How investigators solved the Hargan killings

In the summer of 2017, Helen Hargan, 24, was living with her mother, Pam, 63, and her oldest sister, Megan, 34, in McLean, Virginia. Helen was looking forward to moving into a home Pam was generously buying for her. 

Helen Hargan and Carlos Gutierrez

Around 11:30 a..m on Friday, July 14, 2017, Helen called her boyfriend, Carlos Gutierrez, who lived in Dallas, Texas. According to Gutierrez, Helen had shocking news: her sister Megan had just told her that she killed their mom. Gutierrez said Helen told him to remain calm and quiet.  She even told him to “shut up and act like everything is normal.”

The 911 call

Around 1:15 p.m., Helen stopped answering her phone. Carlos Gutierrez grew anxious and called Fairfax County, Virginia, 911 Dispatch. He told the 911 dispatcher what Helen had told him about Pam and that Helen “won’t answer her phone and I’m thinkin’ maybe somethin’ bad happened to her, too.” Gutierrez would later say that he felt authorities were giving him the runaround that day.

Entering the home

When patrol officers arrived a little before 3 p.m., they first discovered Pam Hargan. She was found face-down on the floor of the mudroom with a blanket placed on top of her. Her cell phone was found partially on top of the blanket.

A shocking discovery

When patrol officers went upstairs, they discovered Helen Hargan in the bathroom. She was dead, and there was a rifle between her legs.

Megan Hargan

Around 5 p.m. that day, Helen’s sister Megan told investigators that when she left the…