Defense theory: Shooter used her toe to pull the trigger
CBSN
On July 14, 2017, Fairfax County, Virginia, patrol officers busted through the front door of a million-dollar home. They quickly discovered the bodies of Pam Hargan, 63, and her daughter, Helen, 24, who had a rifle at the scene. Almost as quickly, police told reporters it was a murder-suicide and told Helen's father her wound appeared to be "self-inflicted."
But when lead homicide Detective Brian Byerson looked at the evidence, he wasn't so sure.
So, he made a decision: "Wait. Wait and do the job," Byerson tells "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant in "Death Hits Home: The Hargan Killings" airing Saturday, October 1 at 10/9c on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. "You will make mistakes in these cases if you make assumptions before you actually do the work."