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Harkin were found dead inside their home in McLean, Virginia. On the call, two employees from Capital One Bank are talking about Pamela Harkin. 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 Harkin, who, when I called her back, she did not call into create a wire request. And she is the only signer on this account. So whoever requested that wire transfer wasn't Pamela. And she asked us to transfer her to you guys, for fraud, because it looks like he tried to send it at a $419,000 wire request. Oh, yeah, you know, just, you know, some 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 wary of, you know, not trusting that we were actually Capital One's calling her. Felix puts Pamela on the line with Jeff, and she is immediately skeptical. 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 Harkin. 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 somebody tried to do a wire out of your account for $400,000.000. What? Yeah, that's what the other guy was saying. $400,000,000, he said. Pamela is stunned and insist she never agreed 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 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 McLean, Virginia, to go into the bank and figure out what was going on. In the
meantime, Jeff from Capital One reassures Pamela. You don't need to worry. Your funds are safe. All right. Thank you. You're more than welcome. You have a great day. You as well. Thank you. Bye-bye. 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 Capital One. A name of the support. Did you tell me your name, please?
Pamela, he's in her gym. Do you recognize that voice? Yes. Detectives thought they did. Do we think we killed your mom? Absolutely. Oh, my God. I'm Peter Vance Sant. From 48 hours, this is Blood Is Thicker, the Harkin Family Killings. Episode 4 The Impersonator. After Pamela and Helen Harkin were found dead. On Friday, July 14, 2017, police learned about that call made to Capital One the day before the murders. It was baffling.
So they listened to the call a little more closely. Good morning. Thank you for calling Capital One. My name is Brooks. Did you tell me your name, please? Pamela, he's in her gym. This is the earlier call from that same day. The caller claimed to be Pamela Harkin, but the voice sounded different. I was just transferred to you. I was told that I could do a wire transfer online. None able to do a wire online, but I can try to help you baffling.
The caller said she needed the money for her daughter, who was closing on her new house that day. Four times is the closing in 20 minutes. Okay, it's very unlikely it will be there in 20 minutes. Brooke 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, mash, 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 Chevrolet Cavalier? Is it black, chrome, green, yellow or you've never been associated with this?
You've 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 419,000, $34 and $77. That's the exact payment the real Pamela Harkin would cancel about an hour later.
The next day, Capital One received yet another call from that woman again, purporting to be Pamela Harkin. At that time, the bank had no way of knowing that Pamela had been shot. Now, have you first seen my thing, please? Pamela, handsome Harkin. Thank you. I understand you want to complete a wire transfer with us today. Yes. We attempted to yesterday and there was a bit of a mix up, 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 Harkin to verify the wire transfer. I feel like the Capital One column to speak with Pamela Hanson. This is she, Hansen Harkin. Him and he will hurt you. This time, this Pamela didn't seem to recognize Felix's voice or name. And next we have going to go. How many miss Felix? A sweet book yesterday. Oh, I'm sorry. At least it's too hard.
Felix verified some personal information and the impersonator approved the transfer. Anything else you can help you with before I let you go? 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 the murder or the death of Pamela Harkin. 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 hands. Who talked their ears off in a police interview five days after the shootings.
This caller also said she needed money for a house in West Virginia. All signs were pointing to Megan Harkin. 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, live in her life. I don't think she ever thought that we'd figure this out. But detectives did catch on and planned 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 you call the bank to do a wire transfer, you know, they record the calls, right? Okay. Worried about letting someone else pick out the perfect avocado for your perfect and press them on the third date guacamole? Well, good thing Instacart Shoppers are as picky as you are. They find ripe avocados like it's they are guac on the line.
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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 in the bottom of me a little bit. Yeah. Is that call? I'm going to play the call for you. All right. Good morning. Thank you for calling, Capone. My name is Lauren. You can tell me your name please. My name is Lauren. I'm an artist. I'm a Morgan. Thank you for using the automated system for verification. We'll have to break this.
I just need to answer to you. I'm a told that I can do a line. Do you remember this call? No. They kept the audio playing while they peppered her with questions. Were you with her or anything? No, I don't have to do a wire of line. I'm going to do my first stop. Thursday morning, yeah. Detective Byerson said he hopes she could explain something that happens on the call. Six 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. If I don't keep sight of getting in the call, I'll tell you what you know. That I'm not actually doing this over the phone because they were panicking. So it's like, you can take forever with me in the bank. Okay, sure. I'm sure you just want to put me in a little bit longer and I can keep you on the phone while I do that. Okay, all right. Detective Byerson confronted Megan point blank. Listen. Is that your mom? Come on, Megan.
It's not my 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, that's right. Armed with phone records, the detectives 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 is that on the phone? 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 Pamela. Somebody tried to do a wire out of your account for $400,000. What? Suddenly, Megan started apologizing. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. The detectives kept pushing. They wanted Megan to say why she was sorry. There's this tells the truth. That's all we wanted. I need I have to understand it. The problem is you can continue. I don't know.
I'm just going to do it myself a deeper hole. I was. Listen. Listen. 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. Yes. Oh my god. Yes, we do. In his rush to confront Megan, detective needles mispoke. They thought she killed Pamela.
She caught you wiring her Friday. No, that's okay. Absolutely. Can convince me that you didn't. We have you. No, no. No, no. 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 Elliott spotted the day Helen and Pamela were murdered. Here's what Detective Elliott told us.
It was a photocopy of Pamela's spreadsheet that she used for all her accounts, account numbers, and pass codes. It was also a photocopy of Pamela's bank statement. Detective Elliott 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. Said, all this looks like you killed your mom and sister. So how much... 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 idea. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. 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 calls me. Detective Byerson 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 set on top of where she's found? She'll be curious. No, no, she couldn't have listened. No, I'm sorry. Okay, it's fine. Okay. She haven't told you. 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. No, I didn't know. You covered her up with a blanket. You're going to live with a guilt.
Hello. No. And then you used your phone and you got your money for your settlement, but the bank was already on to you. And why, nobody was ever going to come to the house? We were really worried about that. You hadn't caught that three yet. Then why does your sister call? I do not know. And tell him the truth. Remember, Helen, the youngest sister, had called her boyfriend. I do not know. Because he spends an hour trying to call 911 and make sure the love of his life is fine.
Meanwhile, unknown to Megan, Ashley and Steve Hargan, Megan's sister and father, were listening to the same bank calls in another room in the police station, along with Megan's husband, Frank. Well, you're not realizing. You're a family being told off the subframe now. Oh, I know. Yeah, right. Now, they're going to be swimming and going. They're going to be there 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 a complete lie. Why in the world would you lie to? If I'm here investigating the murder of your mother and the death of your sister, which is undetermined as the 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. Play me. Please. Play me.
Listen. My family's been doing us last night. Not let Molly grow up without me. You have got to unload this. Play me. That's fine. There's nothing. Just play me. Megan seemed to be crumbly. 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?
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And Megan was still there nearly four 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 into a wire transfer? She even sent me the capital one. Thanks 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, 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 I have rammed, what happens to Molly? 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. Hey, she always told you to have to go to the beginning. Of course you are. If we leave. I'm allowed to stand up and walk out. Why would I do that when 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 just actually telling my family everything. You believe I did this? That's all right. I know you're in crime suspects. Absolutely. This 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 Byerson about this.
After the police interview, he told me the investigation was far from over. So murder investigations can be extremely complex. 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 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, 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 sites.
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 Morgan Town. We all went up there. Megan hargined that morning, dropped her daughter off at school. And once she left school grounds, we had a local officer conduct a traffic stop on her. 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, 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 Hargan in West Virginia this morning for the murders of her mom, Pamela Hargan and sister Helen Hargan, July 14th, 2017 in McLean. Understandably, reporters had questions. Could I ask them why you didn't put out another directive to the public that it wasn't double-burve?
Because our community had so many questions. They were told it was a murder suicide and then you all knew it was double-burve all along. Do you not think maybe the public should have informed of that? Yeah, so we always drive to inform our community. This case in particular, we'll always debrief what we did and why we did it. I will say an investigative strategy is to find the person that's responsible for double murder. It is about most importance.
The fact that cops had waited so long made Megan's friend Rebecca Wolfe skeptical that they had a strong case. Why do you wait 18 months so 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 because I just immediately started bawling. She thought this had to be a mistake.
After the arrest, Rebecca traveled to be at Megan's trial. And the Harkins, 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 any capacity why it is that Megan went upstairs and told her that she had shot their mother. I 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. From 48 hours, this is blood is thicker, the Harkin family killings. Judy Tagard is the executive producer of 48 hours. Original reporting by 48 hours producers Josh Yeager, Sarah Ely Hols, Michelle Sagona, and Lauren White. Jimmy Benson is the senior producer for Paramount Audio and moral walls is the senior story editor, recording assistance from Alan Pang and Marlon Polikar.
Special thanks to Paramount podcast vice president Megan Marcus and 48 hours senior producer Peter Schweitzer. Blood is thicker is produced by Sony Music Entertainment. It was written and produced by Alex Schumann. Our executive producers are Catherine St. Louis and Jonathan Hirsch. Our associate producer is Zoe Kulken. Theme and original music composed by Hans Dail She. He also sound designed and mixed the episodes. We also use music by Blue Dot Sessions. Catherine Newhan is our fact checker.
Our production managers are Tameka, Balanced Kolasni, and Samantha Allison. I'm Peter Van Sant. If you're enjoying the show, be sure to rate and review. It helps more people find it and here are reporting. For early and at free access to Blood is thicker, subscribe to 48 hours plus on Apple Podcasts or OneDri Plus on the OneDri app. Start your free trial today. Thanks for listening.
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This week, chilling stories from survivors who escape their killers. That was the only one that could walk out of there. Still alive. Someone wanted me dead. 48 hours Crime Time Double Feature Survivor Stories Saturday, 9-8 Central on CBS and Streaming on Paramount Plus.