Garza asked. 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. Performance meets portability with Apple's 2023 MacBook Pro. 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. But shes a wonderful woman. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday. Clara Harris and attorney George Parnham after the first day of testimony in 2003. Reward offered as manhunt for Texas shooting suspect reaches "dead end" Whether youre shopping Way Day 2023 or Walmart, theres an al fresco set for you. }, First published on February 13, 2003 / 3:16 PM. Here's how. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Prosecutors say Harris, bent on avenging her husbands adultery, used her car as a murder weapon. Any money made in Lindsey Harris' lawsuits would go towards her pain and anguish. The owner of Blue Moon Investigations said that they did not do anything wrong. HOUSTON The stepdaughter of Clara Harris is suing the hotel where her father was fatally run over. Clara suddenly gunned the engine and raced toward them. Although she knows she cant disappear, she is going to do her best to stay out of the public eye, said Stouwie. John Spong writes primarily about popular culture. The crime was caught on tape by a private investigator Clara Harris had hired to document her husband's affair. Clara 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. The teenager said she never thought her stepmother would act on a comment that she could kill David Harris and get away with it. With her stepdaughter in the car, she ran over him three times and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. 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. When Harris suddenly accelerated, Lindsey was thrown against her seat and saw her father put his hands on the hood of the car, shouting, Stop! she said. How Did James Dean Die? Parnham suggested that the victim himself would have wanted his wife to receive probation and continue raising their twin 4-year-old sons. "The whole scene was very mad.". Generator vs power station: Which one is right for you? Then, learn about rich teenager Ethan Couch being released from prison despite murdering four people. He yelled 'stop' and she didn't. 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 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. A book titled Out of Control was written by Steven Long about the case. A dozen photojournalists flocked to Harris first court appearance. Silently, Harris put the car in reverse and began to drive out of the hotel parking lot. She lunged at Gail, slapped her, grabbed her shirt and tore it off, all the while screaming, You bitch, hes my husband! At the same time, Lindsey began hitting her father with her purse, shouting I hate you! It felt different. Bridge's now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder -- flashbacks, nightmares and is on medication. This post has been updated since publication to correct an error: the minimum punishment for intentional murder is five years, not twenty years. Clara contends that she did not see David when she ran into him with her car. Sheriff says Texas shooting suspect "could be anywhere now" Trending News He was trying to get away and he couldn't.". The same nine-woman, three-man jury deliberated about eight hours before returning the murder conviction. Also introduced at her trial was a videotape of the crime, recorded by the detective agency Clara had hired when she suspected David of the affair. Yes, the twins acknowledged, they had lost their father, but at the same time they had lost their mother, whom they loved deeply. Bridges said she never saw this coming because Clara knew of their affair and David told his mistress he was leaving his wife. She was in the car with her stepmother when her father was killed. However, after watching days of testimony, she decided she had to speak. Harris agreed, but she secretly hired a private investigator to follow them to dinner and ensure her husband ended the relationship. Under the conditions of her parole, she has to wear a monitoring bracelet, take regular drug and alcohol tests, be gainfully employed, and reside in Galveston County. "Doing the right thing doesn't always feel good," she said. In the darkened cabin of her stepmothers Mercedes-Benz, Lindsey Harris thought the drama was over for the night. Skip Hollandsworth specializes in long-form narratives. Clara Harris, a Colombian immigrant, was named "Mrs Colombia Houston" and worked as a dentist. Reward offered as manhunt for Texas shooting suspect reaches "dead end" Seven months later, she called News2Houston's Cindy Garza and said she was ready to talk, but only under one condition -- no cameras, only audio. Harris defense attorney George Parnham urged her not to take the stand for fear she would incriminate herself. The testimony of Lindsey Harris, a high school student from Columbus, Ohio, in the trial of her stepmother, who is accused of murdering her husband of 10 years, 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.. Around Houston, she became a pop culture reference. 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. Get a 42-inch oscillating fan for 15% off with this deal. [10] However, she was granted parole in November 2017. Davis said the settlement followed a long day of mediation among the parties in May but will not be final until Galveston County Probate Judge Gladys Burwell approves it. "I told him 'look, look what she done,'" Bridges said. According to her testimony on Jan. 29, Clara Harris said that remark stunned her. "I wasn't sure if what I was seeing was real," said one tearful witness, Chris Junco. "If you had anything to say to Clara, what would it be?" After learning about Clara Harris, read about Leona Candy Stevens lying in court to liberate her husband Charles Manson. ", She also scoffed at Parnham's statement about keeping the boys with "the last parent they have on Earth.". I was yelling, 'Stop, don't do that. Its free. During his marriage to Clara, David began to have an affair with his former receptionist, Gail Bridges. She got out and saw her husband lying on the pavement, blood streaming from his ears and mouth. Clara Harris, the woman who mowed down her philandering husband with a Mercedes-Benz, was sentenced by a Houston jury to 20 years in prison on the day that would have been her 11th wedding anniversary. [4], That evening, Clara went to the Hilton Hotel in Nassau Bay, Texas, to confront her husband and reportedly attacked Bridges in the lobby. Clara Suarez, a Colombian immigrant, was named "Mrs Colombia Houston" and worked as a dentist. Harris knew her husband was being unfaithful and hired a private investigation agency to follow him, as reported by ABC News. By the time they tracked him down at a hotel, Harris was livid. } She was determined to become a professional dentist. 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. David Harris, a suburban Houston orthodontist, died July 24 after Clara Harris car struck him. Claras application for parole was granted, Why These Ugly, Abandoned Longview Homes May Be Worth Saving. "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. "I was in so much pain; it was a physical pain that I was feeling. The hotel's attorney, Ervin Apffel Jr., confirmed that the lawsuit had been settled but declined to comment further. Six months later, all Lindsey knows for sure is that her father is dead, and that her stepmother is to blame. And its full of great reads, yall. Clara's trial began the following February. 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. There, she had a front-row seat to her father's death, the prosecution maintained. The case was profiled on the Oxygen Network series Snapped in 2004, on ABC News's 20/20 in 2006, and on Investigation Discovery's Deadly Women in 2010. Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell case: A timeline of events Bridges was very afraid of the television cameras. if ( host.indexOf("europe.cnn.com") != -1 ) { } "She ran over him the first time, then two more times. Bridges then walked to her car with David following. Clara's sons, who are in the custody of family friends, were said to visit about once a month. David Harris was killed in the hotel parking lot moments later. If jurors find she acted under the legal definition of sudden passion, she could receive a two-to-20-year sentence. The Legislature Is Poised to Send Them More Inmates. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? It was an accident.". Jurors found that Harris acted with "sudden passion," which could have reduced the jurors' recommendation to probation. "Your verdict will in part tell her what she went through was worth it," Magness said. Witnesses recalled seeing Lindsey punch Harris in the face before both of them exited the vehicle. 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. "They did not specifically have procedures and proper training to train their employees in how to deal with these situations," Webber said. She confronted the lovers in the hotel lobby and brawled with Bridges before returning to her car. David Harris was killed in the hotel parking lot moments later. 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. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. In 2002 Lindsey Harris, daughter of David Harris filed a Federal lawsuit against Clara Harris. "And at that point I knew I had to focus on her.". 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. They had one daughter, Martha "Mattie" Harris, who was born in November 1895, when Gideon Lindsey Harris was almost 82 years old. Garza asked Bridges. Eventually, Clara and Lindsey stormed back to the Mercedes. Performance meets portability with Apple's 2023 MacBook Pro. When Clara went towards them, Clara said, 'I'm going to hit him.' #inline-recirc-item--id-92ae5a70-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-92ae5a70-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { } else { "(Clara) went right through (a hotel employee) and straight for my dad. Clara Harris said that remark stunned her. "I was in so much pain; it was a physical pain that I was feeling. The lawsuit claimed that Blue Moon, of Webster, which Clara Harris hired to photograph her husband with another woman, should not have told Clara Harris that the two were at the hotel. 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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. The Harrises, who also were business partners, then spent an evening at a bar talking about their relationship. I wasn't thinking anything," Harris testified. I don't know if she had run over him or if he had gotten away," Lindsey answered. She has already filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Clara Harris. #inline-recirc-item--id-92ad5f4e-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d ~ .item:nth-child(5) { Perhaps the most powerful witness was David Harris' daughter, 17-year-old Lindsey Harris, who was in Mercedes. display: block; Accompanying her was Davids sixteen-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, Lindsey, who was visiting from Ohio, where she lived with her mother. 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. The investigators Harris had hired happened to record the entire ordeal on video, which was entered into evidence. Harris played for the Tar Heels of the Through it all, however, Clara Harris only wanted people to know the truth about what really happened the night she murdered her husband. WebHere he lived out his life, except for some six years near his brother, David Rice Harris, in Perry County, in the late 1860s and early 1870s. 1 employee killed, 2 injured at Tennessee Volkswagen plant The prosecution admitted that it was a good argument, but countered by bringing in a police officer who had been present at the scene who pointed out another tire track on the pavement shown in a police photograph, the angle of which went directly to where David's body had been. YouTubeDavid and Clara Harris were married for ten years before she killed him in a fit of rage. The chain was particularly successful, and the couple was able to afford an upscale home and lifestyle in Friendswood, Texas. A staff writer for All Thats Interesting, Marco Margaritoff has also published work at outlets including People, VICE, and Complex, covering everything from film to finance to technology. 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. Harris, who had remained stoic during her verdict on Thursday, slumped in her chair crying as the judge read her sentencing. document.write('Saturday, February 15, 2003 Posted: 11:37 AM HKT (0337 GMT)
<\/span>'); "Without that information, David Harris would not have been located that evening," said Marty Webber, an attorney for Lindsey Harris. 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. Lindsey was with Harris when she sped off in the direction of the hotel on July 24 to confront her husband. Harris found her husband and Bridges in the hotel lobby. You b, hes my husband! Climate change sparks disaster fears, Police manhunt continues for suspect in Texas mass shooting, A powerhouse U.S. doctor slain in Sudan, killed for nothing, In final Mass in Budapest, pope urges Hungary to open doors. In testimony mixed with flashes of fury and tears, the teenager described how Harris enlisted her support after learning about her husbands affair with his receptionist, Gail Bridges. All she wants to do is make up for lost time with her boys., Clara is now sixty years old, and her hair is getting gray. / CBS. Save on AeroGarden indoor herb growing kits at Amazon, Create a bonsai tree out of bricks with this $40 LEGO set, Dyson's air purifying headphones have finally arrived, Preorder 'The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom' today, There are a ton of great patio furniture sets on sale right now, Beat the heat with this discounted Lasko tower fan from Amazon, Apple deal: The 2023 MacBook Pro Laptop is under $2,000 on Amazon, New Texas bill would charge electric car drivers $200 annual fee, These 8 Denver-area hikes each offer something unique, Why this museum should be on every Houston kid's must-visit list, Elon Musk describes Starship flight as 'roughly what I expected', Here's how much you have to make to be 'middle class' in Houston. .component--type-recirculation .item:nth-child(5) { But Clara Harris is a weepy, white, professional woman, someone whose marital troubles generated a lot of sympathy in and out of court. 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. The prosecutor said it was "almost offensive" to consider that the defendant has suffered, too. Since it only showed Harris circling the parking lot, and since David was barely visible, the defense argued she only hit him once. Momentum shifts as Lindsey Harris testifies. The 44-year-old orthodontist was tragically already gone. Here's how. Lindsey was already crying when she reached her dying father, and Harris soon joined in. We became very close, Lindsey said. When I went to her first court appearance, nearly a dozen photographers were there to capture her every move. ', "She knew what she did and she wasn't sorry.". Texas Jails Are Crowded, Understaffed, and Dangerous. CBSNews.com Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen says Texas showed too much mercy towards the Mercedes Muderess. 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. Most Facebook users can now claim settlement money. [2] During his marriage to Clara, David began to have an affair with his former receptionist, Gail Bridges. Recalling the day of the accident, Clara Harris wept as she said "everything seemed like a dream." Here's how. Click Here to try 4 Free Trial Issues of Time! Harris faces the possibility of life in prison and the same jury that so quickly found her guilty will have a large say in what the punishment ought to be, Cohen said. [9] Her second parole request was denied in September 2016. "If Harris were a man we would have seen a life sentence in this case. She turned the car around to run over him a second time, then made a final 180-degree turn to hit him once more. David, Im so sorry., The murder made headlinesall over the world. .component--type-recirculation .item:nth-child(5) { Margie Harris Obituary It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Margie Harris of Paducah, Kentucky, who passed away on January 2, 2023, at the age of 82, leaving to mourn family and friends. In the week before the murder, Harris went to a tanning salon and a beauty shop, joined a gym and consulted with a plastic surgeon about liposuction and breast implants, her checkbook register shows. 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. [2] During his marriage to Clara, David began to have an affair with his former receptionist, Gail Bridges. [3] I wasn't thinking anything," Harris testified. If you're going to hire an investigator and you call for a report, and Clara called us twice for a report, legally, we have to give our client a report," said Bobbi Bacha, with Blue Moon. [5] David was dead at the scene, and Clara was charged with murder.[6]. The 45-year-old dentist had faced up to life in prison if the jury had ruled she had not murdered her husband as a crime of "sudden passion", or as little as probation. Harris said she snapped out of her daze as her stepdaughter screamed for her to stop. They saw David and Gail heading to Gails SUV in a different part of the parking lot. 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. Oklahoma WR Keilahn Harris Rice Oregon State WR Tyjon Lindsey Report: Bucs star Barrett's daughter, 2, drowns in pool. David Harris and Bridges entered the hotel lobby hand in hand, Lindsey said. 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. She testified that Clara was furious that David was having an affair and determined to catch him in the Taylor Prewitt is the newsletter editor for Texas Monthly. Harris sons visited her at the Mountain View Unit prison in Gainesville, Texas, every month. windsor chainsaw bar cross reference, fetal heart tracing quiz 10,
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