MADISON, Wis. — Dane County law enforcement found more human remains Wednesday while investigating the disappearance of Krista Halderson and the death of Bart Halderson.
That’s according to a criminal complaint filed against the couple’s son, 23-year-old Chandler Halderson, who is now facing a first-degree homicide charge in the death of his father. Krista Halderson was still considered missing as of Thursday afternoon, as authorities said they were trying to remain optimistic.
Authorities said they found the new remains on a piece of DNR-controlled land near Old Highway 60 along the Wisconsin River near Roxbury, Wisconsin after a passerby told law enforcement she saw a man matching Chandler Halderson’s description the morning of July 3. She reported seeing the man to police on Saturday, July 10.
During a Thursday press conference, Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said authorities also obtained a photo of Halderson near the area where the new remains were found.
The remains have not yet been identified, and Barrett said he could not specify if the remains were male or female at this time. The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office is working on an autopsy.
The remains of Bart Halderson were found dismembered on private property in the town of Cottage Grove the same day Chandler Halderson was taken into custody for lying to police about the missing persons investigation.
New details in criminal complaint
According to the complaint, Chandler Halderson went to the property where his father’s remains were eventually found on July 5, two days before he reported his father missing. While there, he asked the woman who lives there if he could use her pool. The woman, who knew Chandler, said yes. She told authorities he was gone for roughly an hour or hour-and-a-half, and when he returned, he wasn’t wet. She later noticed the pool cover hadn’t been taken off.
A while later, the woman and her partner drove out to a shed located on the property, where they saw the Subaru Chandler had been driving parked near the shed with the hatchback open. Later, when the woman was in the pool, she saw Chandler disappear into the wood line where his father’s remains were eventually found.
The woman added that she later saw vultures circling around the woods on her property, which she said was unusual.
In a probable cause statement filed by Dane County authorities the day after Chandler’s arrest, law enforcement outlined inconsistencies in his statements that led them to believe he was lying about his parents’ whereabouts.
Interviews describe unusual behavior and inconsistencies
According to the complaint, Chandler told a woman his parents took a large amount of cash and alcohol with them to the cabin. When police interviewed her, she said both actions would have been totally out of character for the couple.
Other people interviewed by police also reported suspicious occurrences in the days following the Haldersons’ disappearance, like small windows on the garage door being propped open despite never having been before, tape covering an exterior air vent that would have blown air out of the house, and Chandler Halderson asking if a neighbor’s Ring security camera could have captured footage of him driving.
“Didn’t feel bad about what I did”
Near the end of his interview with law enforcement following his arrest, Halderson also reportedly made several unsolicited comments after questioning had ended. According to Detective Hendrickson with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, Halderson, after invoking his right to an attorney, said he wanted to “go back up” and “tell [him] everything.”
“You don’t know the whole story,” Halderson reportedly said.
When asked if he was suicidal, investigators say Halderson responded by saying he “didn’t feel bad about what I did.”
He is currently being held in the Dane County Jail on a $1 million bond.
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