Murder weapon in Great Wolf Lodge family massacre could offer premeditation evidence: private investigator
A private investigator analyzes the harrowing details surrounding the double murder of a husband and his son that happened at a popular mountain resort. Metallica Harrison, 27, is facing homicide charges relating to the killings.
The mother who police say killed her husband and their 3-year-old son at Great Wolf Lodge could face the death penalty, according to a private investigator.
Metallica Rose Harrison, 27, is currently behind bars in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, after prosecutors say she used kitchen knives — which she allegedly brought from home — to stab and kill Charles "Chaz" Harrison, 36, and their son, Tristan.
She's due in court next month.
Metallica Harrison, 27, faces murder charges after prosecutors say she stabbed and killed her husband and the couple's 3-year-old son at the Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos in Pennsylvania. (Pocono Township Police Department; Great Wolf Lodge; Facebook/Meta: Chaz Harrison)
Private investigator Rod Devine, who is based in the Lehigh Valley area, said it's possible Harrison could face the death penalty.
Devine has sat face-to-face with convicted killers in jail cells and been hired as an expert witness by criminal defense teams in multiple cases.
Chaz and his son were both found stabbed inside their hotel room at Great Wolf Lodge, police say. (Facebook/Meta: Chaz Harrison)
He said there are "factors that have to be reached," when it comes to capital punishment in Pennsylvania. A convicted killer can be sentenced to death in the Keystone State.
According to state law, to be put to death, a person must be convicted of first-degree murder and a "statutory aggravating circumstance."
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Devine previously told Fox News Digital it appears the killings may have been premeditated — which could meet the first-degree murder component.
Chaz Harrison was remembered by family as a man "whose whole life was centered around his wife and child," a relative wrote. (Facebook/Meta: Chaz Harrison)
"The other component is that there’s a 3-year-old child that was killed," he said.
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State law says a victim under 12 years old counts as that aggravating circumstance.
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The bigger question: will it actually happen? Most likely, no.
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Metallica Rose Harrison, 27, is facing charges after investigators say she stabbed and killed her husband and their young son. (Facebook/Meta: Metallicarose Harrison)
Politics are at play here. If Harrison was to be found guilty, then sentenced to death for the killings — it's unlikely she would face the actual execution.
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Why? In Pennsylvania, the form of punishment is still on the books — but executions have been halted for more than a decade by an active gubernatorial moratorium.
Devine said before any insinuation of a penalty, it's important to understand how Harrison's defense team will possibly strategize.
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Metallica Rose Harrison, 27, was married to her husband Chaz Harrison for three years before she allegedly stabbed and killed him. (Facebook/Meta: Chaz Harrison)
"As a defense, working with defense counsel, what they would probably be looking at in something like this would be mitigating circumstances."
One of those was "mental illness," he said.
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"There's also speculation that possibly the husband could have been part of a murder-suicide," he said.
He went on to say the possible plot may have been "botched on her end."
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Harrison is now scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 3.
Fox News Digital reached out to the governor's office and the Monroe County District Attorney's Office.
