HOUSTON – Gail Bridges had been having an affair with Clara Harris' husband, David, for months -- an affair Clara says drove her to kill her husband. Bridges spoke to News2Houston in an exclusive interview Thursday.
The tragedy took place at the parking lot of the Hilton Hotel at Nassau Bay last year. But back in February, after Clara Harris was convicted of killing her husband, News2Houston asked the other woman in David's life for an interview.
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Back then she declined. Seven months later, she called News2Houston's Cindy Garza and said she was ready to talk, but only under one condition -- no cameras, only audio.
Gail Bridges describes the night she and her lover, David Harris, were confronted by his wife, Clara Harris, in a hotel lobby -- the last night she would ever see him alive.
"What happened when you got off that elevator?" Garza asked Bridges.
"We were leaving the hotel and I was looking at David and I noticed all of a sudden his face changed. And I went to look at the direction, and then we saw her," Bridges said. "Soon after that, it all turned into massive turmoil, and the only thing that I could do was to yell for help ... for someone to please, please get her off of me."
Bridges says before Clara Harris was pulled off of her, Harris attacked her -- she pulled her hair, punched her head and face, and bit her. Bridges then walked to her car with David following.
"Did you see the car coming towards you?" Garza asked Bridges.
Bridges replied, "Yes."
"What happened?" Garza questioned.
"It's hard to tell. I could hear someone yell at me to get away from my car ... to get away and I didn't quite understand why until I turned and looked. That was when she struck me on my leg with the vehicle," the mistress said.
Bridges was thrown to the ground.
"I told him 'look, look what she done,'" Bridges said. "His last words to me were, 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry' and then he lost his life shortly after that."
Bridges says that's when Harris came back around and hit David then ran over him repeatedly. She did not know David was dead until Lindsey, David's daughter who was in the car with her stepmother, approached her.
"What did Lindsey say to you?" Garza asked.
"'She killed my dad. She killed my dad,'" Bridges responded. "And at that point I knew I had to focus on her."
Bridges said she never saw this coming because Clara knew of their affair and David told his mistress he was leaving his wife.
Bridge's now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder -- flashbacks, nightmares and is on medication.
"A lot of women would say, 'I don't feel sorry for (you) because (you were) going out with a married man,'" Garza said.
Bridges responded, "The affair was wrong. I do not regret or will ever regret that I got to know him and that he became part of my life."
"He once told me that he would like to spend the rest of his life with me, and he did," Bridges said.
"If you had anything to say to Clara, what would it be?" Garza asked.
"This was an unfortunate tragedy and it did not have to end this way," Bridges said.
Gail Bridges told Garza that her heart goes out to the children, especially Lindsey, who was in the car and witnessed this tragedy that night.
She always said that David called Lindsey his angel and now David is her angel.
Bridges was very afraid of the television cameras. As soon as News2Houston walked into her home with a camera, she bolted into the bedroom and did not want to come out until the camera was gone.
Bridges told Garza that her life has never been the same since that night. She said she has been seeing a therapist, is taking medication and that her leg -- hit by Clara Harris' car -- still bothers her.
Previous Stories:
- May 28, 2003: Custody Compromise Reached For Clara Harris' Twins
- 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