Why Did Jennifer Pan Do It? Netflix Doc Crime Reasoning & Her Life of Lies Explained

By Sam Hargrave Posted:
Jennifer Pan

On November 8, 2010, Jennifer Pan had her parents killed, and the reasons behind it are every bit as complicated as the case itself.

The killing of Jennifer Pan's parents was recently recounted on Netflix in the true crime documentary What Jennifer Did, which reveals the grueling details of how she placed a hit on their lives and staged a break-in.

What Did Jennifer Pan Do?

Pan's crime took place on November 8, 2010 when three gunmen broke into her family home where she resided with her parents in Ontario, Canada. The intruders demanded money before shooting both her mother (Bich Ha) and father (Huei Hann), killing the former instantly and placing the latter into a coma.

The police were called to the quiet neighborhood by Pan herself claiming to be the only surviving witness who the intruders tied up before they fled the scene.

The twist in the case came as detectives grew suspicious of Pan herself, becoming less sure the attack marked a random home invasion once a neighbor's security camera revealed the gunmen came into the house with no forced entry.

In fact, the attack turned out to be a hired hit orchestrated by Pan and her boyfriend Daniel Wong, who was a drug dealer with a criminal record.

Jennifer Pan's Life of Lies Explained

Jennifer Pan

While living with her mother and father, Jennifer Pan had been lying to her parents about the current goings-on in her life. Not only did she claim to have graduated high school and attended college by showing them fake documents, Pan even asked her parents for lifts to her supposed classes.

As her father wanted her to be a pharmacist, that was what she claimed to be studying at college, although her mother hoped Jennifer would become a professional pianist. But alas, neither aligned with the life she wanted for herself, leading to the lies she told them both.

Pan was a strong student and ice skater in her earlier years until her grades eventually began to slip. Although these grades were, at the time, enough to get her into Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, she went on to fail calculus in her final semester and the college withdrew its offer.

During this time, Jennifer worked as a waitress and dated her high school friend Daniel Wong, who had a shady past with a criminal record for dealing drugs.

She lied to her parents about graduating, attending school, working voluntarily at a SickKids hospital, and living with her friend. 

Eventually, her parents grew suspicious and confronted Jennifer, who admitted to her lies and to have been staying with Wong. From then onwards she was forbidden from seeing her boyfriend, prompting a decline in the relationship.

Why Did Jennifer Pan Kill Her Parents?

Despite a break-up after which Daniel Wong began seeing someone new and Jennifer Pan was left furious, the couple eventually rekindled their relationship, sparking plans to murder her objecting parents.

The couple planned the killing to allow their relationship to continue, move in together, and claim the $500,000 inheritance which would be left to Pan - according to Global News.

Wong introduced Pan to Lenford Crawford, one of the hitmen, who agreed to kill her mother and father for $10,000. Even after Wong returned to his ex-girlfriend, Pan went through with the hit, saying, "I want it for me."

Pan signaled to Crawford and his associates (David Mylvaganam and Eric Carty) to enter while her mother was watching TV and her father was asleep upstairs.

Pan, Wong, and all three of the hired hitmen are currently in prison for their part in killing Bich Ha and the attempted murder of Huei Hann, who is still alive to this day.


What Jennifer Did is streaming now on Netflix.

- About The Author: Sam Hargrave
Sam Hargrave is the Associate Editor at The Direct. He joined the team as a gaming writer in 2020 before later expanding into writing for all areas of The Direct and taking on further responsibilities such as editorial tasks and image creation.