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. Reward offered as manhunt for Texas shooting suspect reaches "dead end" Garza asked. February 21, 2003 / 4:32 AM Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell case: A timeline of events Lindsey Harris filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her In 2002 Lindsey Harris, daughter of David Harris filed a Federal lawsuit against Clara Harris. Sixteen years ago, Clara was a pretty and personable dentist who lived in a prosperous south Houston suburb with her husband David, an orthodontist, and their twin three-year-old sons. Clara Harris was sentenced to 20 years in prison but only served 15. A defense expert said Harris was hit by the luxury sedan, carried atop its hood and then run over. 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. She had two sons with her orthodontist husband, David Harris. The chain was particularly successful, and the couple was able to afford an upscale home and lifestyle in Friendswood, Texas. Clara Harris said that remark stunned her. I wasn't thinking anything," Harris testified. John Spong writes primarily about popular culture. Harris agreed, but she secretly hired a private investigator to follow them to dinner and ensure her husband ended the relationship. WebLindsey Burke Harris (born November 19, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper. 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. Clara was first eligible for parole in 2012, but she was turned down. With all hes done to me, I could kill him and get away with it, Harris had allegedly stated. The story of an angry dentist killing her husband spread like wildfire. Perhaps the most powerful witness was David Harris' daughter, 17-year-old Lindsey Harris, who was in Mercedes. The daughter, Lindsey Harris, was a passenger in a Mercedes-Benz driven by her mother, Clara Harris, when the car was used to run down Harris' dentist husband, All external sites will open in a new browser. "I think I closed my eyes" just before impact, she testified. "She ought not get credit for making herself a single parent," the prosecutor told jurors before deliberations began. When Lindsey learned that her father and Bridges were meeting at a steakhouse on July 24, I figured he was breaking up with her, Lindsey said. The attorneys said that Blue Moon investigators told Clara Harris where to find David Harris with his mistress the night of his death and that the Hilton did not contact police. She always said that Prosecutor Mia Magness used her rebuttal to try to dismantle arguments for probation. 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. 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. He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Pace University and a master's degree from New York University. She and her future husband met as colleagues at the Castle Dental Center in 1991. Clara Harris was born Clara Suarez on Feb. 3, 1958, in Bogot, Colombia, according to Texas Monthly. / CBS. Lindsey, meanwhile, testified that Harris had made shocking statements one week before David was killed, as reported by ABC News. They had one daughter, Martha "Mattie" Harris, who was born in November 1895, when Gideon Lindsey Harris was almost 82 years old. Around Houston, she became a pop culture reference. You b, hes my husband! Harris shouted before slapping Bridges. Published in 2004 by St. Martin's Paperbacks, the book follows the story of the murder and the reasons behind it. The verdict is not a surprise, according CBSNews.com Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen. After a three-week trial, Clara Harris was found guilty on Feb. 14, 2003. Henrys will was recorded in Warren County, North Carolina in May, 1838. document.write('Saturday, February 15, 2003 Posted: 11:37 AM HKT (0337 GMT)
<\/span>'); WebThey had one daughter, Martha "Mattie" Harris, who was born in November 1895, when Gideon Lindsey Harris was almost 82 years old. "His last words to me were, 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry' and then he lost his life shortly after that.". 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. 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. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? She then brought up David Harris' daughter, Lindsey, and began crying as she spoke. 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 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! "This was an unfortunate tragedy and it did not have to end this way," Bridges said. Lawsuit by Clara Harris' children settled. Here's how. After the car came to a stop, Lindsey said she got out and began hitting Clara Harris, who was knelt next to her husband saying, "I'm sorry. Clara Harris tried to control the damage by making herself real pretty so Dad would want her and not Gail, said Lindsey. Killen ordered attack on civil rights worker, jury hears, Father convicted of murdering 9 of his children, Gov. Lindsey was already crying when she reached her dying father, and Harris soon joined in. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Prosecutor Mia Magness, however, said Harris was using her sons as a "shield" to gain probation. She wasnt saying anything. Clara! a reporter shouted. David Harris, a suburban Houston orthodontist, died July 24 after Clara Harris car struck him. Henry was born in Bute (later Warren) County, North Carolina. Parnham suggested that the victim himself would have wanted his wife to receive probation and continue raising their twin 4-year-old sons. She said her stepmother made the remark just after finding him with Bridges. "We're just glad it's over," he said. Then she did another 180 and ran over him a third time. Lindsey testified against her stepmother, claiming she told her to stop the vehicle. In the darkened cabin of her stepmothers Mercedes-Benz, Lindsey Harris thought the drama was over for the night. Do you miss David?, At her trial, in February 2003, she testified before a packed courtroom that she did not mean to kill her husband but was only trying to wreck Gails SUV. Only part of the interview was played; the jury heard Clara state that she "wanted to hurt" her husband, but not the portion where she said later in the interview, "I didn't want to kill him." He yelled 'stop' and she didn't. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 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. We went shopping a lot. Harris, who had remained stoic during her verdict on Thursday, slumped in her chair crying as the judge read her sentencing. A police officer who witnessed the crime testified that she ran him over three times, however. 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 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. "We were leaving the hotel and I was looking at David and I noticed all of a sudden his face changed. She told jurors she wanted to save her 10-year marriage after learning of the affair. Suspicious, Clara hired a private detective agency to monitor David, an 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.. display: none; 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. Staring at a photo of her twin boys, Clara bowed her head, her dark brown eyes brimming with tears, and then was escorted away. Perhaps the most powerful witness was David Harris' daughter, 17-year-old Lindsey Harris, who was in Mercedes. #inline-recirc-item--id-92ae5a70-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-92ae5a70-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { 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. Clara Harris was convicted of murdering her cheating husband, David Harris, by running him over with her Mercedes-Benz on July 24. Leona Candy Stevens lying in court to liberate her husband Charles Manson, rich teenager Ethan Couch being released from prison despite murdering four people. "There's no indication that they did call the police. host = host.toLowerCase(); Bridges responded, "The affair was wrong. 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 and David Harris were married on Valentine's Day. By the time they tracked him down at a hotel, Harris was livid. 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. Clara Harris and attorney George Parnham after the first day of testimony in 2003. Mike Hall writes about criminals, musicians, the law, and barbecue. 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. Eventually, Clara and Lindsey stormed back to the Mercedes. David Harris and Bridges entered the hotel lobby hand in hand, Lindsey said. I yelled, 'Stop it, you're killing him.' Go the other way,'" an emotional Lindsey Harris remembered in the courtroom. Over the next five years, she was turned down three more times. Here's how. It was an accident.". Then, learn about rich teenager Ethan Couch being released from prison despite murdering four people. Inside the Bro-tastic Party Mansions Upending a Historic Austin Community, Sex, Threats, and Late-Night Phone Calls: The Allegations From Inside Jolanda Joness Legislative Office, Texass Big Ranches Are Still Selling for Big Bucks, The Campaign to Sabotage Texass Public Schools, Forty Years Later, Wrongfully Convicted James Reyos Has Another Day in Court. They were victims twice over, they said. 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. "She ran over him the first time, then two more times. "That forced Harris' lawyers to tell jurors not to believe their own eyes but to believe the defense theory that the whole thing was an accident.". Her attorney explained what was in the report, using the consultant as an expert witness on the stand. She confronted the lovers in the hotel lobby and brawled with Bridges before returning to her car. CBSNews.com Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen says Texas showed too much mercy towards the Mercedes Muderess. Harris' lawyer George Parnham had requested probation, saying the Harrises' twin sons need their mother, whom he described as "a good mother and a good wife.". //-->. }, First published on February 13, 2003 / 3:16 PM. Garza asked Bridges. "In conjunction with Clara Harris, their acts contributed (to) or caused the death of David Harris," said John Davis, an attorney for Lindsey Harris. Lindsey Burke Harris (born November 19, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Houston Dash of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Harris played for the Tar Heels of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 2012 to 2016, redshirting during her freshman year. Clara suddenly gunned the engine and raced toward them. With her stepdaughter in the car, she ran over him three times and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. (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.) 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! ", She also scoffed at Parnham's statement about keeping the boys with "the last parent they have on Earth.". And I went to look at the direction, and then we saw her," Bridges said. "(Clara) went right through (a hotel employee) and straight for my dad. I was yelling, 'Stop, don't do that. The trial is expected to go on through this week as defense lawyers present their case. Perhaps the most powerful witness was David Harris' daughter, 17-year-old Lindsey Harris, who was in Mercedes. David Harris' father, mother and brother "don't want those boys ripped away from the last parent that they have on this Earth," Parnham said. "I couldn't believe he could sleep holding her all night because we had never slept like that never," she testified. Clara was found guilty of murdering her husband. She and Lindsey got into Harris silver S-Class 430 Mercedes-Benz and waited. Accompanying her was Davids sixteen-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, Lindsey, who was visiting from Ohio, where she lived with her mother. 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. Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell case: A timeline of events David had been married once before and had a daughter named Lindsey, and Harris loved the young girl like her own. display: none; "She said, 'I'm so sorry. Harris slumped into her chair as the sentence was read. Without warning, she stomped on the accelerator and went straight for my Dad, testified Lindsey, 17, at Harris murder trial Wednesday. A book titled Out of Control was written by Steven Long about the case. Join Facebook to connect with Lyndsey Harris and others you may know. Copyright 2011 by Click2Houston.com. Prosecutors say Harris, bent on avenging her husbands adultery, used her car as a murder weapon. 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. At her parole hearing this past October, he brought her two sons, who were then nineteen years old and attending universities in Texas. Get a 42-inch oscillating fan for 15% off with this deal. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Please enter valid email address to continue. Though Harris had hired a private detective to tail her husband that night, she and Lindsey set out to do their own surveillance. 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, Lucretia was born about 1795. 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. "Suddenly, I thought about smashing my car against her car and then I (picked) up speed.". I hit her because I knew that she had killed my Dad, said Lindsey. Generator vs power station: Which one is right for you? One time she wrote about sports. It was an accident. The prosecutor lowered her voice to almost a whisper as she made her final points. 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. "He was really scared. Hotel employees escorted Clara to her Mercedes-Benz sedan. Clara, who had been tipped off to Davids whereabouts by a private investigator she had hired, went berserk. Jurors deliberated for eight hours over two days before reaching the verdict. "And at that point I knew I had to focus on her.". When David Harris wasnt at the steakhouse, Lindsey drove her stepmothers car -- with Clara Harris in the passenger seat -- to Bridges house, then to a hotel and two other restaurants the couple had frequented. "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. They saw David and Gail heading to Gails SUV in a different part of the parking lot. "I wasn't sure if what I was seeing was real," said one tearful witness, Chris Junco. "'She killed my dad. He pointed out that even David Harris' parents and brother had testified on Clara Harris' behalf. She always said that David called Lindsey his angel and now David is her angel. Clara Harris had it all. David Lynn Harris was an American orthodontist who owned a chain of offices along with his wife, Clara Suarez Harris. The chain was particularly successful, and the couple was able to afford an upscale home and lifestyle in Friendswood, Texas. The settlement terms are confidential, said attorney John A. Davis Jr., who represented Lindsey Harris. "What did your dad do?" Two of them cried as state District Judge Carol Davies read it in court. Bridges said she never saw this coming because Clara knew of their affair and David told his mistress he was leaving his wife. } This is Dr. David Harris and hes fing this woman right here!. Generator vs power station: Which one is right for you? You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Instead, the jury said Harris should be fined and sentenced to prison at the upper limit of the sentencing guidelines for the special circumstance. Lindsey was upset with her father. "Your verdict will in part tell her what she went through was worth it," Magness said. 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. But she denied trying to run him down and said she didn't recall hitting him. This time, Harris got in on the drivers side. 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 "It's hard to tell. "Well, she ought not to be given credit for making herself a single parent," Magness said. Recalling the day of the accident, Clara Harris wept as she said "everything seemed like a dream." Back then she declined. Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. 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. "I think that speaks volumes to what this jury should do," Parnham said. "She stepped on the accelerator and went He went to church and loved Clara, she said. On Thursday, jurors found Harris, 45, guilty of murder for repeatedly running over her 44-year-old orthodontist husband with her car. As part of a prison program, she learned braille and worked several hours a day translating school textbooks into braille. She then cradled her husband and told him she was sorry and loved him, according to The New York Times. [10] However, she was granted parole in November 2017. Click Here to try 4 Free Trial Issues of Time! A hotel employee tried to stop them. She said she has been seeing a therapist, is taking medication and that her leg -- hit by Clara Harris' car -- still bothers her. 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. So she will walk out of prison in about 10 years or so (with time off for good behavior and parole)," says Cohen. "I knew she had killed my dad," Lindsey Harris testified. She got out and saw her husband lying on the pavement, blood streaming from his ears and mouth. Clara Suarez, a Colombian immigrant, was named "Mrs Colombia Houston" and worked as a dentist. During his half-hour closing, Parnham also focused on Harris' twin sons and how they need their mother. Prosecutors called a half-dozen witnesses who said they watched in disbelief as Harris ran over her husband at least twice. David Harris' 16-year-old daughter - Clara Harris' stepdaughter - was in the passenger seat of the car at the time. The two began working to repair their marriage, and David Harris even told a friend, Were going to make it. He then informed his wife that he wanted to take Bridges to one last dinner to end things amicably, as he had led the receptionist to believe that his marriage was open. Garza asked Bridges. I'm so sorry. "(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. The death came a week after David Harris confessed to his nearly three-month affair with Bridges. 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. She confronted the lovers in the hotel lobby and brawled with Bridges before returning to her car. David Harris was enamored. Its time to forgive her and let her move on.. Texas Jails Are Crowded, Understaffed, and Dangerous. Clara Harris stood stoically as the verdict was read, her lawyer's arms around her. "Harris gets 20 years for Mercedes murder", A Wife Betrayed Finds Sympathy at Murder Trial, "Private Investigators, Police Testify at Dentist's Trial", "Trial in Killing of Orthodontist Goes to Jury", "Victim's Daughter Testifies at Murder-by-Car Trial", "Clara Harris denied parole in husband's death", "Clara Harris, infamous Houston dentist who ran over husband, released from prison", "Clara Harris released from prison after 15 years", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murder_of_David_Lynn_Harris&oldid=1145070527, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 17 March 2023, at 03:41.
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