CRIME HUNTER: Did scorned ex-wife murder hubby and new gal pal?

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Contentious divorces or custody battles can trigger paranoia in anyone.

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.

***

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Result? Hung jury.

Chandler was granted bail and a change of venue.

***

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun