FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — A Fairfax County jury delivered a guilty verdict Monday against a woman accused of killing her own mother and sister in 2017. Megan Hargan, 35, was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder, and two counts of using a firearm in committing a felony.
Megan Hargan chose to have a jury decide her sentencing, and the jury recommended a life sentence on both murder counts, plus an additional three years for using a firearm in her mother's killing and five years for using a firearm in her sister's killing.
The judge will schedule a sentencing hearing in the coming weeks.
In July 2017, Fairfax County Police were called to a home on the 6700 block of Dean Drive, in McLean, Virginia, after receiving a 911 call that a person may have been murdered. When police got to the scene, they found two bodies inside the home: 23-year-old Helen Hargan and her mother, 63-year-old Pamela Hargan.
Detectives initially believed that Helen Hargan had killed her mother with a rifle before killing herself.
However, in November 2018, police would make an arrest in the case that would change the investigation completely.
Authorities charged Megan Hargan, of Monongalia County, West Virginia, with first-degree murder and use of a firearm in committing a felony. Fairfax County Police accused Megan Hargan of killing her sister and mother and staging the incident to appear as a murder-suicide.
In 2018, Pamela’s sister, Tammy North, said she felt Megan Hargan was motivated by jealousy and greed.
“I believed from day one that she did it,” she said.
North added that Pamela Hargan had bought Helen Hargan a house she was due to move into just before the pair were killed.
“Megan Hargan attempted fraudulent money transfers from her mother’s account on the day of the murders,” said Fairfax County Police Department Major Ed O’Carroll.
“We in Fairfax County have no tolerance for such disregard for human life and I am committed to addressing crimes of this magnitude with the seriousness they merit," Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said following the jury's verdict. "We will be asking for a substantial sentence that reflects the seriousness of the crime."
According to Descano's office, Megan Hargan pleaded her innocence throughout the case. She was represented by public defenders, and WUSA9 reached out to her representation for comment but has yet to receive a response.