A Daughter's Deadly Deception

by Jeremy Grimaldi

D: I dunno how to say this.

  J: So you feel for her what I feel for you. Then call it off with Homeboy.

  D: I enjoy chilling with her she’s one of my closest friends and now I can’t even be that bcoz of the ppl [those crank calling and threatening].

  D: What do u mean I thought u said u wanted this for u?

  J: I do. But if I have have no where to go.

  D: Call it off with homeboy? U said u wanted this with or without me.

  J: But if you want her how are you going to protect me from them [those threatening her].

  J: I want it for me.

  J: But what are you trying to say? You want to be with Katrina?

  J: I am in a very dark place right now. Please just tell me everything so I can deal with what I need to. Do you love me and want to be with me?

  J: Sorry. Totally lost it there. This is about you. Please go on. Ignore what I said. I’m trying to b a better person.

  J: Sorry. That was a slip of habit. I didn’t mean that. I’m so sorry please forgive me. Please go on. She is one of your closest friends and then?

  J: Why not? These people want you to b with her right? Then how does that top [stop] you from being friends with her? Do you want to be with her with her?

  D: My parents and everyone in the world do not want us to be together [he and Katrina].

  D: Its not even about her its just I don’t’ have to hide anything and worry about her feelings like I had to with u.

  D: I was always walking on eggshells with u.

  J: I asked if you do. And not everyone. These friends of hers [the ones allegedly threatening Jennifer] obviously want you to be.

  J: Just be straight with me then.

  J: What is it then?

  D: I dunno pls don’t force me u know I love u.

  D: *Sniff*

  J: I’m just trying to help you here.

  J: I’m not forcing you. I think I can help you. I won’t be second choice again.

  J: I’m sorry.

  D: Its not even about that.

  [Break in time of an hour and a half.]

  J: So I have thought about this all day. Read and reread everything. You kno you want to b with her so go. At the end of each day it’s not my choice and it’s not your parents. If she can make you happy then I have no other choice but to find a way to let you go. You say nothing but praise for her and only things that make you feel like you need hold onto me like walking on eggshells and your parents don’t like her. So as a friend you sound like you have made up your mind. As this pains me to say good bye my love. May god watch over you where ever life takes you.

  J: I won’t be getting in your way anymore and please tell these people to leave alone. Let me rest in peace.

  D: Huh?

  D: Did u really txt me all that from both fones?

  J: Sorry other message was t intended for you. I leave u alone. Sorry for not making you happy and making you walk on eggshells.

  D: Huh?

  D: Pls dun be like that.

  It was the dramatic text You feel for her what I feel for you? Then call it off with Homeboy that showed the murders were so that Jennifer could be with Daniel. In sending it, she tacitly admitted the simple reasoning: If you don’t want to be with me, there’s no point in killing my parents. This text also remained the only shred of evidence that Jennifer might have thought twice about the murder or pulled back on the plan. But was it really a pullback? One might reasonably conclude that Jennifer wasn’t reneging on the plan at all; rather, this was just another ploy to ensure Daniel knew the repercussions of dispensing with their relationship. This was just a part of the ongoing manipulation she concocted. Her fears were that Daniel would abandon her. His fears were that Jennifer wouldn’t go through with the plan after calling it off one night: What other reason would there be for Daniel re-professing his devotion to her — She’s not my mama — two days later?

  One might further assume that with her parents’ murder on her plate Jennifer would have had enough to worry about, but with her relationship with Daniel falling apart, she felt as though she might need to re-engage his cellphone with anonymous texts. As Daniel began to pull away from Jennifer, he received this message from her Rogers phone: I hate you, I don’t ever want to see you again. You and Katrina can be happy together. I hate you. Don’t ever call me again. I can’t believe you don’t care what happened to me, I tried to come see you at work and I got shot at.

  However, when Daniel said he called Jennifer back to see if she was safe, she acted surprised and said she was fine. When Daniel told her why he was concerned, that she had been shot at, she responded, “How did you know?” Jennifer explained that she had received bullets in the mail, but that the police, who had been sifting through her mail because of the previous alleged threats against her, “intercepted” the package.

  When Jennifer denied sending the message, Daniel sought out the advice of his most tech-savvy friends. They advised him that it was indeed possible for people to send messages using another person’s phone number, a technique known as “spoofing.” “They’re spoofing, they’re using [Jennifer’s] number to send me the message,” he explained. On November 3, the original day of the planned home invasion, Jennifer and Daniel began texting bright and early. At 7:47 a.m. Daniel wondered where Jennifer was. He’d expected her to stop by for breakfast after the pair coordinated the meeting over texts. When he asked why she hadn’t arrived, she wrote: waiting for homeboys call and waiting for my mother to leave.

  By the time she did arrive, just after 9:30 a.m., Daniel was too busy and was unable to meet with her.

  J: U cudn’t come out I see.

  J: There is a note on your car. I hoped you’d see me one last time. But u you can’t.

  J: If you want m to leave so you can smoke then feel free.

  D: I can dun leave.

  Some fifteen minutes after this text, Jennifer sent three more text messages — two to Daniel and one to Lenford. But unlike many of these others, she deleted them and they were never recovered. Daniel’s replies showed, however, that the texts could have been about the murder.

  D: Be safe.

  D: Please.

  That same day, Eric texted Lenford 2 would be nice, an indication that he wanted $2,000 up front as partial payment. Eric also appeared to be asking for gas money — between $20 and $40 to do the job — from Ayan Mohamed, another one of his girlfriends. Later Lenford texted Eric When do we want to go to work and again Today at 7 p.m., u good? A reply was registered from David’s phone saying Gusi fo sho. This text was much debated during the trial — the defence saying it was a reference to a character named Gussy from the Jamaican crime film Shottas (of which Eric was a fan) and the Crown arguing that it meant “Go see for sure.”

  By the time Daniel and Jennifer reunited over text, Jennifer, angry and bitter at Daniel’s recent behaviour, made her feelings clear. It seemed as if Daniel’s initial stance about wanting to be with Katrina had softened.

  D: What u doing?

  J: Just taking time for myself curled up in bed. What’s up?

  D: Just checking up on u.

  J: U dun need to check up on me. She won’t like that.

  D: I dun care ur still my friend.

  J: If u allow me to be.

  J: It’s not my choice. You can be happy with her. I don’t want to cause any problems. I will take care of you but I’m heart broken.

  D: I know and I’m so sorry for that.

  J: No your not. I told you this would happen. No matter I went through it doesn’t matter.

  J: But don’t worry I soon will b free and you can live happily without me.

  J: I trusted you with the only thing I never gave anyone in this world and you played with it and broken it over and over. I have to go now but I know what I am going to do. I’m sorry for never being
good enough. Good bye.

  D: Please.

  J: Forward this to Katrina. Congratulations to you and your friends for winning and putting me through not only emotional pain but physical. They raped me and beat me and yet you win the only person that meant anything to me. Please just tell these people to leave me alone so that I may rest in peace and so that I may go easy. I have suffered enough and I don’t want to suffer in my last days. Good luck and take care of Daniel for me. He is everything to me but sadly I was never enough for him to love.

  D: I didn’t expect this to happen.

  J: I knew it wood. Good bye.

  D: I didn’t u gotta believe me.

  D: I did everything and lined it all up for u.

  D: Please. Mesa gonna be alone.

  J: You have Katrina. You won’t be alone.

  D: I told u no matter what I need u.

  In saying I didn’t expect this to happen, Daniel was explaining to Jennifer that he didn’t expect to fall in love with Katrina or have to end his relationship with Jennifer. However, when Jennifer rejected this, he reinforced his point, insisting I didn’t u gotta believe me … I did everything and lined it all up for u. This can be easily translated as “Had I known I was going to fall in love with another woman, there’s no way I would have helped you plan the murder of your parents.” When Jennifer wrote she would “take care” of Daniel, she was just admitting that when the deed was done, he’d benefit from the windfall. Only hours before the plot was supposed to reach its climax on that November night, though, Jennifer called it off with a simple but possibly worrying text to Homeboy: Today is a no go. Dinner plans out so won’t be home in time.

  Surveillance video across the street from the Pan house showed a car leaving Jennifer’s home at 5:54 p.m. and returning at 7:14 p.m. It was thanks to this meal — a night out with the Luongs — that Bich’s life was spared for four more days. Coincidence or not, the reality was that Jennifer cancelled the plan thirty-three minutes after she and Daniel ended their text argument. One has to wonder whether Jennifer really thought the plan couldn’t happen that night or if she was manipulating Daniel again, essentially using her parents’ lives as a brokering chip, wishing for more respect from Daniel in the future. Regardless, the tone of Daniel’s texts after this moment certainly changed. Hours after calling off the hit on her father and mother, Jennifer remained racked with anxiety over the status of her relationship with Daniel. Just after midnight she called him before writing Sorry, it’s late. You are probably on your call with her now since she is your closest friend. Sorry and good bye.

  The next morning, November 4, Jennifer was still miffed at Daniel for failing to stay in touch with her. It also appeared from Daniel’s replies that someone might have been up late sending Daniel errant text messages.

  J: What’s up?

  D: What u up to? Did u txt me those msgs last night?

  J: Huh? I think I just msgd u once.

  J: I passed out at like 4 or 5 waiting for you. Guess u had to mug [much] of a good time.

  Hours later, at 1:25 p.m., tower records showed Jennifer was at a bank machine pulling out another $500. Her phone then travelled to Daniel’s workplace. Twenty minutes later she sent this text to Daniel: Open door pls?

  Was she at Boston Pizza to hand over another payment for the murders? It was only after this action that Daniel began re-engaging in baby talk with Jennifer and even implied he preferred her love to Katrina’s.

  D: Mesa dun have my monkie.

  D: :(

  J: You have a mama better than munkie making you happy. No one wants a munkie that isn’t good enough.

  J: I love you though.

  D: She’s not my mama.

  D: She dun take care of me like u do :(

  D: Mesa sad.

  J: *Kiss forehead be happy.

  D: Hmph.

  J: You don’t like that? *Hangs head low*

  J: See not good enough. :(

  D: I do but me missy u.

  J: Mesa miss you more.

  That night Jennifer also finally got her long-awaited wish, and the pair shared an hour-and-a-half conversation. The following day, November 5, seemed to show that now that the money had been dropped off, Eric and David could get into the particulars. Before trying to interpret the following conversation, Detective Jansz explains that when translating texts or phone conversations involving codified language it is vital to know the context. After all, he says, deciphering the meaning calls for an understanding of the manner and situation of the text message. For example, the following exchange took place between Eric Carty and David Mylvaganam:

  D: Me need a new new.

  E: I hear u.

  D: Cheap new.

  E: Mmmmm.

  Jansz says new is a reference to a firearm. New suggests the gun had to be undetectable by the authorities so that it couldn’t be traced, he says. Cheap is used to explain that the gun shouldn’t cost too much, since it would have to be disposed of immediately after.

  On November 6, Eric searched for further funds. For this, he contacted another girlfriend, Heather Martins, in London, Ontario, a university town about two hours southwest of Toronto.

  HM: Is something wrong?

  EC: Money mama.

  HM: Is it just survival money or you need a lot?

  EC: Not much, just to get me by mama, I’m coming them ways this week. My word, I miss you.

  HM: Aw babe, I told you I’m doing really good now, I can take care of that kind of shit for you, I miss you too.

  EC: OK mami is there anyway you could western some money today for me please.

  Meanwhile, Jennifer remained bitter over Daniel’s comments from a few days earlier and continued to punish him through texting. In the exchange that follows, she complained about seeing a picture of Daniel and Katrina at Dave and Buster’s. She notified him that she would be putting all his Dave and Buster cards, used at the adult arcade to store credits for the games, in an envelope in order to deliver them to him.

  J: Well all your d&b cards will be put in an envelope. I will drop it off at bp [Boston Pizza] maybe tomorrow if I can. I can’t pretend that it doesn’t bother me when that d&b was the happiest I have ever been, and now all I can see is that picture of the two of you together. On a double with charlie. I’m sorry but cant get it out of my head. I loved going there with u so much …

  D: Then we can still go there.

  Hours later she wrote again:

  J: I knew that my time wud b over. And that her time was nearing. Didn’t expect you to cut me off like you did.

  D: I’m not talking to her. I’m talking to my parents.

  D: Just talk to me when u get out of ur hellhole.

  With this last comment Daniel appeared to once again be opening the door to a relationship when Jennifer was out of her home, a.k.a. her “hellhole.”

  On November 7, Eric stopped using his Larry Davis phone and started using a phone given to him by Silvia Powell, registered to Tanyka St. Louis.

  Meanwhile, Daniel continued to try to make up to Jennifer. But she still seemed angry that he wouldn’t spend as much time as she wanted him to on the phone.

  J: Mesa really tired of being replaced. I was quite [quiet] today. Did what you asked. Didn’t bother you. Still Mesa don’t deserve you :(

  D: U do u do!

  D: Nite nite munk munk.

  J: Nitey then.

  J: If you can you visit me? No one home. Peas u haft come.

  J: So you can’t stay on the phone with me but you can stay on the phone with her? Fuck this.

  J: Have a nice life. Here I was thinking I am going crazy and I should give you a break. I’m so stupid. You could never love me the way you love her.

  J: You know how hard yesterday was for me? To know that time was running out. I was up the whole night. And y
ou hung up the moment you needed to talk to her. You wanted to “watch your movie.” I’m so mad at myself right now. I believed you. Again.

  30

  Game Time

  November 8 was just an average Monday for the Pans, but it was far from normal for the other five players involved in the plot that unfolded that night. At 10:05 that morning, Jennifer received a text from Homeboy that changed the lives of each of them forever: 2 after work ok will be game time.

  This text was sent after a flurry of communication between Lenford and Eric. In simple English, it meant the job would go down that night after everyone was home from “work” and settled in their homes. After Jennifer got that text, she and Lenford had a four-minute conversation. She then deleted a number of texts from her phone that she and Lenford had shared. November 8 also signalled the entrance to the plot of another man, Demetrius Mables, a friend of both Eric and Lenford. Jennifer spent part of her day texting back and forth with Andrew Montemayor. Between 4:30 p.m. and 5:06 p.m. the pair exchanged more than fifty text messages, each of which were deleted from her Bell phone. Why did Jennifer take the deliberate steps to delete each of the fifty texts she shared with Andrew and only a few from Daniel? Is it possible that Daniel got a twenty-five year sentence because of Jennifer’s penchant for reading his texts over and over alone in her bedroom long after they communicated? We’ll probably never know, nor will we know what Jennifer and Andrew were discussing in those texts that Jennifer was determined to keep secret.

  Hann Pan returned after work and then left again on a trip to Home Depot to pick up a USB pen and ventilation covers. First, Jennifer and her mother would eat — Bich’s last meal. Hann arrived back home at 6:03 p.m. — a neighbour’s surveillance camera witnessed his return. At 6:12 p.m., Lenford called Jennifer and they shared a forty-three-second phone call. This was the final time these two phones were in contact.

  All the players’ roles were finally cemented. Now, it was really game on. At 6:23 p.m. Andrian Tymkewycz arrived at the Pan home to visit Jennifer.