WINDOR, WISCONSIN: A college-aged man was found to have murdered his parents after using data from his girlfriend's Snapchat. Chandler Halderson, 23, who was allegedly working towards his IT degree, reported his parents, Bart and Krista Halderson missing in July 2021. At that time, Halderson lived with his parents in Windsor, Wisconsin.
He informed the authorities that they did not return following their visit to the family cabin during the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Now CBS' 48 Hours have revealed that it was Chandler's girlfriend, Cathryn "Cat" Mellender who allowed investigators to gather data from her phone during the investigation into Bart and Krista's disappearance.
How did Chandler's girlfriend help authorities find Krista's remains?
Detective Sabrina Sims claimed that she heard the killer had previously cheated on Mellender and so she would track his real-time location using Snapchat. Early on June 3, 2021, Mellender took a screenshot on the app of Chandler's location. He was in a remote area near the Wisconsin River when his parents went missing.
Investigators shockingly discovered the remains of Chandler's mother Krista when they searched the area. The officers also found the remains of Chandler's father Bart at a farm about 20 miles from the Halderson home. The farm owner told the authorities that she saw Chandler coming out of the farm's woodline. They found Bart who was shot at least twice in the back when they searched the area.
Chandler pleaded not guilty to the murder
Chandler was charged with the murder and dismemberment of his parents as well as lying to police. But he pleaded not guilty and went on trial in January 2022. Prosecutors said that Chandler murdered his parents because they found out he was lying to them about failing out of college.
According to the prosecution, Chandler also told another lie to his parents in which he claimed that he was offered a job at Elon Musk's aerospace company, SpaceX. Chandler's father Bart scheduled to meet his son at the college he claimed to be attending on the day of the murders.
Over 200 human bone fragments were found
Security video obtained from the Haldersons' neighbor on the day Bart and Krista were murdered was shown to the jury. In the footage, a flickering light from a window in the Halderson home could be seen. According to the prosecutors, the light was from their fireplace. A forensic expert testified that over 200 human bone fragments were found in the fireplace.
Although the defendant's defense team argued that the prosecution lacked enough evidence to prove their case, a jury found Chandler guilty on all charges just a couple of hours later. His full list of charges included first-degree intentional homicide, lying to investigators, mutilating a corpse, and hiding a corpse. He was sentenced in March 2022 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
During Chandler's sentencing, he asked for a lawyer to help him appeal his case. "It's not that I do not have feelings, it's that I was warned to not show them due to the scrutiny of this case," he said as he broke his silence in court after not testifying during his trial.
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