HOUSTON – The stepfather of Lindsey Harris is upset that defense attorneys accused her of testifying Wednesday to help in her family's wrongful death lawsuit against Clara Harris.
After Lindsey Harris testified that her stepmother meant to run down her father last summer after catching him with his suspected lover, defense attorney George Parnham told jurors that Lindsey's parents filed the wrongful death claim.
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"I think once the jury was aware of that, I think they'll incorporate that into their evaluation of her testimony," Parnham told reporters.
"Parnham's statement that the legal action had an enormous effect on how Lindsey testified is at best misleading and at worst a gross misstatement intended to discredit a 17-year-old girl who witnessed the senseless death of her father," said Steve Davis, the attorney for Lindsey Harris' family.
"This situation was between three adults and Lindsey should not have been put in the middle," stepfather Jim Shank said outside the Harris County courthouse Thursday. "We feel that Clara was wrong in her actions and for involving our daughter. We will not be satisfied until justice is served."
Lindsey Harris was a passenger in Clara Harris' Mercedes-Benz the night of July 24 when the dentist is accused of running down her husband in the parking lot of a Houston-area hotel after finding him with another woman.
"It does not matter how angry you get," Shank said. "You do not have the right to kill anyone, for any reason, especially in front of an innocent child."
Shank's comments came on a day when jurors in the murder trial were asked not to report to the courthouse so state District Judge Carol Davies could consider whether a defense witness is qualified to testify as an expert in accident reconstruction.
Attorneys for the teenager said they tried unsuccessfully to get her released as a witness in the trial. Lindsey Harris lives with her mother and stepfather in Ohio.
Steve Irwin, a Dallas collision reconstructionist, told Davies he has used police measurements and photographs to recreate the path Clara Harris, 44, took as she fatally ran over her husband.
Irwin said from his re-creation -- based on his study of the collision, research into the car Clara Harris was driving and the location of the body -- it would be impossible for Clara Harris to have continued to circle around and hit David Harris "again and again and again," as prosecutors have alleged.
Davies ruled Thursday that Irwin can testify, but without a video taken from inside a Mercedes-Benz as he drove a path they say Clara Harris took in the parking lot. Davies also nixed a computer animation Irwin created, though both clips will be preserved for a possible appeal.
The video showed the car going around the back of a green Suburban and a black Lincoln Navigator, similar to the one owned by David Harris' alleged girlfriend, Gail Bridges. The video shows the Mercedes pulling into an empty parking spot next to the Navigator and stopping just short of an open driver's side door with a man in a white shirt standing next to it.
Clara Harris cried and moaned out loud in the courtroom as the video was played Thursday. She buried her head as mascara streaked under her eyes. She claims she accidentally struck her husband.
Prosecutors say the defendant became enraged when her husband chose Bridges over her after a confrontation in the hotel.
If convicted, Clara Harris faces up to life in prison. If jurors determine she acted under the legal definition of sudden passion, they could consider a lighter sentence of two to 20 years in prison.
Previous Stories:
- January 30, 2003: State Rests In Clara Harris Case
- January 29, 2003: Harris' Daughter Testifies: 'She Meant To Kill Him'
- January 29, 2003: Stepdaughter To Testify In Clara Harris' Trial
- January 28, 2003: Harris Cries Uncontrollably, Removed From Trial
- January 27, 2003: Private Investigator Testifies In Clara Harris Trial
- January 27, 2003: Clara Harris Trial Enters Second Week
- January 23, 2003: Witnesses Describe Harris Running Over Husband
- January 22, 2003: Jury Seated In Clara Harris Trial
- January 22, 2003: Jury Selection Continues In Harris' Murder Trial
- January 21, 2003: Jurors To Be Picked For Clara Harris' Trial
- January 16, 2003: Harris' Stepdaughter's Remarks Spark Debate
- November 19, 2002: Audiotapes Allege Clara Harris Also Having Affair
- November 1, 2002: Harris Featured In Magazine Article
- October 18, 2002: Clara Harris Pleads Not Guilty
- October 10, 2002: Grand Jury Indicts Clara Harris
- September 18, 2002: Custody Battle Stems From High-Profile Murder
- August 23, 2002: Clara Harris' Murder Trial Set
- August 2, 2002: Slain Orthodontist's Daughter Files Suit
- July 31, 2002: P.I. Turns Over Video Of Dentist's Death
- July 29, 2002: Judge: Dentist To Remain Free
- July 26, 2002: Wife Free After Allegedly Running Over Husband
- July 25, 2002: Police: Wife Runs Over Cheating Husband