Alongside the suspect’s shopping list were the statements: ‘Clean floor’ and ‘Get a job’
After allegedly lying about a job opportunity with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, a 23-year-old killed and dismembered his parents.
Chandler Halderson had spent the past few years living with his parents amid the continued spread of the covid-19 pandemic. His father, Bart Halderson and his mother, Krista Halderson, believed he was working for a Wisconsin insurance company while finishing up his college coursework.
Things seemed to be looking up for their son after he revealed in June 2021 that he had been hired by SpaceX and would be moving to Florida later that month, according to reports by Rolling Stone.
Halderson had told his girlfriend the same, who planned to move with him to an apartment he claimed to have already rented, alongside a car.
There was just one small problem – apparently, none of this was true.
Prosecutors claim that Halderson was simply playing video games all day and would wake up early so he could tell his father that he had meetings in the morning.
When his dad uncovered the truth, it has been reported that Halderson allegedly shot him to death before shooting his mother.
Claims then suggest the man then dismembered their bodies and scattered them across Southern Wisconsin before reporting them missing almost a week later.
Halderson is currently on trial in Dane County for the murder of his parents, as well as charges of mutilating a corpse, hiding a corpse and providing false information about a missing person.
He has pleaded not guilty on all charges and his lawyers have described him as a “normal kid” who enjoyed video games, playing with his dogs and spending time with his girlfriend.
“You’re also gonna not know how Bart and Krista would’ve reacted to these lies,” said Public Defender Catherine Dorl, who also seemingly revealed that the SpaceX job opportunity was a lie.
She added: “That’s never going to be explained to you, how lying turns into murder.”
“But what evidence do you have of murder?” she questioned, while admitting that Halderson may be found guilty on the lesser charges.
In the opening statements made on January 4, Dane County Deputy District Attorney William Brown said the man “spun an amazing web of lies”.
The court heard how he fabricated dozens of email exchanges between himself and college officials and even posed as one of them during a call with his father where he purchased a disposable burner phone.
His father reportedly questioned his lack of money but the accused continued to fabricate paper trails, emails and claimed that issues with direct deposit information had resulted in a lack of funds.
Brown claimed that when Halderson’s father pushed for rent, his son doubled down on his lies.
“The best way out of your pretend job is an even more pretend job,” Brown said. “He’s gonna be an astronaut.”
Halderson’s father eventually rang Madison Area Technical College for more information on his son’s schooling progress. Naturally, Bart discovered the lies his son had been pumping out.
Both Bart and his son were expected to be at the college for a meeting but this is when Halderson allegedly shot his father with a rifle. After killing his mother, the prosecution believes he tried to burn his parents in their home fireplace before scattering their remains across the state on public land, farms, rivers, ditches – and even trash cans.
Investigators later reportedly found remains of a human skull in the fireplace and more remains at Halderson’s girlfriend’s family farm. The farm owner claimed he was behaving strangely when he visited after July 1 and asked to swim in their pool. Instead, they spotted him in the field, where they would later find Bart’s torso, along with saw blades, scissors, tree loppers, and a tarp covered with Bart’s and Krista’s blood.
Brown added that police found the murder weapon in a barn on the property.
More body parts were found after Halderson told his girlfriend he was doing chores. Instead, she captured a screenshot of his location that seemingly placed him in the woods by the Wisconsin River. Police later found Krista’s legs in the same area.
Notes on the man’s phone apparently showed a shopping list straight from the murder handbook, including items like hydrogen peroxide and lemon – which, when mixed, produce a bleach-like liquid.
Alongside the shopping list were the statements: “Clean floor” and “Get a job”.
Related links:
- Shocking CCTV shows killer chase victim with garden fork before plunging it into his head
- Chilling video shows moment step mum tried to get away with murdering boy, 6
- Boyfriend who stabbed partner 30 times while high on cannabis brownie cleared of murder
