'A part of my soul was stolen from me': Emotions run high as Dana Chandler is sentenced in 2002 double-murder case
WESTMORELAND (KSNT) - Dana Chandler learned her fate this week after being convicted in the 2002 killings of Karen Harkness and Mike Sisco.
Judge Cheryl Rios in Westmoreland delivered Chandler's sentence on Tuesday, June 3. The sentencing, which lasted for a few hours, included appearances from the children and friends of Sisco and Harkness who delivered emotional witness impact statements.
"Have you ever been so terrified of someone that your heart races? That you stop breathing? That your muscles tense up?" Hailey Seel, Chandler's daughter, said. "You can imagine how it happened if you saw a ghost, or a monster under your bed, or a horror movie monster or a killer. For me, that's for my mom."
Chandler held a piece of paper to the left side of her face for much of the sentencing. At one point, she accused Rios of displaying behavior "unbecoming of a judge" while Seel was still delivering her victim impact statement.
"I have my paper on my face because I choose not to be made a spectacle of," Chandler said.
Seel, as she finished delivering her statement, asked Rios to be lenient with her mother's sentencing if Chandler confessed and displayed remorse.
"I would ask that you have mercy on her," Seel said. "I'm humble enough today to recognize that my guilt is deserving of death just as much as hers."
Erin Sutton, a child of Harkness, asked Rios to punish Chandler for 2002 killings. She asked for two life sentences without the possibility of parole for Chandler before talking about how Harkness' death has impacted her.
"My mom's absence has left an unfillable hole in my heart and in my family," Sutton said. "A part of my soul was stolen from me."
Rios sentenced Chandler to two life sentences for the deaths of Sisco and Harkness. She must serve at least 25 years before she is eligible for parole.
Chandler's sentencing marks the end of her third trial for the deaths of Harkness and Sisco. Sisco, Chandler's estranged husband, was found dead alongside Harkness, his fiancé, in their bed together in 2002 after they were shot multiple times.
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