Chandler Michael Halderson (born March 15, 1998) is an American criminal who

murdered Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excu ...

and

dismembered Dismemberment is the act of completely disconnecting and/or removing the limbs, skin, and/or organs from a living or dead being. It has been practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, especially in connection with regicid ...

his parents, Bart and Krista Halderson, in

Dane County Dane County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin after Milwaukee County, Wiscon ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, in July 2021. He reported both of his parents missing on July 7, and while being questioned on July 8, authorities found a

mutilated Mutilation or maiming (from the ) is severe damage to the body that has a subsequent harmful effect on an individual's quality of life. In the modern era, the term has an overwhelmingly negative connotation, referring to alterations that rend ...

torso The torso or trunk is an anatomical terminology, anatomical term for the central part, or the core (anatomy), core, of the body (biology), body of many animals (including human beings), from which the head, neck, limb (anatomy), limbs, tail an ...

with several bullet wounds in the woods near a home Chandler was reported to have visited. The remains were determined to be those of Bart Halderson. A week later on July 14, a pair of dismembered legs, identified as Krista Halderson, were found near the

Wisconsin River The Wisconsin River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, at approximately 430 miles (692 km) long. As a tributary of the Mississippi River, it is part of the Mississippi River System. The river's name was first recorded in 1673 b ...

, a spot Chandler often visited. Chandler was initially arrested for lying to detectives, but he would subsequently be charged for killing and dismembering his parents.

Trial

Chandler Halderson was charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, providing false information on missing persons, mutilating a corpse, and hiding a corpse. Halderson entered a

plea In law, a plea is a defendant's response to a criminal charge. A defendant may plead guilty or not guilty. Depending on jurisdiction, additional pleas may be available, including '' nolo contendere'' (no contest), no case to answer (in the ...

of not guilty, and went to trial in January 2022, with opening statements starting on January 4. Prosecutors argued that Chandler murdered his parents after they discovered that he was lying about various aspects of his life. Chandler had stated numerous times that he was attending

Madison Area Technical College Madison Area Technical College, or simply Madison College or MATC, is a public technical college in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It serves students in south-central Wisconsin and is part of the Wisconsin Technical College System. The co ...

, was an employee with the local branch of

American Family Insurance American Family Mutual Insurance Company, also abbreviated as AmFam, is an American private mutual company that focuses on property, casualty, and auto insurance, and also offers commercial insurance, life, health, and homeowners coverage ...

, and was planning to move to Titusville,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, with his girlfriend Cathryn Mellender, where he would be working at

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an America, American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase, Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. Since its founding in 2002, the compa ...

. They further argued that after confronting Chandler about his not making any money, Bart called Madison College, and that in the course of that call he learned that Chandler was not actually enrolled at the school. They alleged that on a day when Bart planned to attend a meeting with Chandler at MATC, Chandler shot him in the back with a high-powered rifle gifted to him by a friend, and that he then texted his mother Krista, whom he also killed when she came home. He then dismembered their bodies and scattered the pieces throughout southern Wisconsin. On July 7, Chandler reported to the authorities that his parents had left for their cabin in Langlade County, Wisconsin, with another unknown couple but had never arrived. On July 8, during a search of a property associated with Cathryn Mellender and recently visited by Chandler, investigators discovered human remains, which they identified as Bart Halderson. On the same property, some time later but before the trial, a rifle confirmed to have belonged to Chandler was discovered. On July 14 in Roxbury, Wisconsin, in an area Chandler was known to frequent, additional remains were found and identified as belonging to Krista Halderson. Her specific cause of death couldn't be determined, as the only remains found were her legs. On July 8, Chandler was arrested and charged with the murder of his parents. Halderson was convicted on all charges and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Thursday, March 17, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halderson, Chandler 1998 births Criminals from Wisconsin American people convicted of murder People from Windsor, Wisconsin Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Wisconsin 21st-century American criminals Living people Parricides

Trial

Further reading

References