Metallica Rose Harrison appeared completely normal during a video call with her family just hours before she allegedly killed her husband and their three-year-old son at a Pennsylvania resort, according to her stepmother, who now suspects the killings may have been planned weeks in advance.
Harrison, 27, is accused of stabbing her husband, Charles Harrison, and their young son at Great Wolf Lodge in the Pocono Mountains before attempting to take her own life. Her stepmother, April Thetga, told the New York Post that the final conversation gave her no reason to suspect anything was wrong.
“She had called and we’re video chatting, and then she says she loved us very much, just like she normally would,” Thetga recalled.
“It wasn’t an odd conversation,” she added. “She didn’t give us any indication that anything was ever going to happen.”
Thetga said the family had been left devastated by the allegations, describing the Harrisons as a loving family whose apparent happiness made the tragedy difficult to comprehend.
“It was a loving family. We’re just as shocked as everybody else,” she said.
Knife Set From Home Raises Questions About Possible Planning
In the days following the alleged killings, Thetga said one detail particularly troubled her: investigators reportedly found that the knives used in the attack came from Harrison’s own home.
The family had initially found it unusual that Harrison and her husband were staying at Great Wolf Lodge for an extended period. However, they assumed the trip was intended to make their young son happy, as he loved spending time at water parks.
According to Thetga, the family regularly received photographs showing the couple and their child enjoying their stay.
But after learning about the alleged murders, the discovery that the knives had been brought from home changed how she viewed the trip.
“I was told the knives came from her home. Her house. So to me, it was planned,” Thetga told the New York Post.
Metallica Rose Harrison with her husband, Charles and her son in an undated photo.Chaz Harrison / Facebook
Police reportedly found a butcher knife on the bathroom floor and a smaller knife in the bathroom sink inside the resort room.
Authorities have not established a motive publicly in the details provided by the family, and Thetga said relatives were still struggling to understand what could have led to the tragedy.
“That’s the thing. I don’t have one. We’re just as shocked as everybody else. … We want answers,” she said.
“They were always happy. This is devastating.”
Family Thought the Extended Resort Stay Was for Their Son
Thetga said relatives had questioned why the couple were spending so much time at Great Wolf Lodge, but believed the extended stay was connected to their son Tristan’s love of water parks.
The family had understood the child to be “amazing” and “very happy” and saw the holiday as an opportunity for him to enjoy himself.
Photographs shared during the stay appeared to show the family spending time together, including images of Harrison with her husband and son.
The allegations have left relatives struggling to reconcile those apparently happy moments with the events now under investigation.
Metallica Rose Harrison, center, poses with her stepmother, April Thetga, left.Facebook/April Thetga
Couple Had Used Retirement Funds for Expenses
Thetga also described the couple’s financial circumstances, saying Harrison worked as an in-home caregiver while Charles worked as a cabinetmaker.
According to the stepmother, they had used money from Charles’s retirement account to pay for home improvements and other expenses, including the resort vacation.
Thetga said she did not know whether the couple had borrowed against the account or withdrawn the funds outright, but the decision had struck her as unusual.
“It was definitely odd, but they’d taken their 401(k) out … There was nothing we could do about that,” she said.
The family has not identified a confirmed connection between the financial decision and the alleged killings.
What Police Say Happened at Great Wolf Lodge
Police were called to Great Wolf Lodge in Scotrun, Pennsylvania, shortly after 3 p.m. Monday, after Harrison reportedly said she needed help dying and could not locate a vein in her neck.
Harrison, who lived in Towanda, approximately two hours from the resort, allegedly called 911 after the killings.
According to an affidavit obtained by WNEP, she told the emergency operator that her husband and son were already dead.
“My husband and son are already gone in the bed in the living room. They’re already gone, I’m sorry,” she allegedly said.
The father and son were found with multiple stab wounds to their chests, according to the affidavit.
Harrison also reportedly spoke about how hard she had worked to be “the best mother, the best wife.” When officers arrived, she allegedly described herself as “suicidal, not stupid” while discussing her attempt to injure herself.
The case has left Harrison’s relatives searching for answers, with Thetga saying the family had seen no warning signs during their final conversation.
While the stepmother believes the knives brought from home may indicate advance planning, that remains her interpretation of the evidence described to her. The allegations against Harrison remain subject to the criminal investigation and court proceedings.