A Daughter's Deadly Deception

by Jeremy Grimaldi

  Regardless of the guidelines investigators are meant to follow — rules intended to avoid a phenomenon called “confirmation bias,” which occurs when detectives seek out information that confirms their existing beliefs about a case — they still have instincts. Even the 911 operator started asking questions during Jennifer’s frantic eight-minute call to police: “Do they know your parents, anything like that? Any relation to them?” she questions, perplexed. “They just came and tied you up?”

  The November 9 story in the National Post properly describes the shock and surprise felt by many upon hearing about the brazen killing: “The quiet streets of suburban Markham are rarely the setting for random violence … [but on this night] they left one woman dead, her husband seriously wounded, and their daughter bound and terrorized. They also left a neighbourhood in fear, wondering what might have prompted such an attack on a family with no apparent links to crime.”

  As far as suburbs go in Canada, York Region, with just over one million people, of which the City of Markham makes up about one-third, is as safe as it gets. The entire region only experienced fourteen home invasions — which involved criminals breaking into a residence expecting to commit violence — the year before (2009). Markham had only six. “This appears, from our early investigation, to be … random,” then York Police Chief Armand La Barge advises the media. The crime is so heinous on its face — the matriarch of a “normal” family killed in the safety of her own home — it prompts the chief to label the crime “despicable.” La Barge promises to bring “all hands on deck” to find those responsible — resulting in some twenty-four officers being assigned to the case, a number that quickly dwindles as information begins to roll in. One lawyer involved in the case says this approach stands in contrast to other Canadian police forces with fewer resources, which often begin with few officers and then more are added when and if required.

  The Pans’ Markham home on Helen Avenue.

  In the aftermath of incidents like this one, where a murder, serious sexual assault, or abduction leaves an “intense public demand for identification, apprehension, and prosecution,” Canadian police forces pull together what’s known in law enforcement as a Major Case Management unit. It involves a team of three experienced investigators forming a “command triangle,” intent on giving officers three sets of eyes and ears, not only for logical decisions and strategies but in order to lead a large group of officers in the field.

  In this case, the senior investigating officer responsible for the direction of the investigation is Detective Sergeant Larry Wilson. He is the major case manager — the most experienced of the three — and is well versed in significant homicide probes. The primary investigator running the day-to-day tactical strategy is Detective Bill Courtice. Up to that point, Courtice took the lead in five homicides but was part of some eighty murder investigations in all, including one of Markham’s most infamous, involving convicted murderer Chris Little. He has been described as a difficult investigator to get along with by more than a few of his colleagues, in part because of his blunt honesty and hard-nosed pursuit of the truth, sparing little concern for people’s feelings. The number three, the file coordinator, is Detective Constable Alan Cooke, a former drugs and vice detective who also worked in the intelligence bureau. He makes up for his lack of experience in homicide by his history of undercover work with traditional Mafia figures, specifically ’Ndrangheta, the Calabrian Mafia. Others might have difficulties working with Courtice, but not Cooke, known as “Cookie” around the office. During the years-long investigation, the two grow as thick as thieves and remain so to this day. The hours are long and arduous, with the pair clocking the first forty-eight hours awake and together.

  The initial police inquiry divides investigators into two camps: some quite simply find the circumstances of Bich’s murder, Jennifer’s subsequent behaviour, and the storyline she provides too fishy, too arbitrary; others, faced with this angelic girl, simply can’t fathom that she could have any involvement in such a devious and gruesome murder.

  Detective Sergeant Wilson, the most analytical of the three investigators, is unwilling at this point to begin formulating theories. He remains on the proverbial fence, awaiting more information. Detective Courtice, a gruff former military man with a rosy complexion, also very rule-orientated in his thinking, chooses the “wait and see” approach, as well, harbouring suspicions but unwilling to commit to a theory. Although there are troubling inconsistencies, the well-dressed chain-smoker wants more. “Every officer is going to have differing opinions,” he later tells me, denying the men would often engage in shouting matches about what really occurred on that night, as reported by other investigators. “We weren’t having arguments, [but] certainly discussions. That’s what we do. We critically view what we have and we come to a direction.”

  Detective Cooke, a cop’s cop, a personable sort of investigator skilled in understanding and relating with a wide range of characters, says he knew something was up from the get-go and was willing to stake his claim on that side of the debate. “I knew it was an inside job,” he tells me. “I always thought she was part of it. You don’t break into a house, shoot, and kill two people [at this point it was unclear if Hann would survive], and then leave a witness tied up. I mean, they tied her up. It’s not like she hid from them. She’s tied up, but other people are subject to being shot, yet not this person. Why not?” He then lists the countless reasons why random home invasions are so rare. “Someone might be home when you don’t expect it. They might have no money. They might have a gun. It goes against everything we know. It just doesn’t make sense.”

  The reality is that investigators, like everyone else, can be either trusting or skeptical. Either you believe in a person’s capability for mass deception, or you don’t. Although Detective Slade insists he was intent on remaining completely impartial during the interviews in order to allow the facts to bear themselves out without bias, interviews appear to show that he believes Jennifer. However, it’s not quite that simple. Another investigator, speaking on condition of anonymity, makes it clear that “believing” someone, especially in the initial stages of an interview, can be the ideal technique. “Sometimes getting people to talk is the best way,” he says. “A lie told is better than nothing spoken, because lies can be disproven. When nothing is said, the investigation … suffers. [And that] all depends on the interviewee….”

  The day after the murder, November 9, the media turns out in droves at police headquarters in Newmarket for a hastily assembled press conference. As Slade predicted, this story is going to get plenty of traction. Mounting the makeshift stage with media satellites beaming the press conference to the four corners of the nation, Chief Armand La Barge is solemn in his delivery, clearly disturbed by the case. “Given the very brutal nature of this crime, it goes without saying that the individuals that are responsible for the home invasion and the murder last night pose a very real danger to our community,” he says. “These are, for all intents and purposes, residents that were just enjoying a nice night [when] suddenly three individuals burst into their home and terrorized them. In … other home invasions … there’s some criminal activity involved…. But in this particular situation, there is absolutely no evidence [of criminal activity] ….”

  He continues, stating, “This is a very lucky man … and if not for the grace of God, we could have been dealing with two homicides here. To shoot an innocent woman and to shoot an innocent man, I mean, that’s troubling.”

  Police say they believe the murderers may have been attracted to the home because of the family’s high-end vehicles; however, they note that neither vehicle was taken as part of the robbery. For any seasoned crime reporter, this is a disquieting contradiction. The next admission could go either way. Although investigators refuse to divulge how much money was taken as part of the invasion, they make it clear there was no sign of forced entry, meaning the home’s door was unlocked. What rep
orters aren’t told is that police discovered $240 in Bich’s purse, $60 in Hann’s wallet, and £20 in Jennifer’s wallet, completely untouched. The suspects’ descriptions released that day are precisely based on Jennifer’s account:

  Number One: Male, black, twenty-eight to thirty-three years old, five feet seven inches tall, with a medium build.

  Number Two: Male, black, thirty-one years old, five feet eight inches tall, with a thin build, wearing a dark hood and a bandana over his face.

  Number Three: Male, thin build, with a Caribbean accent.

  Neighbours share their fear with reporters who descend on the street soon after the press conference. Mamh Lang, who lives across the street, is terrified. “I feel nervous now. I can’t sleep,” he says. “This happened to a good family, you know.”

  Concern is so high that security firms blitz the neighbourhood in the following days, hoping to land big sales of home security systems. But it isn’t only the neighbours who are frightened by the details coming out of Markham. Canadian newspapers plaster their front pages with shocking headlines the day after, the details scary enough to put any family reading them on alert: “Woman Murdered in a ‘Random’ Home Invasion.”

  4

  An Anonymous Informant

  As the news begins to hit the streets, it doesn’t take long for Jennifer’s closest friends to learn the grim details — prompting a flurry of communication to her cellphone:

  Jen, just saw the news. Is that ur house? Are u okay? Let me know if u need anything. with love, C.

  Hey Jen, just wanted to say that you are an awesome person, just like your mom and that she would only want you to grow stronger right now. I believe tha.

  Hey girl? I hear that it was your family that was involved in the home invasion!! I am very sorry for ur loss!! Please call me if u need anything at all!! All my love is with u!!! Love ya … btw it’s J!

  As he drives to work the next morning, Daniel Wong, Jennifer’s ex-boyfriend, says he’s gobsmacked to hear the news on the radio. “Jen’s mom is dead and her dad fighting for his life?” He quickly picks up his phone just before 9:00 a.m. and, like so many of her other friends, writes her a quick text: If u need I’m here for u. He later responds to Jennifer’s reply, giving insight into her own emotional state at the time: Just hang in there and try to eat.

  Five hours after her interview ends, Jennifer is still awake, gathered with her family around her comatose father’s bedside in the intensive care unit at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital, one of Canada’s foremost trauma centres. When the doctor enters, the grief-stricken family hangs on his every word as he fills them in on Hann’s dire but miraculous condition. Apparently, one bullet entered his face and travelled down, shattering his neck bone and lodging itself in his neck. The doctor explains that Hann still has bullet fragments in his face, but that somehow the bullet missed a vital artery, the source of oxygenated blood for the brain and head. Had that been hit, he would have been dead. But, as it stands, it looks as if he is going to pull through. The news comes as a great relief to Hann’s siblings and the other family members in the room.

  Beneath her smile, though, Jennifer’s mind is likely reeling. She asks the doctor if the bullet lodged in Hann’s neck could cause an infection. “No,” he assures her.

  As the machines beep and flash, drowned out by the jubilant chatter of her family, Jennifer asks if anyone has change so she can make a phone call, explaining that her cellphone has died. When her uncle, Juann Pan, Hann’s brother, offers her his mobile, she rejects it and repeats her request for fifty cents. After he hands her two quarters, Jennifer gets up and goes into the hallway where the pay phones are located. At 10:40 a.m. on November 9, the day after her parents were shot, Jennifer calls a number she knows by heart — that of Daniel Wong. The call goes to voice mail.

  Back at Helen Avenue in Markham, the police continue their inquiries. As part of the early investigation, two detectives are tasked with canvassing hundreds of homes in the neighbourhood. As the officers sit in their mobile police vehicle, trying to figure out just how they are going to possibly visit all four hundred homes, they hear a knock on the steel door of their “command post” vehicle, a small RV of sorts. They are about to be gifted the first break in the case.

  Once inside the vehicle, the anonymous informant, a young man, tells the officers that Daniel Wong, Jennifer’s boyfriend, is a drug dealer and that she is his delivery person. A cursory check of police records shows that Daniel Wong does, in fact, have drug convictions on record in Toronto years before. In a case where police know next to nothing, this information is treated with the utmost diligence.

  The following day, November 10, Daniel walks into Markham police station at 4:00 p.m., accompanied by a girl named Katrina Villanueva. Sporting a black fleece sweater and glasses, his hair black and unkempt, Daniel takes a seat in the interrogation room, apparently fighting a head cold and sniffling regularly. He is interviewed by Detective Robert Milligan.

  Unlike Jennifer during her interview, the twenty-five-year-old remains a sea of calm as he is questioned, betraying little to Milligan. At one point he even manages to fall asleep when left alone. Daniel doesn’t only come across as relaxed, but also respectful, friendly, and willing to engage. While Jennifer could be described as circumspect in her interview, Daniel is freewheeling.

  Detective Milligan knows the optics might not appear great from Daniel’s position, especially considering boyfriends and ex-boyfriends are usually the first suspects in any murder investigation involving young women. So, before the interview even begins, Milligan — keen to garner as much as possible from this individual — attempts to allay any fears Daniel may have that he’s under suspicion by the police. “Just so you know, we interview everybody,” Milligan assures him. “Everybody who has known the family at some point in the last ten, fifteen years, so we can say we interviewed everybody. So you’re not anything special compared to everybody else.”

  The two quickly build a rapport as Daniel runs through a brief history of his life. He explains how he attended York University, where he studied music (he played the trumpet), before quitting to work full-time at Boston Pizza, a popular sports bar and restaurant chain. Daniel proudly tells Milligan how quickly he was promoted from his lowly starting position in the kitchen.

  It doesn’t take long for the conversation to turn to Daniel’s private life. But Milligan is deliberate in his questioning, betraying little of the information he already knows. He waits for Daniel to tell him the extent of his relationship with Jennifer, to see if he is willing to lie about it. But Daniel does not. When asked if he has a girlfriend, he says, “I’m seeing someone,” referring to Katrina Villanueva, the woman he arrived with. When he’s asked about his relationship with Jennifer, he flinches and rubs his nose. “I’m actually her ex-boyfriend,” he begins. “We had a relationship at the end of high school and we sort of continued it until about two years ago.”

  What comes next, within the first three minutes of the interview, marks a significant turning point in the investigation. Daniel’s revelations will show that Jennifer’s “routine life,” which she worked so hard to portray to Detective Slade, was not in the least bit routine. He tells Milligan how they were a couple for seven years, all behind her parents’ backs. Jennifer, coming from a strict Asian home, was not allowed to date boys. “She was a figure skater and she also played piano,” Daniel says. “That’s why in high school she really had no time for a relationship. It would be early-morning skating and then school and then piano or skating again [after school]. Her parents pretty much drove her to the path where there was no time for a relationship.”

  Daniel Wong, Jennifer’s ex-boyfriend, is interviewed by police.

  Daniel wastes no time implicating Jennifer in plenty of bizarre behaviour. As part of their forbidden love, Jennifer, he says, fabricated a separate existence for herself, one in which her parents believed she w
as attending university and even working as a pharmacist. Yet, all the while, she was actually employed as a server at East Side Mario’s, then later at Boston Pizza alongside Daniel. He reveals that three days a week Jennifer slept at Daniel’s family home, located in the town of Ajax, a suburban neighbourhood east of Toronto. Her parents had no clue, since Jennifer told them she was living with Topaz, her best friend, in Topaz’s downtown Toronto apartment so she could maximize her study time and be closer to the university campus.

  Although they contemplated tying the knot, Daniel says he was honest with himself from the beginning. “Yes [there was talk of getting married] … well, there was not real talk of getting married because I was afraid of commitment,” he tells Milligan.

  The police detective then ribs Daniel, quipping, “Hey … a lot of guys are. You’re still young.” Winking, he gives Daniel a nudge, prompting smiles from both men.

  “There were times when I started to get serious about her,” Daniel admits. “But I knew, in the back of my mind … we’ve been together for seven years and I haven’t formally sat down and met her parents or just [eaten] dinner with them, [or] anything like that. The only thing has been ‘Hi, how are you?’ [I couldn’t] call her house looking for her. I’d have to always call her cellphone. I didn’t want to call because then they might yell at me.”

  Daniel claims that once Hann and Bich knew about the couple’s relationship, they took issue with it, despite Jennifer trying to endear him to the family by telling them that he graduated university with an engineering degree. As far as he knows, her parents told her he wasn’t making enough money at Boston Pizza to support a family of his own. “They’re like ‘Oh, why did he finish engineering and just work at Boston Pizza? Why doesn’t he go make $60,000 or $70,000 being an engineer?’”