David Harmon
Cold Case Pinned on Soccer Mom
Pelham Man Pleads Guilty in a 1982 Killing in Kansas
Man Enters Plea in Nearly 24-year-old Killing
Raisch found guilty of killing husband 23 years ago
At Sentencing in ’82 Murder, Confrontation and Anguish
Odd murder case continues twists, turns as prosecutor argues for killer’s release
Parole denied in 1982 murder
Conspiracy to Kill
Books
A Cold-Blooded Business: Love, Adultery, and Murder in a Small Kansas Town
Movies/Documentaries
48 Hours Mystery: A Knock On The Door
Deadly Affairs: In Too Deep
I’d Kill For You: Deliver Us From Evil
Defendants
Melinda Harmon Raisch – convicted; sentenced to 10 – 20 years in prison; denied parole 2011, released from prison 4/29/2015, will have 10 years of probation
Mark Mangelsdorf – pled guilty; sentenced to 10 – 20 years in prison; denied parole 2011, not eligible again until 2016, released from prison 5/6/2016
INMATE INFORMATION
Name(s)
Name Type Name
Conviction RAISCH, MELINDA JEAN
True LAMBERT, MELINDA JEAN
Alias HARMON, MELINDA
Birthdate(s)
Birthdate Type Birthdate Age
True Jul 16, 1957 55
Demographics
Eye Color Blue
Hair Color Brown
Height 5′-8″
Weight 144
Gender Female
Race White
INMATE INFORMATION
Name Type Name
Conviction MANGELSDORF, MARK
True MANGELSDORF, MARK STEVEN
Birthdate(s)
Birthdate Type Birthdate Age
True Mar 31, 1960 52
Demographics
Eye Color Hazel
Hair Color Brown
Height 6′-4″
Weight 220
Gender Male
Race White
Filed under: crime, Domestic Violence, murder, murder in the 20th Century, Psycho for Love | Tagged: 1982, bludgeoned to death, cold case, David Harmon, domestic violence, homicide, Kansas, love triangle, Mark Mangelsdorf, Melinda Harmon, Psycho for Love, spousal murder |
Bonnie's Blog of Crime 
Okay, how stupid is Mangelsdorf?
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Well, if by stupid you refer to Intelligence Quotient, then no, he’s not.
If by stupid you mean pure evil, then yes he’s way evil stupid.
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I knew Mangelsdorf in his career. I always found him to be creepy and odd, though had no idea that he was a violent murderer.
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His wife is a deluded twit.
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The horrific nature of this carefully planned and meticulously pre-meditated murder and cover-up by Mangelsdorf, Raisch and her family was compounded by Leftist Paul Morrison, the Johnson County District Attorney who thought that a few years for murder was a few years too many.
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I’ve read this case from Reader’s Digest.
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This was premeditated first degree murder but both killers were only convicted of second degree murder. They both should have received life sentences.
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Problem is they only had circumstantial evidence. They were able to force Melinda to tell them the truth. There was no new evidence.
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Linda was convicted at trial it was on 20/20. Then she was able to plea for testifying against Mark, though I don’t understand how or why they did it
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You really don’t understand the justice system. Too much time has passed. No way they would get a conviction. This was a plea deal. After all the time it’s as good as it gets.
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I agree with Jack; Life! I also know the justice system is so far off base it’s not funny; But this young lady was so entrenched with her Fathers beliefs, she thought killing him would be better than leaving him. Sadly! And when her lover mutilated him, she couldn’t stay with him after seeing it. Ok! They get 5 years? Well they need to keep denying them freedom, it’s actually worse than a release date. This Man lost his life and they lived theirs, and even if they never get out, they both got away with murder. So what-if…. Melinda lied to the DA to get the deal and Mark took the deal because it was a better deal than life; Maybe he was just there to clean up the crime, or not at all; Why did he whisper in her ear; “I got rid of the murder weapon? Was it hers? This Man was killed with a lot of rage; could she have felt so overwhelmed about her religion, that she went crazy. What was the noise heard next door, and why did it take over an hour for her to get next door. I think it’s because she called Mark, after she killed him.
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Very disaponted that the first investigation detectives did not find them gulties of this youg manmurder at the bigining of the investigation it passed many years after to find the tru eventhoug they should have receiived life in prision
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People wonder why some people think it’s two different justice systems in this country depending on superfluous things like social status, how much money you have, race, etc. If the first investigators did their job, these low lives would ahve been locked up back in 1983. Good to know his life was worth a plea deal that the proscecutor said, “tThey’ve led productive lives since, you know besides that murder.” Gimme a break.
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This is for Kristina – how do you sleep at night, girl, knowing the father of your children bashed a human being’s skull so badly his eyeball popped out? Do you have any human feeling or shame?
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Both of these two psychotic killers have been treated with kid gloves by the so called justice system – you can bet that if these two were blue collar they would be in prison for life – Manglesdorf has a place waiting for him in hell
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How sad for the Harmon family..so unjust! And both of these sociopaths married well and appear to have attractive and loyal spouses through this whole ordeal. Then again what does it say about the spouses who would continue to live with, trust, and support vicious killer?. They not only killed but killed someone they both professed to care deeply for and or loved!! The psychological aspect of these people is unbelievable. It is so far removed from my thinking….I can hardly kill a bug!
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it says that the spouses are better people than you. people that have the capacity to see beyond huge mistakes made 20 something years ago. don’t put yourself in this “i can hardly kill a bug” position. the sad thing is, is that we build ourselves up to be these incredible people because we compare ourselves to murderers and think, “oh well at least we’re not that bad.” well the truth of the matter is that you’re just as bad for thinking that someone should be labeled “murderer,” deserving of shame and dehumanization, without knowing anything more than a news title and a few details. it’s sorta hilarious how we think that we can cast stones- i’d love to see your dirty laundry. maybe then we can write comments about you!
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The murderess walks free to kill again.
Her dentist [second] husband is probably high on her kill list.
Look for Mangelsdorf to be unleashed upon the unsuspecting next year.
His first wife escaped due to divorce, but his current wife will once again be in the cross-hairs.
(Remember that he bludgeoned the eyeball out of his ‘friend’s’ skull so he could maintain the adulterous affair with the murderess.)
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how sad it is that you make it like a novel, creating the future and deciding everyone’s fate. here’s an outrageous thought: both “murder” and “murderess” (ok, how annoying that you even gave it that title) leave jail in full understanding of what they did, and hearts totally changed. scandalous, don’t you think?! maybe if there wasn’t so many people like you in the world setting people up for failure, discouraging them before they even get a chance, less of these cases would show up in the news. stop playing god and start hoping that these people, who are no worse than you, get to make a change in their lives.
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Wow “Nicole”, seriously delusional. Sad what people will do with their minds just to keep from accepting the truth. The guy is a MURDER. He beat his best friend so hard his eyes fell out of his skull. just so he could ‘get some’ from his dead friend’s wife, who ended up still not giving him anything because she was disgusted by him! He shamelessly lied about it for 25 decades INCLUDING lying to his beloved wife who supported him blindly through the whole thing until whooopsie at the end he decides to plead guilty, I’m sure that hit her like a ton of bricks. Must be great raising your children with a lying murder/adulterer to call “dad”. But you’re right, he is a “much better person” than we are, even though you know absolutely not one thing about a single person here. Did you guys know that writing about the proven fact that someone beat his friend’s skull in makes you a more horrible person than the guy that actually beat the skull. Welcome to the delusional world of “nicole” get a grip the truth sets everyone free it’s not just a saying
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On the show 20/20, they showed Linda being convicted at trial of 1st degree murder, but later said she agreed to testify against Mark for the lesser charge and sentence. Does anyone know how that’s possible. How can they do that if she was already convicted and sentenced?
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Rest In Peace David Harmon…God’s sweet justice will be dealt!
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They both should have gotten life with no Parol it was Pre Meditated all the way They should have never given any deals That Guys Wife is Clueless living with a Murderer.
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Does anyone know if M Menglesdorf (misspelled) got paroled in 2016? This is a travesty of justice. They both deserved Life without parole. They are rewarded with short sentences for telling the truth. They should be punished for lying for all those years. The truth should have been told from the start. That is when considering deals should be made. They should be punished for their crime and not rewarded for doing the right thing, and doing it only because they would benefit. Doing the right thing does not mean its only right if you benefit or if it “feels good”. We are all expected to do whats right and most people will, regardless of the lack of reward. Thanks for a lousy job yo all the officials who worked on this case. You all don’t sleep at night and I know it. Now you’ll sleep less you morons.
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Yes, he was released on parole 5/6/2016 and moved to New York.
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