Jennifer Pan was a well-behaved young woman, a "golden" girl in her family's eyes. A successful student at Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School in Markham, Ontario, Pan was the daughter of Vietnamese refugees who grew up in a strict household. She did what she was told every day and eventually got accepted into Ryerson University in Toronto, earning a scholarship.

Her father and mother, Huei Hann and Bich Ha Pan, maintained strict control over her daily life and did everything they could to ensure her success. She was forbidden from attending school dances or parties and had to learn piano, figure skating, and martial arts. These rules worked, and Pan transferred to the University of Toronto, graduated, and found a respectable job.

York Regional PoliceIn 2010, Jennifer Pan, who hired hitmen to kill her family, received two life sentences without the possibility of parole for 25 years.

However, in reality, all of these achievements were part of a complex lie.

Jennifer Pan had not graduated from university; she hadn't even finished high school. For nearly a decade, she forged fake report cards and university transcripts until her parents finally learned the truth. She had a secret boyfriend, Daniel Wong, for seven years.

And together, to cover up their lies and maintain their lives together, Jennifer Pan and Daniel Wong devised a murder plot to kill her family. In 2010, the duo hired three hitmen to kill Huei Hann and Bich Ha Pan. As a result of the brutal attack, Pan's mother was killed, while her father miraculously survived despite being shot in the head.

Before long, Jennifer Pan's crimes were uncovered, and she was ultimately sentenced to prison, with her own father testifying against her at the trial.

This is the chilling story of Jennifer Pan when she reached her breaking point and decided that murder was the only way out.

The Complex Dual Life of Jennifer Pan Under "Tiger Parents" Management

Family PhotoJennifer Pan, before conspiring to kill her family, in high school, several years earlier.

Jennifer Pan was born on June 17, 1986, in Markham, Ontario. Her parents, Bich Ha Pan and Huei Hann Pan, fled Vietnam in 1979 and worked hard to provide opportunities for their children that they never had. Both of Jennifer Pan's parents worked at the automotive parts manufacturer Magna International.

Eventually, they bought a large house, a Lexus, and a Mercedes and saved $200,000. To discipline their daughter, they enrolled her in piano lessons at age four and figure skating classes in elementary school. In high school, she seemed to be both academically and socially successful.

However, a torn ligament in her knee dashed her hopes of becoming a professional skater. In eighth grade, Pan began to self-harm.

In 11th grade, Jennifer Pan found solace in a relationship with senior student Daniel Wong, but Wong had to transfer to a new school when marijuana was found in his car. Pan's grades began to drop from A's to B's, but she was accepted early to Ryerson University — until she failed calculus in her final year, causing the university to withdraw its offer.

Public DomainJennifer Pan forged report cards for years to please her parents. But when they found out, she and her boyfriend Daniel Wong (in the picture) decided to have them killed.

By forging her report cards, Pan claimed she would start at Ryerson in the fall of 2004. She even told her father that she would transfer to the University of Toronto after spending two years at Ryerson and that she received a $3,000 scholarship. Huei Hann Pan proudly bought her a laptop.

In the fall, Pan would go to cafes or Wong's dorm instead of attending classes. She even claimed she successfully transferred to the University of Toronto in 2006, just in time.

As the 2008 graduation ceremony approached, Jennifer Pan claimed that the university only gave one ticket to each student — and that she had given her ticket to a friend so as not to exclude one of her parents.

The Plan to Kill Her Family

Claiming to have graduated, Jennifer Pan asserted that she was volunteering at a children's hospital in Toronto. Her father and mother, suspicious of her lack of uniform or ID, followed her to her job.

Eventually, she was exposed, her phone and laptop were confiscated, and she was banned from seeing Wong.

Court EvidenceJennifer Pan's father, Huei Hann Pan, and mother, Bich Ha Pan.

For the next two years, she regained her parents' trust, and her phone privileges were restored. At 24, she had never been drunk or gone out. However, she reconnected with Daniel Wong, who provided her with a backup phone, which she used to ask for help in arranging a robbery to kill her family.

Wong introduced her to an underground associate named Lenford Crawford. After a series of messages, Pan agreed to pay him $10,000. Crawford prepared by surveilling her neighborhood on Halloween 2010. On November 8, Crawford texted her: "After work, it will be game time."

While Huei Hann was in bed and Bich Ha was reading downstairs, Jennifer said goodnight to her mother and opened the front door. At 10:02 PM, she turned on the lights in the upstairs study. Three minutes later, Crawford and two others, David Mylvaganam and Eric Carty, entered the house.

Carty tied Jennifer Pan's hands behind her back with a shoelace and the upstairs railing. The others dragged her parents to the basement and covered their heads with a blanket. Bich Ha Pan was shot three times in the head, while her husband was shot in the face and shoulder.

After the Murder of Bich Ha Pan and What Happened to Jennifer Pan

As the gunmen fled, Jennifer Pan called 911.

At that moment, her father emerged from the basement — miraculously alive. The police believed Pan during the interrogation that night, but they were suspicious about how she could reach her phone while tied up. During the second interview on November 10, their suspicions increased when they asked her to simulate how she did it.

York Regional PoliceJennifer Pan was interrogated for 10 hours and eventually confessed.

On November 12, Jennifer Pan's father, who woke up from a coma, told the police that his daughter had whispered to him about a gunman "like a friend." When Detective William Goetz re-interrogated Pan on November 22, 2010, everything came to light. He told her that he knew everything, and Pan immediately broke down.

"But what will happen to me?" Pan cried.

Daniel Wong and Jennifer Pan were arrested — Jennifer that same night. Wong and the hitmen were arrested in the spring of 2011.

On December 13, 2014, Pan, Wong, Carty, Crawford, and Mylvaganam were convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder. They received life sentences without the possibility of parole and an additional concurrent life sentence. Carty was convicted of attempted murder in 2015 and received an 18-year prison sentence.

However, during an appeal in 2023, Jennifer Pan was granted a new trial for her mother's murder, and her conviction was overturned.

The judges overseeing the appeal noted that the original trial judge made a critical error by telling the jury to only consider the first-degree murder option; he did not inform them that they could also consider second-degree murder or manslaughter options.

In April 2025, the Supreme Court of Canada approved the appeal, and in 2026, the four defendants agreed to plead to lesser charges.