MARKHAM — Jeremy Grimaldi, a former journalist at Metroland, has made a significant transition from crime reporter to award-winning author and now to executive director, overseeing a new Netflix documentary titled What Jennifer Did.
On the night of Nov. 8, 2010, three armed hit men entered Jennifer Pan’s home in Markham’s Unionville. What initially seemed like a botched robbery resulted in the fatal shooting of Pan’s mother and severe injury to her father.
After a trial spanning over four years, the court determined that the killers were hired by Pan, leading to her sentencing to life in prison in 2015, for the attempted murder of her father, and life with no parole for 25 years for the first-degree murder of her mother.
Grimaldi closely followed Pan’s case for years, attending court sessions and reviewing court documents, police records, photographs, text messages, transcripts and videos, as well as interviews of psychologists.
“I went into the story as a crime reporter and came out of it as an author and a researcher. I did my best to research history, culture, her background, her friends and her family,” he explained.
Grimaldi’s book, A Daughter’s Deadly Deception: The Jennifer Pan Story, published in 2016, earned him the prestigious 2017 Arthur Ellis non-fiction award.
Netflix took notice of the book and decided to adapt it into a documentary in 2021. As the book’s author, Grimaldi was appointed as the executive director of the film.
“The one-hour-and-27-minute documentary focused on interrogation of Pan, the technique used by police to get her confession,” according to Grimaldi. While centred around “what Jennifer did,” it also adds additional context to the story, such as what Pan has gone through, potentially contributing to her health issues and need for therapy.
In May 2023, the Court of Appeal for Ontario argued that the jury should have been given the option to select second-degree murder or manslaughter as potential verdicts, and overturned first-degree murder convictions for Pan. The Supreme Court of Canada is currently deciding whether or not it will hear the case.
Grimaldi acknowledges that the book and documentary only touch on a small part of this intricate case. He contemplates the potential for a sequel to further explore its complexities.
“This case definitely changed my life,” he reflected. “I spent my time living in someone else’s world for two years. Now I’m proud to bring the story to the rest of the world and hopefully people can learn from it and better understand it.”
What Jennifer Did premiers on Netflix on April 10.
Scarlett Liu is a federally funded Local Journalism Initiative reporter at Markham Economist Sun
