ANGLETON, Texas – A deal was reached Wednesday during a custody hearing in Brazoria County over who will raise Clara Harris' twin boys while she serves her prison sentence for killing their father with a car.
News2Houston reported that a joint custody agreement has been reached between Clara Harris' in-laws, and Pat and Ana Jones of Friendswood. The Joneses are Harris' friends.
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After her arrest last year, Clara Harris gave her in-laws, Gerald and Mildred Harris, custody of the twins, Brian and Bradley.
Clara Harris said that she now wants the Joneses to raise her sons instead, because they also have 4-year-old twin boys.
Before the deal gets the judge's final approval, both parties, as well as the twins, must undergo psychiatric evaluations.
Gerald and Mildred Harris smiled as they left the courtroom.
"I'm happy," Mildred Harris said.
"This was a very good temporary solution that's best for the boys and Clara is very happy about it," said Lenette Terry, Clara Harris' attorney.
"I believe it is in the best interest of Brian and Bradley to resolve these disputes in private as a family, whether they be primary family, as Gerald and Mildred and Clara are, or the new adopted family, Pat and Anna Jones. I actually started calling the attorneys last week," said Pam Hoerster, the attorney representing the twins.
The court order also states that both parties must take the twins to their football practices.
A Harris County jury sentenced Clara Harris to 20 years in prison after finding her guilty of murdering her orthodontist husband, David Harris, 44, on July 24. The incident occurred after a confrontation between Clara and David Harris and David's acknowledged lover, Gail Bridges, in the lobby of the Hilton Nasa Clear Lake, Nasa Road 1, in Nassau Bay.
In an exclusive on-camera interview from behind bars on May 19, Clara Harris told News2Houston that her husband's death was a horrible accident and that she misses and loves him, and that the only thing that keeps her going is her children.
"Every time I go to see them, I think that they have forgotten about me, you know?" Harris said. "And I walk in that room and they go, 'Momma.' And it's like they just give me life back."
"Since I'm not out there, I feel that (the twins) have to be with a couple that can handle little ones," Clara Harris said. "I know that my situation can last two years or it can last 10 years."
"My in-laws are 74, and in 10 years, 84 with 14-year-olds is not going to be an easy situation, so yes, I am very concerned about my in-laws," Harris said.
A judge agreed that the original order was flawed and that Clara Harris signed it while under a suicide watch at the Harris County Jail's psychiatric ward.
She is serving her sentence at the Mountview facility in Gatesville, Texas.
Previous Stories:
- May 20, 2003: Clara Harris Speaks Out From Jail
- May 7, 2003: Custody Battle Begins Over Harris Children
- February 20, 2003: Harris' Stepdaughter Sues Hotel, Detective Agency
- February 18, 2003: Hotel Official Fired After Testifying In Clara Harris Trial
- February 17, 2003: Clara Harris Says She Still Loves Her Dead Husband
- February 14, 2003: Jurors Send Clara Harris To Prison
- February 14, 2003: Jury Considers Punishment For Clara Harris
- February 13, 2003: Clara Harris Guilty, Sentencing Begins
- February 12, 2003: Jurors Deliberate Clara Harris Case
- February 12, 2003: Jurors Set To Begin Deliberations In Clara Harris Case
- February 11, 2003: Closing Arguments Wednesday In Harris Trial
- February 11, 2003: Jurors Told To Bring Toothbrushes In Clara Harris Trial
- February 10, 2003: Defense Rests In Clara Harris Trial
- February 10, 2003: Clara Harris Retakes Stand
- February 7, 2003: Harris: Didn't Mean To Run Over Husband
- February 5, 2003: Clara Harris' Attorney Collapses Outside Courtroom
- February 4, 2003: Harris' Lover Testifies About Relationship
- February 4, 2003: Defense Goes After Victim In Clara Harris Case
- January 31, 2003: Collision Expert Testifies About Harris' Death
- January 30, 2003: Accusations Fly After Harris Daughter Testifies
- 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