Law&Crime Sidebar - ‘Best’ Mom Fatally Stabbed Husband, Son at Great Wolf Lodge: Cops

Starting point is 00:00:00 The name is Catalica Rose Harrison, and she had been charged in two counts of criminal homicide. An unthinkable tragedy at a place dedicated to family fun. Police say a Pennsylvania woman drained her family savings, took her husband and three-year-old son to Grey Wolf Lodge, indoor water park, stayed for three weeks, and then allegedly murdered both of them. We're examining the latest disturbing details emerging from the Poconos as the suspect faces severe consequences. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. 27-year-old Metallica Rose Harrison is accused of taking her son and husband on an extended vacation

Starting point is 00:00:43 before allegedly stabbing them to death in their hotel room. Three-year-old is identified as TH in police paperwork, but family members have now come forward and identified this little boy as Tristan. He and his dad, Charles Chaz Harrison, were found in their hotel room at Great Wolf Lodge on Monday. According to a probable cause affidavit, Ms. Harrison apparently called 911 in the Pocono Township area around 3 p.m. and reportedly asked for advice on how to harm herself. Now, dispatchers didn't provide that, of course, but instead they sent police straight to Great Wolf Lodge. And when they arrived at Harrison's room, they say that she had a few superficial cuts and scrapes on her, but was otherwise on hurt.

Starting point is 00:01:26 WFMZ TV was at a news conference held by Pennsylvania authorities. Take a look. arrived at the scene and they assessed the situation and they found two deceased victims in that room. A boy, age three, and his father. The female also had injuries about her and she was hospitalized a while in police custody. and as a result of a very strong response by law enforcement investigating every detail which we could ferret. It's been determined that there's no threat to public safety, that this was a violent domestic

Starting point is 00:02:18 tragedy in which two people, a boy and his father lost their lives. So Harrison faces two criminal homicide charges. And according to the probable cause paperwork that was filed, in Pennsylvania court, quote, a person, namely Metallica Rose Harrison, is guilty of criminal homicide if she intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently causes the death of another human being, Charles Harrison, and juvenile TH. So according to the lead detectives on the case, quote, the female, who was later identified as Metallica Harrison, advised Monroe County Control Center that she needed help dying, and she was unable to find the vein in her neck

Starting point is 00:02:53 to stab. So what exactly did first responders find when they got to this resort room, quote, officers entered the room, locating a deceased adult male on a mattress laying on the floor and a deceased male child on a separate mattress on the floor. The adult male was identified as Charles Harrison. Charles Harrison suffered multiple stab wounds to the chest. The child, TH, appeared to suffer a single stab wound to the chest. Now, I'm going to tell you right now, the report of location of those wounds going to be very critical for a legal case. into it. But Harrison had to go to the hospital. So what happened was a Pocono Township officer wrote along and noted her alleged ramblings. Quote, while in the ambulance, the defendant

Starting point is 00:03:40 kept making statements that she was not supposed to be here. The defendant further stated, I bleeped up, I bleeped up, I just needed energy and strength. The defendant apparently stated how she didn't understand and asked why there wasn't an easier way. The defendant inquired of EMS personnel, how deep her wrist vein is, so that she knew. for, quote, next time. The defendant advised that she took medication to help thin her blood and expressed verbal frustration that the blood was clotting when it wasn't supposed to. The defendant further stated, quote, every day I work so hard to be the best person,

Starting point is 00:04:12 the best mother, the best wife. It wasn't supposed to end like this. I was supposed to have my happy family. That's what I envisioned since I was a child. Now, according to investigators, and this is key, they apparently found two knives in the room with teal handles, which, importantly, Great Wolf Lodge staff say, did not come from their property, which means that Harrison seemingly would have had to bring the knives with her on this trip.

Starting point is 00:04:38 In fact, according to media outlet, WGAL, police seize 10 teal knives from the home, including two inside a knife block. That goes to this element of premeditation. WGAL reports that police also seized other property from the home, including journals and a laptop, as well as nine sealed envelopes addressed to. Metallica Harrison and four sealed envelopes addressed to Charles Harrison. It's unclear what might have been inside those envelopes. Reporting from Outlet, WNEP, also notes that when officers went to the Harrison home

Starting point is 00:05:09 into Wanda, Pennsylvania, about two hours north of the Waterpark resort, they found a notice that was posted on the door saying the family's gas service was set to be shut off. There was apparently an unpaid balance of just under $30. This is according to the New York Post. And when detectives spoke with neighbors, a lawn care company said they hadn't seen the family in around a month. Hey, so this is a paid advertisement for Rumble Wallet. They're sponsoring this portion of the show. Now, have you ever wondered why people used to put money under their mattresses?

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Starting point is 00:06:37 Seed the description or visit rumble.com slash promo official rules for more details. And the family was at, apparently at the Great Wolf Lodge for a long time. According to the probable cause affidavit, the family of three checked in on September 21st. On October 5th, they reportedly extended the reservation until October 13th. But on Monday the 12th, the day before checkout, that is when this tragedy struck. And to be clear, and this is significant, too, for the investigation, that resort stay would have cost a pretty penny. Nightly rates are around $300. The cost for the trip would have been in the thousands.

Starting point is 00:07:15 And get this, Harrison's stepmother, so April Tetka, told the New York Post that Harrison had apparently drained Chaz's retirement account to pay for the vacation. Thetka says it was framed as an early Christmas present for Tristan. Harrison was also reportedly planning a kitchen remodel. Thetka told the post, quote, she had called and were video chatting, and then she says she loved us very much just like she normally would. The very next day, Chaz and Tristan were dead, and Harrison was in custody. And this is key, too.

Starting point is 00:07:44 So the affidavit laid out a timeline for the family's last movements, and as you can imagine, that is based on the surveillance footage from around the resort. So the cameras reportedly show all three returning to their room just before 7 p.m. on Sunday, and at one point, Harrison leaves the room or apparently leaves the room to microwave something in a communal area, then returns. And at 1045 p.m., it appears the couple then leaves three-year-old Tristan alone in the room to go to the arcade for about half an hour. They return about 20 minutes after 11, and they're not seen again until Harrison calls 911. what happened in that room. I want to go back to the affidavit, quote,

Starting point is 00:08:25 upon reviewing the 911 recording, the defendant made the following statements. I'm too weak to stab my neck. I need police. When asked if she has any weapons, she confirmed that she has knives and said, that's what I've been using, and it's not working.

Starting point is 00:08:39 The defendant stated, I don't want to be her anymore and that she needed help dying. When asked if she's by herself, she responded, my husband and son are already gone in the bed in the living room. the defendant then stated, quote, they're already gone. I'm sorry. At no time during this call

Starting point is 00:08:55 did the defendant request help for her husband or son, end quote. And Harrison also reportedly made a really telling statement while she was at the hospital. Quote, Afiant and Detective Sissiotella responded to St. Luke's Hospital to speak with the defendant. Affion advised the defendant of her Miranda warnings and requested to speak with her about what brought her to the hospital. The defendant advised that she is suicidal, not stupid, and advised that she was not willing to speak with this affiant. And the authorities say this is just the beginning of their investigation. There's a lot more testing. There's post-mortem examinations yet to be conducted.

Starting point is 00:09:36 There's a review of various items of evidence. All of that will be unfolding over the course of the next several months. So this is only the first stage in a long process. approximately 80 to 90 items of evidence was recovered from the search of the room itself, and there are several other areas that are still subject to search. Great Wolf Resorts released a statement to WGAL on Tuesday saying, quote, we are deeply saddened and heartbroken by a tragic domestic incident that occurred yesterday in a guest room at a resort in the Pocono Mountains.

Starting point is 00:10:12 It was an isolated family incident, and were cooperating fully with local law enforcement. as they conduct their investigation. Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of those affected. How did we get here? What would cause a mother, a wife, to so totally lose control that she allegedly kills her closest family and then tries to harm herself?

Starting point is 00:10:35 WGAL reviewed search warrants that kind of give us details about the family dynamics. So the Pocono Township Police reportedly spoke which has his mother and sister to notify them of his death, and they just revealed some disturbing alleged details. They claimed that Harrison was, quote, dominant and controlling, said she'd isolated them from Chaz and Tristan over the last three years. They also claimed that Harrison had never wanted to get pregnant, that she believed Tristan

Starting point is 00:11:06 was getting in the way of her relationship with Chaz. According to Pocono Township Police, Harrison was arraigned on Tuesday. bail was denied. There is going to be a preliminary hearing scheduled for next week. But I want to talk about this. I want to talk about this investigation. Let me bring in friend of the show, Tom Smith, retired NYPD detective, co-host of the Gold Shield show. It's excellent. I encourage everybody to check it out. This is awful. We were talking beforehand, and I know we're still trying to understand what happened here, and there's been a lot of allegations, but you know, you see some reporting about whether there was some sort of break and whether there's some reporting suggesting this was pre-planned. When you look at this, if she did this, what are the elements you're looking at that this was possibly planned and thought out and deliberated and premeditated? Well, a couple of things right up front that lead me to that conclusion is when the knives were recovered, the detectives and investigators did a great job in asking the lodge if these knives belonged to them, if there's any indication that they came from the lodge and they all said no. So to me, that means she brought them with her.

Starting point is 00:12:13 which is disturbing in and of itself. The other reporting of the blood thinners and taking them beforehand also leads me to the conclusion that this was planned way in advance. And we're going to get a better view of that, Jesse, as the investigation goes on, because one of the first things that's going to happen is they're going to look into her computer and her phone and her Google searches and all that to see what else was on her mind before this trip? Well, this allegation of her draining the 401k bank account, right? The 401k account to pay for this trip because it can get quite pricey at this resort, this lodge.

Starting point is 00:12:58 It seems to me it all becomes a question of did her husband know about it or not. If she did it in secret and was paying for it and draining it, questionable behavior. But if they had some sort of agreement, I wonder if that would muddy the issues, muddy the waters. Yeah, it will. Because, you know, when you see these events happening, some stories that we've covered do have a financial part of it in draining accounts and spending and spending before certain events take place. So that is definitely a viable avenue to look down. And there's also this allegation that she got to notice that the gas was going to be turned off, right? And I don't know, like, I wonder if that's how that's going to play into it.

Starting point is 00:13:42 Yeah, you know, the thing is, like I said, when the investigation really kicks in now and a number of interviews get done by family members, by friends, by neighbors, and really get a kind of look into this family and what they've been going through is going to lead investigators down a certain path. You know, whether this is a ongoing problem, a domestic problem, a financial problem, which leads to a domestic problem. So all of those questions are probably going to get answered in the days and weeks to come when an interview start getting done. Speaking of interviews, the family members have spoken with investigators. And they talk about Metallica Harrison being dominant and controlling this allegation that she was jealous of this three-year-old boy for taking attention away from her husband. How much to investigators really focus on that, the family members, because family members could be quite emotional. during this time, but at the same time, how much do they say that this is credible information and they follow through with? Because at the other way of looking at it, they knew the family best.

Starting point is 00:14:49 They knew those involved best. So how much do you weigh the credibility of the family members when they make allegations like this? Well, you're going to add them all up, and you're going to corroborate each one that's given to you. And if all of them have a similar story, no one's going to have the same story, obviously, because that's why you interview many people. So you don't go on one person's account of their background or their relationship. You're going to keep going. And then you're going to collectively put them all together to see if they all link up, if the stories are similar, if the allegations or questions about their relationship are similar.

Starting point is 00:15:28 And then that's how you're going to come to a conclusion of what a theory is of what the background was with this family. It seems to me the evidence that it's come out so far from the reporting, it's quite strong that she did this. It becomes, I think, a question for a defense attorney, right? In terms of there's some sort of diminished capacity defense and mental health defense, I don't know. You know, there were allegations that she called, she said she was suicidal, that when police arrived, she said, I'm suicidal, not stupid. You know, that was one of the allegations that she also reportedly said that she was the best mother

Starting point is 00:16:00 while speaking to EMS. So what's being reported is this level of instability. But at the same time, she's accused, as you said, bringing the knives for a 1K account, and then stabbing her son and husband in the chest, in the chest. That tells you something, doesn't it? Yeah, that's a lot of rage. And the husband was stabbed numerous times. The son reportedly was just stabbed once. But that's rage. That's making sure, you know, what you want to accomplish gets accomplished. And it's just a horrific thought of having a mother, you know, do this to their

Starting point is 00:16:37 family, but getting to your first statement, defense attorneys have a job to do, and we all understand that. And one way or another, they're going to come up with something, you know, of why she did this, whether it's medication she's on, you know, a mental health issue she's on. And all that's going to play into the investigation. And that's why detectives and prosecutors have to work so close together to make sure everything they have is sealed and tight. So no matter what the defense says, their case is strong of a premeditation, a planning, or anything like that.

Starting point is 00:17:15 You know, she reportedly said when she was recovered from the scene, every day I work so hard to be the best person, the best mother, the best wife. It wasn't supposed to end like this. I was supposed to have my happy family. That's what I envisioned since I was a child, not supposed to be here. This is according to an affidavit that was reviewed by.

Starting point is 00:17:32 the New York Post. Those statements are interesting, aren't they? They are, because now you take it to the next question of, okay, if you think that, why are we at this point? What happened that your thoughts of having a great marriage and being a great mother and everything you dreamed about as a child, what led to this? It's the most extreme turnaround that I've heard in a while with past statements and then looking at a crime scene of what this woman did. Great Wolf Lodge. I'm sure investigators are combing through it. What are they looking for every piece of surveillance footage that might capture the family?

Starting point is 00:18:11 Absolutely. You're going to, especially her, you're going to track her movements to see just what was going on. And all that's going to do, really, we know what happened. It happened in the room, so there's not going to be any surveillance of that. But it's going to just give a look into this family and what was going on. They'll put together, timeline, which is going to be very important with this of when the last time they were together in and out of the room, which has been reported a little bit already. But that's what investigators are going to do, just to really shore up what they have and what they're looking at. It's so horrible to be thinking about. I mean, in these kinds of cases, what are some of the things that jump out to you about motive here, right? I mean, motive is not an element of a crime. They need to prove prosecutors necessarily, but it really can't help. tell the story. It can help explain it as we're trying to piece together, you know, what

Starting point is 00:19:04 statement she made, what the family is saying, the allegations that she didn't want to be pregnant. Maybe she had a resentment towards this young boy. What are the things you look out for? How do you get to the bottom of it? Well, you just keep, you know, picking away at it. And along with the prosecutor, you're just going through each and every piece of element of this crime that you can to piece together a story. And that's what this is. The motive, like you said, isn't necessarily a guilt or innocence, but it builds the case for the prosecution. And that's what you want to do now. You're pretty, you know, airtight of who did this. So you want to make sure if you're going to go to a trial and this is going to go to down that road,

Starting point is 00:19:46 you want to make sure everything's right. You want to make sure the stories are right, the timeline's right, the evidence was collected, right, and you have a strong case against her going forward. And it also goes to what her level of consciousness was, allegations that she, you know, the call where she was reporting that she was going to be suicidal. Two weak to stab my neck. My husband and my son are already gone in the bed in the living room. They're already gone. I'm sorry. There's a recognition of what happened. Oh, no doubt. And that's what I said, when part of this is going to be going even further back into her electronic and electronic footprint that she has of any searches she did. And where that lies on the timeline, that's going to play

Starting point is 00:20:27 a big part in this because if she started searching how to do this and how to do that, which Jesse and I, both of us have done these stories numerous times where these Google searchers really come into play. And it's going to be how long ago they were done and how close to them leaving for vacation maybe the last search was done. So that's going to play a pivotal part in this case, especially for the prosecution. And going into this idea of do you see in these cases, is it financial? pressure that sometimes can lead to it. Is it being a mother that can sometimes be a pressure

Starting point is 00:21:03 being a wife? I mean, is it a combination of everything? I'm just trying now, as we got the story, to get a sense of what her life was like and what might have happened here. But in your experience, seeing these kinds of familial homicide cases, what's the explanation usually? Yeah, you know what, all of the above, what you just mentioned, it can be anything, because everyone's life is different. So some people have financial problems. Some people have marital problems and extramarital affairs and jealousy and all things like that all play a part when you come into homicide of family members. All of those always play a part. And it's a matter of just picking them apart to see which one cause this. And like I said, you know, it's just said that, you know,

Starting point is 00:21:50 a financial problem might have led to this. I mean, that's disturbing in and itself so for you know detectives and investigators it can be anything i've seen them all everything we just rattled off every aspect of this when it comes to to violence against family members have played into it is just a horrible horrible horrible story and look this is the beginning stages of trying to get to the why tom smith thank you so much for taking the time sir really really appreciate it and again everybody check out gold shield it's awesome always a pleasure jesse thank you that's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time.

Law&Crime Sidebar - ‘Best’ Mom Fatally Stabbed Husband, Son at Great Wolf Lodge: Cops

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