Defense rests, closing arguments expected

TOPEKA (KSNT) - The retrial for Dana Chandler continued Thursday. Closing arguments are expected.

The defense rested Thursday morning followed by a brief break. Closing arguments are next then the jury will receive its instructions and deliberate until a unanimous verdict is reached.

Chandler is accused of killing her husband, Mike Sisco, and his fiancé, Karen Harkness, back in 2002. A Shawnee County District Court jury found her guilty in 2012, but the Kansas Supreme Court reversed the conviction years later. The lead prosecutor, Jacquie Spradling, falsely told the jury that Chandler violated a non-existent protection from abuse order in her divorce case, according to the court. The court unanimously said Chandler’s prosecutor used this false claim as a judicial endorsement for its theory that Chandler was dangerous.

Chandler was serving 100 years in prison when her conviction was overturned. Sisco and Harkness both were found dead in their home after being shot at least five times in their bed.