After years of deception that spiraled out of control, Jennifer Pan orchestrated a murder-for-hire plot against her parents in November 2010.
Jennifer’s parents — Vietnamese refugees who moved to Canada seeking a better future — pushed her to excel academically, musically and athletically, as reported by Toronto Life. Their strict expectations and tight control over her personal life fueled a long pattern of lies that eventually led to tragedy.
Jennifer concealed her poor grades, created fake report cards and even pretended to be enrolled at a respected Toronto university. She also hid her relationship with on-again, off-again boyfriend Daniel Wong, despite her parents forbidding dating until after high school.
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When her parents uncovered the truth, Jennifer set a horrifying plan in motion: she hired hitmen to murder them. Her mother, Bich Ha Pan, died from gunshot wounds during the attack, while her father, Huei Hann Pan, miraculously survived. These events are explored in the 2024 Netflix documentary What Jennifer Did, which features interrogation footage and details from the night of the attack.
Below is a full breakdown of the crimes Jennifer committed and where she is now.
Who Is Jennifer Pan?
Before the attack, Jennifer was a young woman living in the greater Toronto area. She later described her parents’ parenting style as intensely restrictive. They monitored her academic life, extracurricular activities and social interactions. Dating, parties and school dances were all prohibited.
Jennifer met Wong in 2003 during high school. Because of her upbringing — described by one friend to Toronto Life as “absolutely controlling” — their relationship remained a secret. Wong was also reportedly known in their area for dealing marijuana, adding another reason to hide the romance.
Although Jennifer’s report cards showed straight-A performance, in reality she earned mostly Bs. She forged her grades, fabricated a high school diploma after failing calculus and even produced a fake acceptance letter from Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University).
To maintain the illusion, she bought second-hand textbooks, filled notebooks with fake lecture notes and pretended to attend classes. She secretly worked as a server and piano teacher, though her parents believed she only taught piano.
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When her parents grew suspicious — especially after noticing inconsistencies surrounding her claim of volunteering at a hospital — Jennifer’s lies collapsed. She finally confessed she had never enrolled in university, had not volunteered and had been secretly living with Wong.
For months afterward, she described her home life as feeling like “house arrest.” Her parents restricted her movements, confiscated her devices and monitored her activity closely. Although eventually allowed to take a calculus course, she continued sneaking out to see Wong. When caught again, she was ordered to end all contact with him.
What Crimes Did Jennifer Pan Commit?
In early 2010, Jennifer met school acquaintance Andrew Montemayor, who introduced her to Ricardo Duncan. According to the Toronto Star, Jennifer claimed she offered Duncan $1,500 to kill her father, but Duncan denied ever agreeing to it.
After Duncan refused, Jennifer and Wong allegedly planned together to have her parents killed so she could receive her $500,000 inheritance. Wong gave her a burner phone, and she connected with Lenford Crawford, who agreed to carry out the murder for $10,000.
Text messages later revealed the plan was scheduled for Nov. 8, 2010. Crawford’s associate David Mylvaganam called Jennifer shortly before the attack, after which she allegedly unlocked the front door.
At 10:05 p.m., three armed men entered through the front door. One man confronted Bich in the living room, while another forced Hann from the upstairs bedroom down to the main floor. Jennifer’s brother, Felix, was away at university.
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The attackers demanded money and eventually took Jennifer’s parents to the basement, where they shot Hann in the shoulder and face and shot Bich three times in the head, killing her instantly. They fled with approximately $2,000 in cash. Wong and Crawford were not present during the attack, according to CBC.
Jennifer called 911 despite claiming her hands had been tied behind her back — something investigators later found inconsistent with the logistics of using her phone.
Did Her Father Survive?
Yes. Hann survived, but barely. According to Toronto Life, he suffered a shattered neck bone, broken bone near his eye and serious facial injuries. Doctors could not remove all bullet fragments.
How Was Jennifer Pan Caught?
Investigators quickly noticed inconsistencies in Jennifer’s version of events. She insisted she had been tied up, yet managed to make a lengthy 911 call. They also questioned why a robbery crew would ignore easily accessible car keys to a luxury vehicle.
When Hann awoke from a medically induced coma on Nov. 12, 2010, he told police he saw Jennifer unfettered and speaking calmly with the intruders. This contradicted her account and shifted the case dramatically.
During a third interrogation, police suggested they knew she was involved. Jennifer claimed the attack was a botched suicide attempt — that she allegedly paid intruders to kill her but they killed her mother instead. Investigators did not believe this version.
Jennifer was arrested on Nov. 22, 2010. By spring 2011, Wong, Crawford, Carty and Mylvaganam were also arrested.
At trial, prosecutors introduced hundreds of text messages showing detailed planning, including one message sent just before the attack: “game time.”
On Dec. 13, 2014, Jennifer and all co-conspirators were found guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
What Was Her Sentence?
In 2015, Jennifer was sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years for her mother’s murder and an additional life sentence for attempted murder of her father. Her father and brother obtained restraining orders preventing her from contacting them.
Her co-conspirators received the same sentence. Carty had a mistrial due to his lawyer’s illness but later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and received an 18-year sentence. He died in prison in 2018.
In 2023, Jennifer and her co-accused won an appeal for their first-degree murder convictions. The Court of Appeal ruled that the jury should have been allowed to consider lesser charges, such as second-degree murder or manslaughter.
Where Is Jennifer Pan Now?
Jennifer remains incarcerated at the Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener, Ontario. Her co-conspirators are also still imprisoned. Depending on the outcome of her appeal, she could become eligible for parole around 2040.
The case gained renewed attention through the Netflix documentary What Jennifer Did, released in April 2024, which includes interrogation footage and interviews with investigators.
In April 2025, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that Jennifer and her co-conspirators must face new trials for the first-degree murder charges, while upholding their attempted murder convictions. The court stated the original jury should have been instructed to consider alternative scenarios, including the possibility that only Hann was the target.
