Emilie Meyer
Jennifer Pan, born in 1986, was a 24-year-old Canadian woman when she was accused of conspiring to kill her parents in 2010. Her shocking case has recently been brought back into the spotlight by a Netflix documentary, titled 'What Jennifer Did'. The film recounts the story of Pan's plot to hire hitmen to murder her parents and the web of lies that unraveled as a result.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Jennifer Pan |
| Date of Birth | 17 June 1986 |
| Age | 37 years |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Ethnicity | Vietnamese |
| Parents | Bich Ha Pan and Huei Hann Pan |
| Siblings | Felix |
| Education | Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School |
| Conviction | First-degree murder and attempted murder |
| Sentence | Life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 25 years |
| Year of Conviction | 2014 |
| Year of Sentencing | 2015 |
| Appeal Status | Retrial ordered by the Court of Appeal for Ontario in May 2023 |
| Current Status | Incarcerated and maintains innocence |
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What You'll Learn
Jennifer Pan's age when she was sentenced
Jennifer Pan, a Canadian woman, was sentenced to life in prison in 2014 at the age of 28. She was found guilty of the first-degree murder of her mother and the attempted murder of her father. Pan's parents were shot in their home in Markham, Ontario, Canada, in November 2010. Pan's mother, Bich Ha Pan, died, and her father, Huei Hann Pan, was critically injured.
Pan was born on June 17, 1986, and grew up in the Toronto area with her brother, Felix. Her parents were Vietnamese immigrants who placed high expectations on her academic performance. According to a 2015 article in Toronto Life, Pan did not graduate from high school after failing calculus. She also allegedly lied to her parents about graduating from college and working as a pharmacist.
Pan's case gained widespread attention, and her story is featured in a 2024 Netflix documentary titled "What Jennifer Did." The documentary explores Pan's alleged double life and the pressure she faced from her parents. It also includes footage from her interrogation, where she expressed depression and disappointment with herself.
As of 2024, Pan maintains her innocence and is awaiting a hearing in the Supreme Court of Canada. Her legal team expects the hearing to take place in late 2024 or early 2025.
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Her parents' expectations
Jennifer Pan's parents, Bich Ha Pan and Huei Hann Pan, were said to have had extremely high expectations of their children. They set many goals for them and closely monitored Jennifer's extracurricular activities. They never permitted her to date while attending high school or attend dances out of fear that these activities would distract from her academic commitments. They also did not allow her to attend parties during the time they believed she was at university.
Jennifer's parents expected her to excel academically. They made her take music theory and harmony lessons at the age of 12, as well as figure skating classes, where she trained most days of the week. Her aspirations to become an Olympic figure skating champion ended when she tore a knee ligament. At Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School, Jennifer played the flute in the school band. Despite her parents' expectations, her grades in high school were only average, except for music.
Jennifer's parents also forbade her from seeing her boyfriend, Daniel Wong, after they discovered she had been lying to them about her education. They had found out that she had deceived them about graduating from high school, college, and working as a pharmacist for years. This deception was a significant source of conflict between Jennifer and her parents, leading to her eventual plot to kill them.
Jennifer's parents' high expectations and restrictive rules took a toll on her mental health. After her arrest, police found diary entries in which she wrote about her depression and how her parents didn't want her to be with Daniel Wong. She started self-harming and told police that she hired the hitmen to kill her instead, as she felt like a disappointment and no longer wanted to live.
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The 911 call
On November 8, 2010, Jennifer Pan, then 24 years old, made a frantic 911 call from her family home in Ontario, Canada. She told the dispatcher that armed intruders had broken into the house, tied her up, and shot both her parents. Pan's mother, Bich Ha, died at the scene, and her father, Huei Hann, was critically injured.
In the 911 call, Pan can be heard pleading with the dispatcher to send help, while her injured father can be heard screaming in the background. The call marked the beginning of a captivating criminal case, as investigators soon discovered that Pan may have known more about the incident than she initially let on.
During the call, Pan told the dispatcher that the intruders were armed gunmen who demanded money. She claimed that they tied her up, shot her parents, and then fled the scene. However, as the investigation unfolded, it was revealed that Pan allegedly had a troubled relationship with her parents, who pressured her to excel academically and disapproved of her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Daniel Wong.
It was later alleged that Pan had lied to her parents about graduating from high school and college and that she had enlisted Wong and two others to help coordinate her parents' deaths in a murder-for-hire plot. Prosecutors accused Pan of conspiring with Wong and two others to carry out the attack, and she was subsequently found guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder.
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The murder plot
Jennifer Pan, born in 1986, was a young Canadian woman who grew up in Toronto with her brother Felix. Her parents, Bich Ha Pan and Huei Hann Pan, were Vietnamese immigrants who worked at Magna International, an auto parts manufacturer in Aurora. Pan's parents were known for their high expectations of their children, with Pan taking music theory and harmony lessons from the age of 12, as well as figure skating classes, where she trained most days of the week. Despite her parents' aspirations for her to become an Olympic figure skating champion, those dreams were cut short when she tore a knee ligament.
Pan's parents closely monitored her extracurricular activities and dating life, forbidding her from dating while in high school or attending parties and dances. This restrictive and oppressive upbringing caused tension between Pan and her parents, especially when they discovered she had been deceiving them about her education. Pan had lied about graduating from high school and college, and about working as a pharmacist for years.
Pan had a long-term on-and-off boyfriend, Daniel Wong, a pizza restaurant worker and drug dealer, whom her parents disapproved of and eventually forced her to choose between them and him. Pan became depressed and started self-harming. She told police after her arrest that she had hired hitmen to kill her instead of her parents because she "didn't want to live anymore" as she felt like a "disappointment".
On November 8, 2010, Pan made a frantic 911 call from her family home in Ontario, Canada, claiming that armed gunmen had broken into the house, tied her up, shot her parents, and fled. Her mother died instantly, while her father survived but was critically injured. Initially, it appeared to be a random deadly home invasion. However, investigators soon discovered unusual details that raised their suspicions about Pan's involvement.
It was later revealed that Pan had conspired with Wong and two others, David Mylvaganam and Lenford Crawford, to coordinate her parents' deaths in a murder-for-hire plot. She had expected to inherit her parents' money and was angered by their interference in her relationship.
In 2014, Pan was found guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. Her co-conspirators received the same sentence. In 2023, the Court of Appeal for Ontario overturned the first-degree murder conviction, arguing that the jury should have been given the option to consider second-degree murder or manslaughter. Pan maintains her innocence and is awaiting a retrial.
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Her current whereabouts
In 2015, Jennifer Pan was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. She was found guilty of both first-degree murder and attempted murder. As of 2016, Pan was incarcerated at the Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener.
In May 2023, the Court of Appeal for Ontario ordered a retrial for Pan and her conspirators on the first-degree murder charge, but upheld the attempted murder conviction. The Supreme Court of Canada sustained the appeal later that year. Pan's legal team is expecting a hearing in the Supreme Court of Canada "probably late 2024 or early 2025". Her next hearing in the Ontario court is an administrative appearance on June 14, 2024.
Pan maintains her innocence and hopes a new trial will give her a chance to share her side of the story. She is currently still in prison.
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Frequently asked questions
Jennifer Pan was born in 1986 and was 24 years old when she was accused of conspiring to have her parents killed.
On November 8, 2010, a group of armed men broke into the Pan household in Ontario, Canada. They killed Pan's mother, Bich Ha Pan, and shot her father, Huei Hann Pan, in the head and shoulder before fleeing the scene.
In 2015, Jennifer Pan was sentenced to life in prison after she was found guilty of both first-degree murder and attempted murder, with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
