Harris defense attorney George Parnham urged her not to take the stand for fear she would incriminate herself. document.write('Saturday, February 15, 2003 Posted: 11:37 AM HKT (0337 GMT)
<\/span>'); Staring at a photo of her twin boys, Clara bowed her head, her dark brown eyes brimming with tears, and then was escorted away. 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. Lucretia was born about 1795. display: block; 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. David Harris, a suburban Houston orthodontist, died July 24 after Clara Harris car struck him. "She stepped on the accelerator and went Clara Harris, a Colombian immigrant, was named "Mrs Colombia Houston" and worked as a dentist. Bridges spoke to News2Houston in an exclusive interview Thursday. Bridges says that's when Harris came back around and hit David then ran over him repeatedly. (According to Stouwie, the company that runs the prison braille program has asked Harris to keep working once she returns to Houston. WebLindsey Burke Harris (born November 19, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper. It felt different. Obviously, he hadnt. Her husband later opened Space Center Orthodontics outside of Houston. David Harris told his daughter that he felt neglected by his wife after the birth of their twin boys three years earlier. "It's hard to tell. 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. Click Here to try 4 Free Trial Issues of Time! They seemed like the perfect family but on July 24, 2002, Harris fatally ran over her husband with her car. Lindsey Harris filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her stepmother and was awarded about $2 million from her father's estate, as were her half brothers. Clara and Lindsey walked into the lobby just as David and his office receptionist, Gail Bridges, were emerging from an elevator. On Friday, one of Texass most notorious killers, Clara Harris, was released from prison. Harris agreed, but she secretly hired a private investigator to follow them to dinner and ensure her husband ended the relationship. On the evening of July 24, 2002, Harris received a devastating call from the investigator. The same nine-woman, three-man jury deliberated about eight hours before returning the murder conviction. Clara Harris dream of being a successful dentist came true when she opened her own practice in 1993. 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. The chain was particularly successful, and the couple was able to afford an upscale home and lifestyle in Friendswood, Texas. She and Lindsey got into Harris silver S-Class 430 Mercedes-Benz and waited. 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. Henrys will was recorded in Warren County, North Carolina in May, 1838. ", She also scoffed at Parnham's statement about keeping the boys with "the last parent they have on Earth.". 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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. (My dad) had his hands in front of the car. A total of three times," Lindsey concluded. A book titled Out of Control was written by Steven Long about the case. 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. 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.. Harris played for the Tar Heels of the 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 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. She was denied parole in her first attempt on April 11, 2013, by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. David Harris was enamored. Prosecutor Mia Magness, however, said Harris was using her sons as a "shield" to gain probation. Get a 42-inch oscillating fan for 15% off with this deal. She told jurors she wanted to save her 10-year marriage after learning of the affair. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. They said they had come to the prison every month for the last fifteen years, without fail, to visit their mother. Most Facebook users can now claim settlement money. She then cradled her husband and told him she was sorry and loved him, according to The New York Times. After a three-week trial, Clara Harris was found guilty on Feb. 14, 2003. She wasnt saying anything. Whether youre shopping Way Day 2023 or Walmart, theres an al fresco set for you. A symbol of her American success story, the luxury car soon became a murder weapon. They had twin sons named Brian and Bradley in 1998. Sheriff says Texas shooting suspect "could be anywhere now" "He once told me that he would like to spend the rest of his life with me, and he did," Bridges said. David and Clara Harris were married for ten years before she killed him in a fit of rage. Every waking moment, she thought about those boys. The Legislature Is Poised to Send Them More Inmates. And I went to look at the direction, and then we saw her," Bridges said. Harris knew her husband was being unfaithful and hired a private investigation agency to follow him, as reported by ABC News. Garza asked. Without warning, she stomped on the accelerator and went straight for my Dad, testified Lindsey, 17, at Harris murder trial Wednesday. Harris sons visited her at the Mountain View Unit prison in Gainesville, Texas, every month. Harris slumped into her chair as the sentence was read. She said her stepmother made the remark just after finding him with Bridges. Lindsey was already crying when she reached her dying father, and Harris soon joined in. Granted parole in November 2017, Harris was released from prison at 8:20 a.m. on May 11, 2018. The 2023 NFL Draft runs April 2729 live from Kansas City, Missouri. The woman who ran down her philandering husband with a Mercedes-Benz after catching him with his mistress was convicted of murder Thursday by a jury that rejected her claim she was aiming for his lover's car. 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! 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. Henry married his first cousin, Lucretia Riggan, the daughter of Ann Harris and Francis Riggan, on December 12, 1819. They saw David and Gail heading to Gails SUV in a different part of the parking lot. Clara Harris tried to control the damage by making herself real pretty so Dad would want her and not Gail, said Lindsey. "Soon after that, it all turned into massive turmoil, and the only thing that I could do was to yell for help for someone to please, please get her off of me.". Her sons went to live with another couple who had been close friends with Clara and David. Clara Harris stood stoically as the verdict was read, her lawyer's arms around her. 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. "If you had anything to say to Clara, what would it be?" I hit her because I knew that she had killed my Dad, said Lindsey. 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. HOUSTON Gail Bridges had been having an affair with Clara Harris' husband, David, for months -- an affair Clara says drove her to kill her husband. After it was over, Clara Harris led Lindsey to the Mercedes. The couple married on February 14, 1992, at the Nassau Bay Hilton, and were raising three children, twin sons born in 1998 and David's daughter Lindsey from a previous marriage. He was trying to get away but couldnt., Harris was expressionless as she steered the car over a concrete median, then circled around the lot, said Lindsey. Since it only showed Harris circling the parking lot, and since David was barely visible, the defense argued she only hit him once. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Wildfires in Anchorage? 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. Two dodged right, she said, but her husband moved left, toward her approaching Mercedes. Clara was first eligible for parole in 2012, but she was turned down. 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. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. "And at that point I knew I had to focus on her.". In November, Claras application for parole was granted, and her release date was set for May 11. She was in the car with her stepmother when her father was killed. Originally sentenced to twenty years for first-degree murder, the former Houston dentist has been paroled. Clara Harris was convicted Thursday of murder by the jury that rejected her claim she was aiming for his lover's car. 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. Two of them cried as state District Judge Carol Davies read it in court. Leona Candy Stevens lying in court to liberate her husband Charles Manson, rich teenager Ethan Couch being released from prison despite murdering four people. "She stepped on the accelerator and went Its daily. He was pronounced dead at 9:48 p.m. and Clara Harris was charged with murder. Clara and David Harris were married on Valentine's Day. Prosecutors, however, went after her, saying she knew exactly what she was doing in that Hilton parking lot. 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. She urged prison time, though she made no specific recommendation about the length of a sentence. "They did not specifically have procedures and proper training to train their employees in how to deal with these situations," Webber said. The person at the front desk told them that neither David Harris nor Bridges was registered with the hotel. Legendary singer Nina Simones granddaughter accused Vice President Kamala Harris of causing the family to lose control of Simone's estate while Harris was California attorney general. 111. 66 Join Insider Sign In Two of them cried as state District Judge Carol Davies read it in court. 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. She always said that David called Lindsey his angel and now David is her angel. She said Harris' boys would be provided for and they would adjust and survive, "because that's what children do. Published in 2004 by St. Martin's Paperbacks, the book follows the story of the murder and the reasons behind it. "I couldn't believe he could sleep holding her all night because we had never slept like that never," she testified. Garza asked Bridges. Hotel employees escorted Clara to her Mercedes-Benz sedan. [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. Lindsey testified that Harris ran over her father three times. He went to church and loved Clara, she said. Taylor Prewitt is the newsletter editor for Texas Monthly. } else { Claras application for parole was granted, Why These Ugly, Abandoned Longview Homes May Be Worth Saving. "She ran over him the first time, then two more times. Around Houston, she became a pop culture reference. "What I want you to think about is what, based on all of the evidence in this case, what would David want?". When Clara went towards them, Clara said, 'I'm going to hit him.' She was incarcerated at the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas,[8] where she converted school textbooks to Braille for blind students. This post has been updated since publication to correct an error: the minimum punishment for intentional murder is five years, not twenty years. Skip Hollandsworth specializes in long-form narratives. Lindsey Harris filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her [10] However, she was granted parole in November 2017. } 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. She testified that Clara was furious that David was having an affair and determined to catch him in the 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. "(Clara) went right through (a hotel employee) and straight for my dad. Clara Harris said many of the events were a "dream" to her. Claras goal was to get paroled so she could be reunited with her sons, Emily Detoto, one of her original defense attorneys, told me. 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. "She stepped on the accelerator and went straight for him," Lindsey Harris told jurors. She's also suing the detective agency that followed him, She testified anyway, and Parnham subsequently passed out from tremendous stress in the courthouse hallway and had to be hospitalized. Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell case: A timeline of events She then brought up David Harris' daughter, Lindsey, and began crying as she spoke. //-->. College career. He came up with a new strategy.