48 Hours - The Impersonator | Blood is Thicker: The Hargan Family Killings | Part 4

Episode Date: June 5, 2024

Investigators think they know who killed the Hargan women, but can't seem to get a confession. Then, a representative from Capital One bank sent them recordings of some strange phone calls made the day before the shootings. Someone pretending to be Pamela Hargan called the bank wanting a wire transfer for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Those recordings would expose a motive. Armed with phone records and documents, detectives are ready to indict their suspect.Get early, ad-free access to episodes of Blood is Thicker: The Hargan Family Killings by subscribing to 48 Hours Plus on Apple Podcasts or Wondery+ on the Wondery app. The series is widely available everywhere else you get your podcasts.Subscribe to 48 Hours+: https://apple.co/4aEgENoSubscribe to Wondery+: https://wondery.com/plus/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

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wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you for calling Capital One Bank. My name is Jeff. May I have your name, please? Hey, Jeff. My name is Felix. I'm also with Capital One. I've got a customer, Pamela Hargan.

The phone call you're hearing is from July 13th, 2017. The day before, Helen and Pamela Hargan were found dead inside their home in McLean, Virginia. On the call, two employees from Capital One Bank are talking about Pamela Hargan. Earlier that day, someone had called the bank asking to transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars from Pamela's account. Felix is with the wire callback authentication team. He's trying to speak with Pamela to confirm that the request had come from her. Here's Felix talking to his colleague. I've got a customer, Pamela Hargan, I've got a customer, Pamela Hargan, who, when I called her back, she did not call in to create a wire request. And she is the only signer on this account.

So whoever requested that wire transfer wasn't Pamela. And she asked us to transfer her to you guys for fraud because it looks like you tried to send her a $419,000 wire request. Oh! Yeah, you know, just, you know, chump change. Before he brings Pamela into the conversation, Felix warns Jeff that she's suspicious that they're really bank employees. She was a little bit wary, you know, not trusting that we were actually

Capital Month who's calling her. Felix puts Pamela on the line with Jeff, and she is immediately skeptical. Hello? Yes, hello. Hi. Who am I speaking to? Who am I speaking to? My name is Jeff with Capital One. I'm speaking to? My name is Jeff with Capital One. Okay, this is Pamela Hanson-Hargen. At this point, Pamela has only been told that someone tried to move money from her account. Jeff is about to tell her how much. I do have your account in front of me, so I hear that somebody tried to do a wire out of your account for 400400,000. What? Yeah, that's what the other gentleman was saying. $400,000, he said.

Pamela is stunned and insists she never agreed to any such transfer. I did not do that. Well, no, I know. He called you because of a pending wire, and then you told him that you didn't do any wires. Is that correct? Correct. Correct. Okay.

Okay. You made me nervous for a minute. Those accounts are not to be touched. Period. Can you freeze all my accounts? Yeah. Yeah, actually, I've already done that. Police would later explain that Pamela was on her way to Pennsylvania to meet with her daughter Ashley when she got this call.

She asked her other daughter, Megan, who was still home in McLean, Virginia, to go into the bank and figure out what was going on. In the meantime, Jeff from Capital One reassures Pamela. You don't need to worry. Your funds are safe. All right. Thank you. You're more than welcome. You have a great day. You as well. Thank you. Bye-bye. Pamela was adamant. She wasn't the one who initiated the wire transfer. So who did? After the killings, police went back and listened to the mystery caller. Thank you for calling Capital One Day. My name is Brooks.

Would you tell me your name, please? Pamela Hansen-Hurgin. Do you recognize that voice? Detectives thought they did. Do we think we killed your mom? Absolutely. Oh, my God! I'm Peter Van Sant.

From 48 Hours, this is Blood is Thicker, The Hargan Family Killings. Episode 4, The Impersonator. After Pamela and Helen Hargan were found dead on Friday, July 14, 2017, police learned about that call made to Capital One the day before the murders. It was baffling, so they listened to the call a little more closely. Good morning. Thank you for calling Capital One Bank. My name is Brooks. Would you tell me your name, please? Pamela Hanson-Hargan. This is the earlier call from that same day. The caller claimed to be Pamela Hargan, but the voice sounded different.

The caller said she needed the money for her daughter, who was closing on her new house that day. What time is the closing? In 20 minutes. Okay, it's very unlikely it will be there in 20 minutes. Brooke with Capital One told the caller that someone would call her back to verify the details and if everything checked out, the funds would be released an hour or so after that. Can you also verify, because my phone numbers were inverted, I think, on my account. This is my home phone number, and this is where I'm at. So this is the phone number that needs to be used. I just don't want to miss anything. Right. All right. And the number that

you gave me matched what we have on file. Police discovered that the caller, clearly not Pamela, answered the multiple choice security questions accurately. All right, next question. What color is your 1991 Chevrolet Cavalier? Is it black, chrome, green, yellow, or you've never been associated with this? Never been associated with a Cavalier. right. This caller, posing as Pamela, also knew she had other daughters. I'm going to be doing this again for my other daughter in about three weeks. Not suspecting any fraud, the Capital One employee then asked how much money she wanted transferred. exact amount. It's $419,034.77. That's the exact payment the real Pamela Hargan would cancel about an hour later. The next day, Capital One received yet another call from that woman,

The next day, Capital One received yet another call from that woman, again purporting to be Pamela Hargan. At that time, the bank had no way of knowing that Pamela had been shot. May I have your first and last name, please? Pamela Hanson Hargan. Thank you. I understand you want to complete a wire transfer with us today? Yes, we attempted to yesterday, and there was a bit of a mix-up, so we would like to do it again now. Okay. This is where things unraveled for the impersonator. Remember Felix from earlier in the episode? Well, he happened to get assigned yet again to call Pamela Hargan to verify the wire transfer. Felix with Capital One calling to speak with Pamela Hanson.

This is she, Hanson-Hurgin. She's on the line with you. This time, this Pamela didn't seem to recognize Felix's voice or name. And may I please have your name? My name is Felix. We spoke yesterday. Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you said Stewart. Felix verified some personal information, and the impersonator approved the transfer. Anything else I can help you with before I let you go?

No, and thank you so much for yesterday. I really appreciate it. Yeah, no worries. Of course. Three days after the shootings, someone else from the bank's fraud division called Detective Brian Byerson. The representative said that they saw the news of Pamela's murder and thought police might want to know about the wire transfers. And the message basically reads, hey, this is who I am. This is who I'm with, Capital One Fraud. We saw the news regarding the murder or the death of Pamela Hargan.

Capital One sent the police all the recordings of their calls. When detectives listened, they soon identified the phony Pamela. They recognized the voice as the sister who had gun residue on her hands, who talked their ears off in a police interview five days after the shootings. This caller also said she needed money for a house in West Virginia. All signs were pointing to Megan Hargan. So now we have a really, really, really good motive for murder. I think she thought she was going to get the money. We would think that this was a murder-suicide.

She would get her house, and she would just be in West Virginia living her life. I don't think she ever thought that we'd figure this out. But detectives did catch on and planned to let Megan know. They asked her to come into the station for an update. planned to let Megan know. They asked her to come into the station for an update. Their plan was to play her the calls and see how she would react. You know, when you call the bank to do a wire transfer, you know, they record the calls, right? Okay. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing.

The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military, and when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge? Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly? Introducing The best idea yet, a brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy

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podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's just the best idea yet. Megan arrived at the police station not knowing that investigators planned an audio ambush, those Capital One recordings. It was July 19th, five days since the murders. Megan had been talking with detectives Brian Byerson and Steve Needles for nearly an hour when they brought up those calls. So, one of the things that's always been bothering me a little bit is that call.

I'm going to play the call for you. Okay. Good morning. Thank you for calling Cap 1B. My name is Hortons. Do tell me your name, please. Pamela Hansen-Harkin. Pamela Harkin. Thank you for using their automated system for verification. What can I do for you today? I was just transferred to you. I was told that I could do it wirelessly.

Do you remember this call? No. They kept the audio plain while they peppered her with questions. Detective Byerson said he hoped she could explain something that happens on the call. Six minutes in, the caller impersonating Pamela asked the Capital One employee to wait while they call someone else. Byerson suspected the caller was reaching out to her husband. Detective Byerson confronted Megan point blank. Listen, is that your mom? Come on, Megan. It's not my mom.

It's time to tell the truth. I know who that... You called your husband. Okay, and I know that because when I looked at your phone dump, right? Armed with phone records, the detectives told Megan they know she called her husband at the same time the person in the recording makes a phone call. Initially, Megan didn't confess.

But then she gave in. Okay, who is that on the phone? It's me. It's you, right? The detectives didn't back off. They played her the Capital One call you heard at the top of this episode. The one detectives were certain was the real Pamela. Somebody tried to do a wire out of your account for $400,000. What? Suddenly, Megan started apologizing. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. The detectives kept pushing. They wanted Megan to say why she was sorry.

Just tell us the truth. That's all we want to know. I have to understand it. The problem is you can continue to lie. It just did yourself a deeper hole. In the police video, you can see Detective Needles move his chair toward Megan, just a foot or two away, as he pressed her for answers. You're trying to think right now, how am I going to talk my way out of this? No, no, you think I...

Okay. Do we think we killed your mom? Absolutely. Yes, we do. Oh my God! Yes, we do. In his rush to confront Megan, Detective Needles misspoke. They thought she killed Pamela. She caught you wiring on Friday. It's okay.

Absolutely. Convince me that you didn't. We have you. I did not kill my mom. Right there, Megan whispered, I did not kill my mom. But cops had other new evidence to ask Megan about. There was also a bank statement. new evidence to ask Megan about. There was also a bank statement. This was one of the financial documents Detective Julia Elliott spotted the day Helen and Pamela were murdered. Here's what

Detective Elliott told us. It was a photocopy of Pamela's spreadsheet that she used for all her accounts, account numbers, and passcodes. It was also a photocopy of Pamela's bank statement. Detective Elliott had photographed the documents, but when detectives returned with a warrant to collect them, they were gone. Detectives had learned that Megan sent the West Virginia real estate agent a bank statement with her name on it. But suspiciously, the amount sent matched what was in her mother's bank account, not hers. The detectives presented Megan with their theory. She shot her mother, then her sister Helen.

All this looks like you killed your mom and sister. So, help us... I don't think Helen would have let me go. Megan's saying no way her sister would have let her walk away if she'd shot their mother. What you're not saying is no, I did kill her. No, no. No, I said no, I didn't. That's Detective Needles laughing. He's signaling that he didn't believe her.

Needles laughing. He's signaling that he didn't believe her. Finally, the detectives decided to tell her exactly what they think happened and how they think Pamela was already dead by the time Capital One got the second request to make a wire transfer. I already know that your mom is dead when that phone call was made. Detective Byerson said he thought Megan shot Pamela before she called the bank on July 14th. Remember, someone had covered Pamela's body with a quilt. They also found her cell phone set on top of a pool of blood, leaning against the quilt. a pool of blood leaning against the quilt. She couldn't have listened. No, I'm sorry. Okay, it's fine. Okay. I'm telling you, I'm telling you, where her phone is found, she didn't drop it there. It's impossible. Detective Needles leaned in again, directly accusing Megan.

You shot your mom. No, I did not. You covered her up with a blanket because you're going to live with the guilt. Ew, no. And then you used her phone and you got your money for your settlement, but the bank was already on to you. And nobody was ever going to come to the house? You haven't thought that through yet. Then why does your sister call Carlos and tell him the truth? Remember, Helen, the youngest sister, had called her boyfriend.

Because he spends an hour trying to call 911 and make sure the love of his life is fine. Because he spends an hour trying to call 911 and make sure the love of his life is fine. Meanwhile, unknown to Megan, Ashley and Steve Hargan, Megan's sister and father, were listening to these same bank calls in another room in the police station, along with Megan's husband, Frank. What you're not realizing is your family is being told off and stuff right now. Oh, I know. Yeah, right. Now, they're going to be swimming in quiet.

They're going to be, they're up there right now. The interview went on and on. The detectives dug into more details about the wire transfer. They accused Megan of lying. That's a complete lie. Why in the world would you lie to me? If I'm here investigating the murder of your mother and the death of your sister, which is undetermined as to how she died. Okay, you understand what I'm saying? I'm here investigating the murder of your mother and the death of your sister, which is undetermined as to how she died.

Okay, you understand what I'm saying? I'm investigating that. During that investigation, to try to figure out what happened to the two people you're supposed to love. And then, Megan seemed to break. She seemed to contemplate her child growing up motherless. Blame me. Blame me. Listen. My family's been through enough.

Let Molly grow up without me. You have got to unload this. Blame me. That's fine. There's nothing... Just blame me. Megan seemed to be crumbling. But detectives still didn't have what they needed, a full confession.

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It's hard. And Megan was still there nearly four and a half hours later. Again and again, she denied making the Capital One calls. And then suddenly, her story changed. At that point, had she given you approval to act like her and to wire the transfer? Yes, she even sent me to into Capital One Bank to verify that everything had been frozen. Megan not only admitted to making the calls, she claimed Pamela wanted her to be the one to request the wire transfer, despite the fact her mother was on tape saying she knew nothing of

that transfer. Megan was starting to sound defeated. So during this whole process, you know, many, many times you said, blame me, blame me, blame me. Just blame me. I know, but why? I would think you'd be more concerned with Molly. Molly is Megan's daughter. I am concerned about Molly, but if you're locked up forever and ever, amen, what happens to Molly? She has my husband. whenever I am in, what happens to Molly? She asked my husband. Megan still hadn't admitted she had anything to do with the murders of her mother and sister. So she could walk away from this interview at any time.

The door was wide open, though she didn't seem to understand that. I'm not allowed to go. Actually, we told you that from the very beginning. Of course you are. You're free to leave. I'm allowed to stand up and walk out. Absolutely.

Why would I do that when you guys are accusing me of something like this? I don't understand. You're saying you think I did this, but I'm allowed to leave? Megan thought she was being played. No, because you told me that you guys had detectives telling my family everything and that you believe I did this. That's our belief right now. You're a prime suspect. Absolutely. That doesn't mean that we're locking you up and taking you to jail tonight. We're just talking. What Megan didn't realize was at the time of this interview, the case against her was relatively weak. Later, I asked Detective Byerson about this.

After the police interview, he told me the investigation was far from over. So murder investigations can be extremely complex. And especially in something like this, where you have a family member who you believe has killed almost her entire family, her entire immediate family other than her father and her middle sister, you not only have to be sure, you have to be right. And that decision is not just, it does not just rest on me. I can't just go to the magistrate and swear out a murder warrant. So Megan left that day with her family, a free woman. Days go by, no arrest. Weeks turn into months.

During this time, Megan and her husband used a VA loan to buy a different home in West Virginia. Megan's friend Rebecca Wolf told us that Megan decided to start a new life out of state. She immediately got involved in her new community. So Molly is getting settled in her new school, settled in her new Girl Scout troop, finding the new church, getting settled into the church. Rebecca said that Megan went to work with her at her pet rescue. I had held a huge fundraiser for one of the rescue missions that we worked with, so she actually helped me set the whole thing up.

So we spent several months researching vendors, getting vendors locked on. Megan, her husband, and Molly were finally all under their own roof, together at last. But Megan was in a kind of limbo because the investigators still had her in their sights. I asked Byerson, if Megan had killed her mother and sister, I asked Byerson, if Megan had killed her mother and sister, then that would mean a brutal killer was free to kill again during all those months. All I can say to that is we kept an eye on her. We knew where she was. Prosecutors in Virginia convened a grand jury to look at the evidence and decide whether Megan should be charged. Investigators had to wait for documents.

Forensic accountants had to comb through layers of records, which also delayed any possible indictment. All of those investigative steps took almost a year and four months before we had everything back and we got the okay to indict her for those two murders. Megan's borrowed time was coming to an end. Detective Byerson and a team of officers made the three-hour drive from the D.C. area to Morgantown. We all went up there. Megan Hargan that morning dropped her daughter off at school. And once she left school grounds, we had a local officer conduct a traffic stop on her and she was arrested. Detective Byerson and Megan came face to face again.

What did you see in her eyes? Nothing. When I look at Megan, I don't see much behind those eyes. It's kind of empty to me. She has no remorse for what she did at all. Megan was taken to a local police station in West Virginia for another interview before she was brought back to Northern Virginia. before she was brought back to Northern Virginia. That same day, the Fairfax County Police Department updated the public at a news conference for the first time since they called the killings a murder-suicide. We did arrest 35-year-old Megan Hargan in West Virginia this morning

for the murders of her mom, Pamela Hargan, and sister, Helen Hargan, July 14, 2017, in McLean. Understandably, reporters had questions. Could I ask them why you didn't put out another directive to the public that it was a double murder? Because our community had so many questions. They were told it was a murder-suicide, and then, you know, you all knew it was a double murder all along. Do you not think maybe the public should have been informed of that? Yeah, so we always strive to inform our community. This case in particular, we'll always debrief what we did and why we did it.

I will say an investigative strategy is to find the person that's responsible for double murder is of utmost importance. for double murder is of utmost importance. The fact that cops had waited so long made Megan's friend Rebecca Wolfe skeptical that they had a strong case. Why'd you wait 18 months to arrest her? Rebecca learned Megan had been arrested while she was listening to the radio on her way home from yoga.

I never in a million years saw this coming and I heard that name and thank God I was turning into my road at that point because I probably would have wrecked because I just immediately started bawling. She thought this had to be a mistake. After the arrest, Rebecca traveled to be at Megan's trial. And the Hargens, they had to face the possibility that Megan might have pinned the murders on her sister Helen. And why then did Helen have to die? I think Helen knew what happened. I mean, we'll never understand, I don't think, in any capacity why it is that Megan went upstairs and told her that she had shot their mother. I have no idea why she did that. I can only assume that at some

point after telling her that she realized that was probably not a great idea. From 48 Hours, this is Blood is Thicker, The Hargan Family Killings. Judy Tigard is the executive producer of 48 Hours. Original reporting by 48 Hours producers Josh Yeager, Sarah Ely Hulse, Michelle Sigona, and Lauren White. Jamie Benson is the senior producer for Paramount Audio, and Mara Walls is the senior story editor.

Recording assistance from Alan Pang and Marlon Polycarp. Special thanks to Paramount Podcast Vice President Megan Marcus and 48 Hours Senior Producer Peter Schweitzer. Blood is Thicker is produced by Sony Music Entertainment. It was written and produced Thank you. sound designed and mixed the episodes. We also use music by Blue Dot Sessions. Catherine Newhan is our fact checker. Our production managers are Tamika Balans-Kolasny and Samantha Allison. I'm Peter Van Sant. If you're enjoying the show, be sure to rate and review. It helps more people find it and hear our reporting. For early and ad-free access to Blood is Thicker, subscribe to 48 Hours Plus on Apple Podcasts or Wondery Plus on the Wondery app. Start your free trial today. Thanks for listening.

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