Wisconsin man killed and dismembered his parents after they discovered a ‘web of lies’ about his job
Wisconsin man charged with spinning an e-mail “amazing web of lies,” including a job offer from Elon Musk’s aerospace firm, has been found guilty of all charges by a jury and now faces a life sentence.
A verdict was delivered against Chandler Halderson (23 years old) in Madison County Circuit Court. The charges against Chandler Halderson include first-degree intentional killing, concealing a corpse, and mutilating it.
Halderson was charged with killing and dismembering his parents – Bart and Krista Halderson, 50 and 53 – last year. He had reported them missing on July 7, saying they hadn’t returned home from a weekend trip to their vacation cabin.
According to the Haldersons, the violence began after they discovered that their son had been lying about several aspects of his life. This included false claims that he was at college, employed by an insurance firm, and contemplating a lucrative opportunity to join SpaceX. In an attempt to appear more successful, he created false emails that included correspondence with his college and the company where he said he worked. Chandler, however, was always short on cash and his father began to be suspicious.
Bart Halderson then posed as his son during a telephone call with the college, which verified that Chandler wasn’t enrolled. Prosecutors said that Chandler Halderson fired in his back when he informed his son that he had organized a meeting with college officials. His mother was also killed by him a few hours later.
Prosecutors claim that Chandler dismembered the bodies and then burned them, before burying them separately in different locations for the following days. A day after Chandler told police that his parents were missing, investigators found Bart Halderson’s torso on a rural property. Krista’s remains were found about a week later.
In closing arguments, defense lawyer Crystal Vera conceded that Chandler Halderson had “told a lot of lies,” but she said getting caught wouldn’t constitute an adequate motive for murder.
“You were never told that they were going to kick him out of the house,”She said. “You were never told that they were going to disown him. It was never explained why this mattered to you. If this is going to be motive, if this is the reason you’re intentionally killing someone, it better matter.”
Share this story via social media
[ad_2]
