressed that dislike of her father — like the demeaning ways Chandler referred to him in emails and online chats — including ones where Chandler referred to Sisco as 'it' — sent when Seel was 14 years old. CHARLES KITT (in court, pointing at email): And does she call him manipulative and deceiving? HAILEY SEEL: Yes. CHARLES KITT: And then calls him a rapist. HAILEY SEEL: Yeah. … CHARLES KITT And just a couple of lines down, 'I hate his guts.' HAILEY SEEL: Yeah. CHARLES KITT: Are those things your mother typed to you? HAILEY SEEL: Yes. HAILEY SEEL (recording to Dana Chandler): Nobody can say that they — that you were in Colorado that weekend? Also played in court, were those conservations Hailey secretly recorded with her mom as she tried to learn more about Chandler's possible involvement in the murders. Jim Axelrod: In all the conversations you had with her over the days, weeks, months, even years after this happened, she never told you something … that made you think, well, at least my mom didn't do it? Hailey Seel: No. Every time I talked to her, I felt more and more confident that she definitely had something to do with it. And perhaps most telling to Hailey was a conversation, played in court, where Chandler said she had thought about killing Mike Sisco. DANA CHANDLER (recording): …. you ever think about killing him? HAILEY SEEL: No, but — DANA CHANDLER: I did. In one of those discussions, Hailey asked her mother about why she bought those two gas cans — which authorities thought could have been used to help drive roundtrip from Denver to Topeka without stopping in Kansas for fuel. Chandler, who'd been a problem drinker, explained she bought them for someone else—a woman she met at AA. DANA CHANDLER (recording, played in court): … She asked me for money and we don't give people money at AA. I said, 'I'll go buy you some gas …' The prosecutor asked Hailey if she was able to learn anything more about that woman from Chandler. CHARLES KITT (in court): She wouldn't tell you who that person was? HAILEY SEEL: No. She didn't. But Chandler's defense team argued those recorded conversations proved nothing about the murders. And regarding the two gas cans, it maintained that the 10 extra gallons the cans could hold would not have been enough for Chandler to drive roundtrip from Denver to Topeka without still needing to stop for fuel. The defense accused authorities of tunnel vision — including not looking more thoroughly at other suspects. And her lawyers said Chandler never owned a .9mm gun — the type of weapon used in the murders, which was never found. What was found, were unusual bullets made in Israel. AMY COODY (in court): Israel Military Industries, that's the manufacturer. Chandler's attorney questioned a firearms examiner who had worked for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation about those bullets. TOM BATH (in court): Is that a bullet, ammunition you typically see? AMY COODY: Actually, we had not seen that before. And so it was a little bit unusual to us. The prosecution, though, explained there were places one could buy those bullets. CHARLES KITT (in court): Could that ammo have been brought into Kansas and sold at a gun show? AMY COODY: Yes, sir. CHARLES KITT: Could have been exchanged by individuals? AMY COODY: Yes, sir. There were other parts of the investigation that the defense argued supported its case. There was forensic work it said eliminated Chandler. Unidentified fingerprints found at the house did not match Chandler. None of Chandler's DNA was found at the murder scene, nor were any fibers found from her clothing, or any of her hair. KAREN THIESSEN (in court): I did not find any … hairs that were consistent with the sample coming from Ms. Chandler. TOM BATH (in court): In 20 years, the state had no evidence, no evidence whatsoever that placed Dana Chandler in Karen Harkness' home, in the city of Topeka, or in the state of Kansas. After three weeks of testimony, that lack of physical evidence would be the defense's theme in its closing argument. TOM BATH (in court): Each and every time they tested something, it excluded Dana. CHARLES KITT (in court): From the beginning, I told you this case is about obsession, jealousy, rage. The state focused on Chandler's behavior — her calls, emails, and her own family's testimony against her. CHARLES KITT (in court): The defendant clearly hated Karen and Mike, words from her own mouth and her own fingers typing those messages. TOM BATH (in court): A lot of evidence about Dana's bad behavior. That's true. … That's not evidence. … They have not proven this case beyond a reasonable doubt. On Aug. 25, 2022, the case went to the jury, and Hailey was waiting for a verdict. Hailey Seel: I've really tried to trust the process … cause I knew I didn't have any control over it. So it was gonna be what it was gonna be. But the wait to find out what that verdict would be was a long one. JURORS DEADLOCK IN DANA CHANDLER'S SECOND MURDER TRIAL The case in the second trial of Dana Chandler for the murders of Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness went to the jury on Aug. 25, 2022. That day came and went, as did several more. Hailey Seel: After about four days … I started to get nervous and think, wow, this actually could not come back in a guilty verdict and I started to think of that possibility. … And so … I prayed and I just trusted that, if she did get away with this that … life would have to go on, right? After six days of deliberating, Chandler would learn her fate. JUDGE CHERYL RIOS (in court): I understand that the jury is unable to reach a unanimous verdict at this time, is that correct? FOREPERSON: That's correct. The jury informed the judge they were deadlocked. There were seven votes to convict and five to acquit. Ben Alford: We did what we could with what we had. Ben Alford and Carrie Kimes were two members of the jury who voted to find Chandler not guilty. Carrie Kimes: I never saw actual evidence that — Dana Chandler was ever in the Harkness home. … I can't send somebody to spend the rest of their life in prison if you can't even prove she left Colorado that weekend. Ben Alford: Everything that was tested for DNA proved inconclusive. … And that's pretty remarkable. But for juror Randy Edwards, the state's depiction of Chandler's behavior was persuasive evidence. Randy Edwards: She was beyond upset. She was obsessed. He also found those conversations Seel recorded with her mother to be convincing and voted to convict. Randy Edwards: When I was able to comprehend that Dana said that she had thought of killing Mike, that was probably the — the piece that pushed me beyond any question of reasonable doubt anymore. Mike Kagay: There was a split verdict, but the majority of the jury was in favor of a conviction and that was meaningful. DA Mike Kagay decided to retry Dana Chandler. Her lawyers convinced the court to reduce her bond, which allowed her to be released with supervision as she awaited the next trial. JUDGE CHERYL RIOS (in court): The court is going to direct that … she have GPS monitoring. After spending more than a decade incarcerated, Chandler celebrated her freedom with Darryl Burton and Miracle of Innocence. Darryl Burton: Anybody who's getting outta prison after you've been in prison for any length of time, it is, it's a joyous occasion. … You're happy that someone's been released and, you know, also feel like, well, maybe it's a good chance that, you know, we can, you know, mount a defense, and get her totally acquitted. As a condition of her release, Chandler was not allowed to contact her children. Still, Hailey worried about her safety. She is married to Chris Seel, her high school boyfriend, and is a mother of three. Hailey Seel: I'm scared to death that she's going to hurt me, or she's going to affect my kids in some way. Hailey's fear only grew when Chandler made a post to her Facebook page. Chandler complained about her treatment at trial, calling it a kangaroo court. And in the background, she showed images of Hailey's children. Hailey says Chandler somehow learned which church she attended and downloaded a livestream of a service to create the photos. Hailey Seel: It was chilling and it was disturbing. … I feel like it was a direct message to me. Jim Axelrod: And what was the message? Hailey Seel: Intimidation. … I don't care about your boundaries. Her belief that her mother committed the murders remains unwavering, and she says, disturbing. Hailey Seel: She's my mom but … if you're my mom, why would you do that to my dad? … For your kids' sake, maybe that would be a reason not to do it. … Being a mother now, I have a new perspective. … It becomes even more unreal now. Also unreal to Hailey — thoughts of a third trial. Jim Axelrod: What are your expectations for yet again another trial Hailey Seel: This time, I am not as confident. For trial number three, jurors would be from Pottawatomie County, Kansas. The defense requested a change of venue, and the judge agreed, citing excessive media coverage. It would take place in Westmoreland, a smaller, more rural area, 60 miles away from the last setting in Topeka. CHARLES KITT (in court): July 7th, 2002 was going to be a good day. Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness had been in a relationship for a few years. The trial got underway with opening statements on Feb. 7, 2025. CHARLES KITT (in court): One name just kept coming up, Dana Chandler. Charles Kitt was back retrying the case, joined by prosecutor Dan Dunbar. Judge Cheryl Rios again presided. And in a last-minute change, on the morning of opening statements, Chandler dismissed her defense attorneys. And Chandler decided the best person to represent her was herself. DANA CHANDLER (In court): I am innocent. I did not kill Mike and Karen. DANA CHANDLER REPRESENTS HERSELF AT THIRD MURDER TRIAL DANA CHANDLER (in court): I think this case is a character assassination. In February 2025, Dana Chandler was on trial for the third time for the murders of Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness. But this time, she was representing herself. Mike Kagay: She was exercising her constitutional right. … It was an unknown. It was certainly unexpected. One thing that was the same as in the previous trials: Hailey Seel testifying. Hailey was asked again by the prosecution about her mother's inappropriate behavior. DAN DUNBAR (in court): What sort of things would she say about Karen? HAILEY SEEL: She called her a homewrecker. Um, a slut, very bad names. Prosecutors were also interested in an incident when Chandler drove Hailey and her brother to drop them off at Harkness' house. HAILEY SEEL (in court): We waited there for a really long time in the car… And then my dad and Karen got there, and my mom got out and yelled at them and just was very angry with my dad. … DAN DUNBAR: Hailey, I don't have any further questions, thank you. When it was time to be cross-examined, Hailey knew it would now be her mother doing the questioning. Nt sd Dana ' Hello Ms. Seel.' Hailey Seel: I really went up there — with like my game face on, you know. I — I knew it was war. I knew it wasn't going to be a — a nice, a cordial, a thoughtful — you're the victim, this was your dad and I'm so sorry place that she'd be coming from. Chandler challenged Hailey about her description of that drop-off at Harkness' home. Chandler said it was Hailey's father, Mike Sisco, who was behaving badly, not her. DANA CHANDLER (in court): When your dad and Karen drove up, your dad stormed over to the car. HAILEY SEEL: Oh, no. No, he did not. DANA CHANDLER: And he started banging on the window. HAILEY SEEL: Wha? No. No, he did not. I was inside that car and my dad absolutely did not bang on the windows. DANA CHANDLER: And I didn't get out — I never got out of the car. HAILEY SEEL: You were the first one out of the car. Hailey Seel: I was just in disbelief because I knew she just made that up because it never happened, and he never did that. … But … I didn't get concerned. I just said 'no, you know. I'm glad you asked so I can straighten this out. That never happened.' And then it comes down to who's believable. And I wasn't worried about that. As another way to seemingly explain some of her past behaviors, Chandler brought up that she used to have a drinking problem. DANA CHANDLER (in court): And I did tell you that I was — I realized that I had a problem with alcohol. HAILEY SEEL: You did tell me you had a problem with alcohol. Something Chandler said she stopped by 1999, three years before the murders. DANA CHANDLER (in court): I told you I was going to three AA meetings a day, trying to get well. True? HAILEY SEEL: I knew you were trying to get well, yes. The state questioned though, if becoming sober changed Chandler's behavior. DAN DUNBAR (in court): When she came back clean and sober, did that change how she treated you? HAILEY SEEL: No. DAN DUNBAR: Did it — did it change how she talked about your dad? HAILEY SEEL: No. DAN DUNBAR: Did it change how she talked about Karen? HAILEY SEEL: No. Chandler not only thought she was the best person to represent herself, but when it was time to put on her defense, she decided she would be her own main witness. DANA CHANDLER (in court): I feel like that I need to kind of tell my story to kind of put things in perspective. She testified over seven days, speaking for about 20 hours. DANA CHANDLER (in court): You have not seen evidence that I was in Topeka, Kansas, on July 7th, 2002. Darryl Burton: There was times when she would take so long to try to get her point across. Dana Chandler's supporter, Darryl Burton, was concerned when she put herself on the stand. Darry Burton: Sometimes it seemed as though she was just rambling, you know, and that was just unfortunate. … She may have known — probably knew where she was trying to go, but she'd get lost. She again addressed issues such as her drinking and inappropriate conversations with Hailey. DANA CHANDLER (in court): I was writing emails, drinking to blackout. I'd get up the next morning and not even aware of those emails. I had a serious problem. … And horrible things I said about Karen spreading her legs. I mean, seriously, Hailey was 14 years old. (cries) I'm just so ashamed and embarrassed about that and I hated that Hailey — that I put Hailey through that. And Chandler, in her own testimony, addressed again that incident when she waited outside Karen Harkness' house to drop off Hailey and Dustin with the couple. She said it was done out of necessity. DANA CHANDLER (in court): I yelled through the window, I could not afford to feed Hailey and Dustin. And that I needed to leave them with him. Chandler contrasted those times to when she stopped drinking, showing videos of her spending time outdoors with Hailey and Dustin. DANA CHANDLER (in court): This video was taken about 9 months into my recovery. Chandler also disputed making frequent harassing calls to Harkness and Sisco, saying when she called, there was a reason. DANA CHANDLER: I was … calling to speak with my children, Hailey, and Dustin. As to her having disagreements with Karen Harkness, she testified there were none. DANA CHANDLER: I never, ever, had any confrontations with Karen Harkness, at all. Chandler also pointed out what she said was sloppiness in the police investigation. When Chandler questioned lead detective Richard Volle, she asked about whether police were too focused on her and should have been looking more thoroughly at other possible suspects. DANA CHANDLER (In court, questioning Volle): Did you or did you not receive any leads for other suspects besides me? DET. RICHARD VOLLE: Uh, early on in the investigation, there were several other people that were looked at as possible leads. … So it's a matter of checking people off, to dismissing people that couldn't have done it. … Uh, when we can't dismiss them, we keep focusing on them, like we did with you. Chandler, though, said there was an area she felt law enforcement thoroughly investigated — whether she bought a .9 mm gun, like the one used in the murders and they came up empty handed. DANA CHANDLER (in court): I've never owned, purchased, or possessed a .9mm firearm. And throughout her defense, Chandler was adamant that at the time of the murders, she was in Colorado, and no one could place her in Harkness' house, or even in Kansas. It seemed like a simple question Chandler was asking Detective Volle. DANA CHANDLER (in court, questioning Volle): Did you ever develop any information that I was in Topeka, Kansas, on July 6th or 7th of 2002? In answering that question, Volle said there was a woman named Patty Williams who may have spotted Chandler in the state of Kansas around the time of the murders. DANA CHANDLER (in court, questioning Volle): What do you know about Patty? DET. RICHARD VOLLE: She was a clerk at a convenience store in WaKeeney, Kansas. The gas station/convenience store in WaKeeney, where Williams worked, was nearly halfway between Denver and Topeka. It had been visited by an investigator, searching for locations where someone may have spotted Chandler around the time of the murders. There, the investigator showed Williams the photo of Chandler seen below. DET. RICHARD VOLLE (in court): She was seven out of 10 that it was you. According to Volle, the clerk was 70 percent sure she had seen Dana Chandler and described some distinguishing features. DET. RICHARD VOLLE (in court): She had, or said that she had gray near the hairline … Chandler though, told the jury, she did not have gray hair back then. By the time of the trials, Williams had died and could not be questioned again. Chandler also expressed concern that the investigator only showed a single photo of her initially, instead of an array of photos, including different people—something Volle did do when he went to the gas station about two weeks later. DET. RICHARD VOLLE (in court): We later — later went out with a — what we call a six-pack photo, it's uh six photographs of people that looked very similar and amongst those photos was Ms. Chandler. Volle said Williams immediately picked out Chandler, and again was 70 percent sure she saw her there. But Volle acknowledged using an array initially would have been better. There was still, for law enforcement, the issue regarding Dana Chandler's alibi. Remember, Volle said Chandler told him she was home in her Denver apartment the night of the murders. But she told others, including an acquaintance, Jeff Bailey, she slept in her car in the Colorado mountains that night. DANA CHANDLER (in court): I was confused … Chandler told the jury she had been confused when she spoke with Volle, but Prosecutor Kitt was not accepting that explanation. CHARLES KITT (in court): So what you told Detective Volle is not consistent with what you told Jeff Bailey, is it? DANA CHANDLER: Uh, as far as my trip to – CHARLES KITT: Ms. Chandler, it's not consistent – DANA CHANDLER: Oh, that part. OK. Yeah. I would agree with that. Um, I would — that's true … Once again, those secret recordings Hailey made with her mother were played in court: DANA CHANDLER: … you ever think about killin' him? HAILEY SEEL: No, but — DANA CHANDLER: I did. This time, Kitt questioned Chandler herself about its authenticity. CHARLES KITT (in court): Was that your voice saying, 'Did you ever think about killing him?' 'I did'? DANA CHANDLER: It sounds like it yes. When it was time for the final witness, Chandler decided it should be Dana Chandler. She knew the jury heard witnesses testify about her parenting and past behavior. Chandler explained if she was a less than an attentive mother, it was because of her drinking and a lack of money, not a lack of love. DANA CHANDLER (in court): I absolutely did want to have a relationship with my children. You know I think the financial, substance abuse combination, um it just wasn't feasible. So, that's all I have, thank you. Oh, cross. CHARLES KITT (in court): Ms. Chandler, during this time that you couldn't afford to feed your children, you were buying booze, correct? DANA CHANDLER: I was. CHARLES KITT: Buying enough alcohol to get blackout drunk? DANA CHANDLER: I was. CHARLES KITT: OK, thank you. I have no further questions. And with that, after 18 days of testimony, Kitt and Chandler presented their closing arguments. CHARLES KITT (in court): Why are Mike and Karen dead? And the evidence shows one simple answer, control. Hailey Seel: I think Kitt nailed it when he said it was about control. The state described Chandler losing control of Mike Sisco, as he planned his future with Karen Harkness, and the rage that followed. CHARLES KITT (in court): And that's what led to the defendant traveling to Topeka, Kansas, on July 6th and murdering them on July 7th. Kitt spoke about Chandler's depiction of events not lining up with the testimony of others. CHARLES KITT (in court): It's the defendant versus everyone. … You can believe the defendant's testimony, or you can believe everybody else that you heard from in this case. In Chandler's closing, she used a scale to make her point that prosecutors, whom she called her accusers, did not have enough evidence to tip it in their favor. DANA CHANDLER (in court): The, uh, accusers must, uh, tip the scale. Here. I'm innocent. (pointing to scale) DANA CHANDLER (in court): I had my infirmities, and I have my shortcomings, but I do stand here before you all today and proclaim that I am an innocent woman. She acknowledged the life she led was not perfect but said that doesn't make her a murderer. DANA CHANDLER (in court): The state has woefully failed to meet its burden, to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that I killed Mike Sisco or Karen Harkness. THE VERDICT About four hours later, the jury delivered its verdict: guilty of the murders of Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness. After hearing the verdict, Chandler turned away. And while it was the verdict Seel hoped for, the end result is nothing she ever wanted. Hailey Seel: It is so much worse that my mom is the one behind these murders because we lost my dad and Karen, but then through all this, now we've lost our mom. … I really wish it was someone else. Darryl Burton: I don't believe that they have proved this case beyond a reasonable doubt. Chandler's supporter, Darryl Burton, remains undeterred. He still believes she is innocent. Darryl Burton: The evidence just doesn't, you know, prove that she's guilty of anything Chandler is filing motions for an appeal. '48 Hours' reached out to Chandler again for this episode, but did not receive a response. Mike Kagay: I am very confident in this verdict. District Attorney Mike Kagay is certain the jury convicted the right person. Mike Kagay: I have every confidence in my prosecutors and how they handled this case. Hailey Seel: The focus of this case has gone almost completely to Dana Chandler and that the victims … has really been lost … which is really sad. More than 20 years have passed since Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness were murdered —-and Hailey wants to make sure the lives lost are not forgotten. Hailey Seel: I was trying to tell my daughter about who my dad is. (cries) … and I said … he was a really fun, supportive, encouraging guy who believed in me and my brother. …And Karen … was so kind, so accepting. … I miss them a lot. Dana Chandler is scheduled to be sentenced on June 3, 2025. Produced by Ruth Chenetz and Dena Goldstein. Chelsea Narvaez and Hannah Vair are the field producers. Mead Stone is the producer editor. Atticus Brady, Marcus Balsam, George Baluzy, Wini Dini, Gary Winter and Grayce Arlotta-Berner are the editors. Patti Aronofsky is the senior producer, Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer. Jim Axelrod Jim Axelrod is the chief correspondent and executive editor for CBS News' 'Eye on America' franchise, part of the 'CBS Evening News.' He also reports for 'CBS Mornings,' 'CBS News Sunday Morning,' and CBS News 24/7.
Wakala News
11-05-2025
- Wakala News
Survivor's testimony key to helping convict violent ex-boyfriend charged with murder
C.C. Opanowski was just 18 years old when she was brutally attacked by someone she once loved — her ex-boyfriend Shawn Doyle. C.C. tried to put the traumatic incident behind her until she learned years later that Doyle murdered a mother of two young boys. For the first time, C.C. is speaking out publicly to' 48 Hours' and correspondent Anne-Marie Green about her story and how she was able to find the strength to testify against her attacker in court. It was Jan. 27, 1996 and C.C. Opanowski has just finished her first semester of college in upstate New York. She and her ex-boyfriend, Shawn Doyle had been broken up for about four months. C.C. Opanowski: My mother was going away for the weekend. … so I had this whole big house to myself. …And my friend Shannon and I … we were very close … I said, 'well, let's stay at my house 'cause there's no one around.' Shannon McCauliffe: it was just a girls' night. We just wanted to chill out. C.C. and McCauliffe were roommates at Sage Junior College of Albany. Shannon McCauliffe: I'm really introverted (laughs) and she was very bubbly and happy and chipper … And she just — she brought me outta my shell. Anne-Marie Green: When you were first meeting her, was Shawn Doyle around at the time? Shannon McCauliffe: Yes. He was obnoxious. … she would argue with him a lot on the phone. Anne-Marie Green: And then … in January is when this incident happens at her house? Shannon McCauliffe: Mm-hmm. … we were having a good time. It was just the two of us. Anne-Marie Green: But he keeps calling. Shannon McCauliffe: Mm-hmm. … Wanting to know what we're doing, wanting to know if he can come over. … She had a cellphone and I was like,' just turn it off.' Like she's like, no, 'cause if I turn it off, he's gonna come here. Shannon McCauliffe: We finally wake up and all we wanted was coffee. … I had the — of the mindset of I'm like, 'oh, I can't go out in public looking like I'm a mess. Let me go home and get dressed.' After McCauliffe left to go home, C.C. says there was a knock at her door. C.C. Opanowski: And I open it. And it's him. C.C. Opanowski: And he said … I just wanna talk to you. … And once he was inside, things got much different. … He pushed me onto the couch … started, you know, holding me down and restraining me. You know, yelling at me … And he picked me up and pushed me against the French doors and kept banging me against the French doors. McCauliffe called C.C., but there was no answer C.C. Opanowski: My hair was in a ponytail … And … he picked me up, held me up and cut my hair off … it was gone, just all of it. … he had already been choking me and … I thought he was gonna stab me. Shannon McCauliffe: I called her back a half an hour later, she still didn't answer. … and that's when my eyebrows kind of went up. C.C. Opanowski: I'm in complete shock. I can't believe it's happening and I have to figure out how to get out of it. …But during this time, the phone continues to ring. Shannon McCauliffe: I waited a couple minutes and I called her back. C.C. Opanowski: I explained to him … if I don't answer this phone, my mother will call the police. … So I do pick up the phone and it's Shannon. Shannon McCauliffe: I said, 'hey, are you OK?' C.C. Opanowski: And I don't know why I did this, but I started unloading the dishwasher. …And I'm saying to her, no, no, yeah, everything's fine. No, no. And no kept coming out of my mouth. And he didn't pick up on it, but she sure did. And that's when she said,' is he there?' And I said, 'yes.' A SURVIVOR SHARES HER STORY It has taken almost 30 years for C.C. to talk publicly about the day her former high school boyfriend, Shawn Doyle, attacked her in her family's home in Hudson Falls, New York, and then used scissors to cut off her ponytail. Anne-Marie Green: What was it like to have your hair cut off in this way? C.C. Opanowski: Demeaning. Anne-Marie Green: Demeaning. You think that's why he did it? C.C. Opanowski: Probably. Just to make sure he could knock me down somewhere. On that day, as Doyle went in and out of violent rages — at one point holding the scissors to her throat — C.C. says she wasn't sure she would make it out alive. Until, she says, McCauliffe called. Anne-Marie Green: When she finally picks up the phone … what did you hear in her voice? Shannon McCauliffe: Fear. McCauliffe says she knew that Doyle had been harassing C.C., so when C.C. told her Doyle was there, Shannon notified police and then rushed over to C.C.'s house. Shannon McCauliffe: I pulled onto her street and I parked and then I saw the – the — the police officers and everything. … so I kinda went in after the fact. … She looked terrified and angry and sad. C.C. says she thought when police arrived, they would make her feel safe. But that's not exactly what happened. C.C. Opanowski: They do not put him in handcuffs. … And they put us in the back of the same police car. C.C. Opanowski: Mind you, all of this time … I clearly look like I've been assaulted. My hair is completely cut off. And when they arrived at the police station — C.C. Opanowski: I was like, why — why are we here? Why is he not — why are we in the same room? C.C. says instead of separating them, police questioned them together. C.C. Opanowski: And they made it seem like it was some fight between two young kids, that turned, you know, slightly dark. When '48 Hours' reached out to the Hudson Falls Police Department, they acknowledged that law enforcement's response to domestic violence has evolved over the past several decades to better work with and support victims. Police arrested Doyle and charged him with menacing, harassment and trespassing. C.C. Opanowski: Looking at it … And you're saying, 'did this really happen to me?' You know, 'how could this happen to me?' JEALOUSY, A TATTOO AND OTHER RED FLAGS C.C. Opanowski and Shawn Doyle grew up in the small town of Hudson Falls located in upstate New York. C.C. Opanowski: He was nice to me. He was really nice. When C.C. started dating Shawn Doyle, she was just 15 years old — a sophomore in high school. Doyle was one year older. C.C. Opanowski: You know, we would go out and do lots of things together. We just hung out all the time. C.C. says Doyle had troubles at home. During his junior year, Doyle told her his parents kicked him out. So, C.C. begged her parents to let him move in with them. Anne Marie Green: Did you feel sorry for him? C.C. Opanowski: Def — oh definitely. Soon after he moved into C.C.'s family home, she says she saw a change in Doyle's behavior. C.C. says he became jealous and would secretly follow her around — something she says she didn't think at the time was a big deal. C.C. Opanowski: When you're a 16-, 17-year-old girl and you know you're looking at, oh, jealousy, you know, he must love me so much and that's why he's doing this. Or he followed me home, he's so worried about me, but is that really what the case is? When you look back as an adult, someone with experience, you know, you think. That's probably not — not OK. And Doyle showed even more possessive behavior that C.C. found troubling. C.C. Opanowski: He at one point did get a tattoo. … It was a heart on his arm. … And it had my name in the middle. Anne-Marie Green: What did you say? C.C. Opanowski: Why would you do that? Anne-Marie Green: And his response? C.C. Opanowski: I love you. Anne-Marie Green: Was it a red flag? C.C. Opanowski: Definitely. During his senior year, C.C. says Doyle dropped out of high school and was working odd jobs that he couldn't keep. C.C. Opanowski: And this is where things start to get … darker. You know, he — he doesn't have any prospects. He knows that I'm getting ready to go away to school. And to him, his whole life is — is about to completely change. But C.C. says she stuck by him, writing in her senior yearbook, 'I love you Shawn!' And in the summer of 1995, when she left to attend what is now Russell Sage College in Albany, they agreed to stay together and see each other on weekends. But at the end of September, things took a scary turn when C.C. told Doyle she would not be coming home every weekend to see him. Doyle showed up at her dorm. C.C. Opanowski: He stood outside, basically threatening that he was going to kill me. Anne-Marie Green: And now he's threatening not just you, but anyone around you. C.C. Opanowski: Basically anyone around me … so he was arrested. Doyle was charged with harassment and trespassing. It was the final straw for C.C., who says she broke it off with Doyle for good and he moved out of her parent's house. Later that winter, that's when Doyle showed up and viciously attacked her at her home. Anne Marie Green: I know he threatened a lot, but did you ever believe that Shawn Doyle would have physically hurt you? C.C. Opanowski: Not until that day, not in that way. After the attack, C.C. returned to college and finished up her freshman year. But McCauliffe says her friend had changed. Shannon McCauliffe: I think it had a profound impact on her life. C.C. Opanowski: You know, I was always looking over my shoulder … I bought myself a Swiss Army knife. … I'm having night terrors. … You know, waking up crying, waking up screaming, not being able to sleep. … awful, awful. So eight months after the attack, when it was time to take the case to trial, C.C. — who was still just a teenager at 19 years old — told prosecutors she couldn't go through with it. She says she was too traumatized and scared. C.C. Opanowski: I didn't wanna have to face him in court. I didn't wanna be going over this over and over and over again. I really wanted it to go away. Doyle was offered a deal. He pleaded guilty to menacing in the second degree and was sentenced to just three years' probation. C.C. transferred colleges and moved hours away from Hudson Falls. C.C. Opanowski: I needed peace and I didn't know how to get it. C.C. tried to forget her past, but she says she was haunted by a conversation she had with the prosecutor. C.C. Opanowski: She said, you know … based on what I see here, he is going to do this again to another person. And that has for the past 28 years stuck in my head. LORI LEONARD DISAPPEARS Nine years after C.C. Opanowski left upstate New York for a new life far away from Shawn Doyle, 33-year-old Lori Leonard disappeared. Lori was a single mom who lived with her two sons, Austin, who was 9 at the time, and Zackary 5, in Chittenango, a small town outside Syracuse, New York. Austin Feltrinelli: She was a — a very caring mother. The memories of her — just us always being happy together, spending time … kind of always … the three of us. Zackary Wicklund: It was just a lot of love and affection. Jennifer Leonard: Her dream was to have a home, a father figure for her kids, and for them to be happy. … She wanted the white picket fence. Jennifer Leonard was Lori's older sister. Jennifer Leonard: We were good friends. But I was a little bit of a bossy mother to her. … I had been through a lot of things already in my life and my relationships, and I was very, I would say, overprotective. In 2003, Lori met a man on the dating website His name? Shawn Doyle. Online dating was new back then, so Jennifer was skeptical about him. Jennifer Leonard: He was not charismatic. He was not social. … He was like a piece of furniture that you just walked around. But she says Lori didn't agree; she only saw the good in people. Jennifer Leonard: She would say, you know, he's misunderstood or he's shy. Jennifer says Lori told her very little about Doyle, except that he lived three hours away in Hudson Falls and worked at an ice cream factory. She also mentioned that Doyle was on probation. Jennifer Leonard: She told me that he was a boxer, that he was protecting a woman at a bar and was arrested because he used some of his professional boxing moves. Jennifer Leonard: No. Anne-Marie Green: I mean, did he — do you think he was even a boxer, ever? Jennifer Leonard: No. … I didn't buy the stories that he was selling her. … It sounded like he was trying to be something that he was not. Jennifer says after her sister met Doyle, Lori became distant. Jennifer Leonard: I would talk to Lori three times a day. Anne-Marie Green: And then when Shawn came into the picture? Jennifer Leonard: It was — it was a little quiet. And things only got worse. Jennifer Leonard: I had called her one night and he was over there and all I could hear in the background was him yelling at her. And that — that was like, 'what is this?' And she's like, you know I'll call you back. It's not a big deal. Jennifer Leonard: But I think what scared me more than anything was when he was caught yelling at her … it stopped. Like the kind of guys that you know don't want anyone else to see what happens behind closed doors. … He was sneaky. Soon after this incident, Lori ended her romantic relationship with Doyle. Lori told Jennifer they agreed to be just friends and that he was fine with it. Jennifer Leonard: And I was like, no, he's not. Nope. People like that aren't just OK with being friends. Despite the breakup, Doyle would still drive three hours from Hudson Falls to visit Lori. Oftentimes hanging out at the bar where she waitressed late at night. Dorothy Tucker: Shawn, always called me and he — he'd call me to get advice. Dorothy Tucker lived down the street from Doyle in Hudson Falls and considered him a close friend. Dorothy Tucker: I saw a sweet guy who would bend over backwards if I asked him to. However, after the relationship with Lori ended, she says Doyle told her he had followed Lori and watched her as she went out on a date. Dorothy Tucker: I was like, 'Shawn, you can't do that. … She does not wanna be with you.' Anne-Marie Green: Were you starting to get concerned about him and his behavior at that point? Dorothy Tucker: No. No. Because he agreed with me. … I didn't see the monster that he really was … He hid it quite well. On Friday, April 29, 2005, Lori, who was living with Jennifer, moved to a new rental apartment. Dustin Delatore: Usually people are miserable when they're moving. She was just happy. Lori's nephew Dustin Delatore, who was 15 at the time, helped with the move. Dustin Delatore: She wanted her own place. … She saw her future in that day. Also helping with the move was Shawn Doyle, who offered up use of his truck. Jennifer Leonard: She had asked a couple people before that. So he was a last resort. … He was still playing the 'I'm your friend.' Anne Marie Green: What was Shawn like that day? Dustin Delatore: Standoffish. Just, I mean, quiet. Jennifer says the move went smoothly until Doyle decided to hang around— and stayed with Lori in her new place for days. Jennifer Leonard: It was starting to get on her nerves now. Five days after the move, Jennifer says Lori told her Doyle was finally leaving because Lori had plans to go to Albany for the afternoon. Jennifer Leonard: She was supposed to go pick up the tickets. Tickets to a Yankees game — a gift from someone she had met at work. Anne-Marie Green: Were you concerned at all about her going to pick up tickets from a stranger? Jennifer Leonard: Yes, yes. But that was how she was. … She was very trusting. On Wednesday, May 4, Jennifer called Lori in the afternoon, hoping to catch her while she was heading to Albany. Jennifer Leonard: And it kept going straight to voicemail. Anne-Marie Green: Was that weird? Jennifer Leonard: Oh … Her phone never went straight to voicemail. It was never off. At first Jennifer thought she may have gotten lost on the drive or that her phone battery had died. Jennifer Leonard: It wasn't a thought at the time, that, that something bad happened, just that, you know, where is she? Twenty-four hours later, when Lori never called or returned home, Jennifer notified Chittenango police. Wade Irwin: Patrol started looking into her whereabouts at that time. Lead investigator Wade Irwin searched Lori's rental apartment. Wade Irwin: She had just moved into the home. … There were still lots of boxes, items being unpacked. Didn't appear that there were any signs of a break-in, or a crime that occurred at the home. … But her car was there. And he said there was something else unsettling about the scene. Wade Irwin: There was one shoe in the center of the bed. It was odd. Investigator Irwin says he was determined to speak to one person. Wade Irwin: The last person that — that we were able to determine that saw her, was Shawn Doyle. But before investigators could reach out to Doyle, Jennifer says she tracked down Doyle's number and called him herself. Jennifer Leonard: 'Shawn, have you talked to Lori?' And, uh, he goes, 'no I haven't talked to her in a couple of days. Um, wasn't she supposed to get tickets the other night?' And I'm like, 'yeah, she was, we haven't heard from her since. I'm like, you know, if she calls you let us know because the phone's off' … and he's like, 'oh yeah, definitely let you know …' …When I hung up, I was like I had chills and I'm like, he's full of it. He knows something. A KEY CLUE IN THE CASE As days went by, Chittenango investigators reached out to everyone who had contact with Lori Leonard prior her to her disappearance— including the man she was supposed to get Yankees tickets from in Albany. Wade Irwin: He was an executive for a company. … We were able to track him down. He was interviewed. Detective Wade Irwin says the executive waited for Lori in Albany and when she never showed up, he called her and even left a message. Wade Irwin: He was … calling with concern of … where she was. 'We're supposed to meet up. I got the tickets. I'm here, are you OK? I hope an accident didn't happen.' His alibi checked out, but Lori's phone records would reveal a lot more about another person who hadn't called. Wade Irwin: What became concerning for myself is … the person that cared about her, supposedly. Anne-Marie Green: Shawn Doyle. Wade Irwin: Shawn Doyle. Never called, never left a message. When Chittenango police went to interview Lori's former boyfriend, he told them that on the day she disappeared, he left her apartment 'about 3 p.m.' and then drove three hours home to Hudson Falls. Wade Irwin: He just always, had said all along… that he left her and she was alive at the apartment. When they checked out his alibi, Irwin says they couldn't clear him. Yet, Doyle was cooperative and even allowed investigators to search his truck and take photos. When they searched Doyle's glove compartment, they found something curious. Wade Irwin: There was a key with a serial number on it. As investigators kept an eye out on Doyle and continued to search for Lori, Jennifer says her family struggled to explain Lori's disappearance to her two young sons. Austin Feltrinelli: After several days to several weeks you know something's up. Your mother's not home. … The question is, you know, where is she? What's — what's she doing? Jennifer Leonard: We would say things like she got lost … you know, we'll get her. We'll find her. To make matters worse, Austin and Zackary were now separated, staying with their fathers, and only seeing each other on weekends. Austin Feltrinelli: We'd lived together our whole lives. … That was obviously different, you know, waking up every day with one — your mom's not there, uh, but two — now your brother isn't. Jennifer Leonard: We were suffering and every day our family was doing something to find her. … We were looking for her. We were a well-oiled machine. Jennifer suspected Shawn Doyle had something to do with her sister's disappearance. So, weeks after Lori vanished, she headed to Hudson Falls and held a demonstration, hoping someone there would know something about Doyle that could help investigators. Jennifer Leonard: We had posters. We had signs, we had Shawn's name up on signs, if anybody will speak to us. Dorothy Tucker says when she heard Lori's family was in town, she immediately called Doyle. Dorothy Tucker: I was like, 'Shawn, what's going on?' You know, 'did you do something?' (mimics his voice) 'I didn't do anything to her. She's probably off on a beach somewhere with some guy.' Anne-Marie Green: But you believe Shawn at the time? Dorothy Tucker: Oh, definitely. Later that day when Dorothy passed Lori's family rallying on the streets, she says she did something she has come to deeply regret. Dorothy Tucker: Like an idiot, I yelled out the window. … telling them to go home. Shawn didn't do anything and they needed to leave. As months passed with no sign of Lori, the family's hopes began to dwindle. Wade Irwin: I made a promise … to find a resolution to this for them and give them the closure and answers that they needed. … It was disheartening because every night … I'd call them and give them an update regardless of whether there was positive or negative information. (tears in his eyes) And then, on July 24, 2005, three months after Lori went missing — Capt. Tony LeClaire: We had a report that a fisherman had been going by in this area here. Captain Tony LeClaire is with the Washington County Sheriff's Office. Capt. Tony LeClaire: He saw, uh, what he thought to be a toolbox that goes in the back of a pickup truck floating. Thought it may be useful for him. So he grabbed onto it … towed it with his boat about a mile-and-a-half (points) … And then they dragged it outta the water there. The box was locked and emitting a foul odor, So police were called, and when they broke open the lock, authorities discovered a body inside. Wade Irwin: And there was contents, pillows, bedding, purse, but right on top was Lori's ID. (emotional) Also in the box was a photo of Lori's two sons. Wade Irwin: She was handcuffed behind her back. … There was duct tape around the handcuffs. Her feet were bound together and duct taped. .. Her face, from chin to forehead, um, had duct tape. And then once that duct tape was removed there was a bandana tied in her mouth. The Medical Examiner would rule that Lori died of asphyxiation. Jennifer Leonard: I couldn't wrap my head around what they were saying. 'What do you mean she was found in the toolbox in the water?' I — I couldn't, I couldn't, I couldn't accept it. Irwin says that's when Shawn Doyle went from a person of interest to a suspect in the case. Wade Irwin: Everything started to come together real quickly. We got a search warrant within hours to go to his residence. During their search, police found sand tubes in his garage that matched the sand tubes inside the toolbox used to weigh it down. Wade Irwin: We were able to track down in the home, similar handcuffs, bandanas, duct tape other means that he used that matched what was used on Lori. Remember that key investigators had discovered in Doyle's truck? It matched the lock of the toolbox, tying Doyle directly to the crime. When investigators checked the bridge near the canal where the toolbox was found, they discovered scratches on the bridge railing that matched scratches found on the bottom of the toolbox. Anne Marie Green: Just tell me about what investigators think happened? What was the theory? Capt. Tony LeClaire: The theory is that he came here with his pickup truck, came to the bridge, um, somewhere in the center of the canal and took the toolbox and basically just pushed it over the edge … and as he did, it scraped across. Just one day after the discovery of Lori's body in the toolbox, investigators arrested Shawn Doyle. Anne Marie Green: What was that moment like for you? Det. Wade Irwin: Overwhelming. Jennifer says it was time to break the news to Lori's two young sons. Zackary remembers the moment even though he was only 5 years old. Zackary Wicklund: I felt it as soon as I walked into the room. And I think my dad was the one that said that she's not coming home and I just kind of fell into him and just didn't know how to react. Jennifer Leonard: I watched a little boy break. He said not a word. Then it was time to tell 9-year-old Austin. Austin Feltrinelli: You know I let out kind of like a shriek and, and kind of just collapsed, uh, in my dad. And I can still kind of feel it. Jennifer Leonard: And he wailed. It wasn't a cry. It was, it was a pained guttural wail. … I'll always have that sound in my head. Jennifer says she couldn't truly mourn her sister because she had to prepare for Doyle's upcoming trial. Jennifer Leonard: I was gonna make sure that he got what he deserved. A SURVIVOR'S BREAKING POINT In late summer of 2005, C.C. Opanowski received a phone call from her father: her ex-boyfriend Shawn Doyle had been arrested for murder. C.C. Opanowski: I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I couldn't believe it. … You don't want it to be true … and it's terrible. When C.C. learned that the victim was 33-year-old Lori Leonard, a single mom of two young boys, she says she was overwhelmed with extreme guilt. C.C. Opanowski: That was a breaking point for me. I felt for her whole entire family and her two young children. C.C. says she was haunted by the choice she made as a traumatized and scared teenager. C.C. Opanowski: And all I can think about is … If I could go back, I would have done it differently. … I would have pressed my charges much further. So just weeks later, when investigators reached out to C.C. and asked if she would testify at Doyle's trial, she was determined to help. C.C. Opanowski: I need to make sure that he is put away for — for murdering Lori. … At this point now, I'm angry. I'm not fearful. But C.C. was not Doyle's only ex-girlfriend who investigators hoped would testify against him. Five years after Doyle attacked C.C., he allegedly tried to kill 23-year-old Sarah Volmar. '48 Hours' reached out to Volmar and received no response, but she did speak with the CBS affiliate in Albany about the attack in 2005. SARAH VOLMAR/ CBS6 ALBANY NEWS REPORT: He had tied me up with shoelaces and, um, put the duct tape back over my mouth and then just began strangling me until I passed out. And then my mother walked in on it. Doyle was charged with unlawful imprisonment in the second degree and assault in the third degree. But again, a deal was made. Doyle pleaded guilty only to the charge of unlawful imprisonment. A judge sentenced him to three years' probation. On Jan. 23, 2006 Shawn Doyle's trial began. It was a day that Lori's sister Jennifer Leonard had waited for. Jennifer Leonard: I was gonna be her advocate. I was gonna speak for her. I was gonna speak for the boys. When Doyle entered the courtroom, Jennifer Leonard says she was caught off guard because his appearance had changed. Anne-Marie Green: What'd he look like? Jennifer Leonard: Choir boy. He'd grown his hair. He had a sweater on. Kevin Kortright, now retired, had only been district attorney for less than a month. He says key to his case was making sure Doyle's other victims – C.C. and Sarah — would be allowed to testify. Oftentimes, judges do not allow a defendant's prior bad acts to be brought into trial. Anne-Marie Green: Why were the women so crucial? Kevin Kortright: He'd done it almost exactly the same in the past. … It's his modus operandi. It's strong proof. Despite the defense's objections, the judge ruled that C.C. and Sarah could testify. But first, Kortright presented the jury with all the pieces of physical evidence that pointed to Shawn Doyle — like the items they found in Doyle's garage and home: the sandbags and handcuffs. Anne Marie Green: And what about that bandana? Kevin Kortright: He wore a bandana 24 hours a day … He had bandanas in his bedroom. He had bandanas in his truck. The bandana in Lori's mouth was the one that I believe he was wearing that day. And then there was that toolbox. Kortright called to the stand a clerk from a local AutoZone store who says she sold Doyle the toolbox just one week before Lori disappeared. Kevin Kortright: She identified him perfectly. … She even identified his shirt he was wearing. And the most important piece of evidence: that key found in his glove compartment that tied Doyle directly to the box. Don Lehman: That was as strong as evidence as you could get. Retired journalist Don Lehman covered the trial for the Post Star newspaper. Don Lehman: The key to the toolbox was … there was no way around that … Then Kortright called Dorothy Tucker, Shawn's once close friend, to the stand. He says she was a major witness because she provided information as to how they believe Doyle transported Lori's body from Chittenango — three hours over to Hudson Falls — after he murdered her. Dorothy Tucker: He just kept calling me. Tucker told the jury that the day that Lori disappeared, Doyle stopped by her house. In the back of his truck, she says, was a very large cardboard box. Dorothy Tucker: I said, 'Shawn, what do you got there?' … Oh just garbage. Junk I had at Lori's. … and take it to the dump. DA Kortright believes Lori's body was in the box and that at some point, Doyle transferred her body to the toolbox. Tucker testified that just days after his first visit, Doyle showed up at her house again and the cardboard box had been replaced by a large toolbox. Dorothy Tucker: I walk out and I said 'hey Shawn … what do you need a toolbox for? You don't have any tools to put in it.' And he laughed and yeah, yeah, you know. So then he started saying about a friend … was going to meet him. They were gonna go fishing. Tucker said Doyle told her he was going to fish by the Champlain Lock canal area – a place he knew well and frequented often. Doyle had even taken C.C. there many times when they dated. Kevin Kortright: Lori was in the box that day. And he was taking her to dump her in the canal where she was later found. District Attorney Kortright called C.C. Opanowski as his last witness. Kevin Kortright: You always put the best for the last. C.C. Opanowski: I was very, very nervous. C.C. told the jury about the attack and the long-lasting mental anguish Shawn Doyle caused her. Anne-Marie Green: What did you want Shawn Doyle to see? C.C. Opanowski: That I wasn't afraid. That you're not my scary anything anymore. When it was the defense's turn, Lehman says they tried to poke holes in the prosecution's case. Don Lehman: There just was not – not a lot of holes to poke. '48 Hours' reached out to Shawn Doyle and members of Doyle's family, but they declined to be interviewed. After three long days of testimony, the case went to the jury. Lori Leonard's family members held their breath. Jennifer Leonard: I felt like I hadn't exhaled in months and that's what I needed. I needed to exhale. SHARING IMPORTANT LESSONS Despite the all the evidence against Shawn Doyle, retired journalist Don Lehman says no one knew which way the jury would rule. Don Lehman: There have been times that we've seen many cases where the jury does things that just kind of defy the evidence. On Jan. 26, 2006, after just two-and-a-half hours of deliberations, the jury came back with a verdict: guilty of second-degree murder. Anne-Marie Green: Guilty. Kevin Kortright: Um hmm. Anne-Marie Green: What went through your mind when you heard that word? Kevin Kortright: Thank God. Anne-Marie Green: Why does it still affect you? Kevin Kortright: Because bad things happen to good people. C.C. Opanowski: I was relieved and happy that he was going to be punished for what he did. For C.C., it was difficult to process the fact that a person she once loved was convicted of murder. C.C. Opanowski: To me, it almost felt like there wasn't a man left inside of him. But more like a monster. For your crimes to become worse as you go … to almost perfect them, to think about them in that serial fashion. One month later, before Doyle was sentenced, a judge listened to testimony and read over victim impact statements from Lori's friends and family. LORI LEONARD'S FAMILY MEMBER (in court) | CBS6 ALBANY: Prison isn't even the right place for someone like him. It's not punishment enough. Austin and Zackary, Lori's sons, were too young to attend trial, but both wrote letters to the judge. Zackary Wicklund (reading his statement): She let me sleep with her when I was scared. … And when I see something scary and hear something scary … we used to sing songs we liked the most together. Austin Feltrinelli (reading his statement): I think my mom was the greatest mom in the world. … My mom, my brother and I had really great times together. … I'm also sad because (pauses) I will never see my mom anymore now because of what happened … Shawn Doyle was sentenced to the maximum — 25 years to life, with the possibility of parole. Anne-Marie Green: Was that enough? Jennifer Leonard: I didn't think so. Anne-Marie Green: You don't want him getting out? Jennifer Leonard: No. There's no forgiveness. No way man. No. none. Dorothy Tucker: He's a danger to society. And I — I hope he never gets out. Dorothy Tucker, who initially stood by Doyle, says she feels betrayed by him. Dorothy Tucker: He lied straight to my face and here is someone that I trusted thought I knew, never saw that side of him. Tucker hopes Lori's family will forgive her for how she previously treated them when they came to rally against Doyle in Hudson Falls. Dorothy Tucker: I wanted to tell them how sorry I was and I still am. … that was totally uncalled for and it was unacceptable behavior on my part. Lehman, who has covered many domestic violence cases in his almost 30 years as a reporter, says there are important lessons that can be learned from C.C. and Sarah's attacks and Lori's murder. Don Lehman: Every case of domestic violence is a potential homicide. … They all have to be taken seriously. They all have to be handled in a way to protect these victims. Don Lehman: You know, as a young woman with two young kids … that's just mind-boggling that these kids lost their mom … to a guy like this … C.C., who bravely came forward to tell her story, hopes that others can learn from her. C.C. Opanowski: Be vigilant. Look at what's happening in front of you and make sure someone knows. Don't keep it quiet. … Pay attention and … when you have that feeling, that one that doesn't go way — you know, the one that you try to push down — that's the one you should listen to the most. She says she is ready to let go of the guilt she has felt for what happened to Lori. C.C. Opanowski: I've waited so long and I've had to live with it for all of these years. Jennifer Leonard: It's not her fault. It's the system that failed. … She did what she had to do. … I don't blame her. I feel sad that she's felt guilt all this time. Anne-Marie Green: How do you want your sister to be remembered? Jennifer Leonard: Lori Ann. She … so fun. So funny. So loving … For Jennifer Leonard, she longs for the life she always thought she would have with Lori. Jennifer Leonard: We were supposed to be … living in the same place and going out and raising our kids and having parties and that's what it was supposed to be. That's what we were supposed to have … And I'm it … just me and the kids trying to get along without her. Anne-Marie Green: What do you miss the most about Lori? Zackary Wicklund: In moments where I'm really sad, where I'm like I just need her to hold me and she hasn't been able to do that in 20 years. Shawn Doyle is eligible for parole in 2030. If you or someone you know needs help, the National Domestic Violence Hotline has counselors available around the clock at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE). Produced by Chris Young Ritzen. Elena DiFiore and David Dow are the development producers. Michael Loftus and Chelsea Narvaez are the associate producers. Anthony Venditti is the content research manager. Michael McHugh is the producer/editor. Ken Blum is an editor. Lourdes Aguiar is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer. Anne-Marie Green Anne-Marie Green is an accomplished journalist and correspondent for '48 Hours,' where she reports on the most gripping crime and investigative stories on is also the host of the '48 Hours' 'Post Mortem' podcast. Green brings over two decades of experience in broadcast journalism to her work at CBS News.
Wakala News
04-05-2025
- Wakala News
How a California family's battle for justice for slain teen has impacted victims' rights
It shook the entire campus at the University of the Pacific. A freshman on her first day of college in 1979 was found unconscious, bleeding from her head, in a remote area of the school. Her name was Catina Salarno. Harriet and Mike Salarno were getting ready for bed when the phone rang at their San Francisco home. Mike answered it. His tone signaled the news. Harriet Salarno: I said … 'what's wrong?' … he says, Catina has been shot and she's in the emergency room. The Salarnos' two younger daughters, Regina and Nina, rushed to their side. Then the phone rang again. Harriet Salarno: And they said, 'your daughter passed away.' Nina Salarno: I don't think it can be described in words, what it's like to watch your mom collapse, crying. My dad, very, very strong man, but you could tell he was shaken to the core. Regina Salarno-Novello: And life just stopped. … I literally … life stopped, completely stopped.' '48 Hours' first met the Salarno family in 1990. Harriet and Mike were making their weekly visit to Catina's resting place. MIKE SALARNO (1990): I think coming out here and being able to talk to Catina gives me a peace of mind. Also that I can still communicate with my daughter, that it isn't, um, the final end. At the time, Catina had been gone for 10 years, and her family was just embarking on a decades-long journey to keep her killer behind bars. MIKE SALARNO (to reporters outside 1990 parole hearing): It's the first skirmish in a long, long battle that this we started today. It was not a journey they had ever expected to make. Erin Moriarty: Harriet, did you and Michael really have kind of a — the perfect life as parents, three kids? Harriet Salarno: Yes. To answer you, yes. We were so blessed. Both Mike and Harriet were juvenile commissioners assigned by the city of San Francisco to mentor boys and girls. Their arms and home were always open, says Nina, the youngest daughter. Nina Salarno: I think the best way to describe it is it typified a middle-class American family that valued their faith, valued family, valued community as well. They spent blissful summer days at the cabin in the mountains. Three carefree sisters with Catina leading the pack, says Regina, younger by 18 months. Regina Salarno-Novello: She was the heart and soul of the family. … She had such a good heart. She loved being the older sister. Nina Salarno: (I) think the best way to describe Catina is she is that person every person should meet in their life. She just brought an air of kindness. CATINA SALARNO MEETS THE BOY ACROSS THE STREET When Catina was 14, a new family, the Burns, moved in across the street in San Francisco. There were four children: a girl and three boys – all about the same age as the Salarno sisters. Regina Salarno-Novello: And we were spying on them. So … we all made a big batch of cookies, giggled all the way across the street, knocked on the door, introduced ourselves, and gave 'em a batch of homemade cookies. Soon, the friendship between the oldest Salarno sister and the second oldest Burns brother blossomed into a young love. Catina and Steven Burns started dating in the tenth grade. Erin Moriarty: How would you describe Steven Burns? Regina Salarno-Novello: Well, he was the big brother I never had, you know. And for me it was like, God, I have a big brother. And I was — I just thought he was great because we got to go to the football games. Burns, who went to an all-boys Catholic school, was a star athlete and captain of the football team. He and Nina, a basketball and volleyball player, bonded over their shared love of sports. Nina Salarno: I loved Steve. I idolized him. … He was a great athlete. He coached my teams … He would help me with my shot, and he took the time to do that. Mike took Burns, who had a difficult relationship with his own dad, under his wing. He not only mentored him, but he also gave him a job at his TV store delivering TVs. Regina Salarno-Novello: And my dad …who embraces everybody, brought him in and treated him as a son. Mike trusted him completely says Regina. They all did. Erin Moriarty: Did you ever see anything that between Steve and Catina that worried you? Harriet Salarno: I have to tell you, I've given hours and hours of thought of that. Why didn't I see this? What was it? Nina Salarno: You sometimes are close to people, you don't always see little signs or you ignore them. But with hindsight, the sisters say, there were signs. In her senior year, Catina who'd been accepted to the University of the Pacific, wanted to break up with Steve. But he wasn't having it, says Regina. He started threatening her. Regina Salarno-Novello: She said that Steve said that if I broke up with him, he would kill me … But at the time, neither sister took him seriously. Erin Moriarty: Neither one of you told your parents. Regina Salarno-Novello: We just figured he was just saying it. And because of what our relationship was over the years, why would we believe that? … He enjoyed being part of the family. Why would he destroy a family that he loved? Mike and Harriet never heard about that incident; never imagined the life they knew would come to an end. Harriet Salarno: We thought we were doing good and everything would be fine and never thought the boy across the street would murder our daughter. ONE LAST ENCOUNTER When Catina Salarno arrived at the University of the Pacific in September 1979, she thought she had left Steven Burns behind for good. He said he was going to Santa Clara University and she was going to begin pursuing her longtime goal. Regina Salarno-Novello: She knew she was gonna become a dentist. … She knew exactly what she was gonna do. It was planned for her. That was her goal, her dream. But Catina's excitement was cut short soon after the Salarnos got to campus. Regina Salarno-Novello: We were staying overnight and we went to the hotel lobby, and then all of a sudden there's Steve and his sister and family. And we were like, 'what are you doing here?' And he says, well, I'm going to UOP. Nina Salarno: That's really, the first time I heard a lot of panic in her voice, uh, because that just caught her off guard. For the first time, Catina turned to her father for help. Regina Salarno-Novello: My dad walked up to him and said, OK, Steve. … Leave Catina alone. She has told you that. You guys move on to your own ways, be friends, and know that I will always be here for you. The Salarnos headed back to San Francisco and Catina and Burns each moved into their respective dorm rooms on opposite sides of the campus. Burns' new roommate, Les Serpa, remembers walking in the room and seeing Catina's picture everywhere. Les Serpa: He said his girlfriend, uh, was at Pacific as well … there were pictures of her and him together … more pictures than I'd ever seen before, but they were everywhere on his desk. Erin Moriarty: He didn't mention that she had wanted to break up? Les Serpa: Not at all. It was all very positive. Everything was great. Across campus, Catina was settling in with her new roommate, Joanne Marks. Then came a knock on the door. It was Steve Burns. Joanne Marks: After he left, uh, Catina told me that he wanted to meet with her later in the evening for the last time. Joanne Marks: She was not looking forward to meeting with him, but she was looking forward to it being the last time. She believed that he would stop bothering her. Marks says Burns came by to pick up Catina about 7:45 that evening. Joanne Marks: I said something like, you know, have a good evening, and he just grunted. Catina told Joanne she would see her later; but that later never came. A freshman out for a walk named Kevin Arlin would be the one to discover why. It was around 9:45 p.m. when he saw something on the sidewalk. Arlin, unnerved by what he saw, rushed back to his dorm and got a resident advisor. They both ran back to the scene. Kevin Arlin: And … we got up to — to her and it was … a young lady that, uh, was laying on the ground and she was still alive … she was unconscious, but there was a big pool of blood around her head. Arlin would later find out it was 18-year-old Catina Rose Salarno. She had been shot in the back of the head. Kevin Arlin: Her arms … were twisted in a way that I never thought the human body could twist. Kevin Arlin: I — I — I just remember the blood. Erin Moriarty: That had to be heartbreaking. Kevin Arlin: Yeah. I knew it was tragic or I knew it was, uh, it was very serious, a very serious injury. While the two men waited for the ambulance to arrive, Steven Burns returned to his dorm room, where his roommate Les was watching 'Monday Night Football.' Les Serpa: He went and laid on the bed, propped up a pillow and started watching the game. Les Serpa: He was not nervous at all. The ambulance arrived around 10 p.m. and rushed Catina to St. Joseph's Hospital. She was still alive, barely. Years later, her family would learn she was not alone. Randy Haight – at the time a young patrol officer who was at the crime scene — met his partner at the hospital. Randy Haight: I said, where's the family? And he says, she's a student at UOP from out of town. …They're not here. I said, Is anybody with her? He says, haven't seen anybody. It's just us. Catina Rose was pronounced dead at 9 minutes after midnight. Randy Haight: We made the decision to sit with Catina until the Coroners came. … even though she had passed, I just didn't feel right leaving her alone … I prayed. I said a prayer for her. By then, homicide detectives were at Catina's dorm talking to Marks. Joanne Marks: I told the police that, uh, Catina had been picked up by Steve Burns and I told them which dorm he was from. Serpa and Burns were in their room when there was a knock at the door. Les Serpa: I opened the door and, uh, I — you know, there's like five guys out there in suits. … And so I stepped out a little bit say hello, and I could see at the end of each hall was full of police officers. … And then they asked to search our room. … they went through everything, every bag, every drawer — everything. Les Serpa: I didn't know at the time … but later I learned they were looking … for a weapon, for a gun. Steven Burns was pulled from the room and taken to the Stockton police station, where he was fingerprinted and photographed. Officer Haight recalls seeing him there. Randy Haight: He did not appear to be upset in any way. … Burns told the police he didn't meet Catina on campus that night, and that he spent the evening in his dorm room watching 'Monday Night Football.' Without the gun – it was never found – the police didn't have enough evidence to hold him. Steven Burns was released. His father took him back to San Francisco. The police didn't publicly name a suspect. But Harriet Salarno didn't need a name. She already knew it. Harriet Salarno: I just said to Mike,' it's Steve, Mike, it's Steve.' I — I — I don't know why … I just had that feeling. After talking to the family, the police learned that Steven had threatened to kill Catina if she broke up with him. Two days after the murder of Catina Rose Salarno, Steven Burns was arrested at his home just across the street from where Catina grew up. Nina Salarno: I remember … sitting up in the window, watching them walk him out in handcuffs and putting him in the patrol car. My whole world got taken from me, and really, in the flash of a gun. I mean, everything was gone. A MURDER AND A BETRAYAL Learning to live without their daughter has been a lifelong journey for Catina's parents — one crippled by what ifs. Mike Salarno never stopped blaming himself. Harriet Salarno: He felt that as a father, he let her down. For decades, Catina's sisters have also grappled with regret, wishing they had told their parents about Steven Burns threatening to kill Catina. Regina Salarno-Novello: What if I had said something? What if we told them about the threat? Erin Moriarty: You're living with guilt, too. Regina Salarno-Novello: And it doesn't change after 40 years. … it's the hole in my heart from missing my sister and what we could have had together. In the wake of the murder, each member of the family retreated into their own private grief. Harriet Salarno: I didn't even care if I even lived. I wanted to join Catina. Regina Salarno Novello: I didn't know what to do anymore. My whole plan, my whole world, my whole bubble blew up. Nina Salarno: I mean I never felt that kind of hurt. … I lost my entire family because they fell apart … It was painful enough that my sister had been murdered, but the person that I viewed as a brother and loved, betrayed me by taking her life. The Salarnos would learn that the young man they had trusted had stolen a gun from Mike's store weeks before Catina's murder. Erin Moriarty: You believe he planned that murder? Harriet Salarno: Yes. Nina Salarno: Oh, absolutely. … the fact that he stole the gun prior. There was no reason for the stealing of the gun, otherwise. They came to believe Burns may have been planning to use that gun to kill Catina even before she left for college. Regina Salarno-Novello: The night before we took her to UOP, I heard this noise outside … and it was Steve Burns … pacing in front of the bedroom window. …he had a big, white towel wrapped around his left hand. Regina says Burns tried to climb up the side of their house and enter through the window of the bedroom the girls shared, but Catina told him to leave. Regina Salarno-Novello: She said, 'No, I'm not opening the window, go to bed, Steve. Go — you're — I'm going to school tomorrow.' You know, 'stop, just stop, just stop.' Nina Salarno: Then there was a sound like he fell, and it was a very distinct sound of metal hitting metal. Erin Moriarty: What do you think now, when you look back on that, that sound of metal against metal? Nina Salarno: I think if I had opened the window and he got in, there'd be three dead girls. Erin Moriarty: You think he had a gun with him then? Nina Salarno: Absolutely. Six months after Catina's death, 19-year-old Steven Burns went on trial for her murder. It was a bitter awakening for the Salarnos, who say there was more concern for the defendant and his rights than there was for his victim. Neither of Catina's parents were allowed in the courtroom — not even while Nina, who was only 14 years old at the time – took the stand. She had to testify at the trial on her own without a victim's advocate to support her. Erin Moriarty: What was that like on the stand? Nina Salarno: Ugh. … I think the best word was just awful. I was in a courtroom. The only person I knew in the courtroom was the guy that had murdered my sister. The prosecution argued that Burns met Catina that night carrying the stolen gun with the intention of killing her if she wouldn't continue their relationship. Still, the jury did not convict him of premeditated first-degree murder. He was found guilty of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 17 years to life with the possibility of parole. Nina Salarno: We all thought 17 years to life meant life – that they would never let him out. They would learn they were wrong. Just 10 years into his sentence, Steven Burns came up for parole. The Salarnos were outraged. In 1990, they talked to then-'48 Hours' correspondent Bernard Goldberg the night before the first parole hearing: HARRIET SALARNO: I had no idea the parole system was so rotten. BERNARD GOLDBERG: OK, Steven Burns was handed down a 17-to-life sentence. HARRIET SALARNO: That's right. HARRIET SALARNO: That's right. BERNARD GOLDBERG: But you — you don't want him out after 17 years, after 20 years, after 25, you — is that fair? HARRIET SALARNO: Oh, that's a very fair question. Absolutely, I don't want him out, but I don't even wanna go up there before 17 years because that's what I was told! Going into this hearing, they know there's a chance he could get out. On March 28, 1990, the Salarnos and a bus full of supporters headed to Steven Burns' parole hearing. MIKE SALARNO (to Goldberg): That bus ride was the longest ride in my life. The first hardest thing was when she died, this is the second. For the first time since Catina's murder, the Salarnos confronted the man they had once considered part of the family. MIKE SALARNO (parole hearing): Steve sentenced my daughter to death forever. I ask for a fair trade. I ask you to sentence Steve to life in prison. Then it was Burns' turn to speak. STEVEN BURNS (parole hearing): It's hard to say the words how difficult it is to live day to day about the feelings I have inside about what I did. Regardless of what I do, I can't bring Catina back. … But I know this that I am deeply sorry for what I did. And I will work each day of my life, whether it be in prison or out — outside to make up. He apologized, but the Salarnos noticed he never looked at them while he did it. NINA SALARNO: If you can't look at someone in the face and say you're sorry, then you know damn well you're not sorry. After an excruciating wait, the parole board came back with a decision. Steven Burns was found unsuitable for release, but he would get another chance at freedom in just two years. HARRIET SALARNO (1990): Two years, we got two years. And I feel very, very drained, and I know my family's so worn out. NINA SALARNO: We'll be here. HARRIET SALARNO: We'll be back. MIKE SALARNO: We'll be back. We'll be back. And back they would come over and over again for the next 35 years. FIGHTING FOR VICTIMS' RIGHTS There is one thing you can count on with the Salarnos. Every week for almost 46 years, they have gone to the cemetery where Catina now rests. These days there's another grave to tend. Mike Salarno died in 2013 of cancer. There's something else you can be sure of. Every time Steven Burns comes up for parole, they will be there. Nina Salarno: We all said we would be back and we've continued to be back 12 times, not just because he murdered Catina, but because he is a dangerous murderer that will kill or harm again. And that's just the bottom line. In January 2025, they were about to go to their 13th parole hearing. NINA SALARNO (praying at gravesite): Give this family the strength to continue to fight. That fight for victim's rights has shaped all their lives. Regina Salarno-Novello: Was I gonna be a nurse 40 years ago? No. And now I am … the reason why I did it is because I swore nobody would die alone. Nina says she was so traumatized by the trial, she vowed she would become a prosecutor. And so she did. She became a specialist in domestic violence cases. Nina Salarno: I believed like my sister, so many victims are either not heard, afraid to be heard, or just don't understand the magnitude of what's happening to them. She became the DA in Modoc County – cowboy country – about as far north in California as you can get. Nina Salarno: Being able to be out in the mountains and/or, um, work on a cattle ranch or ride my horses and have that time is just — it's who I am. Harriet went on to start Crime Victims United, an organization that has changed hundreds of laws. Before Harriet Salarno, victims in California weren't allowed to give impact statements at sentencing. Now they are. Parents – even if witnesses – can now attend the trial. And children, unlike Nina, must now be accompanied by a support person when testifying. Nina Salarno: She's my hero. … my absolute hero. … it's just so significant to see … how she supports people and just really fights for what's right. Harriet Salarno: I have a passion. For Harriet that has meant fighting to keep Steven Burns behind bars. Harriet Salarno: I've been doing it for 45 years and I will continue to do it. … As long as I'm alive and as long as he's in prison. Burns has been in prison for 45 years. But the Salarnos are convinced he hasn't changed. Nina Salarno: He still has yet to admit to … the facts of the crime. Burns' story, says Deputy District Attorney Robert Himelblau, has changed at least 12 times over the years. Robert Himelblau: He had said repeatedly that Catina pulled the gun, that Catina was the one who had the revolver, ignoring the fact that we knew that he had stolen Catina's father's revolver. … sometimes she shot him, sometimes they struggled over the gun and it accidentally went off. In 2016 – 37 years after the murder – Burns finally stopped lying about Catina's actions, says Nina. He told the commissioners, 'I became very, very angry … and I pulled out a gun and shot Catina.' But Burns continued to deny that he stalked her to UOP to kill her if she didn't get back together with him. Nina Salarno: The shooting of the gun murdered my sister, but the behaviors and the need for his power and control, and the obsessiveness is what makes him dangerous. And according to a complaint brought up at the last parole hearing, he has shown those same obsessive behaviors inside prison. A professor who taught incarcerated students reported that Burns' behavior towards her was quote disturbing and manipulating. Nina Salarno: He was relentless towards her because she would … not allow him into a class. He focused on her and was not going to stop till he got what he wanted. Erin Moriarty: Do you think that if Steven Burns is released, he could hurt someone? Robert Himelblau: Yes. The next woman he goes out with who says no. But there are some who believe that Burns deserves a second chance. Kevin Anderson, once a respected pediatrician, got to know Burns when he was incarcerated — also for murder. After 24 years in prison, Anderson was released on parole in 2023. He started working as a counselor. '48 Hours' first spoke to him the day before Burns' 2025 parole hearing. Erin Moriarty: Do you think that Steven Burns is a danger to society? Kevin Anderson: I can't say 100 percent … But I do think that Steven Burns has done a lot of the work … to get to that point where you're no longer a danger to society. Burns has earned a college degree and has worked with hospice patients. He has participated in numerous anger management and rehabilitation programs, some alongside Anderson. Kevin Anderson: I think that … he has the tools now that he didn't have before. Anderson worked with Burns in mock hearing sessions to help him prepare for the upcoming parole hearing. Kevin Anderson: We had to push him. And once we got him to get off of the denial on certain issues where the real honesty had to come out, now he's able to talk about it in the honest terms that maybe he wasn't able to do 10 years ago, 15 years ago. Anderson says Steven told him he snapped when Catina rejected him. Kevin Anderson: She said, I want you to stay away from me and my family. … and he said, at that point I just lost it. … And as he was describing this, he was crying. … 'cause now he realizes where he was going with this, and what this was leading to. And Catina saw it too, says Anderson. Kevin Anderson: He described to me her body language, what her eyes were doing, how they had just grown really big. I said, what else? And he said … her voice was shaking. … And I said, and what did that mean to you? And he would say, it meant she was scared to death. But it didn't stop him. Steven Burns shot the woman he claimed to love in the back of the head and walked away, leaving her to slowly bleed to death. Erin Moriarty: Did he say why he left and didn't get help for her? Kevin Anderson: He did say that what he did afterwards was a very cowardly act. Steven Burns is about to get another chance to convince commissioners that the same man who left Catina to die that night, is a changed man. And this time, the Salarnos fear the odds are in his favor. Regina Salarno-Novello: It scares the living daylights outta me, having him come out. STEVEN BURNS' 13th PAROLE HEARING As Harriet Salarno counts down the days to the 2025 hearing, she does what she has done for the past four decades; she goes to work. At 92, Harriet still goes to the office at Crime Victims United every day. Harriet and Nina are picking out photos to show the commissioners at the parole hearing. Nina Salarno: It's important that they understand that she was a beautiful human being … and her life was taken for no reason Nina has been preparing for this hearing for month.s. Nina Salarno (showing file cabinet): And in here, I keep everything from the trial, everything from the trial to all those subsequent parole hearings. Nina, the prosecutor, is leaving nothing to chance. Nina Salarno (holding binder): Here's transcripts from the 2010 hearing. But Nina, the protector, is calling on Catina and her dad to help the things she can't control. As a DA, Nina knows Burns' chances of getting out are better than ever. Keith Wattley is founder of UnCommon Law, an organization that helps incarcerated people navigate the parole process. Keith Wattley: From what I've seen so far on paper, in terms of the time he's done, the program … that he's put together for himself and how well he's performed there, he does seem like somebody who, under the law, should be granted parole. Wattley, who has never met Burns, but has reviewed his last two parole transcripts, says Steven has two other important things going for him: his age — he was only 18 — when he committed the crime. Keith Wattley: California … has passed laws to say that we have to consider someone's youth at the time of the crime … none of us are fully developed in the brain by — before we're age 25. And his age at the time of the hearing — 63. Wattley says Burns is eligible for special consideration under the elderly parole program. He says people simply age out of crime, especially violent crime. Erin Moriarty: But in Steven Burns' case, isn't there a possibility that … if he gets out, he gets involved with someone and they leave him, he'll do the same thing? Keith Wattley: It's a great question. It's an important question. The science and the statistics say no. … They say that people who come home from a life sentence are among the least likely to recidivate. That's just true. But sometimes statistics are no match for the human spirit. Erin Moriarty: When the family comes consistently to these parole hearings, especially a family like the Salarnos, doesn't that make it much more difficult for someone like Steven Burns to get a chance at parole? Keith Wattley: I would say yes. Yes, it does … have an impact on the process. The Salarnos are praying they'll make an impact again this time. Harriet, Nine, her daughter Lexy, and a group of loyal friends head to the DA's office in Stockton, California, where they will attend the parole hearing via video — the post-COVID new normal. Harriet Salarno: It does. It really does. I am shaky, very shaky. Erin Moriarty: You are right now? Harriet Salarno: Yeah. Sad thing. But I'm — I'm afraid of him being released, Erin. … I — just afraid that he'll come after us. Harriet braces herself as she heads into the conference room knowing she will have to again see the man who put her daughter in a grave. Harriet Salarno: Looking at Steve Burns when he walked in … he just looks dangerous. He acts dangerous. And what he says is dangerous. '48 Hours' was not allowed to record video or audio during the hearing, but I was able to sit with the family and friends to observe. Steven Burns — his affect flat, his voice monotone — once again denied he planned to kill Catina that night. Audio was recorded by the parole board: COMMISSIONER: You didn't plan to kill her? STEVEN BURNS: No. COMMISSIONER: And you deny that you've threatened to kill her at — previously, correct? STEVEN BURNS: Yes. COMMISSIONER: Do you understand why previous panels … have found that you minimize what you did and — and your intentions? STEVEN BURNS: Based on that, yes. After almost four hours, the commissioners retreated to make their decision. Erin Moriarty: Is this the hardest part? Just waiting — to see? Harriet Salarno: Waiting. This is the most difficult part. Twenty minutes later, the family was called back into the conference room. The decision was in. COMMISSIONER: Even after 45 years in prison … we see very little change on those issues that led you to murder Catina, that led you to do things in prison that offended others … We see very little change. Steven Burns was found unsuitable for parole. Harriet Salarno: We can go home and really sleep tonight! Erin Moriarty: This is the first real smile I've really seen on your face. Nina Salarno (to her mother): I'm very proud of you. When Kevin Anderson, Burns' friend from prison, read the transcript of the hearing, he was stunned. He sent '48 Hours' an email, some of which I read to him when we spoke again after the hearing. Erin Moriarty (reading email): 'Reading this transcript is hurting my head, heart and soul. This man is absolutely not ready to be released.' Kevin Anderson: No. The way he came across in that hearing, he was absolutely not ready … All the work he has done, I didn't see it showing up there at all. Four days after the hearing, Nina and Harriet went to the gravesite to deliver the news. Nina Salarno: We got a five-year-denial, dad. So I'm still holding strong to my promise to you. It was Catina's 64th birthday. Nina Salarno: Catina, I think that's the best birthday present we could give you was that denial. So thank you for watching over mom and watching over everyone Harriet Salarno: Happy birthday Catina … I love you both so much and miss you. Steven Burns is expected to go before the parole board again in 2030. Produced by Liza Finley and Gabriella Demirdjian. Cindy Cesare and Greg Fisher are the development producers. Lauren Turner Dunn is the associate producer. Doreen Schechter, Gregory F. McLaughlin, Chris Crater and Michael Vele are the editors. Patti Aronofsky is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.
Perth Now
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Anna Kendrick ready to return for Accountant 3
Anna Kendrick is keen to return for 'The Accountant 3'. The 39-year-old actress didn't reprise her role as Dana Cummings in the recently-released sequel but director Gavin O'Connor is planning a third movie and has already asked her to be part of it. Asked if there are plans for a third movie, lead star Ben Affleck - who plays autistic accountant Christian Wolff - told the New York Times newspaper: "That's a question I want to ask Bill [Dubuque, writer] and Gavin. I'm just waiting for another great script." Gavin said: "Bill and I have had some preliminary conversations. I am personally running from another puzzle movie, which we've done twice now. One thing we've talked about is the idea of bringing Anna Kendrick back. Maybe Christian can finally get the love that he deserves." Gavin's comment prompted Ben to joke that he and the team are hoping Anna "still likes" them, prompting the director to reveal he'd already discussed the return with the 'Pitch Perfect' star. He said: "Actually, Ben, she and I have been texting. She said she's a hundred percent in if we want." Ben replied: "Oh, beautiful. Then it's really down to you guys to mess it up." In another interview, Gavin explained Anna's character was never meant to be in the sequel because the "whole point" of the movie was the relationship between Christian and his brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal) following their emotional reunion in the 2016 thriller. He told Entertainment Weekly: "We always wanted it to be three movies. "When Bill and I started talking about the second movie, it was very important that we didn't want a love story. We wanted a love story with brothers. We wanted to do a '48 Hours' or 'Midnight Run' kind of buddy picture... "I mean, how do I bring Anna into the second and then ignore her? The whole point was exploring the brothers and that emotional line between them. That was always the intention, so she was never going to be in the second." The filmmaker confirmed his planned third movie will likely feature a love story. He said: "Then the third movie, which is what the plan has always been, is for [Chris'] quest for love and connection to be consummated. I don't know what that's going to be yet, but that's the intention... "I'm going to probably do something that makes me interested to come to work every day and tell a story. And then, lastly, yes, if it's going to be Anna, Chris needs to find love and find connection and go off into the sunset. So it probably will be with Dana Cummings."
Wakala News
24-04-2025
- Wakala News
Jason Corbett case: Woman fights for her brother's honor after brutal Davidson County, N.C. murder
(This story previously aired on August 17, 2019. It was updated on February 22, 2020.) The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled earlier this month on whether a father and daughter convicted of second-degree murder should get a new trial. In August 2015, former FBI agent Tom Martens and his daughter Molly Corbett admitted killing her Irish-born husband Jason Corbett, insisting they beat him in self-defense with a brick paver and a baseball bat because Jason was choking Molly and threatening to kill her. Prosecutors said Corbett's death was murder. Now, Tracey Lynch is trying to set the record straight on her slain brother. 'They claimed it was self-defense,' Lynch tells '48 Hours' correspondent Maureen Maher in her first American TV interview. 'The Martens didn't just murder Jason,' Lynch says. 'They tried to destroy his character.' 'Jason was an amazing human being,' Lynch says. Jason Corbett was a 30-year-old father of two in Ireland, who suddenly found himself a widower when his first wife died of an asthma attack. He then decided he needed help with the children and hired Molly Martens, originally from Knoxville, Tenn. Soon, their relationship turned romantic, and they were married. Shortly after, they moved to the United States. That's where the story turns leading up to the fateful night of August 2, 2015. Tom Martens told a 911 dispatcher that his son-in-law got into fight with his daughter and he had to intervene. 'He's bleeding all over, and I, I may have killed him,' he said. Molly also told police that Jason, then 39, was 'screaming 'I'm going to kill you.'' 'I MAY HAVE KILLED HIM' 911 DISPATCHER: Davidson County 911… TOM MARTENS: My son in law, uh, got in a fight with my daughter. I intervened and he's in bad shape. We need help. 911 DISPATCHER: OK. What do you mean he's in bad shape? He's hurt? TOM MARTENS: He's bleeding all over and I – I may have killed him. 911 DISPATCHER: Alright, listen carefully. I'll tell you how to do chest compressions. I'll set a pace for you. … One, two, three, four. The call came in the early morning hours of Aug. 2, 2015. MOLLY CORBETT TO 911 (crying): I — I'm certified. I just c — can't think. 911 DISPATCHER: OK, you have to stay calm. Let your training take over. We need — we need to try to do this to help him, OK? MOLLY CORBETT: OK. Police arrived at the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, home to find Jason Corbett beaten to death and his blood on his wife Molly. They knew who did it: Molly and her father Tom Martens. The question was why? TOM MARTENS (police interview): He's got Molly by the throat like this. Just hours later, Tom Martens, a 30-year FBI veteran, explains that he had been spending the night at his daughter's home. After being awakened by a commotion upstairs, he says he grabbed an aluminum Little League baseball bat he brought as a gift for the kids – and ran to her room. TOM MARTENS (police interview): He sees me coming and he goes around her throat like this (demonstrates a choke hold). And I said, 'Let her go.' He turned and like, you know … 'Let her go. I'm gonna kill her.' Martens says his protective instincts as a father instantly kicked in: TOM MARTENS (police interview): I hit him with the baseball bat. TOM MARTENS (police interview): He reaches out and he grabs the bat and he's stronger than I am, and he pushes me down and I was scrambling on the floor. My glasses fall off. Now I'm thinking, 'he's gonna kill me.' Molly Corbett told Davidson County Sheriff's investigators the same story: She hit Jason with a paving stone that was sitting on her nightstand: INVESTIGATOR WANDA THOMPSON: You have a brick on your nightstand? MOLLY CORBETT: Yeah. INVESTIGATOR WANDA THOMPSON: What was that — what was that for? MOLLY CORBETT: Um, the kids and I — we were going to paint — paint these bricks and flowers around the mailbox. TOM MARTENS (police interview): I get the bat back. … I can't tell you how many times I hit him. … I can't tell you that. I mean, it was battle. In Ireland, Jason's sister Tracy Lynch still cannot comprehend that he died this way. Tracey Lynch: I just couldn't process it. It was — you know, he was my best friend. … We were just two of the closest people in the world to each other outside my husband and children. Lynch and Jason were part of a big Irish family in Limerick. She remembers her brother as a kind and caring soul. Tracey Lynch: We would just spend summers in Spanish Point in County Clare … hang out, fish. Just kinda normal traditional Irish upbringing, really. Jason was Wayne Corbett's twin. Wayne Corbett: We looked like each other but we were different in so many ways. Maureen Maher: Would he have been the quiet one? Wayne Corbett: No, no, no. Jason wouldn't have been quiet. You would hear him before you see him. Jason married his first wife, Mags Fitzpatrick, when he was 27. They had two children, Jack and Sarah. Tracey Lynch: They were just so happy and so excited with life and so enthusiastic about it as well. And — and they had Sarah, and you know, I remember them sayin' that they had, that their family was complete. They had their little prince and princess. But in 2006, shortly after having their second child, Jason's storybook life came to an abrupt end, when Mags, a longtime asthmatic, suddenly had an attack. Tracey Lynch: Mags woke Jason to say that she was feeling wheezy. And he sat her up. She started to take her nebulizer. And she started to get progressively worse. … We found out later, they called him in and told him that she had died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Maureen Maher: And how old was he? Tracey Lynch: He was 30. Maureen Maher: So, 30 years old with a 2-year-old son. Tracey Lynch: Yeah, and a 12-week-old daughter. With two very small children still at home, Jason Corbett had no choice but to pick up the pieces and move on after Mags died. A year-and-a-half later, 25-year-old Molly Martens answered an ad for an au pair. She arrived in Limerick in March 2008. Lynn Shanahan: I met Molly the day she arrived in the airport in Shannon. Lynn Shanahan is Jason's longtime friend. Maureen Maher: And what was your impression of her when you met her? Lynn Shanahan: My first thoughts and the first sentence to my own husband were, 'This is not what Jason needs right now.' Maureen Maher: Why? Lynn Shanahan: The minute I saw her with the big bouncing curls, she was in her 20s. She had a big bright color coat, fur collar, cowboy boots, was dressed and make-up done like a pageant queen as we would have said. She just seemed not the nannyin' type. But Molly's uncle, Mike Earnest, says she was great with kids. Mike Earnest: She grew up babysitting, always loved children. Molly Martens had grown up in Knoxville, Tennessee. She had dropped out of Clemson University and was looking to begin a new chapter in her life. Mike Earnest: I think, you know, she maybe was looking for something different, and that this might get her involved, too, in something that I think she was passionate about, which is children. In Limerick, Molly instantly connected with Jason's children, 3-year-old Jack and 1-year-old Sarah. Tracey Lynch: He liked her. She seemed gentle with the kids. … We started to see, you know, a little glimpse of the old Jason comin' back, that he was just, you know, not so sad all the time. That's when Jason and Molly's relationship changed from professional to personal. Lynn Shanahan: We went on holiday together. And the two of them looked very happy. The kids were happy. They were soon making long-term plans. It was at Freddy's Bistro in Limerick on Valentine's Day 2010, nearly two years after Molly Martens arrived to be an au pair, that Jason asked her to be his wife. Molly was over the moon and immediately began planning for a wedding back in the states. Tracey Lynch: They came and — said that they got engaged, and we opened a bottle of champagne and toasted to their future. Maureen Maher: Was he happy? Tracey Lynch: He was happy, yeah, he was. He was in love. He loved Molly. But that happiness wouldn't last for long. A TROUBLED RELATIONSHIP Molly Corbett and Tom Martens continue to give Davidson County investigators a blow-by-blow account of what they say happened that night in that bedroom. By now, they've washed off Jason's blood: TOM MARTENS (police interview): I tell you that guy was crazy. INVESTIGATOR WANDA THOMPSON: So, there's a history of domestic violence at the house? MOLLY CORBETT: Yes. INVESTIGATOR WANDA THOMPSON: How long has that been going on? MOLLY CORBETT: Forever. INVESTIGATOR WANDA THOMPSON: OK, you know your husband didn't survive his injuries, right? MOLLY CORBETT: I didn't think so. Tom Martens claims that when he arrived earlier that evening to visit Molly and the kids, Jason was drunk. They all went to bed without incident. But hours later, Jason's daughter Sarah woke up from a nightmare. MOLLY CORBETT (police interview): She thought the fairies on her sheet were insects and spiders and lizards. … He was angry that he was woken up. In the middle of her interview, Molly tells investigators she is in pain from the choke hold Jason had on her. They photograph her – including a red mark on the center of her neck. They also take pictures of Tom. MOLLY CORBETT: Yeah, my throat hurts a lot. INVESTIGATOR WANDA THOMPSON: And how did you get that bruise? MOLLY CORBETT: Yeah, it was from the other night. MOLLY CORBETT: Just when he grabbed my arm. But as Molly and Tom tell tales about Jason's abuse, Jason's family had a different story. They say Molly was the one who caused problems in the relationship for years. Tracey Lynch: The person in Ireland was very different to the one that we met … in Tennessee. Jason's family supported the marriage. But when they arrived in the states for the wedding, they say they noticed Molly was behaving strangely. Tracey Lynch: She was just very controlling. She was angry, I would say. And for someone who was about to get married, you know, she just wasn't herself. … She stayed in bed curled up in a ball. She didn't come out and socialize with anybody. And that, Lynch says, wasn't the worst of it. Tracey Lynch: What really set alarm bells ringing for me was when one of the bridesmaids told us before the wedding that Molly had told them that she had been friends with Mags, Jack and Sarah's mother, before she died of cancer. Mags didn't die of cancer, she died of an asthma attack. And, of course, Molly never knew Mags. Jason's family was beginning to wonder if he was making a mistake by marrying Molly. Paul Dillon: I said … 'you're the most unhappiest man I've ever seen on his wedding day.' Jason's best friend and groomsman, Paul Dillon, thought he should walk away. Paul Dillon: I asked him to just leave her and just get on a plane and go home. And he said he can't. He made the commitment. One man believes the Corbetts had a reason to be concerned. Keith Maginn: My name is Keith Maginn and Molly is my former fiancé. Molly had been engaged to another man, who says they were still together when she left for Ireland to become Jason's au pair. Keith Maginn: She had a lot of things going on. She had migraines. She had insomnia. … She basically— she spent a lot of time just soaking in the bathtub sometimes just crying on the bathroom floor. Maginn claims both he and Molly struggled with mental health issues that he describes in a self-published book written before Jason died. He gave '48 Hours' no records to back that up, although Molly's medical records from years after her time with Maginn show that she was diagnosed with depression. Her brother Connor is reluctant to talk about it. Maureen Maher: Much has been said about Molly's mental health … are you comfortable addressing that? Connor Martens: I don't want to comment on that. At the time of the wedding, according to Molly's family, all was well, and she was happy to be walking down the aisle with Jason. Mike Earnest | Molly's uncle: She looked very happy … and she looked like she was very happy to be getting married. Jason was able to get a job transfer with the packaging company he had worked for in Ireland. He and Molly settled into the suburbs of Winston-Salem, where Molly got a job as a part-time swim instructor but spent most of her time with Jack and Sarah. Tracey Lynch: I was concerned for Jason and his children. He had moved lock, stock and barrel from Ireland. Packed up his whole life, sold his house, gave up his job, and was on the cusp of a new life. Mike Earnest: Well, my impression was that things seemed to be OK. I don't know if they seemed to be great. I did see occasions where … there seemed like there were issues coming up. After four years, Molly was closer to the children than ever and considered them her own, but her relationship with Jason was in trouble. Tracey Lynch: Jason started to talk about movin' home. He wasn't happy. Maureen Maher: Did he say why he wasn't happy? Tracey Lynch: Lot of it was down to the relationship with Molly. She was acting strange. Those things occurring that he wasn't comfortable with. … And he missed Ireland, wanted to move back. … But he knew and said that there would be huge difficulty in him coming back — once Molly found out. Maureen Maher: And the kids at this point, they call her mom? Tracey Lynch: Yes. Maureen Maher: She is their mother. Tracey Lynch: Yes. Molly had always wanted to officiall y become Jack and Sarah's mother, but Jason would not allow it. Maureen Maher: He didn't want to take the only mother they'd ever known away from them, but he wouldn't allow her to adopt them? Tracey Lynch: Yes. Maureen Maher: Why? Tracey Lynch: Because of what she had said about Mags and because of her erratic behavior. … She waited until just before the wedding, and then all these stories came out. So when we spoke, he said, he just couldn't. How could he go ahead and allow Molly to adopt the children when he had all these issues of trust? Now, with Jason dead, police ask Molly about his family. Jason's decision not to allow her to adopt Jack and Sarah hits hard: MOLLY CORBETT: — and I'm scared they'll take the kids. INVESTIGATOR WANDA THOMPSON: Did you adopt the children? MOLLY CORBETT: No. INVESTIGATOR WANDA THOMPSON: Then that's a real possibility. MOLLY CORBETT (cries): Oh, God. The thought of losing the children is more than Molly can bear. But, investigators offer Molly a light at the end of a dark tunnel: INVESTIGATOR WANDA THOMPSON (TO MOLLY): At this point, after talking to your dad and talking to you, it looks like this is going to be self-defense. OK? I don't think there's going to be an issue with that. SELF-DEFENSE OR MURDER? Tracey Lynch says when she got the horrible news of Jason's death, she knew it could not have been self-defense as Molly and Tom claimed. She says, 'Jason was a gentle person.' Tracey Lynch: I kept ringin' Molly. She wouldn't return my calls. Her parents, you know, no, they just completely stonewalled us. … I got 30 seconds on the phone with Jack … to tell him that I loved him and I was coming over to be with him. Lynch says she was desperate to get to Jason's children as soon as possible. Tracey Lynch: I was terrified. Tracey Lynch: I was terrified she would kill them. Maureen Maher: You thought that Molly might kill the children? Tracey Lynch: Absolutely. Years before, Jason had named Lynch legal guardian if he were to die. And Tracey knew Molly would not give up the kids without a fight. Lynch immediately flew to North Carolina and filed for custody. And sure enough, Molly filed a motion for custody as well. Lynn Shanahan: No one knew what scenario was playing in Molly's head, what she thought she needed to do. Or was there a chance that they would be in danger — if she knew they were taking them from her? During the troubled marriage, Molly had asked an attorney what her rights to the children would be in the event of a divorce. She also secretly recorded arguments with Jason: MOLLY CORBETT: Are you finished with your dinner, hon? JASON CORBETT: I'm talkin' to you! Is this how you treat … you just ignore me? I said, 'I'd like to have dinner with my family' … I'm talkin' to you. I shouldn't have to say it over and over. I shouldn't have to say, 'Molly — ' MOLLY CORBETT (ignoring Jason): Can you guys get out the stuff for pancakes? JASON CORBETT (yelling): See! (slamming sound) There you go again. I'm talking to you and you're still going on talking about something else! A friend of Molly's spoke with her about Jason. Maureen Maher: So, prior to his death, you never talked to her about their relationship? Molly's friend: No. Maureen Maher: And after his death, has she talked to you much about Jason and that relationship? Molly's friend: Yes. '48 Hours' agreed not to use the friend's name or show her face. She says she's been threatened by Jason's supporters. Molly's friend: There were some signs that things weren't right. Maureen Maher: Like what? Molly's friend: Just you know controlling behavior. Some of the you know bad language and calling her names. … And then it just progressively got worse. … Forced sex … stuff like that. Molly never reported any abuse to police. Maureen Maher: Molly has said that Jason was verbally abusive, had started becoming physically abusive. … Do you think that any of that is possible? Tracey Lynch: I don't believe any of that is true. Four days after Jason died, both of his children were interviewed by a social worker: SOCIAL WORKER: Tell me why you're here. JACK: Um, my dad died, and people are trying — my aunt and uncle from my dad's side are trying to take me away. To take me away from my mom. Jack and Sarah are asked about the night their father died: SARAH: My mom didn't want my dad to wake up because that would not have been a good thing. SOCIAL WORKER: Tell me why it's not a good thing. SARAH: Because he just gets really, really angry. He would be like, 'why are you waking me up?' Jack even explains the odd presence of the paving stone in the bedroom: JACK: It was in my mom's room because it was raining earlier, and we were going to paint it we didn't want it getting it all wet. When a social worker asks the kids about their parents relationship, both seem to support Molly's claims of abuse: JACK: Um, once or twice. JACK: Um, punching, hitting, pushing. SOCIAL WORKER: Has anybody told you what to say when other people talk to you? SARAH: My mom just said, 'say the truth,' you know. That's all she said. But Lynch says that is not the truth. Maureen Maher: You believe that Molly or someone in the Martens family coached the children? Tracey Lynch: I'm certain of it. The children were removed from Molly's care and placed with Lynch, who was staying at a hotel in North Carolina as the custody battle waged on. Tom and Molly were allowed a visit., which was recorded on cellphone video. It would prove to be one of their last: Tom Martens: Lots of people love you. Lots of people love you. Molly Corbett: There's lots and lots and lots of people praying for you. And for us. (Molly starts to cry, and Jack and Sarah hug her) Molly Corbett: I love you so much. Jack Corbett: I love you, too. Molly Corbett: I love you. Sixteen days after Jason was beaten to death, Lynch prevails. Jack and Sarah would be heading back to Ireland with her and away from Molly, the only mother these children have ever really known. Molly's friend: She was very, very devastated. She could barely function. I mean, she was absolutely distraught. In the months following their return to Ireland, Lynch says that Molly repeatedly tried to contact Jack and Sarah, posting numerous messages on social media, hoping that somebody in Limerick would pass them on to the children. Maureen Maher: Did you feel that Molly had any rights to them at all? Tracey Lynch: No. Molly had murdered their father. And that's what I firmly believed at that point. Lynch had a new battle on her hands: justice for Jason. Tracey Lynch: After the autopsy … I recall the sheriff saying that, 'It was blunt force trauma.' She was told that Jason suffered at least a dozen blows to the head. Tracey Lynch: I looked at my brother in the coffin and witnessed just the devastation that one human can inflict on another. After those first interviews, Molly and Tom heard nothing more from authorities. Despite Molly being told that the attack on Jason looked like self-defense, a murder investigation actually kicked into full gear. And in January 2016, five months after Jason died, father and daughter are shocked when they are charged with second-degree murder. Mike Earnest: I mean, of course, they're devastated. Tom Martens, the FBI veteran of 30 years, would now find out what it's like to sit at a criminal defense table. Maureen Maher: They were both aware of the possibility that they might not walk out of that courtroom? Mike Earnest: Correct. A DAD & DAUGHTER ON TRIAL Tracey Lynch: We were under a lotta pressure as a family, and you know, we were concerned. Were they going to be charged? So, it was a relief that the charges were brought. Tracey Lynch felt sure from the beginning that Molly and Tom did not kill her brother Jason in self-defense. In fact, she believes she knows the real motive. Tracey Lynch: There isn't a shadow of a doubt in my mind that Jason was beaten to death because he was going to leave with the kids. Lynch says Jason's plans to move back to Ireland with Jack and Sarah but without Molly had finally come together. And she and Lynn believe Molly found out that night. Lynn Shanahan | Jason's longtime friend: I think Jason became surplus to her requirements. She didn't need him anymore. She just wanted the children. After knowing her for years, Lynn Shanahan thinks Molly had been plotting to get the kids away from Jason for some time. Lynn Shanahan: She was playing the long game that she was tellin' people that he had been abusive. She had her recordings. … She would have a case to get the children from him. While awaiting the trial, Tracey Lynch settled Jack and Sarah into their new home back in Ireland. They had intensive therapy, she says, and adjusted well. Nine months after returning to Limerick, Jack recanted what he'd told social workers after his father was killed: SOCIAL WORKER (via Skype from N.C.) Is it true that your father was abusive? Or false? JACK: Um, false. JACK: We were going to get interviewed. … She was saying a lot of stories, making up stories about my dad saying that he was abusive. And she started saying, 'if you don't lie, I'll never ever see you again.' Jack says he only has one motive for telling the truth now: JACK: I found what happened to my dad and I want justice to be served. In 2019, Jack was 14 years old and Sarah was 12. While '48 Hours' visited Ireland, the children did not want to be interviewed, but the family did allow video to be taken of them. Molly Corbett and Tom Martens went on trial together in July 2017. Family and friends of both the Corbetts and the Martens turned out in force. Maureen Maher: What was it like to be so close, sitting by and — and in the same room with Molly and Tom? Tracey Lynch: It was very — very difficult. … You're sittin' there and lookin' at, you know, two people … that had done something that was so malicious and insidious and ferocious. Prosecutor Alan Martin: We thought we had evidence stacked up behind us a mile high. Assistant District Attorney Alan Martin was confident the state would prove that Molly and Tom murdered Jason with malice. Prosecutor Alan Martin: The viciousness and violence and excessiveness of the injuries that Jason suffered was really the cornerstone of our case. Not only had the autopsy stated Jason suffered at least a dozen blows to the head, the exact number could not be determined, because he'd been struck repeatedly in the same spot. Prosecutor Alan Martin: We looked at the damage to his scalp. His scalp was literally ripped from his skull. His skull was crushed. For comparison, the jury was shown pictures of the defendants taken that same night. Tracey Lynch: They didn't have a scratch, an abrasion. … Molly had a delicate bracelet on her that — that night that she continued to wear — throughout the trial. Martin says that makes Molly and Tom's claim of self-defense a tough sell. Prosecutor Alan Martin: You cannot be engaged in a donnybrook, like they described, with a man who is bigger than you, stronger than you, taller than you, and not have a mark on you. It's just not possible. A blood spatter expert bolstered that argument. Prosecutor Alan Martin: He can tell by looking at the spatter on the wall that Jason's head was 12 to 18 inches off the floor when some of the blows were struck. Martin says that meant Tom was standing over Jason, still swinging, after Jason could no longer have been a threat. Mike Earnest: I've known Tom Martins for 50 years. … This is not someone who loses control. This is not someone who is going to kill someone out of malice. … I absolutely do not believe there's any way Tom would hit him while he's down. The defense pointed to photos that showed Molly did have that red mark on her neck. And a nurse practitioner testified that at a checkup just two weeks before he died, Jason said he'd been more stressed lately. Mike Earnest: He had complained of getting angry for no apparent reason. One strand of long, blonde hair was found in Jason's hand. It was likely Molly's but was never tested. And the autopsy indicated there were defensive wounds to Jason's left arm but not to his right – the one in which he supposedly held Molly. Still claiming he did what any father would do to protect his child, the defense's star witness, Tom Martens, takes the stand. No cameras were allowed but there is audio: TOM MARTENS (testifying): He said he was going to kill Molly. …I certainly felt he would kill me. I felt both of our lives were in danger. I did the best I could. Molly did not testify and the defense was not allowed to offer evidence regarding Jason's alleged abuse. TOM MARTENS (testifying): I did not like some of Jason's behavior, particularly in regard to my daughter. That does not mean that I demonized the man. Martens testifies he went only as far as he had to: TOM MARTENS (testifying): Once I got control of the bat, I hit him until I considered the threat to be over and when I considered the threat to be over, I quit hitting him. I considered the threat to be over when he went down. During closing arguments, Alan Martin used the bat and paving stone from the Corbett bedroom to hit home his point at the prosecution table: PROSECUTOR ALAN MARTIN: How much force (hits bat on table) does it take (hits bat on table) to split the flesh (hits bat on table) all the way to the skull? … You know what malice feels like when it comes from the brick that Molly had? It feels like, I hate him. I want those kids (hits table twice with the brick). That's what malice feels like. After nine days of testimony, arguments and graphic crime scene photos, the jury deliberated for just three hours. Prosecutor Alan Martin: If they're coming back this fast with two unanimous verdicts, that's a really good sign. Tracey Lynch: It was just overwhelming relief really. Prosecutor Alan Martin (in tears): They beat him horribly and viciously. And no human being deserves to leave their marital bedroom with their skull destroyed like what happened to Jason. Maureen Maher: Had you been thinking that it was possible that a guilty verdict might come back? Connor Martens: I did not think it was possible that both of them would be convicted of second-degree murder. Molly and Tom were immediately sentenced to 20-to-25 years in prison. That's when Molly turned around in court and said something to her mother. Mike Earnest: 'I'm so sorry. I should have just let him kill me.' As it turns out, this case may be far from over. TRIAL AND ERROR? After the verdicts, as Tom Martens and Molly Corbett were led off to prison, the jury foreman described his struggle. Jury foreman: You saw tears. There were tears. I even had a few tears there while the verdicts were being ran through. Jury foreman: It wasn't an easy decision. Somebody's life changes. And then, he blurted out something that could potentially put those freshly-minted verdicts in jeopardy. Jury foreman: We didn't discuss the verdict, but in having private conversations, everybody — we could read that everybody was going in the same direction. Did the foreman just admit the jury discussed the case prior to deliberations? If so, that would be a direct violation of the judge's daily instructions to wait. Prosecutor Alan Martin disagrees. Prosecutor Alan Martin: It's been pounced upon as to say: aha, these people got together and started deliberating before they were supposed to. … What I hear is: we're a group of people who were sitting together seeing all these events transpire in the courtroom together. … Without talking about it, we can read each other's body language while we're in the courtroom. But within days, the defense filed a motion to have the verdict thrown out based on jury misconduct. The trial judge denied that motion, but one year later, the defense went to the appellate court — this time arguing there were numerous errors at trial. Mike Earnest: There's part of me that, you know, kind of maybe has some thankfulness that so many errors were made at trial that leaves room for a proper appellate decision in favor of Tom and Molly. For one thing, there were blood stains on the hem of Tom's boxer shorts that the state said indicated he had been standing over Jason as he swung the bat. Those stains were assumed to be Jason's blood, but they were never tested. Prosecutor Alan Martin: It's not practical, reasonable or feasible to test every single blood spot in every location. Then there's the matter of the statements from Jack and Sarah. Molly's brother, Connor Martens, is upset that the trial judge did not allow them in. Connor Martens: The kids' statement say that Jason was an abuser. And those interviews were conducted in professional environments on multiple occasions where Molly was not present. Maureen Maher: And to the allegation from the Jason side of the family that they were coached by Molly? Connor Martens: The interviews were conducted by professionals. And that's their job. … Why would the prosecution try so hard to prevent that from coming from trial? It's only evidence for the jury. Let them make that decision. Jack's statement recanting what he'd said after he'd returned to Ireland was also never heard by the jury: SOCIAL WORKER (via Skype from N.C.): Is it true that your father was abusive? Or false? JACK: Um, false. The Martens family has maintained all along it is that statement that was coached: JACK (to social worker): She was saying, making a lot of stories saying that my dad was abusive. Maureen Maher: Do you think that the recanting should be allowed in too? Connor Martens: I don't think so under the conditions. But if they can't, then the jury can discern which is truthful. In January 2019, the state appeals court makes the rare move to allow oral arguments in Molly and Tom's case. Once again, both families flock to the courthouse with Lynch flying in from Limerick. Tracey Lynch: There is always another step, or there is always something else to face. Neither Tom nor Molly are present in the courtroom. Maureen Maher: How does she feel her chances are with the appeal? Molly's friend: I don't know. I think that she is cautiously optimistic. But I think that there's a lot of hopelessness, too. It's hard to trust the system after what they've gone through. Each side has just a half hour to make its most important points. The defense goes first: DEFENSE ATTORNEY: There are a number of statements from the children including, 'dad got mad for no reason.' … It was error to exclude them. But the prosecution pushes back: PROSECUTOR: The fact that somebody makes a statement doesn't mean it is trustworthy. … The children didn't want to go back to Ireland. …They had friends, they had schools. They were used to the USA. They rode horses. They lived in a nice house. They were comfortable. The defense makes an impassioned argument about jury misconduct. DEFENSE ATTORNEY: A juror is confessing on the courthouse steps not even an hour after the verdict that they engaged in private conversations. Maureen Maher: Are you concerned about this appeal? Lynn Shanahan: Well, I'm not concerned about it. … I think the case was really, really strong. Mike Earnest says it is strength of a different kind that keeps Tom going. Mike Earnest: Tom, I think, even as he sits in this atrocious miscarriage of justice knows that he saved his daughter's life. And, you know, I think he can sleep at night knowing that even if she is in prison, she's not dead. Back in Ireland, Tracey Lynch waits for the appeals court's decision. She's written a book about this case and Jason. Tracey Lynch: I wrote the book to give him back his character. The Martens, Molly Martens in particular, tried to destroy his character. Tracey Lynch (reading from book): 'I smile briefly to myself as I realize that Jason eventually found himself back in the only place on this Earth he ever wanted to be — in the arms of his beloved Mags.' She finds comfort that her brother is buried in Limerick, next to his first wife and the mother of his children. Tracey Lynch (at gravesite): Jack and Sarah picked out the picture to change on the headstone from Mags to both of them. … I hope they're together somewhere. Tracey Lynch: The memories just float to the surface, and you know, they'll always be part of our lives. In March 2021, the North Carolina Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Molly Corbett and her father, Tom Martens. The two were released on bond the following month. In October 2023, Molly Corbett pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter. Tom Martens pleaded guilty to the same charge. The second degree murder charge was dropped. They were each sentenced to another 7 to 30 months in prison and were released from custody in June 2024. Sarah Corbett Lynch has written a children's book series on coping with loss.
