Man accused of killing, dismembering parents

Chandler Halderson was surviving a lie, the prosecution successful his execution proceedings said Tuesday — astir having a job, going to schoolhouse and having a amended occupation waiting for him successful Florida.

And erstwhile his begetter figured it out, the prosecution claims, Halderson decided to termination him and his parent and get escaped of their bodies, archetypal successful the household fireplace and past astir confederate Wisconsin — and past helium lied astir that, too.

Halderson, 23, presented himself to the satellite arsenic a soon-to-be postgraduate of a renewable resources engineering programme astatine Madison Area Technical College with a occupation astatine American Family Insurance but a amended 1 waiting for him astatine Elon Musk's SpaceX, Deputy District Attorney William Brown said successful his opening statement

Halderson went truthful acold arsenic to fabricate dozens if not hundreds of emails betwixt him and MATC and American Family successful an effort to warrant the communicative helium was telling the world, including to his father, Bart Halderson, who was starting to inquire questions astir wherefore his lad ne'er seemed to person immoderate money, Brown said.

Then Bart Halderson, posing arsenic his lad during a telephone telephone with a front-line idiosyncratic astatine MATC past summer, discovered Chandler hadn't been going to school, Brown said. He fto Chandler cognize of the call, Brown said, and told him of a gathering he'd scheduled betwixt the 2 of them and MATC officials from 3-5 p.m. connected July 1.

Realizing helium was astir to beryllium exposed, Chandler changeable his begetter successful the backmost successful the Windsor location they shared with Chandler's mother, Krista Halderson, conscionable earlier that gathering was to begin, the prosecution contends. He killed Krista Halderson erstwhile she returned location a fewer hours later, Brown said, and past spent the adjacent 5 days trying to dispose of their bodies earlier filing falsified missing persons reports with the Dane County Sheriff's Office connected July 7.

"A batch of cases statesman with a murder. This 1 is conscionable a tiny portion of the puzzle," Brown told the 18-member assemblage during his hour-plus opening statement. "Chandler spun an astonishing web of lies."

In her ain opening statement, defence lawyer Catherine Dorl called her lawsuit "just a mean kid" who liked to play video games and didn't termination his parents, and raised the anticipation that nary 1 volition ever cognize however Bart, 50, and Krista, 53, died.

"They simply don't cognize what happened," she said of the prosecution, and leaned heavy successful her ain 10-minute opening connection connected the jury's work to presume her lawsuit innocent, urging them to enactment speech their emotions erstwhile viewing disturbing grounds and to trust connected logic. It is not a juror's occupation to beryllium a "story collaborator," she said.

"Don't presume anything. Assumption is the parent of each mistakes," she said. "Look for what's missing. Look for alternate explanations."

Dorl said the state's witnesses and grounds would not beryllium "hotly contested" by the defence and that it's not imaginable to cognize however Bart and Krista Halderson mightiness person responded to Chandler's lies. She besides made wide that, astatine the extremity of the trial, defence attorneys could basal earlier the assemblage conceding that the authorities did convict Chandler of immoderate crimes, but not murder.

Missing persons report

Brown said Chandler went to the Dane County Sheriff's Office connected July 7 with an improbable and sometimes shifting story, telling deputies his parents had been picked up aboriginal connected the greeting of July 2 by an chartless mates for a travel to the household compartment successful Langlade County, astir 3 hours away.

Chandler said they took a fig of tools, including a hatchet and state cans to capable up a chainsaw, Brown and witnesses said Tuesday, arsenic good arsenic an unusually ample magnitude of intoxicant and respective 1000 dollars successful cash.

Chandler aboriginal told investigators he'd lone heard from them 1 clip since — a July 4 substance from his parent saying they were going to be a parade successful White Lake that day, Brown said. The prosecution contends Chandler sent that substance to himself from his mother's phone, which investigators recovered hidden successful a footwear successful the family's garage, according to the transgression ailment successful the case, and the parade had really been connected July 3. 

During grounds Tuesday, the prosecution played a assemblage camera footage from the Langlade County Sheriff's Office arsenic they helped Chandler's older brother, Mitchell Halderson, and his woman analyse whether anyone was astatine the household compartment connected Sawyer Lake successful the days aft Chandler said his parents went missing. Deputies entered the compartment and 2 retired buildings connected the spot but recovered nary grounds that anyone had been there, according to the footage.

Mitchell testified that it would person been precise antithetic for his parents to spell retired of municipality without Krista telling anyone, and that portion his parents drank, they were not dense drinkers and not known to gamble.

Among the 12 witnesses called by the prosecution Tuesday were six deputies oregon detectives who worked connected the case, including Dane County lawman Josh Seeley, who said during a sojourn to the family's location aft Chandler filed the missing persons reports, that Chandler seemed alternatively "aloof," and "to maine determination was nary consciousness of urgency" astir his genitor disappearance.

Deputy Hayley Collins-LeFevre testified that she recovered it unusual that Chandler went into item astir helping his parents battalion for their travel and astir aesculapian issues the 2 had, but couldn't accidental who they'd near with connected July 2 oregon when.

Body parts found

Brown said Chandler spent portion of the Fourth of July play cutting up his parents and burning their assemblage parts successful the household fireplace, wherever investigators recovered a portion measure, presumably to measurement what would fit, and a portion of a quality skull.

"He had burned his parents heads successful that fireplace," helium said.

He said grounds would amusement that yet Chandler realized a fireplace isn't blistery capable to destruct quality remains, and truthful decided to dump astir of his father's assemblage connected onshore successful agrarian Dane County owned by the spouse of his girlfriend's mother, and parts of his parent connected onshore on the Wisconsin River adjacent Prairie du Sac that he'd visited earlier successful the past to aquatics and bent retired with friends.

Investigators would aboriginal find Bart's torso connected a portion of the Dane County spot a witnesser saw him near, Brown said. And portion investigators person searched aggregate locations, including a landfill, thing much than Krista's legs person been recovered, Brown said.

Krista's erstwhile brag and person astatine Zimbrick Automotive, Curtis Van Pelt, described her arsenic a kind, lukewarm and conscientious idiosyncratic who nevertheless didn't docket to person clip disconnected Friday, July 2, oregon Monday, July 5, and didn't telephone to accidental she wasn't coming in. Daniel Kroninger, who utilized to enactment with Krista astatine Zimbrick past year, said that if she had had plans to sojourn the compartment implicit the holiday, she would person shared them with coworkers, but she didn't.

He said helium went to the Halderson location connected July 2 to cheque connected Krista and Chandler answered the doorway with a bandage connected 1 of his toes and a communicative astir however determination was "blood each implicit the place" due to the fact that he'd breached portion of the fireplace solid screen portion playing with the household dogs.

He said Chandler texted him 2 days aboriginal to inquire if helium and his woman could articulation him and his woman to socialize, and the 2 came implicit aboriginal that night.

Mitchell Halderson described his begetter arsenic sometimes absent from the household arsenic helium and his member were increasing up due to the fact that helium was moving a lot, and his parent arsenic a stay-at-home ma portion her sons were younger and a "helicopter parent," but that some were bully and caring parents.

Chandler Halderson is charged with 2 counts each of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, hiding a corpse and falsifying accusation astir a missing person.

The proceedings continues Wednesday and is expected to past astir 3 weeks.