Netflix documentary “What Jennifer Did” explores the story behind a young Canadian woman, Jennifer Pan, who is accused of planning to kill her parents in a murder-for-hire plot.
The 86-minute film uses police footage and interviews to take a look at what happened after one night in November 2010, when Pan's 53-year-old mother, Bich Ha Pan, was killed and her 60-year-old father, Hei Hann Pan, was critically injured and put into a coma.
Spliced among video of interrogations, the documentary shows part of Pan's life leading up to the incident, including how her parents allegedly forced her into academic excellence and to stop talking her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Daniel Wong.
Prosecutors accused Pan, with Wong's assistance, of coordinating a murder-for-hire plot to kill her parents.
At the age of 28, Pan was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of her mother and attempted murder of her father at the 2014 trial. She and Wong were sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years, per the documentary, at the time.
Pan's co-conspirators — Lenford Crawford and David Mylvaganam — were found guilty on the same charges. Eric Carty, another co-conspirator, was later convicted of conspiracy to commit murder but died in prison in 2018, according to the Markham Economist & Sun.
According to the documentary, Pan maintains her innocence. Now, following an appeal against the murder charge, Pan, Wong and the co-conspirators have been granted a new trial.
Where is Jennifer Pan's ex, Daniel Wong, now?
Wong is currently incarcerated, the Correctional Service Canada confirmed to TODAY.com. In Canada, prisoner’s specific locations are not revealed per the country's Privacy Act.
According to friends' accounts, Wong and Pan met in high school and began dating, not to the knowledge of Pan's parents. Once her parents allegedly forced her to choose between them and Wong, Pan and Wong eventually broke up.
They remained in contact, though, according to the documentary, Wong was dating another woman. The film alleged that Wong helped Pan come into contact with the three men who ultimately committed the crimes.
When is the new trial?
After Wong and Pan were sentenced to life in prison without parole for 25 years in January 2015, the Court of Appeals for Ontario ordered a new trial for the first-degree murder charge in May 2023, CBC reports. The decision came because the original judge didn't present the jury with second-degree murder and manslaughter as potential other verdicts in the case, per court documents.
Because in Canada, prosecutors can also appeal at this stage, and did so in August 2023, filing against the appellate ruling with the Canadian Supreme Court.
At this point, the Supreme Court of Canada must decide whether to hear arguments on the appeal. If it decides not to or chooses to hear the case but rules with the defense, the retrial order remains. Lower courts must then decide whether to bring the case to a retrial.
