Shivangi SinhaIn July 2021, Bart and Krista Halderson were reported missing from Windsor, Wisconsin. At first, it was believed that the couple had gone to a family cabin, but there was no trace of them. When their remains were recovered days later, it became clear that they had been the victims of a brutal crime. The investigation led to the uncovering of a nexus of lies that had ultimately taken the couple’s lives. ABC’s ’20/20: Road Map to Murder’ examines the investigative work that followed, showing how detectives pieced together the evidence and were ultimately led to the most unexpected perpetrator.
Bart and Krista Halderson Were Proud of the Family They Had Made
Bart A. Halderson was born on May 14, 1971, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and was raised by his parents, Blake and Kayleen Halderson, alongside his brother, Brett. After graduating from Valders High School in 1989, he attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It was there that he first met Krista Rae Frater. Born on January 25, 1968, to Andrew and Betty Frater, Krista had also grown up in Wisconsin. She came from a larger family and shared a close bond with her three siblings, Norm, Marcia, and Ardyce. Over time, she and Bart built a life together, and on July 30, 1994, the couple married and began their new chapter as husband and wife.
Bart and Krista were blessed with two sons, Mitchell and Chandler, and worked hard to give them a happy upbringing. They spent time together as a family, attending football games and concerts, while their two dogs, Izzy and Rizzo, made their small world even more complete. Bart worked as a certified accountant at BDO, while Krista was an administrative assistant at Zimbrick Automotive. They were comfortable in their lives and, from the outside, appeared to be a typical middle-class American family. By 2021, their children had grown up, and the couple was settled in DeForest, Wisconsin. However, everything changed on July 1, 2021, the last day they were seen alive. When Krista failed to show up for work and even missed a doctor’s appointment following her cancer diagnosis, those close to her became increasingly concerned.
It was completely out of character for her to miss important commitments without informing anyone. After several days of uncertainty, Chandler filed a missing persons report on July 7, 2021. The following day, investigators received a tip that led them to a rural property near Cottage Grove, Wisconsin, where they discovered a male torso. The remains were sent for identification and were confirmed to belong to Bart. An autopsy revealed that he had been shot twice in the back of the head before being dismembered. Then, on July 14, additional human remains were recovered along the Wisconsin State Lower Riverway in Roxbury and were identified as Krista’s. Due to the limited remains recovered, authorities were unable to determine the exact cause of her death.
Bart and Krista’s Killer Tried to Mislead the Police in Another Direction
The investigation into the case was complex and took detectives considerable time to piece together. On July 2, 2021, when Krista failed to arrive at work, a concerned coworker went to the Halderson home to check on her. There, they were told by Chandler Halderson that his parents had gone to the family cabin in Langlade County, Wisconsin, for the Fourth of July weekend. However, Bart and Krista’s vehicles were still parked in the garage, which immediately raised questions. When Chandler later filed a missing persons report, and detectives began interviewing family members, he repeated the same account. He claimed that his parents had left with another couple for the trip, but said he did not know their names or have any information about them.
Investigators gathered CCTV footage from nearby homes and identified an unknown white van in the area. Working from Chandler’s claim that his parents had traveled to the family cabin to deal with a plumbing emergency, detectives also visited the property. However, it appeared that the cabin had not been used or visited for quite some time. As detectives continued their investigation, they found that many of Chandler’s statements did not match the evidence they were uncovering and he was brought in for further questioning. He claimed that the only communication he had received was a text message from his mother on July 4 saying they had arrived safely at the cabin. Shortly afterward, investigators received a tip that dramatically changed the course of the case.
The owner of a farm near Cottage Grove later informed investigators that Chandler had been at the property with his girlfriend, Cathryn “Cat” Mellender, on July 4. It is imperative to note that Cat was fully cleared of suspicion by authorities and had no knowledge of Chandler’s crimes. According to the tip, he unexpectedly returned to the farm the following morning and told those present that he was going for a swim. However, witnesses later saw him emerging from a wooded area rather than from the water, and several people found it unusual that the trunk of his vehicle was left open. Acting on this information, detectives obtained a search warrant for the property. During the search on July 8, they discovered Bart’s remains. A semi-automatic rifle was also recovered from the farm. Shortly afterward, Chandler was arrested on charges of providing false information to law enforcement.
Bart and Krista’s Killer Committed the Crime to Conceal His Secrets
Cat Mellender was brought in for questioning, and she was cooperative with investigators from the beginning. While she initially insisted that she did not believe her boyfriend was capable of committing such a crime, she willingly handed over her phone in case it contained information that could assist the investigation. During their review, detectives discovered a Snapchat screenshot showing Chandler’s location near the Wisconsin State Lower Riverway on the morning of July 3. Cat explained that the couple had experienced trust issues in the past, which was why she had access to his location through the app. She said that she had been unable to reach him that morning and had taken the screenshot so she could later confront him about where he had been.
Investigators eventually executed a search warrant at the home Bart and Krista shared with Chandler. Inside the basement, they discovered traces of blood as well as broken fireplace glass. A search of the fireplace led to the recovery of more than 230 bone fragments. As detectives dug deeper into his background, they learned that although he had enrolled at Madison Area Technical College, he had never completed his course. Prosecutors proved that for years, he had deceived his parents about several aspects of his life, including claims that he was about to graduate, had secured an internship with an insurance company, and had even landed a job with SpaceX. Just weeks before the murders, Chandler had suffered a fall down the stairs and later claimed that the injury would have lifelong effects and prevent him from taking up the job he had told his parents he would begin.
In June 2021, Bart contacted the college, pretending to be his son, and requested his transcripts. During that conversation, he learned that his son had not completed his course and asked Chandler to sit down and discuss the matter on July 1. Prosecutors argued in court that this confrontation was the motive behind the murders and that both Bart and Krista were killed that day. CCTV footage from a neighbor’s home showed a glow coming from the basement fireplace throughout the night. Prosecutors later said that Chandler burned his parents’ remains there. In the days that followed, he continued the story that his parents had gone to the cabin. On July 15, 2021, Chandler was arrested, and he was later charged with two counts of homicide. In January 2022, a jury found him guilty, and despite subsequent appeals, he remains in prison serving a life sentence.
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