Shivangi Sinha
In July 2002, Mike Sisco and his fiancée, Karen Harkness, were discovered shot to death in the basement bedroom of their home in Topeka, Kansas. They had been shot 11 times, and since nothing of value was taken from the house, investigators quickly ruled out a burglary and believed the murders were driven by a personal motive. In 2011, authorities charged Dana Chandler—Mike’s ex-wife and the mother of his two children—with the crime. The episode of NBC’s ‘Dateline’ titled ‘Deadly Obsession’ provides a detailed timeline of the case and delves into the complex legal proceedings, which ultimately spanned three separate trials.
Dana Chandler Became a Murder Suspect on the Basis of Her Prior Conduct
Dana Chandler married Mike Sisco in 1982, and the couple began their life together in Topeka, Kansas. They went on to have two children, Hailey and Dustin Sisco, and it appeared that they were leading a content and stable life for several years. However, by the 1990s, tensions began to emerge in their marriage. In 1994, the couple filed for divorce, but the process proved to be difficult and contentious, especially due to disputes over custody of their children. The divorce was finalized in 1998, with the court awarding primary custody to Mike. Dana was granted daily phone calls with the children—facilitated by their father—and allowed occasional in-person visits. Additionally, she was ordered to pay child support.
After the separation, Dana relocated to Denver, Colorado, which was approximately 550 miles away from where Mike and their children lived. During this time, Mike had begun a relationship with a woman named Karen Harkness, and by July 2002, the two were reportedly planning to get married after four years of being together. On July 7, Karen’s parents visited the couple’s home, hoping to hear the exciting news of their official engagement announcement. Instead, they were met with a horrifying scene—both Mike and Karen were found dead in their basement bedroom. Mike had been shot seven times and Karen five times. When the police arrived at the scene, they quickly determined that none of the valuables in the house were missing, leading them to rule out robbery and suspect that the motive was personal.
The police then spoke with family members— including Hailey and Dustin— and several of them expressed their suspicions about Dana. They alleged that she had a history of breaking into Mike’s home, and investigators found journal entries written by the latter dated July 28 and November 12, 1998, in which he had reportedly documented these incidents. Family members also claimed that Dana regularly harassed Mike over the phone, calling him multiple times a day. They also alleged that she had been visibly upset upon learning that he planned to marry Karen. When questioned by authorities, Dana provided an alibi and stated that she had spent part of the weekend alone at her apartment and the rest hiking in the Colorado mountains.
The Police Found a Lot of Circumstantial Evidence Against Dana Chandler
However, when the police reviewed surveillance footage from Rocky Mountain National Park, they found no evidence that Dana Chandler had entered or exited the area. Investigators also focused on a critical 27-hour window between July 6 and July 7, during which they were unable to account for her whereabouts — the same timeframe when the murders were believed to have occurred. During this period, Dana did not make any credit card transactions, and she also failed to mention to detectives that she had purchased five gallons of gas on July 6. The police suspected that she had used the gas to travel to Kanas and wanted to avoid being seen at any gas station.
Her activity was next traced on July 7 in Loveland, Colorado, where she was seen buying gas and shopping for new clothes at Walmart, raising further suspicion. The police suspected that Dana had stocked up on supplies for a road trip and traveled from Denver to Topeka on the night of July 6, 2002. Investigators claimed they had found a truck stop clerk named Patty Williams, who was “70 percent certain” that Dana had stopped there on the night of the murders. However, Patty passed away in 2006 before she could testify in court.
Authorities alleged that jealousy was the motive behind the killings. But despite the suspicions, no physical evidence directly linked Dana to the crime scene, which caused the case to stall for several years. In the meantime, Hailey Sisco attempted to speak with her mother while secretly recording the conversations in hopes of eliciting a confession. In a later interview, she admitted that the more she spoke to her mother, the more convinced she became that Dana was indeed responsible for the murders.
Dana Chandler is in Jail Awaiting Her Sentencing Today
Although police were unable to uncover any scientific or physical evidence tying Dana Chandler to the crime scene, they reexamined the circumstantial evidence and decided to move forward with prosecution. In 2011, Dana was arrested in Oklahoma, where she had been living with her sister. Her trial took place in 2012, during which both of her children testified against her. She was ultimately convicted on two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 100 years. However, in 2016, her defense attorneys filed an appeal, citing prosecutorial misconduct by Jacqie Spradling, who had led the case.
Spradling falsely told the jury that Mike Sisco had taken out a restraining order against Dana—something that was later proven to be completely untrue. In combination with the other allegations against her, Spradling was later disbarred. Dana’s convictions were overturned in 2018, and she was granted a new trial due to the prosecutorial misconduct in her original case. In 2022, the same circumstantial evidence was brought forward, but this time, the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict, resulting in a hung jury.
Dana was subsequently released on bond while awaiting a third trial, and she had to abide by some conditions. She went on to live with her nephew in Olathe, Kansas, for the time being. Her defense team was also able to reach an agreement to move the venue to Pottawatomie County for a fairer process. Her third trial began in February 2025 and concluded in March 2025, when she was once again found guilty of two counts of murder. Her sentencing is scheduled for June 2025. Until then, Dana remains in custody at the Shawnee County Adult Detention in Topeka, Kansas, and is currently working with a criminal defense attorney to file appeals in an effort to challenge the latest verdict.
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