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More than two decades after Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness were found dead, Dana Chandler, the woman who was the main suspect in their murder, has been put on the stand once again. The Kansas couple was found dead in 2002, and after two decades of search for the killer and three criminal trials later, some headway could be made into the case, and this will be explored in tomorrow's Dateline episode.
On March 7, 2025, a Pottawatomie Co. jury found Chandler guilty in the 2002 double homicide of her ex-husband, Mike Sisco, and his fiancée, Karen. This recent trial was her third trial in relation to the case. Chandler has been charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Michael Sisco and Karen Harkness, and is currently awaiting her sentencing.
Who is Dana Chandler, and what did she do? Where is Chandler now?
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Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness were found shot to death in their bedroom in the couple's southwest Topeka home in July 2002. Dana Chandler, Mike's ex, was arrested in 2011 in relation to the case and was convicted in 2012.
However, the Kansas Supreme Court later overturned this conviction on grounds of prosecutorial misconduct. Chandler got her second trial in 2022, which ended with a hung jury. Recently, on March 7, 2025, she got her third trial, and she was found guilty.
Chandler defended herself during the trial, and she was questioned by prosecutors, who called in their final witness that day, a psychologist who diagnosed Chandler with significant depression and histrionic personality disorder in 1998.
Although Dana has been found guilty, her sentencing is scheduled for a later date on June 3, 2025. Before a sentence is passed convicting Chandler for double murder, the judge overseeing the case has agreed to help Chandler find an attorney who would help her file a request for a new trial.
A motion hearing for Dana has been scheduled for April 16, 2025, and will be held at the Shawnee Co. Courthouse. Dana Chandler now awaits her sentencing, which is scheduled for June 3, 2025.
What happened to Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness?
Mike Sisco was married to Dana Chandler for several years, and the couple had two children together before their marriage turned sour in the 1990s. They decided to get a divorce, which turned out to be a tedious four-year affair with the court awarding Sisco full custody of the children and ordering Chandler to pay child support.
Sisco then began dating Karen Harkness, but Chandler continued to be obsessed with him and made frequent calls to him. In the spring of 2002, she even broke into the couple's house.
On July 6, 2002, Sisco and Harkness had gone to the Sac and Fox Casino and according to video surveillance, the couple had gambled and eaten dinner there. On their way back home the next day, they stopped for coffee at a gas station at 1 AM.
When Harkness’ parents and a couple of their friends showed up at the couple's house on July 7, 2002, they noticed the garage door was ajar and Sisco’s SUV was parked in the driveway.
They went around the house and found that the sliding glass back door was open. Harold Worswick, Harkness’ father, entered the house and began looking for Mike and Karen. He found both Harkness and Sisco in the basement, naked and dead. They had been shot to death 12 times.
Catch the new Dateline episode tomorrow for more about the case.
