Retrial for Dana Chandler in controversial Topeka double murder case ends with no verdict
After a week of deliberations, a Shawnee County jury could not reach a decision Thursday in a Topeka double murder case dating back two decades.
The trial of Dana Chandler, accused of killing her ex-husband and his fiancee in 2002, ended with a hung jury, according to observers in the courtroom who spoke to The Star.
It’s unclear what the next steps will be in Chandler’s case. The Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The case languished for years, raising questions in the community and beyond. In 2009, CBS’ “48 Hours” aired an episode about the unsolved killings and portrayed Chandler as the prime suspect. She was arrested two years later in Oklahoma.
Chandler, now 62, was found guilty at the end of the first trial in 2012 and she was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in prison.
In July 2016, attorney Keen Umbehr filed a complaint against prosecutor Jacqie Spradling, alleging she presented false information to the jury about a protection from abuse order that did not exist.
Chandler’s convictions were overturned in 2018.
Meanwhile, Umbehr’s complaint made its way through Kansas’ Office of the Disciplinary Administrator. In June 2021, the disciplinary panel unanimously recommended Spradling be disbarred for carrying out what they described as a deliberate pattern of misconduct. Spradling, the panel said in its report, took a “win at all costs approach” that led to the reversal of two high-profile cases, including Chandler’s. The other case involved a Holton man convicted of rape.
Earlier this year, the Kansas Supreme Court disbarred Spradling after concluding she had engaged in “intolerable acts of deception” during Chandler’s first trial.
After years of delays, Chandler’s retrial began July 28 with jury selection in Topeka.
During opening statements on Aug. 5, prosecutors said Chandler had caused “problems” for her ex-husband and his fiancee by showing up at their home and calling them repeatedly. The case was based on “jealousy, rage and obsession.”
Chandler’s legal team argued that she was hundreds of miles away when the couple was killed and that a crime scene reconstruction showed the shooter was likely taller than Chandler. Attorney Tom Bath said no DNA connected her to the murders.
The case went to the jury on August 25.
This story was originally published September 1, 2022 at 3:31 PM.
