David and Melinda Harmon seemed to have the kind of marriage built on unshakable faith. They were young, devoted, and deeply involved in their Nazarene community. David worked as a banker. Melinda served as a secretary at a nearby Nazarene university. Together, they embodied the values their church preached: love, commitment, and service. But on a cold February night in 1982, that image shattered. According to police, two masked intruders broke into the Harmons’ home while the couple slept. They were said to be searching for the keys to David’s bank. What happened next was brutal. David was attacked in his bed, bludgeoned repeatedly with a crowbar, while Melinda awoke to a nightmare. She told investigators she was forced downstairs, threatened, and made to hand over the bank key before the intruders fled into the night. It was a story that gripped their tight-knit church community and for years, no one questioned it. But decades later, shocking new evidence would reveal that the truth was far more twisted than anyone imagined. This is the story of faith, deception, and a murder that shattered a community’s belief in good and evil and proved that evil is everywhere, even in the most devout places.

Sources:

The Lineup – Mark Mangelsdorf: The Man Who Killed His Best Friend and Got Away with It for 24 years – Sarah Mangiola – April 18, 2017 - Mark Mangelsdorf Killed His Best Friend and Escaped for Years

In Plain Sight – Sleeping with the Devil – S1.E7

Olathe News – Police Investigate Olathe Murder – Greg Sackuvich – March 2, 1982

Olathe News – Obituary – Deaths – Funerals – David Harmon – March 2, 1982

Fox 4 News – Johnson Co. woman walks out of prison after serving 9 years for husband’s murder – Michelle Pekarsky, Shannon O’Brien – April 29, 2015 - Johnson Co. woman walks out of prison after serving 9 years for husband’s murder | FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports

The Cinemaholic – Where is Melinda Raisch Now? – Viswa Vanapalli – December 4, 2021 - Melinda Raisch Now: Where is David Harmon's Wife Today? Update

KMBC News 9 ABC – Man convicted in 1982 fatal beating to be released Saturday – May 3, 2016 - Man convicted in 1982 fatal beating to be released Saturday

The Kansas City Star – Killer in infamous Olathe love triangle case soon will go free – Tony Rizzo – April 5, 2019 - Killer in infamous Olathe love triangle case soon will go free | Kansas City Star

Wikipedia – Olathe, Kansas - Olathe, Kansas - Wikipedia