Colleen Harris

Summary

Podcast Summary: Snapped: Women Who Murder – Episode: Colleen Harris

Introduction

In the gripping episode titled "Colleen Harris" from the true crime podcast Snapped: Women Who Murder by Oxygen, listeners are taken through the harrowing tale of Colleen Harris and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the murder of her husband, Bob Harris. Released on May 25, 2025, this episode delves deep into Colleen's past, the investigation, and the eventual trial that led to her conviction.

The Crime Scene and Initial Investigation

The episode opens with a chilling description of the crime scene in Placerville, California. On January 6, 2013, at approximately 6 PM, an unusual 911 call alerts El Dorado County authorities to a possible homicide.

David Weiner (00:03:00): "He stated upon her recovery, he was going to meet and end their relationship. The moment somebody leaves is the moment that is most dangerous."

Upon arrival, detectives find Bob Harris dead in his bedroom, exhibiting a gunshot wound to the head. The scene is described as gruesome, with blood on the walls and a double-barrel shotgun placed neatly beside Bob.

Detective (07:10): "There appeared to be a gunshot wound to the side of the face. His face was, was missing."

Colleen Harris: The Widow with a Past

Colleen Harris, the 70-year-old widow, is the sole witness present. During her initial interview, she displays a startling lack of emotion and claims to have no memory of the events leading to her husband's death.

Colleen Harris (12:46): During the interview, she sits calmly, putting her feet up on an empty chair, appearing "very calm and relaxed."

Psychologists hypothesize that Colleen might be experiencing psychogenic amnesia, a temporary memory loss triggered by the traumatic event.

Psychologist (18:29): "If she's truly experiencing psychogenic amnesia, the amnesia could have been just for the death of Bob, the traumatic incident."

Revelations of a Disturbing Past

As investigators delve deeper, they uncover a disturbing connection to Colleen's past. In 1985, Colleen was a suspect in the murder of her first husband, Jim Batten, in the same house where Bob Harris was later found dead. Initially, Colleen claimed amnesia during that case but was acquitted after testifying self-defense.

Colleen Harris (25:35): "She was confronting her then husband, Jim Batten, because he had molested her daughter and she was driven to protect her daughter."

Detectives note striking similarities between the two cases, including the shooting method and Colleen's initial claims of amnesia.

Motive: Financial Gains and Personal Strife

Further investigation reveals potential motives rooted in financial gain and personal turmoil. Colleen had divorced Bob in 2004 to access death benefits from her first husband. Despite remarriage, records show she stood to gain significantly from Bob's pension and estate upon his death.

Colleen Harris (39:35): "She got his survivor benefits, like $1,100 a month."

Additionally, there were rumors of Bob having an affair with a woman from Mongolia, causing strain in their marriage and possibly fueling Colleen's motives.

Family Member (28:15): "Colleen was extremely upset that Bob might be having an affair. So much so that it had driven Bob to seek a divorce."

Critical Evidence and Breakthroughs

Investigators made a breakthrough by examining Colleen's cell phone records, which contradicted her claims of being in a "gray fog" and not leaving the house during the time of the murder. Logs showed her journey from Placerville to the Bay Area shortly after Bob's death, indicating premeditation.

David Weiner (36:03): "She was very articulate. She stated where she was at, what she needed, how to get there. There doesn't seem to be any confusion."

Additionally, handwritten journals found in Colleen's home suggested fabricated entries, hinting at a planned cover-up.

Psychologist (34:39): "That would indicate a great deal of planning. The amount of time that it would take to feel years worth of journals would have to have been started months in advance."

The Trial and Conviction

The culmination of the investigation led to Colleen Harris's arrest and subsequent trial in March 2015. During the trial, defense strategies fluctuated between claims of suicide, accident, self-defense, and amnesia, mirroring Colleen's inconsistent narratives during interviews.

Colleen Harris (43:58): "She waited until he was asleep. She went into that bedroom with that sawed off shotgun. She leaned across that bed and shot him at near point blank range, killing them instantly."

Despite attempts to portray her innocence, compelling evidence—including cell phone records and inconsistent testimonies—led to her conviction. The jury delivered a verdict of first-degree murder, sentencing Colleen to 50 years to life.

Aftermath and Reflections

The episode concludes with reflections from Bob's family and the lasting impact of his loss. Colleen Harris remained incarcerated until her death in July 2022 at the age of 80. Notably, Wesley Thornberry, Colleen's son, was never charged in connection with either murder, and David Weiner, Colleen's attorney, faced no charges related to Bob Harris's death.

Family Member (46:51): "We think of grandpa Bob all the time and we talk about him, his child and their children... that's probably the legacy that hopefully will live on."

Conclusion

The "Colleen Harris" episode of Snapped: Women Who Murder intricately weaves the narrative of a woman with a shadowed past, uncovering layers of deceit, motive, and meticulous planning. Through detailed investigation and relentless pursuit of the truth, the podcast sheds light on the complexities of Colleen Harris's character and the tragic loss of Bob Harris.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Detective (02:05): "A cryptic 911 call summons officers to a horrific scene."
• Colleen Harris (08:33): "None of that is consistent with a self-inflicted wound."
• Detective (15:23): "At this point during my investigation, we have little information."
• David Weiner (29:07): "She was very articulate. She stated where she was at, what she needed..."
• Psychologist (35:25): "That would indicate a great deal of planning."
• Family Member (28:15): "I don't know how interested in this other woman he was..."

This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key elements of the Colleen Harris case as presented in the podcast episode, offering listeners a thorough understanding of the events, investigations, and legal proceedings involved.

Transcript

[Narrator]

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[Detective]

A cryptic 911 call summons officers to a horrific scene. There's been a.

[Colleen Harris]

There's a dead body.

[Detective]

Okay, what happened?

[David Weiner]

Can't tell you. There was blood on the walls. It was an incredible grues son.

[Detective]

The only witness is rendered helpless.

[Investigator]

When she was looking at me, it was almost like she was looking right through me.

[Detective]

As the case unfolds, investigators zero in on a repeat offender.

[Bob Harris]

That's the same way. That's the same house. It's the same kind of work.

[Detective]

The cold blooded truth will expose a killer driven by jealousy, greed and experience.

[Psychologist]

She kept extensive journals over the years.

[Witness]

I don't know why I did what I did.

[David Weiner]

He stated upon her recovery, he was going to meet and end their relationship. The moment somebody leaves is the moment that is Most dangerous.

[Detective]

Placerville, CA on January 6, 2013 it's just after 6pm when an unusual call comes in to the Eldorado County911.

[David Weiner]

My name is David Weiner, I'm an attorney and the address of the Emergency.

[Witness]

Wilderness Court and there's been a.

[Colleen Harris]

There's a dead body there. Okay.

[Detective]

What happened?

[David Weiner]

Yeah, I can't tell you. I'm an attorney. I'm just relaying information that I received.

[Detective]

Now who killed who?

[Colleen Harris]

Don't know.

[David Weiner]

I just want to report that there's somebody out there. He stated that he was at his office in Cameron park when he was not on scene with the person. And he refused to answer most questions.

[Detective]

Multiple units from the El Dorado Sheriff's Department rushed to the scene.

[Investigator]

Really all we knew was there was a possibility of a homicide or a fatality that happened within this house. We don't know what we're going to be walking into. We established a perimeter. There were a group of us, including myself, that responded directly to the front of the house. It was really dark late at night.

[Detective]

Inside, deputies see a woman.

[David Weiner]

She was going on as if nothing was wrong. The deputies on scene requested that dispatch contact the residents and call in to get a hold of the female that was inside.

[Investigator]

Our dispatch was able to get her to come out and exit the house.

[Detective]

Deputies meet her at the front door. She identifies herself as 70 year old Colleen Harris. She tells them that her husband, 72 year old Bob Harris is in bed.

[Investigator]

Where's the bedroom at?

[Witness]

Go in the door and down the hall. Put a blanket over him.

[Colleen Harris]

Okay.

[Investigator]

You didn't check the bolts or anything like that? I just need to know if I need medics to show up here. When she was looking at me, it was almost like she was looking right through me that she wasn't talking to me, she was just talking. I started to think that maybe she wasn't in her right frame of mind. She looked at me and said, you just have to go see him. And then she said that he was beautiful.

[Detective]

Colleen remains outside while a team cautiously enters the home.

[Investigator]

We begin to start clearing the house. I make my way down a long hallway and I get to the very last bedroom.

[David Weiner]

There was blood on the wal walls. It was an incredible gruesome sight.

[Investigator]

The bed is made but you can see that there appears to be a person completely covered from head to toe. I walk closer to the bed at which point I see a double barrel shotgun sitting on top of the blankets.

[Detective]

The deputy slowly approaches.

[David Weiner]

The deputy pulled back the blanket slightly to reveal what turned out to be Robert Harris. There was no mistaking that Mr. Harris could not be saved.

[Investigator]

There appeared to be a gunshot wound to the side of the face. His face was, was missing.

[Detective]

The deputies lower their weapons and call for detect.

[Investigator]

Once they arrive, I give them pretty much a play by play of what occurred. That was very bizarre.

[Psychologist]

They're quickly trying to size up whether or not this is a self inflicted death or if it's a homicide.

[Detective]

Detectives examine the gun laying next to Bob on the bed. A pistol grip sawed off shotgun.

[David Weiner]

It seemed to be neatly placed next to his left hand. The button was down fairly low towards his feet and not within reach of his hand. So that was the first indication that this was not a suicide.

[Detective]

The second red flag comes when they take a close look at the gunshot wound to the left side of Bob's head.

[David Weiner]

The entry was large and there was gunpowder residue that would indicate that the end of the weapon that was used was several inches away from his head.

[Colleen Harris]

None of that is consistent with a self inflicted wound. Person doesn't hold a shotgun away from their head when they kill themselves in that manner.

[David Weiner]

This was not a suicide. This was a homicide.

[Colleen Harris]

At that point in time, Bomb's daughter Pam Sterling was contacted and given the news that something had happened to her father.

[Detective]

Robert. Bob Harris was born on February 3, 1940. Growing up in the Bay Area, Bob studied engineering at UC Berkeley. He used his degree to turn his passion for the outdoors into a paycheck.

[Colleen Harris]

Bob worked for the U.S. forest Service.

[Bob Harris]

He became administrator for the Lake Tahoe region. That is the most coveted position in the entire US Forest Service.

[Detective]

For many years Bob focused on his career and raising three kids with his first wife. But when the kids left home, Bob's marriage came to an end and he enjoyed the unfettered life of a bachelor.

[Family Member]

Bob was a all in family man. That divorce did rock the family pretty heavily. But I don't think it destroyed it by any means. And Bob was still a good father.

[Detective]

In the late 80s, Bob was working in El Dorado county when he reconnected with an old friend, Colleen Batten.

[Family Member]

They met when they were in middle school and they were maybe kind of boyfriend, girlfriend at a very young age. Then they rekindled after Bob and my wife's mom had divorced.

[Detective]

Like Bob, Colleen was also single with grown children. In 1985, she was widowed when she lost her husband, Jim Batten, a prominent land surveyor.

[Bob Harris]

Colleen took over Jim Batten's surveying business. Jim Batten had a property portfolio worth about a million dollars by some account. So she took over all that.

[Colleen Harris]

She successfully ran that for a number of years. She was fairly well off when she met Bob Harris.

[Family Member]

We called each other and began to talk and kind of the rest is history. They got along well. They then began to date.

[Detective]

Bob was attracted to Colleen's can do spirit.

[Family Member]

She had built a Mercedes engine in the living room of the house that she had before they met, without the instruction manual. Real bright, with an engineering mind.

[Detective]

After dating for four years, they married on September 2, 1990, and moved into Colleen's sprawling Placerville home.

[Bob Harris]

They were sort of society types. They liked to mingle. They were well known and respected.

[Detective]

After two decades together, the hardworking couple had a large enough nest egg to retire. They spent their newfound freedom giving back.

[Family Member]

She was friendly. She was doting over Bob. She was all in. Bob, often next to him, would stay by him a lot.

[Colleen Harris]

He was a star volunteer at the sheriff's department. He was a man who was really deeply involved in his community.

[Family Member]

He always was doing something productive. She was kind of that way, too. They were happy.

[Detective]

By 2013, Bob and Colleen had been together for two, nearly 30 years. But on January 6, their life together comes to a sudden and bizarre end.

[Bob Harris]

In the bedroom, they find Bob, and it's this absolutely horrific scene.

[Detective]

After El Dorado investigators rule out suicide, they check in with Colleen, who is outside the home with sheriff's deputies.

[David Weiner]

Colleen Harris was seated in the back of one of the patrol vehicles, and she was being very cooperative. She simply seemed to have no emotion, Psychologically speaking.

[Psychologist]

It could mean she might be having a disassociative moment where she experienced something traumatic.

[David Weiner]

I stated to her that she was going to be taken to our office for an interview in a more comfortable location to sit. Of course. I have a lot of questions. There's a lot of things that need to be answered. We need to know more information about what had occurred.

[Detective]

Coming up, a hunt for answers ends with more questions.

[David Weiner]

It seems like you.

[Colleen Harris]

You've lost pretty much all of today.

[Witness]

I have.

[Detective]

And a secret past plays into the present.

[David Weiner]

I received a text on my phone and said I needed to immediately come out of the interview room because that's very important information that could spin my investigation in a completely different direction.

[Detective]

January 6, 2013. El Dorado county detectives are investigating the homicide of 72 year old Bob Harris after he was found dead in his bedroom from a gunshot wound to the head. While his wife, Colleen Harris is on her way to the sheriff's department, detectives try to make sense of the horrifying scene inside the home.

[Investigator]

The victim was completely under the blankets, appeared to be in sleeping attire.

[David Weiner]

There was a large hole to the left side of his head near the cheek area that carried on through the skull and out the right side of his head.

[Colleen Harris]

There are some indications that this is not a death that has happened in the very recent past. The blood is congealed to a certain point.

[Psychologist]

Rigor mortis has set in. He's cold to the touch. It appears as if several hours have passed since he was killed.

[Detective]

While the scene in the bedroom is gruesome, the rest of the house is untouched.

[David Weiner]

The windows were all secure, the doors were secure, and it didn't appear that anybody had tried to break into the home. And matter of fact, the home was very, very clean. At this point during my investigation, we have little information. We have a homicide and we have a woman who is the wife of the decedent that claims to not know what happened.

[Detective]

Investigators head to the sheriff's office where they meet up with the widow in an interview room.

[Colleen Harris]

During the interview, she puts her feet up on an empty chair. She appears in every way to be very calm and relaxed. As they're questioning her.

[Psychologist]

They'Re of course wanting to know what happened that evening and have her lead them through the course of events.

[Detective]

But the only memories Colleen has are of the night before.

[Witness]

So.

[David Weiner]

What happened at that point?

[Colleen Harris]

You don't know.

[Witness]

And they were taking him Christmas decorations and they were watching a movie.

[David Weiner]

They had a very pleasant evening. And after 9 o' clock she doesn't remember. I asked Colleen why her attorney dialed 911 to report this crime and she claimed to not know. She didn't know how that happened. She remembers nothing until deputies arrive.

[Detective]

Colleen tells them that she does have one vague memory from the night.

[Witness]

I remember seeing a gun. I saw my husband was bleeding.

[Colleen Harris]

What was your first thought?

[Witness]

I thought he's having a nosebleed. He gets a lot of nosebleeds.

[David Weiner]

And was he actively bleeding?

[Witness]

I just saw just a little bit of blood on the toe area.

[David Weiner]

She said she had put a blanket over his head because he had a nosebleed. It was rather strange because having been in that scene, what was in that house was a very traumatic bloody scene that could not anywhere remotely Be confused with a nosebleed.

[Detective]

Colleen attempts to explain her lack of memory.

[David Weiner]

You talked about a gray fog.

[Witness]

Yeah. This is like. I don't know. It's like. Like everything around me is like, you know, kind of a shadow. Okay.

[David Weiner]

Because it seems like you've lost pretty.

[Colleen Harris]

Much all of today and part of last night.

[Witness]

I have, and I don't know why. Okay.

[Psychologist]

If she's truly experiencing psychogenic amnesia, the amnesia could have been just for the death of Bob, the traumatic incident. And now she's experiencing emotion in real time.

[Detective]

Then the interview takes yet another bizarre turn.

[David Weiner]

Well, which pretty much, you already know. Your husband's dead.

[Witness]

Is he dead?

[Narrator]

Yes.

[Witness]

God.

[Psychologist]

And at that point, she starts to become overcome with emotion and crying.

[Witness]

You can't kill.

[Detective]

Stunned investigators take a different tack.

[David Weiner]

So we let her talk, and we let her talk about whatever topic she wanted. And she had told us essentially that her and Bob's relationship was great.

[Witness]

I love you. Well in love with someone.

[Detective]

Colleen's behavior stumps investigators.

[Psychologist]

She's truly experiencing psychogenic amnesia. Or she could be portraying an emotional wife who has learned that her husband has died. When we look at the very rare situations in which psychogenic amnesia is present, this temporary memory loss, it's protecting the person from what happened in the moment.

[Detective]

Then investigators get some alarming news.

[David Weiner]

In the middle of interviewing Colleen, I received a text on my phone, and it was the investigators. They had said they had some very important information that could spin my investigation in a completely different direction. I left the interview room, and the detective handed me a case from 1985 where Colleen was a suspect in a homicide in that very same home.

[Detective]

Coming up, a disturbing pattern takes shape.

[Psychologist]

They find that Colleen had been responsible for the death of another husband.

[Detective]

And alarming details from her previous husband's death come to light.

[Colleen Harris]

It was only after she worked with a psychologist that she was able to somehow remember what had happened.

[Narrator]

How did he die?

[Witness]

When he died, he was a child molester, and he ended up dying.

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[Detective]

Investigators in Placerville, California, are interviewing Colleen Harris about the murder of her husband, Bob Harris, when they receive some alarming news. In 1985, Colleen's first husband, Jim Batten, was was also murdered.

[Bob Harris]

Someone put out the word hey, you remember back in 85, Jim Batten. That's the same lady. That's the same house. It's the same kind of murder. It's the same room. There was still the record of the 911 call from 1985.

[Detective]

What's the problem?

[Narrator]

I think I know. Were you having an argument when this occurred or.

[Witness]

I don't remember.

[Psychologist]

He was murdered and he also died laying in bed, was shot and she had also claimed some amnesia.

[Detective]

In that case, Colleen was arrested at the scene and immediately charged with Jim Batten's Murder.

[David Weiner]

The attorney that represented her during that trial was attorney Dave Weiner, and that is the same attorney that had made the telephone call to us on 911.

[Detective]

Upon her arrest in 1985, Colleen claimed to have amnesia. But at her trial about five months later, she seemed to have recovered memories from the day Jim was killed.

[Colleen Harris]

It was only after she worked with a psychologist that she was able to somehow remember what had happened.

[Detective]

Colleen testified that on the day of the murder, she confronted Jim with divorce papers.

[Colleen Harris]

She was confronting her then husband, Jim Batten, because he had molested her daughter and she was driven to protect her daughter.

[Detective]

She alleged that the discussion ended, escalated into a physical confrontation.

[Colleen Harris]

He says he began to sexually assault her and that he put a gun to her head.

[Detective]

Colleen claimed that a struggle ensued, but she managed to get the gun from Jim's hands.

[Colleen Harris]

She shot and killed him in self defense. She was acquitted. A trial. The defense really was able to make Jim Batten out to be a sexual predator. And Colleen was motivated because of this terrible, terrible things that he had done.

[Detective]

According to court records, while Colleen opted not to press charges against Jim Batten at the time, her daughter always maintained that he was guilty of molestation. In the end, Colleen Batten was acquitted of Jim's murder. Armed with this new information, El Dorado county investigators head back to the interview room to confront Colleen about Jim's death.

[Witness]

Yeah, okay, I did.

[Colleen Harris]

How did he die?

[Detective]

He.

[Witness]

Where did he die? He was a child molester and he ended up dying.

[Detective]

And when it comes to details, once again, Colleen's memory fails her.

[Colleen Harris]

You don't remember what that was or circumstances around that?

[Witness]

I don't know.

[Detective]

Detectives continue to hold Colleen in the interview room as they keep digging.

[David Weiner]

The investigators were also making contact with family members and seeing if they can get more information.

[Detective]

Investigators learned that Bob and Colleen's marriage had been on the rocks for some time, largely because Colleen was convinced that Bob was having an affair with a woman in Mongolia.

[Family Member]

I don't know how interested in this other woman he was, Bob being 72 and she's approximately 40 years old. But I know that Colleen was concerned about that.

[Detective]

Whether the affair was real or not. Colleen claims Bob's dalliance didn't bother her.

[Witness]

He said, you're the most perfect life anybody been in wrong. He said, I don't know why I did what I did. He said, and I'm working on it, you know. And I said, and I love you unconditionally.

[Detective]

Despite Colleen's explanations, detectives are skeptical.

[David Weiner]

We have the 1985 case that showed that Colleen had used the same M.O. there were a lot of similarities. We had enough probable cause to arrest Colleen at this point.

[Detective]

Before Colleen heads to the county jail, detectives request she get checked out at a local hospital.

[Psychologist]

While under observation, Colleen seems to have cognitive functioning intact and memory intact.

[Detective]

But they do alert detectives to some concerning physical injuries.

[Bob Harris]

She's got this abrasion in the middle of her chest. She also has a problem with one of her fingers.

[Colleen Harris]

Both the injury to her finger and the bruise her chest. Chest would be very consistent with Colleen having held that sawed off shotgun and having the gun push back violently and striking her in the chest.

[Detective]

Autopsy results confirm Bob's cause of death. But pinpointing the time of death is more complicated.

[David Weiner]

There had been beginning stages of decomposition. That gives me a timeline that tells me that this person and had died not just recently, but many hours before we were even contacted before the report of the homicide.

[Detective]

Hoping to get more details of the timeline, investigators reach out to the man who made the initial 911 call, Colleen's former defense attorney, David Weiner. And they soon learn he did more than just call the police that day day.

[Colleen Harris]

He had met with his client out at the crime scene for about an hour and a half before he went to his office and made that call. Weiner has always maintained that he never entered the home. He remained in the driveway and he met with his client inside of his vehicle. He didn't stay at the scene, he didn't stay with his client. He left her on her own to deal with law enforcement.

[David Weiner]

He refused to answer any questions. He didn't know if he was going to be or attorney or not and that most of this was going to have to wait.

[Colleen Harris]

That is what a criminal defense attorney representing a client almost certainly should do. The obvious conflict that he would create if he became a witness in the case against his client, Colleen Harris.

[Detective]

Investigators push forward, continuing to build their case. They reach out again to Bob's daughter, 47 year old Pam Sterling, who agrees to come in for an interview.

[David Weiner]

The very first thing that she brought up is that Colleen had been the suspect in the homicide in 1985 and they knew about it. Bob knew about it, but Bob didn't seem to be too worried and believed her that it was in self defense offense.

[Detective]

Like Colleen. Pam mentions the infidelity, but says that Colleen was extremely upset that Bob might be having an affair. So much so that it had driven Bob to seek a divorce. In September of 2012, she was texting.

[Family Member]

Pam, you know, asking why he's doing this? Is he in love with somebody else?

[David Weiner]

One string of texts. Colleen is very hopeful that her and Bob are going to get back together. The next one, she's despondent about Bob leaving her and about their relationship ending.

[Detective]

Two months later, Pauline convinced Bob to come back to the family home, at least temporarily.

[Colleen Harris]

Colleen was scheduled to have hip surgery and she needed someone to help her. Bob moved back.

[David Weiner]

He stated upon her recovery, he was going to move to Tahoe, to his second home and end their relationship.

[Detective]

The night before the murder, Bob was still at the home in Placerville when Pam received the last text she would ever get from Colleen.

[David Weiner]

During that last exchange, Colleen indicated that she had caught Bob on the phone with his girlfriend from Mongolia.

[Family Member]

Pam said Colleen was very concerned with Bobbing on the phone with this woman.

[David Weiner]

Talking to Pam, that kind of gives us a little bit of context. Colleen actually was angry about the relationship dissolving. Colleen never mentioned that to us or anything about Bob leaving the home. The moment somebody leaves is the moment that is most dangerous.

[Detective]

Coming up, the Harris home begins to give up its secrets.

[Psychologist]

She kept extensive journals over the years.

[Detective]

And investigators catch a break.

[Psychologist]

Not only does she leave her home for that evening, she's able to have the wherewithal to give her location accurately to AA.

[Detective]

Days after the heinous murder of Bob Harris, investigators are homing in on Bob's wife, Colleen Harris, as the prime suspect.

[David Weiner]

Once we had received the search warrants, we went back to the residence and we found a series of handwritten journals that were Colleen's. They claimed to have started in 1985.

[Colleen Harris]

She portrays herself in the journal as a faithful, loving wife whose husband Bob is mistreating her and she forgives him.

[Detective]

While reading the journals, investigators can't ignore a growing hunch.

[Colleen Harris]

There's aspects of them that would suggest they're fabricated. Some of the entries had dates and most did not. And again, the chronology you'd expect you would write fill a page and you'd go on to the next page. The chronology following it in that context didn't really fit. And that's why I strongly suspect that they were written retrospectively.

[Psychologist]

That would indicate a great deal of planning. The amount of time that it would take to feel years worth worth of journals would have to have been started months in advance.

[Detective]

Hoping to bolster their case for first degree murder, investigators keep digging.

[David Weiner]

We felt that writing a search warrant for the cell phone records of Colleen may give us more information. When we received the results of those cell phone records, it was Alarming.

[Detective]

In the hours after investigators believe Bob was murdered, they trace Colleen's movements during her interview.

[Colleen Harris]

Colleen had claimed that she never left the house on Wilderness Way on the weekend of the murder. But we found out that her cell phone traveled from the Wilderness Way address all the way down Highway 50 to Highway 80 and to the Bay Area. So this wasn't a woman who was in a fog. This wasn't a woman who had remained in the Wilderness Way address like she claimed.

[Detective]

Records show that following Bob's murder, Colleen made the three hour drive to San Francisco, arriving around 10am.

[Psychologist]

On her way home, she makes a stop because her car becomes inoperable. And because of that, she has to call AAA and ask for a tow truck.

[Colleen Harris]

We were able to get the recording of Colleen Harris calling AAA from the side of US 80.

[Detective]

Thank you for calling AAA. This is Diane. May I have your name, please? Colleen Harris. Yes, Ms. Harris, are you in a safe location? Yeah, it did a complete circle on the freeway.

[Witness]

Luckily, nobody was behind me or on.

[Detective]

The side of me. Yeah, I don't know what happened, but the car won't start.

[David Weiner]

She was very articulate. She stated where she was at, what she needed, how to get there. There doesn't seem to be any confusion. And that was just the information that we were looking for to confirm that this claim of amnesia is false.

[Psychologist]

They're able to find that not only does she leave her home for that evening, then on her way home, she's able to have the wherewithal to give her location accurately to aaa.

[Detective]

Now investigators want to know where Colleen was headed and why.

[Colleen Harris]

We found one of the towers the phone pinged off of was right next to Colleen Harris's adult son's residence in San Francisco.

[David Weiner]

We found that to be odd because during this period she was claiming to be in a gray fog. After finding this information, we attempted to contact her son, Wesley Thornberry.

[Colleen Harris]

Initially, Wesley said he didn't have any contact with his mother.

[Detective]

On Sunday, January 6, however, Wesley tells investigators that his mother did try to call him that morning.

[Colleen Harris]

She was in the Bay Area and she was hoping to meet up with him, but he insisted that he never actually met up with her. He was unable to do so because Wesley had gone out to brunch with his fiance.

[Detective]

Certain there is more to this story. Detectives. Detectives. Take a closer look at Colleen and Bob's finances, and they stumble across something that sparks their interest.

[Colleen Harris]

Colleen and Bob had actually divorced for about a year in 2004. And apparently the divorce was done so that Colleen could take Advantage of some financial death benefits from her former husband, Jim Batt.

[Bob Harris]

She got his survivor benefits, like $1,100 a month.

[Colleen Harris]

They had remarried after Colleen had been able to secure those benefits. At the very least, it proved how keenly focused Colleen was on finances.

[Detective]

Investigators learned that Colleen could expect another payday following Bob's death.

[Colleen Harris]

Bob had had a long career and a pension, and they were well off with an estate of approximately a million dollars.

[Bob Harris]

In both cases, she stood to gain from the demise of her husband.

[Detective]

As detectives are collecting evidence of Colleen's motives, they get a strange call from David Weiner.

[David Weiner]

I was contacted by attorney Dave Weiner. He stated that he had some possessions that were given to him that he wanted or felt that needed to be turned over to law enforcement. So he didn't tell us the relevance of it. And essentially, attorney Weiner had stated, you'll find out.

[Detective]

Coming up. The reason for Colleen's trip to the Bay area is finally revealed.

[Family Member]

The entire collection was probably worth 20, 30, $40,000 or so.

[Detective]

And later, it's deja vu all over again.

[Psychologist]

In the middle of the trial, Colleen says that she starts to get some memory back.

[Detective]

As Colleen Harris awaits trial for the shooting death of her husband, Bob Harris, investigators get surprising phone call.

[David Weiner]

I was contacted by attorney Dave Weiner. He represented her in Jim Batten's homicide, and he was representing her in the homicide.

[Colleen Harris]

Now, he had property that belonged to Bob Harris, and it included a large coin collection. We subsequently learned that those items were brought to him by Colleen Harris Harris son, Wesley. He took all those items and gave them to David Weiner as opposed to giving them to the police. Westland claimed that he found the items in his garage. After his mother had been arrested for the murder of Bob Harris.

[Family Member]

Colleen brought a bunch of coins down to Wesley, left them in his garage. According to him, never saw him, and then driven back up. The entire collection was probably worth 20, 30, $40,000 or so.

[Detective]

On March 17, 2015, the trial for Bob's murder gets underway. When the coin collection is addressed, it points to more scheming by Colleen.

[Colleen Harris]

She claimed at trial that she moved the coin collection so that they wouldn't be stolen. But that never made particular sense to me. And I've always strongly suspected that she had some idea that she would stage the house to look like it had been broken into and could claim that she came home, she found Bob, and he must have been killed by whoever broke into the house. But I've always believed that Colleen had shifting ideas about what she was going to do to get away with this. And so it seemed that's something that she, she abandoned and didn't follow through with.

[Detective]

Prosecutors lay out a timeline of events leading up to Bob's murder.

[Colleen Harris]

Colleen and Bob had dinner on Saturday night and watched some television. Bob at some point of time, must have disclosed that it was his plan to drive back up to the South Lake Tahoe cabin on Sunday. The moment she snapped was knowing that he was going to leave.

[Detective]

With Bob set to leave the next morning, Colleen came up with a plan.

[Colleen Harris]

She waited until he was asleep. She went into that bedroom with that sawed off shotgun. She leaned across that bed and shot him at near point blank range, killing them instantly.

[Detective]

Colleen then spent the next several hours plotting her defense.

[Colleen Harris]

One of the ideas was trying to clean up the crime scene. And she pretty quickly abandoned that idea because it was just overwhelming.

[Detective]

Instead, Colleen called the same man who helped her back in 1985, defense attorney David Weiner.

[Family Member]

She called her lawyer from the crime scene and then he calls police.

[Witness]

And.

[Colleen Harris]

She met with him hours before law enforcement was notified.

[Detective]

In court, the defense struggles to find their, their footing the second time around.

[Colleen Harris]

The defense kept presenting different defenses. Suicide, accident, self defense, amnesia. I mean, they fluctuated between those different ideas. Much like Colleen seemed to fluctuate between different ideas as to how she was going to cover up the murder. The recording of the call to AAA was really compelling because the jury was able to hear in Colleen's own voice, in own words, that she was aware of her surroundings, cognizant, she was answering questions and giving information. This wasn't a woman who was in a fog. Colleen claimed at one point that Bob had assaulted her earlier in that evening.

[Psychologist]

In the middle of the trial, Colleen says that she starts to get some memory and then she's able to get some flashes about some sort of struggle in which she describes she can feel the shotgun with her hands and that Bob ends up taking control and accidentally fires the weapon in which he is killed.

[Colleen Harris]

None of which is supported by any of the crime scene evidence whatsoever.

[Detective]

After a five week trial, it takes the jury less than two hours to reach a verdict.

[Colleen Harris]

She was convicted of first degree murder. She was also convicted of a special allegation of using a firearm in order to commit the murder, resulting in an overall sentence of 50 years to life for Colleen Harrison.

[Detective]

Even though Colleen finally ended up behind bars, Bob's family still grapples with what could have been.

[Family Member]

We think of grandpa Bob all the time and we talk about him, his child and their children. My kids and his five grandkids total. And that's probably the legacy that hopefully will live on and the kids will all learn who he was and what he did and carry that on forever.

[Narrator]

Colleen died in prison in July 2022. She was 80 years old. Wesley Thornberry was never charged with any crimes. David Weiner has never been charged with any crimes in connection to Bob Harris's death.

[David Weiner]

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