The Impersonator | "Blood is Thicker" | "48 Hours" Podcast (Episode 4) | Forensic Files

thank you for calling Capital One Bank my name is Jeff me I have your name please hey Jeff my name is Felix I'm
multiple Capital One I've got a customer Pamela Harens the phone call you're hearing is
from July 13th 2017 the day before Helen and Pamela haran were found dead inside
their home in mlan Virginia on the call two employees from Capital 1 Bank are talking about Pamela haran earlier that
day someone had called the bank asking to transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars from Pamela's account Felix is
with the wire callback authentication team he's trying to speak with Pamela to confirm that the request had come from
her here's Felix talking to his colleague I've got a customer Pamela haran who uh when I called her back she
did not call in to create a wire request and she is the only signer on this account so whoever requested that wire
transfer wasn't Pamela and uh she asked us to uh to transfer her to you guys for
fraud uh because it looks like they tried to send out a $419,000 wire request so yeah you know just you know
Chum change before he brings Pamela into the conversation Felix warns Jeff that she's suspicious that they're really
Bank employees she was a little bit weary uh you know not trusting that we're actually Capital One who's calling
her Felix puts Pamela on the line with Jeff and she is immediately skeptical hello
hello yes hello hi who am I speaking to who am I speaking to my name is Jeff with Capital
One okay this is Pamela Hanson hardan at this point Pamela has only been told that someone tried to move money from
her account Jeff is about to tell her how much I do have your account in front of me so I hear that um somebody tried
to do a wire out of your account for 4400 and some odd thousand what yeah that's what the other gentlem
was saying 400 and some OD thousand he said Pamela is stunned and insists she never agree to any such transfer I did
not do that well no I know he called you because of a pending wire and then you told him that you didn't do any wires is
that correct correct correct okay okay you made me nervous for a minute those those accounts are not to be touched
period can you freeze all my accounts yeah yeah actually I've already done that police would later explain that
Pamela was on her way to Pennsylvania to meet with her daughter Ashley when she got this call she asked her other
daughter Megan who was still home in mlan Virginia to go into the bank and figure out what was going on in the
meantime Jeff from Capital 1 reassures Pamela you don't need to worry your funds are are are safe all right thank
you you're more than welcome you have a great day you as well thank you byebye Pamela was adamant she wasn't the one
who initiated the wire transfer so who did after the killings police went back and listened to the mystery caller thank
you for calling cap my name is Brooks would you tell me your name please Pamela Hansen Haren do you recognize
that voice detectives thought they did do we think we killed your mom absolutely yes oh my God
I'm Peter vanat from 48 hours this is blood is thicker the haran family killings episode 4 the
[Music] impersonator after Pamela and Helen haran were found dead on Friday July
14th 27 17 police learned about that call made to Capital 1 the day before the murders it was baffling so they listened
to the call a little more closely good morning thank you for calling capan B my name is Brooks would
you tell me your name please Pamela Hansen hargen this is the earlier call from that same day the caller claimed to
be Pamela haran but the voice sounded different I was just transfer to you I was told that I could do a wire transfer
online not able to do a wire online but I can try to help you about fun the caller said she needed the money for her
daughter who was closing on her new house that day what time is is the closing in 20 minutes okay it's it's
very unlikely it will be there in 20 minutes Brook with Capital One told the caller that someone would call her back
to verify the details and if everything checked out the funds would be released an hour or so after that can you also
verify because my phone numbers were inverted I think on my account this is my home phone number and this is where
I'm at so this is the phone number that needs to be used I just don't want to miss anything right right and the number
that you gave me match what we have on file police discovered that the caller clearly not Pamela answered the multiple
choice security questions accurately all right next question what color is your 1991 chevrol
Cavalier is it black chrome green yellow or you've never been associated with this veh never been associated with a
Cavalier all right this caller posing as Pamela also knew she had other daughters
I'm going to be doing this again for my other daughter in about three weeks not suspecting any fraud the Capital One
employee then asked how much money she wanted transferred okay let me get the exact amount it's
um 49,000 $34. 77 that's the exact payment the real Pamela haran would cancel about an hour
later the next day Capital One received yet another call from that woman again purporting to be Pamela haran at
that time the bank had no way of knowing that Pamela had been shot may I have your first and last name please Pamela
Hansen haran thank you I understand you want to complete a wire transfer with us
today uh yes we attempted to yesterday and there was a bit of a mixup so we would like to do it again now okay this
is where things unraveled for the impersonator remember Felix from earlier in the episode well he happened to get
assigned yet again to call Pamela haran to verify the wire transfer Felix with Capital One call to
speak with Pamela Hansen this is she uh Hansen haran this time this Pamela didn't seem
to recognize Felix's Voice or name and please have your name again uh my name is Felix we spoke yesterday oh I'm sorry
I thought you said Stuart Felix verified some personal information and the impersonator approved the transfer
anything else I can help you with Before I Let You Go uh no and thank you so much
for yesterday I really appreciate it yeah no worries of course three days after the shootings
someone else from the banks fraud division called detective Brian byerson the representative said that they saw
the news of Pamela's murder and thought police might want to know about the wire
transfers and the message basically reads hey this is who I am this is who I'm with Capital One fraud we saw the
news regarding uh the murder or the the death of Pamela haran Capital One sent the police all
the recordings of their calls when detectives listened they soon identified the phony Pamela they recognized the
voice as the sister who had gun residue on her hand who talked their ears off in a police
interview 5 days after the shootings this caller also said she needed money for a house in West
Virginia all signs were pointing to Megan haran so now we have a really really really good motive for murder I think
she thought she was going to get the money we would think that this was a murder suicide she would get her house
and she would just be in West Virginia Living her life I don't think she ever thought that we'd figure this out but
detectives did catch on and plan to let Megan know they asked her to come into the station for an update their plan was
to play her the calls and see how she would react you know when the when you call the bank to do a wire transfer you
know they record the calls right okay [Music] Megan arrived at the police station not
knowing that investigators planned an audio Ambush those Capital 1 recordings it was July 19th 5 days since the
murders Megan had been talking with detectives Brian byerson and Steve needles for nearly an hour when they
brought up those calls so one of the things that's always been bothering me a little bit yeah um
is that call I'm going to play the call for you all right good morning thank you for calling
one B my name is would you tell me your name please thank you for using automated
system for verification today I was just transferred to you I was told that I could do a wire online no they kept the
audio plane while they peppered her with questions were you with her or anything
like that I'm not able to do a wire on Thursday morning yeah detective berson said he hoped she could explain
something that happens on the call 6 minutes in the caller impersonating Pamela asked the Capital One employee to
wait while they call someone else byerson suspected the caller was reaching out to her
husband is it okay if I just give him a call to let him know that I'm not actually doing this over the phone
because they were panicking take forever with me in the bank okay sure is that sure you just want to put me a little
bit F I can keep you on the phone while I do that okay detective byerson confronted Megan Point
Blank listen is that your mom come on back it's not it's time to tell the truth I know who that you called your
husband okay and I know that because when I looked at your phone dump right armed with phone records the detective
told Megan they know she called her husband at the same time the person in the recording makes a phone call
initially Megan didn't confess but then she gave in okay who who is that on the phone it is me it's you right the
detectives didn't back off they played her the Capital One call you heard at the top of this episode The One
detectives were certain was the real p somebody tried to do a wire out of your account for 400 and some
odd, what suddenly Megan started apologizing I'm sorry I'm sorry the detectives kept pushing they wanted
Megan to say why she was sorry just tell us the truth that's all we want to know
I need I have to understand it the problem is you can continue to it just did yourself a deeper hole I was listen
we okay I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine in the police video you can see detective needles move his chair toward Megan just
a foot or two away as he pressed her for answers you're trying to think right now
how am I going to talk my way out of this no no you think I okay do we think we killed your mom absolutely oh my God
yes we do in his rush to confront Megan detective needles misspoke they thought she killed Pamela she caught you in on
Friday it's okay absolutely convince me that you didn't we have you right there Megan whispered I did
not kill my mom but cops had other new evidence to ask Megan about there was also a bank statement this was one of
the financial documents detective Julia Elliot spotted the day Helen and Pamela were murdered here's what Detective
Elliot told us it was a photocopy of Pamela's spreadsheet that she used for all her accounts account numbers and
passcodes it was also a photocopy of Pamela's bank statement Detective Elliot had
photographed the documents but when detectives returned with a warrant to collect them they were
gone detectives had learned that Megan sent the West Virginia real estate agent a bank statement with her name on it but
suspiciously the amount sent matched what was in her mother's bank account not hers the detectives presented Megan
with their Theory she shot her mother then her sister Helen so all this looks like you killed your mom and sister so
help us hel would have let me get Megan's saying no way her sister would have let her walk away if she'd shot
their mother what you're not saying is no I didn't kill no no no I said no I didn't that's detective needles laughing
he's signaling that he didn't believe her finally the detectives decided to tell her exactly what they think
happened and how they think Pamela was already dead by the time Capital One got the second request to make a wire
transfer I already know that your mom is dead when that phone call is made Detective berson said he thought Megan
shot Pamela before she called the bank on July 14th remember someone had covered
Pamela's body with a quilt they also found her cell phone set on top of a pool of blood leaning against the
quilt how does her phone get over to where her body is and said on top of where she's phone
she always carries her no no she couldn't listen to No I'm sorry okay it's fine she I'm telling you I'm
telling you where her phone is found she didn't drop it there it's impossible detective needles leaned in again
directly accusing Megan you shot your mom you covered her up with a blanket cuz she could live with the guilt no and
then you used your phone and you got your money for your settlement but the bank was already on to you and and what
nobody was ever going to come to the house you thought that through yet then why does your sister
call and tell him the truth remember Helen the youngest sister had called her boyfriend I do because he spends an hour
trying to call 911 to make sure the love of his life is fine meanwhile unknown to
Megan Ashley and Steve haran Megan's sister and father were listening to these same bank calls in another room in
the police station along with Megan's husband Frank what you're not realizing is your family is being told off this
stuff right now I know yeah right now they're going to be swimming in qu they're going to be they're up there
right now the interview went on and on the detectives dug into more details about the wire transfer they accused
Megan of lying that's complete lie why in the world would you lie to if I I'm here investigating the murder of your
mother and the death of your sister which is undetermined as to how she died okay you understand what I'm saying I'm
investigating that during that investigation to try to figure out what happened to the two people you're
supposed to love and then Megan seemed to break she seemed to contemplate her child growing up motherless blame me
blame me listen my family's been through enough let Molly grow up without me you
have got to unload this blame me that's fine there's nothing just blame me Megan seemed to be
crumbling but detectives still didn't have what they needed a full confession detectives established they
had plenty of circumstantial evidence but only a few days after the shootings they needed more that could stand up in
court so the question was would Megan confess [Music] Megan haran had come into the police
station around 5:00 in the evening there's been some issues over the last couple hours talking I'm sorry I'm sorry
I I understand it's hard and Megan was still there nearly 4 and a half hours later again and again she denied making
the Capital One calls and then suddenly her story changed at that point had she given you approval to act like her and
to Wi transer she sent me in she even sent me in the Capital One bank to verify that everything had been frozen
Megan not only admitted to making the calls she claimed Pamela wanted her to be the one to request the wire transfer
despite the fact her mother was on tape saying she knew nothing of that transfer
Megan was starting to sound defeated so during this whole process you know many many times you said blame me blame
me blame me just blame me I know but why I would think you'd be more concerned with Molly Molly is Megan's daughter I
am concerned about Molly but so if you're locked up forever and ever amen what happens to M she has my husband
Megan still hadn't admitted she had anything to do with the murders of her mother and sister so she could walk away
from this interview at any time the door was wide open though she didn't seem to understand that I'm not allowed
to go I she we told you that from the very beginning course you are you're free to leave I'm allowed to stand up
and walk out why would I do that when you you guys are accusing me of something like this I don't understand
you're saying you think I did this but I'm allowed to leave Megan thought she was being played no because you told me
that you guys had DET he us telling my family everything and that yeah you believe I do I did this that's our
belief right now you're you're you're a prime suspect absolutely that doesn't mean that you were locking you up and
taking you to jail tonight we're just talking what Megan didn't realize was at the time of this interview the case
against her was relatively weak later I asked detective berson about this after the police interview he told me the
investigation was far from over so murder investigations can be extremely complex um and especially in something
like this where you have a family member who you believe has killed almost her entire family her
entire immediate family other than her father and her middle sister you not only have to be
sure you have to be right and that decision is not just it does not just rest on me I can't just go
to the to the magistrate and swear out a murder warrant so Megan left that day with her family a
free woman Days Go By no arrest weeks turn into months during this time Megan and her husband used a VA loan to buy a
different home in West Virginia Megan's friend Rebecca wolf told us that Megan decided to start a new life out of state
she immediately got involved in her new community so Molly is getting settled in
her new school settled in her new Girl Scout Troop um finding the new church getting settled into the church Rebecca
said that Megan went to work with her at her pet rescue I had held a huge fundraiser for one of the rescue
missions that we worked with so she actually helped me set the whole thing up so we spent several months
researching vendors getting vendors locked on Megan her husband and Molly were finally
all under their own roof together at last but Megan was in a kind of limbo because the investigators still had her
in their sights I asked byerson if Megan had killed her mother and sister then that would mean a brutal killer was free
to kill again during all those months all I can say to that is we kept an eye on her we knew where she was prosecutors
in Virginia convened a grand jury to look at the evidence and decide whether Megan should be charged investigators
had to wait for documents forensic accountants had to comb through layers of Records which also delayed any
possible indictment all of those investigative steps took almost a year and four months
before we had everything back and we got the okay to indict her for those two murders Megan's borrowed time was coming
to an end detective byerson and a team of officers made the three-hour drive from
the DC area to morgant toown we all went up there Megan haran that morning dropped her daughter off at
school and once she left school grounds we had a local officer uh conduct a traffic stop on her and she was arrested
detective byerson and Megan came face to face again what did you see in her eyes
nothing when I look at Megan um I don't see much behind behind those eyes it's kind of empty to me she
has no remorse for what she did at all Megan was taken to a local police station in West Virginia for another
interview before she was brought back to Northern Virginia that same day the Fairfax County Police
Department updated the public at a news conference for the first time since they
called the killings a murder suicide we did arrest 35-year-old Megan haran in West Virginia this morning for the
murders of her mom Pamela haran and sister Helen haran July 14th 2017 in mlan understandably reporters had
questions could I ask them why you didn't put out another directive uh to the public that it was a
double murder because our community had so many questions they were told it was a murder of suicide and then you know
you all knew it's double murder all along do you not think maybe the public should have been informed of that yeah
so we always drive to inform our community um this case in particular we'll we'll always debrief what we did
and why we did it um I I will say an investigative strategy is to find the person that's responsible for double
murder uh is is a is ofmost most importance the fact that cops had waited so long made Megan's friend Rebecca wolf
skeptical that they had a strong case why'd you wait 18 months to arrest her Rebecca learned Megan had been arrested
while she was listening to the radio on her way home from yoga I never in a million years saw this coming and I
heard that name and thank God I was turning into my road at that point because I probably would have wrecked
cuz I just immediately started balling she thought this had to be a mistake after the arrest Rebecca traveled to be
at Megan's trial and the hargens they had to face the possibility that Megan might have pinned the murders on her
sister Helen and why then did Helen have to die I think Helen knew what happened I
mean I will never understand I don't think in in any capacity why it is that Megan went upstairs and told her that
she had shot their mother have no idea why she did that I can only assume that at some
point after telling her that she realized that was probably not a great idea [Music]
from 48 hours this is blood is thicker the haran family killings Judy Tigard is the executive producer of 48 Hours
original reporting by 48 Hours producers Josh jerger Sarah elely Holz Michelle sigona and Lauren white Jamie Benson is
the senior producer for Paramount audio and Mora walls is the senior story editor recording assistants from Alan
Pang and Marlin polycarp special thanks to paramont podcast vice president Megan Marcus and
48 Hours senior producer Peter schwitzer blood is thicker is produced by Sony Music
Entertainment it was written and produced by Alex Schuman our executive producers are
Katherine St Louis and Jonathan Hirsch our associate producer is Zoe kulin theme and original music composed
by hansdale shei he also soundd designed and mixed the episodes we also use music
by Blue Dot sessions Katherine Newan is our fact Checker our production managers
are tamaa balance kassi and Samantha Allison I'm Peter Van Sant if you're enjoying the show be sure to rate and
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today thanks for listening

Investigators think they know who killed the Hargan women, but can't seem to get a confession. Then, a representative from Capital One bank sent them recordings of some strange phone calls made the day before the shootings. Someone pretending to be Pamela Hargan called the bank wanting a wire transfer for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Those recordings would expose a motive.

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Brief Summary

Megan Haran impersonated her mother to steal money before murdering her and her sister.

Key points

The Suspicious Call. A call to Capital One raises alarms about a large wire transfer request.
The Impersonator's Scheme. Detectives discover a caller impersonating Pamela to access her funds.
Megan's Arrest. Megan is arrested after months of investigation into her mother's murder.
Community Questions Police Response. The public questions why the police labeled the case a murder-suicide initially.
Megan's Arrest. Megan Haran is arrested for the murders of her mother and sister after 18 months.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Absolutely yes! Oh my God!

Megan's shocking admission about her involvement.

13:19WatchMay 29, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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