A family’s trip to Great Wolf Lodge’s Pocono Mountains location in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, turned into a nightmare as the mother ended up taking the life of her husband, Charles, and three-year-old son, Tristan.
On October 12, 2026, Metallica Rose Harrison, from Towanda, Pennsylvania, allegedly stabbed the two inside a lodge room before calling 911 herself.
Highlights
- A Pennsylvania mom allegedly stabbed and took the life of her husband and three-year-old son at a water park lodge before calling 911.
- She made several disturbing statements to authorities both during the call and after they arrived at the crime scene.
- Metallica’s stepmother spoke with her before the incident and now believes that she may have planned the attack.
The 27-year-old mother, who suffered a few minor injuries of her own, was taken to the hospital before she was charged with two counts of criminal homicide.
She made several chilling comments during the ambulance ride, including asking for ways to end her own life.
“This was a violent domestic tragedy in which two people, a boy and his father, lost their lives,” Monroe County District Attorney said.
Metallica Harrison asked 911 responders to help her take her own life after stabbing her husband and toddler
According to Great Wolf Lodge, Charles and Metallica checked into the indoor water park resort with their three-year-old on September 21.
They later extended their stay on October 5 and were scheduled to check out on October 13, according to official documents.
On the day of the tragedy, authorities were alerted when Metallica herself made a 911 call, telling dispatchers that she needed “help” to take her life, and was “unable to find a vein in her neck to stab.”
Police officers from the Pocono Township Police Department responded around 3:13 p.m. and encountered Metallica at the doorway of room 2030, which the family had rented.
She told the cops that she “wanted to be with her husband and son,” who were then found lifeless on separate mattresses on the floor.
Police found multiple stab wounds to her husband’s chest, while the child appeared to have suffered a single stab wound to the chest.
Metallica herself was bleeding from lacerations on her wrist and had superficial puncture wounds around her neck. Authorities later noted that she had no other internal or external injuries.
Metallica expressed regret on her way to the hospital, but later refused to speak with the cops
Metallica was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital-Monroe Campus in Stroudsburg for treatment, accompanied by emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and one Pocono Township police officer, according to local media.
On her way, she repeated several times that she was “not supposed to be here,” and admitted that she “f**ked up.” She also said that she “just needed energy and strength.”
“Every day, I work so hard. To be the best person, the best mother, the best wife,” Metallica said, according to documents. “It wasn't supposed to end like this. I was supposed to have my happy family. That's what I envisioned since I was a child.”
She wondered why there was not “an easier way” to take her life and asked one EMT about potential methods “for next time.”
She also claimed that she had taken medication to thin her blood and was frustrated that her blood was clotting at the injury sites.
Detectives later met her at the hospital to collect a buccal swab for DNA testing and read her the Miranda rights. However, she refused to speak of the incident to them, saying she was “su*c*dal, not stupid.”
The cops found a butcher knife on the bathroom floor and a smaller knife in the bathroom sink—both with teal handles—that did not belong to the lodge and that Metallica seemingly brought along with her. They also discovered containers with what appeared to be blood inside and several bottles of pills.
The mother did not ask for assistance for her stabbed husband and son when she called 911
As part of the investigation, police reviewed surveillance video that showed all three entering room 2030 at 6:53 p.m. on October 11. At 8:12 p.m., Metallica left the room to use a microwave in a vending area and came back at 8:16 p.m.
Metallica left again at 10:43 p.m., this time with Charles. They went to the resort’s arcade and returned around 11:22 p.m.
Things were quiet after this until Metallica’s 911 call, in which she said she was “too weak” to stab her neck and requested the police’s help.
When the dispatcher asked whether she had any weapons, Metallica said she had knives and added, "That's what I've been using, and it's not working.”
She was also asked if she was alone in the hotel room, to which she answered, “My husband and son are already gone in the bed in the living room. They’re already gone. I’m sorry.”
The documents noted that Metallica did not request emergency services for her husband or son at any point during the 911 call.
On October 13, MDJ Daniel Kresge arraigned Metallica and denied bail. Harrison was placed in the Monroe County Correctional Facility to await a later preliminary hearing.
Metallica’s stepmother spoke to her before the tragedy and believes she may have planned it
Hours before the horrific tragedy went down, Metallica spoke with her stepmother, April Thetga, in a video call, according to The Post.
April told the outlet that Metallica never showed any signs of mental illness, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary during their conversation: “She had called and we were video chatting, and then she said she loved us very much, just like she normally would.”
“It wasn’t an odd conversation,” April recalled. “She didn’t give us any indication that anything was ever going to happen. It was a loving family.”
However, Metallica’s family did find it “odd” that they extended their vacation at the water park, but assumed it was because of their son. The couple reportedly sent regular photos from their stay.
According to April, the fact that Metallica had brought the knives with her points to the homicides being a thought-out crime and not one of passion: “I was told the knives came from her home. Her house. So to me, it was planned.”
As for a possible motive, April said that she and the rest of the family didn’t have one: “That’s the thing. I don’t have one. We’re just as shocked as everybody else… We want answers. They were always happy. This is devastating.”
This news comes a week after Texas’ Holly Leeann Flores, 37, was accused of stabbing her husband, a 3-year-old daughter, and a 10-month-old son, although none of the injuries were life-threatening.
Flores' husband told investigators she had been experiencing postpartum depression—a medical condition that has been at the center of the high-profile trial of Lindsay Clancy for the passing of her three young children.
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