My Mother's Murder Trials (Parts 1 & 2) | "48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] My name is Damian Chandler. [Music] I have been accused of double homicide
and I am innocent. Is it hard to believe you're sitting here again to talk about
this? Yeah, it really is. I didn't think 20 years later that this is what would be happening in this situation.
July 7th of 2002, my dad and his fiance Karen were shot and killed in their beds. I was 17 and
my brother was 15. And there was just shock. The only person that hated them was my
mom. Dana, what should people understand about the fact that you, Dana Chandler's
daughter, thinks Dana Chandler killed your father? I do have a mind of my own and I'm not biased in this situation.
I don't want it to be her. I want the truth to come out. And I want true justice for my dad, Karen.
Mike and Karen were together for the weekend alone. They did everything. They loved each other. They drove up to a
casino, spent a few hours there, and then arrived back home in the early morning hours. They were found uh Sunday
afternoon, July 7th. The killer made it downstairs, shot Karen Harkness multiple
times, shot Mike Cisco multiple times. It's unnerving to think that somebody could sneak into a house and do this and
leave quietly and nobody knows about it till the next day. Whoever it was that did this hated these people. They wanted
them dead and they wanted to make sure they were dead. Both hands out of the car. It could be
the justice two families have long been waiting for. The arrest of Dana Chandler
in the 2002 killings of Karen Hartness and Michael Cisco. You have a trial where she's found guilty. We, the jury,
find the defendant guilty of the crime of murder. And then the Kansas Supreme Court comes and says, "This is
prosecutorial misconduct, and it's so bad that we're going to go ahead and overturn her conviction. You have a new
trial. The jury is unable to reach a unanimous verdict." And now they've had a hung jury and they're going to try her
again. That just is almost unheard of. For the third time, Dana Chandler is back on trial. Opening statements today
is Chandler will represent herself in this case. I knew it was different. I just didn't know what was going to
happen. I could never predicted it. When officers talked to friends, family, co-workers, they all said the same
thing. You guys should look at Dana Chandler. The truth is that she murdered them. I did not kill Mike Cisco. I did
not kill Karen Hartness. I am an innocent woman. [Music] [Music] Dana Chandler has spent decades
maintaining her innocence against allegations she was responsible for the 2002 murders of her ex-husband Mike
Cisco and his girlfriend Karen Harkness. My uh liberty, my freedom is hanging in the balance. In 2025,
Chandler took on her own defense, representing herself in the third trial the state brought against her for the
murders. I wanted to understand what happened and why and and and actually know the truth of what happened. Haley
Seal is Dana Chandler and Mike Cisco's daughter. She and other family members of Mike and
Karen have spent decades grieving, searching for answers, and for justice. Hi Dana Harold D CBS News. 48 Hours
first started covering the murders in 2008 and spoke with individuals involved several times over the years. It's hard
to swallow and it's it's hard to believe. It's insane. For Haley, it all started on July 7th,
2002. She learned her father and Karen had been killed in Karen's Topeka, Kansas home. I immediately just saw a
bunch of tape around the house and police and my grandma was sitting in there and um she just told me that they
had been shot. The night before the murders, Mike and Karen 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 Karen alive. They were extremely happy. You could just see that. Karen's father,
Harold Warswick. Everything they did was for each other. The day after Mike and Karen's night out, a family get together
had been planned at Karen's house. Relatives thought the couple might be announcing they were engaged. and I rang
the doorbell and knocked on the glass and couldn't raise anybody. I thought, "This is strange." Karen's father, who
has since died, recalled that he entered Karen's home that afternoon through an open sliding door, didn't see any sign
of her or Mike. So, he headed downstairs to the bedroom. Just I got the foot of the stairs, I could see Karen, and I
said, "Oh, Christ." I knew she was dead. Then I found Mike on the outside of the
bed. Harold would then call 911. I've just located my daughter and she's downstairs and she's dead. I got a radio
call just after 2:00 on July 7th, 2002. Richard Voloy, now retired, was the Topeka Police Department's lead
detective on the case. It was a report of two dead bodies in a basement. Five bullets had struck 53-year-old
Karen, including in her back and buttocks. Mike, 47, suffered between five and seven gunshot wounds. The
couple had been in bed. The rest of the house appears 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 Karen
and Mike dead, police turn to their families for information. What we're left with is an emotional killing. It's
an emotional execution. Mike, a salesperson for a welding company, and Karen, who worked in the hospitality
industry, were both previously married and now divorced. The well-liked couple had been dating about four years. It was
a surprise to everybody that this would happen to somebody like her. Karen's children, Chad and Aaron, were in their
20s at the time of the murders. 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, that I would be the best mom in the world. Mike
had custody of his two children. Haley, then 17, and Dustin, 15. My dad was really in my life growing up. He was
really my hero. Haley's relationship with her dad was more complicated. I wasn't happy with my dad. I wasn't happy
with my mom. I wasn't happy at my school. By Haley's own admission, she was a difficult teenager. My dad gave me an
ultimatum. Either you follow my rules or you move out. choosing to live with her
then boyfriend Chris. I moved in with Chris and then my dad was killed. That defiance made Haley and Chris of
interest to police. They were polygraphed and questioned. I'm just curious. Is everything all right with
your dad and everything? Uh yeah, we weren't really getting along for a little while.
Authorities said their alibis checked out, as did the alibis of Karen's daughter, Aaron, and her husband, Jeff
Sutton. Karen's son, Chad, was also questioned. 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's ex-wife, Dana Chandler. She just she
never fit in. Kathy Boots, Mike's sister, watched Dana and Mike's relationship deteriorate. After 15 years
of marriage, the couple went through a bitter divorce, finalized in 1998. Mike's relatives say Dana had a drinking
problem, and she sporadically stalked Mike during and after the divorce with frequent calls and bizarre visits. 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. I think she became obsessed with the fact that Mike was moving on with his
life. Mark Boots, Mike's brother-in-law. Uh, and then when Karen entered the picture, that's when things really
started, I think, escalating. Mike kept track of some of the incidents from 1998 in a day planner, writing,
"July 28th, Dana stalking neighborhood at 8:30. Caught her. She left. November 12th, Dana came in house while I was at
Karen's from 7 to 11. Went through stuff. She was willing to travel great distances to show up back in his life."
According to the Boots, the last time Dana showed up at Mike's home was in the spring of 2002,
several months before the murders. Kathy said Mike told her Dana went there to talk about moving back in. 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." All this harassment and stalking had
come to the point that Mike told me that he and Karen now feared for their lives.
Mark says Mike made that clear to him on a fishing trip 9 days before the murders. He turned to me and said,
"Mark, you're going to wake up and find me dead, and I want you to know who did it, Dana Chandler." But Dana Chandler
lived 8 hours away in Denver, and there was no sign that she had been in Karen's
house in Topeka the night of the murders. 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 Cisco and Karen
Harkness as they lay in bed. Detective Richard Volley called Mike's ex-wife, Dana Chandler, to inform her of
Mike's murder. 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? Dana, Volley says, did not ask many questions and did not seem
concerned. She would later say she was very upset on that call, but only Volo'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. Hi, my name is Dana Chandler,
and I got a registered phone call last night. Someone had said that my son had been killed, and I'm just calling to to
see if that's true or not. Dana 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, Dana Chandler became the main suspect. Detective Volo decided to talk with
Chandler in person, recording this audio 4 days after the murders. Tell me about
what happened on 6. I got my hair, but again, there was an issue with the recording in most of the rest of the
conversation. Dana is difficult to hear. Detective Volo recounted what he said she told
him. She said she'd been at home uh Saturday morning, that's July 6th, and then made a couple of errand stops.
Dana said she bought cigarettes, snacks, and a car cigarette lighter at several stores around Denver and then got gas.
But Voy says she failed to mention one purchase he saw on a credit card receipt. She'd fought two 5gallon gas
cans as well. Voley 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 Volo, Dana had also
said after running those errands, she went home to her Denver apartment. Didn't have any visitors, no contact
with anybody. And the next day got up and went for a drive in the mountains at 10:00 in the morning.
But Voy couldn't verify that Dana was in her apartment the night of the murders,
nor that she took a drive in the mountains the next day. Voy said the area Dana described driving through
would have meant she'd have to pass Rocky Mountain National Park surveillance cameras. Those cameras were
checked. Volley said there was no sign of her car. The particular person that I had view that tape looked at every frame
slowly. She was never there. Investigators also reviewed Dana's cell phone records. They said that while she
tended to use her cell phone frequently, she oddly had no activity around the time of the murders. What we found was
there was a 27hour window where her phone wasn't used. Still, there was no DNA, no fingerprints, or other forensic
evidence to tie Dana 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 Dana would go on to say she didn't
even own a gun. But family members remained convinced that Dana was responsible for the
murders. They say they pushed to have a meeting with then DA Robert Hec, Tim Cisco, Mike's brother. I specifically
would 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.
Mike's and Karen's families grew increasingly frustrated and decided to take action, looking for more
information about Dana's possible involvement in the murders. I put her picture up everywhere. Have you seen
this person? Several months after the murders, having more questions than answers, Mike's sister Kathy said she
and their mom, Carol, went searching for clues, even lifting up manhole covers and looking in rest stops
for the gun used in the murders. 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 Haley, Dana and Mike's daughter, was
also working the case. I felt the need to do something. I didn't want to just sit back with my hands tied and
helpless. In 2005, 3 years after the murders, Haley began secretly recording conversations with her mother, trying to
learn what happened to her dad and Karen. 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. You know, number one, I didn't
do it. And number one, I number two, I don't know what happened. Haley, one thing Haley asked about was why her
mother had no cell phone activity for 27 hours around the time of the murders. Why did it have no call? It wasn't
known. you know, it could be trade. I was in the mountains. I didn't have a signal. Dana insisted she had nothing to
do with the murders, but did say she had violent thoughts about Mike. I said I could kill him. Ever think about killing
him? No. But I did. Honestly, they go over it with you. The official investigation though seems
stalled. So, authorities asked Vernon Girth, a homicide and forensic consultant and former New York City
Police Department detective, to review case files. In 2007, nearly 5 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 Girth 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 Dana Chandler. Did you know anything about the death of
Michael and Karen? I have no idea what happened to Michael. 48 hours ended the episode asking
viewers to contact police if they had any information. Again, the case seemed to be going nowhere. recon this morning.
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 Dana Chandler. One team come up this way, one team. With our cameras
rolling, laid eyes on her this morning. Law enforcement zeroed in on Dana 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.
Both hands out of the car. And on July 24th, 2011, Dana Chandler was in custody, charged with the murders of
Mike Cisco and Karen Hartness. I hit a point where I didn't know if justice would ever be served.
For Haley, who was convinced her mother killed her father, Dana's arrest was nearly a decade in the making. It was
such a feeling that I I it was unbelievable. She was determined to get justice as she
prepared to face Dana in court. I made it this far. I can do anything. All right. In March 2012, Dana Chandler
went on trial. Jackie Spradling, then chief deputy DA, began by referring to those conversations Haley had taped
years earlier with her mother. I could kill him. I thought about killing him. These are the words of this defendant
about her ex-husband, Mike Cisco. In her opening statement, Sprdling suggested a
possible motive for murder. 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. 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 Dana Chandler was all
speculation. show you that there is no evidence that places Dana Chandler in or near
the Harkness residence on July 6 or 7, 2002. But to authorities, there was the question about exactly where Dana was
during that time. Detective Voloy says she told him she was home Saturday, the night of the murders, and then drove
through the mountains the next day. But Dana's business acquaintance, Jeff Bailey, testified Dana told him
something different. That she slept in her car in the mountains the Saturday night of the murders. 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 Dana did not use her cell phone for 27 hours the weekend of the murders. Remember, Haley
accused her mother of trying to avoid being tracked. Volley found another instance when Dana didn't use her phone
a month before the murders. 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 Dana's dry
run for the killings. They called her friend Anne Carander to the stand. Carander says Dana told her she had
driven to Topeka. She had um gone to Mike's house um through the window. Um nobody was home. What else did she
tell you? That she had gone um and sat outside Karen's house. Sprdling says Dana was obsessed with
Mike and presented evidence that in the six months leading up to the murders, she called Mike and Karen more than 600
times. The defense argued Dana was calling to talk to her kids, but Haley remembered
her mother's calls differently. What was the thing that she talked to you the most about?
She talked about my dad a lot and um I I I really feel like she was was really just
obsessed with him. An FBI analyst testified Dana often called late at night and frequently made repeated calls
in a short time period, including a month before the murders. On June 3rd, she made 17 calls in 18 minutes. Both of
Dana's children testified for the prosecution, saying that their mother also had a history of stalking their
father. She took me and my sister uh with her to go spy on my dad. And so we were uh in the car and she told us, you
know, we're just going to be her little helpers. 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 I did. Okay. What was it that she was
looking at in there? Um, I think that she um was was thinking there was a a lady in there with my dad.
Haley also testified about those recordings she made talking with her mother. During one of them, Dana, who
attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, gave an explanation as to why she bought
those gas cans. 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 Sprdling told the jury that she believed Chandler used
those two 5gallon gas cans to have enough gas so she would not have to stop and potentially be seen near the crime
scene. But Chantloo's attorney argued there was no proof she was ever in Topeka during the time of the murders.
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 6th or July 7, 2002? No. The closest law enforcement was able to
come was here at a gas station in Wini, Kansas, nearly halfway between Denver and Topeka. Clerk Patty Williams wasn't
sure, but she thought she might have seen Dana the night of the murders. Patty was shown a picture of the
defendant, and Patty indicated that she was 70% 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 Dana was ever there. There wasn't any receipt from Walkini, was there? No. And Bennett
questioned whether Detective Volo investigated other suspects, like two men with criminal records who had stolen
checks from Mike Cisco and cashed one after the murders. That didn't make him a suspect. No, because the check wasn't
taken from Karen Harkness's house where the murders occurred. The check was actually taken from Mike Cisco'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. 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. Sprdling reminded the jury of Dana's
stalking behavior and tried to make sure they knew just how scared Mike was of Dana. She said Mike had gotten a
protection from abuse order against Dana. 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. Defendant would please stand. We the jury find the defendant guilty of
the crime of murder in the first degree is charged in count one. 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, Haley asked that her mom receive the maximum sentence. We each have a deep scar in
our souls from what this monster has done. But Chandler would also get a chance to speak. But most importantly, I
deny that I murdered Mike Karen. I am innocent. I did not murder Mike Karen. Dana Chandler was sentenced to life in
prison, but soon that verdict would be called into question. [Music] A lot of my mind has been focused on her
getting away with killing my dad and just drags me down. For years, Haley Seal's thoughts were consumed with
proving her mother killed her father, Mike Cisco, and Karen Harkness. With Dana Chandler in prison, Haley was
relieved she could concentrate on other things. But her relief was tinged with pain. I want to focus on my future and
what I want to do with my life. I want to be everything my mom wasn't. But Haley's focus would turn again to
the case. Dana Chandler almost immediately began filing motions as she worked to appeal her conviction.
She and her attorney cited, among other things, the actions of prosecutor Jackie
Sprdling. In particular, statements Bradling made at trial about that protection from abuse order. 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. And that is just a blatant misstatement. Stacy Schlimmer, one of Chandler's appeal attorneys, was
never able to find a protection from abuse order. 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 Jackie
Sprdling's actions constituted prosecutorial misconduct. I I think that Miss Chandler never had an opportunity
at a fair trial from the get- go. Schlimmer contended the case against Dana Chandler should be thrown out. The
court agreed. 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 Bradling made at trial also came up, including describing a route Dana took between
Kansas and Denver when there was no evidence that she drove that way. She drove directly up to Nebraska. And after
she gets on Nebraska, she turns around and goes home. They just kind of 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. We argued insufficiency of evidence as an issue
for appeal. Meaning, you don't think prosecutors had enough to make a legitimate case. Jurors didn't have
enough evidence before them if you took out all the evidence that should have never been presented or told to them
incorrectly. The Kansas Supreme Court described Jackie Sprdling's actions as quote
intolerable acts of deception and she was desparred. 48 Hours reached out to Sprdling but did
not receive a response. When a case gets reversed, like a case like this, we essentially have an innocent woman who's
been convicted of crime because of a prosecutor or we have a family that has now a reverse
conviction that has to go through the system again. Either way, there's an injustice, right? So, that conduct is
going to affect someone. The court did decide though there was sufficient evidence to retry Dana
Chandler if the district attorney chose to. When I found out that this Kansas Supreme Court overturned the verdict, it
was very shocking. What does this mean? Will the DA's office retry her? Were you angry with
the prosecutor who was cited for misconduct? No, I've never been angry with her. I think it was an
innocent mistake. Had Jackie not made those comments, we wouldn't be sitting here today. This would be over. Chad
Harkness, Karen's son, takes a different view of Jackie Sprradling's actions. Now, all these years later, we're still
having to, you know, live through this again. And it's just it's not right. It's not fair.
The decision whether to retry Dana Chandler was now in the hands of Shaun County's new DA Mike Kang. We analyzed
every aspect of the case and ultimately we came to the conclusion uh that we believed justice demanded that we move
forward and we pursue another trial. Pursuing that would take years. Dana Chandler remained incarcerated. She and
her defense lawyers argued she should be set free and fought against having another trial.
What were those years like? Unbelievable. For Haley, the delays seemed endless. Dana 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 Shauny County District Attorney's Office, and through it all, she fired several of her
lawyers. She went through seven lawyers in that time. between representing herself. There were
also dozens of hearings, including one where Haley was called to testify and Dana did the questioning. She took me on
the stand for at least 45 minutes and she directly questioned me. What was that like? 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. Not just the suspect in the killing of your dad, your own mother. Yeah. Yeah. I
mean it it it was awful. But Haley was willing to take whatever steps necessary to ensure her mother would stand trial
again for the murders. 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. My dad and his fianceé were shot and killed. Whoever it was that did this
hated these people. Three trials. Is my mom capable of killing my dad? And finally, a verdict. Your mom scares you?
Yeah. The 48 hours 2-hour season finale continues next and streaming on Paramount Plus.
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 Cisco and Karen Harkness. By
2021, the organization Miracle of Innocence got involved advocating for Dana. 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. Daryl 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 Dana Chandler. 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.
Dana 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 Cisco
and Karen Harkness. 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? I don't think it was 48 hour. 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 believed that Miss Chandler did this. It was the new prosecutor and it was the
family probably saying, "Hey, we need justice done in this." But Stacy Schlimmer, Dana's former
appeal attorney, does take issue with the handling of the 2011 arrest and the show of force.
You've seen Dana Chandler's arrest many times, right? And it bothers you. It bothers me a lot. 48 hours as well as
the Topeka Capital Journal were given advanced notice of the arrest by the office of then DA Chad Taylor.
Are you bothered by law enforcement or are you bothered by the fact that there were cameras there? I'm bothered by the
prosecutor. and then you and I will leave. I'm bothered by the district attorney showing up at an arrest and
having that arrest filmed. So, they wanted video of law enforcement with their guns out. 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 Dana Chandler. She
said she would only agree to an interview if CBS paid her million dollar bond. We declined.
Never thought we'd be sitting here again and getting ready to start a retrial on
this. It's just mind-blowing. Chad Harkness, Karen's son, was relieved the DA's office decided to retry Dana
Chandler, but was concerned about going through this yet another time. Just us kids having to
relive this again. And it just it makes me sick. Haley too was not looking forward to another trial, but said
testifying again could give her some control of the situation. 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 Haley with so much loss. loss she holds her mother responsible for.
And as a mom herself, having married her high school boyfriend, Chris, Haley's feelings are even more complicated.
When you think of your mom, do you think mother or do you think Dana? 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. No matter the name, Dana Chandler is
someone Haley will have to face again in court and someone who will eventually tell her side of the story. Start by
stating my name. My name is Daniel Chandler. I, as everyone know, have been accused of double homicide
and I am innocent. Next, my dad and his fianceé were shot and killed. Whoever it was that did this
hated these people. Three trials. Is my mom capable of killing my dad? And finally, a verdict. Your mom scares you.
Yeah. The 48 hours 2-hour season finale continues next and streaming on Paramount Plus.
[Music] They were found uh Sunday afternoon, July 7th. My dad and his fianceé Karen were shot
and killed in their beds. I was 17 and my brother was 15. And there was just shock.
The killer made it downstairs, shot Karen Harkness multiple times, shot Mike Cisco multiple times. Whoever it was
that did this hated these people. The only person that hated them was my mom. Dana, what should people understand
about the fact that you, Dana Chandler's daughter, thinks Dana Chandler killed your father? I do have a mind of my own.
And I'm not biased in this situation. I don't want it to be her. I want the truth to come out. I wanted to help the
police. So, I started to record my conversations with her. 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. You know, number one, I didn't do it. And number one, I number two, I don't know what happened. Did you
know anything about the death of Michael and Karen? I have no idea what happened
to Michael. I hit a point where I didn't know if justice would ever be served. both hands out of the car.
I needed justice for my dad and for Karen. We the jury find the defendant guilty of the crime of murder in the
first degree. 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. And then the Kansas
Supreme Court comes and says, "This is prosecutorial misconduct. We're going to go ahead and overturn her conviction.
You have a new trial. My liberty, my freedom is hanging in the balance." If she could bring out
something to prove she didn't do it, that's for her and her own freedom. But she can't and she hasn't. I did not kill
Mike Cisco. She would not hesitate to get revenge on me. I did not kill Karen Hartness. I know the truth. I am an
innocent woman. The truth is that she murdered them. She scares me. Your mom scares you.
Yeah. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] I wanted to understand what happened and why and actually know the truth of what
happened. For two decades, Haley Seal has been waiting for justice in the murders of
her father, Mike Cisco, and his girlfriend, Karen Harkness. This hasn't been resolved.
In 2002, multiple bullets struck 53-year-old Karen and 47year-old Mike as they lay in bed in Karen's Kansas home.
Authorities believed it was a crime of passion as the rest of the house seemed undisturbed with money and jewelry left
behind. And Haley believed it was her mother, Dana Chandler, who was responsible. The truth is that she was
in Karen's house on July 7th in the middle of the night with a gun and she shot them both multiple times
and she murdered them. I hate that that's the truth, but it is the truth. I've never seen a case like
this. Daryl Burton is co-founder of Miracle of Innocence, an organization that paid for Dana Chandler's lawyers
and supports individuals it believes are wrongfully convicted. No DNA, no fingerprints, no confession, no weapon.
It just doesn't add up. In the summer of 2022, Dana Chandler was on trial for the
second time for the murders of Mike Cisco and Karen Harkness. As in her first trial, the defense focused on all
that was lacking in the case against Chandler. 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 Dana
Chandler was in Colorado at the time of the murders, more than 500 miles away, and faulted investigators for zeroing in
on her. Everything they looked at, everything they examined excluded Dana. The lack of physical evidence was
acknowledged by Shaunie County Deputy District Attorney Charles Kit. Science is not going to solve this case.
This case is not based on DNA. This Instead, the state focused on evidence such as Dana's hatred of her ex-husband
and his girlfriend. 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 Dana made to Karen and Mike in the 6 months before
the murders. And they introduced witnesses who said Mike and Karen told them some of those calls were menacing.
Yes, Karen's coworker, Kim Warren. And she said she had been up all night receiving phone calls from Dana. She
told you she was afraid? Very afraid. Erin Sutton also testified that her mother, Karen Harkness, was scared of
Dana. She spoke about messages she said she heard that Dana left on her mother's
phone. She would call my mom horrible names. And like what kind of names would she
call her? he would call her a [ __ ] In addition to testimony about calls Dana 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 believe Dana 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 Cell phone service in
Colorado. Prosecutors told the jury about a purchase Dana made the day before the
murders, but failed to mention to investigators. Kit asked Richard Voloy, the lead detective on the case, about
the purchase. Can you tell us what that is? This is an AutoZone receipt. It shows the p first two purchases were
$5 or 5 gallon gas cans. Authorities wondered why Dana 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 Dana Chandler's alibi. According to detective Voy, a changing, unconfirmable one. One
witness testified that Dana said she was in the mountains in Colorado at the time
of the murders, but Detective Voley testified Chandler told him she was at home in her Denver apartment. Uh, she
said she'd stayed at her house, had no guests or phone calls, and that she turned in about 9:00. A friend of Dana's
testified about something authorities thought might have been a dry run for the murders. She said about a month
before the killings, Dana called and told her about a trip she made to Mike's home. 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. Did she tell you what she did
when she uh got into Mike's house? She wanted to see what it looked like on the inside,
but Dana's attorney questioned the reliability of her testimony, pointing out she may have gotten some dates wrong
regarding calls with Dana. It must not have been a Monday. Okay. But 20 years ago, you said it was a
Monday, right? Sure. Testimony about Chandler's behavior also came from Kathy Boots, Mike's sister. She described an
incident several years before the murders that she said she witnessed while staying at Mike's house. 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's brother-in-law, Mark Boots, recounted a disturbing conversation he said he had with Mike 9 days before the
murders. Mike told me that the patterns of harassment had increased and that he feared for he and Karen's lives.
Mike and Dana's daughter, Haley, was going to be in the uncomfortable position of testifying against her
mother. And who is Damon Chandler to you? She's my mom. I was absolutely still nervous and and
scared being up there. It causes conflict. As Haley Seal reflected back on testifying against her mother, Dana
Chandler, she recalled the stress she was under. As a prosecution witness, Haley was asked to describe some of her
mother's behavior. behavior Haley said she found obsessive. Was there a time where you were asked to spy on your dad?
Yeah. Haley recounted an incident after her parents split up when she said Dana drove her and her brother to Mike's home
and they all sat in the car to watch the house. She said, "Come on, we need to watch your dad. 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. Did she look in the windows? 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
Haley early on to think her mother could be responsible for the murders. 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. Haley
testified about some of the ways her mother expressed that dislike of her father, like the demeaning ways Dana
referred to him in emails and online chats. Yeah. including ones where Dana referred to Mike as it sent when Haley
was 14 years old. Did she call him manipulative and deceiving? Yes. Uh and then calls him a rapist. Yeah. And just
a couple of lines down. I hate his guts. Yeah. Are those things that you want to
type to you? Yes. Nobody can say that you were in Colorado that weekend. Also played in court were
those conversations Haley secretly recorded with her mom as she tried to learn more about Dana's possible
involvement in the murders. 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." 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 Haley was a conversation played in court where Dana said she had
thought about killing Mike. Ever think about killing him? No, but I did. In one of those discussions, Haley
asked her mother about why she bought those two gas cans, which authorities thought could have been used to help
drive round trip from Denver to Topeka without stopping in Kansas for fuel. Dana, who'd been a problem drinker,
explained she bought them for someone else, a woman she met at AA. 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 Haley if she was able to learn anything more
about that woman from Dana. She wouldn't tell you who that person was. No, she didn't. But Dana'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 Dana to drive round trip 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 lawyer said Dana 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. Israel Military Industries. That's the manufacturer. Dana's attorney questioned a firearm examiner who had
worked with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation about those bullets. Is that a bullet
you would ammunition you typically see? 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. Could that ammo have been
brought into Kansas and sold at a gun show? Yes, sir. Could have been exchanged by individuals. Yes, sir.
There were other parts of the investigation that the defense argued supported its case. There was forensic
work it said eliminated Dana Chandler. Unidentified fingerprints found at the house did not match Chandler. None of
Dana's DNA was found at the murder scene, nor were any fibers found from her clothing or any of her hair. I did
not find any hairs that were consistent with the known samples coming from Miss Chandler. In 20 years, the state had no
evidence, no evidence whatsoever that placed Dana Chandler in Karen Harkness's home, in the city of Topeka, or from the
state of Kansas. After 3 weeks of testimony, that lack of physical evidence would be the defense's theme in
its closing argument. Each and every time they tested something, it excluded Dana. From the beginning, I told you
this case is about obsession, jealousy, rage. The state focused on Dana's behavior, her calls, emails, and her own
family's testimony against her. The defendant clearly hated Karen and my words from her own mouth and her own
fingers typing those messages. 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 August 25th, 2022, the case went to the jury and Haley was
waiting for a verdict. I've really tried to trust the process as I knew I didn't
have any control over it. So, it was going to be what it was going to be. But the wait to find out what the verdict
would be was a long one. [Laughter] When you retire to the jury room, you will first select one of your members as
presiding juror. The person selected will preside over your the case in the second trial of Dana Chandler for the
murders of Mike Cisco and Karen Harkness went to the jury on August 25th, 2022. [Music]
That day came and went, as did several more. Members of the jury, would you like to
recess for the day? Yes, we would like. After about 4 days, I started to get nervous and think, "Wow, this actually
could not come back in a guilty verdict." And I started to think about 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. Members of the gallery, I would ask that you just please refrain from any
outbursts at After 6 days of deliberating, Dana Chandler would learn her fate. I understand that the jury is
unable to reach a unanimous verdict at this time. Is that correct? That is correct. The jury informed the judge
they were deadlocked. You're hung at this time. Is that correct? There were seven votes to convict and five to
acquit. We did what we could with what we had. Ben Alfred and Carrie Kimes were two
members of the jury who voted to find Chandler not guilty. 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. The science is not going to solve this case. Everything that was tested for DNA proved
inconclusive, and that's pretty remarkable. But for juror Randy Edwards, the state's depiction of Dana Chandler's
behavior was persuasive evidence. She was beyond upset. She was obsessed. He also found those conversations Haley
recorded with her mother to be convincing and voted to convict. Ever think about killing it? No, but I did
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. There was a split verdict, but the majority of the
jury was in favor of a conviction and that was meaningful. DA Mike Kay decided to retry Dana Chandler. The next issue
that we have before the court is a motion to modify bond. Her lawyers convinced the court to reduce her bond,
which allowed her to be released with supervision as she awaited the next trial. The court is going to direct that
she have GPS monitoring. Welcome home. Welcome home, Dana. After spending more than a decade
incarcerated, Dana Chandler celebrated her freedom with Daryl Burton and Miracle of Innocence. Anybody who's
getting out of prison after you've been in prison for any length of time, it is.
It's a joyouish occasion. You're happy that someone's been released and you, you know, also feel like, well, maybe
it's a good chance that, you know, we can, you know, mount a defense, you know, and get her totally acquitted. As
a condition of her release, Dana was not allowed to contact her children. Still,
Haley worried about her safety. She is married to Chris Seal, her high school boyfriend, and is a mother of three. I'm
scared to death that she's going to hurt me or she's going to affect my kids in some way. Hayy's fear only grew when
Dana made this 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 Haley's children. Haley says Dana somehow learned which
church she attended and downloaded a live stream of a service to create the photos. It was chilling and it was
disturbing. I feel like it was a direct message to me. And what was the message?
Intimidation. I don't care about your boundaries. Her belief that her mother committed the
murders remains unwavering and she says disturbing. She's my mom, but if you're my mom, why
would you do that to to my dad? For your kid's sake, maybe 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 Haley thoughts of a third
trial. What are your expectations for yet again another trial? Uh this time I'm not as confident.
For trial number three, jurors would be from Pawatami County, Kansas. The defense requested a change of venue and
the judge agreed, citing excessive media coverage. It would take place in West Morland, a
smaller, more rural area 60 mi away from the last setting in Topeka. July 7th, 2002 was going to be a good
day. Mike Cisco, Karen Hartness had been in a relationship for a few years. The trial got underway with opening
statements on February 7th, 2025. One name just kept coming up. Dana Chandler. Charles Kit was back
retrying the case, joined by prosecutor Dan Dunar. Judge Cheryl Rios again presided.
And in a lastm minute change on the morning of opening statements, Dana Chandler dismissed her defense
attorneys. My name is Dana Chandler. And Dana Chandler decided the best person to
represent her was herself. I am innocent. I did not kill Mike and Karen. I think this case is a character
assassination. [Music] In February 2025, Dana Chandler was on trial for the third time for the murders
of Mike Cisco and Karen Harkness. But this time she was representing herself. 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, Haley Seal testified. Good afternoon. Hi. Can you please tell a jury your name? Um, Haley Seal. Haley
was asked again by the prosecution about her mother's inappropriate behavior. What sort of things would she say about
Karen? She called her a home wrecker. Um, a [ __ ] Very bad names. Prosecutors were
also interested in an incident when Dana Chandler drove Haley and her brother to
drop them off at Karen's house. We waited there for a really long time in the car. Then my dad and Karen got there
and my mom got out and yelled at them and just was very angry with my dad. Haley, I don't have any further
questions. Thank you. When it was time to be cross-examined, Haley knew it would now be her mother doing the
questioning. really the seal. 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 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. Dana Chandler challenged Haley about her description of that drop off at Karen's.
Chandler said it was Haley's father, Mike, who was behaving badly, not her. When your dad Karen drove up, your dad
stormed over to the car. Oh, no. No, he did not. And he started banging on the window. What? No. No, he did not. I was
inside that car and my dad absolutely did not bang on the windows. And I didn't get out of I never got out of the
car. You were the first one out of the car. 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
could 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. And I did tell you that I was I
realized that I had a problem with alcohol. You did tell me you had a problem with alcohol. Something Dana
said she stopped by 1999, three years before the murders. I told you I was going to three AA meetings a
day trying to get well. True. I knew you were trying to get well. Yes. The state
questioned though if becoming sober changed Chandler's behavior. When she came back clean and sober, did that
change how she treated you? No. Did it Did it change how she talked about your dad?
No. Did it change how she talked about Karen? No. Do you swear the testimony you're out in
this case with the truth? The whole truth. doing things. Dana 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. But I
feel like that I need to kind of tell my story to kind of put things in perspective.
She testified over 7 days. You have not seen evidence that I was in Topeka, Kansas on July 7th of 2002.
speaking for about 20 hours. I kind of like to review a little where I left off. There was times when she would take
so long to try to get her point across. Dana Chandler's supporter Daryl Burton was concerned when she put herself on
the stand and sometime it seemed as though she was just rambling, you know, and that was just unfortunate. She may
have knew, she probably knew where she was trying to go, but she'd get lost. But I continued drinking. She again
addressed issues such as her drinking and inappropriate conversations with Haley. I was writing emails with
drinking the blackout. I'd get up the next morning and not even remember those emails. I had a serious problem and
horrible things I said about Karen spreading her legs. I mean, seriously, Haley was 14 years old.
I am just so ashamed and embarrassed about that. And I hate it that Haley that I put Haley through that. And
Chandler in her own testimony addressed again that incident when she waited outside Karen's house to drop off Haley
and Dustin with the couple. She said it was done out of necessity. I yelled through the window I could not afford to
feed Haley 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 Haley and Dustin.
This video was taken about 9 months into my recovery. Dana also disputed making frequent harassing calls to Karen and
Mike, saying when she called, there was a reason. I was calling to speak with my
children, Haley and Dustin. As to her having disagreements with Karen Harkness, she testified there were none.
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 Volley, she asked about whether
police were too focused on her and should have been looking more thoroughly at other possible suspects. Did you or
did you not receive any leads for other suspects besides me? 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 can keep focusing on them like we did
with you. Chandler though said there was an area where she felt law enforcement thoroughly investigated whether she
bought a 9mm gun like the one used in the murders and they came up emptyhanded. I've never owned, purchased
or possessed a 9 mm fire. And throughout her defense, Dana Chandler was adamant that at the time of
the murders, she was in Colorado and no one could place her in Karen's house or even in Kansas.
[Music] It seemed like a simple question Dana Chandler was asking Detective Volley.
Did you ever develop any information that I was into beating Kansas on July 6th or 7th of 2002? But in answering
that question, Volo said there was a woman named Patty Williams who may have spotted Chandler in the state of Kansas
around the time of the murders. What do you know about Patty Williams? She was a
clerk at a convenience store in Wini, Kansas. The gas station convenience store in Wini, 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 this
photo of Dana. She was seven out of 10 that it was you. According to Volo, the clerk was 70% sure she had seen Dana
Chandler and described some distinguishing features. She has 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
Volley did do when he went to the gas station about 2 weeks later. We later later went out with a what we call
sixback photo. It's six photographs of people that look very similar and amongst those photos was Miss Chandler.
Volo said Patty Williams immediately picked out Chandler and again was 70% sure she saw her there, but Voloy
acknowledged using an array initially would have been better. There was still for law enforcement the
issue regarding Dana Chandler's alibi. Remember, Voloy said Dana 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. I was confused. Dana Chandler told the jury she had been confused when she spoke
with Volo, but prosecutor Kit was not accepting that explanation. So, what you told Detective Bolley is not consistent
with what you told Jeff Bailey, is it? Uh, as far as my trip to Miss Chandler, it's not consistent with that part.
Okay. Yeah, I would agree with that. Um, I would that's true. Have you seen that
document before? Once again, those secret recordings Haley made with her mother were played in court. Ever think
about it? No, but I did. This time, Kit questioned Dana herself about its authenticity. Was that your voice
saying, "Did you ever think about killing him?" I did. It sounds like it is. When it was time for the final
witness, Dana 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 attentive mother, it was because of her
drinking and a lack of money, not a lack of love. I absolutely did want to have a
relationship with my children. You know, I think the financial the substance abuse combination um it
just wasn't feasible. That's all I have. Thank you, Mr. uh during this time that you
couldn't afford to feed your children, you were buying booze, correct? I was. You're buying enough alcohol to get
blackout drunk. I was. Okay. Thank you for the questions. And with that, after 18 days of
testimony, prosecutor Charles Kit and Dana Chandler presented their closing arguments.
Why are Mike and Karen dead? And the evidence shows one simple answer. control. I think Kit nailed it when he
said it was about control. The state described Chandler losing control of Mike as he planned his future with Karen
and the rage that followed. And that's what led to the defendant traveling to Topeka, Kansas on July 6th and murdering
them on July 7th. Kit spoke about Chandler's depiction of events not lining up with the testimony of others.
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 Dana Chandler's closing, she used a scam to make her point that prosecutors, whom
she called her accusers, did not have enough evidence to tip it in their favor. the
um the accusers must uh tip the scale here. I'm innocent. I have 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. The state has wolffully failed to meet its burden to prove
beyond a reasonable doubt that I killed Mike Cisco or Karen Harkness. About 4 hours later, the jury delivered
its verdict. We the jury find Dana Chandler guilty of murder in the first degree as charged in
count one. Verdict form guilty of the murders of Mike Cisco and Karen Harkness. After hearing the verdict, Dana Chandler
turned away. And while it was the verdict Haley hoped for, the end result is nothing she ever wanted. 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. I don't believe that they have proved this
case beyond a reasonable doubt. Chandler's supporter Daryl Burton remains undeterred. He still believes
she is innocent. The evidence just doesn't, you know, prove that she's guilty of anything.
Dana Chandler is filing motions for an appeal. 48 Hours reached out to Chandler again for this episode, but did not
receive a response. I am very confident in this verdict. District Attorney Mike Kge is certain the jury convicted the
right person. I have every confidence in my prosecutors and how they handled this
case. 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 Cisco and Karen Harkness were
murdered and Haley wants to make sure the lives lost are not forgotten. I was trying to tell my daughter about
who my dad is 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 him a lot. [Music]
I can only describe it as evil. Something horrible from 48 hours. This is Train to Kill the Dog Trainer, the
Aerys, and the Bodyguard. He couldn't control his obsession. Who was the hunter and who was the hunted? Follow
and listen on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. [Music]

A courtroom drama brings unsettling answers to a daughter who suspects her mother of a double murder. CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod reports for "48 Hours."

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Dana Chandler faces trial for the 2002 murders of her ex-husband and his girlfriend, with her daughter believing she is guilty.

Key points

Trial Begins. Dana Chandler represents herself in a high-profile murder trial.
Haley's Quest for Justice. Haley Chandler seeks the truth about her father's murder.
Dana Chandler's Arrest. After years of investigation, Dana Chandler is arrested for the murders.
Verdict Reached. The jury finds Dana Chandler guilty of first-degree murder after a lengthy trial.
Haley's Struggle. Haley Seal grapples with her mother's guilt and her own feelings of fear and betrayal.
Miracle of Innocence. The organization advocates for Dana Chandler, believing in her innocence despite the charges.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

The truth is that she murdered them.

Haley confronts the reality of her mother's guilt.

2:57WatchJun 19, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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