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." Victim's Daughter Testifies at Murder-by-Car Trial When David Harris wed Colombian-born beauty queen Clara Suarez in a Valentines Day 1992 ceremony befitting royalty at the Nassau Bay Hilton Hotel, he had no way of knowing his loving bride would end his life here some 10 years later. As the naughty couple approached Gails car, the Blue Moon detective tasked with capturing the marital indiscretions of David was shocked as he witnessed, through the lens of his video camera, Clara behind the wheel of her Mercedes-Benz, speeding toward the other womans car in a direct path toward the husband. Her stepmother ran to them and began slapping Bridges and ripping her shirt, she added. But then, on the last day of testimony, the prosecution produced a rebuttal witness who directly contradicted Irwin's theory. View the profiles of people named Lynsey Harris. Lindsey C. Harris - Association of Jungian Analysts Clara suddenly gunned the engine and raced toward them. Im so sorry, she was heard saying over and over. Yet they say they have forgiven Dr. Harris and in court today described an unblemished marriage that was, in Mildred Harris's words, ''made in heaven. How Did James Dean Die? Theres An App for That. George Wong/Getty ImagesClara Harris and attorney George Parnham after the first day of testimony in 2003. 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. Clara Harris discusses her crime, years in prison - Chron 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. Her sons went to live with another couple who had been close friends with Clara and David. Leave them blank to get signed up. The man was a bully and terrible husband, he broke her spirit, soul and eventually her mind. '', Youth Who Saw Killing Says Stepmother 'Stomped' Accelerator and 'Went for' Father, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/30/us/youth-who-saw-killing-says-stepmother-stomped-accelerator-and-went-for-father.html. Garza asked Bridges. Click a location below to find Lindsey more easily. Though Harris had hired a private detective to tail her husband that night, she and Lindsey set out to do their own surveillance. Facebook gives people the power to. Before long, however, she and David began having an affair. Bridges was very afraid of the television cameras. On Jan. 5, two weeks before the trial, the defense team convened 20 people as a mock jury. Murder Defendant's In-Laws Tell Jurors Why They Remain Her Strongest He went to church and loved Clara, she said. "You b, he's my husband!" Harris shouted before slapping Bridges. 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. The Harris parents agreed with a suggestion by a defense lawyer, George Parnham, that Clara Harris had always been a truthful and law-abiding person. You b, hes my husband! Harris shouted before slapping Bridges. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. Bridges then walked to her car with David following. The defense had a setback when the judge ruled that their computer simulation was inadmissible because it was dramatized. Accompanying her was Davids sixteen-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, Lindsey, who was visiting from Ohio, where she lived with her mother. Clara Harris dream of being a successful dentist came true when she opened her own practice in 1993. As she listened to her stepdaughter's testimony, Clara Harris began crying. 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. A 2016 parole request was also denied. What very few people knew was that Clara was a model prisoner. When the verdict came, it was what Parnham had feared: The jury found Harris guilty of murder. She thought her car was going to stop on the high sidewalk, she said, but instead it kept going. But in cross-examination, Parnham got them to admit they couldn't see clearly. Her actions, in the years leading up to the event, indicate she did everything she possibly could to save her marriage and preserve her family. Attorneys for Lindsey Harris filed a lawsuit Thursday, naming Blue Moon Investigations and the Hilton Nasa Clear Lake, Nasa Road 1, in Nassau Bay. David Harris is on Facebook. He and Gail both contributed to the situation. Harris' Stepdaughter Sues Hotel, Detective Agency - KPRC Why Does He Get to Make That Call? Im thinking about pulling a Clara Harris, a woman would say with a laugh after learning her husband had done something really stupid. Harris already knew about the affair when she hired Blue Moon Investigations, a private detective agency, in July 2002. Lindsey Harris in Florida. Then she went inside looking for David. Clara, who had been tipped off to Davids whereabouts by a private investigator she had hired, went berserk. She was led from the courtroom, and the trial was recessed for 15 minutes. Today, they had the chance to explain why. Ashok Moza, who was playing tennis at the yacht club next to the hotel on the evening David Harris died, testified that he heard squealing tires as he went to retrieve a ball. 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. They had hidden from her, and she was upset by that.'' "I thought: so they're going together in her car, and so my thought was stopping that car.". Copyright 2023 Click2Houston.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. Skip Hollandsworth specializes in long-form narratives. According to her testimony on Jan. 29, she screamed. Gideon Lindsey Harris, who went by the name of Lin or Lindsey, was born December 12, 1813 in Wilson County, Tennessee on his father's farm off the south bank of the Cumberland River. What more could anyone want? 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. Daniel Vaughn is the countrys first barbecue editor, and he has eaten more barbecue than you have. ''We could talk to each other because we both loved David,'' she said in testimony that began with her smiling broadly at the jury. Accompanying her was David's. That would change sometime in June 2002, when Clara hired the services of Blue Moon Investigations. 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. Most of all, mind your own damned business. She has no history of trouble with the law or of misbehavior I need society. 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. View the profiles of professionals named "David Harris" on LinkedIn. Murder Defendant's In-Laws Tell Jurors Why They Remain Her Strongest Supporters, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/11/us/murder-defendant-s-in-laws-tell-jurors-why-they-remain-her-strongest-supporters.html. And she was not going to do anything to jeopardize her chance of getting parole so she could someday be with them.. She said she has been seeing a therapist, is taking medication and that her leg -- hit by Clara Harris' car -- still bothers her. A police officer who witnessed the crime testified that she ran him over three times, however. 20 years was extremely unfair. Lawsuit by Clara Harris' children settled - Chron 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. 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. Nancy Kissel was in love with a man in Vermont, but she was living the life of an expat in Hong Kong with her husband Robert Kisseluntil she killed him. Prosecutors say Harris, bent on avenging her husband's adultery, used her car as a murder. Some argued yes, it was murdereven first degree murder that warranted the death penalty. She screamed. 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. This is a sad story all around. She said she felt a bump as the car ran over her father. Gerald Harris, a former school principal who later directed the transportation division of a school district before he retired, said his son was a good husband and a good father to their young twin boys. Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly. With her stepdaughter in the car, she ran over him three times and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. 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. She lost everything because of what he put her through. Mike Hall writes about criminals, musicians, the law, and barbecue. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? ''He provided well,'' Mr. Harris testified. "We were leaving the hotel and I was looking at David and I noticed all of a sudden his face changed. (According to Stouwie, the company that runs the prison braille program has asked Harris to keep working once she returns to Houston. David Harris was enamored. "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.". HubPages is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. When he landed, it was approximately 30 feet from where he had been standing only seconds before. She said she remembered driving around in circles, "confused," with no conscious thoughts going through her mind. Her first outburst, on Tuesday, occurred when a medical examiner gave details of the crushing injuries her husband had suffered. Lindsey Harris (723 matches): Phone Number, Email, Address (2 - Spokeo In the darkened cabin of her stepmothers Mercedes-Benz, Lindsey Harris thought the drama was over for the night. David had been married once before and had a daughter named Lindsey, and Harris loved the young girl like her own. Clara Harris was granted parole in November 2017, and she was ultimately released in May of 2018. "This was an unfortunate tragedy and it did not have to end this way," Bridges said. 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. David Harris's father, however, refused to agree with Ms. Magness that Clara Harris's behavior in the days leading up to the confrontation at the hotel was anything unreasonable. All the while, Lindsey sat screaming at her stepmother from the Mercedes passenger side; begging Clara to stop. The teenager testified that a week earlier her stepmother had told her, "With all he's done to me, I could kill him and get away with it." Are insane ticket costs pricing Astros fans out of Opening Day? . Then, all of a sudden, she said, she saw her husband in front of her, running. ''I don't know what you are trying to get me to say,'' Ms. Harris said, her smile gone. Harris David is on Facebook. 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. ''She had killed him.''. In 2003 Harris was again involved in court action over the custody of her and David Harris's two young twin sons. Clara was first eligible for parole in 2012, but she was turned down. I wish Clara would have been stronger, but unfortunately she wasn't . ''Someone said he liked playing Santa Claus.''. However, the defense had another problem: a videotape shot by a private detective Harris had hired after her husband admitted the affair. The tape did not capture the moment of initial impact, but it showed Harris' Mercedes driving in circles afterward, lurching over what prosecutors were saying was her husband's body. In the end, Galveston County probate judge Gladys Burwell ruled Davids three children would receive almost $2 million each, while Clara was allowed to retain roughly $1.2 million in assets. ''Sometimes I think she loved him too much,'' the victim's mother said. Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. "If you had anything to say to Clara, what would it be?" Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002. Clara Harris was sentenced to 20 years in prison but only served 15. When Clara finally stopped the car, she got out, looked around, walked toward her dead husband, cradled him in her arms, and begged him to breathe. On the stand, Harris gave an account similar to the videotaped one that had been so effective with the mock jury. Looking up, he saw a Mercedes ''bumping over an object,'' he said. 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 will at some point be transferred to a maximum-security prison to serve out the rest of her term. One of the English tabloids nicknamed Clara The Driller Killer. In Houston, it was the story of the year. But, he said, she insisted on testifying. Harris is currently in a psychiatric prison 140 miles north of Houston. She said at no point did she intend to kill her husband. Not to mention destroying so many other lives. David Lindsay Harris - The Law Society The 44-year-old Colombian had moved to America in the 1980s and opened her own successful dentistry practice. As part of a prison program, she learned braille and worked several hours a day translating school textbooks into braille. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. Lindsey Harris, 17, David Harris's daughter by his first marriage, was in the passenger seat of the car that killed her father. Hirschhorn advised Parnham that the perfect juror would be an empathetic woman, not one who would be "jealous or judgmental of other women," and preferably who had been in a relationship where her spouse cheated on her. The investigators Harris had hired happened to record the entire ordeal on video, which was entered into evidence. I wrote a long article about her, titled Suburban Madness, for Texas Monthly. "I told him 'look, look what she done,'" Bridges said. Lindsey was already crying when she reached her dying father, and Harris soon joined in. Join Facebook to connect with Harris David and others you may know. However, Irwin, the accident reconstructionist, still managed to make a persuasive case that Harris only ran into her husband once. She suffered plenty without going to prison. Although Davids parents and brother had testified during the sentencing phase of the trial they had forgiven Clara for murdering their son and brother, they too filed suit against the estate; including Brian and Bradley as petitioners in their claim. . A Right-wing Cabal Took Over Odessas Municipal Government. According to her testimony on Jan. 29, she screamed repeatedly at her stepmother to stop as the car rushed toward her father. Los Angeles, This fabled orchid breeder loves to chat just not about Trader Joes orchids. Yes, the twins acknowledged, they had lost their father, but at the same time they had lost their mother, whom they loved deeply. Its been reported they regularly visit their mother at the Mountain View womens prison in Gatesville, Texas. Mock Jurors Find Harris Account Convincing. Clara had a lucrative practice as a dentist, while Davids specialty was orthodontics. 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. Instead, the lawsuit said, the company should have followed its own policy and waited a day to provide that information. ''I know that he was trying to get away and he couldn't.''. "A lot of women would say, 'I don't feel sorry for (you) because (you were) going out with a married man,'" Garza said. 11/21/2022 8:44 AM. David pushed her to the brink of insanity. Youth Who Saw Killing Says Stepmother 'Stomped' Accelerator and 'Went 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 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. It's highly unlikely Clara was not "aware" of her husband's cheating ways. 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.". Solicitor - non-practising Admitted as a solicitor: 15/10/82. At the trial, Lindsey Harris testified against her stepmother, claiming to have attempted suicide four times after her father's death. In November, Claras application for parole was granted, and her release date was set for May 11. 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? Lindsey Harris - Partner - Kirkland & Ellis | ZoomInfo Local radio stations gave breathless updates. ''You could hear a car going round, hard.''. She and Lindsey got into Harris silver S-Class 430 Mercedes-Benz and waited. Did Gail Katz run away from her tumultuous marriage or did her husband, Dr. Bob Bierenbaum, kill her then use his plane to dump her body? In her rebuttal, an assistant district attorney, Mia Magness, cited witnesses' testimony that Clara Harris had lied about one of her twins being sick to persuade her husband to return home on the day he died; that she had trespassed on Ms. Bridges's property; that she had vandalized Ms. Bridges's Lincoln Navigator; and that she had assaulted Ms. Bridges in the hotel lobby shortly before her husband was killed. Dr Harris joined the School of Social and Political Sciences in September 2019 having previously held a number of key academic . In his cross-examination, Parnham did not question her account, but mentioned that Lindsey was suing her stepmother for a share of her father's multimillion-dollar estate. David Harris was gasping for air, making gurgling sounds and his limbs were drawing close to his body, similar to those of stroke victims, she testified. There are no words to justify David's infidelity. 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. He openly flirted with women everywhere he went, even showing his wife notes scribbled by waitresses at Hooters. Gail Bridges stood watching, too stunned to move. (Photo By Carlos Antonio Rios/Chronicle) Clara Harris Clara and David Harris Clara and David Harris Right up until the last moment, the defense was divided over whether Harris should take the stand to defend herself. Lindsey Harris's Phone Number and Email Last Update. Join Facebook to connect with David Harris and others you may know. 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. Lindsey Harris, along with her mother (David's first wife), quickly filed suit against Clara Harris in hopes of claiming David's insurance proceeds and inheriting his portion of the estate. In the heat of the moment, she went on to say, she didnt even know she had run over David. Harris David - Facebook ''He was really scared,'' she said, describing her father as Clara Harris's Mercedes raced toward him. 1 Lindsey Harris ER 2006 Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10. Jeff Moore, chief of investigations for Blue Moon, said company officials are "very pleased" with the outcome. They should've paroled her the first time she was up for parole. Days of Our Lives (DOOL) spoilers tease that Steve Burton is all set to reprise his role as Harris Michaels, so let's talk about his first airdate back and mull over some shockers related to his character.. Burton debuted on DOOL as Harris way back in 1988, so it was a fun surprise when he brought the character to life once again last summer on Beyond Salem's second installment. When it was over, the young girl was traumatized and frightened for her own life. David Harris | Facebook Things spun out of control for Joy and she fled the country. Friends and family of David Harris publicly criticized the ruling. Her husband had confessed to her on July 17, and Harris had confronted Bridges at the orthodontics office that same day, telling her she was fired. She did not know David was dead until Lindsey, David's daughter who was in the car with her stepmother, approached her. YouTubeDavid and Clara Harris were married for ten years before she killed him in a fit of rage. Skeptical that he would do so, Lindsey accompanied her stepmother that day on her quest to find her husband, whom they believed to be with Ms. Bridges. When asked to choose from a list of possible verdicts, most of the mock jurors chose criminally negligent homicide. And I went to look at the direction, and then we saw her," Bridges said. She was reprimanded by Judge Carole G. Davies, the second time in two days her sobbing stopped the hearing. Lindsey Harris - Director, Marketing - CPS Solutions | ZoomInfo Resides in Chicago, IL. He conceded that David Harris's relationship with Gail Bridges, 39, a receptionist in his dental practice, was not proper. Join Facebook to connect with David Harris and others you may know. A few books have been written about Clara Harris, but the best one is Steven Long's Out of Control, published in 2004. Prosecutors, however, went after her, saying she knew exactly what she was doing in that Hilton parking lot. Lindsey Harris, Florida (66 matches): Phone Number, Email, Address - Spokeo The two women went to a number of restaurants and hotels, until they were alerted by a private detective Clara Harris had hired the previous day that Dr. Harris and Ms. Bridges were at the Hilton. 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. As Dr. Clara Harris sits in court every day, her staunchest supporters are the parents of her husband, the man she is accused of killing with her Mercedes-Benz. This is Dr. David Harris and hes fing this woman right here!. 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. Chip Gaines Bought Larry McMurtrys Historic Texas Bookstore. But then, to his horror, the judge read the jury's sentence: 20 years. It seemed that life was perfect and complete for the Harris family. Parnham was relieved; he believed the jury would recommend something close to the two-year minimum. ''I love her very much,'' Mildred Harris, beaming toward her daughter-in-law, said this morning from the witness stand shortly before the defense rested its case. 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. Her trial began the following February. The Shocking Story Of Clara Harris, The Woman Who Killed Her Cheating Husband With Her Mercedes. That was when she struck me on my leg with the vehicle," the mistress said. 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. The trial started off well for the defense team. 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.