The social media program has helped investigators to break the terrible case of double murder in Wisconsin, where his son killed his parents after his lies on college network and the fake work SpaceX began to unfold.
The case began in 2021. July 7, when Chandler Halderson, 23, announced his parents Bart and Christa Halderson, who disappeared from their Windsor house.
New 20/20 episode, Road Map the Murder, dancing Friday, May 30 at 9 am. Et, ABC, and the next day broadcasting Hulu, he investigates the case.
You can also get more backstage for each week’s episode by listening to “20/20: The After Show Weekly series in your 20/20 Podcast, Mondays, organized by Deborah Roberts, co -owner of 20/20.
Photo: Chandler Halderson reported his parents Bart and Christa Halderson, disappeared from their home of Wisconsin in 2021. July 7 (Maria Falconer)
Chandler said his parents had gone to his family cabin on the fourth weekend of July, but never returned.
“He mentioned that they might be going to the casino,” said Sabrina Sims, Dane County Sheriff’s Detective “20/20”.
However, Sims noted that the red flags emerged quickly.
“We learned that they had no character to play gambling, and Halderson, especially Bart, was quite modest with money,” she said.
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When the investigators checked the family home, they said both parents’ cars were still found in the garage. A visit to the family cabin on the Wolf River showed no signs of recent use.
The breakthrough came from the nearby Cottage Grove village. The witness reported that Chandler supported his car near the wooded area in 2021. July 5
“She watched him walking from the wooded area … And found it was unusual,” Sims said.
Photo: Chandler Halderson is visible in this helpless photo from Dane County Sheriff’s Office. (Dane County Sheriff’s Office)
The police were searched and made a terrible discovery, a man’s waist that was later identified as Bart Halderson. In the nearby oil drum investigators found scissors, saw blade and screw cutters. The autopsy revealed that Bart was shot and was then dismantled.
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The detectives learned that Cottage Grove was owned by the Chandler Girl Cathryn Mellender family.
Investigators asked Chandler and Mellender to come with a voluntary interview. Chandler was then arrested for the alleged submission of false information to investigators. On other days, he was considered a prison for a preliminary accusation of first -degree intentional murder.
During the investigation, there was another turn when Mellender provided essential evidence to the police about his mobile phone from the Snapchat social media program.
Its Snap Map feature-personalized map sharing your whereabouts with Snapchat’s friends-Chandler on the Wisconsin River 2021. July 3 Following this example and another advice from the eagle’s eye neighbor by the river, the researchers discovered more people’s remains. This time the remains belonged to Chandler’s mother Christa.
Photo: Dane County Sheriff’s Bureau Detectives Brian Shunk and Sabrina Sims Sims said: “Ryan Smith, they think Christa and Bart Halderson were killed in their basement of their Wisconsin home. (ABC News)
According to the investigators, they found early on the beginning of the investigation that mellender had nothing to do with murder and cleaned it.
In 2022 January The trial, Chandler, faced eight accusations, including two first -degree intentional murders calculations, corpses and false information about missing persons.
He did not admit guilt of all the accusations.
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Omar Jobe, a registration officer at Madison College, said he would never forget his conversation with Bart, who called the school pose as Chandler because he tried to receive transcripts of his son’s college.
“It’s a normal phone call we get every day. This person tried to ask for a transcript,” Job said in an exclusive interview with 20/20.
According to the researchers, Bart was unsuccessful for several months to obtain transcripts of his son Chandler and became suspicious.
Prosecutors said Bart’s phone call was gloomy to find out if Chandler was involved in college, but it turned out that Chandler had actually been unable to leave school.
The prosecution also stated that Chandler had created a fake email. Email accounts trying to deceive his father why his college transcripts were not.
“Chandler with fake emails with fake school staff made an email e -mail forward and forth about the problem of the transcript,” Danish District Sheriff’s Bureau detail Det. Brian Shunk said 20/20.
Photo: Barbi Townsnd talked to ABC News Ryan Smith about her cousin Christa Halderson. Townsnd described Halderson as a very happy man who poured his heart into his two sons. (ABC News)
Prosecutors also said the SpaceX work Chandler said he was also a lie.
As Bart approached the truth, prosecutors said Chandler had grown hopelessly.
“When Bart found it, Chandler realized he could lose everything,” said Caroline Dade, who told the story to Wkow, a subsidiary of ABC, told 20/20. “History they are [prosecutors] It was painted that Chandler did not give himself any other option. “
During the trial, prosecutors said the jurors had killed both parents to avoid his lies. The defense team challenged this theory.
“The whole state has been able to prove that Chandler is a liar, not a killer,” said the main lawyer Crystal Vera.
The jury disagreed and Chandler was found guilty of all eight charges. He received a sentence of life without probation. 2023 April [lesser] The beliefs for hiding the corpse were abolished.
Chandler filed an appeal in the case.
“They would have given everything and anything to help him,” Krista’s cousin Barbi Townsnd said of Bart and Christ. “They would have been there. They were such people.”
Wisconsin’s parents killed for college, lie: As Snapchat helped to reveal the truth at first abcnews.com