Latest news with #KarenHarkness
Toronto Sun
5 days ago
- Toronto Sun
CRIME HUNTER: Did scorned ex-wife murder hubby and new gal pal?
Get the latest from Brad Hunter straight to your inbox MURDERED: Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness. Who wanted them dead? Contentious divorces or custody battles can trigger paranoia in anyone. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Is that car following me? Sure, she's white with fury, but would she have me murdered? Maybe. For the families of Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness, those answers have finally arrived, although their suspicions have endured for more than 20 years. And they have never wavered. Survivors had to endure a long and winding legal odyssey before justice prevailed. CONTROL: Mike Sisco and Dana Chandler in happier times. *** On July 7, 2002, Sisco, 47, and Harkness, 53, a mother of two, were shot multiple times with a 9mm handgun. The couple of four years were enjoying some quiet time at Harkness' Topeka, Kansas home when bullets shattered the Plains evening. There was just one suspect. Her name was Dana Chandler, now 65. And it wasn't just homicide detectives who suspected that Chandler was a cold-blooded killer; the families of the victims did as well. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Harkness, middle, with her two children. Chandler was the ex-wife of Sisco, and the pair shared two children. She was decidedly unhappy about the split, and their divorce and custody battles were off-the-charts bitter, even after they had seemingly been resolved. The spurned woman constantly harassed her ex-husband and Harkness with bizarre visits and frequent, harassing phone calls. But there was no arrest despite the mountain of circumstantial evidence and a clear motive (visceral hatred). *** Over the years, the Sisco and Harkness families refused to let the matter die and met regularly with cops. In addition, the families conducted their parallel probe searching for more evidence. Among the elusive nuggets was the missing 9mm handgun. Mike Sisco kept a log of his ex-wifes stalking. SCDA The case went cold until 2011, when newly minted Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor reopened the probe. Dana Chandler was arrested later that year and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Chandler was convicted in 2012 and sentenced to life in prison. She insisted she was innocent. *** Six years later, the convictions came off the rails when the state's supreme court ruled misconduct on behalf of ADA Jacqie Spradling. One justice called evidence 'made-up' and 'misleading.' The prosecutor was disbarred for 'intolerable acts of deception.' Still, for Chandler, exoneration was nowhere in sight. The court also ruled there was still enough evidence to send the weeping widow to prison forever, and Shawnee County DA Mike Kagay decided to proceed. The couple, the night before they were murdered, were captured by CCTV at a local casino. Trial 2.0 kicked off in July 2022. Her legal team argued: No DNA, fingerprints, or other forensics that placed her at the crime scene. But the DA retorted with: JEALOUSY, RAGE, OBSESSION. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Result? Hung jury. Chandler was granted bail and a change of venue. The only cloud in the Harkness-Cisco relationship was his ex-wife, Dana Chandler. *** On Tuesday, Dana Chandler was sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 50 years – or when she is 115 years old. 'I truly see her now as the evil killer. I hate it. I don't want to call you an evil killer, but I can't live in a fairy tale,' Chandler and Sisco's daughter, Hailey Seel, said in a victim impact statement. According to media reports, Seel asked the judge to show mercy on her mother if she confessed. And expressed remorse for her evil acts. Chandler refused, and Seel suggested that she should be locked away forever. KILLER DANA CHANDLER: Smiles are free. For her part, Chandler, who represented herself in the third act, claimed innocence. 'I have always maintained my innocence. I continue to maintain my innocence,' she said, as per the Kansas Reflector . 'I was not in Topeka, Kansas on July 7. I never owned or possessed a 9mm firearm. What is happening in this courtroom is a grave injustice. I was not the one who killed them.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Her children, Seel and Dustin Sisco, were teens at the time of the tragedy. They testified for the prosecution. Both said they believe their mother murdered their dad and Harkness. For her part, Chandler put herself on the stand for 20 hours, stretching over seven days. But her truth fell flat. Instead, jurors believed the prosecution's theory that Chandler was a woman possessed, a control freak who had lost control of her husband. She is planning yet another appeal. 'I do feel like the focus of this case has gone almost completely to Dana Chandler and that the – the victims and the families of the victims has really been lost in this case, which is really sad. And I hope that from here out the – the victims and the families can be remembered more,' Seel told 48 Hours . This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. BEACH READING? Murder is the most vile crime known to man. Love, money and sex are the three big-ticket items for homicide. And they're all there in my book Cold Blooded Murder: Shocking True Stories of Killers and Psychopaths. In this collection of some of the most memorable cases I've reported on, there are serial killers, rich kid monsters, football stars and wives in pursuit of hormone-charged hijinks. Successful lawyers and hotel executives. Southern belles who could melt butter with a come-hither wink and a sexy drawl. Daddy's girls with gleaming smiles, good marks and possessed by the devil. Inside the Mind of John Wayne Gacy: The Killer Clown is the new book by Toronto Sun National Crime Columnist Brad Hunter. AD LIB PUBLISHERS You will find cheating husbands and wives so desperate for love that they'll kill for it. Need a fast, gripping book for the beach or the cottage? Order it here! Or for a more unsavoury beach companion, order Inside the Mind of John Wayne Gacy: The Killer Clown. FYI: Both books were rated 4.5 out of 5 stars. bhunter@ @HunterTOSun Olympics Sunshine Girls Columnists NHL Editorial Cartoons
CBS News
04-06-2025
- General
- CBS News
Dana Chandler sentenced to life in prison after third murder trial
Dana Chandler, 65, was sentenced to life in prison for the 2002 murders of her ex-husband Mike Sisco and his girlfriend Karen Harkness on June 3, 2025. Judge Cheryl Rios handed down two consecutive life terms and Chandler will not be eligible for parole for 50 years, with credit for about 13 years of time she has already served. Hailey Seel, Chandler and Sisco's daughter, gave a victim impact statement at sentencing. According to The Kansas Reflector, Seel said about her mother in court, "I truly see her now as the evil killer. I hate it. I don't want to call you evil killer, but I can't live in a fairy tale." Seel reportedly recommended the judge to show mercy on Chandler if she confessed to the crime and expressed remorse. But if Chandler continued to deny her involvement, Seel recommended the judge should impose the maximum sentence. Dana Chandler at her sentencing for the 2002 murders of Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness on June 3, 2025. Pool photography by Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal/USA Today Network The Kansas Reflector reported Chandler continued to deny involvement in the crimes, stating, "I have always maintained my innocence. I continue to maintain my innocence. I was not in Topeka, Kansas, on July 7. I never owned or possessed a 9-millimeter firearm. What is happening in this courtroom is a grave injustice. I was not the one who killed them." Sisco, 47, and Harkness, 53, were each shot multiple times with a 9mm gun on July 7, 2002, in Harkness' Topeka, Kansas, home. Police quickly suspected Chandler after members of the Harkness and Sisco families said she harassed Sisco with bizarre visits and frequent phone calls following their bitter divorce and custody battle. She was questioned by police but was not charged. Chandler has always maintained her innocence. "48 Hours" has been covering the case since 2008, and most recently in "My Mother's Murder Trials" reported by contributor Jim Axelrod. For years, the couple's families met with law enforcement and even conducted their own investigation looking for additional evidence, such as the murder weapon, which was never found. At that time, Shawnee County District Attorney Robert Hecht reportedly said there was not enough evidence to charge Chandler. In 2011, a new DA, Chad Taylor, was in office and made the decision to move the case forward. Dana Chandler was arrested in 2011 and entered not guilty pleas to two counts of first-degree murder. A jury convicted Chandler in 2012, and she was sentenced to life in prison. Six years later, Chandler's convictions were overturned due to prosecutorial misconduct. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled that statements made at Chandler's trial by prosecutor Jacqie Spradling was, in at least one instance, "made-up" and "misleading." Spradling was later disbarred for what the court called "intolerable acts of deception" aimed at the jury and the courts. "48 Hours" reached out to Spradling, but did not receive a response. But the Kansas Supreme Court did not dismiss Chandler's case. It ruled that there was still sufficient evidence for a jury to find Chandler guilty. The decision whether to retry Chandler was up to the new Shawnee County DA Mike Kagay, and he chose to proceed with another trial. Chandler's second trial began in July 2022. Defense attorney Tom Bath argued there was no DNA, fingerprint or hair evidence that placed Chandler inside the Harkness residence, or even in the state of Kansas. Shawnee County Deputy DA Charles Kitt acknowledged the lack of physical evidence and told the jury the case was instead based on jealousy, rage and obsession. The jury in this trial was unable to reach a unanimous decision. After six days of deliberation, the judge announced a hung jury, reportedly with seven votes to convict and five to acquit. Following the hung jury, the judge reduced Chandler's bond, and after being incarcerated for more than a decade, she was released from jail with GPS monitoring. The defense also requested a change of venue for the upcoming trial, which the judge granted. Chandler's third trial got underway in February 2025, in Pottawatomie County, 60 miles from Topeka. On the morning of opening statements, Chandler dismissed her attorneys and announced she would represent herself. At trial, Chandler's children, Hailey Seel and Dustin Sisco — who were teenagers at the time of the murders — testified for the prosecution, as they had done previously. They both believe their mother, Dana Chandler, is responsible for murdering their father, Mike Sisco, and Karen Harkness. They were also questioned by their mother. When it was time to present her case, Chandler testified for approximately 20 hours, spread over seven days. She argued that no one could place her at the scene of the murders, or even in the state of Kansas at the time of the killings, and that she had never owned or possessed a .9mm firearm. Deputy DA Kitt focused on Chandler's obsessive behavior and told the jury she killed Sisco and Harkness because she had lost control of her ex-husband. The jury deliberated nearly four hours before finding Chandler guilty. Hailey Seel says she was relieved by the verdict but hopes that the lives lost are not forgotten. "I do feel like the focus of this case has gone almost completely to Dana Chandler and that the — the victims and the families of the victims has really been lost in this case, which is really sad. And I hope that from here out the — the victims and the families can be remembered more," Seel told "48 Hours." Chandler is filing motions to appeal the conviction. "48 Hours" reached out to Chandler for comment, but did not receive a response. contributed to this report.
