In 2002 Lindsey Harris, daughter of David Harris filed a Federal lawsuit against Clara Harris. Bridges said she never saw this coming because Clara knew of their affair and David told his mistress he was leaving his wife. That would change sometime in June 2002, when Clara hired the services of Blue Moon Investigations. In the heat of the moment, she went on to say, she didnt even know she had run over David. Im so sorry, she was heard saying over and over. Lindsey Harris, along with her mother (Davids first wife), quickly filed suit against Clara Harris in hopes of claiming Davids insurance proceeds and inheriting his portion of the estate. It was just a big fight.''. Harris was 60 years old at the time of her release, and she was looking for a job as a condition of her parole. In 2007, Clara Harris, shown with attorney Dean Blumrosen, was ordered to pay her dead husband's parents, Gerald and Mildred Harris, $3.75 million in a wrongful-death suit. Bridges then walked to her car with David following. A dignified churchgoing couple in tweeds and sensible shoes, Mildred Harris and her husband, Gerald, have sat a few feet behind Dr. Harris in the public gallery alongside another of their sons, several close friends and members of Dr. Harris's family from Bogot, Colombia. They had hidden from her, and she was upset by that.'' However, on a rational side, what bothers the most is Clara's not being aware through all those years that her husband was a cheating type - despite the fact that he didn't even particularly hide it. The defense's pathology expert said David Harris' injuries were consistent with being run over once, and Irwin constructed a computer simulation designed to show how the Mercedes' 40-foot turning radius meant it could not have hit the body a second time. When the story about the scorned woman who used her Mercedes to extract revenge on her cheating husband made national headlines, Americans suddenly found themselves embroiled in a debate: Was it really murder? This time, a jury had little sympathy for Claras story, and it ordered her to pay $3.75 million in damages. Silently, Harris put the car in reverse and began to drive out of the hotel parking lot. Although Clara loved Lindsey like her own, she was desperate to be more than a stepmother; she wanted her own children. Clara was arrested for murder. Obviously, he hadnt. Harris sons visited her at the Mountain View Unit prison in Gainesville, Texas, every month. During jury selection, they aimed for married women who seemed likely to have the kind of self-esteem problems Harris had had with her weight and appearance. That was when she struck me on my leg with the vehicle," the mistress said. ''But there is no problem with me getting to see those children.''. 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. Lindsey started hitting her father while shouting, I hate you! Harris ripped the shirt off Bridges, then David reportedly pushed Harris to the floor. 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 Stouwie, the company that runs the prison braille program has asked Harris to keep working once she returns to Houston. But in cross-examination, Parnham got them to admit they couldn't see clearly. Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. Bridges told Garza that her life has never been the same since that night. At the Clear Lake office, he employed a married woman by the name of Gail Bridges as his receptionist. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Harris David is on Facebook. She would tell me pretty much everything that was going on and made me feel part of the family. Lindsey, David Harris daughter from a previous marriage, spent summers and holidays with her father and Harris. Theres An App for That. Originally sentenced to twenty years for first-degree murder, the former Houston dentist has been paroled. ''In 10 years, he never had a negative thing to say about Clara. Her lawyer contends that the 44-year-old dentist acted in the heat of passion, a wife unhinged by her cheating husband. Suzie from Carson City on April 16, 2016: I'm very familiar of this extremely high-profile case. I never thought hed do something like that to her. In an interview in November in Texas Monthly magazine, Mr. Harris said that he and his wife would do anything to help their daughter-in-law. She said her father had told her he would end the affair with Ms. Bridges on July 24. March 6, 2003 -- From the moment he took on the case, defense attorney George Parnham knew that defending Clara Harris would be uphill work. She stomped on the accelerator and went for him.''. Clara Harris still rotting in prison is a waste of taxpayer money. They entered into a contract for services with Clara, which outline standard provisions of any decent agencyone of those provisions being that the client was not to interfere with the detectives investigation. She admitted grabbing Bridges' hair when she saw her come out of the elevator with her husband, and said hotel employees broke up the fight and steered her toward her car in the parking lot. ''She had killed him.''. Although Texas law does not allow temporary insanity defenses, Parnham believed he could show that Harris acted under "sudden passion" rather than with intent to kill. As she listened to her stepdaughter's testimony, Clara Harris began crying. She thought her car was going to stop on the high sidewalk, she said, but instead it kept going. In her turn on the stand, Mildred Harris said she and her daughter-in-law ''were like friends.''. Join Facebook to connect with David Harris and others you may know. Yes, she made a horrible fifteen-minute mistake. She lost everything because of what he put her through. (While the sentence for intentional murder in Texas is five years to life, murder in sudden passion carries a minimum penalty of just two years, with a maximum of twenty years.) They succeeded in getting a jury of nine women and three men. One said she "snapped," and Hirschhorn latched onto the word, telling Parnham to use it to counter what the prosecutor would want the jury to think: "intentional.". You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. He says he replays the trial in his head every night, wondering what went wrong: whether it was the tire track on the police photograph, or the jurors' jealousy of Harris and her success. Harris, a 45-year-old Houston dentist, was accused of killing her cheating husband by running him over with her Mercedes in a hotel parking lot in front of half a dozen witnesses. One of the prosecution's most powerful witnesses was 17-year-old Lindsey Harris, David Harris' daughter from a previous marriage, who was riding in her stepmother's Mercedes when it struck her father. 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. With all hes done to me, I could kill him and get away with it, Harris had allegedly stated. After learning about Clara Harris, read about Leona Candy Stevens lying in court to liberate her husband Charles Manson. On Friday, one of Texass most notorious killers, Clara Harris, was released from prison. A lawsuit on behalf of the children of David Harris, a cheating husband fatally run down by his wife in a jealous rage two years ago, has been tentatively settled, lawyers for the involved parties have confirmed. Read More . Witnesses recalled seeing Lindsey punch Harris in the face before both of them exited the vehicle. Suzie from Carson City on October 07, 2017: Triple J.I'm quite aware of my friend's name. HubPages is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. Lindsey testified that Harris ran over her father three times. "I've always said I thought that video eventually would be the best thing in the world for us," he said. Not to mention destroying so many other lives. He was pronounced dead at 9:48 p.m. and Clara Harris was charged with murder. She testified anyway, and Parnham subsequently passed out from tremendous stress in the courthouse hallway and had to be hospitalized. Can College Sports Get More Absurd Than SMU Joining the Pac-12? After a three-week trial, Clara Harris was found guilty on Feb. 14, 2003. There are 300+ professionals named "Lindsay Harris", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. Then, the theory went, Harris panicked and locked the wheel to the left, driving around her husband's body in a 40-foot circle, but not hitting it again. Local radio stations gave breathless updates. Contact. Mr. Harris said he had been aware of ''some difficulties in the relationship'' between his son and Clara, but suggested that he saw no serious impediments to a future together. 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. She said she remembered one of them telling her, "Don't go where they're going. However, Irwin, the accident reconstructionist, still managed to make a persuasive case that Harris only ran into her husband once. Lindsey was with Harris when she sped off in the direction of the hotel on July 24 to confront her husband. Skip Hollandsworth specializes in long-form narratives. Join Facebook to connect with Harris David and others you may know. Her trial began the following February. David Harris is on Facebook. 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. Clara and Davids twin sons continue to live Texas with Davids parents, Gerald and Mildred Harris. Over the next five years, she was turned down three more times. Since the trial, Parnham has been asking himself why the jury imposed the maximum. With the help of accident reconstructionist Steve Irwin, they developed the following theory: Harris was intending to ram Bridges' car, and as she rounded the corner, her view was obstructed and she could not see her husband. Well aware she had run over her husband, Clara circled aroundcrossing two grassy medians, according to witnessesand ran over Davids motionless body; then circled around to run over him again. This is a sad story all around. But, he said, she insisted on testifying. On the stand, Harris gave an account similar to the videotaped one that had been so effective with the mock jury. While the sentence for intentional murder in Texas is 20 years to life, murder in sudden passion carries a minimum penalty of just two years, with a maximum of 20 years. If convicted, Harris could be sentenced to life in prison. He and Gail both contributed to the situation. On February 14, 2003 (which ironically would have been David and Claras 11th anniversary), the jury found her guilty of second degree murder. The 1995 move Suburban Madness starring Selma Ward is loosely based on the Clara Harris case. Trial consultant Robert Hirschhorn, whom Parnham had hired to help him pick a winning jury for Harris, said the defense team needed to working on "softening her up. Im thinking about pulling a Clara Harris, a woman would say with a laugh after learning her husband had done something really stupid. Its free. ''She started pulling her shirt off. Even if they take such sentiments into account, jurors are being asked to weigh testimony that points to Clara Harris's revving her silver S-Class Mercedes and speeding toward Ms. Bridges's Navigator, next to which David Harris and Ms. Bridges were standing, then running over her husband up to three times as she circled the Nassau Bay Hilton parking lot. How Did James Dean Die? Clara struggled to get pregnant; after undergoing fertility treatments, she gave birth to twin boys Brian and Bradley in 1998. Harris agreed, but she secretly hired a private investigator to follow them to dinner and ensure her husband ended the relationship. Prosecutors say Harris, bent on avenging her husband's adultery, used her car as a murder. Although his Clear Lake staff, and even some at the Lake Jackson office, were aware of Davids infidelity, Clara seemingly had no idea. Lived In Chesapeake VA, Monterey CA, Augusta GA, Grovetown GA. Related To Brad Harris, Ghanbria Harris, Alphonso Harris, Daphne Harris, Mary Harris. He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Pace University and a master's degree from New York University. 16-year-old Lindsey Harris testifies at Houston, Tex, murder trial of stepmother Clara Harris, accused of murdering husband Dr David Harris by running him over with car in hotel parking lot . It seemed that life was perfect and complete for the Harris family. Things spun out of control for Joy and she fled the country. David was declared dead at 9:48 p.m. that evening. When she arrived, Clara found Gails Lincoln Navigator in the hotels parking garage and set about vandalizing the car by bending windshield wipers and keying the paint. It was not only shocking but IMO, really sad. Read Skip Hollandsworths 2002 piece on Harris, Suburban Madness,. . 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. When Parnham and his team watched the tape closely, they decided they could make the argument that the Mercedes hit David Harris only once, and that the subsequent passes went around his body, not over it. In 2007, Clara was brought back to Houston for a civil trial to defend herself in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Davids parents. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. According to her testimony on Jan. 29, she screamed repeatedly at her stepmother to stop as the car rushed toward her father. Harris completed her residency at the University of Texas School of Dentistry in Houston and was crowned Miss Colombia Houston at a local beauty contest shortly after. He said Burwell probably will discuss the settlement with the parties before the end of July. Fire Ants Have Unleashed Chaos in Texas for Decades. She had two sons with her orthodontist husband, David Harris. She was determined to become a professional dentist. Clara was helping David raise his daughter from a previous marriage. Paul May Other occupants: Paul May View 2 Lindsey A Harris ER 2002 Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB3. Most believed she had not intended to kill her husband, saying she was in a "jealous rage" and "lost it," and that she "didn't know what she was doing." David Lindsay Harris. On the night of the killing, she said, Clara Harris "stepped on the accelerator and went straight for him," saying moments before impact, "I'm going to hit him.". She was quickly inundated with requests for interviews, but she turned all of them down. Claras goal was to get paroled so she could be reunited with her sons, Emily Detoto, one of her original defense attorneys, told me.
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