ASK DR. JOHN: CHANDLER HALDERSON
Added 2022-01-29 00:12:08 +0000 UTCYou've asked and John delivers. How could someone kill their parents? Dr. John cites research and shares the possible motives and reasons.
Comments
Dr John: you mention Alex Cox. As a kid I recall being bothered by those brothers K , then in HS reading Crime and Punishment and wondering is this all the same guy. Janus? Is this why I’m a retired CPA master gardener… not being funny. Flee to the intellectual and to the natural. Flee to places where there is an even playing field.
Margaret Hartley
2025-09-16 15:20:42 +0000 UTCHi Lynette, I live in Madison WI and followed this case closely. I read your comment about if Chandler suffered from a traumatic brain injury. The doctor's who evaluated Chandler testified during the trial that he evaluated Chandler who said he slipped and fell hitting his head. The doctor said CAT scan was normal. No external or internal injury He sent him home with a neck collar that he could use for muscle soreness. Chandler faked muscle weekness, claimed he went to PT, lied about neadaches to gain sympathy and get out of chores etc.
Bonnie Schoeneman-Dilley
2025-01-29 02:01:51 +0000 UTCI wonder why he didn’t just kill his dad then
Jukie g
2022-06-14 03:03:03 +0000 UTCI’m sure there’s mental issues here but to me I can’t help but see him as a brat that didn’t want to work
Jukie g
2022-06-14 02:53:54 +0000 UTCI wonder what his brothers thoughts are on why chandler did this.
Jukie g
2022-06-14 02:47:45 +0000 UTCVery similar case with white female 51 and double paricide … one finds a lot in background information. But as the fiction becomes more elaborate, of course the pressure cooker increases. I really don’t believe there is any evidence of a “dangerous antisocial” diagnosis here. Much much more to it I agree. Definitely Factitious Disorder as well.
LB
2022-03-09 23:33:33 +0000 UTCVery rare and interesting case. He doesn’t just fit a dangerous psychopathy category. There are some very interesting asides with him. There are some interesting family dynamics here as well. Interesting watching the brother. He was very neutral about his parents.
LB
2022-03-09 23:22:27 +0000 UTCNo evidence of psychotic depression.
LB
2022-03-09 23:19:47 +0000 UTCHe has a Personality Disorder with Factitious Disorder. Certainly no psychosis or thought disorder! Clear from all who knew him.
LB
2022-03-09 23:18:39 +0000 UTCI did it backwards and listened to this and then watched the interview with police. It sounds like he has a pretty serious head injury that left him with severe headaches and the inability to use his legs sometimes. We’ve heard stories of nice, nonviolent people with head injuries suddenly killing their families. Has this been explored in this case?
Lynette Butler
2022-02-15 22:01:58 +0000 UTCI’m so tired of the Watts case. The YT “creators” still covering this have literally nothing new to say that has any basis in fact.
Mo
2022-02-02 20:26:19 +0000 UTCI know it doesn’t directly relate to this episode but- it sent my mind in that direction.
CC
2022-01-30 19:35:27 +0000 UTCWhile listening to this episode I thought about all the other cases I’ve followed/ or heard about over the years where someone creates some type of fantasy life. Chad and Lori Daybell, Gypsy Rose and Nicolas, Casey Anthony, Luka Magnotta and Scott Peterson. I’m sure there are many more but those are the ones my mind immediately. For some of these people they viewed their victims as a barrier to the fantasyland others just might have been extreme liars… I would love for you guys to let me know if I’m off base by lumping these people together or to further explore the motivations behind the lies we often see in cases.
CC
2022-01-30 19:34:24 +0000 UTCLol my husband is a doctor as well! There is NO way I can read his “ hand” writing!!!!😂
Dal Pace
2022-01-30 13:57:30 +0000 UTCThank you so much for this! I wanted this also! (Except I left a comment in chat so I am glad others wanted to hear this)., It reminded me of the Joel Guy parricide who also dismembered both parents and Grant Amato who murdered both parents and one of his brothers. Those two were golden boys. Pampered and spoiled. imho Helicopter mom and strict dads. wow
Janet1Pirate
2022-01-30 06:05:22 +0000 UTCGreat analysis. I learn so much from Dr. John… and Lauren posts the best questions and summarizes the analysis so well. And Dr. John often ends his chats in such a way that I want to be a better person. Thank you!
Laura Pearson
2022-01-30 01:02:34 +0000 UTCSeriously...the amount of evidence was non-stop. I kept thinking about the Vallow/Daybell case esp from Idaho - the amount of evidence they will present...I'm sure will be shocking as well...
kathleen silverman
2022-01-30 00:07:47 +0000 UTCCJ Haynie!!! That would be a great piggyback to this. Thank you for being so giving to us with your knowledge! So appreciated!
Jessica Trump
2022-01-29 18:16:51 +0000 UTCAlso, the big difference I note in Dr John's comparison to Jennifer Pan is she paid two thugs to come in and shoot her parents (to make it look like a robbery). Chandler not only shot his dad in the back MORE THAN once and likely did same to his mom, but he dismembered them and burned parts of their bodies in the home fireplace...not only is he messed up mentally (psychopath what have you) but he was not very bright...burning in the fireplace in JULY...going to the country to his GFs folks place with them home and witnessing him in that area and tossing evidence including his father's dismembered torso...
kathleen silverman
2022-01-29 15:37:15 +0000 UTCI wonder if anyone has reached out or will reach out to ask Mitchell to talk to Dr John?
kathleen silverman
2022-01-29 15:27:27 +0000 UTCGlad you did this one. I’d like to know what turns someone into a pathological liar and how that turns to murder. I can’t help but think there is a connection.
Suki Pero
2022-01-29 15:25:49 +0000 UTCTexting them all the time, how are you doing, wanting the son to sleep downstairs near the bathroom, maybe being over involved in their romantic relationships, etc. I didn’t see a lot of separation given the child’s age.
Suki Pero
2022-01-29 15:10:36 +0000 UTCDigging in now, can’t wait! The fireplace, the fireplace… seeing that window flickering footage in the trial will haunt me forever.
Lynette Byrnes
2022-01-29 12:45:38 +0000 UTCThanks for researching this case. I watched the entire trial and really wanted to have greater understanding. (My husband is an Eagle Scout. It was his idea, and he was driven to achieve it. In some ways I think it was a differentiation from his family.) Chandler TOLD his mother to bring home Coke because he was going to be working late. He failed to mention that the work involved dismembering her.
Heather Carter
2022-01-29 11:03:14 +0000 UTCAlso, I look really forward to both of your opinions on things and I learn so much!! I appreciate Dr. John’s analysis!! Thanks to you both!! 🤠
Tracy
2022-01-29 09:32:30 +0000 UTCMaybe a weird question 🙋🏻♀️ !! However, I’d sincerely like to know the definition of a helicopter mother from Dr, John’s point of view! I think my kids are capable and all I request is do your best and I’m proud!! That’s all I can ask! Am I wrong? The word they fear the post is disappoint!! They work so hard to be the best they can!! I’m one proud mama!
Tracy
2022-01-29 09:30:27 +0000 UTCMy mom was a Den mother my father was a boy-scout leader and was a member of the Council. They breathed scouts yet neither of my brothers made it to Eagle Scout although close. It was my parents push for my brothers to be involved. The dragged me all over, the long drives to dump my dad and brothers to Many Point camp year after year, the ridiculous pinewood derby’s and all the things they had to do to get their badges, paint their paddles, Ugh…enough! And now my father regrets being away from the family so much of our childhood. I especially remember being angry at my mom till I hit my late 20’s. They were absent parents.
Prince Charmings Mom 2930
2022-01-29 05:41:47 +0000 UTCJust a minor correction, Jennifer Pan's father did survive and remembered the entire event. He testified against his daughter.
Jayne Freeman
2022-01-29 05:29:55 +0000 UTCChandler hinted at he and his Mom against the world, referring to his father as “he” in the police interview.
Lenore Lampi
2022-01-29 05:05:04 +0000 UTCOne other YouTube channel suggested there was too much “mothering”. I hate when the mother is blamed but I do see that he was babied. He needed to be held responsible and not live at home at age 23.
Lenore Lampi
2022-01-29 05:01:12 +0000 UTCYou know would be so fascinating to hear Dr John's take on Chris Watts. I know that case has been done over and over but not by somebody like Dr John with Lauren! There's so much there to analyze and it's fascinating and addicting you have to force yourself to stop reading and listening. We know more about all of the players in that case, each and everyone including his family and her family, the mistress , then we even do about our own selves I swear. There is so much out there and the world is still scratching their heads, analyzing and wondering how the heck Chris Watts went from being who he was (or portrayed himself to be for 35 years) to doing what he did. Which is beyond horrific. It's so hard to understand how and Dr John might be able to really help us that struggle with this understand. If anybody can it's him! Dr John and Lauren you are both so dang smart and together you guys do such a wonderful job with these cases. If you guys haven't studied into him, it gets you pulled in so fast. You could probably spend months and months going over all the discovery and interviews and family history and you'll still have interest. It's one of those that won't let you go. Or I think for some of us it is the number one case that keeps us wondering and looking for answers for whatever reason. Thank you so much for this episode, wonderful and so brilliant as always
Crystal Swannack
2022-01-29 04:24:15 +0000 UTCThank you for an illuminating podcast. I use to work in Investor Relations and at a conference I met a woman who did investor relations for Jose Menendez. She worked for him for several years and told our table he was a great boss and a very nice man. Just wondering if you ever researched this case and If you felt he sexually abused the boys? I didn’t watch the trial but my parents watched the entire trial. My mom felt they had been abused. My father (ex lawyer from Yale law school and editor of the law review) felt they were not abused. I loved your podcast on JonBenet Ramsey. After I heard your podcast I understood the situation so much better. Maybe you could do a case history on the Menedez case? Thank you so much for these great erudite podcasts. You had me at Oedipus.
Alicia Walker
2022-01-29 04:22:41 +0000 UTCI’ve never been so relieved to have some anxiety! Thanks for covering this case. Cases like this are so intriguing. I’m glad Chandler was convicted. I feel for his brother Mitchell. To go from having two parents and a sibling to being alone has to be awful. I always appreciate the thoughtful questions and analysis you give, Lauren & John. Keep it up.
Pamela Mosdell
2022-01-29 04:11:14 +0000 UTCBless you, friends!! What a fantastic conversation. This case is unendingly fascinating and so horrific at the same time. So glad you’re delving into this and I can’t wait for the next installment!
Krista Steiger
2022-01-29 04:09:21 +0000 UTCWell, clearly they couldn't turn to their mother. She is just as culpable. It was two brothers and a friend. The victim had a previous warrant for sexual assault of a child
Erica A. Zwick
2022-01-29 02:54:36 +0000 UTCSo glad you're covering this one!!! Thank you 😊
TriciaTheTrucker
2022-01-29 02:35:33 +0000 UTCMy question is: How could parents do this to their children? And why would their children not want to kill them? German couple jailed for selling son to paedophiles on dark net. The couple was given a 12-YEAR SENTENCE. Twelve years? That's insane. Six other men, including a Spanish man, a Swiss citizen and three German men who had paid the couple to abuse the boy, now 10, were given sentences of between eight and 10 years. Heinous. At 42, Elisabeth Fritzl had spent her entire adult life locked in a cellar and used as a sex slave by evil dad Josef Fritzl, who raped her over 3,000 times and fathered seven children. Aged four, Raven Kaliana's parents took her to a film studio where she was sexually abused in front of cameras. For most of her childhood they regularly trafficked her to the sex industry. Kamarie Holland’s mother reported her missing; investigators believe the mother sold the child, knowing the little girl would be sexually abused in exchange for money. Investigators say the little girl was raped, sodomized then strangled to death. When Kieu was 12, her mother asked her to take a job. But not just any job. Kieu was first examined by a doctor, who issued her a “certificate of virginity.” She was then delivered to a hotel, where a man raped her for two days. Ad nauseam. I am in no way suggesting that Chandler's parents were abusive in any way, shape or form.
Erica A. Zwick
2022-01-29 02:26:44 +0000 UTCJana, I agree! Watching his expressions as he viewed the forensic evidence was chilling.
Susan Dickman
2022-01-29 02:24:34 +0000 UTCYep, this seemed like a very similar case to me. Another young man about to be cut off financially by his parents. Joel Guy Jr. was one of the creepiest defendants I've ever seen. He looked like he was enjoying seeing all of the gruesome evidence of what he did.
Jana Rodgers
2022-01-29 02:17:06 +0000 UTCGreat episode. Dr. John, Thank you for the continued lessons regarding human behavior. At first I thought that Chandler killed his parents because he felt ashamed about being caught in his lies. But then wondered, is a psychopath capable of the feeling of shame? Chandler lies like Casey Anthony and kills like the Menendez brothers. I watched him during the trial and he seemed detached and unemotional. I thought that his defense was going to talk more about his concussion and blame his actions on that. I look forward to future episodes to learn more.
Tamara Wakeman Sukohl
2022-01-29 01:12:41 +0000 UTCI keep finding myself wanting to know the details that made Mitchell and others refer to their mother as a “helicopter mom.” What did she do, specifically, to earn that title, I wonder?
Katie Marlowe
2022-01-29 01:12:05 +0000 UTCI was going to ask about this… I watched the trial and always think… what would John and Lauren think!! how he kept all the lies and the all the anger?
Shay Wimmer
2022-01-29 00:56:34 +0000 UTCJoel Guy, Jr. of Tennessee is another man who murdered and dismembered his parents. He was found guilty Oct 2020. He killed them because his parents wanted to retire and stop paying for him to go to college.
Susan Dickman
2022-01-29 00:48:21 +0000 UTCOops! Guess it's reactive patricide! Would still love your analysis.
Stephanie Stewart
2022-01-29 00:33:55 +0000 UTCDr. John and Lauren, what do you think about the 3 boys who killed the stepfather abusing their 9 year old sister. True, they acted as vigilantes, but do you think they truly had no one to turn to?
Stephanie Stewart
2022-01-29 00:29:44 +0000 UTCDr. John, I’m not a doctor in any sense of the word and my handwriting is atrocious. Seriously, I’ve been hearing it all my life.
Katie Marlowe
2022-01-29 00:20:26 +0000 UTC
