New information in the Pennsylvania family murder investigation is raising questions about whether the killings at Great Wolf Lodge were planned in advance, according to a private investigator.
Metallica Rose Harrison, 27, has been charged with two counts of criminal homicide. Prosecutors allege that she fatally stabbed her husband, Charles “Chaz” Harrison, and the couple’s 3-year-old son, Tristan, at the Poconos-area resort.
A criminal complaint states that the knives found by investigators at the scene did not belong to Great Wolf Lodge.
The complaint says both weapons had teal-green handles, and resort employees told investigators that knives with that design were not supplied or kept by the lodge.
A mother is accused of fatally stabbing her husband and the couple’s 3-year-old son at Great Wolf Lodge in Pennsylvania. (Facebook/Meta: Chaz Harrison)
The family has confirmed that autopsies were being performed on both victims. Police discovered the father and his young son dead inside a resort hotel room on Monday.
A father and his young son were found stabbed to death inside a room at Great Wolf Lodge in Pennsylvania. (Great Wolf Lodge)
Harrison’s stepmother told News Media that the suspect may have withdrawn money from the family’s 401(k) before the group began a three-week stay at the resort.
The three family members lived in a modest house in Towanda, Pennsylvania, roughly 100 miles northwest of Great Wolf Lodge.
Court records identify Towanda, Pennsylvania, as the Harrison family’s home. Metallica Harrison is accused of killing her husband, Charles, and their 3-year-old son. (Google Maps)
“There are so many lodges in the mountains between where they lived and where they traveled,” private investigator Rod Devine said. “I’d be curious to know why they chose that particular lodge.”
Devine’s investigative firm is located in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, south of the Poconos.
“There are a lot of moving parts here that investigators will have to examine,” he said.
Devine said his professional experience includes meeting face-to-face with convicted killers and people suspected of homicide.
Metallica Harrison, 27, is accused of fatally stabbing her husband and their 3-year-old son at Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos. (Great Wolf Lodge; Facebook/Meta Chaz Harrison)
He said reports about a potentially depleted retirement account, the manner of the deaths and the possibility that the weapons were brought from home during the extended vacation could point to premeditation in the case.
“From the preliminary file available to the public, it appears that certain elements are already present,” Devine said.
Police say Chaz Harrison and his son were both found stabbed inside their hotel room at Great Wolf Lodge. (Facebook/Meta: Chaz Harrison)
Harrison’s stepmother previously told News Media that the deaths appeared to have been “preplanned.”
Several news organizations have also reported that Harrison allegedly did not want to become pregnant and may have harbored resentment toward her son.
Why? Reports say she wanted more alone time with her husband.
Family also allegedly told investigators that the mother accused of the killings “was dominant, controlling and isolated the three of them from her husband’s family for the last three years,” WNEP reported.
Metallica Rose and Chaz Harrison appeared to be married for three years before she allegedly stabbed her husband and their child to death. (Facebook/Meta: Chaz Harrison)
While the investigation into the killings continues, Chaz’s family members grapple with their new normal.
“His love for his wife and child was out of this world and, sadly, is the reason why he lost his life and his son’s life,” Chaz’s sister shared in an update on a GoFundMe page.
“I’m not here to say anything bad about his wife. I know my brother would not want me to do that,” she went on to say.
She is sitting in a Monroe County jail cell and due in court on Oct. 21.