The House on Badger Lane

Summary

Dateline NBC: "The House on Badger Lane"

Podcast Summary – Episode released May 26, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of Dateline NBC, hosted by Lester Holt and narrated by Keith Morrison, explores the tragic events surrounding the death of Jason Harper in Carlsbad, California. What initially appeared to be a picture-perfect family on Badger Lane unraveled into a shocking true-crime case involving hidden secrets, allegations of abuse, legal drama, and two contentious murder trials for his wife, Julie Harper. The episode traces the investigation, the evidence, the emotional trials, and their divergent verdicts, culminating in Julie's ultimate conviction for second-degree murder.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Life on Badger Lane: The Harpers’ Storybook Image

• Jason Harper: Beloved math teacher, volleyball coach, community dad, and "surfer." Described as upbeat, dedicated, and "MVP on the team."

  "He was there every day. Very hands on father." – Michelle Cullen, Neighbor [07:37]

• Julie Harper: Seen as the ‘do-it-all mom,’ deeply involved in neighborhood activities and parenting groups.
• Setting: Tight-knit, friendly neighborhood where neighbors knew and cared for each other.

The Crime Scene: An August Morning Turns Tragic

• Timeline: On August 8, 2012 (per transcripts, though 2015 is also mentioned), neighbors noticed police tape and officers around the Harpers' home.

  "There was crime tape. My house is inside the crime tape." – Michelle Cullen, Neighbor [08:03]

• Police found Jason’s body, hidden under debris in the master bedroom, dead from a gunshot wound. Julie and the children were missing.
• Immediate Investigation: A late-night call from attorney Paul Pfingst prompted a welfare check. Julie and kids were safe; Julie had suddenly become Pfingst’s client.

  "Julie was not a victim. She was his newest client. He arranged the safe return of the children..." – [10:48]

The Investigation: Lifting the Veil of Suburbia

• Financial Moves & Journals: Julie’s journals hinted at marital strife. Evidence was unearthed of cash withdrawals and preparation for divorce just days before Jason’s death.

  "Julie had pulled out nearly $20,000 cash." – [19:01]

• Physical Evidence: No murder weapon was found. Julie’s “getaway bag” in her father’s attic contained her ID, passport, a gun (not the murder weapon), cash, and Jason’s will.

  "Blue backpack... Julie Harper's wallet, credit cards, ID, her passport, a different gun, and Jason Harper's last will and testament." – [20:04]

The Trials: Murder, Motive, and a Neighborhood Divided

First Trial

• Prosecution: Asserted Julie planned to kill Jason amid marital breakdown, cash hoarding, and secret preparations. Emphasis on her calm post-crime demeanor and a bullet wound to Jason's back.

  "She wasn't crying, she wasn't upset... this woman had a calloused heart." – Keith Watanabe, Deputy DA [24:53]

• Defense: Julie took the stand, admitting to the shooting but claiming years of escalating emotional, physical, and sexual abuse culminated in her shooting Jason in self-defense.
  • Secret audio recordings of Jason berating Julie were played.

  "He was coming towards me with his arms raised and he said, I'm gonna kill you, you bitch." – Julie Harper [28:54]

  • Julie claimed diary entries marked "sex" denoted rape.
• Cross Examination: Prosecutor questioned inconsistencies, notably the angle of the gunshot and lack of physical proof of abuse. Julie, however, was a formidable witness.

  "This was the smartest woman that I had ever cross examined in my life." – Deputy DA Watanabe [33:52]

• Outcome: The jury acquitted Julie of first-degree (premeditated) murder but deadlocked on second-degree, resulting in a mistrial.

  "Did she do it? Yeah, she did it. Was it self defense? It certainly was." – Joseph Dial, Juror [36:50]

Retrial and Bombshell Developments

• Pregnancy: A month before the retrial, Julie announced she was seven months pregnant, via IVF, leading to another delay.

  "She intentionally got pregnant in order to interfere with our retrial." – Deputy DA Watanabe [39:17]

• Second Trial: The prosecution was ready for Julie’s claims, bringing in family and neighbors to rebut abuse allegations. No witnesses ever saw bruises or signs of fear.

  "Did you ever see anything that led you to believe that she was being physically abused? Never." – Michelle Cullen, Neighbor [40:48]

• Outcome: This jury convicted Julie Harper of second-degree murder. She was sentenced to 40 years to life.

  "Guilty of second degree murder. On went the handcuffs, just like that." – [42:07]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "I said stop, stop. What are you doing? Stop." – Julie Harper’s recollection of the fatal morning [01:16 / 28:08]
• "It just felt like you were a little kid and someone hit you in the stomach really hard." – Andy Tomkinson, Jason’s friend, reflecting the group’s devastation [03:08 / 37:12]
• "He was coming towards me with his arms raised... I'm gonna kill you, you bitch." – Julie Harper [28:54]
• "The hardest thing, I think, for me was the rape allegations. No way. Not Harp." – Jason Harper’s friend [43:44]
• "Essentially, I'm 42 years old. It's a death sentence." – Julie Harper, on her prison term [44:11]
• Juror Joseph Dial’s reflection:

  "Did she do it? Yeah, she did it. Was it self defense? It certainly was." [36:50]

• Prosecutor’s frustration:

  "The images of her walking out of that courtroom as a free woman were tough for me to swallow." – Deputy DA Watanabe [38:34]

• Community’s shock:

  "She could say anything she wanted because there's two sides to everything and he's not here to tell his." – Michelle Cullen, Neighbor [32:48]

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Timeline & Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------|-------------------| | Crime discovery and family background | 01:16–08:20 | | Police investigation details | 08:21–14:30 | | Discovery of journals and divorce plans | 17:11–19:17 | | Evidence of "getaway bag," cash, will | 19:38–20:41 | | First trial: prosecution & defense | 23:28–36:43 | | Jury deadlocked, mistrial | 35:05–36:43 | | Julie’s pregnancy, retrial begins | 38:01–39:23 | | Second trial: rebuttal of abuse claims | 40:02–41:51 | | Second jury verdict: guilty of 2nd degree| 41:53–42:43 | | Julie speaks from jail – remorse, plans | 42:43–44:13 | | Families, neighbors, and lasting wounds | 44:33–45:01 |

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Reflections & Tone

The episode’s somber, reflective tone is characteristic of Dateline’s narrative style. It humanizes both Jason and Julie through the recollections of friends, neighbors, and through Julie’s own courtroom testimony—juxtaposing conflicting perspectives and the painful ambiguity of what happened in the privacy of the Harper home. The story unfolds as a deeply emotional and divisive trial, splitting opinion on the true nature and outcome of the case.

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The Aftermath

• Julie Harper was ultimately convicted and sentenced to 40 years to life.
• She maintains her account of domestic violence and has spoken of founding a charity.
• Jason’s friends and former students mourn his loss and question the justice system.
• The neighborhood on Badger Lane remains haunted by the tragedy and divided over what truly happened behind closed doors.

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Transcript

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[Julie Harper]

He was coming towards me with his arms raised. I started push. He grabbed me. I was shaking. I said stop, stop. What are you doing? Stop.

[Lester Holt]

They had a charmed life by the beach. Surfer dad.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Paul Severns)]

He was a stud. You know, I'm not gonna lie to you.

[Lester Holt]

Do it all mom.

[Neighbor (Michelle Cullen)]

She would do family oriented things.

[Lester Holt]

And a picture perfect home tucked away on Badger Lane.

[Neighbor (Michelle Miller)]

This is our little American dream.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Jeremy Brandt)]

He wanted a lifestyle where he could be there for for his kids.

[Lester Holt]

That's what made what happened so startling.

[Detective Jeff Smith]

It was dark when they got there.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Andy Tomkinson)]

They found a body upstairs in the master bedroom.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

The victim was clearly shot with a handgun.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Andy Tomkinson)]

The kids were missing. Julie was missing.

[Lester Holt]

Was this a case of murder?

[Neighbor (Michelle Cullen)]

This is our neighborhood. These are our friends.

[Julie Harper]

You're just in utter shock.

[Lester Holt]

There were secrets in that house. Who would unlock them?

[Julie Harper]

I didn't want my family to know. I didn't want my neighbors to know.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

Devious and manipulative.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Jeremy Brandt)]

This is our best friend. It didn't have to end like this.

[Lester Holt]

I'm Lester Holt and this is Dateline. Here's Keith Morrison.

[Narrator/Host]

Grief, like the ocean Rolled into their lives in waves Ride the waves or sink it seemed to say Ride them

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Paul Severns)]

again and again Just a shot through

[Narrator/Host]

the heart Once there were four fast friends Four tall men before it all went down and the waves took on

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Jeremy Brandt)]

their new meaning it didn't have to

[Narrator/Host]

end like this no, except it did. And when it did, just felt like

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Andy Tomkinson)]

someone hit you in the stomach really hard. And you wanted to cry.

[Narrator/Host]

What could they do? Ride. It's what Harp would have wanted after all. Harp, Jason Harper, sports loving, outdoors loving California boy with a childhood best friend named Paul Severns, who, as they grew, became Tall Paul.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Paul Severns)]

We were always together, you know, in the early years, he was always taller than me. But then I caught up to him. But we were both the two tallest guys in school.

[Narrator/Host]

So when they got to high school, there was one sport they were very well suited to play volleyball.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Paul Severns)]

Harp was a stud. You know, I'm not gonna lie to you, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. He was, he was, you know, MVP on the team.

[Narrator/Host]

Yes. And went on to play at ucla, where he met Jeremy Brandt. Here they are together on UCLA Bruins talk on public access tv.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Paul Severns)]

Everybody came back and goes, we're not

[Narrator/Host]

gonna lose, or whatever, and came back and they haven't lost since then. We can be a lot of teams out there, you know, we could definitely be a Final Four contender.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Jeremy Brandt)]

I always said we ran the same speed and so we would run the warm ups the same speed and we would end up talking together. And we became roommates throughout college. And just a great guy, a great friend.

[Narrator/Host]

Quiet, mind you. Shy, at least around the girls.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Paul Severns)]

He wasn't quite the ladies man, you know, I'm not gonna lie to you.

[Narrator/Host]

And then one night back in 2004, years after he graduated from college, Harp met a girl at a party. Tall Paul was there, too. The girl's name was Julie Sihak.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Paul Severns)]

She kind of zoned in on Harp right off the bat and started talking to him.

[Narrator/Announcer]

So I get the impression she picked him.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Paul Severns)]

Yeah, exactly.

[Narrator/Host]

Went pretty fast after that. And why not? Julie was pretty and smart and from a well to do family. Still, when Harp proposed just three months after he met this first real girlfriend,

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Jeremy Brandt)]

I felt like it was the first girl that he really loved. And there's a lot that goes with that. And I just didn't want him to have the wool pulled over his eyes.

[Narrator/Host]

But they stood up for him and the marriage at San Diego's historic Hotel del Coronado was a great, happy party.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Paul Severns)]

I remember their first dance. They were in this giant ballroom and they did a very nice ballroom dance, you know, and Harp had a big old smile on his face.

[Narrator/Host]

They moved to the seaside, to Carlsbad, California, just north of San Diego. And Jason Harper signed on as a math teacher and volleyball coach at a local high school.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Andy Tomkinson)]

Jason was your typical Southern California surfer, beach volleyball, public school teacher, where he

[Narrator/Host]

met the third of those tall friends, Andy Tomkinson Andy and his wife Kristin taught at the same school, Carlsbad High,

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Andy Tomkinson)]

on a campus of 3,000 2,500 students. You tend to notice other people who are at the same eye level as you. And Jason being 66 and myself being 6 9.

[Narrator/Host]

There aren't too many people at the

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Andy Tomkinson)]

same eye level as you. No, no. So you do notice after a while who they are.

[Narrator/Host]

The two became fast friends. Surfing, pickup, basketball, poker, guy things. And then Jason and Juni started a family. Jake first, then Jackie J. Names.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Andy Tomkinson)]

Even if that meant not playing cards with the boys or going on a surf trip. Those kids always came first.

[Narrator/Announcer]

So were there times when you wanted

[Narrator/Host]

to do something with them and he said, no, sorry, I gotta stay on. Absolutely, yes. Home was here in the terraces at Sunny Creek, A brand new gated place not far from the beach. These were their neighbors. So many neighborhoods now you don't even know who your next door neighbors are. But that's not like this place at all, right?

[Neighbor (Michelle Miller)]

No, not at all.

[Neighbor (Michelle Cullen)]

Julie ran the mother tot group in the neighborhood, so she would actually organize all those activities. She was a good mom. She was really involved with her kids

[Narrator/Host]

and hard to know exactly why things changed after Joshua, their third, was born in 2011. Julie just.

[Neighbor (Michelle Cullen)]

And as time went by, you would see less and less and less of her.

[Neighbor (Michelle Miller)]

She would say hi and get in her car and drive away really quick

[Narrator/Announcer]

like she was hiding from everybody.

[Neighbor (Michelle Miller)]

Yeah, but Jason, he was part of

[Neighbor (Michelle Cullen)]

the permanent landscape of our neighborhood. He was there every day. I mean literally every day. Very hands on father.

[Neighbor (Michelle Miller)]

Well, I look out my door to see if he's out there and wave, you know, then we walk over, bring the kids over and walk in the driveway. And the kids would start playing right when we got home from school.

[Narrator/Host]

And then it was an August morning in 2012.

[Neighbor (Michelle Cullen)]

You don't know what's happened, but you know it's not something good. Your stomach kind of sinks.

[Narrator/Host]

Didn't take a rocket scientist. Something was awfully wrong.

[Neighbor (Michelle Cullen)]

There was crime tape. My house is inside the crime tape. And there's a police officer stationed at the base of my driveway. And so I asked the police officer, is everything okay? And he said, no, no, it's not.

[Lester Holt]

What had really happened that morning when

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Andy Tomkinson)]

we come back, they say that they found a body upstairs in the master bedroom. The kids were missing. Julie was missing.

[Neighbor (Michelle Cullen)]

We're all in shock. What are you talking about?

[Narrator/Host]

Do you worry about their kids?

[Julie Harper]

Absolutely.

[Neighbor (Michelle Cullen)]

Their safety, number one. Their safety. Are they okay?

[Narrator/Host]

At 7:30 in the morning on the 8th of August, 2015. Michelle Cullen gazed on the police cars, the crime scene tape, and asked the cop in her driveway, what's happening?

[Neighbor (Michelle Cullen)]

You need to go inside. You need to turn on your television. And so I went inside. He told me that, yes. What are you talking about?

[Narrator/Host]

That was apparent soon enough when they wheeled out the body bag.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Andy Tomkinson)]

One of our colleagues and friends called us and said, I think something really bad has happened. They say that they found a body upstairs in the master bedroom. And it looks like it's Jason's house.

[Narrator/Host]

Bit by awful bit, Andy and the rest of them heard the details. The body had been hidden under a blanket and other debris. One bullet still lodged in the chest. Death was at least quick. The victim was the beloved member of that tall quartet, the neighborhood dad, Jason Harper. That was terrible enough, but it wasn't.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Andy Tomkinson)]

All the kids were missing. Julie was missing. And as details unfolded, we were in complete shock.

[Narrator/Host]

Officers continue their investigation at the Harper residence.

[Julie Harper]

They still have.

[Neighbor (Michelle Cullen)]

We're all in shock. Jason's dead. We're flipping out. And they're saying, we see this woman and flashing her plates and her picture.

[Narrator/Host]

Wow.

[Neighbor (Michelle Cullen)]

On the news.

[Narrator/Host]

So what happened? Home invasion, kidnapping, murder, suicide. Did you worry about their kids?

[Neighbor (Michelle Miller)]

Oh, that was the worst part. Absolutely.

[Neighbor (Michelle Cullen)]

Absolutely. There's safety, number one. There's safety. Are they okay?

[Narrator/Host]

But the Carlsbad Police Department had one piece of information the neighbors lacked, which came in a strange phone call at 11pm the night before. Sergeant Jeff Smith was the lead detective.

[Detective Jeff Smith]

The watch commander working that night got a phone call from an attorney asking him to go or the police department to go do a welfare check at a residence.

[Narrator/Host]

A welfare check seemed like an odd request. Who was this lawyer who called?

[Detective Jeff Smith]

It was attorney Paul Pfingst.

[Narrator/Host]

That Paul Pfingst, he just happened to be the ex DA and now criminal defense attorney who knew the police department very well. He called an internal extension that, unlike a 911 call, was not recorded. The cops went to the house and they found Jason's body, but not Julie and the kids. They were gone. So police talked to Paul Pfingst again, who said not to worry, Julie and the kids were fine. Julie was not a victim. She was his newest client. He arranged the safe return of the children to a local children's hospital. And then 15 hours after the cops discovered Jason's body, Pfingst orchestrated Julie's surrender at her father's house.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Did she talk to you?

[Narrator/Host]

No, but her attorney spoke with local reporters.

[Paul Fink (Defense Attorney)]

She's very upset. She's Upset about her children, she's upset about her health. She's upset about seeing basically at this point her life is in shambles. It's a catastrophe all the way around.

[Narrator/Host]

So it was. But what happened in the bedroom? Neither Julie nor Attorney Pfingst would say. So the police launched an investigation to figure out what was Julie guilty of, if anything. To begin, they had Specialists interview the two older children, ages 8 and 6, who said their day started out like a typical summer morning. And then sometime between 8 and 9am

[Neighbor (Michelle Miller)]

when you were watching cartoons yesterday morning

[Julie Harper]

and you heard the loud clunk, a thud.

[Narrator/Host]

That's all we could tell you.

[Detective Jeff Smith]

A loud thud.

[Narrator/Host]

Did they know at that point that their father was dead?

[Detective Jeff Smith]

I don't believe so.

[Narrator/Host]

They must have been very confused. Yes. Frightened?

[Detective Jeff Smith]

Yeah.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Young children and the only things you know are there's a guy with a

[Narrator/Host]

bullet hole and the kids heard a thump.

[Detective Jeff Smith]

Yes.

[Narrator/Host]

Not a lot to go on.

[Detective Jeff Smith]

Not a lot.

[Narrator/Host]

So what did you do next?

[Detective Jeff Smith]

We talked to neighbors who possibly seen things. One neighbor said that they saw Ms. Harper leaving right around 9:05 in the morning and exiting their gated community.

[Narrator/Announcer]

So now you know when they left

[Narrator/Host]

the house anyway, roughly now the detectives did what they could to retrace Julie and the kids movements during their interviews. The kids said their mom took them to a coffee shop first.

[Detective Jeff Smith]

From that point they went to a local playworks or jumpy type house place. And from the kids accounts that's where they stayed for a short period and played. And we were able to corroborate that with cell phone analysis which led to a disturbing thought.

[Narrator/Host]

If the thud the kids heard was Jason being shot, then the coffee run and the play date happened afterward while he lay wounded or already dead on the bedroom floor. On August 9, two days after the shooting, a medical examiner conducted an autopsy and recovered the bullet that killed Jason. It came from a.38 caliber handgun.

[Detective Jeff Smith]

We did find a gun in the home where Mr. Harper was found, but

[Narrator/Host]

it was not the gun that killed Jason. So no murder weapon and the only suspect wasn't talking.

[Detective Jeff Smith]

We believed that there was an argument between the two and a gun was produced and she shot him and we didn't know why.

[Narrator/Host]

Not an easy question under the circumstances. Oh, there was an answer. But do you think anyone intended to reveal that?

[Lester Holt]

Coming up.

[Neighbor (Michelle Miller)]

I don't understand why any of it happened. You know what I mean?

[Lester Holt]

New clues.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

She was preparing for a change in her life.

[Lester Holt]

Private journals and secrets in the attic.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

My wildest dreams.

[Lester Holt]

I would have never expected to that when DATELINE continues.

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[Narrator/Host]

By the time Julie Harper's attorney arranged for her to turn herself in, her husband Jason had been dead for a day and a half. For reasons nobody could understand, they appeared to be a solid couple. Why would she shoot him? That's what Carlsbad detectives were determined to figure out. Julie wasn't talking, so they interviewed friends and family and peeled back the layers. And sergeant Jeff Smith learned that a whole year earlier, Julie sent a friend some envelopes for safekeeping. What was in the envelopes?

[Detective Jeff Smith]

Journals, writings, bank statements, Personal history.

[Narrator/Host]

In that personal history, signs of a marriage that wasn't as perfect as it seemed. Julie wrote that Jason yelled at me and maybe divorce is the answer.

[Detective Jeff Smith]

It appeared that they were not happy with each other and that their marriage was going towards an end. Or divorce.

[Narrator/Host]

Whatever was going on, Jason tended to keep to Himself, said his teacher friends Andy and Kristen.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Andy Tomkinson)]

He would never say any ill words or bad things. We kept it very personal and private,

[Narrator/Host]

but it was pretty clear. They said the marriage was winding down,

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Andy Tomkinson)]

arrangements were being made.

[Julie Harper]

Jason's parents actually bought a house down here, and it had enough room for Jason and all the kids. I mean, they were preparing for him to be able to leave.

[Narrator/Host]

Julie seemed to be getting ready to get out, too, said Sgt. Smith. In fact, she filed for divorce five days before the incident and that same week made some unusual financial transactions.

[Detective Jeff Smith]

Days prior to, Ms. Harper had taken out about $10,000 in cash out of a dormant account that was under her daughter's name. And she'd written two $4,500 checks to herself. And it was against a credit card in Mr. Harper's name.

[Narrator/Host]

Julie had pulled out nearly $20,000 cash.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

We found that to be very suspicious.

[Narrator/Host]

Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe was assigned to the case on day one. Did it suggest to you that she

[Narrator/Announcer]

had been hoarding money in anticipation of something?

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

She was preparing for a change in her life.

[Narrator/Host]

But did the change involve divorce or murder? Julie's father, John sihak, lived here, 30 miles or so from Jason and Julie's house. This, apparently was where Julie and the kids spent the night after the shooting. So Sergeant Smith got a search warrant

[Narrator/Announcer]

for Dad's place and found nothing useful.

[Narrator/Host]

There were other guns, but none of them fired the bullet that killed Jason. Perhaps a little frustrated. Eight days later, he got a second search warrant. And this time there was something new tucked away in the garage attic, in

[Narrator/Announcer]

a spot they searched the first time around.

[Narrator/Host]

A blue backpack must have been hidden. Between searches.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

They opened up this blue backpack and they discovered Julie Harper's wallet, credit cards and id her passport, a different gun, and Jason Harper's last will and testament.

[Narrator/Host]

Also Jason's cell phone, its batteries removed and call and text history cleared. The backpack gun was also clean, not the one used to shoot Jason. This had to be a getaway bag. The prosecutor decided she must have packed it up after she killed Jason.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

That's the only reason to take a person's last will and testament. It's because she realized he was dead.

[Narrator/Host]

Julie's actions before and after the shooting raised all sorts of questions. And foremost for the prosecutor was did she plan this? Was it premeditated? And if some. For how long?

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

We believed we could prove first degree murder not on the theory that she had planned this murder the days or weeks before the shooting had taken place. Instead, we were relying on the theory that Even during this argument, she took enough steps in order to get the gun that this would have been planned and premeditated, even if it was only for a minute or two before the shooting.

[Narrator/Host]

And that's enough.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

In California, that qualifies as first degree murder.

[Narrator/Host]

So that's what he charged her with, first degree murder. Julie pleaded not guilty, but otherwise kept her mouth shut and sat in jail. But strange details kept coming out, like what Julie's dad said at her preliminary hearing about the blue backpack.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

There had actually been $39,000 inside that backpack.

[Narrator/Host]

Julie's father admitted that he found the cash in the backpack and gave it to Julie's lawyer to help pay for bail and legal fees. What did you think when you heard that?

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

In my wildest dreams, I would have never expected that.

[Narrator/Host]

By the way, Julie's dad testified at the prelim only after being granted immunity. You know, initially pleaded the fifth. And even though bail was $2 million, Julie's family eventually coughed it up. And after more than a year in jail, she moved back into the house on Badger Lane, three doors down from Michelle Miller.

[Neighbor (Michelle Miller)]

She knocked on my door to let me know that she was back and that we're going to have a good talk someday when this is all over.

[Narrator/Host]

What did you say to her?

[Neighbor (Michelle Miller)]

I was just completely shocked. I couldn't believe it.

[Narrator/Host]

All those comfortable notions about her neighbors. Maybe Michelle didn't know them at all.

[Neighbor (Michelle Miller)]

I don't understand why any of it happened. You know what I mean? He was our friend and he's gone, and I don't know who she is.

[Narrator/Host]

And when Julie finally did start talking, well,

[Julie Harper]

coming up, I said, stop. Stop. What are you doing?

[Lester Holt]

Stop on the stand. Her life on the line.

[Narrator/Host]

And get a carpool. Figure it out.

[Lester Holt]

Secret recordings from behind closed doors.

[Narrator/Host]

September 2014. Two years after Jason Harper's death, his wife Julie, the mother of their three children, went on trial for first degree murder.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

She didn't look like a murderer, if there's such a thing.

[Narrator/Host]

And even though Deputy DI Keith Watanabe had never been able to talk to Julie, had never heard her story, he was confident. His theme was something he called the deterioration of Julie Harper.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

Her life had become a disaster, both in terms of her marriage, her children, her health, her financial state, and we believe she was seriously abusing her prescription medication.

[Narrator/Host]

Look at this, he told the jury. Pill bottles. Though Julie suffered from an autoimmune disease, he said this made it clear she was abusing powerful medications. And said the prosecutor, look at the mess in Julie's bedroom. As If a hoarder lived here. When Jason's body was found, it was hidden under a blanket and surrounded by debris. The bullet that killed him entered from a side rear angle, so he was shot pretty much in the back. What happened? Julie must have shot Jason between 8am and 9am, said the prosecutor. While the kids were downstairs watching cartoons. A neighbor saw Julie leaving just after 9am and she was at La Costa Coffee roasting 40 minutes later.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

She wasn't crying, she wasn't upset. She didn't ask anyone to call 911. It showed that this woman had a calloused heart, she was capable of murdering her husband and really had the wherewithal to be able to go out into public and appear to be perfectly normal.

[Narrator/Host]

It was clearly murder, said Deputy DA Watanabe. But was it? Remember, Julie did not talk, not once to the police or the prosecutor, because her attorney never allowed it. But now it was time. Defense attorney Paul Finks called just one witness, Julie Harper, and she said, yes, she did it. She shot him. But she said it wasn't murder. Why? Because she said Jason Harper, so beloved by friends and neighbors and colleagues, was in private, an angry, abusive husband.

[Paul Fink (Defense Attorney)]

Did you videotape Jason telling you?

[Narrator/Host]

And here was her proof, she said. Here was her secret recording of Jason losing it over money. I don't want to enable your horrible

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

money waste and your poor credit score and everything else.

[Narrator/Host]

I don't want to enable that.

[Neighbor (Michelle Cullen)]

It's horrible.

[Narrator/Host]

Then get a carpool, bitch. Figure it out.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Paul Severns)]

Can't help it if you're too dumb to do it. Too lazy.

[Julie Harper]

Well, you know, at least I have more words in my vocabulary than you do. Seems like the bitch is the only word that you can use.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Paul Severns)]

That's right. Right now, that is darn right.

[Narrator/Host]

That's what you are. But, said Julie, it got worse. It got physical.

[Julie Harper]

He grabbed my wrist and my hand so forcefully and twisted it so hard that, I mean, it was. It was hurting into the next day.

[Narrator/Host]

Remember, Jason was a 6 foot 6 athlete, about a foot taller than Julie by then. They slept in separate rooms. But sometimes, she said, when he got angry, he came to her room. And the abuse turned sexual, slamming me

[Julie Harper]

up against the wall face first. And what were you saying? I said, stop. Stop. What are you doing?

[Narrator/Announcer]

Stop.

[Narrator/Host]

Julie told the jury that Jason raped her about 30 times. She said she was so frightened, she stashed a gun under her pillow just in case. When she woke up the morning of the shooting, she said, to the sound of Jason yelling and screaming, he was,

[Julie Harper]

you know, using Some curse words and. God, I'm so sick of this. And, you know, where's my computer?

[Narrator/Host]

Jason believed, said Julie, that she'd hidden his computer.

[Julie Harper]

His face was all red and he was just, you know, his nose scrunched up and his eyes squinting and he just get this look of absolute rage and hate. But this was, I don't know, this, this was bad.

[Paul Fink (Defense Attorney)]

What did he attempt to do to you then?

[Julie Harper]

He grabbed me and began yanking my top off. I started pushing back and somehow managed to sort of wiggle my way free. Pulling away as quickly as I could, moved from there across the room to my bed.

[Paul Fink (Defense Attorney)]

What did you do when you got to the bed?

[Julie Harper]

I grabbed my gun from under my pillow.

[Narrator/Host]

A Derringer.38 caliber handgun.

[Julie Harper]

He was coming towards me with his arms raised and he said, I'm gonna kill you, you bitch. And. I was shaking and I was holding onto my gun tightly. Next thing I knew, I. Felt. Felt my hand jerk and heard a loud noise. And he was still like coming forward at me. And then all of a sudden he froze completely. And just like a tree in the forest just fell forward at me.

[Narrator/Host]

Just like a tree. Jason, the tall man, the athlete, the volleyball coach, the math teacher was dead. So that finally was Julie's story that she was an abused woman who shot her husband in self defense.

[Paul Fink (Defense Attorney)]

On that date, did you still love your husband?

[Julie Harper]

Yes.

[Paul Fink (Defense Attorney)]

Did you have. Did you want him to be dead?

[Julie Harper]

No.

[Narrator/Host]

But now for the first time, Julie would have to face a prosecutor with a lot of questions.

[Lester Holt]

Coming up, the crime recreated in court.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Do you need a moment, Ms. Harper?

[Lester Holt]

But did the witness outmaneuver the prosecutor?

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

This was the smartest woman that I had ever cross examined in my life.

[Lester Holt]

When Dateline continues.

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[Neighbor (Michelle Cullen)]

Since he got out, bad things keep happening.

[Lester Holt]

Cape Fear, a new series, is streaming June 5 on Apple TV.

[Narrator/Host]

Why wouldn't want to hurt you?

[Lester Holt]

Starring Academy Award winner Javier Bardem.

[Narrator/Host]

Why?

[Lester Holt]

And Academy Award nominee Amy Adams.

[Narrator/Host]

He is coming after my family.

[Lester Holt]

Kate Fear. Streaming June 5th on Apple TV.

[Julie Harper]

He was coming towards me with his arms raised.

[Narrator/Host]

So finally, Julie Harper told her story. Her husband Jason was an abuser and she killed him in self defense.

[Narrator/Announcer]

What did you think when you heard that?

[Neighbor (Michelle Miller)]

Hurt my stomach, hurt my heart.

[Neighbor (Michelle Cullen)]

She could say anything she wanted because there's two sides to everything and he's not here to tell his.

[Narrator/Host]

The story was not a big surprise to Deputy DA Watanabe. But as a prosecutor who'd specialized for years in spousal abuse cases, he just didn't believe it.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

She was saving her own skin and she was willing to throw her dead husband under the bus and ruin his reputation in order to do so.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Well, that's your point of view.

[Narrator/Host]

Maybe it was true.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

We considered that possibility, but it simply didn't stand up under the scrutiny of truth.

[Narrator/Host]

It was when the prosecutor began his cross examination that he discovered Julie was ready for him.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

As you sit here today, do you believe that your shooting of Jason was justified based on your need to defend yourself?

[Julie Harper]

I didn't even intend to shoot him. I only wanted to scare him or to get him to stop and not rape me, not hurt me, or possibly worse.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

This was the smartest woman that I had ever cross examined in my life.

[Narrator/Host]

Dodging and weaving, she was able to

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

think on the spot.

[Narrator/Host]

Those pill bottles, all necessary for her medical condition and prescribed by her doctor. She never abused them, she said. But if, as she said, Jason was coming at her when she shot, why then the prosecutor wondered, did the bullet enter from the back?

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

Do you mind stepping down here?

[Narrator/Host]

And I'm Prosecutor Watanabe. Set up a courtroom recreation.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

I'm gonna have Mr. Carr stand in for Jason, just.

[Narrator/Host]

But things didn't quite play out the way the prosecutor hoped. Did Julie use this moment to her advantage?

[Narrator/Announcer]

She's crying now. Do you need a moment, Ms. Harper?

[Julie Harper]

It's okay.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Okay. Position his hands where they were.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

She broke down and started crying and was visibly upset in front of the jury.

[Narrator/Announcer]

That was maybe not the best strategy on your part then. As it turned out, it was a

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

powerful moment for her because it allowed her to really retell the story in an emotional way and bring the jurors into her story.

[Narrator/Host]

Julie was on the stand for three days, and then the jury had to decide was she a murderer or a victim in fear for her life?

[Juror Joseph Dial]

I was juror number three in Julie Harper's trial.

[Narrator/Host]

Joseph Dial said he knew early on in the deliberations it wasn't going to be easy or quick.

[Juror Joseph Dial]

Within 15 minutes we had taken a vote and it showed we were way, way apart. And we would argue each points to where the there was nothing conclusive.

[Narrator/Host]

On the second day of deliberations, the judge called everyone back to the courtroom.

[Narrator/Announcer]

We received a note from the jury this morning at 10:06am the note reads, we are unable to reach a verdict on some of the counts. We are deadlocked.

[Narrator/Host]

Deadlocked on some of the counts. But they had been able to reach a unanimous verdict on one count.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Let's bring the jury.

[Narrator/Host]

This was the moment of truth. Did the jury believe Julie?

[Narrator/Announcer]

I'll ask the clerk to read the verdict.

[Narrator/Host]

Verdict. First degree murder. We the jury in the above entitled cause find the defendant Julie Harper not guilty of the crime of murder in violation of penalty. Yes, they did believe her. She did not pre plan and deliberately kill her husband. So it couldn't be first degree murder. But was it second degree? Not premeditated, but still intentional. On that, the jury was hopelessly deadlocked. The judge declared a mistrial. Defense attorney Paul Fink.

[Paul Fink (Defense Attorney)]

Obviously, when there's a murder trial and you get any form of acquittal, that's a good thing. She would have hoped for a total acquittal.

[Narrator/Host]

So with a hung jury and bail already established, Julie walked out of the courthouse a free woman.

[Juror Joseph Dial]

Did she do it? Yeah, she did it. Was it self defense? It certainly was. After who knows how many years of the toxic relationship they had and his incredible cruelty, I felt like I've lost

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Andy Tomkinson)]

a little bit of faith in the justice system.

[Narrator/Host]

Jason's friends just couldn't understand.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Andy Tomkinson)]

It just felt like you were a little kid and someone hit you in the stomach really hard and you wanted to cry, but you weren't gonna cry and your eyes started tearing up.

[Julie Harper]

It was very, very surreal, I guess, you know, emotional.

[Narrator/Host]

While the prosecutor thought about whether to charge her again, Julie went on with life back at the house on Badger Lane.

[Neighbor (Michelle Miller)]

And then she just comes back in the neighborhood down the street.

[Narrator/Host]

Right.

[Neighbor (Michelle Miller)]

Just like before, I mean.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Yep.

[Neighbor (Michelle Miller)]

We're like, is this ever gonna end? Right. Are we ever gonna close them?

[Narrator/Host]

They couldn't know, of course. There was another secret Julie was keeping from everyone

[Lester Holt]

coming up.

[Narrator/Host]

Really that devious.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

She's really that devious.

[Lester Holt]

Another bombshell and another trial.

[Julie Harper]

I Didn't want my family to know. I didn't want my neighbors to know.

[Lester Holt]

What would the verdict be this time?

[Narrator/Host]

Julie Harper was walking on air. Acquitted of first degree murder. A jury deadlocked on second degree. It tasted like sweet victory as Keith Watanabe bit down on frustration.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

The images of her walking out of that courtroom as a free woman were tough for me to swallow.

[Narrator/Host]

Still, what he could do was try again. Of course, first degree murder was off the table now, but he could go for a lesser charge of second degree murder, which he did. A new trial date was set for six months later, April 2015. And then one month before that trial was debated begin. Surprise. Julie had some astonishing news for the judge. The retrial for a Carlsbad woman accused

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

of killing her husband.

[Narrator/Host]

Her attorney says she is pregnant. Seven months pregnant. Got everybody by surprise that did.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

She intentionally got pregnant in order to interfere with our retrial.

[Narrator/Host]

Really that devious in your mind?

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

She's really that devious and well planned and manipulative.

[Narrator/Host]

What's more, Julie's pregnancy was highly intentional in vitro fertilization. The judge, no choice really, delayed Julie's trial for five months. Her daughter was born in April 2015. No father listed on her birth certificate. The neighbors on Badger Lane watched and wondered.

[Neighbor (Michelle Miller)]

She decided she was going to walk the baby in the stroller through the the neighborhood.

[Neighbor (Michelle Cullen)]

And you know, that was very uncomfortable. Nothing had happened in her mind and everything was fine. Everything's fine. You know, my life 2.0.

[Narrator/Host]

Well, not quite, of course. In September 2015, Julie, the judge, the attorneys all assembled before a brand new jury. 12 new strangers to win over. Except this time, prosecutor Watanabe knew what was coming from Julie and so he canvassed the witnesses. Did they ever see signs of abuse? This is Jason's mother, Lina.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

Did Julie appear in any way to be fearful to you?

[Narrator/Host]

No.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

Did you see any bruises or marks on her?

[Narrator/Host]

No. Neighbor Michelle Cullen saw Jason and Julie together five days before Jason's death.

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

Did you ever see anything that led you to believe that she was being physically abused?

[Julie Harper]

No.

[Neighbor (Michelle Cullen)]

Never.

[Narrator/Host]

So why would the jury believe Julie's claim that Jason did rape her violently and repeatedly? When Julie testified, she asked the jury to look at entries in her private journals and day planner. Whenever they saw the word sex, said Julie, that was code for rape.

[Paul Fink (Defense Attorney)]

Are you making notations of the days that you had sex?

[Julie Harper]

Yes.

[Narrator/Host]

Prosecutor Watanabe of course, didn't believe that. But when he challenged her, was this real emotion?

[Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe]

Now, have you ever called the police on Jason for Any of these incidents?

[Julie Harper]

No. I was very embarrassed. I was very embarrassed that he was doing it. I didn't want. I. I didn't want my family to know. I didn't want my neighbors to know. I didn't want my friends to know.

[Narrator/Host]

Manipulation or the awful truth. Once again, a jury was asked to pass judgment on Julie Harper in the

[Julie Harper]

Superior Court of the State of California.

[Narrator/Host]

Everybody waited, bated breath.

[Neighbor (Michelle Miller)]

We, the jury, in the above entitled cause, find the defendant, Julie Harper, guilty

[Julie Harper]

of the crime of murder and fixed

[Neighbor (Michelle Miller)]

the degree thereof as murder in the second degree.

[Narrator/Host]

Guilty of second degree murder. On went the handcuffs, just like that. Jury number two was not at all like jury number one. No doubt at all.

[Julie Harper]

No, not at all.

[Narrator/Host]

No disrespect to the first set of

[Julie Harper]

jurors from the initial trial. I just don't understand how they could

[Narrator/Host]

not have found her guilty. And so we made an appointment to talk to Julie. By then, behind glass in a San Diego county jail. I don't think you expected this result at all. Would I be right about that?

[Julie Harper]

You'd be correct in that, yeah. What was really so shocking was that they could ignore all of that independent evidence outside of my testimony.

[Narrator/Host]

By that, she meant the recording of Jason yelling and her claim that in her diary sex meant rape. And despite what the jury thought, she has big plans.

[Julie Harper]

Because of what I've gone through with my husband and the abuse that I've suffered, I am planning and working with a couple of people to start the Julie Harper foundation as a charity benefiting victims of domestic violence in their families.

[Narrator/Host]

First of all, you have to start with getting a jury to believe that you were a victim of domestic violence, and that was your problem.

[Julie Harper]

Well, and that's where you go, like the first jury did, believe that there's different people that process information, the same information and the same evidence in very different ways.

[Narrator/Host]

The way Jason Harper's friends processed it was that Julie tormented a good and decent man and then threw him under the bus to save her own skin.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Jeremy Brandt)]

The hardest thing, I think, for me was the rape allegations. I just.

[Narrator/Host]

No way. No way.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Jeremy Brandt)]

Not Harp.

[Jason Harper's Friend (possibly Paul Severns)]

You know, Harp's gone and, you know, we miss him and we love him, but, you know, for her to be put away, it helps heal.

[Narrator/Host]

And Julie, she was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.

[Julie Harper]

Essentially, I'm 42 years old. It's a death sentence.

[Narrator/Host]

Very true. Which brought up a question on a lot of minds. Why did you get pregnant?

[Julie Harper]

I was such a good parent, and I had that love to give to another child and really wanted to be able to give and share that love with my daughter, who I love more than anything in the world.

[Narrator/Host]

Julie's father sent us a statement repeating

[Narrator/Announcer]

Julie's abuse claim in saying the verdict is unjust. We asked him and Julie's attorney and her friends and siblings, any of them,

[Narrator/Host]

to sit with us on camera and talk about Julie, if nothing else, to defend her. All declined.

[Julie Harper]

Thank you very much.

[Narrator/Host]

Barring a successful appeal, Julie Harper will die behind bars alone.

[Lester Holt]

That's all for now. I'm Lester Holt. Thanks for joining us. Support comes from Amazon Business Free your

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