My Family's Deadly Secret on ID: How did Michael and Rebecca Hargon die?

On Valentine's Day nearly two decades ago, Michael and Rebecca Hargon, along with their four-year-old son, mysteriously disappeared from their Vaughan home. Their bodies were found weeks later in an isolated, wooded area in Covington County. An autopsy revealed that Michael Hargon was shot to death while his wife Rebecca and son James were strangled.

A subsequent investigation revealed that all three were killed by Hargon's 43-year-old cousin, Earnest Lee Hargon. He was later convicted on two counts of capital murder and one count of murder. However, Earnest was stabbed to death a few years later by a prisoner while on death row. Detectives believed the killings were committed because of a will Michael's father left.

An upcoming episode of My Family's Deadly Secret is scheduled to revisit the 2004 killing of the Hargon family in Mississippi. The episode, titled Bloodland, will air on ID at 7.00 pm ET on February 16, 2023. The official synopsis states:

"Michael and Rebecca Hargon vanish from their Mississippi home along with their young son; investigators discover Michael has recently come into an inheritance, and they are forced to confront the idea that his recent good fortune may be a factor."

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Michael and Rebecca Hargon and their four-year-old son went missing on Valentine's Day 2004

Michael and Rebecca Hargon pictured along with their son (Image via The Cinemaholic)

On February 14, 2004, Michael and Rebecca Hargon, along with their four-year-old son, James Patrick, went missing from their house in Vaughan, Mississippi, leading to a 17-day search. The Hargon family home was situated in a remote location.

A neighbor visited the Hargons' house on February 14 and observed that Michael's pick-up truck's side door was left wide open, and so was the home's front door. Family members discovered evidence of daily life in the house, including Rebecca Hargon's wedding band and engagement ring resting on a dresser, dinner dishes in the sink, and the family dog pacing around.

Moreover, a couple of their relatives tried to call Michael, but he failed to answer them since the evening of February 14. Authorities later found signs of struggle inside the house, including large amounts of blood on the floor, a bullet hole in the wall, and spent casings from a .22-caliber weapon.

Their remains were discovered buried a little over two weeks later, on March 1, in a remote, wooded area in Covington County, about 75 miles south of their Vaughan home. An autopsy revealed that Michael reportedly died of two gunshot wounds while his wife, Rebecca, and son, James, were strangled to death. The case was then officially ruled a homicide.

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Earnest Lee Hargon was convicted in the deaths of Michael and Rebecca Hargon and their son

Michael's cousin and now deceased convicted killer in the case, Earnest Lee Hargon (Image via CBS)

Authorities then learned of the Hargon family's internal matters. According to the Los Angeles Times, 27-year-old Michael Hargon had recently inherited a 50-acre farm from his uncle Charles Hargon. The latter had a falling-out with his adopted son, Earnest Lee Hargon, and had removed him from the will only a few weeks prior to his death.

Michael's cousin, Earnest Lee Hargon, a 43-year-old truck driver, was arrested on February 29 in connection to unrelated drug charges. He was initially charged with possession of methamphetamine and carrying a firearm. Two days later, a search in southern Mississippi land owned by Michael Hargon led to the discovery of the missing family's remains. Lee Hargon was then charged with capital murder.

The accused was found guilty on two counts of capital murder and one count of murder and was sentenced to death in 2005, but was stabbed to death by a fellow prisoner while on death row in 2007.

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ID's My Family's Deadly Secret is set to chronicle Michael and Rebecca Hargon's killings on Thursday, February 16, 2023, at 7 pm ET.