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ABC's 20/20 will return with a new two-hour episode on Friday, May 30, 2025, at 9:01 PM ET. Titled Road Map to Murder, the special follows the chilling case of Bart Halderson and Krista Halderson, a married couple from Windsor, Wisconsin, who were reported missing over the July Fourth weekend in 2021.
Authorities later discovered they had been murdered and dismembered, with their remains found in separate locations across the state. The investigation took a major turn when the couple's son, Chandler Halderson's girlfriend, shared a Snapchat location showing him near the Wisconsin River, close to where Krista's remains were later recovered.
CBS News report dated August 18, 2024, confirmed that Chandler, the couple's 23-year-old son, was eventually convicted of killing his parents after they uncovered he had lied about college enrollment and a fake job at SpaceX. The 20/20 episode, reported by Ryan Smith, will also be available to stream the next day on Hulu.
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What happened to Bart and Krista Halderson? Inside the case featured on this week's 20/20
In Windsor, Wisconsin, 23-year-old Chandler Halderson lived with his parents, Bart and Krista, who were last seen at their family residence before they suddenly went missing. According to a CBS News report dated August 18, 2024, Chandler told police his parents had traveled to the family's cabin for the holiday but never returned.
Concern grew after Krista missed work on July 2, 2021. A friend, Daniel Kroninger, became alarmed and urged Chandler to contact law enforcement.
Chandler, the subject of the upcoming 20/20 episode, eventually reported them missing on July 7, 2021, but inconsistencies in his story raised red flags. Detectives began looking into Chandler's background and discovered that he had been lying about multiple aspects of his life.
As per the Oxygen.com report dated March 18, 2022, he had flunked out of college, fabricated a fake job offer from SpaceX, and created false emails to mislead his parents.
A Snapchat clue changes the course of the investigation
The investigation took a pivotal turn after Chandler's girlfriend, Cathryn Mellender, gave detectives access to her phone. As per CBS News, Mellender used Snapchat to track Chandler's location and had saved a screenshot showing him near the Wisconsin River on July 3, 2021.
When officers searched the area, they discovered the remains of Krista Halderson. Days earlier, the torso of Bart Halderson had been recovered from a farm 20 miles away.
Prosecutors later presented physical and forensic evidence tying Chandler to the crime. Surveillance footage showed him purchasing a tarp and ice bags just days before the bodies were found.
In court, experts testified that blood belonging to Bart and Krista was found on cutting tools retrieved from a barrel on the farm, and over 200 bone fragments were later identified in the fireplace of their home.
Life sentence and continued legal developments
As per a report by ABC News, Chandler was charged with both murders, dismemberment, and providing false information. A jury found him guilty on all charges in January 2022. Oxygen.com's March 18, 2022, report noted that during sentencing, Judge John Hyland stated the following:
“I have to, for this sentencing, ensure that the only time Mr. Halderson comes back into the community is to have the privilege of the burial he denied his parents.”
Chandler Halderson is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. However, his legal team has pursued appeals. In April 2023, a Dane County judge vacated two of his convictions, both related to hiding a corpse, on procedural grounds. However, this ruling had no effect on his overall sentence. His original two life sentences remain intact.
The upcoming 20/20 episode aims to re-examine the disturbing sequence of events that led to Bart and Krista Halderson's deaths, focusing on how digital evidence, particularly from Snapchat, exposed the truth behind Chandler's web of lies.
Through law enforcement interviews and archival footage, the 20/20 broadcast will offer viewers a detailed look at how the case unfolded and why it drew national attention.
The 20/20 episode will be available for streaming on Hulu the following day.
