What Jennifer Did: 10 Most Shocking Reveals From Netflix's True Crime Documentary

This article contains discussions of murder, self-harm, and extreme violence.

Summary Jennifer Pan was sentenced to life for orchestrating her parents' murder.

The Netflix documentary revisits the case with interviews from authorities and other people involved.

A new trial has been granted for all accused, including Jennifer.

Netflix's true crime documentary What Jennifer Did reveals the shocking truth behind the double homicide of Jennifer Pan's parents in Markham, Ontario, Canada. Directed by Jenny Popplewell, this 87-minute film features real footage of the crime scene and Jennifer and her ex-boyfriend Daniel Wong's interrogations by police in the aftermath of the fatal night of November 8, 2010. It also includes interviews with the various police members involved in the case, along with Jennifer's school friend, a family friend of the Pan family, and Jennifer's piano teacher. What Jennifer Did was released on Netflix on April 10, 2024.

The Netflix true crime film opens with the double homicide of the Pan family in which Jennifer's mother, Bich Ha Pan, was killed and Jennifer's father, Hann Pan, was left in a coma, with a gunshot wound in the eye, unlikely to survive. The Vietnamese immigrant family was described as normal and hardworking people who moved to Canada several years ago and were unlikely to have any enemies who wanted to hurt them. The only witness was Jennifer Pan, initially thought to also be a victim of the violent crime. However, as the documentary unveiled, Jennifer was hiding several secrets.

Related Best True Crime Shows On Netflix Right Now From seasoned favorites to new hits and hidden gems, here’s a rundown of the best Netflix true crime shows fans of the genre can stream.

10 Jennifer Allegedly Orchestrated the Double Homicide of Her Parents

She Quickly Shifted From Victim To Perpetrator

While the police initially viewed Jennifer Pan as a victim of the violent crime against both her parents, the investigation revealed that she was the alleged perpetrator who orchestrated the double homicide. On the fatal night, the police found that Jennifer was in touch with Lenford Crawford (alias "Homeboy"), coordinating when he and his accomplices should enter her house. Her father was already asleep. She waited for her mother to return from line dancing, said good night to her, and secretly unlocked the front door before heading upstairs as described in the Netflix documentary.

According to the police, Jennifer then texted "Homeboy" and his associates – Eric Carty and David Mylvaganam – and turned the lights off and on, signaling for them to enter the house. She then returned to her bedroom and waited for her plan to unfold. Finally, Jennifer staged the distressed phone call to 911, giving the three attackers enough time to escape after shooting her parents. When these revelations came to light, the police arrested Jennifer, whom a jury later found guilty of first-degree murder of her mother and attempted murder of her father through a hire-to-kill plot.

9 Jennifer Allegedly Conspired With Her Ex-Boyfriend Daniel Wong

The Two Were Star-Crossed Lovers

Custom image by Sam MacLennan

Jennifer Pan allegedly colluded with her ex-boyfriend Daniel Wong to plan the double murder of her parents. The police found that "Homeboy" was an associate of Daniel, who also dealt drugs. According to her diary entries found by the police, Jennifer yearned for a fairy tale relationship with Daniel, whom she had dated for seven years but with whom she had to end things two years prior, due to her parents' disapproval. Daniel dealt drugs and held a working-class job, which made him an inappropriate match for the Pans, who felt he would bring their daughter's life down.

Although Jennifer complied with her parents' diktat, she remained in touch with Daniel and continued to have romantic feelings for him. However, Daniel moved on to another woman, Christine, and Jennifer's father caught her maintaining contact with him and issued her an ultimatum: choose between Daniel and her parents. While she chose to keep living with her parents, Jennifer's enduring, forbidden love for Daniel is said to be one of her key motivations for planning the murder. Jennifer, Daniel, and the three co-accused men were ultimately sentenced to life in prison, with no chance of parole for 25 years.

8 This Was Allegedly Not Jennifer's First Attempt At Murder

It Seems She Had Previously Paid Someone Else To Kill Her Parents

Close

The police found that the November 8, 2010, double homicide was not Jennifer's first attempt to get her parents killed. Instead, it turns out, she had previously approached a friend around 10 months prior, asking him to take her father's life. She even allegedly paid this friend to do so. While this plan didn't materialize, it indicated that Jennifer harbored resentment towards her parents for a long time, enough to want them dead and take tangible steps towards that end. It also demonstrated her continued intent and pre-meditated plan to get rid of her parents.

The police members interviewed in What Jennifer Did interpret this as evidence of Jennifer's evil nature and vicious planning. However, it also reflects her deeply troubled mental state and fractured relationship with her parents, which no one knew much about or paid much attention to before. Although the documentary tends to moralize Jennifer's brutal actions, it works best when it keeps the viewer guessing what is going on and when it examines the circumstances of her life that led her to such an unthinkable step.

7 Jennifer's Mother's Last Words Were "Don't Hurt My Daughter"

Until Her Dying Breath, Bich Pan Sought To Protect Her Daughter

When Jennifer's mother, Bich Pan, was on her knees with a man pointing a gun at her, the woman's alleged final words were "Don't hurt my daughter." Until her dying breath, it seems, she sought to protect her daughter from harm and ensure her safety. In an interview featured in What Jennifer Did, Bich's friend also talked about how Bich was always worried about her daughter Jennifer's well-being and future. This parental concern continued until her dying breath.

It is tragic that Bich Pan cared so deeply and selflessly about her daughter, Jennifer, who had in fact planned the murder in the first place. This tragic paradox speaks to the misalignment between Bich's well-meaning concerns about Jennifer and what Jennifer actually needed and felt as a young woman. The documentary that Bich always had Jennifer's best interests at heart, even though Jennifer ended up harboring such deep-seated resentment against her own mother.

6 Jennifer's Father Survived and Testified Against His Daughter

He Provided The Police With The First Major Indication Of Jennifer's Culpability

Despite being in a coma induced by a gunshot wound in his eye, Jennifer's father, Hann Pan, survived the attempted murder and went on to provide crucial information for the arrest and conviction of his daughter, Jennifer. Five days after the fatal night, Hann was taken out of a coma and recounted the incident to the police: he had indeed gone to bed early that night, his wife, Bich, had gone line dancing, and his daughter, Jennifer, was at home. Hann recalled being awoken by a man with a gun and seeing his wife hysterical, begging for her life.

Then, Hann saw his daughter, Jennifer, walk downstairs with one of the suspects, with no bindings on her hands as she'd initially claimed to the police, having a friendly conversation with the attacker. This was the first major revelation for the police, suggesting the extent to which Jennifer was lying about the incidents of that night and hinting at her possible culpability in the double homicide. "Use your police techniques," Hann said to the investigators a few days later, "Use your police techniques to find out what Jennifer did." This is where the documentary's title What Jennifer Did comes from.

"Use your police techniques," Jennifer's father, Hann Pan, said to the investigators, "Use your police techniques to find out What Jennifer Did."

5 Jennifer Lied To Her Parents For 4 Years About Going To College

She Forged Several Documents Using Photoshop

It turns out that Jennifer was lying to her parents for four years about going to college. For years, her parents would drive her down to Toronto and think she was attending classes, but she was not. Jennifer's parents had wanted her to study pharmacy, and she told them she was pursuing a Bachelor of Science. She even confessed to forging a false degree from the University of Toronto, along with student loan documents and report cards, using Photoshop. Jennifer later admitted to the police that her parents had caught her lying and demanded back the money they'd invested.

When the police learned about this lie, it was their first clue that perhaps all was not what it seemed in the investigation. It was the first revelation that led them to question Jennifer as an unreliable narrator. They thought: that if she could systematically tell lie after lie to her parents for four long years, she could certainly be lying to them about the incidents on that fatal night of November 8, 2010, as well. It was also the preliminary hint at a motive, an indication of major conflict between Jennifer and her parents.

Related The Best True Crime Netflix Original Series, According To IMDb Netflix has dabbled a lot in the world of true crime. According to IMDb, these are its best efforts!

4 Jennifer Felt Pressured and Controlled By Her Parents

This Was A Central Cause Of Jennifer's Resentment Towards Her Parents

Close

Jennifer's heinous actions largely stemmed from her resentment towards her parents for their interference in her life and the pressure they put on her. Not only do her diary entries show her complaints about the restrictions her parents put on her, but other people also confirmed this information in interviews. A family friend of the Pans confirmed that Jennifer's mother, Bich, was concerned about her daughter not finding a job after apparently graduating from university and that she was preoccupied about her daughter being looked down upon in society.

One of Jennifer's high school friends further added how everyone in the high school was expected to be a doctor, lawyer, dentist, engineer, or accountant. There was no other choice for children of immigrant families from Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Taiwan, all of whom faced varying degrees of familiar pressure to perform academically and pursue these conventional career paths. While most of Jennifer's classmates scored straight As, she was a below-average student and wanted to study kinesiology. Her father, however, forced her to pursue a career in medicine so she could be more successful.

"There was just so much," Jennifer said to the police, "so much expectation."

3 Jennifer Claimed to Have Self-Harmed In The Past

She Added That The Attack Was Meant To Kill Her, Not Her Parents

Jennifer told the police that she'd cut herself in the past, as she was miserable as a result of her parent's repression. She claimed that the plan she'd orchestrated with "Homeboy" and others was actually for them to end her life, not her parents. She insisted that the attackers were only meant to kill her and leave her parents unharmed. However, the police found that the attack was meant to be on her parents. While Jennifer may have lied about this story, the veracity of her claim to have self-harmed remains unknown.

Naturally, Jennifer was not in a good mental state due to her parental pressure, expectations, and control of her life. In an interview for What Jennifer Did, her piano instructor recalls her breaking down during one session and complaining that her parents don't trust her, follow her around everywhere, have forbidden her from seeing her boyfriend, Daniel, and don't give her any freedom. Jennifer's life at the time, she said to the police, consisted of only piano studies and work. Her parents had confiscated her phone and would drive her everywhere.

2 Jennifer's Initial Story Falsely Claimed That The Attackers Were Three Black Men

It Needlessly Added A Racial Element To The Crime

In her initial testimony to the police, Jennifer falsely claimed that the attackers were three Black men. She said that one of them had dreadlocks, another wore a hoodie, was even more dark-skinned, and had a thinner build, and the third man had a Jamaican accent. Jennifer's description perpetuated racist stereotypes and added a racial element to a crime that had none. During the initial few days of the investigation, the primary preoccupation of the police was to find these three men.

Jennifer's false information led to panic in Markham. Initially, the Pan family's neighbors worried that maybe the attackers had got the wrong house and that one of them was meant to be the real target. Markham was known to be a safe area with mostly families from diverse cultural backgrounds, including Caribbean, Asian, South Asian, and East Asian people. It was also a quiet neighborhood, and such a violent, gruesome crime shattered the peace and frightened everyone.

1 All The Accused Have Been Granted a New Trial After A Successful Appeal

Jennifer Maintains Her Innocence To This Day

Close

Following a successful appeal against their conviction for the first-degree murder of Bich Ha Pan, the on-screen text stated at the end of the documentary, that all the accused have been granted a new trial. This is scary and confusing information, as What Jennifer Did offers compelling and conclusive evidence of Jennifer's culpability in plotting the murder of her parents with Daniel Wong, Lenford Crawford (aka "Homeboy"), Eric Carty, and David Mylvaganam. This new development is perhaps the reason for the making of the documentary in the first place: to examine old evidence and reiterate Jennifer's guilt.

What Jennifer Did does not go into further details about this appeal and what happened to Jennifer Pan after being convicted of her crimes in 2010. However, the on-screen texts indicate that Jennifer's father, Hann Pan, was granted a lifetime no-contact order against his daughter. To this date, despite all the evidence, Jennifer Pan maintains her innocence in the double homicide of her parents.

Stream on Netflix