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Episode 1 of Snapped: Behind Bars season 25 will re-air on Oxygen this Sunday, September 1, 2024, featuring the tragic case of Charles Zan. The series shows the lives of individuals whose actions led them to prison exploring the crimes and the personal and emotional turmoil behind them.
For the unversed, Charles Zan was a corrections officer at the Warren Corrections Institute in Ohio who met a brutal end in 2009 when he was murdered in his own home in Miamisburg, which is a suburb of Dayton. Local publication Dayton Daily News also covered the case and reported that the attack occurred early on October 17, 2009.
As stated on Oxygen's website, Charles suffered multiple stab wounds, which were reportedly fifty (approx.) in total with a critical injury being a slash across his throat. This violent assault resulted in his immediate death.
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The police were alerted to the scene in the early hours of the morning, responding to a distress call from the residence. Initially, the incident was reported as a robbery gone wrong with items such as two laptops and a firearm missing from the home and the narrative quickly unraveled as the investigation progressed.
It was found that Charles Zan’s wife Pandora Zan and her son from a previous relationship, Cody Henderson, were behind the murder. Prosecutors stated that the motive was chillingly financial because Pandora stood to gain from multiple life insurance policies totaling around $500,000 upon Charles Zan's death.
The case was extensively covered in court where Pandora and Cody were found guilty leading to their life sentences.
How did Charles Zan die?
Charles Zan's death was not a random act of violence but a calculated murder reportedly orchestrated by his wife Pandora Zan and her son, Cody Henderson. The murder that unfolded in the couple’s home was primarily motivated by financial gain through life insurance.
Early on the morning of the murder, the Miamisburg Police Department responded to a call from the Zan residence. They arrived to find Charles Zan dead, having sustained multiple stab wounds with the fatal injury being a deep slash across his throat. Initially, Pandora Zan portrayed herself and her son as victims of a violent break-in, claiming that intruders had attacked her husband and knocked her unconscious.
But as investigators delved deeper, the supposed robbery aspect of the case began to crumble. Evidence surfaced that there was no break-in instead the murder was an inside job. The police discovered that the scene had been staged to look like a robbery with personal items purportedly stolen to support the fabricated story.
The breakthrough in the case came when investigators intercepted communications between Pandora and her son revealing their actual involvement.
It was uncovered that Pandora had plotted with Cody to kill Charles Zan for the substantial life insurance payout which amounted to around $500,000. Text messages and emails between the two detailed their plans including the coordination of the murder and the aftermath.
Cody Henderson was only 19 at the time and confessed to the murder during police questioning. He disclosed that on the night of the murder he had entered the family home with a key provided by his mother.
Charles Zan was asleep when Cody reportedly stabbed him multiple times. Pandora's role was not just as a conspirator, because she facilitated the crime by unlocking the door for Cody and helping him cover up the evidence afterward.
As quoted in Dayton Daily News on April 21, 2011, Assistant Prosecutor Dan Brandt said:
"It's not something to get away with. She was very conniving and deceitful."
During the trial, further damning evidence came to light. Witnesses testified seeing Pandora’s unusual behavior around the time of the murder and financial records showed her attempts to claim the insurance money soon after her husband’s death. Both Pandora and Cody were arrested and charged with murder among other charges.
Dayton Daily News also reported that Pandora Zan was found guilty of complicity in committing aggravated murder, robbery, and other related charges. She received a life sentence without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 25 years. Meanwhile, Cody received a life sentence as part of a plea deal, avoiding the death penalty.
Snapped: Behind Bars will air on Sunday, September 1, 2024 on Oxygen.
