Convicted Husband Killer: Clara Harris Paroled after 15 Years
The Woman That Killed her Cheating Husband With Her Mercedes-Benz
Murderer Clara Harris smiles while being released from prison
The Parole
The sixty-year-old convicted killer, Clara Harris, was released from the Christina Melton Crain Unit, Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison for females in Gatesville, Texas on the morning of Friday, May 11, 2018. She was granted parole after serving fifteen years of her twenty-year prison term.
The Affair
In 2002, Harris, the well-known Friendswood, Texas dentist hired a private investigator, Bobbi Bacha. She suspected her husband, forty-four-year-old, Orthodontist David Harris of having an affair.
The Confrontation
After learning of her husband’s affair, Harris rushed over to the Hilton along Nassau Bay in Houston. She had received intel that led her to the Hilton, where she expected to find her husband and his lover. Upon her arrival, she confronted her husband’s receptionist-turned mistress in the parking lot of the hotel, Gail Bridges.
The Weapon
Immediately after the confrontation, she used her Mercedes-Benz to strike David and drove over him repeatedly. Harris had David’s daughter, her stepdaughter, in the front seat of her Mercedes-Benz at the time. David’s daughter testified against her stepmother at the trial.
The Murder
The murder of David Harris was caught on videotape. You could not see the video clearly enough to see the Mercedes-Benz run David Harris’ body over, but the tape clearly conveyed the incident. On July 24, 2002, at 8:43 pm, a Mercedes-Benz in the hotel parking lot had driven around in several circles and appeared to have been running over an object, repeatedly.
The Prosecution
The prosecution attempted to convict Harris of First-Degree Murder, which carried a sentence of life in prison in the State of Texas.
The Defense
Harris’ attorney, George Parnham, presented a defense of sudden passion. According to the Black's Law Dictionary, sudden passion is a phrase that describes a violent act, committed without any premeditation but in a circumstance of great emotional disturbance.
The Jury
The jury convicted Harris of Manslaughter, which carried a twenty-year prison sentence.
The Conditions of Parole
Harris will remain on parole for the next five years. The conditions of her parole state that she must stay away from her husband’s family, which includes her stepdaughter; In addition to that, she must stay away from her husband’s mistress; Moreover, she is required to wear a GPS ankle monitor, undergo routine drug and alcohol testing, and live in Galveston County only.
Harris has two twin sons with her husband, David. They have both grown into young adults, in their twenties, and attend college. Harris has not commented to the media about her near future.
© 2018 Kaialexander Morgan