A Happy Family
The Pans lived a comfortable life in Ontario, Canada. The family consisted of Jennifer, her mother Bich Ha, her father, Hann, and her older brother, Felix, who lived on his own. Her parents were Vietnamese immigrants who worked hard to provide their children with the best.
Although she was 24 years old at the time this story took place, she still lived with her parents. Jennifer was the perfect daughter in her parents' eyes, and they had extremely high expectations of their children.
Hard Work
Bich Ha and Hann didn't have it easy. They escaped the Vietnam War and arrived in Canada by boat. Having very little money, they had to work hard and be thrifty in order to save up enough money to provide for their children.
Eventually, they were able to buy a large house in a wealthy neighborhood. They set many goals for their children and expected them to excel in everything - and they did. Jennifer, in fact, was extremely talented in many ways.
Gifted
Jennifer began taking piano lessons when she was only four years old and was extremely skilled at it. Not only did she have a talent for music, but she was also a talented figure skater.
Jennifer was so good that she started training for the Olympics, but she sadly tore her knee and was not able to fulfill this dream. She then focused more in her academic career and only got the best grades.
Tiger Parents
But Jennifer did not achieve all of this because she wanted to. Her parents were in fact pushing her to take as many extracurricular activities as possible and made sure she studied and did her homework every day.
She was not allowed to date and was always picked up and dropped off by her parents wherever she went. Whenever she accomplished something, her parents were not glad but disappointed she did not do better. This is known as tiger parenting.
Not Normal
Even though Jennifer was a very accomplished young woman, she was not normal. She barely had any friends because her parents gave her very little freedom, and her life only revolved around studying.
Her parents even chose her studies for her. She studied pharmacology at the University of Toronto and had excellent grades, but she only did it because Hann made her do it.
More Freedom
When Jennifer started college, she finally started to enjoy some freedom. Her parents allowed her to stay near the campus with a female friend during the week, and on weekends she would go back to the family home.
On November 8, 2010, Jennifer was staying at home with her parents when tragedy struck the family. Once she went to bed, she heard loud noises coming from downstairs, and something horrible happened.
Home Invasion
The Pans lived a frugal life, but they had saved enough money to buy a large house and purchase two luxury cars. Perhaps, this is what drove three gunmen into their home that fateful night.
The three mysterious men made their way into the house and grabbed Hann, who was sleeping, and took him downstairs. Then, they did the same thing with his wife. Meanwhile, Jennifer was in her room talking on the phone with a friend.
The Crime
Then, one of the men went up to Jennifer's room and asked her for money. She told him she had no idea what he was talking about and he tied her hands behind her back with a black shoelace and dragged her to the stairs.
Jennifer was then tied to the banister and left there by the burglars, who took all the cash they could find in the house. Then, they made their way downstairs and demanded more money from Jennifer's parents.
Just The Beginning
But the horror was just beginning. Jennifer was left upstairs while her parents were taken to the basement by the burglars. Then, they put a blanket over Bich Ha and Hann's heads and shot them.
Five gunshots were heard, and the men escaped. Jennifer had been spared, left tied to the banister upstairs. She took her phone out of her pocket and dialed 911.
The Call
During her 911 call, a scream could be heard in the background: it was Hann, who had survived his gunshot wound. Jennifer was screaming for him, but instead of going upstairs to get her, he ran out of the house.
Meanwhile, Jennifer was screaming and begging the 911 operator to bring an ambulance immediately. Not long after, the police arrived. They found Jennifer exactly as she had described: tied to the bannister with her hands behind her back.
Raising Suspicion
This was the first red flag that immediately set police officers off. How did Jennifer make that 911 call if her hands were tied behind her back? They were sure to interrogate her later.
Downstairs, Bich Ha's lifeless body was found with multiple gunshot wounds. Hann was still alive, but fell into a coma and was rushed to the hospital. Jennifer was the only one who came out of the ordeal unharmed.
Another Red Flag
The fact that Jennifer was completely unharmed was also a red flag to police. Why would the criminals kill two people but leave a witness alive? They felt that they had to interrogate Jennifer as soon as possible.
Upon examining the house, they realized that not much had been stolen. The thieves only took around $2,000, but left plenty of cash behind as well as the luxury cars and electronics that belonged to the Pans.
The Interrogation
When Jennifer was interrogated, she showed the investigators how she managed to grab her phone and call 911 while she was tied with her hands behind her back. She gave them a plausible explanation.
She managed to grab her phone out of her pocked and turn the volume on max in order to hear the 911 operator. After she explained this, the police didn't have anything to hold against her - that was until they analyzed the 911 call again.
In A Coma
When they heard the 911 call again, the police realized that Hann could be heard screaming and running out of the house. Why didn't he run upstairs to get Jennifer? It seemed as though he was running away from her.
Sadly, Hann was in a coma, so he could not be questioned. For some time, it was unsure whether Hann would wake up at all but miraculously, he did. Then, he told police exactly what happened that night.
A Miracle
Miraculously, Hann came out of his coma. As soon as he was fit to speak, the police interrogated him. The police were shocked to hear a completely different story from what Jennifer had told them.
But his story began much earlier than the night of the crime, and it leads all the way back to the time when Jennifer was still in high school. This is when she began creating an elaborate web of lies.
The Lies Begin
Jennifer was overwhelmed by the pressure her parents put on her. She was exhausted and did not want to do what they told her anymore, so she began sneaking behind their backs. She started meeting friends when she was supposed to be in class.
Her grades started dropping and she eventually stopped attending high school, meaning she never graduated. When her parents though she was going to school, Jennifer was out and about, living her life.
More Lies
Obviously, since she didn't finish high school, she didn't go to university either. She forged all her report cards and bought a fake high school diploma, then also bought a fake acceptance letter from university.
But Jennifer was very careful with her lies. She bought textbooks and actually read them while she was around her parents, who believed everything she said. It was only a few years into her "college education" that they discovered the truth.
Getting Caught
Since Jennifer wasn't allowed to date, she had to do it in secret. She met a guy named Daniel Wong, who was a drug dealer, and the two quickly fell in love. In order to spend more time with him, Jennifer had to come up with more lies.
She told her parents she got a job at a hospital, so she would spend even more time away from home. However, when her parents noticed that she didn't have a uniform or a hospital ID, they became suspicious.
Following Her
Her mother secretly followed Jennifer one day as she was "'going to work", and she discovered the truth: she was actually meeting with her boyfriend, Daniel. Then, all hell broke loose.
Her parents were understandably furious. They discovered that not only was she dating someone in secret but that she also had lied to them for years about her education. Hann told his daughter that she could only see Daniel over his dead body - and she might have taken this literally.
No Way Out
In Jennifer's mind, the only way out of this was to get rid of her parents, and her boyfriend seemed to agree. Police traced her and Daniel's phone records and were able to piece together all of their footsteps.
Daniel contacted two men he knew from his drug dealings and offered them money to fake a home invasion and kill Jennifer's parents and leave Jennifer unharmed.
Hann's Story
After revealing all of Jennifer's lies, Hann told police about what happened that night, and what he said left investigators speechless: Jennifer actually went downstairs and opened the door for the men to come in.
The three men, hired by Daniel, came into the house and greeted Jennifer in a friendly manner before getting to work. Jennifer went upstairs, and then the horror began. Hann and Bich Na barely had any time to realize what was going on.
Interrogated Again
Even though the police had a clear idea of what happened, they needed a confession from Jennifer to really close the case. After nine hours of interrogation, she finally gave in - or so investigators thought.
She admitted to hiring the hitmen, but she claimed that she wanted them to kill her and not her parents because she did not have the courage to commit suicide. But she wanted to cancel the hit and the men got angry, so they killed her parents. Of course, the police did not buy this story.
Sentenced
Thanks to her phone records, however, the police got enough proof that Jennifer and Daniel communicated with the hitmen, who were also identified. Daniel also admitted that Jennifer wanted her parents dead, which was the last nail in the coffin.
One of the hitmen pleaded guilty, so he got a deal, while the other two, Daniel, and Jennifer pleaded not guilty. All four them were sentenced to life in prison. Hann made a full recovery but never contacted Jennifer again. She still maintains her innocence.