Episode 683: The Murder of David Harris (Part 2)

Summary

Podcast Summary: Morbid, Episode 683: The Murder of David Harris (Part 2)
Release Date: June 23, 2025
Host: Morbid Network | Wondery

---

Introduction

In Episode 683 of Morbid, hosts Ash and Elena delve deeper into the harrowing case of Clara Harris and the tragic murder of her husband, David Harris. Building upon Part 1, this episode offers a comprehensive exploration of the events leading up to the murder, the subsequent trial, and the profound impact on all parties involved.

---

Case Overview

The episode revisits the heartbreaking incident where Clara Harris drove over her husband, David Harris, while their 16-year-old daughter, Lindsay, was present in the car. This act of violence, born out of betrayal and emotional turmoil, has left a lasting scar on the Harris family and captivated national attention.

---

Clara Harris's Motivation and Background

Clara Harris discovered two weeks prior to the murder that her husband was having an affair with his secretary, Gail Bridges. This revelation shattered their decade-long marriage and left Clara devastated, especially as they were also business partners owning multiple practices in Houston.

Notable Quote:
Ash [11:15]: "Clara had just learned two weeks earlier that David was having an affair with his secretary, Gail Bridges. How cliche."

Clara's response to the affair was extreme. Determined to uncover more about Gail Bridges, Clara hired Blue Moon Investigations, a private investigation firm, to surveil Gail and gather incriminating evidence.

---

Media Sensationalism and Public Perception

The case quickly became a media frenzy. Tabloids and national news outlets sensationalized the story, focusing on the alleged bisexual triangle and portraying Gail Bridges as a homewrecker. This media portrayal not only escalated the scandal but also diverted attention from the core tragedy of David Harris's murder.

Notable Quote:
Ash [21:01]: "The Houston Chronicle was publishing photos of the women in their wigs from the Sally Jesse Raphael episode, elevating the story from one of local interest to a bizarre sex scandal that would obviously fascinate the nation."

The media's focus on the sordid details overshadowed the emotional and familial devastation caused by the murder.

---

The Trial

Clara Harris's trial was marked by intense emotions and controversial courtroom moments. Defense attorney George Parnham, known for representing Andrea Yates, attempted to frame Clara's actions as a crime of passion, arguing that she acted out of extreme emotional distress after discovering her husband's infidelity.

Notable Quote:
Elena [36:34]: "George Parnham laid out the defense in his opening statement... The prosecution's claim that Clara had driven over her husband multiple times was challenged."

Jury selection became a focal point, revealing deep-seated sympathies among potential jurors. Several jurors expressed understanding or even justification for Clara's actions, citing personal experiences of infidelity-induced anger.

Notable Quote:
Ash [38:11]: "Another juror was dismissed when she said she, quote, nicked her husband with a truck after discovering him with a mistress years ago."

This bias among jurors highlighted the complexities of human emotions and the challenges of delivering impartial justice in emotionally charged cases.

---

Verdict and Sentencing

After deliberations, the jury found Clara Harris guilty of the murder of her husband. During the sentencing phase, Clara expressed remorse, particularly towards her daughter Lindsay, who had to witness the tragic event. However, her emotional outbursts in court drew criticism, emphasizing the depth of her psychological trauma.

Notable Quote:
Ash [56:30]: "The judge read the sentence... 20 years in prison with a minimum of 10 served before becoming eligible for parole."

Clara's aggressive appeals were ultimately denied, and she served a significant portion of her sentence before being released on parole in 2018.

---

Aftermath and Reflections

The aftermath of the trial left everyone involved grappling with immense loss and trauma. Lindsay Harris, who had to testify against her stepmother, carried the emotional burden of witnessing her father's murder. Furthermore, Clara's release brought mixed emotions, as society struggled to reconcile her remorse with the severity of her actions.

Notable Quote:
Elena [60:38]: "Everyone this scenario... everyone lost. Clara lost her freedom... Lindsay lost her dad... the twins lost their parents... and David's parents lost their son."

The episode underscores the pervasive impact of infidelity and emotional instability, illustrating how a single act of violence can unravel the fabric of multiple lives.

---

Conclusion

Episode 683 of Morbid offers a poignant examination of human emotions, the quest for revenge, and the ramifications of extreme actions fueled by betrayal. Through detailed analysis and empathetic storytelling, Ash and Elena shed light on the complexities of the Clara Harris case, inviting listeners to reflect on the fragile boundaries between love, trust, and destructive vengeance.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Ash [11:15]: "Clara had just learned two weeks earlier that David was having an affair with his secretary, Gail Bridges. How cliche."
• Ash [21:01]: "The Houston Chronicle was publishing photos of the women in their wigs from the Sally Jesse Raphael episode, elevating the story from one of local interest to a bizarre sex scandal that would obviously fascinate the nation."
• Ash [38:11]: "Another juror was dismissed when she said she, quote, nicked her husband with a truck after discovering him with a mistress years ago."
• Ash [56:30]: "The judge read the sentence... 20 years in prison with a minimum of 10 served before becoming eligible for parole."
• Elena [60:38]: "Everyone this scenario... everyone lost. Clara lost her freedom... Lindsay lost her dad... the twins lost their parents... and David's parents lost their son."

---

Key Takeaways:

• Emotional Turmoil Leads to Tragedy: Clara Harris's discovery of her husband's affair triggered a cascade of emotions that culminated in a tragic act of violence.

• Media’s Role in Shaping Narratives: The sensationalist coverage by media outlets amplified the scandal, often overshadowing the human tragedy at its core.

• Challenges in the Justice System: The jury's composition and biases reflected broader societal struggles in impartially addressing crimes born out of intense personal distress.

• Long-lasting Impact on Families: The murder not only devastated Clara and David but also left indelible marks on their children and extended family members.

---

This episode serves as a somber reminder of the destructive potential of unchecked emotions and the profound ripple effects one act can have on multiple lives.

Transcript

[Elena]

Hey weirdos. Before we dive into today's twisted tale, let me tell you about a place where the darkness never ends. Wondery. It's like stepping into a haunted mansion where the floorboards creak with ad free episodes. And early access to new episodes lurks around every corner. So come join us if you dare. Morbid is available one week early and ad free only on Wondery. You can join Wondery in the Wondery app or in Apple podcasts or Spotify.

[Ash]

You're listening to a Morbid network podcast.

[Unknown]

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[Ash]

Own tunnel that they get to play.

[Unknown]

With and then our cat sitter is.

[Ash]

So sweet so we gave them a tunnel as well.

[Unknown]

And now their cat princess has the.

[Ash]

Same tunnel as our boys and we think it's cute.

[Unknown]

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[Ash]

Your Cat it purchase.

[Unknown]

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[Ash]

Hey weirdos. I'm Ash.

[Elena]

And I am Elena.

[Ash]

And this is morbid. This is morbid.

[Elena]

Trying to figure out what to eat for dinner.

[Unknown]

Not Flamin Hot Cheetos?

[Elena]

No, I just tried Flaming Hot Cheetos for the first time.

[Ash]

I Like that. You say flaming.

[Elena]

Flaming. What is it supposed to be like? Flaming.

[Ash]

Flaming.

[Elena]

Flaming. Oh, I thought it was flaming.

[Ash]

Flaming.

[Elena]

It's Flamin.

[Ash]

Such an author. I have tried flaming Flaming hot Cheetos for the first time.

[Elena]

It's. Yeah, I've never tried them before, which you would think I would. I love cheesy goodness. Yeah, they're okay. Yeah.

[Ash]

I took a video of her trying them. She just said, so spicy.

[Elena]

They're so spicy. They're not like, crazy spicy. And then they're so artificial tasting. I think I've just, like, lost a taste for super artificial tasting stuff.

[Ash]

I get that you offer the most part, and I was not interested.

[Elena]

Yeah, I think that's what happened. Remember I tried Takis?

[Ash]

Oh, yeah.

[Elena]

And it made me literally sick. Like, I think it was. I couldn't get.

[Ash]

That's another thing I've never tried. I know my bounds when it comes to this IBS body.

[Elena]

Well, your stomach is a. Is the wild west, so I don't blame you for putting up boundaries.

[Ash]

Listen, I'm gonna say some crazy right now. I'm not a medical doctor, so don't listen to me.

[Elena]

Oh, no, no, no, no.

[Ash]

And I'm not. I was gonna say it, but then I decided not to.

[Elena]

But you're not someone who claims that you can beat infertility with a positive mindset.

[Ash]

No. Or raw milk. But I do find a difference in my tum tum's happiness when I eat chia seed pudding in the morning. You know, and there's actually scientific evidence behind that and, like, how it works as it travels through your body.

[Elena]

Well, people also. People like it. It's funny. I really had it. But I. I think there's something to that.

[Ash]

You don't like pudding, though.

[Elena]

I do love pudding.

[Ash]

You do like pudding.

[Elena]

Yeah, I love pudding.

[Ash]

Why did I think you don't like pudding?

[Elena]

I don't know.

[Ash]

Pudding.

[Elena]

I love a pudding moment.

[Ash]

It's. I think it's really good. And it's also really easy to make.

[Elena]

So there.

[Ash]

It's like, four ingredients.

[Elena]

I should try that because I really need to. I gotta get back. I was in a really good, like, meal. Preppy.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

Place of. Of being for, like, the last few months. I was like, every Sunday I was doing my meal prep for the week, and it was mostly like, snacks for the kids and, like, you know, just getting things ready so we could have an easier week.

[Ash]

And I like that ebbs and flow so much.

[Elena]

Just because life.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

It's like, we would have a couple of busy weekends, and it would throw me off. Or we. People got sick. Like, the kids got sick, I got sick. John got, like, somebody got sick, and it just threw us all off. But I need to get back in my ship because I do think that life flows nicer when there's a little bit of prep involved.

[Ash]

No, definitely. I like a prep. I just prepped three of these for this week because I was like, I'm. I was waking up. I've been waking up so late lately.

[Elena]

Me too.

[Ash]

Because I happen to get it coming into the office ridiculously late. I just roll up in here at fucking, like, 9:17. I'm like, sorry. We start early usually, but I just. I don't know what's going on with my life.

[Elena]

Says y' all.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

I make myself when I want to.

[Ash]

I show up. I show up when I can.

[Elena]

When I can.

[Ash]

I show up pretty regularly. Yeah. But, yeah, no, I. I kept. I kept just, like, not eating breakfast or, like, grabbing something stupid or being exponentially more late because I was like, I have to eat breakfast.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

And these juicy puddings, you make them, you have to set them in the fridge because they. They'll you up if they don't.

[Elena]

Oh.

[Ash]

If they. Because they're. They're, like, loaded with fiber, but they have to soak, like, some kind of liquid so that they're not.

[Elena]

So they're not as, like, crazy.

[Ash]

I don't know. Yeah, but. Because I think basic. I think they can, like, maybe not exactly, but I think they can, like, explode in you if you don't soak them first. I think people have had, like, ruptures.

[Elena]

Here's the thing. I don't know if I'll be doing chia seed pudding. I don't like having any kind of risk with my food.

[Ash]

No, there's no risk if you soak.

[Elena]

Them, like, one thing. Rhubarb pie.

[Ash]

What?

[Elena]

Little scared of rhubarb pie.

[Ash]

Why is that?

[Elena]

Because you have to, like, they don't. There's a certain part of a rhubarb that if you eat it, it's poisonous.

[Ash]

For real?

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Have you ever had a rhubarb?

[Elena]

I. I don't know if I have to be.

[Ash]

I don't even know if I've come across a rhubarb and the produce is a.

[Elena]

Is a thing. But yeah, it's like the leaves. I think if you, like, leave any of the leaves on, they're poisonous and that. I don't like having any kind of risk with my food.

[Unknown]

No.

[Elena]

I got that, you know, like, I'm not one of those people who's going to eat that, like highly poisonous, like sushi. That like, you know that like crazy thing that it's like, if they don't do it perfectly.

[Ash]

Wait, there's highly poisonous sushi.

[Elena]

It's like a. It's in like. I think it's like some crazy delicacy that like. Oh, if they don't prepare it exactly.

[Ash]

Right, it can kill you. Is it like the kind of fish or something?

[Elena]

I think so.

[Ash]

I've never heard of this.

[Elena]

It's like the way you prepare it, I think if you don't do it correctly. Oh, I'm not living that life. Like, that's why I don't bungee jump. That's why I'm not skydiving.

[Ash]

Yeah. That's why you ruined oysters for me.

[Elena]

And my husband ruined oysters for as as many people as I could. Cuz I'm just like, no, live this life with me.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

Where we eat food that doesn't kill us.

[Ash]

It's good. No, honestly, chia seed pudding is fine. You literally just have to soak it in a liquid before you eat it.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Otherwise it could just, you know, kill you.

[Elena]

Yeah, I'm a little scared by that.

[Ash]

It'll just explode in your dinosaur support. You, I don't know, look into it. I honestly, I recommend it though, because. Gets things moving. It gets things moving and it might.

[Elena]

Really get things moving by exploding inside of you.

[Ash]

So just, just soak it in a liquid. But they're loaded in fiber and we as women especially don't get enough fiber. And this is not an ad. We literally just joke.

[Elena]

That sounded like it was about to be an ad.

[Ash]

I know.

[Elena]

For a second I was like, do we have an ad?

[Ash]

I was like, off. No, I feel, I feel passionate about.

[Elena]

This as women do not get a nail. Like, oh.

[Ash]

Lately I feel so passionate about like women's like, like, just like health. There's no research into women's health whatsoever. And I've been looking more into it and they don't recommend that we have enough fiber. So all of us are lacking in fiber and that makes us tired and irregular and have ibs and you know, this is a health podcast now. Yeah.

[Elena]

Welcome.

[Ash]

No, anyways, we were gonna say something else.

[Elena]

No, I don't know. We just have, we have some, some stuff coming up that's fun. We do that. I just, you know, I'm just sharing with my besties here, you know, all of you, everybody, you, Mikey, all The people listening. We get to go to the Jack's Mannequin concert soon.

[Ash]

I mean, it's like the day after tomorrow.

[Elena]

I was gonna say.

[Ash]

It's like by the time you hear this, we'll have already been.

[Elena]

Yeah, it was awesome. I'm sure it was great.

[Ash]

Good job, Andrew.

[Elena]

Yeah, we get to hang with Andrew.

[Ash]

Yeah, I'm sure a minute again.

[Elena]

And that'll be fun. And Aiden's coming because that's always a fun thing to be like, oh, let's just hang out with Andrew McMahon again.

[Ash]

Rock star again.

[Elena]

16 year old me is just not, not really fully grasping that as reality. But here we are. Yeah, and I'm just excited to see Jack's Mannequin play again because I haven't been to a Jackson Mannequin concert in a long time.

[Ash]

I actually can't believe I talked about fiber before. This was like the worst transition ever. It's talked about like digestive tracts and fiber before then. Now you're like, let's talk about Jack's Mannequin. Yeah. I'm like, that's good.

[Elena]

You're like, oh yeah.

[Ash]

You know, that really shifted us into gear. Jesus Christ.

[Elena]

I love it.

[Ash]

I'm so excited. I haven't seen Jack's Mannequin since I think 2016. Yeah.

[Elena]

Yeah. It's been a long time.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

So that'll be fun. We got that. And hopefully, you know, hopefully we see some of you there. Yeah, I bet we did.

[Ash]

We probably did.

[Elena]

So much fun. Oh, we did. We saw some of you there and it was.

[Ash]

Hey, hey guys. Good to see you. Hey you.

[Elena]

We saw there.

[Ash]

Hey, listener. You know, it's gonna be, you know what's super duper cool?

[Elena]

What?

[Ash]

There's only like 20ish episodes left. Where we have to be so far ahead. 20 episodes left that we have.

[Elena]

Yeah, we only have. We only have a handful of episodes where we're not going to understand where it's falling in the. Where we're rushing order, where we're at.

[Ash]

The space time continue.

[Elena]

Yeah, we're almost at a point where we're going to be up to date with you guys in our episodes.

[Ash]

It's going to be so nice to see you guys again. Relate to you guys. Can't wait.

[Elena]

Yeah, it's going to be nice.

[Ash]

What if I laughed like that? Whenever I say, what if I laughed like that? So many people comment, they're like, you do, you do. I'm like, don't tell me I laugh like that.

[Elena]

You laugh like that.

[Ash]

I just. You don't tell me I'm reckless today.

[Elena]

You are reckless. And this is a reckless story that you're about to finish. Yeah. Certainly a great way to describe it.

[Ash]

I know. I think we bantered the banter.

[Elena]

A Thousand sons.

[Ash]

That was beautiful.

[Elena]

Thank you.

[Ash]

Poetic even. All right, so, yeah, we are in part two of the murder of David Harris. This is like Elena just said, a reckless story. Harrowing, one might say, in part one. We started obviously with the unfortunate act of Clara Harris running over her husband David, while his 16 year old daughter Lindsay sat in the passenger seat of the car.

[Elena]

I cannot get over that.

[Ash]

Yeah. I just feel deep, deep sadness for her.

[Elena]

Me too.

[Ash]

Like I'm sending her all of my condolences at all times.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

So Clara had just learned two weeks earlier that David was having an affair with his secretary, Gail Bridges. How cliche. Obviously that was absolutely devastating to her for so many reasons, but they had been married for 10 years at that point. They had three year old twins. Wow, three year old twins at that point.

[Elena]

Three years old and she's being told that she's like not bouncing back quick enough.

[Ash]

Oh, yeah, because remember in part one, that's another part to revisit.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

She had him sit down with her and make a list of all their attributes that like she. So she could compare to make herself better. Which is.

[Elena]

Was horrifying.

[Ash]

The saddest thing I think I've ever heard. And he wrote down that Gail had almost a per. A perfect body with almost no fat.

[Elena]

And good for Gail.

[Ash]

Clara was a large person, comma, too big.

[Elena]

And again, she had three year old twins. So.

[Ash]

So that's terrible. But also so that all of that was devastating. And they also were owners of multiple practices across Houston together. And he's cheating with one of their employees.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

When you think about that, like her money that she's earning, Clara is going to this woman who's having an affair with her husband.

[Elena]

This woman's salary. She's having an affair with her husband.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Not anymore though, because remember, he got fired, she got fired. Clara said, hand over those keys. So now that she knew pretty much everything there was to know about her husband's affair, Clara wanted to know more about Gail Bridges, who was this woman who had managed to easily lure her husband.

[Elena]

You don't want to know.

[Ash]

She. You know what though? You do.

[Elena]

I know.

[Ash]

No, I know. I was gonna know. That's why I just looked at you.

[Elena]

But for real, you don't. It's not gonna do anything for you.

[Ash]

It's not Gonna do anything for you.

[Elena]

But set you more.

[Ash]

It's. I totally understand people's response to this 100. Because I have to know everything about everything, too. Even, like, when it's a bad thing.

[Elena]

Oh, yeah.

[Ash]

I can't imagine this specific bad thing.

[Elena]

Never good, though.

[Ash]

Oh, it's awful.

[Elena]

It just never ends in you being like, wow, I feel her for having known that.

[Ash]

I know. Well, she found out that Gail. I mean, she knew that Gail had worked for the company for several months, but Clara didn't really know a lot about her, so she started asking around. What she learned about Gail was kind of just a mix of vapid facts, salacious rumors, and obviously biased opinions. But one thing caught her off guard. Caught Clara off guard.

[Unknown]

Supposedly, Gail had left her husband years.

[Ash]

Earlier to be in a relationship with another woman. So the news was unconfirmed. It was just a rumor. But it was confusing to Clara, her understanding of sexual identity. Remember, this is, like, very early 2000s in Texas. Her understanding was somewhat rigid.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

She wondered how could Gail be interested in a sexual romantic relationship with David if she was a lesbian? Which, like, you can be in a relationship with a woman and not be a lesbian, in case anybody was confused.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

So upon learning more about Gail, Clara got determined to learn as much as she possibly could. Every time she learns a new piece of information, she wants more and more and more and more.

[Elena]

Yeah. See, it's a slippery slope.

[Ash]

And she didn't just want information. She wanted revenge. Great band. To that end, on July 22, Claire made an appointment with Blue Moon Investigations, which was a private investigation firm that she found in the yellow pages of the phone book. Yeah. A few hours later, she found herself sitting down with the. With Blue Moon's owners, Lucas and Bobby Baca, where she handed out a large sum of cash in advance. What she wanted, she explained to them, was them to just surveil Gail Bridges to get any information or even possibly recordings of her with her supposed lover, Julie Knight, that Clara could use to publicly shame Gale and ruin her reputation, which is, like, homophobic and annoying.

[Elena]

And also. It's not doing anything.

[Ash]

No.

[Elena]

And this is where it's not doing it. That's childish.

[Ash]

It's childish. And this is where Clara really loses me.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

She's thinking that she's gonna publicly shame this woman for being a lesbian.

[Elena]

Yeah. And it's like. Nope. And also. And it's literally just, like, for why. Yeah. Like, that's just. It doesn't.

[Ash]

What do you get out of that?

[Elena]

It's not doing anything. Like, this is doing nothing but wasting your time.

[Ash]

And if you're truly wanting to work on your marriage, you do have to.

[Elena]

Now comes out girl in the dirt and the dust.

[Ash]

Like, get her out of here.

[Elena]

You know, that's the thing. Like, make sure she's gone. Like that doesn't mean obsessing over her, which obviously, again, better. Easier said than done. Easier said than done. But it's like this just isn't going through this big thing to like publicly shame her and shit is just not. It's not worth your time.

[Ash]

It's not conducive to anything.

[Elena]

And it's very childish, regardless of how angry you are or upset. That's childish. It just is.

[Ash]

It is.

[Unknown]

As the temps start rising, I feel that familiar urge to refresh my entire closet.

[Ash]

But I am not wasting money on.

[Unknown]

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[Ash]

The best part?

[Unknown]

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[Ash]

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[Unknown]

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[Ash]

But the investor the private investigators assured Clara none of this would be any problem. The case file on Gail Bridges actually came together pretty quickly because it turned out that during her pro her divorce proceedings three years earlier, Gail's husband Steve had accused her of carrying on an affair with her friend Julie Knight.

[Elena]

Oh.

[Ash]

It didn't take long for the accusations to get back to Julie's husband, Chuck Knight, who then in turn filed his own divorce papers, alleging his wife was having an affair with Gail. So this is messy as hell now.

[Elena]

And Gail is messy as hell.

[Ash]

Well, neither man offered any evidence Gail's messy for having an affair with David. But David, her affair with Julie is unconfirmed. It seems like it might have just been helpful for her husband to have this in divorce proceedings kind of thing.

[Elena]

Yeah, we've seen that.

[Ash]

Yeah. Cuz neither man offered any evidence to support their claims. And according to Valerie Davenport, who ended up being a lawyer for both Julie and Gail, she said the tale of the affair had been invented by their husbands as a way to divert attention from their own improper misconduct.

[Elena]

Ah.

[Ash]

Apparently, Steve Bridges, you had alleged alcoholism and drug abuse, and Chuck Knight had his own alleged extramarital affair.

[Elena]

Alleged.

[Ash]

Alleged. For the Bacchus, the private investigators, the details and the actual facts didn't really matter very much. So what they reported was only what appeared in public record.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

So throughout the day, the. The bizarre story started to grow in size and in strangeness. It turned out that in 2001, just a couple years earlier, a year earlier, Julie and Gail had appeared on an episode of the daytime talk show, I don't know if you've heard of it, Sally Jesse Raphael.

[Elena]

Oh, holy.

[Ash]

With the glasses.

[Elena]

Oh, with the glasses.

[Ash]

With the glasses.

[Elena]

I remember. Sally Jesse Raphael.

[Ash]

I never saw it. It was before my time, but okay.

[Elena]

Just kidding.

[Ash]

But Julie and Gail appeared in an episode entitled My Husband Spies on Me.

[Elena]

Shut up. So this is a real. This is an episode?

[Ash]

Yes.

[Elena]

Gail is in Google.

[Ash]

My Husband Spies on Me. Sally Jesse Raphael. And they're in it but wearing wigs and dark glasses to disguise their appearances because daytime talk show.

[Elena]

I cannot.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

And because their husband spies on them.

[Ash]

And because their husband ties on them. Julie and Gail described how their husbands tried to portray them as lesbians in order to get favorable outcomes in their respective divorces.

[Elena]

Which is fucked up.

[Ash]

It is super fucked up. A few weeks later, after David's murder, the press seized on this information because obviously it is the perfect thing to write a sleazy story about. Of course, they were hoping that the scandal, however fabricated it was, would drive readership. And it worked. Yeah.

[Elena]

They don't care if it's real. No.

[Ash]

The story of David Harris's murder became a national news story within just days of his death. The Houston Chronicle was publishing photos of the women in their wigs from the Sally Jesse Raphael episode, elevating the story from one of local interest to a bizarre sex scandal that would obviously fascinate the nation.

[Elena]

Because it is bizarre. It is like. It's very bizarre.

[Ash]

The whole thing, it's so layered at this point.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Other tabloid and tabloid adjacent papers followed suit. The New York Post declared a headline reading, bisexual Triangle led to car slay of hubby. Who wrote that?

[Elena]

That's a lot.

[Ash]

I wanna.

[Elena]

That's a lot.

[Ash]

I wanna talk to the person.

[Elena]

Yeah, I gotta talk to you about that, because that one is. Is a lot.

[Ash]

That's a lot. They also compared Gail Bridges to the character of Hester Prynne from the Scarlet Letter, which, like, do better.

[Elena]

Yeah. I mean, that's also just, like, unoriginal. Yeah. Okay. Scarlet A. We get it. Okay.

[Ash]

Julie Knight said, it is madness. There's no other way to describe it. But I feel bad that she got dragged into it because from the sounds of it, Gail and Julie, like, when Gail and Julie were married to their respective partners, they were all friends, and.

[Elena]

Then they just decided to. Yeah. It doesn't sound like they launch this scheme.

[Ash]

Doesn't really sound like they had a relationship.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

But within days of David's death, photos of Clara, David, Gail and Julie were just plastered across every newspaper, every tabloid, TV talk shows all across the country. Julie told Skip Hollingsworth in 2002, you really do think you have your life worked out. You really do think nothing can go too wrong. And now here we all are on the front pages of newspapers.

[Elena]

That's rough.

[Ash]

Would you feel bad for her specifically because she has nothing wrong? She's such a side, like, character in this whole thing. It's. You feel really bad.

[Elena]

It's really sad.

[Ash]

Given the Timeline. It would seem kind of impossible too, that Bobby and Lucas Baca could have dug up so much information about Gail Bridges. It was just like a day and a half before the murder took place.

[Elena]

Oh, wow.

[Ash]

That Gail got all of this information.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

But they didn't seem to have any trouble putting together a large file on Gail in a matter of like hours. Essentially, it was only after the murder that Clara learned the real reason. Blue Moon Investigations had also been hired by Julie's ex husband, Chuck Knight, to surveil his wife, who he believed was having an affair with his. With her best friend, Gail Bridges.

[Elena]

Ah.

[Ash]

Bobby Baca followed both women for days and ultimately came up with nothing. So like I said, it doesn't seem like they were even having an affair. She actually told Chuck Knight they acted like Wilma and Betty from the Flintstones. And there was nothing, quote unquote, lesbian like about their behavior.

[Elena]

Nothing.

[Ash]

Which I'm like, what is. What is lesbian like?

[Elena]

Is that just like if they start making out?

[Ash]

If they just start like, is that lesbian like, like, like what I'm like.

[Elena]

It sounds like they were just best friends that were like hanging out and.

[Ash]

Probably going through hard times in their marriages. Yeah. But please, Bobby, let us do tell about lesbian like mannerisms. But according to Bobby, when she reported her findings to Chuck Knight, he asked her to inflame the lesbian aspects of the report again to help him in his divorce proceedings. This is all alleged. After that, Bobby filed the report away. Didn't really think anything else about it until a few months later when Gail and Julie showed up at her office. They both intended to hire Blue Moon to investigate their husbands, but only Julie ended up going through with it. And Bobby opened a case into Chuck Knight's life.

[Elena]

Ah.

[Ash]

Among the things that Bobby learned was that Chuck was allegedly having an affair of his own with a woman named Lori, who was a part time baton twirling instructor and wife of a local builder.

[Elena]

How. How are these people real? That's what I want to know.

[Ash]

You know what? It's so Texas.

[Elena]

Like, that's real wild.

[Ash]

Everything's bigger in Texas.

[Elena]

Part time baton twirling instructor?

[Ash]

Yeah, why not?

[Elena]

You can't make that up.

[Ash]

You can't.

[Elena]

You really can't.

[Ash]

Everything is, in fact bigger and more bodacious and loud.

[Elena]

In Texas? In Texas, apparently.

[Ash]

So when Bobby brought the report to Gail and Julie, the women were stunned. Steve and Lori Wells had also been very close friends with the Knights and the Bridges until they drifted apart.

[Elena]

Oh, damn.

[Ash]

So because. So Chuck was having an affair With Lori. So, like all these people who are friends, like these couple friends are all just allegedly are all having an affair with one or other people.

[Elena]

Wow. Adorable. Yeah.

[Ash]

So after months of court appointments and back and forth with the lawyers, all three women ended up getting divorced from their husbands, which I would say is good.

[Elena]

You're probably great for it. For everybody.

[Ash]

Great for everybody. But that's how Gail Bridges found herself in the employ of David Harris. And it wasn't until six or seven months later, when Clara hired Blue Moon to follow her husband, that the lives of all these people then became pretty tenuously connected. And only through all of their connections to the Blue Moon private investigation firm, which, like, damn, these people got business. Yeah.

[Elena]

Seriously.

[Ash]

But when Clara first met with Bobby to hire Blue Moon Investigations firm a few days before David was ultimately killed, Bobby didn't recognize Gail or Julie's names and assigned the case to one of her part time investigators. It was only after the murder that she made the connections. And then by, at that point, the media had also made the connections and started playing up all these crazy aspects of the story.

[Elena]

So that's how it got like really, like inflamed.

[Ash]

Yes. Now, by the time she went on trial in late January 2003, Clara Harris had become a household name across the US because of all this.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Her story of a suburban sex scandal and. And a woman driven to murder had for some reason resonated with a certain segment of the population.

[Elena]

Ah.

[Ash]

I can't imagine this story resonating.

[Elena]

I'm so sad that it resonated.

[Ash]

I know.

[Elena]

You know, like that's just like, damn.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

Like, can you imagine?

[Ash]

No.

[Elena]

Like, if this is the story that you're like, been there, sister.

[Ash]

No.

[Elena]

Like, that's hard.

[Ash]

No. Not been there, sister. Honey. No. So while the tabloids focused on the sensational aspects of the story, like the sex lives of everybody involved or, you know, tangentially involved.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Others speculated on the motive or just simply gave their uninformed opinions on the matter.

[Elena]

Yeah. Which is literally what we're doing. So we're speaking from a points of total not knowing what this feels like.

[Ash]

Uninformed, you know. According to Skip Hollingsworth, local radio talk shows were jammed with caller saying that Clara should not be severely punished for what she had done, reasoning that she never would have committed murder had her husband not cheated on her.

[Elena]

Okay, here's the thing. Like go off.

[Ash]

Here's the thing.

[Elena]

No, because those two, two things can be true at once.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

Would she have committed murder if this didn't happen.

[Ash]

Probably not.

[Elena]

I don't think so. Probably not.

[Ash]

But that doesn't mean that she shouldn't have punished.

[Elena]

That she should have it, like. Or that she's somehow, like, just relieved of all, you know, guilt for having done it.

[Ash]

Then that would mean that every single woman who's ever been cheated on can run their husband over with their car. That's pretty fucking lawless.

[Elena]

Or that anytime someone commits murder in, like, a crime of passion or something like that, would they have committed murder if, like, this hadn't happened? Probably not.

[Ash]

Right.

[Elena]

So I guess we won't punish them for it because.

[Ash]

Whoops, that's a slippery slope.

[Elena]

Slippery slope. That's the thing.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

And I get it. Emotions are high. People who probably have cheating spouses are sitting there being like, yeah, like, let it. Let it all happen. But it's like, you really have to take it down about a hundred notches.

[Ash]

Yes.

[Elena]

And take yourself totally out of the emotions of it and say, yeah, I get that you are upset. I get that sucks. I get that you can sit there and be like, I want to run him over with my car. Like, saying that as like a. I'm frustrated.

[Ash]

Hyperbole.

[Elena]

Hyperbole. That's the key here.

[Ash]

And it's like, in the words of Zach from the Valley, is hyperbole dead, Everybody?

[Elena]

There you go.

[Ash]

Elena doesn't watch.

[Elena]

I don't watch the Valley, so I don't know, but I'll trust you. And. But that's. And it's like, nobody's taking this as, like, a human thing.

[Ash]

No, that.

[Elena]

Like, yes. Shitty thing. Shitty things. Like, leading up to this. For sure. She had every right to be angry. She had every reason to lash out at times and get upset and act, you know, a little foolishly at times. Like, you can even put that aside a little bit. You cannot excuse murdering someone because they were terrible to you. Even, like, you know what I mean? Like. Like that they hurt your feelings and.

[Ash]

That they betrayed you.

[Elena]

Even you can't justify it.

[Ash]

Slippery.

[Elena]

Because that's a slippery slope. Because, like, everybody takes betrayal a different way. And you can't just blanketly say, well, he did this shitty thing, so he deserved it.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

You can't do that.

[Ash]

We would have a reckless nation.

[Elena]

It would be a lawless nation. It's like, you can't do that.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

So it's like, we gotta take it back to being rational humans here and rational adults and say, yeah, you have every right to be pissed. You can't do that.

[Ash]

You don't have A re right to have a pissed vehicle.

[Elena]

He shouldn't have lost his life.

[Ash]

No.

[Elena]

Should he have been, you know, should he have had some of his money spent on her behalf? Absolutely.

[Ash]

Yeah. Even the. Even the DA says that later.

[Elena]

Yeah. Should he have had to, like, you know, should he have had to hear it from her?

[Ash]

Absolutely.

[Elena]

Should he have had to repair his relationships with everyone around him and had to go through the hardship of that? Absolutely. And he should have bend over backwards for it.

[Ash]

Yep.

[Elena]

But he shouldn't have been murdered. No, it's just not. No, it's pretty black and white to me.

[Ash]

I agree. I agree wholeheartedly.

[Unknown]

This show is sponsored by Better Help. If you listen to this show, you know all about the stigma that surrounds men's mental health. A lot of times the people that we talk about, the men we talk about in these stories never went and got help because there was such a stigma around it. And men today even face immense pressure to perform, to provide, and to keep it all together. So it's no wonder that 6 million men in the US suffer from depression every year. And it's often undiagnosed. If you're a man and you're feeling the weight of the world right now, talk to someone. A friend, a loved one, a therapist. A great place to start is with Better Help. I've benefited massively from therapy. I suggest it to everybody. And at Better help, they have over 35, 000 therapists. They are the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally. As the largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of expertise. Talk it out with Better help. Our listeners get 10 [e-mail] morbid. That's betterhelp. H-E-L-P.com morbid.

[Ash]

You know that feeling when you're at.

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[Ash]

Ingredients on my grocery label noodles.

[Unknown]

I am currently obsessed with the Goodles Mac and cheese. The Goodles noodles are so good. They're super High protein. And I made like a healthy girl hamburger helper the other night with those.

[Ash]

Goodles noodles and I will not shut up about it. They also have so many on site.

[Unknown]

Filters that make it simple to shop by your needs. Whether it's gluten free snacks, high protein meals or non toxic cleaning products. I personally filtered for high protein options.

[Ash]

You know like Goodles.

[Unknown]

But I also stocked up on Primal kitchen sausages.

[Ash]

Oh those siete chips. I freaking love those. They're such a time saver.

[Unknown]

Ready to make the switch?

[Ash]

You should be.

[Unknown]

Go to thrivemarket.commorbid for 30% off your first order plus a free $60 gift. That's T H R I V market.commorbid.

[Ash]

Thrive market.commorbid while the sympathy that many people seem to have for Clara wasn't just lost on the press once the trial opened, a lot of outlets reported on the fact that her high priced defense attorneys were paid for at least in part by David's parents.

[Elena]

Wow.

[Ash]

Which is. These are big people. It's wow. This was very shocking to me, this piece. But I was like, I think these are good people. Like I can't imagine the parents. Yeah.

[Elena]

Just. Yeah.

[Ash]

So throughout the trial it was actually common to see David's parents escort Clara, their daughter in law, in and out of court each day and sit behind her in a show of support. Support.

[Elena]

Wow.

[Ash]

In their statement to the press, the Harris has said as a good Christian family, they had forgiven their daughter in law and hope she would remain free to raise the young twin boys that she had shared with her husband.

[Elena]

Those are.

[Ash]

Wow.

[Elena]

I'm just, I'm bigger people than me.

[Ash]

I'm stunned by that, that this is a shocking case. I would say that is one of the most shocking.

[Elena]

That's honestly very shocking. I can't, I can't even comment on that because I don't even. That's shocking.

[Ash]

It's, it's a whole other level.

[Elena]

Yeah. That's a whole different thing.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

Wow.

[Ash]

Yeah. Wow.

[Elena]

That's like shocking.

[Ash]

Yeah. I can't say that I would feel.

[Elena]

The same but like I don't think I could get to that place.

[Ash]

I really give them a lot of credit because that's a whole other level of forgiveness.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

That I have never found in my heart.

[Elena]

Yeah. I don't think I will ever find that nor.

[Ash]

But wild and lucky. Claire.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Can you like how do you face your mother in law after running down her child? Yeah.

[Elena]

That's wow.

[Ash]

Well, for her part, Clara did seem to be remorseful. For what she had done. As her lawyer, George Parnham, said in a 2002 interview, it was rare to find Clara not weeping. And Clara was having. Was still having difficulty believing that David would never again walk through the front door of their home.

[Elena]

Because again, I think she blinked out, man.

[Ash]

I really do.

[Elena]

I don't think she was with it.

[Ash]

I definitely think she feels regret. Regret.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

But I still think she.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Needed to be punished.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

Prior to the Harris murder and prior.

[Ash]

To Clara's trial, George Parnham had actually gained national notoriety as the defense attorney for Andrea Yates. And for anybody that doesn't know Andrea Yates, she was a Houston mother who drowned her five children in 2001.

[Elena]

I'm not gonna say no worse.

[Ash]

And just so you know, we will. We will literally never cover that case. And you don't want to hear us.

[Elena]

Yeah, you don't want to hear my opinions.

[Ash]

But that notoriety brought even more attention to an already heavily watched story. The fact that this guy is the same guy who repped Andrea Yates.

[Elena]

Oh, yeah, I would say so.

[Ash]

That's a whole damn. We're not talking about that.

[Elena]

Yeah, that's a horrible case.

[Ash]

But when the trial finally did get started, Parham laid out the defense in his opening statement when. When she learned of her husband's affair with Gail Bridges, he said Clara was deeply hurt but willing to work on their marriage, provided David end his relationship, which he did agree to do.

[Elena]

Do.

[Ash]

But when Clara learned that, contrary to what they had agreed upon, David had checked into the Nassau Bay Hilton with Gail, Clara, quote, acted in the heat of anger and betrayal, which I do think is what happened.

[Elena]

I think that's correct. Like, you know, at the very base level of what it is. I think you're stating facts for sure.

[Ash]

Yep.

[Elena]

One cheap, more nuanced than that, I would say.

[Ash]

Yes, yes. Which is true, but it's. It's a little more nuanced. That's the perfect way to say. Say it. He said, once she came out of her rage induced fog and realized what she had done, she was immediately remorseful, and she cradled David's head in her hands and insisted that he begin breathing. She was, according to Parnham, desperate to, quote, keep her family together, to bring her husband of 10 years back to her, which she had tried to do through cosmetic surgery and other beauty products.

[Elena]

That is just so sad.

[Ash]

It's tragic.

[Elena]

It really is.

[Ash]

Unlike the outcome in the Yates case, Parnham's defense of Clara stood a fairly good chance of success with the jury, though, which was composed of nine Women and three men. Which I was like, damn, where was the selection there, Right. Nine women and three men.

[Elena]

Damn.

[Ash]

That's a. That's a for real jury of your peers.

[Elena]

Yeah, it is.

[Ash]

During jury selection, one potential juror said, any married woman can relate to Clara Harris. Married woman here.

[Elena]

Nope. I'm gonna go on the record and say no married woman, then. No. Nope. Can't. Can't say that I do. Who?

[Ash]

Married woman right here. I do not relate to Claire Harris. This. Another juror was a potential juror was dismissed when she said she, quote, nicked her husband with a truck after discovering him with a mistress years ago.

[Elena]

Some of these things are inside thoughts that I think Texas is crazy. Some of these things are go to the grave with.

[Ash]

I'm confident in saying Texas is a wild place. It's a wild place. I feel confident saying that because even Texans say that.

[Elena]

Yes.

[Ash]

Like, and this story is just such a prime example of Texas being. Being a wild place.

[Elena]

The fact that this just opened up. Women just being like, oh, don't worry. I, too, hit my husband's mistress with my car. Like, it's just like, whoa, Everybody. This is not like, everybody admit.

[Ash]

I don't think in Boston, you. Well, you know what? Never mind. I'm not even.

[Elena]

I don't know, man.

[Ash]

I don't know.

[Elena]

I don't know.

[Ash]

But strangely, I was just saying, like, she's so lucky that there are so many women on the jury. But even the men in the jury pool seemed open to her defense. One man said he had been accused of assault when he discovered his wife's infidelity. So he understood the impulse.

[Elena]

He said, here's the thing. I think they are correct in what they're saying. Some of them, like, by being like, I understand that you got out of yourself. I can. Like, I think they're almost looking at it like we are. Where we're like, I understand the emotion behind it. Yes. That's driving you to this, like, place of just no return. Yeah, but I'm not understanding the act, and I'm not understanding. Not pulling yourself back from that point of no return.

[Ash]

Hopefully. Yeah.

[Elena]

But you can look at it and go, okay, I get that you are upset.

[Ash]

Upset.

[Elena]

I get it. Like, you had every right to be upset.

[Ash]

And there was. Some of them are like, I've been there.

[Elena]

It's the ones that are like, I, too, have nicked my husband with the car. And it's like, whoa, okay. We're not in the same. We don't hear.

[Ash]

We didn't Give that enough attention. Did you say you nicked, snicked, nicked your husband with your car? A little crazy.

[Elena]

Just gave him a little boop. Like, that's all.

[Ash]

You can't nick someone with your car. You either hit them or you don't.

[Elena]

It's a motor vehicle. Like, and that. That's a human body. Like, that's.

[Ash]

You don't nick someone. You nick someone with, like, some tweezers or, like, some trimmers.

[Elena]

No.

[Ash]

Your toenail cutters.

[Elena]

And that's where the. That's where my issue is. Lying is like, we're getting. They're getting outside of the real point here of like. Of, like, the emotions and the. The betrayal and. And all that is not coming into question. It's the act that followed it. It's like, you can. And it's just the same thing. You can get upset. You can feel betrayed, you can scream. You can yell. You can act a little out of yourself. I get it. Like, I would. I can't imagine. I'm not gonna sit here and say I would be in total control of my emotions and myself.

[Ash]

I'm barely in control of my emotions.

[Elena]

On a good day when I'm happy.

[Ash]

I'm barely in control of it.

[Elena]

So it's like, I get that. And it's like. But there's no excuse and for running someone over three times in your car with their child in the car. There's just excuse for that and to sit there and give the, like. Well, yeah, like, you know, like, I beat the. Out of my wife's, you know, side piece there, right? And I caught a case for it. So I get it. And it's like, one, that's. You shouldn't do that. And two, that's a little different. It's a little different running someone over in the car three times with the child in the car.

[Ash]

Jury selection for this case sounded buck wild.

[Elena]

I think people were just like. Like, it sounds like people were just kind of. They found a lot of people who could relate to this, which is really sad.

[Ash]

We all need to.

[Elena]

To be better to our loved ones.

[Ash]

Well, almost. To sum it all up in one statement, one of the trial watchers told a reporter. There's the rule of law, and then there's the rule of law in Texas. The rule of law in Texas is kind of cowboy law. It's a fine line between sanity and madness. I think that encompasses. No, I think that encompasses this entire fucking case.

[Elena]

It literally does. Is the rule of law.

[Ash]

And then there's the rule of law In Texas. I Skip Hollingsworth covers so many cases in Texas. And whenever I do cover a case in Texas, he's usually a source I'll use. And all of those cases that he has reported on throughout the years and all of the cases that we have covered in morbid throughout the years, the Texas ones are among the craziest stories I've ever read in my life.

[Elena]

Yeah, Texas is just like.

[Ash]

And they even say it like that. This is a man from Texas. It's cowboy law.

[Elena]

And I think that's the thing. I think they're just more willing to say that, like, yeah, we all felt like we wanted to run someone over in a car. She just did it. And it's like, yeah, okay, I don't maybe keep that stuff inside. Like, I don't. That's a lot. Like, there's just so many people openly being like, yeah, I get it.

[Ash]

Like, ah.

[Elena]

Like, please be specific. Tell me you get the emotion.

[Ash]

Yeah, you got.

[Elena]

No one's saying that. Everyone's just saying, I get it.

[Ash]

You gotta be specific.

[Elena]

And it's like, no, we don't get it. We can't get that. We can't get murdering someone because you're mad.

[Ash]

The prosecution didn't.

[Elena]

That's a good thing.

[Ash]

Good news. Yeah. However sympathetic Clara Harris looked to the jury and anybody even watching the trial, the prosecution flatly rejected the sudden passion defense offense and instead pointed to the evidence which they believed would show the murder to be at least deliberate, if not entirely planned.

[Elena]

I don't think.

[Ash]

Personally, I don't think this was planned.

[Elena]

Doesn't feel.

[Ash]

I think it was deliberate.

[Elena]

I think it was 100 deliberate.

[Ash]

Had a moment where she said, I'm gonna run him the over with my car, and then followed through on it.

[Elena]

I don't think that she thought.

[Ash]

I don't think she woke up that morning and thought that.

[Elena]

I don't think that either. Yeah, that's just my feeling as a person looking at this case completely from the outside. And here I think she's.

[Ash]

She woke up that morning in a really bad emotional state that only got worse throughout the day.

[Elena]

Yeah, I think so too. And I think she made a poor decision with going out to look for them, because I think in that emotional state, there should have been a little self regulation here to say I am in a highly emotional state about this. I feel some type of way I should not go out looking because also go doing this.

[Ash]

Like, I don't. I don't know that she had a plan when she did ultimately find Them, but you're sitting, like, you're gonna find them at some point. You're hunting them down. So what's the plan from there? And Lindsay never, ever, ever should have been invited to go along for this.

[Elena]

That's really my huge point here. Obviously, the murder and the entire thing, having Lindsay involved in any way, shape or form should never, ever, ever have happened.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

And that honestly should have been the, like, come down to earth moment of, like, Lindsay being around is being like, okay, self regulate.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

Like, I have someone. That should have been your thing. And it's. And it is a little. That was scary that, like, that didn't regulate her.

[Ash]

Well, Lindsay ended up testifying, and I do think that helped bring people down to earth on the journey away from.

[Elena]

Like, the emotional impact of everything and.

[Ash]

You know, relating to ha. Your husband.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Well, on the first day of the trial, the prosecution called, like I just said, Lindsay Harris to testify against her stepmother. Lindsay explained that they had gone out looking for her father and Gail that afternoon and how once she learned where they were, Clara seemed determined to kill David. Lindsay told the jury she said she would kill my father for what he'd done to her. Now, again, who knows if that's, like, hyperbolic, like I think we've all said, I'm gonna kill. Oh, my God, I'm gonna kill him. Like, oh, my God.

[Elena]

Say that to a kid.

[Ash]

Don't say that to.

[Elena]

You should never say that. I don't care how old that kid is. 16 years old is still a kid. And it's like, you don't say that about their father.

[Ash]

And you ended up killing him later that day.

[Elena]

Yeah. So that's not great. That you said makes it seem like.

[Ash]

You had a plan here, which, you know, maybe she did. I don't know. I don't know.

[Elena]

I don't know.

[Ash]

But in his opening statement, George Param had, you know, tried to frame the murder as something akin to an accident. Clara hadn't gone into the hotel in order to kill anyone. But after the brawl in the lobby, she was in a highly aroused emotion, emotional state and acted without thinking. And he challenged the prosecution's claim that Clara had driven over her husband multiple times, telling the jury that she only hit him once. Despite his best efforts to frame Clara in a sympathetic light as a woman who had made a terrible mistake. The evidence and the testimony of those present at the hotel when Davis David Harris was killed was all of those people were telling a very different story.

[Elena]

It's. I go back to the cackling the cackling.

[Ash]

And she absolutely ran over him more than one time. There's video evidence of it.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[E]

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[Ash]

Lindsay testified she was on a mission to find out where he was. She was determined they had tricked her, they had hidden from her and she was upset by that. And once she found David and Gail, she waited to make her move. In her testimony, Lindsay told the jury that her father was, quote, really scared when he saw Clara's car barreling toward him. She said, I know he was trying to get away and he couldn't.

[Elena]

Oh, that's awful.

[Ash]

And this is, this will make you cry. She described what it was like when she, quote, felt the bumps and knew that Clara had driven over her father again and again, again. And then put the, the car in reverse and hit him a third time.

[Elena]

Holy. Like that's, you see, that's where like it's like the salaciousness of everything. Everybody's like, oh my God. Yeah, I get it, blah, blah, blah. And then you go right to the real. In this case, it's like 16 year old girl. Disgusting.

[Ash]

It's a 16 year old girl who was brought along to run over her father and now has to probably relive that at least every other day of her life.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Like that is trauma that you will never unpack.

[Elena]

Never.

[Ash]

And she never asked for that to happen.

[Elena]

No. And she by. There's not one person among us that could say that that would not affect them.

[Ash]

No.

[Elena]

Deeply.

[Ash]

No.

[Elena]

In I can't.

[Ash]

And that's where, like that's Like a whole other. Like, Clara killed somebody, and then she. The emotional trauma that she inflicted on Lindsay. I almost wish there was a charge for that.

[Elena]

Yeah. Honestly.

[Ash]

But she seemed to feel remorse, I guess. As she listened to Lindsay's testimony, her loud sobbing filled the courtroom to the point where she was repeatedly reprimanded by the judge, who eventually told her, either you'll sit here in a composed manner or you will be removed from the courtroom.

[Elena]

And I don't blame them.

[Ash]

Which is like, quiet down.

[Elena]

Yeah. It's like, get it together.

[Ash]

This isn't your moment to lose your shit. This. Exactly. This is her moment to tell her story. Story. Now, from the outset of the trial, there was never a plan for Clara to testify on her own behalf.

[Elena]

Oh.

[Ash]

But about a week in, she stunned everyone when she insisted that she did want to testify in her own defense, despite her lawyer's own objections. On the day of her testimony, George Parnham was already in a tremendous amount of stress, which was exacerbated by the fact that he also had terrible flu at that time.

[Elena]

Oh, no. Oh.

[Ash]

Flu symptoms notwithstanding, he did do his best to proceed as normal when he called Clara to the stand. In her testimony, Clara said of her relationship with David, we were best friends. We were very much in love. According to her, she and her husband had been incredibly close, romantically and professionally, all until Gail came along. In her testimony, heard early in the trial, Gail had explained that David told her he and Clara had an open marriage, which was the only reason she started to see him to begin with. I will literally never give any ounce of credence to that. That's what every side chick is told. And you can't believe it.

[Elena]

Yeah. You just can't. And honestly, if you're not having any, like, I don't know. It's so easy for someone to say that.

[Ash]

If you're in an open marriage, let your wife confirm it.

[Elena]

Exactly.

[Ash]

That's what you need to say to somebody, to a man or a woman who tells you that they are in an open relationship or an open marriage. Marriage, you want confirmation directly from their.

[Elena]

Partner, because how anybody can say that? And you just take it at face value.

[Ash]

Exactly. And nine out of ten times, it's not.

[Elena]

And also, here's where, like, my. I'm like, I call on that because it's like, she could tell that everybody in that office was uncomfortable and was probably sitting there and being like, oh, like, what's going on here? If they were in an open marriage, then nobody would be batting an eye.

[Ash]

Exactly.

[Elena]

Because he could do whatever he wanted.

[Ash]

And it's like.

[Elena]

And also, why are they sneaking around if he's in an opening?

[Ash]

Well, that's the thing. Did you act like that when Clara came into the office?

[Elena]

That's the thing. It's like, sounds like you were sneaking around.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

So it's like, if you're in an open marriage, I would assume you don't have to do that.

[Ash]

And supposedly, who knows exactly what happened that day, but supposedly, when Clara went in and fired her, she accused Gail of having the relationship, and Gail supposedly denied it, if that's what in fact happened. So it's like, why wouldn't you just sit there and say, I'm so sorry, I thought you were in an open marriage. He lied to both of us.

[Elena]

Exactly. Exactly.

[Ash]

That's when you, like sisters unite, right there.

[Elena]

Exactly. That's when you. I don't become a girl's girl and you say, holy.

[Ash]

I don't think he told her that. And even if he did, I think she was naive to believe that.

[Elena]

I think so too.

[Ash]

That statement grew an incredible amount of sarcastic criticism from Clara, who also rejected it entirely. As for the murder itself, though, Clara explained, I was extremely upset. He was holding Gail's hand the way he used to hold my hand when I was special to him. By the time she was in the car and pulling out of the parking space face. She described herself as being in a, quote, fog, like in a dream. She claimed that she had a blackout and she wasn't in control. She said all of this happened in a fraction of a second. I didn't have time to think. The court broke for lunch just after she walked through the events of her husband's murder. And just as George Parnham stepped outside of the courtroom to get some air, he collapsed in the hallway and passed out, lying on the floor for about 20 minutes before he ended up being removed by paramedics. Addicts. Holy. The press immediately keyed in on that fact. On the fact that just prior to Parnham passing out, Clara had more or less confessed to murder. And people were like, hey, maybe those two events are linked. The fact that his client just confessed to murder on the stand when he never wanted her to testify at all. And then he just passed out.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Yeah. So that made the case even more sensational, if you could imagine. Yeah. The judge was not very sympathetic, though, and considered it to be one more unprofessional stunt in a series of attention grabbing moments in this case, which I don't blame her. I'd be Pissed if that's how my courtroom was going down.

[Elena]

Yeah. I'd be like, come on, guys.

[Ash]

Now listen to this. On February 13, 2003, just one day before what would have been Clara and David's 11th wedding anniversary, the jury retired for deliberation. Wow. How does that even happen?

[Elena]

How does that happen?

[Ash]

How does that even happen?

[Elena]

That's wild.

[Ash]

In her closing statement, Assistant District Attorney Mia Magnus focused entirely on the evidence of the case and the rule of the law. She told the jury, if the man is cheating on you, this is exactly what we're saying. You do what every other woman in this country does. You take him to the cleaners.

[Elena]

Exactly.

[Ash]

You don't kill him.

[Elena]

Yes. It's just. That's just the. That's just life, man.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

You know?

[Ash]

George Parnham, meanwhile, continued his attempt to frame the murder as a crime of passion. He described Gail Bridges as a home wrecker who enticed and seduced David into a relationship that should never have happened. And he argued that if Clara had intended to kill her husband that night, why would she have brought along his daughter, knowing what she would do to traumatize the girl for the rest of her life?

[Elena]

And you would hope that's the truth.

[Ash]

Truth, yeah.

[Elena]

That if. That. That was a plan that she wouldn't have brought.

[Ash]

And that's the thing. Maybe there's no malice aforethought there. Yeah, but.

[Elena]

And he died.

[Ash]

Well.

[Elena]

And her saying, like, you know, I was out of control of myself, and like. Well, that's like. Yeah, okay. But as human beings and as adults, we have to maintain control, become in control. It's just not an excuse to get out of control. Like, it just isn't. That's just the way we run things here. Like, you can't. That's. That's the way I'm sure that happened. But that's on you, man. That you didn't get into control, especially with that kid in the car.

[Ash]

Right.

[Elena]

Like this.

[Ash]

Just can't get away from that.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

So the next day, the jury returned their verdict. The day that would have been her 11th wedding anniversary. Which is just the irony there is not lost on any darkly poetic. Yeah. They found Clara Harris guilty of the murder of her husband. Later that day, during the sentencing phase, Clara was asked if she had anything to say. And she turned to her stepdaughter, Lindsay, and said, I'm sorry, Lindsay. I'm sorry, baby. Which is sad. You gotta say a whole lot more than that.

[Elena]

That's not gonna do it.

[Ash]

Never gonna. Yeah.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

At the same time, the jury had the option of accepting the sudden passion defense, which carried a sentence of two to 20 years, or a second degree murder sentence, which was up to 99 years.

[Elena]

Whoa.

[Ash]

Because the case didn't meet the special circumstances threshold, the death penalty was not on the table. Before the sentence could be passed, the judge had to stop the proceedings on account of Clara hysterically sobbing, which made it completely impossible for anyone in the.

[Elena]

Courtroom to hear anything, which, once again, you have to get it together.

[Ash]

Yeah. She has no control over.

[Elena]

Yeah. You are not in control right now. And it's showing.

[Ash]

The judge warned her. Be quiet. I'm going to give you one more chance. Don't blow it, or you will be out of this courtroom room.

[Elena]

Damn.

[Ash]

And this time, her attorney, George Parnham, stood up for his client, saying, she just got convicted of murder.

[Elena]

I mean, yeah, but it's like. But it's still a court.

[Ash]

You did that murder. Yeah. And again, as an adult, you literally need to find some goddamn way to control yourself.

[Elena]

That's the end. Also, like, the whole thing is, like, you have been highly emotional and out of control this entire time. It's not like you just fell apart. Like, you've been screaming and sobbing the whole time like, you can't do it. Do that.

[Ash]

Yeah. You just can't. And it's not really helping your case at all.

[Elena]

It's really not.

[Ash]

Once the courtroom was finally back in order, the judge read the sentence that was handed down from the jury. 20 years in prison with a minimum of 10 served before becoming eligible for parole, which I would say is a pretty sweet deal.

[Elena]

That's a pretty.

[Ash]

After running your husband over with your car multiple times.

[Elena]

Yeah, I would say so.

[Ash]

In her statement to the press, the assistant district attorney said that she was pleased with the outcome. Outcome? She said after hearing all the evidence, this jury recognized the case for what it was and that it is the senseless taking of a human life. Their verdict recognized Mrs. Harris's conduct, and they didn't excuse it. I was overwhelmed with just how tragic the whole thing was, and that it seemed to me the victim was getting lost in the process, which it. I think this case was so heavily sensationalized, and I'm sure the. The people who could relate to Clara had some kind of hatred in their heart for David. So he did. Did very much get lost in this process.

[Elena]

I can see that for sure.

[Ash]

And he made a bad choice by stepping out on his wife, and he.

[Elena]

Made a bad choice of bad choices.

[Ash]

By stepping out on his family. And not ending the relationship. But he was also a human being. He was also a father. And you can't just kill people because they hurt your feelings.

[Elena]

Because they hurt your feelings. And that really does come down to that. No matter how much they hurt your feelings.

[Ash]

His life should have been a little more precious than that.

[Elena]

Yeah, it was. Yeah. It's just not. The punishment for cheating is not death. It just isn't.

[Ash]

No.

[Elena]

I know. It feels like when you're on the other side of it, that maybe that's. That feels like it should be the punishment, but the reality of the situation is it's not.

[Ash]

It's just not.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

So a year after the sentence was passed, Clara did appeal the verdict to the court of appeals for the first district of texas on the grounds that, among other things, the judge didn't allow the inclusion of two videos of videotape showing the murder and the fact that the judge refused to impeach a witness who they thought lied on the stand. But on all points, the appeals court sided with the trial judge, finding it was reasonable to defer to experts in excluding the tapes and deferring to the judge's judgment when it came to witness testimony. In their conclusion, they said, we note that even if the appellant were correct in her interpretation of the law, she could not show harm. Therefore, the order of the argument did not not disadvantage applein in meeting her burden. So they said, stay in jail.

[Elena]

Stay in jail.

[Ash]

Stay in jail. In 2018. In May of 2018, after serving 15 years of her 20 year sentence, Clara Harris was released on parole. In the year since her release, she has completed the terms of her probation and has concluded her obligation to the state. She is now a free woman.

[Elena]

Wow.

[Ash]

And hopefully doesn't drive around often. Often, yeah.

[Elena]

And maintains her control.

[Ash]

Yeah. I mean, she hasn't popped up in the news again, so that's good.

[Elena]

So there's that.

[Ash]

Yeah. But I just.

[Elena]

What a devastating tale.

[Ash]

Truly, I feel the most for Lindsay.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

And then their other two children, who not only lost their father, but then lost their mother for 15.

[Elena]

That's the thing.

[Ash]

Like, they grew up without two parents.

[Elena]

Yeah, they absolutely did.

[Ash]

And that's awful. No matter if she regretted it or not.

[Elena]

Yeah. Like, everyone loses. Everyone this scenario.

[Ash]

Everyone lost. Clara lost. She lost her freedom, which she should have. And for the time being, Lindsay lost her dad.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

And a stepmom who she actually really liked up until that point.

[Elena]

And those twins lost. The twins lost their parents.

[Ash]

Both their parents. And the Harris has lost their son.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

And somehow stood by Clara, which I just really commend them for that. That, that's, that's big people.

[Elena]

Yeah. Like that's what a devastating case. That's just everyone so layered.

[Ash]

Everyone just.

[Elena]

And it's very interesting to see how everybody had their own two cents, you know.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

Even us.

[Ash]

Even us. You know, we've always got our own 2 cents. We've always got our own 2, 4 cents right here.

[Elena]

Yep. That's right.

[Ash]

Well, with that being said, we definitely hope you keep listening.

[Elena]

Yeah. And we hope you keep it weird.

[Ash]

And tell us your two cents.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

I want to know what you think.

[Elena]

Sa.

[Ash]

If you like morbid, you can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondery plus in the Wondery app or on Apple PodC Prime. Members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short [e-mail] survey. Isn't home where we all want to be?

[Elena]

Reba?

[Ash]

Here for realtor.com, the Pro's number one most trusted app. Finding a home is like dating. You're searching for the one with over 500,000 new listings every month. You can find the one today. Download the realtor.com app cause you're nearly home. Make it real with realtor.com Pro's number one most trusted app based on August 2024 proprietary survey.

[Elena]

Over 500, 000 new listings every month.

[Unknown]

Based on average new for sale and rental listings.

[Elena]

February 2024 through January 2025.