Court was scheduled to reconvene later Thursday for the sentencing phase. I hate you!. Sheriff says Texas shooting suspect "could be anywhere now" February 13, 2003 / 3:16 PM A dozen photojournalists flocked to Harris first court appearance. "She said, 'I'm so sorry. Clara Harris and attorney George Parnham after the first day of testimony in 2003. Clara Harris was sentenced to 20 years in prison but only served 15. Harris found her husband and Bridges in the hotel lobby. In July 2002, Clara Harris had her teenage stepdaughter with her as she tracked down her husband David Harris to the Nassau Bay Hilton where he was with his Texas Department of CorrectionsClara Harris was sentenced to 20 years in prison but only served 15. Witnesses recalled seeing Lindsey punch Harris in the face before both of them exited the vehicle. Lindsey opened the door and stuck her feet on the ground, as if she was attempting to escape, according to witnesses, who then saw Clara whip the car around, hit the accelerator again, and drive over her husbands crumpled body a second time. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. "Suddenly, I thought about smashing my car against her car and then I (picked) up speed. Clara suddenly gunned the engine and raced toward them. We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. He was trying to get away and he couldn't.". Harris' attorney, George Parnham, had argued that the crime happened moments after an emotional and volatile confrontation between Harris, her husband and his mistress at the same hotel where the couple was married. host = host.toLowerCase(); "(Clara) knew what she did, was not sorry about it and meant to kill him," were Lindsey's damning words inside Judge Carol Davies' courtroom. Generator vs power station: Which one is right for you? But back in February, after Clara Harris was convicted of killing her husband, News2Houston asked the other woman in David's life for an interview. She always said that Prosecutor Mia Magness used her rebuttal to try to dismantle arguments for probation. "He pushed Gail out of the way. She told jurors she wanted to save her 10-year marriage after learning of the affair. Neil Patrick Harris is wishing his twin children a very happy birthday. Their most devastating witness was David Harriss teenage daughter Lindsey, who testified that a week earlier her stepmother had told her, With all hes done to me, I could kill him and get away with it. On the night of the killing, she said, Clara stepped on the accelerator and went straight for him, saying moments before impact, Im going to hit him.. Clara They got married on March 26, 1968, at St. Clements Episcopal Church in New York. In 2007, Clara was brought back to Houston for a civil trial to defend herself in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Davids parents. It was also the topic of Suburban Madness, a Lifetime Original movie, starring Elizabeth Pea and Brett Cullen.[14]. Prosecutors called a half-dozen witnesses who said they watched in disbelief as Harris ran over her husband at least twice. In an interview with Oprah before her release, Harris said, I want to be judged by what really happened, not by the speculations people had made I found myself in a situation that I never thought myself capable of.. She married David Harris on February 14, 1992, at the Nassau Bay Hilton, and raised three children: twin sons Brian and Bradley, born in 1998, and David's daughter Lindsey from a previous marriage. [1][7] The prosecution claimed Clara's actions were more than a crime of passion, but that she "wanted to hurt" David, as she was heard saying in a police interview. When David and Bridges came out of the hotel, Clara struck down her husband in the parking lot as her teenaged stepdaughter Lindsey sat in the passenger seat. Most Facebook users can now claim settlement money. YouTubeDavid and Clara Harris were married for ten years before she killed him in a fit of rage. "I wasn't sure if what I was seeing was real," said one tearful witness, Chris Junco. In November, Claras application for parole was granted, and her release date was set for May 11. Mike Hall writes about criminals, musicians, the law, and barbecue. Get a 42-inch oscillating fan for 15% off with this deal. Feinstein has vowed to return to Washington, but what happens if she doesnt? Lindsey testified Clara "peeled out" and headed around to another part of the parking lot where her father and his alleged mistress were getting into a Lincoln Navigator. She has already filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Clara Harris. She said she glimpsed her husband: "I saw some surprised eyes.". The teenager said she never thought her stepmother would act on a comment that she could kill David Harris and get away with it. Custody Compromise Reached For Clara Harris' Twins, Custody Battle Begins Over Harris Children, Harris' Stepdaughter Sues Hotel, Detective Agency, Hotel Official Fired After Testifying In Clara Harris Trial, Clara Harris Says She Still Loves Her Dead Husband, Jury Considers Punishment For Clara Harris, Jurors Set To Begin Deliberations In Clara Harris Case, Closing Arguments Wednesday In Harris Trial, Jurors Told To Bring Toothbrushes In Clara Harris Trial, Clara Harris' Attorney Collapses Outside Courtroom, Harris' Lover Testifies About Relationship, Defense Goes After Victim In Clara Harris Case, Collision Expert Testifies About Harris' Death, Accusations Fly After Harris Daughter Testifies, Harris' Daughter Testifies: 'She Meant To Kill Him', Stepdaughter To Testify In Clara Harris' Trial, Harris Cries Uncontrollably, Removed From Trial, Private Investigator Testifies In Clara Harris Trial, Witnesses Describe Harris Running Over Husband, Jury Selection Continues In Harris' Murder Trial, Jurors To Be Picked For Clara Harris' Trial, Harris' Stepdaughter's Remarks Spark Debate, Audiotapes Allege Clara Harris Also Having Affair, Custody Battle Stems From High-Profile Murder, Wife Free After Allegedly Running Over Husband. Leave them blank to get signed up. On Friday, one of Texass most notorious killers, Clara Harris, was released from prison. Read Skip Hollandsworths 2002 piece on Harris, Suburban Madness,. Because she is penniless (and legally, she still owes her in-laws $3.75 million), she will initially live with a friend, and she will look for a job. It was an accident. Originally sentenced to twenty years for first-degree murder, the former Houston dentist has been paroled. [13] This story was the inspiration for the completion of a chapter in the Mexican series Mujeres Asesinas "Killer Women." The owner of Blue Moon Investigations said that they did not do anything wrong. Bridges responded, "The affair was wrong. He was pronounced dead at 9:48 p.m. and Clara Harris was charged with murder. Bridges was very afraid of the television cameras. During his marriage to Clara, David began to have an affair with his former receptionist, Gail Bridges. She was convicted of sudden passion and sentenced to 20 years in prison. She also testified she even went to a tanning salon and scheduled liposuction and breast enhancement surgery to make him happy, only to catch him in a tryst with Bridges at the same hotel where the Harrises were married on Valentine's Day 1992. The trial was front-page news in Houston and included dramatic testimony from Harris, her romantic rival and her stepdaughter, who was in the car that day and told jurors her stepmother sped toward her father as he desperately tried to get out of the way. The prosecutor said it was "almost offensive" to consider that the defendant has suffered, too. The trial is expected to go on through this week as defense lawyers present their case. "They did not specifically have procedures and proper training to train their employees in how to deal with these situations," Webber said. 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Watt tweets the 2 things he doesn't miss about Houston, You can own your own cave system for a cool $875k, home included, Texas college baseball player hit by stray bullet mid-game, Greg Abbott announces $50k reward for information on Cleveland shooting, Massive Coastal Bend ranch up for sale near Texas next big state park, Property north of San Antonio set to become a new Texas state park, Texas man catches massive alligator snapping turtle, then releases it back into the wild, How former KPRC 2 anchor Dominique Sachse is getting back to reporting, Uber ranks Houston among the most 'forgetful' U.S. cities. She then brought up David Harris' daughter, Lindsey, and began crying as she spoke. Appellant and Lindsey walked to the parking lot and found Bridges s Navigator. Harris agreed, but she secretly hired a private investigator to follow them to dinner and ensure her husband ended the relationship. Local radio talk shows were jammed with callers debating whether Clara was a cold-blooded murderer or a good woman who simply did what every woman secretly wants to do when she finds out her husband is cheating. Jurors deemed hers a crime of sudden passion, and she was sentenced to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, the maximum allowed for murder under such circumstances. Magness reminded jurors how Lindsey Harris had gotten her father's clothing out of the trash, where they had been thrown earlier that day, and laid the items out on her bed so she could feel like he was there. The prosecutor lowered her voice to almost a whisper as she made her final points. "He was really scared. Clara, who had been tipped off to Davids whereabouts by a private investigator she had hired, went berserk. She said Harris' boys would be provided for and they would adjust and survive, "because that's what children do. She testified that Clara was furious that David was having an affair and determined to catch him in the act, according to a KPRC Channel 2 News report. [9] Her second parole request was denied in September 2016. We went shopping a lot. } This caused her attorney to collapse from the stress, causing the court to go to recess as he was taken to the hospital and later released. And she was not going to do anything to jeopardize her chance of getting parole so she could someday be with them.. Its too bad if they do, said Detoto, who has kept in touch with Harris since her conviction. Whats more, she didnt violate any prison rules. The defense's attempts to prove that Clara ran over David only once crumbled when the judge ruled their re-creation of the crime by a private consultant inadmissible in court. Clara's sons, who are in the custody of family friends, were said to visit about once a month. WebView the profiles of people named Lyndsey Harris. Lindsey testified against her stepmother, claiming she told her to stop the vehicle. Gail Bridges describes the night she and her lover, David Harris, were confronted by his wife, Clara Harris, in a hotel lobby -- the last night she would ever see him alive. According to the medical examiner's office, they could only be certain there was one tire mark on the body, but Lindsey and eyewitnesses assert Clara ran over David three times. He yelled 'stop' and she didn't. [5] David was dead at the scene, and Clara was charged with murder.[6]. The Harrises, who also were business partners, then spent an evening at a bar talking about their relationship. Harris insisted the death last July was an accident and that she only wanted to damage the black Lincoln Navigator belonging to her husband's receptionist turned lover, Gail Bridges. Harris knew her husband was being unfaithful and hired a private investigation agency to follow him, as reported by ABC News. } Clara was advised not to take the stand. She said her stepmother made the remark just after finding him with Bridges. Their 11th wedding anniversary would have been Friday. On March 11, 1896, Gideon Lindsey Harris passed away and is buried in the old Mars Hill Cemetery beside his second wife, Catherine, and among many of his descendants who rest there. Sheriff says Texas shooting suspect "could be anywhere now", Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell case: A timeline of events, 1 employee killed, 2 injured at Tennessee Volkswagen plant. Apparently, some members of Davids family had written letters to the parole board declaring that Clara didnt deserve mercythat she should at least serve her full twenty-year sentence and be released in 2023. The 44-year-old Colombian had moved to America in the 1980s and opened her own successful dentistry practice. Harris defense attorney George Parnham urged her not to take the stand for fear she would incriminate herself. Clara Harris leaving prison on May 11, 2018. Clara Harris, a Colombian immigrant, was named "Mrs Colombia Houston" and worked as a dentist. According to the Los Angeles Times, Lindsey later testified that Harris said, Im going to hit him, as they sat in the car and waited for David to appear. host = new String(location.hostname); Parnham argued that Clara Harris acted out of sudden passion. Jurors found that Harris acted with "sudden passion," which could have reduced the jurors' recommendation to probation. Jurors deliberated for six hours before returning with their verdict on the sentence. Lucretia was born about 1795. If Harris were a minority defendant we would have seen a life sentence in this case. The Legislature Is Poised to Send Them More Inmates. The jury began deliberating the penalty phase of Harris' murder trial about 10:30 a.m. EST Friday after closing arguments, which became a battle of tears between the defendant and prosecution. And its full of great reads, yall. Family and friends can send flowers and condolences in memory of the loved one. Her friends have told me she is worried that people she meets will realize who she is and back away. Gail Bridges told Garza that her heart goes out to the children, especially Lindsey, who was in the car and witnessed this tragedy that night. She said she felt a bump as the car ran over her father. The 2023 NFL Draft runs April 2729 live from Kansas City, Missouri. Two of them cried as state District Judge Carol Davies read it in court. Lindsey told the jury - composed of nine women and three men - that her stepmother said, "I could kill him for what he's done and get away with it.". Lindsey started hitting her father while shouting, I hate you! Harris ripped the shirt off Bridges, then David reportedly pushed Harris to the floor. } else if ( host.indexOf("asia.cnn.com") != -1 ) { She also testified she even went to a tanning salon and scheduled liposuction and breast enhancement surgery to make him happy, only to catch him in a tryst with Bridges at the same hotel where the Harrises were married on Valentine's Day 1992. Then, learn about rich teenager Ethan Couch being released from prison despite murdering four people. 1 employee killed, 2 injured at Tennessee Volkswagen plant }, First published on February 13, 2003 / 3:16 PM. All rights reserved. If you need help with the Public File, call (713) 778-4745. Texas Jails Are Crowded, Understaffed, and Dangerous. George Wong/Getty ImagesClara Harris and attorney George Parnham after the first day of testimony in 2003. 111. Abbott, FBI announce rewards for info on Cleveland mass shooter, Massive ranch up for sale near Texas next big state park, 3,800-acre San Antonio-area property to become Texas state park, Texas man catches giant alligator snapping turtle, releases it, Former KPRC 2 anchor Dominique Sachse to launch podcast Monday, Uber ranks Houston among most 'forgetful' U.S. cities, Texas to host national hot air balloon championship this summer, Report: Texas man took break from dinner date to kill man outside, One of Houston's tallest skyscrapers to become apartment complex, J.J. Watt tweets the 2 things he doesn't miss about Houston, You can own your own cave system for a cool $875k, home included, Texas college baseball player hit by stray bullet mid-game, Greg Abbott announces $50k reward for information on Cleveland shooting, Massive Coastal Bend ranch up for sale near Texas next big state park, Property north of San Antonio set to become a new Texas state park, Texas man catches massive alligator snapping turtle, then releases it back into the wild, How former KPRC 2 anchor Dominique Sachse is getting back to reporting, Uber ranks Houston among the most 'forgetful' U.S. cities. Garza asked Bridges. Here's how. Every waking moment, she thought about those boys. The parents of the victim, David Harris, took the stand, too to testify in support of their daughter-in-law. The 44-year-old orthodontist was tragically already gone. Parnham suggested that the victim himself would have wanted his wife to receive probation and continue raising their twin 4-year-old sons. [2] During his marriage to Clara, David began to have an affair with his former receptionist, Gail Bridges. In 2005, Oprah arrived at the prison in the town of Gatesville (near Waco), where Clara was incarcerated, to interview her for her talk show. While David Harris daughter Lindsey spent the school year in Ohio with her mother, the teenager lived in Houston with her dad and stepmom over the summers. #inline-recirc-item--id-92ad5f4e-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d ~ .item:nth-child(5) { She always said that David called Lindsey his angel and now David is her angel. After it was over, Clara Harris led Lindsey to the Mercedes. You b, hes my husband! Harris shouted before slapping Bridges. According to bar napkin notes kept by Clara Harris, David Harris thought his wife was overweight, dominated conversations and was a workaholic, all in contrast to Bridges. Clara Suarez, a Colombian immigrant, was named "Mrs Colombia Houston" and worked as a dentist. Mimi Swartz is a staff writer based in Houston. Clara Harris had just shouted at her philandering husband and wrestled his mistress to the floor of a hotel lobby, but now appeared to be calm. They argued that Clara could only have run over David once, and that the turning radius of her Mercedes would not have allowed for her to sharply turn and run over him a second time. A book titled Out of Control was written by Steven Long about the case. Clara then parks her car next to his body. On July 22, 2002, she got into her silver S-Class 430 Mercedes-Benz and drove to the Nassau Bay Hilton, across the highway from the Johnson Space Center. "The whole scene was very mad.". "What I want you to think about is what, based on all of the evidence in this case, what would David want?". David Harris' 16-year-old daughter - Clara Harris' stepdaughter - was in the passenger seat of the car at the time. This time, a jury had little sympathy for Claras story, and it ordered her to pay $3.75 million in damages. Im going to hit him, Harris told the teenager. Accompanying her was Davids sixteen-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, Lindsey, who was visiting from Ohio, where she lived with her mother. David Harris' tooth, found on the pavement next to his head, was introduced as evidence, as were autopsy photos showing what a pathologist said were tire tracks across the body of the 44-year-old orthodontist. Her lawyer contends that the 44-year-old dentist acted in the heat of passion, a wife unhinged by her cheating husband. A police officer who witnessed the crime testified that she ran him over three times, however. "There's no indication that they did call the police. A 20-year prison term for a first-degree murder conviction in Texas is a pie-in-the-sky legal result if I have ever seen one,'' he said. [11], Harris was released on parole on May 11, 2018, and was released from parole in February of 2023.[12]. On July 24, 2002, Clara Harris confronted her husband in a hotel parking lot over an extramarital affair, then struck and ran over him with her Mercedes-Benz sedan, killing him in an act of mariticide. Bridges said she never saw this coming because Clara knew of their affair and David told his mistress he was leaving his wife. "She stepped on the accelerator and went } "I couldn't believe he could sleep holding her all night because we had never slept like that never," she testified. When I went to her first court appearance, nearly a dozen photographers were there to capture her every move. They had twin sons named Brian and Bradley in 1998. "Your verdict will in part tell her what she went through was worth it," Magness said. Reward offered as manhunt for Texas shooting suspect reaches "dead end" "I was in so much pain; it was a physical pain that I was feeling. Bridges says before Clara Harris was pulled off of her, Harris attacked her -- she pulled her hair, punched her head and face, and bit her. Lindsey Harris filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her Trending News Clara Harris said that remark stunned her. Eventually, Clara and Lindsey stormed back to the Mercedes. The lawsuit also said hotel management failed to provide effective security or notify police in time to prevent Harris' death and failed to train its employees to deal with domestic disputes. / CBS. I could hear someone yell at me to get away from my car to get away and I didn't quite understand why until I turned and looked. She did not know David was dead until Lindsey, David's daughter who was in the car with her stepmother, approached her. "'She killed my dad. The same nine-woman, three-man jury deliberated about eight hours before returning the murder conviction. Bridge's now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder -- flashbacks, nightmares and is on medication. Harris slumped into her chair as the sentence was read. His children are Dr. Joseph Denton Harris, IV and Donna Harris of Beaumont, TX, Mary Kathleen Harris of Houston, TX, Peggy Harris Lacy and Mike Lacy of Dallas, TX, Connie Harris Arnold and Dr. David Arnold of Liberty, TX, Ann Marie Harris and Pam Karter of Liberty and Houston, TX, Dr. James Mitchell Harris and Meredith Harris of "It will be really interesting to find out whether the same jurors who so quickly and harshly judged her will now show some sympathy for her situation and recommend a lighter sentence," said Cohen. "Did you see the car coming towards you?" She was in the Mercedes-Benz when her stepmother, Clara Harris, ran over her husband in the parking lot of the Clear Lake-area hotel on July 24, 2002. Over the next five years, she was turned down three more times. [1], Clara Suarez, a Colombian immigrant, was named "Mrs Colombia Houston" and worked as a dentist. Without warning, she stomped on the accelerator and went straight for my Dad, testified Lindsey, 17, at Harris murder trial Wednesday. "Well, she ought not to be given credit for making herself a single parent," Magness said. Lindsey Harris was the prosecution's only witness during the penalty phase Whether youre shopping Way Day 2023 or Walmart, theres an al fresco set for you. Go the other way,'" an emotional Lindsey Harris remembered in the courtroom. Nevertheless, Claras attorneys persuaded the jurors that Clara had acted under sudden passion rather than with intent to kill, and they gave her a twenty-year sentence. He pointed out that even David Harris' parents and brother had testified on Clara Harris' behalf. How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! I wasn't thinking anything," Harris testified. Perhaps the most powerful witness was David Harris' daughter, 17-year-old Lindsey Harris, who was in Mercedes. They were more concerned, from what we can tell, about the embarrassing situation that was going on in the lobby of their hotel," Davis said. During a violent confrontation with her husband and his alleged mistress, Gail Bridges, in the hotel lobby, Clara Harris "went straight for Gail, hitting and ripping her shirt off," Lindsey testified. "She ought not get credit for making herself a single parent," the prosecutor told jurors before deliberations began. "I told him 'look, look what she done,'" Bridges said. Prosecutors, however, went after her, saying she knew exactly what she was doing in that Hilton parking lot. Clara Harris was then escorted by hotel employees to her Mercedes S-Class in the parking lot and accompanied by Lindsey Harris. Most Facebook users can now claim settlement money. I could tell when we were going over the big concrete curve and when we were going over my dad. David had been married once before and had a daughter named Lindsey, and Harris loved the young girl like her own. Prosecutors say Harris, bent on avenging her husbands adultery, used her car as a murder weapon. 1 employee killed, 2 injured at Tennessee Volkswagen plant Her attorney explained what was in the report, using the consultant as an expert witness on the stand. She's also suing the detective agency that followed him, } Click Here to try 4 Free Trial Issues of Time! He went to church and loved Clara, she said. She wasnt saying anything. But last year, she got a new parole attorney, Kevin Stouwie of San Antonio. Clara Harris Murders Her Husband While David Harris daughter Lindsey spent the school year in Ohio with her mother, the teenager lived in Houston with her dad [4], That evening, Clara went to the Hilton Hotel in Nassau Bay, Texas, to confront her husband and reportedly attacked Bridges in the lobby. Over the years, there were occasional stories in the media about Clara. David Harris, a suburban Houston orthodontist, died July 24 after Clara Harris car struck him. Clara was first eligible for parole in 2012, but she was turned down. Days earlier, David had admitted to Clara that he and Gail had been having an affair, and he had promised Clara that he would end it. Harris, who had remained stoic during her verdict on Thursday, slumped in her chair crying as the judge read her sentencing. David Harris was enamored. Bridges told Garza that her life has never been the same since that night. The investigators Harris had hired happened to record the entire ordeal on video, which was entered into evidence. Its daily. "I think I closed my eyes" just before impact, she testified. They were victims twice over, they said. Whether youre shopping Way Day 2023 or Walmart, theres an al fresco set for you. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. } I do not regret or will ever regret that I got to know him and that he became part of my life.". Momentum shifts as Lindsey Harris testifies. Her husband and Bridges were not talking at a restaurant but were together at Nassau Bay Hilton the same hotel where David and Clara Harris had been married 10 years earlier. As soon as News2Houston walked into her home with a camera, she bolted into the bedroom and did not want to come out until the camera was gone. Clara Harris stood stoically as the verdict was read, her lawyer's arms around her. Clara Harris dream of being a successful dentist came true when she opened her own practice in 1993. Harris sons visited her at the Mountain View Unit prison in Gainesville, Texas, every month. They saw David and Gail heading to Gails SUV in a different part of the parking lot. The parents of the victim, David Harris, took the stand, too to testify in support of their daughter-in-law. Lindsey Harris, 17, took the stand as the prosecution's last witness against orthodontist Clara Harris, who stands accused of running down her husband - David Harris, 44, also a dentist - in the parking lot of the Nassau Bay Hilton last year. Claras application for parole was granted, Why These Ugly, Abandoned Longview Homes May Be Worth Saving. She was also given the maximum fine of $10,000. "He once told me that he would like to spend the rest of his life with me, and he did," Bridges said. ), At Willie Nelson 90, country, rock and rap stars pay tribute, but Willie and Trigger steal the show, What GOPs plan for Medicaid work requirements would mean, Column: A centrist, third-party alternative for 2024 is a nice idea but a nightmare in practice, Chinese man who reported on COVID to be released after 3 years. She and her future husband met as colleagues at the Castle Dental Center in 1991. Clara Harris was convicted of murdering her cheating husband, David Harris, by running him over with her Mercedes-Benz on July 24. A total of three times," Lindsey concluded. Her husband later opened Space Center Orthodontics outside of Houston.