Dana Chandler's two adult children will testify that she "hated" and "was obsessed" with her former husband, Michael Sisco, and the woman he loved, Karen Harkness, a prosecutor said Friday during opening arguments for her trial on murder charges linked to their 2002 Topeka shooting deaths.

Chandler's daughter, Hailey Sisco, will recall how Chandler told her she had thought about killing Michael Sisco, added Shawnee County chief deputy district attorney Charles Kitt.

Chandler, who is representing herself with help from two attorneys, countered that jurors will hear testimony during her trial that contradicts or "puts into context" allegations the prosecution will make.

She added that she has "never wavered" from her assertion that she was in Colorado at the time of the killings.

"You will hear no evidence that I was in Topeka on July 6 or 7 of 2002," she said.

This is Dana Chandler's third trial in 2002 Topeka double homicide

About 25 people watched from the gallery Friday as a 16-person jury heard Chandler and Kitt make opening arguments in Chandler's trial on charges linked to the fatal shootings of Harkness and Michael Sisco early July 7, 2002, at Harkness's duplex in southwest Topeka.

This is the third trial for Chandler, 64, regarding the killings.

Michael Sisco and Chandler married in 1982 and divorced in 1998. Sisco was granted full custody of their daughter and son, who were 17 and 15 years old, respectively, at the time of his death.

Chandler said she was spending time alone in the Colorado mountains on the weekend Harkness and Sisco were killed.

Credit card records fuel prosecution argument

But prosecutors have noted that Chandler acknowledged buying two 5-gallon cans of gasoline on July 6, 2002.

They contend she used the gasoline to refuel her car during the round trip from Denver to Topeka, so she wouldn't leave any credit card records placing her in Kansas.

Records show Chandler turned off her cell phone minutes after buying the gasoline and it stayed off for 27 hours, Kitt said Friday.

He added that trial testimony will show how Chandler told a friend how — nearly a month earlier, on June 8 and 9, 2002 — Chandler had driven from Denver to Topeka "on a whim," broken into her husband's home, gone to Harkness's home, found neither, then returned to Denver.

Chandler's phone also remained off for 27 hours that weekend, Kitt said.

What did Chandler say Friday?

What has previously happened with this case?

A pool of 225 potential jurors was considered for jury duty in Chandler's trial. It began Monday, with jury selection lasting four days.

National media attention continues

The case against Chandler continues to receive national media attention.

A representative of "NBC Dateline," a news magazine reality legal show, shot video of Friday's opening arguments.

"NBC Dateline" had asked permission in October 2023 to have a camera in the courtroom. The Capital-Journal took still photos Friday for the pool of media outlets covering the case.