All That is Hidden True Crime
All That is Hidden True Crime presents new and classic cases narrated by Kristen Roberts. Each episode explores solved and unsolved murders, deception, and con games that will leave you breathless.
All That is Hidden True Crime
Clara & David Harris, Mercedes Mariticide- Part 1 : David's Confessions
In 2002, a picture-perfect marriage spirals into murder in just eight days. Clara Harris - successful Colombian-born dentist, devoted mother to twin boys, and controlling wife - discovers her orthodontist husband David is having an affair with his receptionist. What follows is a frenzied attempt to save her marriage that ends in shocking violence.
Usher: Confessions II. Courtesy of Amazon Music Subscription
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Welcome to All that Is Hidden True Crime. I'm your host, kristen Roberts. This podcast contains strong language and discussions of sensitive topics that may not be suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised. Today's episode is about the death of David Harris by his wife, clara Harris, back in 2002 at the Nassau Hilton in Texas. Fun fact, she has already served her time and might be on your dating site. What a catch. I thought we would spice it up with a crime of passion, although learning all the details behind this case was repelling and shocking on a level that you never saw your parents fight. This was a big fight, one big fight and a grand finale, or grand prix finale, I should say. Over the years, I've traveled and stayed at a lot of Hilton's, I've seen some wild things and I've definitely seen people trying to have affairs or trying to have a fair in the hotel lobby trying to. I just imagine watching this play out, and it's more shocking than anything I've ever witnessed. Let's get you familiar with the scene of the crime.
Speaker 1:Nassau Bay is a city in Harris County, texas, bordering the outermost southern edge of the city of Houston. It's located in the Clear Lake area, near Galveston Bay, directly adjacent to the Lyndon B Johnson Space Center. The population was 4,158 that year, so it probably was the talk of the town. What was going on in 2002, you might ask? Well, I immediately thought this was the year Usher released Confessions. Ask, well, I immediately thought this was the year Usher released Confessions and that would have been absolutely fitting for this story. But it was actually recorded in 2004. So what else was in the news? This was almost a year after the 9-11 attack and the US had launched military action in Afghanistan. In February, journalist Daniel Pearl, a 38-year-old Wall Street Journal South Asian bureau chief, was murdered by a terror group in Pakistan. This was the beheading that went viral and I remember the shock when this was released. On an easier topic, unless you're not a New England fan, the Patriots won their first Super Bowl, 20--17 to the Rams.
Speaker 1:In March of 2002, andrea Yates' trial drew to a close. Also a Texas woman, but she drowned her five children in the bathtub. Couldn't leave that one out, because Andrea's lawyer, george Parnum, will become Clara's lawyer, will become Clara's lawyer. In May, nba All-Star Jason Wilson was indicted for manslaughter in connection with the shooting death of a limousine driver on his estate. And pick me up again September of 2002, kelly Clarkson won the first American Idol. That seems like a lifetime ago and just because you know we recently lost former President Carter, I wanted to throw this one in there. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in October of that year. You know who else have won a prize, clara Harris.
Speaker 1:She was a thriving 45-year-old dentist with young twin boys and a successful husband with six dental and orthodontic practices, living in a 9,000 square foot home mansion, 9,000 square feet castle. This was quite the life, since Clara was born in Columbia, south America, and her father died when she was just five years old. Clara moved to Houston in her 20s to, you know, become something, and she was raised by her widowed mother. So she really wanted to create a legacy for her father. Harris completed her residency at the University of Texas School of Dentistry in Houston and was crowned Miss Columbia Houston at a local beauty contest shortly after she and her future husband met as colleagues at the Castle Dental Center in 1991.
Speaker 1:David Harris was enamored. The romance blossomed so rapidly that the couple got married on February 14, 1992, valentine's Day at the Nassau Bay Hilton. You might remember that from earlier. Less than a year after their first date they were married. David had been married once before and had a daughter named Lindsay, and Harris loved the young girl like her own. However, there was a bit of tension and distance between Lindsay and her father, so Clara did a good job of bringing them together. The first of their marriage was focused on building their careers.
Speaker 1:Clara opened her own practice in 1993, and David opened Space Center Orthodontics outside of Houston. He admired Clara and told his employees he wished he could clone her. They would often go into each other's practices for dental and orthodontic work and Clara had her hand in heavy ownership at 51%, because most of the paperwork was listed in her name, first because of her Colombian immigrant status. When they started trying for kids, they struggled and Clara had to undergo years of IVF and the boys came along around the same time as their big new house, mansion castle in 1998, when they moved into Friendswood, texas. As the boys came along, claire began to have an extremely busy life. She was always the perfect housekeeper, party host, dentist and mom, party hosts, dentist and mom Specifically, oh not forget wife, specifically mom, as she wouldn't let David do much for her or the boys. She cooked dinner, she gave the boys bass, she was fully in charge of the whole show. It seemed From primary owners of the business to primary owner of the household. Clara kind of wore the pants.
Speaker 1:Clara and David would speak several times a day while at work, especially because Clara would call or visit his office. Any decisions he made would need to be ran by her. David and his daughter Lindsay had grown so close thanks to Clara that Lindsay wanted to become an orthodontist just like her dad, so she began interning at his office. This was also about the time that David hired a new receptionist around 1992. Her name was Gail Bridges. She was recently going through a divorce and had three kids and was nervous about finding work after not working for so long and you know, just raising her kids, about finding work after not working for so long, and you know, just raising her kids. David felt pity for her and got a little mentionitis on the home front about his new hire. It's not that Gail was the typical, much younger woman receptionist, but she was quite attractive and liked to maintain her figure. There was an instant attraction. There is no better way to describe this office affair than through employees of David's office who witnessed it daily and would testify this later.
Speaker 1:Dental public relations woman Diana Sherrill, testified that the entire staff of David Harris's Space Center Orthodontics was suspicious about their boss's relationship with Gallup Bridges Quote. You could almost feel the chemistry between them. All the other office workers were nice but they'd be physically ill by the time they left for the day. They didn't say anything for fear of losing their jobs. But he was very proud of Clara, she recalled.
Speaker 1:Office manager Kathy Davis testified that Clara Harris was madly in love with her husband Quote. He was the love of her life and it was very obvious, she said. But with Bridges' arrival the two witnesses told jurors things quickly went downhill. Cheryl said David Harris, who once had spent free time making business deals over a back office telephone, now hung around the front desk flirting with Bridges Quote. He wasn't in love, she testified, he was just infatuated. Susan Hansen, a dental clinic executive, noted that Clara had taken a backseat in his relationship. She was no longer number one. In the past he would always run to the phone when she called. Now he started saying he'd call her back or he was leaving her on hold. Office workers were struck by Bridges' boldness in the office and out. Hansen testified about comforting the orthodontist's teenage daughter, lindsay, after she witnessed Bridges provocatively bending over in her father's presence. Cheryl testified about how Bridges, accompanied Harris and office workers to lunch at a nearby restaurant, bolted to join their boss in the front seat of his truck. Then she twice laughingly patted his chest and fumbled with coins in the vehicle's console. Sheryl said quote.
Speaker 1:And so it progressed that on July 16th they decided to let Clara know what was going on. Since Clara had been a regular in the office. The ladies felt loyal to her and it was hard to watch this loving family man turn into an adulterer, and Diana decided to inform Clara. I'd like to interrupt this program for a sidebar. Before you go judging Gail, you should know that at this time David told her that he was no longer in love with his wife and did the old we are in an open relationship thing. She even had been seeing someone. So he was saying that Clara had someone on the side herself. They were in an open relationship. In Gail's mind he was, you know, already out the door, but I think a lot of us know by now if it's not out of the house and divorced for some time. Typically you will have some hurdles to jump, some bodies to jump. You know it's going to be painful.
Speaker 1:Clara went home and confronted David and he confessed to the affair, but he said so far he had only kissed her Liar. He was sorry and he wanted their marriage to work. Clara went into shame him mode by going straight to a 16-year-old daughter who quickly said she already knew and that they go to lunch together every day. Next, clara told his parents and they really her up and they told him that he needed to seek forgiveness. So he had to do the Usher confessions in front of the whole church. These are my confessions. Next, she went straight into his office, called Gail in and fired her quickly, humiliating her in front of her fellow co-workers. They were like bye, felicia.
Speaker 1:And being the very controlled, organized person that Clara was, she decided the next thing to do was work on her marriage. So she had a romantic date night with David. Now, romantic, she was looking for a nice piano bar, but they ended up at a crappy sports bar, which David probably thought that was romantic. And there during dinner she asked him what does Gail have that I don't have, so I can work on it? This is where we all cringe like David. Don't say it, don't say all the things you think. But he did. He just laid it all out. You know it's your fault, girl. And here is the list. David's answer Gail had zero body fat. Okay, the next comparison was devastating.
Speaker 1:According to Clara, not only did David admit to having sex with his mistress, but the sex he said was a fantasy come true. He said that Gail had sex with him three times a day. I mean, you guys, where? Where? Because I mean he did go home after work. So were they in the broom closet? I mean, no wonder the co-workers hated them. Was someone knocked out with gas and they were in the office going at it. I mean three times a day. Or was he just saying this Because he's just like playing this up? Clara says that she decided she got competitive and she would double that amount. What? Like six times a day. He also told her that she was controlling, not letting him do anything, with the boys always in charge. And you know Gail wasn't like that. She listened to him and she respected him and looked up to him. You know she really saw and heard him.
Speaker 1:Clara claims that you know she made a list on a cocktail napkin and began doing the work. She hired a personal trainer got a membership at a tanning salon, I don't know why, because she was already tan and planned to have her hair and nails done every day. I mean, if I had to get my nails done every day, I would freak out. I mean, why do you need to get them done every day? Was this before we had gel or S&S? I mean, that's wild. She recalls that she put a deposit down at a plastic surgeon's office for breast augmentation and liposuction and went shopping for sexy clothes.
Speaker 1:And in order to devote herself entirely to David, clara made one more stunning sacrifice, she said. She called the office and told them I am retiring today. You're never going to see me again. I'm going to dedicate myself to my family. She started starving herself and dropped 15 pounds right away. She even dyed her hair blonde, which was really shocking to her friends and family, and she began having more sex with David.
Speaker 1:I mean, I don't know if it was six times a day, but you know, wow, he seemed to redevote himself to Clara, but deep down she didn't know if she could trust him to. You know, really end this affair. I mean, he had been sneaking around behind her back for some time, so was he really gonna end it? That's where the private detective agency Blue Moon steps in Now. This, was he really going to end it? That's where the private detective agency Blue Moon steps in Now.
Speaker 1:This town is really small because they had already been looking into Gail Bridges via her ex-husband's request, trying to get dirt on her so he wouldn't have to pay child support and alimony. He was accusing her of having a lesbian relationship with her best friend, which Blue Moon thought wasn't true after investigating and pretty much kicked him out of their office. He, you know, just wanted some pictures of them holding hands or looking intimate so he could bring it into the court and make her look guilty of having an affair. You know, women just generally do that when they're best friends. You know they might hold, do that when they're best friends. You know they might hold hands or hug or be close, and so those pictures would probably come easy to Blue Moon. But they were like this is ridiculous. But what are the odds that now someone else has asked Bobby Boccia of Blue Moon to run surveillance on the same woman?
Speaker 1:She kept that to herself, although what she didn't keep to herself is what's debatable the time span that all this happened between the discovery of the affair and the Hilton showdown was only eight days. I mean, clara stepped into action. She had done all of that with her body, made those doctor's appointments had a date all in eight days and you know, some say that she was even making threatening phone calls to Gail. She also decided that it was time for her and David to take a beach trip. So while there David said he knew he needed to break off the affair and that he would handle it when they got back home by taking Gail to dinner and letting her down. Although Clara didn't love the idea of dinner, she tried to be understanding because you know she knew all the details where they were going and liked the idea of him telling Gail to go away. But she also got the Blue Moon Agency ramped up to spy on them at the dinner.
Speaker 1:But that night Blue Moon detectives were a little thrown off as David did not show for dinner. They called Clara as time began to pass and she began to wonder. You know where he was, and they told her that he had gone to a hotel with Gail. Blue Moon claims they did not state the hotel name, but they did say that the couple was on the fourth or sixth floor. I mean people were speculating. Did they follow them inside and just kind of watch the elevator go up? And what floors did it hit? It hit the fourth and sixth and came back down. So they're on the fourth or the sixth floor. I mean strange floor numbers but not the name of the hotel. Floor numbers but not the name of the hotel.
Speaker 1:Clara is enraged. She grabs David's daughter, lindsay, and jumps in her new silver S-Class 430 Mercedes-Benz and she drives over to the Nassau Hilton where she and David were married 10 years earlier. She pulls the parking lot for David's car and when she sees Gail's car in the parking deck she decides to key it and vandalize it while Lindsay watches. Then they go to the front desk clerk and ask what his room number is, but the clerk says he doesn't know. I mean back then they probably just gave the information away, but he had failed to write down David's room number because he paid in cash. So they waited and waited and they became impatient. So Clara and Lindsay began calling David's phone, claiming the twins were ill, so that he would rush down the elevator, although he didn't rush down immediately, but he did make his way down eventually and as the door opened, he was there holding Gail's hand. Okay, I need to interrupt this program again to let you know that if it's your thing and you need to judge Gail, now is the time because, like, clearly she had to know he was married now and not getting a divorce and made her way anyway to the hotel with him. So you know, go ahead and do what you got to do.
Speaker 1:Clara went completely nuts and screamed you bitch, that's my husband. She pulled her hair, punched her face and ripped her blouse off. As employees tried to grab her off, gail, she lunged back over like that lady from the movie the Ring, also released in 2002, and she bites her leg and you know it was a perfect bite because she had some good straight chompers on her. Lindsay went nuts on David too, screaming I hate you, I hate you, hitting him with her purse. Employees hold her back and David and Clara escape out the back. The employees tell Clara not to go in the same direction.
Speaker 1:There was a lot of witnesses inside the hotel and some of them say she was screaming to them. This woman is having an affair with my husband and you know, screaming the name of his orthodontic business. Nice job, girl. You know, ruin his business. I'm not sure at this time as she was thinking about running him down outside so that wouldn't matter. But you know, don't ruin the man's career because you know that is, you know, your 51% ownership. But we're not thinking clearly. We're not thinking clearly. But most of the employees you know followed her out and escorted her and Lindsay up that were trying to separate them. So you know, the Hilton said, you know y'all need to get out of here. I mean, you can pay in cash, but this is just not that kind of establishment.
Speaker 1:Clara makes it out to her car and she sees David walking Clara to her car with an employee. Seeing David protect her made her completely lose her mind and she decides to gun the Mercedes in their direction. The employee tosses Gail out of the way and Clara mows into David, propelling him 25 feet across the parking lot. Witnesses heard Lindsay screaming. They saw her open the door and stick her feet on the ground, attempting either to escape or stop the car. But Clara again aimed her car at her husband's crumpled body and pressed the accelerator. The Mercedes bounced twice as the front tires hit him and then the back tires rolled over him. She whipped the car around, hit, accelerated again and drove over her husband a second time. Then she did another 180 and ran over him a third time before coming to a stop. Some people say she left the car sitting on some of his body.
Speaker 1:According to the witnesses, including Lindsay, lindsay got out of the car, rushed around to the driver's side and punched Clara in the face. Then she collapsed on the ground and sobbed. When Clara got out of the car, she didn't seem to know what to do. The witnesses said she finally walked over to her husband. She stared at him, she put him in her lap and she began to sob.
Speaker 1:Before the police arrived to arrest her for murder, the witness added she cradled him in her arms and begged him to breathe. I'm so sorry. She was heard saying over and over David, I'm so sorry, I love you. The irony is that as she held him, his teeth were falling out. And I mean I meant to say this, but isn't it wild that Gail's last name is Bridges? I mean just dentistry everywhere in the story.
Speaker 1:Anyway, back to this horrible moment. One witness was wiping the blood from his face with a towel. Another witness who came from the pool was yelling not to move him, but I mean, it was way too late for that. The damage was done and he died very quickly, as one of the witnesses said, choking on his own blood. Lindsay went running over to the mistress screaming she killed my dad and she could only focus on Lindsay and her pain.
Speaker 1:The police arrested Clara as soon as they arrived. There were so many witnesses and she proclaimed it was an accident. What like an accident three times in a row? The wildest part is Blue Moon Detective Agency sat in the parking lot with a video recorder and caught the Mercedes circling and bumping over an object over and over. It was a grainy video. It wasn't very clear, but you could see her running over something clearly over and over. So she paid them to spy on her husband and they recorded her murdering him with her big Mercedes. Join me for part two, when Clara has to face the elevator Muzak Speaking of which it's only fitting to take us out with this jam and part two. You'll hear the autopsy report and the defense. How is Andrea Yates' attorney going to defend Clara? It's bizarre. And then you will hear what's going on with Clara today. She could be cleaning your teeth right now while you listen to this podcast. Thank you for listening, and join me next time as we find all that is hidden in true crime. I don't know what to do.
Speaker 2:I guess I gotta keep all two of my confessions. If I'm gonna tell it, then I gotta tell it all Damn. They cried when I got that phone call. I'm so done.
