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WI v. Chandler Halderson Trial Day 1 - Mitchell Halderson - Defendant's Brother — Transcript

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0:00anything from the defense
0:02nothing thank you all right
0:06all right for the jury
0:24please be seated everyone
0:30i didn't get there myself but i heard
0:31it's cold outside ladies and gentlemen
0:33thank you for being prompt we had a
0:35couple of issues to take up outside of
0:37your presence let me inquire of you
0:39whether anyone inadvertently or
0:41intentionally was exposed to any
0:42information any discussions or
0:44participated in any discussions or
0:46investigation about the case while we
0:48were
0:49separated over the noon hour i see no
0:51hands as a housekeeping matter i want to
0:54draw your attention to one thing
0:56we are we do in this courtroom and we're
0:59using this courtroom because it has a
1:00media room which is behind you and
1:03that's intentional because the media is
1:05directed to not show the faces of any
1:08jurors that's an important part of our
1:10protection and our
1:13honoring your
1:14participation as citizens unwillingly
1:17although i hope willingly
1:19through this process
1:21it was pointed out to me that if i do at
1:24any point in time invite you to go ahead
1:26and stand and stretch
1:28that if you turn around in that process
1:30towards the media window you might
1:32inadvertently be
1:34photographed or or recorded and so i
1:37just wanted to mention that to you so
1:38that if you're doing that at any point
1:40in time or even if you're deciding your
1:42neck is stiff and you're gonna
1:44just uh aim your your head in a
1:47different direction be cautious about
1:48the fact that over your left shoulders
1:51there's a camera on the other side of
1:53the wall and they're certainly doing
1:55their best to not accidentally record
1:57anyone
1:59but they're also relying on your
2:00position within the courtroom as they're
2:02filming other things that go on so i
2:04just wanted to mention that to you folks
2:06thank you let's proceed with testimony
2:09attorney raymond yes the state's going
2:11to call mitchell hellerson to the stand
2:28do you solemnly swear firm the testimony
2:30you're about to give in this matter is
2:31the truth
2:44[Music]
2:48mr halperson if you are able to safely
2:51and responsibly i would appreciate your
2:53testifying without a mask if you could
2:55yes sir thank you so much
2:57go ahead
3:07good afternoon could you please state
3:09your name for the record and spell both
3:11your first and last name
3:13my name is mitchell holderson and that's
3:17e l m-i-t-c-h-e-l-l
3:18and then holderson is h a l d isn't
3:20david e r s o n
3:27what are the names of your parents
3:29mitchell uh bart and christa holderson
3:32um and do you have any siblings i do
3:35and who's your sibling chandler
3:38elderson
3:39um
3:42where'd you grow up
3:45was born in this area in dane county and
3:47then between third and fourth grade
3:49moved up to plymouth wisconsin which is
3:51in sheboygan county
3:52and then have lived around here for
3:55college and work
3:56after high school okay
4:03and i'm going to show you what has been
4:05marked
4:08as exhibit 27.
4:11do you describe exhibit 27 please
4:14that would be a picture of my parents uh
4:17actually a crop photo that i am also in
4:18we are at the new glarus brewery
4:21okay
4:21um and that was a somewhat recent last
4:24couple of years photo
4:25yes within the last four i forget
4:27exactly
4:30an accurate copy of that picture yes
4:32okay i would move exhibit 27.
4:35any objection no objection it may be
4:37published it is received
4:44so how old was your dad if you know in
4:46july of this year
4:48uh
4:49he
4:50was born in 71 so in july he just turned
4:5350.
4:54and your mom she was a few years older
4:56correct about three
4:58what did your dad do for a living he was
5:00an accountant
5:01do you remember the name of the firm
5:03that he worked with
5:04uh yeah uh bdo usa
5:08um taxes and things like that uh yes
5:12specifically with small businesses was
5:14his specialty
5:15um so was he kind of a money savvy sort
5:18of person
5:19i would say so definitely had finances
5:21understood them well
5:22do you believe in banks
5:25yeah
5:26okay
5:27um how old was your mom
5:30my mom was 53.
5:32what'd your mom do for a living
5:35was a stay-at-home mom for us growing up
5:37and has recently gone back to work as a
5:39receptionist at a car company
5:42um
5:45describe what was your dad like as a
5:46parent just very briefly
5:50he worked a lot so slightly absent
5:52during the time but
5:54i would say had good expectations for us
5:56and overall was a good parent
5:58how did you describe your mom
6:01a bit of the typical helicopter parent
6:03very involved in her everyday lives but
6:05again for the because she cared
6:07okay
6:09um so she
6:10stayed in communication with you often
6:12is that a fair statement yes
6:18what is the age difference between you
6:20and your brother chandler 18 months
6:23and are you the older or younger sibling
6:25i am the older
6:28and just for the record um i think the
6:31judge is going to ask everyone but the
6:33jury to remove their mask for a few
6:35seconds
6:36do you see your brother chandler
6:37hulderson in the courtroom today if
6:39everyone could lower their masks briefly
6:41and after one two three replace your
6:44mask thank you
6:46i do
6:46could you please describe by where he's
6:48seated and what sort of maybe the color
6:51of his shirt
6:52table to the right uh with a purple
6:54shirt and a suit
6:58i would ask the record to reflect that
7:00the witness has identified the defendant
7:02it shall
7:06so mitchell if you're 18 months older
7:08are you 24 or 25 i just turned 25 okay
7:13um and in july of 2021 where were you
7:17working and what did you do
7:19i work at epic systems and i am a
7:21technical services representative
7:23a computer guy
7:25sure yes okay
7:26and are you married single something
7:29else
7:30uh engaged engaged okay
7:33and how long have you been engaged
7:35a little over a year okay
7:38um and you live in the dane county area
7:40yes
7:41um in a house a condo something else in
7:44a house okay
7:47um and just briefly
7:49in june of this last year 2021 you had a
7:53significant health episode is that a
7:55fair statement
7:57yeah i'd say so okay what occurred
8:00i went to the doctor for a regular
8:02scheduled appointment since i hadn't
8:04gone during covit and wanted to get
8:06blood work done and i was diagnosed with
8:07type 1 diabetes
8:09and in fact you were hospitalized for a
8:10period of time yes that's true
8:13was your mom or dad did they seem
8:15concerned to you at all
8:17yes
8:18you kind of laughed there why'd you
8:20laugh my mom was overly concerned
8:23how did she express that
8:25not as much to me trying to not show me
8:27that but i have heard later on that she
8:29called her best friend many times crying
8:31okay
8:38growing up and moving into recently what
8:40sorts of things did you and your brother
8:42chandler do
8:44since we didn't live in the same house
8:46we would do things online like play
8:47video games and just talk that way okay
8:50what sort of video games did you play
8:53wide array but
8:55generally uh first person shooter games
8:57okay
8:59um
9:01and did your brother have a favorite
9:03weapon or gun in these games
9:05usually those of russian descent okay
9:08like the sks that's correct
9:11and in fact during your um illness your
9:15brother gave you a gift is that fair to
9:17say
9:18yes what did he give you
9:21a
9:22unknown type of bullet with the words
9:24get well soon on
9:34it i'm going to show you exhibit 26.
9:40how would you describe exhibit 26
9:42that is the same one
9:44that's the bullet that your
9:47brother gave you and wrote to get well
9:49on
9:50yes
9:51move exhibit 26 into evidence any
9:54objection no it is received it may be
9:56published
10:00i don't think the overhead
10:03it is does get well
10:18i want to turn your attention uh to
10:22when your parents went missing this year
10:25how did you learn that your parents were
10:27potentially missing
10:30i don't remember the exact date but i
10:31did receive a call from my mom's best
10:33friend
10:34that
10:35had let me know that they had gone up
10:36that she had heard that they had gone up
10:38to the cabin okay so i did not suspect
10:40them missing at that time i just had
10:41heard that okay um and what is the your
10:45mom's best friend's name that would be
10:46jane hilgendorf okay
10:48so you get a call and in fact you call
10:50her aunt jane i do okay so you get a
10:53call from your aunt jane um what do you
10:55do if anything in response to that call
10:58i don't recall the exact events but i
11:00did not think much of it because they
11:01would be known to go up to the cabin
11:03during the summer let's talk about that
11:05um so your parents own a cabin correct
11:09where is that cabin langley county
11:10wisconsin okay
11:12um and how would you describe that cabin
11:15my grandpa had built it so it was mostly
11:18wood logs uh pretty run-of-the-mill
11:20which you would think of as a rustic
11:21cabin okay
11:23uh is it on waterfront in the forest
11:26something else yes it is on sawyer lake
11:28wisconsin
11:30uh is there any other outbuildings
11:32associated with this cabin such as a
11:35shed or a boathouse or anything like
11:36that both of those there is a shed out
11:38in the front a boathouse in the back and
11:40a
11:41in shambles tree house in the front yard
11:43as well
11:44okay
11:45and uh did your parents own a boat of
11:47any sort
11:49i believe so there was definitely a
11:51canoe i don't believe there was a full
11:53boat or at least not that i remember and
11:55nothing like a pontoon or a ski boat or
11:57something nothing with a motor that i'm
11:59remembering
12:01how often do you believe your parents
12:03went to the cabin
12:05they would at least open and close it
12:07every year and go probably one or two
12:09more times in addition to that so three
12:11or four times a year over the summer
12:13okay and what were your parents habits
12:16um about keeping in touch or not keeping
12:18in touch with you
12:20um
12:21in connection when they went to the
12:22cabin my mom would reach out any chance
12:25she could so she would she would have
12:26told me
12:29did your parents tell you in the last
12:31week of june or the very beginning of
12:33july any
12:35idea that they may be going to the cabin
12:38no
12:42so you first hear from your aunt jane
12:44what is the next thing that happens that
12:47you remember and concerning your parents
12:49being missing
12:50the next thing i remember is
12:53chandler texted me that he is worried
12:54about them
12:56okay
12:58um what if anything did you do in
12:59response
13:01asked more about why and just to hear
13:04what they had told him about leaving
13:05because i didn't hear anything about it
13:07and what did you learn from chandler
13:10that they had gone up north with friends
13:12that he didn't know who those friends
13:13were and didn't know the car that they
13:14had taken okay
13:16um what was your understanding of
13:19friends that may go to the cabin with
13:21your parents
13:22the list there is a list of people that
13:24i would have assumed uh do you want me
13:26to go through that list sure um that
13:28would be my aunt aunt jane uncle mike uh
13:30also
13:31dan and mary sesto who were on lived on
13:34the same street as well as galen rick
13:35anapaki who you might also hear from and
13:38i had reached out to each one of those
13:40men each one of those families and had
13:42heard back that none of them were the
13:43ones that had gone up north
13:45did you have any understanding about who
13:47would drive when your parents went to
13:49the cabin
13:50unless it was one of those three i would
13:52assume that they would drive because
13:53they're the ones that know the way
13:55and there are certain folks notably dan
13:58sesto that goes up there often enough
13:59that i would understand driving but
14:01nobody else okay
14:03um
14:07what happens next as far as you're
14:09concerned with your parents what's the
14:11next piece of news you you learn
14:15eventually a detective comes to my house
14:18uh rich bennett in order to just ask
14:20some more questions of me during the dis
14:22uh the investigation i believe that was
14:24the next thing that had occurred okay
14:27um what happened after that uh i believe
14:31it was a wednesday it was whatever day
14:32chandler was originally arrested i had
14:34actually gone up to the cabin myself in
14:36order to check it out just to see what
14:37was going on and why did you go to the
14:38cabin
14:39i
14:40wanted to do something myself about it i
14:43felt like i needed to do something
14:45so at this point on wednesday or
14:47whatever day you ended up going to the
14:49cabin were you fairly concerned yes
14:52okay and what led you to be being so
14:54concerned
14:57not having heard from them not being
14:58able to get a hold of them and not being
15:00told that they had gone up there to
15:02begin with
15:03so during this time period that you
15:04learned they're missing did you reach
15:06out to your mom or dad via text or phone
15:08calls yes
15:10did you hear anything back no
15:12and did that concern you yes
15:17at any point during this the time that
15:20you learned your parents were missing
15:22did anybody
15:23tell you that perhaps they were out
15:24gambling
15:26i don't believe during that period of
15:28between july 1st and july 7th i had
15:30heard anything about gambling okay
15:33let me just ask were your parents
15:35gamblers
15:36no
15:38um have you ever been to a casino with
15:40them
15:42to your knowledge have they ever taken a
15:43vacation and with the
15:45with entertainment that is gambling
15:48not that i'm aware of okay
15:51were your parents big drinkers
15:54they've gotten more into drinking i'd
15:56say since they moved back down to
15:57windsor they're yes but not huge
16:00drinkers no
16:01did you ever know your parents to drink
16:03tequila
16:06my mom would drink margaritas but not
16:08from mixing it herself it was the
16:11costco brand pre-made stuff okay
16:14um did you know either of your parents
16:16to drink jen
16:18i no i do not
16:21did your parents take their work or
16:23their jobs
16:25seriously not seriously or something
16:27else very seriously
16:30to your knowledge have they ever no
16:32called and no showed for work in the
16:34past that would be very strange for them
16:36to do
16:48i want to sh uh
16:50so you go up north
16:52um and you meet the a deputy up there
16:54correct um what do you do once you're
16:56out there
16:57before the deputies arrived i took a lap
16:59around the cabin myself just because i
17:00didn't want to wait outside any longer
17:02eventually langley county i guess the
17:04deputies i believe they were sheriffs
17:06and deputies met us there and eventually
17:07i took another walk around the property
17:09with them just pointing out things that
17:10i noticed
17:12and also
17:13they busted into the doors because they
17:15were all locked and the keys that i had
17:17were not working
17:18okay
17:21um and at any point obviously you did
17:23not find your parents up there no
17:26did you find any signs at all that they
17:28had been there
17:29nothing looked like it had been used
17:31there was a couple pieces of trash
17:32around but i believe that's just because
17:34sometimes people will walk through the
17:35property on the way either between
17:37properties or just in the way either way
17:39i do not believe it had been used
17:40anytime recently
17:48mitchell i want to ask you a few things
17:51um about your brother and what you knew
17:54in july of june and july of 2021. where
17:58if anywhere did you believe your brother
18:00worked
18:01in june of 2021
18:03i believed at american family what did
18:05you think he did there
18:07answering questions on a message board
18:10things you can do from remotely
18:13your understanding is working from home
18:14like most people yes
18:18did you have any understanding about his
18:21payment schedule or anything like that
18:23in connection with american family no i
18:25wasn't really told much about that did
18:28you uh
18:29when he was arrested in july of 2021
18:32were you under the impression he was
18:34still working at american and family i
18:36was
18:40what if anything did you believe about
18:42your brother chandler's schooling okay
18:44believed he had not currently graduated
18:46yet but was attending online classes at
18:48matc
18:50uh and what did you believe he was
18:52studying
18:53renewable resource engineering was the
18:55general consensus i had
18:56did you have any um knowledge about when
18:59he was scheduled to graduate or no okay
19:06and
19:07in june of
19:082021 your brother suffers a fall
19:13what if anything did you know about that
19:14fall
19:16i was told that
19:18while my dad was home working he had
19:20heard a thud and that he went upstairs
19:22to find my brother on the on the ground
19:25next to the staircase or on the
19:26staircase
19:28and did you see your brother in june of
19:312021
19:33in june i
19:35did yes okay
19:37um what if any sort of lingering medical
19:41effects did he have
19:43to your knowledge
19:46i wasn't aware of a lot i believe there
19:49was
19:50general numbness i was told kind of uh
19:54during that and overall tiredness as
19:56well
19:57did you know anything
19:59about any potential long-term damage
20:03i don't believe that i was told enough
20:05yet it seemed like it was still under
20:06evaluation
20:08and did you know anything about
20:09appointments in the future i actually
20:11did i was told
20:13by
20:14chandler during that between the time
20:16frame i don't remember the exact date
20:18between july 1st and july 7th that he
20:20had an appointment and he was being he
20:21was asking if i could help give him a
20:23ride in case he needed one okay
20:27did you guys ever firm up any plans to
20:29take him to his appointment we had
20:31offered a ride if needed but he never
20:33ended up needing it
20:34okay
20:36and
20:38do you know roughly what date you
20:41were diagnosed with diabetes
20:45if the weekend was june 13th to 15th it
20:49was in that it was in the middle of the
20:50month whatever weekend around there
20:52and did chandler's fall occur before or
20:55after or during your hospitalization
20:59after
21:00okay um within days
21:03i don't remember could have been a week
21:05okay
21:11other than um chandler seeming tired did
21:14you
21:15personally observe any differences uh to
21:18chandler's physical appearance
21:20just the neck brace but no nothing else
21:23did you observe any difficulty he had
21:25walking
21:27i don't think so no did you observe any
21:30weakness of limbs
21:31picking things up anything like that
21:34i didn't see him pick much up either so
21:37i guess i can't say okay
21:44so mitchell i need to ask you a few
21:46difficult questions
21:48um
21:50are you a beneficiary for your parents
21:52life insurance i am
21:57how much do you believe that you will
22:00end up getting
22:01um out of life insurance
22:04because of their deaths
22:06they have a few different policies it is
22:08in the
22:10if i'm remembering correctly it is in
22:11the ballpark of around a million dollars
22:14that includes the house as well
22:17yeah that's i don't think i don't
22:18believe that's including the house
22:19actually
22:21have you been paid out anything as of
22:23today no
22:24is anybody else listed as a beneficiary
22:29i believe it went to my mom first if
22:32if my dad's death had preceded my mom's
22:33i guess their their policies listed each
22:35other as primary but then yes also my
22:37brother was listed in the same line as i
22:39was
22:42and mitchell did you have anything to do
22:43with your parents being missing not
22:46going missing no
22:48and were you fully cooperative in the
22:50investigation yes
22:52did you provide a dna or a buckle sample
22:55upon request yes
22:57did you provide proof of work
23:01during the first week in july upon
23:03request i did
23:05um and did you participate in multiple
23:07interviews with multiple different
23:09officers yes
23:15nothing further
23:16cross-examination
23:19good afternoon mr halderson
23:23my first questions have to do with um
23:26you living at that house in
23:29windsor wisconsin did you ever live
23:31there yourself
23:33i would never have listed that as my
23:34address no but i have stayed there over
23:37weekends
23:42and before july of 2021
23:46you would be at that home one or two
23:48times a month perhaps to visit
23:53you know probably in the ballpark of two
23:55two to three possibly even four times a
23:57month yeah we we visited often because
23:59they were close
24:00and would those be overnight visits
24:03occasionally yes
24:04and when you say we is that with your um
24:06fiance that's correct
24:09now in july of 20 or june of 2021
24:14um you did visit there on father's day
24:16is that right
24:19or fourth let me rephrase that you
24:21visited there for a father's day
24:22celebration that's correct but it wasn't
24:25on father's day i don't remember the
24:27date
24:29and that was a meal with everyone
24:32yes
24:33yes i believe i'm
24:35remembering the date you're talking
24:36about now yes
24:38how many other times did you visit that
24:40home in june of 2021
24:44i don't believe i would be able to give
24:45an accurate number it would it's a
24:48couple
24:49but i don't remember the exact amount
24:57and is it fair to say that that would
24:59have been the number of times you saw
25:00your brother that month as well in
25:02person
25:04that is correct because yes
25:07you guys didn't get together other times
25:14now you did um or you do or you did have
25:16a relationship with your brother online
25:19is that right that's correct
25:21mostly playing um what you what our
25:24first person shooter video games
25:27mainly yes
25:28now in direct testimony you indicated
25:31that your brother was
25:34very interested in russian guns
25:36particularly the sks correct
25:39yes
25:40and that interest goes back
25:42uh several years at least right yes how
25:45many years do you think that goes back i
25:47wouldn't be able to tell you that a long
25:49time
25:50is that true
25:59and in fact when you would play he'd
26:00always pick that weapon if possible
26:02correct
26:04variety is something that's always nice
26:06but yeah that's definitely it would
26:07definitely be an option that would be
26:08one of his first pick yes
26:20now i'd like to ask you a little bit
26:22about the cabin um
26:24it's been a number of years since you've
26:26actually before july of 2021 it was a
26:29number of years before you act since you
26:31actually went there correct that's
26:33correct i did not frequent it as often
26:34as my parents
26:40do you remember the last time you went
26:42to the cabin
26:46i don't remember exactly which year now
26:48but it was
26:49probably
26:51in somewhere between three and five
26:52years
26:54it had been a while
26:59and have you did do you recall going to
27:02the cabin ever without your parents
27:04being with you no
27:12and when your parents would go to the
27:14cabin you say maybe four times a summer
27:18it wasn't uncommon that they would turn
27:20their phones off correct
27:24i think cell reception has gotten better
27:26over the years however the area is a
27:27little spotty in cell reception so it
27:30wouldn't be uncommon for them to turn
27:32them off to avoid roaming charges
27:36but they would also power them back on
27:37on occasion in order just to make sure
27:38that they would update us
27:49over the weekend of july 4th 2021
27:55you weren't concerned about your parents
27:58until
27:59what point
28:02can you rephrase that yeah at what point
28:04did you become concerned about your
28:06parents
28:08so i was initially concerned because i
28:09hadn't heard of them going up it wasn't
28:11to the level of filing a missing
28:13person's case until
28:15i had heard further from from chandler
28:17that he was so con is concerned enough
28:19in order to do the to do that so
28:22my concern grew as time went on i would
28:24say around once that monday tuesday date
28:26where they were supposed to return hit i
28:28was definitely pretty concerned
28:31do you remember talking to um deputy
28:34celie from the sheriff's department
28:39i don't
28:41i don't remember that do you remember if
28:43you ever told doctor or excuse me
28:45detective celie
28:46that you yourself were not personally
28:49concerned at the time you were talking
28:51to deputy celie
28:54i don't remember which day that was and
28:56i also don't remember saying that
28:59is that something you might have said
29:02depending on the date possibly because
29:04as i said my concern grew over time so
29:06if it was early on then yes possibly
29:08so it's possible that at first you
29:11weren't that concerned
29:13normal for your parents to go up north
29:15but that your concern grew over time is
29:17that correct that is correct i still was
29:19concerned because they hadn't told me
29:21beforehand that they had left however it
29:23wasn't
29:24as concerned as to file a missing
29:26person's report
29:51thank you i don't have any other
29:52questions any redirect attorney raymond
29:58no
29:59may mr holderson be excused and released
30:02he's excused from his subpoena therefore
30:04right now he remains exempt from the
30:06sequestration order but it remains under
30:08technical so you would you would still
30:10have an obligation to re be recalled if
30:12recalled and thus you have to follow the
30:14sequestration as if you hadn't testified
30:17so far thank you sir you can return back
30:19to the
30:19lobby or the waiting room thank your
30:21honor the judge i'll note his exclusion
30:23from the sequestration order oh okay i
30:25see i'm sorry i misunderstood
30:28there's an exclusion so that you don't
30:30have to stay or avoid the courtroom even
30:33if you were to be recalled to testify
30:35thank you
30:37and attorney raymond
30:39yes the state is going to call sergeant
30:41groans to the stand

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