Witness to Harris murder loses job - hotel worker was fired day after testifying

Houston Chronicle ^ | February 17, 2003 | By JO ANN ZUNIGA

[MeekOneGOP]

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

Feb. 17, 2003, 10:49PM

Witness to Harris murder loses job

Hotel worker was fired day after testifying

By JO ANN ZUNIGA
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

A Clear Lake-area hotel official who saw Clara Harris run over and kill her husband with her Mercedes-Benz was unjustly fired the day after he testified in Harris' murder trial, his lawyer said Monday.

Evangelos Smiros was fired from the Nassau Bay Hilton on Jan. 24 because the hotel fears possible legal action from the Harris family, said attorney Chip Lewis.

The hotel's corporate lawyer, Debra Thomas, said Smiros' termination "has nothing to do with his testimony." She said she was not at liberty to say why he was fired or discuss other details.

Smiros, who had worked at the Hilton since May 2000, was the hotel's food and beverage director. He was one of the first witnesses in the trial of Clara Harris, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Friday after being convicted of murdering her husband, David Harris.

Smiros testified about escorting Clara Harris out of the hotel and to her car on the night of July 24, shortly before she repeatedly ran over her husband in the hotel parking lot. A physical altercation had broken out in the lobby after Harris found her husband there with his mistress, Gail Bridges.

He told jurors that David Harris yelled, "It's over! It's over!" at his wife before she got into her car and "peeled rubber."

Smiros said he chased the car, calling for Clara Harris to stop, but he saw her run over her husband three times.

Lewis said his client complied with the hotel's request to have a hotel lawyer accompany him when he gave his statement. He later talked with the media, however, calling the fatality one of the "most horrific" events he had ever seen, Lewis said.

"He (Smiros) just told the truth and he was fired. This is an abridgment of his First Amendment rights and offensive to be punished for doing his duty," Lewis said.

He said Smiros believes he was fired to lessen the hotel's liability.

"The lawyers for the Harris children could be aiming lawsuits at the Hilton for having inadequate security," Lewis said. "So the hotel fires him to mitigate its liabilities, since he would no longer be working there."

Smiros said hotel officials indicated he was fired because they believed his moonlighting with an independent catering company was a conflict of interest.

"Other employees before and since then have done the same and they have not been fired," Lewis said.

He said he has instructed Smiros not to comment further until they have decided on their response to the firing.

[MeekOneGOP]

And I thought this was all over with. Oh, but Clara's attorney, George Parnham, did say something like 'this isn't over yet', didn't he?...

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.
Clara Harris, left, and her attorney George Parnham

[MeekOneGOP]

And I bet you thought this was over with, huh?...

[null and void]

I love the smell of a wrongful termination lawsuit first thing in the morning...

[goldstategop]

The hotel will wind up paying more than they would have if they had waited a decent interval.

[MeekOneGOP]

The hotel sure seems misguided to me. The timing is going to be a killer for them I bet.

'What lawyers do for us'...

[nicmarlo]

This would not be one of those "frivolous lawsuits" which Bush has referred to as being a cause of so much damage to our legal system. It was wrong for this hotel to fire someone who did their duty, and followed a moral obligation, to testify against a criminal/criminal behavior witnessed by an employee. Unless there was some other compelling reason, it is without justification. He's been an employee for almost 3 years.....so there will be a paper trail of promotions to director, or other positive reviews to allow him to remain as a director of their hotel.

[gunnedah]

These type things are never over until lawyers squeeze every penny out of everyone they can. I can hardly wait for the day they go to suing each other, but this is a monoply and will never happen.
When is the last time anyone has heard of a lawyer being sued for ineffective defense of a client. Yet lawyers sue others for the same type negligence. They are a fraternity that deals from a stacked deck. They totally control the legal system without any real checks and balances.

[lentulusgracchus]

Thanx for the photos from the Chron, Meek.

I heard a rank rumor, supposedly from a news source (Houston Press?), that the decedent's girl friend was actually running a scam. She and her girl friend were just trying to get access to Harris's assets, I was told, and so they tried to engage his seven-year itch. (Heard this at a poker smoker, so be warned.)

[lentulusgracchus]

'What lawyers do for us'...

Well, the thought crossed my mind that the hotel's lawyer, at being asked to structure an illegal firing to pass muster, might have returned the favor to the chain by, as goldstategop points out, "accidentally" whiffing the timing, thus ensuring that justice would eventually be done. (My interpretation, not gop's.)

[evad]

Parnham???..
Why is that name familiar.
What else has he done?

[cricket]

Do not understand what liability the hotel has for this crime - and surely they would not wantonly display the kind of bad judgement that led to the crime itself. . .surely not.

Personally, hope Evangelos Smiros will be able to retire on his legal earnings.

[FreePaul]

Parnham managed to get the Yates woman a life sentence after she murdered all of her children. Maybe he saved her from a death sentence.

[MeekOneGOP]

Not frivolous at all, I agree.

The hotel should have told their lawyer to stuff it, and fired HIM...

[MeekOneGOP]

He defended Andrea Yates, who drowned her five children in a bathtub in the Houston area...

She will serve 40 years minimum, I believe...

[Ditter]

I fail to understand why the hotel would be liable for anything Clara Harris did on their property or why they would be liable for any true statement made by their employee.

[MeekOneGOP]

That assumes it was the lawyer's idea to fire him. Perhaps it was the hotel management's idea though?...

[Doc Savage]

Perhaps I can explain it this way. Harris was wearing a Victoria's Secret thong that day and has filed a lawsuit against the company because they failed to prevent the thong from bunching up and irritating her derriere which in turn made her kill her husband.

Likewise she is suing Warner's for making an irritating bra, Leggs for making irritating pantyhose, Ettiene Aiger for making irritating 6" spike heels, Lancome' for making an irritating perfume, all of which forced her to kill her husband.

Should all lawsuits eventually bear fruit Harris stands to reap 400 Trillion dollars, all of which will be donated to her favorite Charity, Mercedes for Abused Women!

Her husband's family has also filed suit and all suits have been thrown out by the courts.

[MeekOneGOP]

I fail to understand why the hotel would be liable for anything Clara Harris did on their property or why they would be liable for any true statement made by their employee.

The lawyers are pushing this, I would bet. George Parnham, Clara's attorney, said 'this isn't over yet' after her conviction. From the article...

Smiros testified about escorting Clara Harris out of the hotel and to her car on the night of July 24, shortly before she repeatedly ran over her husband in the hotel parking lot. A physical altercation had broken out in the lobby after Harris found her husband there with his mistress, Gail Bridges.

So there it is. City-slicker lawyer is going to frame a case that it's the hotel's fault that Clara murdered her husband since they escorted her out of the hotel after Clara beat up Gail Bridges in the hotel lobby...

[MeekOneGOP]

Oh, one little detail missing from my comment and from this article. Clara's stepdaughter (David's daughter) had been driving the vehicle that day up until the point that Clara was put behind the wheel by the man the hotel fired. Trial testimony showed that the stepdaughter was driving because Clara was too upset over the 'affair' to drive.

[MeekOneGOP]

David Harris' family suit has been tossed? I didn't know that. This one should be also, imho...