Is Dana Chandler still in prison? An update on HBO’s ‘A Killer Story’

EntertainmentDana Chandler.Courtesy of HBOOn July 7, 2002, Mike Sisco and his partner, Karen Harkness, were found shot to death in their bed in Topeka, Kansas. Sisco’s ex-wife, Dana Chandler, stood trial for the murders three separate times.The new HBO docuseries “A Killer Story,” which premiered on Sept. 10, focuses on one couple’s longtime obsession with the case. Despite having no personal connection to Chandler, Eileen and Keen Umbehr spent 15 years trying to prove her innocence. Their efforts included repeatedly emailing journalist Joe Sexton, who also appears in the docuseries.Chandler, who has always maintained her innocence, was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder in 2012 and sentenced to life without a chance of parole for 100 years. Prosecutors had only circumstantial evidence. They claimed that two cans of gasoline Chandler had purchased in Denver were bought for the purpose of driving from Denver to Topeka to commit the murders without stopping for gas. Prosecutors argued Chandler had a motive — her volatile relationship with Sisco — but presented no DNA or physical evidence tying her to the murders. They also could not prove that she was in Topeka when the murders took place. In April 2018, the Kansas Supreme Court overturned Chandler’s conviction after the Umbehrs discovered that the prosecutor in her trial, Jacqie Spradling, had falsely claimed Chandler violated a protective order that didn’t exist. Spradling was later disbarred for the false claims. Chandler was retried in 2022. After deliberating for six days, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision, resulting in a mistrial. Chandler was tried for a third time in 2025. Just before opening statements began, Chandler fired her attorneys and began representing herself. The unusual decision meant Chandler had to cross-examine her own children. She spent seven days testifying and was ultimately found guilty for the second time. She was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. “I have always maintained my innocence,” Chandler said at her 2025 sentencing hearing, according to the Kansas Reflector. “I continue to maintain my innocence. I was not in Topeka, Kansas, on July 7. I never owned or possessed a 9 mm firearm. What is happening in this courtroom is a grave injustice. I was not the one who killed them.”Chandler’s daughter Hailey Seel, who was 17 at the time of the murders, described her mom as an “evil killer” at the hearings.“I hate it. I don’t want to call you evil killer, but I can’t live in a fairy tale,” Seel said. “Boy, was I fooled. I believed that she loved me. She stole my dad. She stole my identity. She stole my strength. She stole my peace. My heart was torn out and stomped.”READ MORE: Where is Wendi Adelson now? An update on Hulu’s ‘Welcome to the Family: The Murder of Dan Markel’Chandler is currently incarcerated at the Topeka Correctional Facility in Topeka. According to the Topeka Capital-Journal, she is in the process of appealing her 2025 conviction. The Umbehrs cut off contact with Chandler when she decided to represent herself at trial.“I think it was maybe the first time that they had reckoned with how much they had sacrificed,” Matthew Galkin, who directed “A Killer Story,” told Vanity Fair earlier this month. “I think they took it as just the ultimate show of disrespect for the work that people had done for her.”Galkin is still not sure whether Chandler is guilty or innocent.“Seven years on, I still am not in any way confident one way or the other,” he said. “Keen and Eileen say it in the first episode, you want justice for the victims, you want the bad guy to be put away forever, and you want to feel a sort of a sense of completion when you finish watching or reading a crime story. And this case provides none of those things.”New episodes of “A Killer Story” premiere on HBO on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET. Episode 1 is now available to stream on HBO Max.The wildest ‘Dancing With the Stars’ controversies of all timeIs ‘Saturday Night Live’ new tonight? See the episode scheduleReality TV star defends topless boat ride with her dad: ‘I don’t care’Pete Davidson says anniversary of his dad’s death on 9/11 is ‘harder’ this yearSara Donnellan is a trending entertainment news writer. She worked as a TV news reporter for NJ.com, covering scripted and reality television and other viral TV moments, answering viewers’ burning questions and...