Dana Chandler denied second motion to move third trial to Johnson County

A third trial for Dana Chandler, accused of the 2002 killings of her ex-husband Mike Sisco and his fiancee Karen Harkness, will go ahead in Pottawatomie County early next year, despite Chandler's attempts to move the trial elsewhere.

In a pre-trial hearing Tuesday afternoon, Shawnee County District Court Judge Cheryl Rios denied a motion from Chandler and her defense team to move the trial to Johnson County.

Although Chandler had once been convicted of the pair of murders in 2012, the Kansas Supreme Court in 2018 found that prosecutor Jaqui Spradling had engaged in severe prosecutorial misconduct and error and reversed the conviction. A second trial in August 2022 ended in a hung jury.

Prosecutors in September asked Rios to allow the case to go to a third trial. She granted the request, but acknowledge that heavy media coverage of both the retrial process and the retrial itself had imperiled the court's ability to convene an impartial jury in Shawnee County and granted the defense's first request for a change of venue.

However, per state judicial procedure, Kansas Supreme Court Justice Caleb Stegall moved the trial to neighboring Pottawatomie County District Court.

More:Jurors split 7-5 on convicting Dana Chandler. Two members shared why they couldn't vote 'guilty.'

Shawnee County DA's Office objects to Topeka-area media market

In court Tuesday, lead defense attorney Tom Bath argued that Pottawatomie County, being in the same media market as Topeka, would present many of the same challenges in convening a fair and impartial jury as Shawnee County. He said most potential jurors will likely have at least heard of the case. He also argued that Rios should sequester any convened jury for the duration of the trial, which is expected to last about four weeks.

However, Shawnee County District Attorney's Office chief of staff Charles Kitt argued that although jurors may be aware of the jury, Bath had not presented any evidence that Pottawatomie County jurors are likely to have extensively researched or formed opinions about the case.

Rios denied Bath's motion for another change of venue but did not yet rule on the sequestration request. She said Bath was only speculating that Pottawatomie County jurors would be prejudiced and had not presented any evidence to back that claim.

Bath, for his part, said he intends to continue with polling of potential jurors in Pottawatomie County and Johnson County, where he and Chandler would prefer to have the third trial, despite Rios' caution that polling could have the unintended effect of exposing potential jurors to the case and causing them to research previous coverage of proceedings against Chandler.

More:Juror explains why Dana Chandler is guilty: 'This is the real world, and not a TV show'

Shawnee County judge wants Dana Chandler trial in February

Rios also pre-emptively denied Bath's expected request for a continuance to conduct the polling, and she said the court fully intends to have Chandler's trial in February, so as to avoid any disruption to rural jurors who may have agricultural work over the summer months.

The court next convenes in December to hear motions from Chandler to exclude certain evidence from the third trial.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Dana Chandler retrial venue to remain in Pottawatomie County