Dana Chandler Was Tried Three Times for the Murders of Two People — How Is That Possible?

An arrest was made exactly nine years after Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness were murdered in their Topeka, Kansas home in July 2002. According to CBS News, around six law enforcement officials surrounded the vehicle of then-51-year-old Dana Chandler, who lived in Duncan, Okla., guns drawn. It was the summer of 2011, and Chandler was being accused of murdering her ex-husband and his fiancée. Chandler was taken into custody in the parking lot of an Arby's.

The Shawnee County District Attorney's Office, Kansas Bureau of Investigations, Topeka Police Department, and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations worked tirelessly to execute this arrest perfectly. So many people, including Chandler's own children, believed she did it, yet no charges were brought against her until that blistering day in Oklahoma. Where is Dana Chandler now? Here's what we know.

Chandler was first convicted in 2012 and was sentenced to 100 years in prison, but this was overturned in 2018 by the Kansas Supreme Court because the prosecutor lied to the jury. Jacqueline J. Spradling was then disbarred from practicing law in May 2022 for "unethical misconduct," per KSNT.

In February 2025, Chandler's third trial began, but this one was also plagued with issues. She fired her defense attorneys prior to the proceedings and opted to represent herself. On a personal note, two of Chandler's sisters got into a car accident while traveling to the trial. One was seriously injured, and the other, 74-year-old Marsa Chandler, died at a hospital following the crash. A few weeks later, Chandler was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder.

Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay told KSNT that Chandler is scheduled to be sentenced on June 2, 2025. "This case demonstrates our commitment to justice," said Kagay during a press conference following the verdict. "We fight for the truth and stand with victims’ families no matter how long it takes."

Chandler claimed she was in Colorado at the time of the shooting, but it was later revealed that 27 hours were unaccounted for, when no one knew where she was. Police also discovered that the day before the murders, Chandler purchased two 5-gallon gas tanks. There was little physical evidence connecting Chandler to the crime, but the prosecution laid out a defense that described her as a jealous, bitter ex-wife, per the New York Post.

Phone records indicated that in the months leading up to their deaths, Chandler called Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness 700 times. "This case is about jealousy of Mike Sisco," said prosecutor Charles Kitt, "jealousy that Mike Sisco was able to move on with his life."

In Chandler's second trial, Harkness's neighbor testified that after hearing gunshots, they saw her near their home the night of the murders, per CBS News. Sisco and Harkenss were each shot multiple times with a 9 mm weapon.