Chandler Halderson convicted of killing and dismembering his parents
Killer was running an elaborate ruse to convince his parents he was enrolled in college and had job prospects
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Chandler Halderson, a 23-year-old charged with killing and dismembering his parents, has been found guilty on all charges tied to their deaths by a court in Wisconsin.
Halderson was charged with two counts of the following charges; first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, hiding a corpse and providing false information on a missing persons investigation.
He did not speak during his arraignment hearing. His lawyers entered not guilty pleas on his behalf.
Jurors deliberated for approximately two hours before reaching their verdict, according to Channel 3000 News.
Halderson will face up to life in prison as a result of his first-degree intentional homicide convictions.
The trial lasted eight days, during which witnesses including law enforcement officers and forensics experts were questioned by prosecutors about the case's evidence. Prosecutors argue that Halderson killed his parents, Bart and Krista, after they revealed he was lying about his college enrolment and job prospects.
Dane County Assistant District Attorney William Brown argued that Halderson was lying to his parents about having a college degree and that he had a job. His parents were questioning his ability to earn money and were asking him for rent when they discovered that he had been lying about completing college and having a job.
Halderson allegedly told his parents he was attending Madison College and was working at American Family Insurance, but there is no evidence either of those claims was true. He also claimed he volunteered to help the Madison Police as a diver and was in the running for a job at Elon Musk's SpaceX, neither of which was true.
When Halderson's father had questions about his college enrolment, he would show him emails he allegedly had between himself and the college staff to prove his enrolment. One of those emails included a phone number, which the father called. The voice at the other end of the line sounded suspiciously like his son. Investigators later found the phone number was linked to a burner phone bought by Halderson to fool his parents.
Prosecutors said his father had arranged a meeting with the college for him and his son to attend the day he was killed. They argued that the imminent discovery of his ruse was the motive behind the murder.
During the trial, the prosecution showed hundreds of pieces of physical and digital evidence against Halderson, including phone records placing him in the same area where his parents' remains were found, and DNA from his parents' blood on his shoes.