Third Dana Chandler murder trial set for October

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - A third murder trial for Dana Chandler has been pushed back several months.

The Shawnee Co. Judge Cheryl Rios last week granted a continuance in the trial after Chandler’s team submitted new evidence. The state requested the report not be admitted due to a lack of time to review before the trial was to begin. That trial was set to begin February 6, and in Pottawatomie County due to the media coverage drawn by her previous two trials.

Rios allowed the report, and scheduled a hearing Tuesday to determine a new trial date. October 16, 2023 was set as a new start date during that hearing.

Chandler is accused of double murder in the 2002 deaths of her ex-husband Mike Cisco and his fiancé Karen Harkness. The most recent trial, in September 2022, was tossed out due to a hung jury.