Road Map to Murder

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20/20 1h 24m 16 speakers 8 chapters transcribed
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What happened to Bart and Krista Halderson?

Brad Milkey 0:01
Hey, I'm Brad Milkey. I'm the host of the Crime Scene Weekly, a new show from ABC Audio about the latest headlines in true crime. This week, we're talking about the massive prison break that shocked Louisiana in recent weeks. How did these inmates escape, and was it an inside job? Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Unnamed Witness 0:24
An all-new 2020 starts right now.
Police Officer 0:31
Sheriff's office to make yourselves known. No, this is no crawl space.
Detective 0:34
This is a dark, creepy space. You've got to be ready for anything. Absolutely. The clock was ticking. We needed to find them. The steepest stairs I've ever seen.
Unnamed Witness 0:42
The Halderson's are gone. They're missing.
Barbie Townsend 0:47
What do you mean they're missing? I can't even comprehend what that means.
Richard 0:50
The story is a couple came and picked them up and took them to the cabin.
Jill 0:55
And nobody knew who that couple was. There was a concern that Bart and Krista had been kidnapped by this couple that picked them up early that morning.
Forensic Expert 1:05
There were all these questions. For each answer you get, there are 17 more questions.
Investigator 1:10
What's going on in the household? You know, what aren't we discovering?

How did the Haldersons go missing?

Forensic Expert 1:14
This case really highlighted how social media tracks everything. And that became so crucial.
Friend of Luigi 1:20
I was like, hey, where you at? Where you at? Like, you're not responding to me on Snapchat.
Richard 1:24
You've got to get to that cabin. You've got to get to that cabin right now to figure out what happened.
Unnamed Witness 1:32
Mine goes to, did the worst happen? So what happens next?
Detective 1:35
He kind of had the craziest phone call that I had in my law enforcement career. He couldn't say much, but I should probably watch the news the next day. Holy . I don't really have words for it, to be honest.
Richard 2:23
Fourth of July, it's a day when people come together to celebrate our independence and the spirit of America. And that's what you'll see in Madison, Wisconsin.
Advertisement Narrator 2:33
Fourth of July celebrations have been going on all weekend, but of course Americans are going all out today.
Forensic Expert 2:38
The lakes are really core to the identity of Madison. Just being around water, being around nature is really big to a lot of people here.
Richard 2:52
Madison is Wisconsin's gorgeous capital city. Built on a strip of land connecting Lakes Monona and Mendota, generations of families have come here to lay roots. But as residents of a small town just north of here would come to know, secrets, lies, and betrayal don't stop at these shores.
Forensic Expert 3:15
Bart and Krista Halderson lived in a community called Windsor, just north of Madison. Everyone who knew the Haldersons loved them.
Unnamed Witness 3:24
We used to have a horseshoe league. Bart and Krista were on a horseshoe team. We competed against them two, three times a year. And just being neighbors, they were just people that ran into all the time. Absolutely salt of the earth people were Bart and Krista. Their house always looked good. It was well manicured. It was well mowed. It was always taken care of.
Forensic Expert 3:45
There were competitions in the neighborhood about who had the best lawn and who cared the most about their yards, and Bart cared about his yard.
Richard 3:53
Krista is an administrative assistant for a local auto shop, and Bart is an accountant.
Jill 3:57
Bart and Krista, they weren't rich, but they were comfortable.
Friend of Luigi 4:01
Yeah, they were just regular people trying to do their best.
Barbie Townsend 4:08
She was the youngest cousin, bright red hair. She was the baby of the family.
Richard 4:14
Barbie Townsend grew up in Southern California, but would often visit her younger cousin Krista at the family's rustic cabin in northern Wisconsin.
Barbie Townsend 4:22
Krista was fun, energetic, creative. She just was very exuberant, very outgoing.
Richard 4:28
Happy person, it sounds like. Very happy, yeah.
Barbie Townsend 4:30
Loved her a lot in life.
Richard 4:32
I know you got to know Bart a little bit later, but what was he like?
Barbie Townsend 4:35
I was happy for her that she found her person, and they were a really good team.
Richard 4:40
They complemented each other.
Barbie Townsend 4:41
Definitely, definitely. You know, he would have his strengths and she would have her strengths, but they always worked together.
Richard 4:48
Barbie told me that nothing matters more to Krista and Bart than their two sons, Mitchell and Chandler.
Barbie Townsend 4:54
They poured themselves into their children. They did family nights, game nights. They would cook dinner, barbecue together. In spring 2021, Krista had sent a picture of them all standing together. She was so proud of him. Mitchell had been with his girlfriend at that time about seven years, and Chandler had been with Kat maybe two years, on and off.

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