'Vroom-vroom-screech-bam!' - sounds of David Harris' death (Clara Harris murder trial)

Houston Chronicle ^ | February 12, 2003 | By ALLAN TURNER

[MeekOneGOP]

HoustonChronicle.com -- http://www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section: Local & State

Feb. 12, 2003, 6:46AM

'Vroom-vroom-screech-bam!'

Tennis player recalls sights, sounds of David Harris' death

By ALLAN TURNER
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

RESOURCES

Clara Harris grew emotional Tuesday after hearing testimony about her husband's "mauled" body. She is accused of running over him after catching him with his former receptionist at a hotel.

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Webcast: Check back here at 9 a.m.

• From the arrest to the trial

Video:
Private investigator catches incident on tape
(Video courtesy of KHOU, Ch. 11. Video requires Real Player)

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The trial:
• The indictment
• What we know about them
• The experts: Why they're split over jurors
Preparing for the trial: Video report from Jan. 19.

The testimony:
• Day 1: Hotel employees tell what they saw
• Day 2: Grainy videotape reveals little
• Day 3: What the private eye learned
• Day 4: Defendant's sobs halt trial twice
• Day 5: Stepdaughter says Clara Harris 'went straight for him'
• Day 6: Defense expert says Mercedes only hit him once
• Day 7: Physical evidence vs. eyewitnesses
• Day 8: David Harris' employees say affair disrupted workplace
• Day 9: Mistress testifies of 'open marriage'
• Day 10: Clara Harris takes the stand
• Day 11: She doesn't remember hitting her husband
• Day 12: David Harris mom says marriage "made in heaven"

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From the Chronicle's archives:
• The story of Clara and David Harris: They epitomized success and happiness, but underneath the facade... - Jan. 19
• The wife: Mother of twins kept to herself - Aug. 4
• The mistress: Mistress not a stranger to the spotlight - Aug. 4
• The married couple: Victim wanted to end marriage - July 27

Prosecutors rested their murder case against Clara Harris on Tuesday after two final witnesses testified that they saw her run over her husband three times with her Mercedes-Benz outside a hotel in Clear Lake.

In contrast to the defense contention that orthodontist David Harris was run over only once, Oscar Torres and Chris Junco told jurors that the defendant circled to run over her husband repeatedly in the Nassau Bay Hilton parking lot.

"I heard vroom-vroom-screech-bam!" Torres said, smashing his fist into his hand to demonstrate the impact of the car hitting the Lincoln Navigator owned by David Harris' mistress. "After impact, I saw the car and the dentist's (David Harris') body flying."

Jurors were sent home at noon as preparations were made for final arguments today, after which the case will go to the jury.

Clara Harris, a 45-year-old dentist, is accused of deliberately running over her husband on July 24 after finding him at the hotel with his mistress.

Torres and Junco said they were playing tennis on separate courts near the hotel when they heard a commotion and witnessed the fatal incident.

Torres, who said he owns a Houston entertainment company, testified that he did not see the Mercedes sedan hit David Harris because the 6-foot-tall Navigator, a sport utility vehicle, blocked his view. But, he said, he saw Clara Harris frantically turning the steering wheel of her car to circle and hit her husband again.

On cross examination, lead defense attorney George Parnham pointed to a row of bushes illustrated on a diagram of the parking lot and asked Torres if they had obscured his view from outside the tennis court, where he had gone after hearing the noise. Torres said he did not remember any bushes and had a clear view of what occurred.

When the Mercedes stopped after running over David Harris three times, he testified, a teenage girl jumped from the vehicle and ran toward the injured man.

"She screamed, 'My dad! My dad! You've killed my dad!' " Torres said. "She screamed like an animal in excruciating pain. I watched with disbelief."

The defendant's stepdaughter, Lindsey Harris, 17, has testified that she was in the car when it struck her father.

Torres said he approached the victim.

"He was mauled," he told jurors. "I mean, he was gasping for air."

At one point, Parnham questioned Torres on his phonetic rendition of the Mercedes' acceleration, tire-screeching and crash.

"From the moment she got in the car, she was accelerating," Torres testified. "Vroom-vroom-screech-bam!"

"I noticed you stomped your foot on the floor," Parnham said. "You didn't see the defendant's feet?"

"No, I couldn't see her feet," Torres conceded.

"You couldn't hear her stomp on the accelerator?" Parnham asked.

"No," Torres said.

"You heard the car go vroom-vroom?" Parnham began.

"Is the court reporter getting all of this?" state District Judge Carol G. Davies inquired as jurors, lawyers and the audience guffawed.

Tuesday's testimony began with Junco, who also was at the tennis court across from the Hilton parking lot that night.

Junco, a Seabrook real estate agent, told jurors he heard loud quarreling in the parking lot and went to investigate.

"I saw a car running over a body," he said. "It was a big Mercedes. I believe it was gray or a shade of gray."

He said he saw the car make three counterclockwise circles, running over David Harris three times.

"I wasn't sure what I was seeing was real," he testified. "It was weird. I don't know how to describe it."

Junco, too, said he heard the injured man gasping. At one point in his testimony both Junco and the defendant began weeping.

"I never thought the car would stop," he said through his tears. "It was amazing how fast it was going and how, in such a confined space, it was just amazing what could happen."

"Did you think it was an accident?" asked Assistant District Attorney Mia Magness.

"No, ma'am," Junco answered.

On cross examination, Parnham queried Junco about statements he purportedly made to a defense investigator about what he saw. Junco disputed that he ever had said Clara Harris was not "rational" when driving the car.

"I don't like the word 'rational,' " he said, "but she wasn't thinking correctly."

On redirect questioning, he acknowledged that "I don't know what she was thinking. I can't say if she was rational or not."

"So, as she was running over David Harris, did you see her face?" Magness asked.

"Yes," Junco responded.

"What did it look like?" Magness asked.

"Pissed off," Junco answered.

It still was unclear Tuesday whether attorneys will attempt to allow jurors the option of finding Clara Harris guilty of a lesser offense.

If Davies agrees to such an arrangement, jurors could find Harris innocent of murder -- which could carry a life sentence -- but guilty of a less-serious offense such as manslaughter.

If convicted of murder, Harris still could receive a reduced sentence if jurors find that she acted in "sudden passion" rather than premeditation. If sentenced to 10 or fewer years in prison, she could be eligible for probation.

[MeekOneGOP]

Wow. How's that for a Houston Chronicle article title?...

"You heard the car go vroom-vroom?" Parnham began.

"Is the court reporter getting all of this?" state District Judge Carol G. Davies inquired as jurors, lawyers and the audience guffawed.

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Stay tuned for the next episode of...'As the World Turns'…

AP 2-7-2003
Defendant Clara Harris reacts as she
testifies about her husband's affair.

Associated Press photos 2-10-2003 Defense lawyers for murder defendant Clara Harris, right, rested their case today after her mother-in-law, Mildred Harris, left, testified that the woman who drove over her son with a Mercedes-Benz is still "like a daughter." Prosecutors, however, immediately called an Houston police officer to the stand to rebut her lawyers' claims that David Harris was hit only once.

[MeekOneGOP]

pretty much a re-hash, just fyi...

[BullDog108]

The Chronicle is competing with the NY Daily News for catchy titles!

[IncPen]

Wouldn't there be a "thump-thump" and a "yeeeerrrrrrrt" and another "thump-thump"?

I mean c'mon, let's be accurate here...

[ovrtaxt]

Perhaps we should start posting the sound effects of the adulterous liaison... This is getting to be like an old Batman fight scene.

[WhirlwindAttack]

Note to self: If you ever consider having an affair,

A. Don't let the wife find out about it
B. Don't provide a vehicle for her that she can run you over with.
C. Remember there are easier ways to commit suicide than pissed off wife syndrome.

BTW If this was my wife and I did her wrong she would just shoot me.

[MeekOneGOP]

If anyone wants on a ping list on this story until the sentencing is finished, let me know.

Here is the A/P story via the Dallas Morning News...

Jurors set to begin deliberations in Houston murder case

02/12/2003

Associated Press

HOUSTON - Defense attorneys say it was an accident but prosecutors say a wife turned her Mercedes-Benz into a 4,000-pound murder weapon when she mowed down her husband after finding him with another woman.

Closing arguments were scheduled for Wednesday, after which the jury was expected to begin deliberations in the case against Clara Harris, 45.

The wife allegedly intentionally ran over her 44-year-old orthodontist husband, David Harris, in a hotel parking lot last July after confronting him with his lover. She says the death was an accident, and that she ran over her husband just once.

Prosecutors say the attack was intentional and that David Harris was run over at least twice. Various witnesses in the case testified the husband was run over three times -- or as many as five times.

The jury was to consider murder charges, but also was expected to be asked to consider the lesser charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

If convicted of murder, Clara Harris could face life in prison -- but her lawyers have indicated they would then lodge a "sudden passion" argument that could reduce the sentencing guidelines to two to 20 years in prison.

A manslaughter conviction carries the same sentencing guidelines, while a criminally negligent homicide conviction would bring a sentence ranging from six months to two years in prison.

Among witnesses who took the stand during 13 days of testimony were Lindsey Harris, the victim's daughter who was a passenger in the $70,000 luxury sedan when he was run over. David Harris' receptionist and girlfriend, Gail Bridges, also took the stand.

The victim's mother, father and brother testified on behalf of Clara Harris, who took the stand in her own defense, telling jurors she loved her husband and did everything possible to save their marriage.

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Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/021203dntexharris.8ba2b8.html

[mbynack]

BTW If this was my wife and I did her wrong she would just shoot me.

I once had a neighbor or came out on his lawn early in the morning naked and screaming. It seems he had gotten drunk the night before and confessed to his Korean wife that he had been having an affair. She waited until he passed out, super-glued his hands to his crotch and left him.

[MeekOneGOP]

Perhaps we should start posting the sound effects of the adulterous liaison... This is getting to be like an old Batman fight scene.

LOL ! That just about sizes it up alright...

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http://www.yesterdayland.com/popopedia/shows/primetime/pt1015.php

POW!!! BAM!!! BIFF!!! SOCK!!! CRRRASH!!! THUD!!!

Few shows bring out the kid in adult viewers the way Batman does. From the cool gadgets and vehicles to the endless array of colorful guest-villains to the visualized sound effects of the fight sequences, this show was everyone’s childhood comic-book fantasy brought to life.

[ovrtaxt]

She waited until he passed out, super-glued his hands to his crotch and left him.

Was this before or after Lorena Bobbitt? It could have been worse....

Incidentally, the pipe cutter at work is known affectionately as 'the Bobbitt!'

[X_CDN_EH]

Why is it that Mercedes Benz is hyped up so much. The car did not run the man over, the driver used the car to run him over. It could have been a Ford or Chevy. Enough already.

[KarlInOhio]

Why is it that Mercedes Benz is hyped up so much.

Because things like this don't happen to Mercedes' owners. If you heard that it was a primered Trans Am with a mismatched door you would just shrug and say "Well, what can you expect." :-)

[dennisw]

I need my daily dose of this bat out of hell.

 

 

 

Mon Feb 3, 6:43 PM ET

Murder defendant Clara Harris stands to leave the courtroom after another day of testimony Monday, Feb. 3, 2003, in Houston. Harris is accused of running down her husband with her Mercedes-Benz after catching him with another woman. (AP Photo/Buster Dean, Pool)

Fri Feb 7,12:30 PM ET

Accused killer Clara Harris (L) enters the criminal courts building in downtown Houston with attorney George Parnham, February 7, 2003. Harris, 44, who is expected to take the witness stand today, is accused of running down her husband in the parking lot of the Hilton Nasa (news - web sites) Clear Lake after finding him with another woman. REUTERS/Richard Carson

[Exeter]

"In contrast to the defense contention that orthodontist David Harris was run over only once..."

There seems to be some confusion as to the number of times Dr. Harris was run over. Clara, it's real easy. Simply count how many times you heard "Thump! Thump!", and divide by two.

[sam_paine]

Whatdtheysay????

"Hell hath no fury...."

[MeekOneGOP]

Good pics. Thanks...

[sam_paine]

Q: What is the most pleasant sound a cat can make?

A: "B-dump, B-dump!"

[Exeter]

Run me down once-shame on you.

Run me down twice-shame on me.

Run me down thrice or more-well, it's kind of a moot point...

[MeekOneGOP]

Just saw this posted on the DMN...

BREAKING NEWS

Click here for LIVE streaming video of closing arguments in the Clara Harris murder trial.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

LOL