The Murder of David Harris (Part 1)
Morbid
06/19/25
•68m
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Part 1 of 2: On the afternoon of July 24, 2002, Clara Harris learned that her husband, David Harris, was having an affair with his secretary. Incensed, Clara went to the hotel where the David and his mistress had just checked in and confronted the couple before being escorted out by hotel staff. However, the argument between David and Clara continued in the parking lot, only ending when Clara ran her husband down with her car, driving over him three separate times and killing him.
The trial of Clara Harris proved to be as exciting and dramatic as the marriage and the explosive argument that ended David’s life. The defense had tried to frame the murder as a crime of passion, an act of “sudden passion” committed by a woman rejected and scorned. That defense fell apart immediately when, without warning or expectation, Clara Harris decided to testify on her own behalf, at which point she essentially confessed to murder, sending the courtroom into chaos.
The trial of Clara Harris for the murder of her husband garnered national attention, not only for the defense of “sudden passion,” but also for the unusually high amount of drama and scandalous details that emerged in the testimony at trial.
Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!
References
Clara L. Harris v. The State of Texas. 2004. 01-03-00177-CR (Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas, December 16).
Hollandsworth, Skip. 2002. "Suburban madness." Texas Monthly, November: 117-169.
Long, Steven. 2004. Out of Control. New York, NY: St. Martin's.
Madigan, Nick. 2003. "Houston woman on trial in killing of husband testifies." New York Times, February 6.
—. 2003. "Jury gives 20-year term in murder of husband." New York Times, February 15.
—. 2003. "Trial in killing of orthodontist goes to jury." New York Times, February 13.
—. 2003. "Wife testifies she was 'in a fog' just before her car struck." New York Times, February 8.
—. 2003. "Woman who killed spouse with car is guilty of murder." New York Times, February 14.
—. 2003. "Youth who saw killing says stepmother 'stomped' accelerator and 'went for' father." New York Times, January 30.
Zernike, Kate. 2003. "A wife betrayed finds sympathy at murder trial." New York Times, January 24.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Previous Episode
Elmer McCurdy: The Outlaw Mummy
June 16, 2025
•57m
In early December 1976, a film crew was shooting an episode of a popular television show at The Pike, a boardwalk amusement park in Long Beach, California. In order to prepare for the scene, the prop master moved what he believed to be a wax mannequin hanging from funhouse gallows; however, when he grabbed the mannequin by the arm, the limb broke off, revealing human bone and muscle tissue.
After removing the body to the coroner’s office to be autopsied, it was revealed that what had long thought to have been a wax museum dummy was in fact the body of a man who’d died from a gunshot wound more than six decades before his body was discovered in Long Beach. After some basic detective work, investigators learned that the mummified corpse was that of Elmer McCurdy, an early twentieth-century bank robber who was shot and killed by a sheriff’s posse in Oklahoma in 1911.
Removing the body from the funhouse and identifying the body allowed authorities to arrange for a proper burial, but it did little to answer the question on the minds of so many: How did the mummified body of a long-dead outlaw end up on display in a wax museum funhouse?
Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!
References
Cohen, Jerry. 1976. "Mummy identified as bandit slain in 1911." Los Angeles Times, December 11: 1.
Harvey, Steve. 1979. "Bungler Elmer McCurdy... RIP... gets more attention in death than in life." Los Angeles Times, December 31: 21.
Himmel, Nieson. 1976. "'Dummy' found to be a corpse." Los Angeles Times, December 9: 3.
Los Angeles Times. 1976. "Mummy was Oklahoma bandit killed in 1912." Los Angeles Times, December 10: 8.
Reuters. 1977. "'Wax model' identified as Oklahoma bandit." New York Times, April 15: 14.
Smith, Robert Barr. 1999. "Western Lore." Wild West.
Svenvold, Mark. 2002. Elmer McCurdy: The Misadventures in Life and Afterlife of an American Outlaw. New York, NY: Harper.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Next Episode
The Murder of David Harris (Part 2)
June 23, 2025
•57m
Part 2 of 2: On the afternoon of July 24, 2002, Clara Harris learned that her husband, David Harris, was having an affair with his secretary. Incensed, Clara went to the hotel where the David and his mistress had just checked in and confronted the couple before being escorted out by hotel staff. However, the argument between David and Clara continued in the parking lot, only ending when Clara ran her husband down with her car, driving over him three separate times and killing him.
The trial of Clara Harris proved to be as exciting and dramatic as the marriage and the explosive argument that ended David’s life. The defense had tried to frame the murder as a crime of passion, an act of “sudden passion” committed by a woman rejected and scorned. That defense fell apart immediately when, without warning or expectation, Clara Harris decided to testify on her own behalf, at which point she essentially confessed to murder, sending the courtroom into chaos.
The trial of Clara Harris for the murder of her husband garnered national attention, not only for the defense of “sudden passion,” but also for the unusually high amount of drama and scandalous details that emerged in the testimony at trial.
Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!
References
Clara L. Harris v. The State of Texas. 2004. 01-03-00177-CR (Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas, December 16).
Hollandsworth, Skip. 2002. "Suburban madness." Texas Monthly, November: 117-169.
Long, Steven. 2004. Out of Control. New York, NY: St. Martin's.
Madigan, Nick. 2003. "Houston woman on trial in killing of husband testifies." New York Times, February 6.
—. 2003. "Jury gives 20-year term in murder of husband." New York Times, February 15.
—. 2003. "Trial in killing of orthodontist goes to jury." New York Times, February 13.
—. 2003. "Wife testifies she was 'in a fog' just before her car struck." New York Times, February 8.
—. 2003. "Woman who killed spouse with car is guilty of murder." New York Times, February 14.
—. 2003. "Youth who saw killing says stepmother 'stomped' accelerator and 'went for' father." New York Times, January 30.
Zernike, Kate. 2003. "A wife betrayed finds sympathy at murder trial." New York Times, January 24.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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