ABC 20/20 “Road Map to Murder” June 26 2026
ABC’s 20/20 revisits the shocking Halderson family murders in a rebroadcast of “Road Map to Murder,” airing Friday, June 26, 2026, at 9:00 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming the next day on Disney+ and Hulu. Reported by ABC News contributor and ESPN analyst Ryan Smith, the two-hour special examines how the disappearance of a Wisconsin couple over the Fourth of July holiday unraveled into one of the state’s most disturbing family murder cases.
Bart and Krista Halderson appeared to have built an ordinary suburban life in Windsor, Wisconsin. The couple lived in a comfortable home with their two adult sons, Mitchell and Chandler. Friends and neighbors saw them as a close-knit family, making their sudden disappearance over the July 4, 2021, weekend all the more alarming.
When Bart and Krista failed to return home or contact loved ones, Chandler Halderson told family members and investigators that his parents had unexpectedly traveled to their cabin with friends. He offered varying explanations about where they had gone and why no one had heard from them, but as detectives attempted to verify his account, inconsistencies quickly began to emerge.
Investigators soon discovered that Chandler had fabricated much of the story surrounding his parents’ disappearance. Detectives found no evidence that Bart and Krista had taken the trip Chandler described, and as they continued digging into his statements, they uncovered a web of lies extending far beyond the missing persons investigation.
A breakthrough came through social media. Authorities examined Chandler’s online activity and communications, which helped investigators reconstruct his movements during the days surrounding his parents’ disappearance. Those digital clues, combined with surveillance footage, cellphone records and witness interviews, led detectives toward evidence that ultimately implicated someone far closer to the victims than anyone initially suspected.
The investigation took an even darker turn when human remains were discovered in rural Wisconsin locations. Authorities eventually identified the remains as Bart and Krista Halderson, who had both been murdered and dismembered. Prosecutors alleged that Chandler killed his parents after his father began uncovering a series of elaborate lies Chandler had been telling about nearly every aspect of his life, including attending college, holding a job, and pursuing a career opportunity with law enforcement.
According to prosecutors, Chandler had spent years deceiving his family about his education and employment while relying on his parents for financial support. As Bart Halderson began demanding proof of Chandler’s claims and threatened to expose the deception, investigators believe Chandler decided to eliminate his parents to prevent the truth from coming out.
During the trial, prosecutors presented extensive forensic evidence, digital records, surveillance footage and testimony showing Chandler purchasing cleaning supplies, transporting body parts and attempting to conceal the crimes. The defense argued that the evidence was circumstantial and maintained Chandler’s innocence, but jurors rejected those arguments.
In January 2022, Chandler Halderson was convicted on eight felony counts, including two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating corpses, hiding corpses, providing false information during a missing persons investigation and other related offenses. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Ryan Smith’s report examines the painstaking investigation that transformed a missing persons case into a double homicide prosecution. Through interviews with investigators, prosecutors and those closest to Bart and Krista Halderson, “Road Map to Murder” explores how one social media clue helped expose an elaborate web of deception and revealed that the couple’s killer was their own son.
