MCLEAN, VA – A Virginia woman, Megan Hargan, has been handed a second guilty verdict for the 2017 murders of her mother and sister. The jury convicted her on two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of her mother, Pamela Hargan, 63, and her sister, Helen Hargan, 23. The prosecution contended that Megan Hargan had staged the crime scene to resemble a murder-suicide carried out by her sister.
The initial guilty verdict was dismissed due to jury misconduct when it was discovered that a juror had conducted independent research. The juror had used a rifle at home to determine if it was physically possible for Helen Hargan to have committed suicide, Megan Hargan’s defense attorneys revealed.
The second conviction has been a long time coming, according to Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano. He expressed hope that the verdict would help the family move towards healing.
The prosecution argued that Megan Hargan was motivated by financial gain, alleging that she attempted to fraudulently transfer over $400,000 from her mother’s accounts on the day of the murders and the previous day. This took place at the same time that Megan was closing on a new home. However, she has consistently denied the charges.
The day the bodies were found, the Hargan home on Dean Drive was cordoned off. Initially, the police described the deaths as a murder-suicide, but further investigation suggested a more horrific family tragedy.
Megan Hargan was arrested in November 2018, more than a year after the murders. The police stated that they had determined she had murdered her mother and sister and then staged the scene to frame her sister as the shooter.
The defense argued that the case was a murder-suicide and that Helen Hargan was responsible. They claimed that Helen Hargan had called her boyfriend and accused Megan Hargan of killing their mother before taking her own life. Megan Hargan is due to be sentenced on January 26 and could face a life sentence.