Silently, Harris put the car in reverse and began to drive out of the hotel parking lot. Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. She was in her 40s when she was arrested. "If you had anything to say to Clara, what would it be?" 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. Clara Harris still rotting in prison is a waste of taxpayer money. However, the defense had another problem: a videotape shot by a private detective Harris had hired after her husband admitted the affair. In 2003 Harris was again involved in court action over the custody of her and David Harris's two young twin sons. 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. Harris defense attorney George Parnham urged her not to take the stand for fear she would incriminate herself. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. As Assistant District Attorney Mia Magness led Lindsey through the moments leading to her father's death, she kept her composure, her voice quivering occasionally. The 44-year-old orthodontist was tragically already gone. 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.". Harris cried through much of the testimony, and the defense team assured Primetime her emotions had not been rehearsed. She always said that David called Lindsey his angel and now David is her angel. ''In 10 years, he never had a negative thing to say about Clara. Once she discovered the couple's whereabouts, Clara Harris called the family's nanny at home and told her to put some of her husband's business clothes on the porch and to throw everything else away, Lindsey said. Facebook gives people the power. ''What David did outside his marriage was a tragic mistake, and what Clara did was a tragic mistake,'' he said. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. They saw David and Gail heading to Gails SUV in a different part of the parking lot. By the time she saw him, it was too late to stop and she hit him by accident, lifting his body onto the Mercedes' hood. I have followed the story since the beginning, and I my feelings are still the same. Eventually, Clara and Lindsey stormed back to the Mercedes. David Harris, a suburban Houston orthodontist, died July 24 after Clara Harris' car struck him. 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. In 2004 Harris also sued her attorney, George Parnham, who had represented her at trial, claiming he overcharged her and misused her . Her friends have told me she is worried that people she meets will realize who she is and back away. They should've paroled her the first time she was up for parole. Why Does He Get to Make That Call? Harris sons visited her at the Mountain View Unit prison in Gainesville, Texas, every month. Its free. 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. "We were leaving the hotel and I was looking at David and I noticed all of a sudden his face changed. ''I don't know what you are trying to get me to say,'' Ms. Harris said, her smile gone. During the interview, Harris, dressed in prison-issued white drawstring pants and smock, talked about the work with Braille she does with 60. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. 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. She suffered plenty without going to prison. When he landed, it was approximately 30 feet from where he had been standing only seconds before. Parnham was relieved; he believed the jury would recommend something close to the two-year minimum. David Harris was a narcissist who bullied his wife into believing she wasn't good enough. She said she felt a bump as the car ran over her father. That was when she struck me on my leg with the vehicle," the mistress said. The witness, a police accident expert, displayed a crime scene photograph showing a tire mark pointing directly toward David Harris's body possible evidence that he had been run over more than once. 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. David Harris is on Facebook. She should not have been given 20 years. Not to mention destroying so many other lives. While their marriage seemed perfect from the outside, David Harris began an affair with his receptionist Gail Bridges in the spring of 2002, as reported by CBS News. Solicitor - non-practising Admitted as a solicitor: 15/10/82. 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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Join Facebook to connect with David Harris and others you may know. Accompanying her was Davids sixteen-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, Lindsey, who was visiting from Ohio, where she lived with her mother. 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.". Harris already knew about the affair when she hired Blue Moon Investigations, a private detective agency, in July 2002. Her behavior was erratic and her speech loud and angry as she demanded to know which room her husband and his mistress were in. His close buddies call him, "Val." "I thought: so they're going together in her car, and so my thought was stopping that car.". 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. A Harris County, Texas, jury would have the official and final say. 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? 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. "He once told me that he would like to spend the rest of his life with me, and he did," Bridges said. 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. '', 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. Mock Jurors Find Harris Account Convincing. 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. Next time, make a comment of some substance or utter something interesting regarding the article. 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. She and her future husband met as colleagues at the Castle Dental Center in 1991. He said Burwell probably will discuss the settlement with the parties before the end of July. Facebook gives people the power to. Prosecutors, however, went after her, saying she knew exactly what she was doing in that Hilton parking lot. Texas Department of CorrectionsClara Harris was sentenced to 20 years in prison but only served 15. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Click a location below to find Lindsey more easily. But then, on the last day of testimony, the prosecution produced a rebuttal witness who directly contradicted Irwin's theory. Through it all, however, Clara Harris only wanted people to know the truth about what really happened the night she murdered her husband. 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. When asked how many times, he said twice. '', ''She wasn't sorry,'' Lindsey testified. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The worst was yet to come, however. Because of her criminal record, she can no longer practice dentistry.) Apparently, some members of Davids family had written letters to the parole board declaring that Clara didnt deserve mercythat she should at least serve her full twenty-year sentence and be released in 2023. He clearly did not make them a priority. Before long, however, she and David began having an affair. When he walked outside, his wife did precisely that, sending him flying 25 feet across the parking lot. On the evening of July 24, 2002, Harris received a devastating call from the investigator. ''He provided well,'' Mr. Harris testified. Instead of driving out of the parking lot, Harris drove toward Bridges' Lincoln Navigator. 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. Clara Harris dream of being a successful dentist came true when she opened her own practice in 1993. 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. Clara was first eligible for parole in 2012, but she was turned down. Harris is currently in a psychiatric prison 140 miles north of Houston. ''I know that he was trying to get away and he couldn't.''. She stomped on the accelerator and went for him.''. It was not only shocking but IMO, really sad. ''She just had this evil look on her face,'' Lindsey, now 17, said, describing how her stepmother appeared as they drove around for several hours trying to find David Harris, 44, an orthodontist who had told his wife several days earlier that he was having an affair with Gail Bridges, 38, who worked in his office. "What happened when you got off that elevator?" HubPages is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. Inside Edition/YouTubeClara Harris leaving prison on May 11, 2018. I'm so sorry. ''I thought it was maybe a duffle bag or something like that,'' Mr. Moza added. She said her father had told her he would end the affair with Ms. Bridges on July 24. perhaps in a way. 20 years was extremely unfair. 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. And its full of great reads, yall. George Wong/Getty ImagesClara Harris and attorney George Parnham after the first day of testimony in 2003. 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 will at some point be transferred to a maximum-security prison to serve out the rest of her term. Mr. Parnham was a defense lawyer in that case, too. Also known as Lindsey D Clay, Clay Lindsey. Garza asked. Clara struggled to get pregnant; after undergoing fertility treatments, she gave birth to twin boys Brian and Bradley in 1998. Parnham was confident. Clara and Davids twin sons continue to live Texas with Davids parents, Gerald and Mildred Harris. . The Shocking Story Of Clara Harris, The Woman Who Killed Her Cheating Husband With Her Mercedes. When she saw the car, she said, she decided to ram it with her Mercedes. Lindsey was with Harris when she sped off in the direction of the hotel on July 24 to confront her husband. Then she did another 180 and ran over him a third time. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. 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. For his closing argument, Hirschhorn advised Parnham to focus on Bridges as a homewrecker, but not to vilify David Harris as a cheating husband, just a man who made some mistakes. ", Next, the defense team showed the panel a videotape they had made of Harris talking about the night of the killing. Join Facebook to connect with Harris David and others you may know. I never thought hed do something like that to her. 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. In the darkened cabin of her stepmothers Mercedes-Benz, Lindsey Harris thought the drama was over for the night. Mistresses everywhere were warned to take note: next time it could be them. I don't believe she should have been sent to jail for 20 years. Mayor: HISD has two optionsclose school or be taken over, Meet the Astros prospect tearing up Spring Training, Report: Houston ranked No. Although his Clear Lake staff, and even some at the Lake Jackson office, were aware of Davids infidelity, Clara seemingly had no idea. David pushed her to the brink of insanity. This time, a jury had little sympathy for Claras story, and it ordered her to pay $3.75 million in damages. 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 checked local restaurants to see if he was keeping his word, but instead caught him and Bridges coming down from a room at the Nassau Bay Hilton, hand in hand. She had two sons with her orthodontist husband, David Harris. Rich L.A. homeowners are snapping them up, The problem with Pablo Escobars hippos. Fred Tokars knew his wife was ready to divorce him and he feared she'd expose all of his dirty secrets, so he hired one of his clients to make sure she didn't. 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. 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. 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. Her parole requests in April 2013 and September 2016 were denied, but her third request was boosted when her sons argued that they had now lost their mother as well as their father. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. 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. But then, to his horror, the judge read the jury's sentence: 20 years. In 2007, Clara was brought back to Houston for a civil trial to defend herself in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Davids parents. "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.". Last July 24, shortly before Clara Harris, furious that her husband was having an affair, ran over him with her car, killing him, she turned to her 16-year-old stepdaughter in the passenger seat and said she could kill him and get away with it because of what he had done to her, the young woman testified in court today. "A lot of women would say, 'I don't feel sorry for (you) because (you were) going out with a married man,'" Garza said. 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. Creger, who said she was trained in CPR to care for a premature son, tried to help the injured dentist breathe. Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly. The impact threw him about 25 feet, prosecutors said. Theres An App for That. We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. Leona Candy Stevens lying in court to liberate her husband Charles Manson, rich teenager Ethan Couch being released from prison despite murdering four people. Gerald Harris Sr. then defended his son, if not as vehemently. And if God can forgive us of our sins and our mistakes, then why should we not be able to forgive the sins and mistakes of others?''. She'd never seen her stepmother behave this way before. 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. David was declared dead at 9:48 p.m. that evening. ''She was on a mission to find where he was -- she was determined,'' Lindsey testified. In short time, the Harrises were showing signs of success, with an expensive home and high-dollar import vehicles. She was on a mission to find where he was, said Lindsey. On the other, it gave her an opportunity to get closer to her stepmother, from whom she said she had felt distant since the birth of twins to the Harrises in 1998. 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. They were victims twice over, they said. Suzie from Carson City on April 17, 2016: Val..I would agree with you about Clara's reaction & out of control behavior, but as you can see from my comment~ I firmly believe she allowed her husband's infidelity to literally drive her to the brink of insanity. 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. In her turn on the stand, Mildred Harris said she and her daughter-in-law ''were like friends.''. She did not know David was dead until Lindsey, David's daughter who was in the car with her stepmother, approached her. She said she has been seeing a therapist, is taking medication and that her leg -- hit by Clara Harris' car -- still bothers her. 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. ''I'm going to hit him,'' Lindsey quoted Clara Harris, 44, as saying as she drove toward Dr. Harris and Ms. Bridges, who were standing in the parking lot next to Ms. Bridges's car. David Harris told his daughter that he felt neglected by his wife after the birth of their twin boys three years earlier. She ultimately destroyed her own life & lost everything because of the nasty bastard she was married to. Clients were advised to let the investigators do the work and simply wait for the report upon completion. March 6, 2003 -- From the moment he took on the case, defense attorney George Parnham knew that defending Clara Harris would be uphill work. Clara Harris retained $1.2 million in assets. There are 5500+ professionals named "David Harris", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. Granted parole in November 2017, Harris was released from prison at 8:20 a.m. on May 11, 2018. Lindsey opened the door and stuck her feet on the ground, as if she was attempting to escape, according to witnesses, who then saw Clara whip the car around, hit the accelerator again, and drive over her husbands crumpled body a second time. 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. Mimi Swartz is a staff writer based in Houston. "This was an unfortunate tragedy and it did not have to end this way," Bridges said. 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. Her husband drove her to kill him. Who the hell are you, the Name Police? 30 people named Lindsey Harris found in Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, Saginaw-Bay City-Midland and 3 other cities. When it was over, the young girl was traumatized and frightened for her own life. Obviously, he hadnt. But, he said, she insisted on testifying. What followed was a gruesome murder and a controversial legal saga. They were expected to argue that Harris deliberately and repeatedly ran him over. She stood up well to a tough cross-examination by the prosecution, but her testimony allowed them to introduce selected excerpts from her police statement, including her remark that she wanted to hurt her husband. The defense had a setback when the judge ruled that their computer simulation was inadmissible because it was dramatized. David Lindsay Harris. 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. Back then she declined. He came up with a new strategy. I screamed 'No!' Today, they had the chance to explain why. Six months later, all Lindsey knows for sure is that her father is dead, and that her stepmother is to blame. Im so sorry, she was heard saying over and over. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. It seemed that life was perfect and complete for the Harris family. In November, Claras application for parole was granted, and her release date was set for May 11. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Over the years, there were occasional stories in the media about Clara. 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. Dr. Harris pushed Ms. Bridges out of the way before he was hit, his daughter said. Sadly, like too many women, she refused to face this and went into a total denial.This whole story is sad as can be Val..several LIVES destroyed. The defense team also found that some of the women were quick to judge Harris by her appearance. Although she knows she cant disappear, she is going to do her best to stay out of the public eye, said Stouwie. I wish her nothing but the best for the rest of her life. 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. Katy Vine has been a staff writer since 2002. 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. Lindsey Harris's Phone Number and Email Last Update. Her devastation is understandable, but comparing to many broken-hearted women who just leave their cheating husbands, she went to an extreme. 1 Lindsey Harris ER 2006 Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10. ''I felt the bumps,'' she said, making a distinction between the sound of the car going over her father's body and that it made running over a pair of medians. (Photo By Carlos Antonio Rios/Chronicle) Clara Harris Clara and David Harris Clara and David Harris David was consciously and purposely careless with his family. This is a sad story all around. 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. Fire Ants Have Unleashed Chaos in Texas for Decades. Clara suffered from a temporary moment of insanity brought on by sudden passion.