What drove this “perfect wife” to kill her husband? The unbelievable case of Clara Harris

Starting a business can be overwhelming. You're juggling multiple roles, designer, marketer, logistics manager, all while bringing your vision to life. Shopify helps millions of business sell online. Build fast with templates and AI descriptions and photos, inventory and shipping. Sign up for your one euro per month trial and start selling today at shopify.nl. That's shopify.nl. It's time to see what you can accomplish with Shopify by your side. hi friends how are you today my name is bailey sarian and today is monday which means it's murder mystery and makeup monday if you're new here hi my name is bailey sarian and on mondays i like to sit down and talk about a true crime story that's been heavy on my noggin and I do my makeup at the same time. Today, listen. Clara and David Harris. Now they look like they had it all. The big Texas house, luxury cars in the driveway, the perfect children. Oh, a thriving dental practice. Or should I say practices? And look, from the outside, you know, they were living the American dream. But of course, listen, we're here, huh? Because behind that picture perfect family were secrets that would tear everything apart and end in one of the most shocking crimes of passion Texas had ever seen at the time, to be fair. This is the story of how the dream life of Clara and David Harris turned into a true nightmare. Now listen, the question here it's not who did it it's a not it's not one of those the question was was it out of rage the crime that was committed was it out of rage in the heat of the moment or was it a cold deliberate murder that's still up for debate honestly i don't know i don't know here we go here we go so miss clara clara suarez she was born on february 1958 in Bogota Colombia now her father smart little cookie there he was a an electrical engineer he's very ambitious and he dreamed of like one day moving to the United States and it was said that like he had a very big impression on Clara Clara was said to be very intelligent and driven just like her father but sadly when Claire was like five or six years old her father passed away so it left Claire's mother who was a seamstress to you know take care of everything for the family again Clara driven determined everything she ended up going to college and dental school in Columbia and then after that she ended up opening up her own dental office. So at 32 years old she decided to follow through like on her father's dream and move to the United States. Now she had to get a college college certificate in the the states before she could practice dentistry there so she attended college at the University of Texas and I guess she would like pick up small jobs along the way to help pay her way through but she did it she was able to graduate and she was off she found herself a position working at castle dental center in houston texas so clara she's now 33 years old and she's working there you know and i guess during this time she entered the miss columbia houston beauty pageant it was said she did it on a whim and she won i mean yeah she was very good looking but she won good for her but it was while she was working at the castle dental center that's when she met 34 year old david harris who was the orthodontist there and i guess the two you know they really hit it off and they started dating at this time david was divorced but he had a daughter from his first marriage her name was lindsey and she was about four years old when David and Clara started dating. David's ex said that she divorced him because like he was too focused on his career and he really just kind of neglected everything else. Now many people at this time said you know Clara and David were like a perfect match because they both shared like big dreams and ambitions and were just driven for more you know. and plus they're total babes that's fair to say because I mean he looked like a Ken doll for a minute kind of I don't know whatever anyways and like I mean they must have agreed because they dated for like less than a year and then they ended up getting married go for them not really though I mean doesn't end well so on Valentine's Day 1992 they tied the knot and they celebrated at the Hilton Hotel which was like across the street from um NASA mission control at the Johnson Space Center I know you know when um the uh spaceman says astronaut Bailey says Houston we have a problem Houston at this NASA center I know I know this is dumb I know laugh at me whatever i truly thought houston was someone's name he was like houston we have a problem but he was talking to houston texas space center anyways the hotel that they celebrated at was across the street from like that when it comes to space stuff i'm i'm just i'm i need to be educated on my space knowledge i don't i lack nasa knowledge anywho my apologies moving on so they they're celebrating at this Hilton Hotel okay. So the two of them you know again successful, driven, ambitious. They ended up Clara and David. They opened up their own separate practices. Now their co-workers said that the two would like you know talk on the phone at least three times a day. They were always in contact with each other and every time they would end their calls they'd be like I love you you know you hang up first no you hang up first I love you to everybody else it was just like very cute they were so in love they just seemed like the perfect couple so these two I mean they were quite the power couple Clara she bought her own practice called Lake Jackson Dental Care in 1993 and I guess you know David would come by to the office like every Monday and to help her out there and then Clara she actually helped David open up his own practice called Space Center Orthodontics a few months later. I guess after that he went on to like purchase seven more practices over the years so they were making bank okay. In 1998 the couple they bought a mini mansion. I won't even say mini mansion because it's pretty big, but it was in like a very ritzy suburban city called Friendswood. And I guess it's right outside of Houston. David and Clara's specific neighborhood was the Estates of Polly Ranch, which sounds like, you know, oh but their backyard was facing like the water the creek there's like a beautiful creek back there so their backyard was like facing the water and it was like oh i looked up this neighborhood very fancy looking very expensive looking you know i mean this neighborhood even has like a private airstrip like many of the people who live there they had their own um where they have their own private planes. Really what I'm getting at here is that the people who lived here had money, okay? The Harris's. Now they didn't have a plane but they did have a very large house. A two-story, six-bedroom, five and a half bathroom home with premium finishes, a long dramatic driveway, a pool which is like all sitting on a piece of land that was just a little bigger than three and a half acres so they buy the house and that same year Clara she gives birth to their twin boys Brian and Bradley now it was said Clara's like most prized possession I mean of course she loved her kids and all that stuff too you know but but the thing that really made her feel like she made it in life was her silver s-class mercedes-benz 430 i guess to her you know again this was just like this is it this is the dream i've made it the kids the house the husband the car i mean it didn't stop there though they had dreams of one day opening up like a mega office in clear lake that would be like a one-stop shop for all of your dental needs. Now while the Harris's were wrapped up in building their empire in this like little rich people area there was still a lot of hot gossip going on and affairs going on and everyone had something to say about everyone. Oh, the people love to gossip, don't they? We sure do. Especially rich people gossip. Come on. Starting a business can be overwhelming. You're juggling multiple roles. Designer, marketer, logistics manager. All while bringing your vision to life. Shopify helps millions of business sell online. Build fast with templates and AI descriptions and photos, inventory and shipping. Sign up for your one euro per month trial and start selling today at Shopify.nl. That's Shopify.nl. It's time to see what you can accomplish with Shopify by your side. Now there was like, I guess, so much scandal going on that a nearby private investigations business called Blue Moon Investigations was actually getting flooded with cases that were all connected to each other. Now listen, we're going to gossip for a little bit, but I promise it all circles back to the Harris's. So go with me on this journey. So a woman named Bobby Bacha, great name, Bobby Bacha, come on. She was the owner of Blue Moon Investigations. Now she got a lot of business from wives who believed that their husbands were cheating on them. It was said that the Blue Moon Investigations business like really catered to women like they had the scented candles. It was a bunch of women who worked there and they knew their audience, their clients, I should say, you know. So women would come in all the time and, you know, my husband's cheating on me. At least I think they are blah, blah. But there was this one rare case where two men showed up asking for their help. Their names were Chuck Knight and Steve Bridges. so they came because they wanted to find out if their wives were having an affair with each other scandal these two couples they were best friends they went to church together they lived near each other they raised their kids together but according to the husbands their friends and neighbors started suggesting or whispering to them, your guys' wives' friendships, they seem a little bit too close. You know? Are you sure they're not more than friends? People were kind of like suggesting that. They were essentially alluding to the men that maybe their wives were scissor sisters. You know? now listen this is a southern like church area so this is pretty scandalous two women potentially scissoring oh my god heads are exploding everywhere so i guess it was said at first the husbands didn't believe them like all these rumors and whatnot but then the marriages like kind of started to go south so they figured you know maybe maybe we should look into it so that's when they asked bobby the private investigator to follow their wives julie knight and gail bridges now julie was chuck's wife gail was steve's wife there was going to be like this one evening where the two women were going to go to the mall together to go shop you know while their husband stayed back and watched the kids so they're telling the private investigator like hey, follow them when they go on this so-called shopping trip together and see if you find anything. According to Bobby's notes, Chuck said, quote, but I bet they will go to a hotel or they might just pull over on the side of a highway to do their business. Gail has a boob job and my wife will not be able to wait to touch those puppies, end quote. All right, you know, side note later on Chuck swore he did not use the word puppies he said everything else but he said I didn't say puppies just a little funny side note but okay but that's it okay you get it Bobby she took the case and she followed Julie and Gail she followed them to the mall she then followed them to McDonald's they went through the drive-thru she followed them okay and then she followed them back home. Now the PI, she did not see anything that looked romantic at all. So Bobby ends up going back to the husbands to let them know like I didn't find anything you know and Chuck apparently asked her to quote unquote inflame aka exaggerate her findings just a little bit and say that the two got really close in the car and like did something spicy. He's like just say you saw that. Now, Bobby, she's like, you know, no, I am not going to do that. And she told them, like, even if two women kiss or hug, it doesn't mean that they're sexually active with one another freaking bozo. So after that, you know, case closed. They're not lovers. They're just friends. Jeez. Listen, in Texas, if you are getting a divorce and let's say it's considered your fault, like you're cheating. They're pretty strict there. You automatically become at risk to lose more or even everything in the settlement. So I think it's safe to say, you know, low-key, I think these guys just wanted a reason to get out of the marriages and like not lose their money, the houses and everything. So six months later in July of 1999, guess who showed up at Bobby's office owes none other than Julie Knight and Gail Bridges, the wives of Chuck and Steve. Julie and Gail told Bobby that they both wanted to file for a divorce from their husbands because these assholes were blackmailing them and threatening to expose them as lesbians, which they were not. Julie, she had a strong feeling that Chuck was actually the one hiding something. So, you know, they wanted both husbands to be followed just to kind of see what they could dig up. But I guess at the last minute, Gail, she backed out. She didn't want Steve followed. I don't know why, but it's okay. She let it go. So Bobby, the PI, again, she took on the case. Now, she didn't even mention anything to them about their husbands previously hiring her to follow them. A true professional. I will say that. So Bobby followed Chuck around town, you know, as she does. And plot twist, discovered him meeting up with another woman. Yeah. Chuck was a cheater all along. Of course he was. You know when like someone is making wild accusations about someone being a cheater like out of nowhere or whatever it's usually that person who's making the accusation usually they're the cheaters listen Chuck was cheating on his wife with a married woman named Lori Wells now Miss Lori over here was close friends with Chuck and Steve's wives like they were all friends the whole thing is just so messy same thing like they all hung out together they went to church together they went to lamaze classes together geez louise they were a close bunch now all three couples the knights the bridges and the wells they were all moving forward with the divorces and it got messy at one point julie and gail had accused chuck and steve of recording their phone calls and then editing the calls to make it sound like they were talking about something sexual. Again, just really trying to push this lesbian narrative. Just doing the most. I mean, they got caught, you know, and both Chuck and Steve, they got indicted on felony wiretapping charges for this. Now, Steve, his case was dropped pretty quickly, but Chuck's case remained active for years before it was eventually dismissed But by the end of 2001 all three couples their divorces were finalized So after Gail Bridges split from Steve she and her two youngest kids, they ended up, you know, moving out, moving into like a smaller home in town. And she was able to get a job working at Space Center Orthodontics, David Harris's main office. see I told you we would get back to the Harris's 38 year old Gail Bridges was hired as a receptionist at David's office and you know the two really hit it off she wasn't bad to look at she was attentive she would go to lunch with David and was always available for his needs it was said he would like visit her desk between appointments and some people in office noticed that they were just kind of like openly flirting with one another it just appeared that way at least but then in february of 2002 the relationship it then evolved into like a full-blown affair you know when you work in an office have you you weren't in an office right have you no yes you know when you work at a place and you can tell when something's going on between two people you know you know so it didn't take long for other people other employees to catch on that the two were broken you know david would um he would still go to like clara's office once a week and like clara would come to his office occasionally so it was like to the employees It was like, like this pretty bold of him, you know, just an asshole move, huh? This woman named Diana Cheryl, she worked at like both offices as the office manager. She said she was very offended by the affair because, well, first of all, she considered Clara a friend. But also she couldn't believe that Gail was just fine, like flaunting the affair in front of the other employees. it was just completely disrespectful plus diana she said that she was she was worried that david like he he could lose everything his dreams his family his life his career everything all over this woman david's now 16 year old daughter she's now 16 years old lindsey she would come to friendswood every summer to live with her dad and clara and while she was there she would work at david's office and i guess there was one day where she went to the office she's working whatever and her dad had dropped like a patient file on the floor i don't think it was like on purpose but like you know he dropped a file on the floor and then gail she got up and she like walked over there and she bent over and she picked it up for him you know in that really sexy way where the butt looks real nice she's like oh let me get that for you the bend and snap yeah so lindsey the daughter sees this and is like okay and then the daughter she overhears like the office ladies making little comments amongst each other about just how like raunchy that was like can you believe she did that oh my god so lindsey she's starting to put some pieces together you know she's like is my is is something going on between my dad and his secretary so i guess the affair at this point had been going on for like five months and diana the office manager she had enough she was like i need to say something so she pulled clara aside and she told her like you need to pay attention to to what's going on with david and protect your marriage clara straight up asked her like is David having an affair and Diana was like yeah girl yeah but you didn't hear from me you know now Clara she needed to know all the details so she went to dinner with Diana to hear everything she's like tell me everything but it was said that at the end of the night or after the dinner Clara was still she was kind of in denial about it you know like it can't be true could it no well you know going back and forth back and forth it was like during um the drive home claire is going back and forth back and forth like really thinking about it and she just she wanted a second opinion on the situation so she calls up david's mom millie now they were all close so it's not like it was out of the blue or anything so she calls Millie up and she's like do you ever think David would cheat on me you know and David's mom was like oh of course not he would never you're the love of his life you're gorgeous you're amazing no no no he would never do that but even with that reassurance I think deep down she knew something was up because when she got home Clara went right to David and she just asked him point blank. Are you sleeping with Gail? And David was like eating a burrito or something. He's like, no, no, no, don't be silly. You know? And that was that. Not very convincing, David. Not very convincing. So listen, it must've got to him because the next morning David decided to come clean. Kind of. He told Clara that he and Gail, they actually had gone to lunch once and he kissed her hand. He kissed her hand. Now let me ask you at home, would you believe that? Oh, you kissed her hand? What are you, a knight? Like, what is this? What are you doing? No one does that. No, please. Please. Anyway, so he kissed her hand. That's what he tells her. He was like, he was confessing but not not fully confessing claire knew like there was something there she's like oh shit so she asked him straight up she's like do you love her do you love gail and it was said that david said he wasn't sure hell no um all right okay claire's reaction was allegedly calm i say allegedly because i can't imagine any of us being calm in that moment but she said she was calm she said she was like fine if you want to be with her then I will file for divorce like it was very matter of fact fine fine I'll get a divorce fine David I guess did not want that um he begged her to stay with him saying that he would do anything to avoid a divorce again I think going back to that whole like Texas situation like if you get a divorce and you're caught cheating or whatever you could lose everything and it's like maybe he doesn't want to do all that but that's just my wild guess here I don't know maybe he didn't want to work it out either way he begs her you know please no stay with me we'll work it out we'll figure it out now Lindsay the daughter she was like like downstairs or something like in the kitchen and she overheard the conversation So when Clara had like walked into the kitchen area, Lindsay tells Clara like everyone in the office knows about the affair and people talk about it like all the time. At this point, Clara realizes that David, you know, he was not telling her the whole truth. So she goes back upstairs and she confronts him. And I guess there's there's something they're yelling at each other. It said that she slapped him and she just started yelling at him saying that he needed to fire Gail right away and that they needed to go to marriage counseling like if this was going to work out. I'm sure that was said at some point because she slapped him and then it said David like threw Clara to the floor. But it's just a whole situation, right? now Lindsay the daughter again she heard all this commotion right so she goes running upstairs she gets in the middle of it starts yelling at her dad like why are you pushing Clara and it's just it's a whole thing and it said at at one point David kind of is just like fine you know I'm leaving you will never see me again and it kind of stops everything okay it was very dramatic so everything cools off for a whole five minutes and and then shortly after they all piled into the same car and they drove to work together so family drama you know starting a business can be overwhelming you're juggling multiple roles designer marketer logistics manager all while bringing your vision to life shopify helps millions of business sell online. Build fast with templates and AI descriptions and photos, inventory and shipping. Sign up for your one euro per month trial and start selling today at Shopify.nl. That's Shopify.nl. It's time to see what you can accomplish with Shopify by your side. So once they get to the office, Clara, she went right up to the receptionist desk and she tells Gail we need to talk outside so Clara she asked Gail one question what kind of relationship do you have with my husband and I guess it was said that Gail she just like couldn't give a straight answer I'm sure she was scared too you know but like she couldn't give a straight answer so um Clara demanded that Gail give her her office keys so Gail gives her the keys and then Clara walks back into the office building which like locked gail out and basically like fired her so later on clara called david's parents millie and gerald and she told them all about what happened so as parents arranged for a dinner where all four of them could talk about the situation without like the kids around you know so that night they went to millie and gerald's house they ate dinner and they talked about how the couple should move forward, reach forgiveness, and suggested to David that he should talk to their pastor. During the dinner, David finally admitted to being intimate with Gail, like fully coming clean. And I guess, you know, the family, they prayed over it. And that was it, I guess, you know, but it was said that the night seemed to have ended like in a good place. it's unclear if anyone had asked him why he had the affair in the first place like point blank period you know like hey why'd you do it you know um some people later said that they think he started to resent Clara after she had the twins because she gave the children more attention than she gave to him you know Clara believed her theory was that he was going through a midlife crisis because all of a sudden he was working out more. He bought a new car and now he's sleeping with his secretary. What is it? It's gotta be a midlife crisis. So Clara, she actually told the daughter, Lindsay, her midlife crisis theory. She's like, yeah, I think your dad's going through a midlife crisis, blah, blah, blah. Just like telling her her thoughts, you know? So in Lindsay's free time, she went to like the bookstore and she was looking for self-help books for people going through a midlife crisis. but I guess she couldn't find one so instead she bought two relationship books um you know in hopes to help David and Clara fix their marriage one of the books she got was relationship rescue a seven-step strategy for reconnecting with your partner by none other than Dr. freaking Phil you know so Lindsay um you know she picks up these books and she leaves them out on like the kitchen encounter in hopes that Clara and David would see them and read them and honestly at this point I was like really feeling bad for Lindsay they were involving her in the situation a little too much you know what I'm saying like you really shouldn't involve children kids and to your adult matters but especially Clara she was like treating Lindsay like her best friend telling her all the details but it is what it is okay so listen the next morning Clara she wakes up you know knowing everything her husband's having an affair whatever now she has like a renewed sense of energy she is determined to be better than Gail operation get her man back was in full effect so Miss Clara she went out she dyed her hair she was like I want to be blonde so she goes blonde she went out she bought new lingerie she uh booked a trainer a personal trainer and she went to go see a plastic surgeon about getting a boob job because she knew that gail had gotten her boobs done and you know clara she was determined to one-up her so she was like i'm getting my boobs done plus i'm gonna get liposuction so she puts down a deposit for boobs and liposuction she meant business okay honestly I would have divorced him and then done all that and then been like oh look at me now dick but that's okay so that evening Clara and David decided to go out to dinner just the two of them you know to really just talk things out so while they're at dinner Clara asked David she's like so tell me what do you like about Gail which you know is like kind of a trip trick question it's like you want to know but at the same time it's gonna piss you the fuck off but she's like what do you like about Gail you know and um he was honest a little too honest David gave Clara a detailed pros and cons list about Gail and herself and as he rambled off his pros and cons about both women Clara she took notes on a napkin when it came to Gail David said that he liked that Gail was pretty and smart. She had no fat. She had the perfect body. She had big boobs. She always believed in him. She was good with money. And when it came to sex, it was like his fantasies had come true. His cons list about Gail was that he didn't like her hands and feet he thought they were kind of masculine and those were his cons about gail like okay so then it was clara's turn she's like okay what are my pros and cons and david was like well i like that you're pretty and smart and you have better hands and feet than gail and that was it it was like his cons list the things he didn't like about about clara was a lot longer okay he had this long list he straight up tells Clara he's like I don't like how you don't let me do the things that I want to do I don't like how you interrupt me all the time I don't like that you plan everything I think you're a poor communicator pessimistic and you spent too lavishly oh and she interrupted him all the time he didn't like that either she's writing this down like okay okay he then went on to say because he wasn't done he also said that she was fat a large person too big and that their bodies didn't fit well together during sex excuse me now listen if this were me i know if this were you i don't know what i would flip the table i would absolutely like why am i trying to make this work with you you asshole i would if when i was reading that i was like why uh why you uh If that were me, I would start going back and start listing all the things I didn't like about his dumb ass. I'd be like, oh, really? That's interesting because your dick is lacking girth. Your hairline disappearing. You have bad breath in the morning. You have no personality. You suck. I don't know. Just your feet, toes. Ew. Ugly. Like he's Mr. Perfect. Like he's the prize to be won. Anyways. But she took these notes. And it's just, yeah. He could have held back. He really didn't have to say all that. And if you see a picture of Clara, what are you talking about? She's not even fat. What are you talking about? The next day, Clara announced at work that she would be stepping back, you know, to focus on Loki, her makeover, but also her marriage and family. She was gonna take a moment, you know. After that, David told Clara that he wanted to talk to Gail and tell her that the relationship was over. It's done. Clara said that she understood, you know, and she would be comfortable with him calling her. But David insisted that this needed to happen in person. So Clara told him to set up a dinner or lunch and that she would like drive him to the restaurant. She would sit outside. She would like watch the conversation and like wait for him to get the closure he needed. But she wanted to go with. So David calls Gail And of course Claire is there listening in And he planned to meet up with her and have dinner on Wednesday night Now, when Lindsay, the daughter, found out about this, she insisted on going with Clara, you know, to sit and like watch the conversation too. But again, like this was too much. This did not sit right with David. And he decided that no one should come. Okay, actually, no one's coming. and I'm just gonna do it alone. Well, the week is going by, you know, and Clara is all up in her thoughts, thinking about shit. She's coming up with some wild conclusions as sometimes we do, you know? And she remembered hearing rumors around town that Gail was a lesbian. So, do, do, do, do, do, do, Clara's like, oh my God, what if Gail was actually like seducing David for his money so she and her girlfriend could like live a lavish lifestyle together you know she's like yeah that's probably what it is it's gotta be that now she wants to tell this to David but she's like I need proof in order for him to believe that she's a lesbian and yeah I need proof. So she goes to none other than Blue Moon Investigations. Honestly if this man were a prize at the end of a race I would walk backwards. I don't know why everyone wanted him so much. So Clara calls them up and she fills them in on all of the drama And Clara asked for them to start by listening in on David and Gail's breakup conversation that would be happening on Wednesday night. Which actually makes me think like maybe she didn't think she was a lesbian because if she thought she were a lesbian, wouldn't she want the investigators to follow Gail first? Whatever. Starting a business can be overwhelming. You're juggling multiple roles, designer, marketer, logistics manager, all while bringing your vision to life. Shopify helps millions of business sell online. Build fast with templates and AI descriptions and photos, inventory and shipping. Sign up for your one euro per month trial and start selling today at Shopify.nl. That's Shopify.nl. It's time to see what you can accomplish with Shopify by your side. anyways so blue moon investigations they take on the case so now it's wednesday evening and it's time for david to meet up with gail now he was supposed to be going straight from the office to the restaurant to meet with gail okay so clara she calls up like one of the ladies who works in the office and she asked her to essentially like follow David to see if he was indeed going to the restaurant. I know it's like yes she hired the private investigator to like follow them and whatnot but like Clara just did not seem to be very patient in this moment and she wanted extra eyes on the situation. So the friend ends up following David and then ends up calling Clara okay cell phone remember cell phones so she calls clara and she's like yeah he's actually driving towards gail's house he's not going to the restaurant so clara is like oh hell no what's what's the address what's the address give it to me and the friend gives her the address now this lit a fire in clara's ass okay and she was like you know i'm gonna drive my ass over there i'm gonna i'm gonna confront them now according to a later interview clara gave she said you know she gets off the phone whatever she chugged a bottle of wine she grabbed her car keys and was heading out to the car lindsey the daughter my assumption here was that she's like kind of witnessing what's going on because Lindsay decides to join her so I'm assuming she was involved in the know of the conversation but Lindsay joins her and she's the one who actually decides to drive Clara's Mercedes so the two of them are driving and they're like on this wild goose chase looking for like where the hell is David and Gail you know driving around first they went to Gail's house but they noticed you know his david's car he wasn't there so then they drove to the restaurant where they were supposed to meet they weren't there either so then they drove to like another restaurant that maybe they were at no sign of them at that restaurant either now at this point it was said that clara was becoming more and more irritated and flustered not knowing where they were so she gets on her phone and she calls blue moon investigations and she's calling asking like where where's david and the operator said listen it's not our job to give a play-by-play report on whatever job it is we're performing for fear that the client might react poorly or impulsive on like whatever is being found. So that's what they tell her on the phone. But Clara isn't taking no for an answer. So she ends up asking for the cell phone number of the specific private investigator who was on the case. And they gave it to her. They went against their own rules and they gave her the phone number so clara calls this person up this this specific private investigator and she's like you know where where are they whatever and the lady says like you know you need to be patient we're at a hotel now when clara hears this word hotel little light bulb goes off she's like i know exactly where the book they are i know where exactly they are we're going david and gail they were at the hilton hotel it was the hilton hotel where david and clara celebrated their wedding yes same hotel asshole move huh so lindsey drives them there they go to the hotel they pull into the parking lot they see gail's suv they know what she's driving. So Clara, you know, she hops out of the car, bussing up her car, punches out like the taillights, keys the car, you know, just doing all the things. She's doing the most. Doing, taking all the anger out. And I don't condone that, but like, that's fine. Just leave it at that. Just should have, just leave it at that, girl. You should have just gone, that was it. But they wanted more. Clara hops back into the Mercedes. Lindsay, they pull into like a parking spot or whatever and then they hop out and they head into the lobby. Clara and Lindsay they go to the front desk and Clara asked the front desk person like what's David Harris's room number or what's Gail Bridges's room number. The front desk person tells them like we don't have anyone under those names staying here. Later on we find out that David paid in cash and told the front desk guy to like not take his name down or anything and they they didn't they never took his name down now technically legally and all that stuff not taking someone's name down is against like hilton policy and later down the line the front desk employee ended up getting fired and in trouble for all this but yeah they're not supposed to do that but also i feel like if someone asks for a room number they're also not supposed to tell you what room number it is right like isn't that a policy too doesn't matter either way the front desk guy is like there's no one here by that name but they know that they're there so lindsey comes up with like this master plan she's like oh i'll get him to to come out to leave the hotel you know so she texts her dad that her brother is like really sick and he needs to rush home immediately like you know it's urgent so she texts him and then she calls him to make it sound extra urgent David answers and is like okay like I'm on my way home I'm coming so Clara and Lindsay they're waiting in the lobby area waiting for David to come down but he's taking a little too long where is he so now Clara calls him calls his phone saying the same thing the boys are sick you need to come home you need to come and again he says he's on his way so they're waiting they're waiting and just when Clara and Lindsay you know are about to leave the lobby and like go outside and wait the elevator doors open and guess who comes walking out it's David and Gail and they are holding hands. When Clara sees this, she goes off. She starts screaming, you bitch, he's my husband. And she's like launching herself at Gail. She's pulling out her hair. She's ripping her shirt. She's like getting her good, slapping her. It was a lot. It was a lot. And then I guess at some point, kind of love it not really but kind of at some point Clara makes an announcement to like the hotel lobby because they're in the lobby right and people are just watching. Clara's like this right here this is Dr. David Harris and he's fucking this woman right here. It's a lot. If you were in that lobby you'd be you'd be watching like damn. Oh shit. So Clara losing it losing it losing it so you know this whole thing's happening right remember lindsey the daughter still there she gets into the middle of it she grabs her little purse hitting david with her dad hitting with the little purse and she's like i hate you i hate you i and it's a whole show okay mind you like the the hotel employees seem to have let it go on a little too long but eventually they they step in and they try to break up Clara and Gail who are essentially playing tug-of-war over Gail's shirt David steps in and you know he puts his his hand on Clara's head and like pushes her to the ground you know guys when they got big hands and suck your fucking whole head and just pushes you down. I guess while she's down, David and the front desk clerk, they usher Gail out of the back of the hotel to her car. And then other employees, they guide Clara and Lindsay out the front of the hotel. So it's like everyone take a deep breath here, okay? It should have ended there, okay? but it didn't. When Clara and Lindsay get back to the car, Clara hops into the driver's seat and Lindsay is in the passenger seat. Clara said, according to her, at this point, she blacked out as they always do. They blacked out, but all she remembers was that she did not want to let gail leave the parking lot with her husband she remembered thinking like i need to stop that car i need to stop that car but she also said that she blacked out but she seemed to remember this so okay so then she was like i need to stop that car so she sped through the parking lot and like to see where gail's car had been parked to find the two of them so clara she spots david helping Gail into her car and that's when Clara like guns it towards Gail's vehicle. I guess David pushes Gail into the SUV and apparently he tries to stop Clara by putting his hands like out on the hood of the Mercedes. I think it's just also instincts like to put your hands out you know but at that point it was too late like she was gunning it so David gets hit by the car he flies freaking 25 feet across the parking lot Lindsay daughter witnesses all this poor thing screaming okay and she's trying to like get out of the car but Clara she guns it again this time she runs over David okay because he went flying so she runs him over then she turns around and she runs him over again and then she does another 180 and runs him over a third time before stopping the car now Lindsay the daughter obviously deeply upset she's hysterical she's screaming oh my gosh you know She gets out of the car and she like runs over to Clara's, the driver's seat, you know, and she like pops her in the face. And then I guess she like falls to the ground and is just screaming and sobbing. It was said, according to Clara, that when she got popped in the face by Lindsay, it's kind of when she like came back to and was in shock about what she had just done. So she gets out of the car and she runs to David. other witnesses who were staying at the hotel obviously they heard a lot of commotion screaming crying yelling it was all coming from the parking lot they heard someone yelling like he's been hit he's been hit so some eyewitnesses like ran out to the parking lot and saw that there was a man on the ground and a woman over him you know and it was it was clara and the woman was holding him saying David look what what you made me do and was like aggressively shaking him the witness said that she got between Clara and David and like tried to get Clara away from him and was telling her to back off because like if someone is in that type of condition like you should not be moving them just shaking them aggressively you can make things worse you know so the witness that She was trying to get her away from him. The witness also noticed that David's injuries were bad. Like, it was said like the side of his head was completely scraped off, essentially. And like his teeth had come out. Oh, it was awful. And then they said that Lindsay, the daughter, came over yelling and screaming and like hysterical, obviously. And was just yelling like, that's my daddy. That's my dad. tragic scene where was gail during all this i didn't even actually think about that she might have taken off at this point i'm not sure but david um he was clinging for to life at this point so the police arrived on the scene and david was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead clara was arrested on site i don't know about you but i was like where the hell was blue moon investigations and all this like weren't they supposed to be there watching you know like why didn't they see claire and lindsey kind of pop up at the hotel and like stop them well the private investigator said that you know um i guess that night she had invited a friend to join her because it was clear that david would be gone for a while and she was just kind of like watching his car to see when he would leave so she's like just come with me we can like you know hang out and like sit and chat so that her and her friend were just chit-chatting watching David's car and I guess they just completely missed Clara and Lindsay showing up to the hotel but when they heard like tires screeching and they saw Clara driving like a mad woman the private investigator started videotaping yeah we have the video but you know it's nighttime and it's dark and she's filming from kind of far away so there's zoom she's zooming in footage is grainy but it starts right after david is hit for the first time i mean it was claire who had done it it was clara and she was charged with murder and was out on a $30,000 bond the next day. Now Clara had claimed that the whole thing was an accident that she only hit David once even though there were multiple witnesses said uh that it was three times they saw her do it three times. So Miss Clara she hired a well-known lawyer his name was george parnum who had just been in the public eye the year before because guess who he defended andrea yates you remember andrea was the mother in texas who had drowned her five kids yeah during an episode of postpartum depression in 2001 and george um He defended her, you know. So George his defense his plan was to prove that Clara basically blacked out with rage or sudden passion and had no clue as to like what she was doing So Clara she pled not guilty to the murder of her husband So her trial started on January 21st, 2003 in a Harris County courtroom. um david's parents millie and gerald they showed up to to the trial in support of clara they really liked her they really believed it was just like a tragic accident and she was still the daughter-in-law they knew and loved lindsey the daughter she um immediately turned against clara as she should i mean it was hard for her because clara was like the mother figure she had kind of been supporting throughout this whole affair but now to Lindsay like Clara was her enemy which I'm sure we all can agree completely understandable. Remember they had twin boys? Well the boys they were now like four years old and they were in the temporary custody of their grandparents. Now for this case it was a little tough to select jury members because many people felt like they understood where Clara was coming from and that David got what he deserved. I know it's a very Chicago vibe. If you'd had been there, if you had seen it, I bet you you would have done the same, you know. So they had a tough time finding jury members who maybe didn't feel that way. But eventually, you know, after jury selection, the trial itself, it lasted about three weeks um the prosecution relied on the evidence the videotape of clara running over david three times to argue that her goal was to kill him but the defense argued that she was doing too many things which was kind of showing she didn't want to kill him meaning like she was stepping away from her job she was getting a makeover she was considering counseling to save her marriage. And this is, these are actions that someone would not do if they were planning on murdering someone. So that's what they're saying. So the witnesses for the prosecution included Blue Moon Investigations, the owner, Bobby, the Hilton front desk clerk, and of course, Lindsay. I think the biggest shocker was um that lindsey said she heard clara say i'm going to hit him before running over david now lindsey herself like when she took the stand and all that she seemed to be in terrible shape um she was very very depressed having nightmares you know having thoughts of um taking her own life you know and after especially after witnessing everything that happened and again I think we can all understand why she's feeling that way it was said the trial itself was very emotional that the the judge had to call for several recesses so everyone including Clara could like pull themselves together when it was the defense's turn George he brought in an expert The expert's name was Steve Irwin. I'm not kidding. Same name. Different guy. I know. Funny, huh? But the Steve Irwin, yeah. But Steve Irwin, he reconstructed the crime scene to prove that David was only run over once. And the other bumps that are shown in the video were actually Clara like hitting the curb. He's like, yeah. Yep. Based on the bloodstains and the tire marks at the scene, he believed that David's body was too far out of range for the car to have gone over him. So Steve Irwin created a video to like explain this, but the judge did not allow it to be shown in court. So instead, Steve, he brought in a whiteboard and like had some magnetic cars to kind of like illustrate his point. he's like you know but it wasn't like as clear or very convincing David's family and some of the women from the office testified in support of Clara everyone loved Clara oh my gosh everyone loved Clara they all talked about how sweet honest good-natured she was how her relationship with David was like a match made in heaven one employee even mentioned how devastated Clara was in those final days saying clara lost like a noticeable amount of weight from all the stress well yeah girl you you killed someone you know so okay but one person no one expected to show any support towards clara was the mistress gail so gail testified and when she got up there she was like yeah David told me like he had an open marriage and she said that she didn't blame Clara for being angry she's like yeah I get it actually I could see that yeah during trial Clara actually took the stand and shared all of the details about the eight days that led up to David's death now according to the media her account of what happened really tugged at the heartstrings of the public. Most people felt like David put Clara through hell in the days leading up to to his murder and it seemed clear to them that Clara still loved David, that she'd done everything she could to make him happy but he still chose the other woman. The closing arguments were given then the jury went to delivery and on February 13th they found Clara Harris guilty of first degree murder with a deadly weapon. Now the jury was then sent back to deliberate on a sentencing recommendation and whether or not they believed this was an act of sudden passion. Listen in Texas sudden passion is when someone is overwhelmed with rage or fear and commits a crime out of that emotion. Like if you started your period and you're just raging and you're like I guess that would be sudden passion and if a jury believes that this is why the crime happened the sentence would be much lighter and in some cases even taking like a first degree murder charge and dropping it down to second degree murder in clara's case if it was considered sudden passion it could take a potential life sentence that she was kind of facing and turn it into something like 20 years maximum sentence. I was looking into this. I was like, that's interesting. Sudden passion? Hmm. Hmm. Okay. And on February 14th, which would have been Clara and David's 11th wedding anniversary, the jury did find that this was a crime of sudden passion. And they recommended a lighter sentence. Because it was considered a crime of sudden passion, Clara was sentenced to the maximum penalty of 20 years, fined $10,000, and would not be up for parole until she served at least 10 years. I always thought for some reason Texas would be like the psycho ones and like, look, I'm a forever. but i guess okay clara tried to appeal her case on the grounds that not all of the evidence was presented like the steve irwin video but she was denied after her sentencing there were actually quite a few lawsuits that followed clara ended up suing her lawyer george parnum for overcharging her and breaking attorney client confident confidentiality because he was giving information to a true crime author who did not have Clara's permission to write a book about her and so she was suing and all that she ended up losing that case. David's daughter Lindsay she filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of herself and her brothers right after their dad died with the goal of stopping Clara from having access to David's estate and using the money for her legal fees which is like good for her you know that's a good catch lindsey won her case and um you know the estate was like split evenly between all the kids millie and gerald david's parents were promised permanent custody of their grandsons but after sentencing they stopped taking clara's calls and would not bring the boys like to visit her in prison and clara was like kind of bitter about this. So when the temporary custody agreement ran out, Clara fought to have the boys live with her former neighbors. Which sounds super random, but I guess they were really close with these neighbors. And the neighbors were actually named in Clara and David's will. Like if anything were to happen to them, these neighbors would raise the kids. Clara and the neighbors won this case and the boys went to live with the neighbor friends full-time. Millie and Gerald they were granted visitation rights. I don't know how they felt about it. I think they were upset. I'm not sure but yeah. After the custody battle Millie and Gerald filed their own wrongful death lawsuit against Clara claiming that David had promised to take care of them in their golden years and they just wanted their part of the estate. They ended up winning. They settled for like a lesser amount but they ended up being awarded a lot of money. And then in the final lawsuit, Lindsay, the twins, Millie, and Gerald filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Hilton, the hotel, and Blue Moon Investigations. The lawsuit stated that hotel management failed to provide effective security or notify police in time to prevent David's death. And then as far as Blue Moon investigations, they should not have told Clara that the two were at the hotel and they should have followed their own freaking policy in the first place, right? Yes, both companies settled and the amount was undisclosed but they did it good for them listen in 2018 clara was released on parole after serving 15 years and as of 2023 she has completed her sentence making her a completely free woman due to her conviction she did lose her dental license but while she was in prison she worked in a program that translated text to braille for adaptive textbooks. And I guess she did so well in this program that she got a full-time editor position. So next time you're reading Braille, you can think of Clara. She probably did that shit. Part of Clara's parole condition was to not contact Lindsay. And according to Clara, you know, it remains that way. Lindsay stayed out of the public eye and she focused on healing and moving forward and getting the fuck away from this the twins the two boys they were four when it happened but they are now like 27 years old and it said that they have a great relationship with their mother apparently they have forgiven her and they spend a lot of time with her out on their boat i'm like okay millie and gerald david's parents they passed away in 2017 before clara was released as for Gail she hasn't been in the spotlight since the trial I read an interview um where like she gave it shortly after the trial where she said she was dealing with severe PTSD and depression and she was going through therapy and she just wanted to lay low move forward and I think she I think she did just that because you can't find her anywhere and go for her because what a mess what a mess you know damn listen at the end of the day this is truly sad tragic story with a freaking loss that could have very simply been avoided yeah if you go online and like look up um Claire Harris and all that stuff there's a lot of people that praise her uh they think she's amazing like yeah good for her and um I get both I get Yeah, I, you know, but it's like he still killed someone. But a lot of people, you know, they praise Clara or at the very least they have sympathy for what she did. Some people feel like he had it coming. But Clara had even said again in a later interview that she isn't proud of what happened and no one should be cheering on her behavior. Let me tell you, you want to hear my thoughts? My thoughts are this. A couple things, a couple things. i personally don't think clara was in a blackout rage that narrative seemed to kind of appear when she hired that attorney guy and same with her like downing a bottle of wine before she left that night i'm skeptical about that because listen when the police show up and whatnot if you drink a bottle of wine you're gonna reek of wine and it would be noted in police notes that like she reeks of alcohol and there was no mention of alcohol at all I just feel like the whole blackout thing blackout rage was kind of part of uh her team's uh strategy I'm all for like keying the car slashing the tires beating them up whatever but not murder what clara should have done was gotten a divorce took everything from this man got the lipo got the boobs and been like yep i win you know like that's the true win here killing the guy is not the win no the win is looking hot as hell and taking everything from them should have done that girl should have done that should have done that but that's okay you know instead she ruined her life she ruined her stepdaughter's life she ruined gail's life she affected a lot of people here because of her decision and actions but i think a lot of us can understand no i don't know i don't know i know a lot of people in the comments are going to be like good for her you guys are going to drive me nuts And then, okay, so when I was learning about this whole situation and I learned about sudden passion and I was like, that's such an interesting thing. I didn't know. I've never heard of this whole sudden passion situation. And I was like, is that mainly like something that they give to women? Like, has there been any cases where like the situation was reversed? just out of my own curiosity like and this is where it kind of got spooky to me I was like oh see the sudden passion thing could be potentially a very scary thing because listen there was this man Texas okay listen his name was Carrie Birmingham he shot and killed his wife and he didn't like to shoot her like once he shot her like three times while she was filming it and it was considered an act of like a sudden passion and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and I was like whoa that's kind of spooky I'm not gonna say it but I'm gonna say it because it's like if you're gonna kill your spouse it's like shit go to Texas I guess can I say that I just did because I don't like that that I did not like I did not like that I don't know about the sudden passion thing to me sudden passion is like I was angry I always think of my period because sometimes I get a lot of sudden passion when I'm PMSing and I'm like I was angry so I drove through a grocery store because I was just fucking pissed off and I just wanted to get some donuts like to me that's sudden passion I just fuck it just let me drive through this grocery store so I don't have to get out of my car I just drive to the grocery store go to the aisle and then get it my stuff and then get out that's my version of sudden passion not shooting someone running them anyways that my friends is the clara harris case a murder a death an accident that could have 100 percent not happened been prevented make good choices be safe out there please don't do anything crazy and blame it on sun and passion okay and i'll be seeing you guys later goodbye