HoustonChronicle.com -- http://www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section: Local & State
Feb. 11, 2003, 12:20PM
Prosecutors rest their case against dentist who ran over husband
By ALLAN TURNERCopyright 2003 Houston Chronicle
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RESOURCES
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 Clara Harris gets emotional today 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. • From the arrest to the trial Video: 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: 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 case today after two businessmen playing tennis near the Clear Lake hotel where murder defendant Clara Harris ran over her husband testified they saw her hit him three times with her Mercedes.
Chris Junco, a Seabrook real estate broker who'd been enjoying a break from work on July 24, cried as he tried to describe what happened so quickly the day the Friendswood dentist is accused of killing her orthodontist husband in a fit of jealous rage.
"I wasn't sure what I was seeing was real," he said. "It was weird.... The whole scene was very bad."
Called by prosecutors as a rebuttal witness in the murder trial, Junco testified he saw Clara Harris' face as she sped toward David Harris, who was standing in the parking lot with his mistress.
"She was pissed off," he said.
After running him down, however, she struggled out her car and knelt beside him, crying, "Oh, David, oh, David, what have I done?" Junco said.
"Did you think it was an accident?" prosecutors asked.
"I believe what she did, she did intentionally, but when she got out of the car she was different," Junco said.
If found guilty of murder, Clara Harris, a 45-year-old mother of 4-year-old twin boys, could be sentenced to life in prison, but she get as little as two years if the jury concludes she acted with "sudden passion." She could be eligible for probation if she is sentenced to 10 years or less.
Closing arguments will begin Wednesday morning, and this afternoon, the judge and attorneys from both sides will hammer out what instructions the judge will give the juror as they begin deliberations. Either side could request lesser charges such as manslaughter, but there have been no indications that will happen.
Before prosecutors wrapped up their case, Oscar Torres, an executive with a Houston entertainment company, said that like Junco, he heard a commotion outside the Nassau Bay Hilton Inn from the tennis court across the street and went over to investigate.
Hotel employees were trying to stop Clara Harris as she tried to peel out in her Mercedes, Torres said. They were yelling, "Clear the parking lot! Clear the parking lot!" but had to jump out of the way themselves to avoid being hit, he said.
After the car disappeared into a back parcking lot, he heard a crash, then arrived to see Harris hit her husband three times.
When the car stopped, he said, a teenage girl jumped out screaming, "My dad, my dad! You killed my dad!" He later learned that girl was David Harris daughter and Clara Harris' stepdaughter.
"She screamed like an animal would scream in excruciating pain," he said. "I watched in disbelief."
Torres saw David Harris lying on the ground.
"He was mauled. He was gasping for air," Torres said.