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Retrial for woman accused of killing mom, sister underway
Jurors will begin deliberating Thursday the fate of a woman on trial for the second time for the murders of her mother and sister. Megan Hargan was first found guilty in March 2022 for the 2017 murders of her mother Pamela Hargan and sister Helen Hargan. FOX 5's Lili Zheng has the latest details on what went down in court today.
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. - The fate of a woman accused of killing her mother and sister is now in the hands of jurors.
The July 2017 deaths of Pam and Helen Hargan first appeared to have been a murder-suicide. Investigators later said Pam's daughter, Helen, staged the scene and is the main suspect in the murder.
Megan Hargan was first convicted of the murders in March 2022. She was granted a new trial later that year due to juror misconduct, prosecutors presented evidence suggesting she was angry at the time because she believed her mother Pamela favored her younger sister Helen after Pamela did not make a $400,000 wire transfer to purchase a home for Megan.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys were given two hours each to make their closing arguments Wednesday, followed by a rebuttal from the Commonwealth of Virginia: a final push to jurors to find Megan guilty of the murders or not.
Woman found guilty of murder after staging 2017 murder-suicide scene in Fairfax County
A woman has been found guilty of murder for the 2017 deaths of her mother and sister which first appeared as a murder-suicide.
Prosecutors argued there is not a "shred of evidence" that Helen Hargan murdered her mother and then killed herself. They also stated Megan had gun residue on her hands, hours after her mom and sister were shot.
Defense attorneys for Megan say the government has not proven this theory and the case is circumstance.
During closing arguments Wednesday, prosecutors said Megan attempted fraudulent money transfers from her mother’s account on the day of the murders and the day before.
To prove the murders were premeditated, a prosecutor told the jurors the Commonwealth of Virginia was not required to prove Megan spent weeks planning the attacks.
"The puzzle pieces are all put together as a way to prove her guilt," the jurors were told Wednesday. "There is not one shred of evidence that Helen murdered Pam."
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Fairfax County police have arrested a 35-year-old woman who they say killed her sister and mother then staged an elaborate ruse to make their deaths in a McLean home appear to be the result of a murder-suicide back in 2017.
Prosecutors also pointed out Wednesday, that if Megan did not kill her mother and sister, then she should have been the only person in the home that day who did not have gun residue on her hands. Evidence submitted in court revealed Megan’s hands had gun residue hours after the shooting.
"Killing your mom is a place of desperation," a defense attorney representing Megan told jurors Wednesday.
Megan’s defense team argues prosecutors have not proven their theory and the entire case is circumstantial, dependent on "bad investigative work." Instead, they suggest Helen killed the sisters’ mother, Pamela, over a dispute regarding Helen’s boyfriend.
"It’s possible Helen killed herself," an attorney for Megan said. "Possible does not equal ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’."
Jurors were dismissed Wednesday around 4:30 p.m. and instructed to return Thursday morning to begin deliberations around 10 a.m.