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Hey, weirdos, I'm Alina.
I'm Ash. And this is Morbid.
it's morbid with no technic we were just talking i didn't know what technic was if you don't know what technic is listener it's when your cousin takes a picture of you and you realize that you have a whole ass hump in the back of your neck because you've been slouching over your computer for years.
That's so scary. Like, if you work, like, a desk job or something, and you're, like, really slouched over your computer, it can result in, like, a straight -up curvature of your spine.
So you end up getting, like, a hump in your neck.
That's so crazy. So now, I am trying to sit up straight and shoulders back, baby.
Shoulders back. Because you, the good news is it is reversible.
I did a lot of, that picture was taken of me, I looked at it, and we did research immediately.
We said, how do we reverse this?
Some tech neck research. Tech neck out.
out on it technology is not it's not killing it it's not good for the human body i feel good for us i think it's good for us some ways but it's very good for us in some ways but man i think we're i think it's i think it's going too far i think that's the problem is we can we can never just do things right as a species we always have to take it way too far i know the the thing that sucks is that like sitting like this is so uncomfortable yeah it is like i feel so fucking weird right now she's a straight up i'm just so i'm so straight right now i'm just straight she's decided she's gonna be straight
she's gonna sit in body language just kidding uh but speaking of technology that went too far we might have tech neck but we got quick brains we don't not have tech brain Malina doesn't have tech neck because she's a bitch it's because I am always rigid I know I'm too loosey goosey I'm always rigid in my posture because I sit and I'll catch myself sometimes sitting too rigidly like those things where people are like hey relax your shoulders and like unclench your jaw I'm always like I need to because I'm always like my jaw is super tense as we know but anyway speaking of that was a good segue.
I don't want to get too far away from it.
Speaking of technology that's gone too far, this is just a little like a documentary recommendation kind of thing.
Recommendation, that's the word. I haven't had enough coffee.
Wow, I said our brains are quick too early on.
So I got super hyper fixated on the Titan submersible thing when it was happening.
I think a lot of us did.
Very hyper fixated.
I learned so much about submersibles.
I would be sitting next to John on the couch and just be like, can I just tell you how carbon fiber is made?
Like he was just And so it went away after.
I was like, you know, I've always been like fixated on it.
But on to like the next hyper fix.
Exactly, on to the next.
And now HBO did a documentary, Implosion, the Titanic sub disaster.
I gotta see this. I haven't finished it yet because it's long and I'm old and I fell asleep.
Not because it's not good, but because I'm old and I fell asleep.
It is so good so far.
and also horrifying to watch the amount of we're gonna cover this in an episode case full episode because this is it is incredible how much was ignored in the making so scary and in the like this whole trip it was so avoidable it is on i mean we all knew it was avoidable because like you choose to get in a sub yeah to go down to the titanic but i don't even mean in that way I mean he ignored every single Stockton Rush ignored experts.
He would fire people around him that told him this thing is going to break.
This thing needs a new hull.
Like the hull is cracked.
You need to scrap it.
He would just fire people.
He's just that guy who like surrounded himself like it seems like he surrounded himself with yes people.
And that's it. Well, I'm taking an astrology class right now as you know.
I'm big into like woo -woo classes right now.
I love the woo -woo class.
It's my thing. version of you but i love if you've been listening to the show i've like always really been interested in astrology but i've only really known like the tip of the iceberg yeah so i'm like let's fucking go deeper and like we're gonna learn how to read charts in this class that's exciting i only had like the first one so we learned about like the planets and what they mean and the different signs and like what they all represent and so i got a text from my teacher this morning basically being like um i guess so pluto went into yeah that's right pluto went and two aquarius because the planets
move um this past november and pluto is all about like use and abuse and misuse of power beginnings and endings transformation like technological shit and then aquarius is like unpredictability rapid changes uh like information science mathematics like that kind of thing so she had sent a news article this morning and was like you know like send us anything that represents pluto and aquarius energy and elena and i were talking about this whole thing and i was like i'm really interested in this guy's chart like what his fucking chart is because he's just a very interesting fascinating man yeah
in a dark way yeah he has his pluto and aquarius yeah which is crazy because it was literally like an hour after i had got that text so i sent it to my group chat and my teacher was like great example and look at that and then she asked me a lot of in -depth questions about the class and i said i don't know yet i don't i don't know yet but i will look but now i'm excited to see what stockton rush's chart is because i mean i would love it like um when eliza kelly told us like you know what like stars over salem like i'm like tell me about this guy that's my goal is to get to eliza kelly's uh like
fucking level level oh yeah i was gonna say era i mean sure get to her era as well but that's that will take me years but i can only hope to be as good as her oh you will thank you you'll get there.
And then the two of you will just be charting all over the place.
Thank God. Well, you could come chart with us.
And I'll just be like, tell me things.
It's fascinating. It really is.
And like people can say that astrology is like, woo -woo, it's not real, blah, blah.
Bitch. There's something to it, man.
Ancient civilizations, I found out, used to use astrology and like look at the planets to figure out when kings were going to die, when great famine would hit, like all these different things.
So fuck you, it's real.
real that's how I feel about astrology that's the mode of today and it's just fascinating well go watch that documentary implosion because I'm telling you to fascinate you and then we'll do we'll cover it like once yeah all the research together and then maybe by that time I'll have gone a little bit further in my class and I can tell you a little bit more about this guy's chart I love that because that's that's kind of fun that's really fun yeah she actually said we're gonna look at some like serial killers charts and stuff like that Which I do feel like will be fascinating.
Oh, for sure. Because obviously a lot of it is, you know, I think certain things in your life are kind of predetermined, but then I think some are like free will.
Oh, for sure. So it'll be interesting.
It's the nature versus nurture of it all.
Yeah, it'll be interesting to look up.
And I can't wait to watch that documentary.
Yes, it's really good.
It's on HBO? Yeah, this one's on HBO.
I think there's going to be another one, too, on like Netflix.
Oh, shit. I think there is one on Netflix right now.
Because it's like two years.
Which is like crazy.
Or no, one year. It's one year.
Okay. Right? I think it's only one.
It's only one year that this happened.
I think it was 2024.
I think you're right.
No. Is it two years?
Okay, so I was right.
I need to go with my gut more.
No, you should. I'm sorry for doubting you.
I'm always second -guessing my shit.
Holy shit, that was two years ago.
It was two years, because I remember being shocked.
I was like, wait, what?
Yeah, and on June 18th, it'll be two years.
Yeah. Isn't that nuts?
Yes. I'm actually a little bit shocked by that.
Is time a real thing?
No, it's a flat circle.
It really is. Well, speaking of, like, time being a real thing, actually, we have a case today.
And I was thinking about it this morning because I, like, got this together, like, a few days ago.
And then I was thinking about it.
I was like, I remember watching some of this, like, play out on the news.
Like, I feel like I watched, like, a Snapped episode of this when I was, like, far too young.
Oh, really? I mean, probably.
Because as I was going through this the other day, I was like, I know that, like, this is a very well -known case.
It's the murder of David Harris and Clara Harris runs him over with her car.
yeah I definitely remember this horrible I remember it but I had this like epiphany this morning where I was like I think I knew like a lot more about this when I was like much younger because what were you what when was this 2002 I was you're six six but I think like later on like when I was like eight or nine I saw like some special yeah cause I was like damn not when I was six again I used to fall asleep to like forensic files as a child but let's get into it So on the afternoon of July 24th, 2002, Clara Harris just casually asked her stepdaughter, Lindsey, if she wanted to go for a drive, get
out, enjoy the beautiful summer weather.
Lindsey was 16 at the time, so one, she was like, hell yeah, let's go joyriding in your Mercedes Benz.
She loved her stepmom.
They got along great.
And this didn't seem unusual at all.
Clara loved showing off her Mercedes.
She loved driving it.
It just was like their thing to do.
For her, the car was a symbol of the success that she and her husband David had achieved in their 10 years of marriage, including a thriving dental practice in the suburbs of Houston, Texas.
Look at that. They're very well -to -do people.
Because Lindsay lived with her mom during the school year and she spent summers with Clara and her father, she welcomed the opportunity to hang out with her stepmom and happily accepted the offer.
They had actually gotten really close in the last couple of months, having bonded over the recent revelation that David Harris, Clara's husband and Lindsay's father, was having an affair with his secretary, Gail Bridges.
Oh. Yes. What a thing to bond over.
Uh -huh. I think they both felt hurt in different ways.
Of course they do. You know?
Yeah. It's just like, wow, what a trauma bond.
Yeah, I think a lot of times, like, we don't realize that, like, affairs affect kids as much as they do.
Oh, yeah. And, like, when kids find out about them, they also feel duped.
Well, they feel betrayed, yeah.
It's a level of betrayal that's similar to what the spouse feels.
Yeah, which is interesting.
But just a few weeks earlier, Clara had confronted David, her husband, about the affair, and he agreed to end it.
But the damage had been done, and he was going to have to work very hard to earn back not only his wife's trust but his daughter's as well.
I also hate the grossness of you're having an affair with your secretary.
It's very cliche. It's very cliche.
Get it together. Yeah.
Both of you. Gail and David.
Agreed. Well, Clara was very upset that afternoon, and Lindsay knew that much. As far as Lindsay could tell, it had something to do with her dad and his mistress, Gail Bridges.
Lindsay also knew that in the weeks leading up to her father's affair being exposed, That Clara had hired a private investigator To follow David and Gail Oh man And it was that private investigator Who had just called the house Before Clara asked Lindsay to go for a drive So she was like Obviously these two things are connected Yeah At first it seemed like Clara was just driving aimlessly But soon it became clear to Lindsay That this was not a casual afternoon drive It was very much an excuse to Hunt around town looking for David and Gail Oh no don't do that Don't Don't do that with his kid Don't
do that with his kid Yeah don't do that Don't do that with any kid.
Don't do that. Yeah, don't do that with kids.
That's a solo activity.
Don't involve. That's a solo activity.
And even then, like, don't hurt your own feelings.
Yeah. Well, this didn't come as much of a surprise to Lindsay.
She knew that her father actually had plans with Gail that evening, and the plans were supposed to be to formally end their relationship.
So it made sense to Lindsay that they would be out with each other.
But what didn't make sense was Clara's emotional state as they drove.
Like Lindsay, Clara also knew that David was planning to meet Gail that evening to end things, so it really shouldn't have come as much of a surprise when the P .I.
called and said that they were meeting.
Yeah. And Lindsay remembered years later she was just on a mission to find out where he was and she was crying, which is really sad.
That's really sad. That afternoon, Clara drove to all of the places she knew that David and Gail liked to go to together, including to Gail's home, but there was no sign of David's car anywhere.
So eventually, Clara pulled over and asked Lindsay to take over driving so that she could place a call to Blue Moon, which was the private investigation.
firm that she had hired.
At Clara's instruction, Lindsay just drove from one location to another, but no matter where they went, it didn't seem that Gail and David were there.
Lindsay said later she was so confused, we were just going to forget about it and go shopping, which came as a relief, but then Clara's phone rang.
Which is so sad knowing that detail that like this almost went away.
Yeah, like we were just going to go shopping and just forget about it.
Just go shopping. Retail therapy, girl.
Spend his money. Spend his his money spend his fucking money yes make him pay that way they can literally pay with that yes exactly like nobody deserves to pay with their life so it's like make them pay with actual money it's like that hey ladies yes literally like that and it's like damn you just wish like that that had gone that way i know for many of the people involved you know what i mean when you find out like this next bit that i'm gonna say it's like this wasn't even supposed to happen because despite a company rule about not returning clients requests for updates until the following day
a policy put in place to prevent messy or even potentially dangerous situations private investigator lucas baka told clara he had picked up david's trail and that he and gail had checked into a local hotel and were either on the fourth or sixth floor but said that he couldn't provide any more details until the following day oh man but it's like first of all you already provided enough details for this to get messy and dangerous yes absolutely you did and then not one to be denied something that she thought she was entitled to clara eventually just pried the remaining details out of him and it
was worse than she ever could have imagined well and imagine i i can't fathom one finding out that your husband is having an affair with his secretary my god no i can't fathom that no that's why our husbands don't have secretaries yeah no you can't have secretary i'm just kidding but also it's just like that must i can't imagine the feeling of that i really can't like that's awful i've been cheated on by like ex -boyfriends i know that that sucks i just can't imagine going through with like marriage and having it happen marriage that must be a whole different kind of vibe yeah and then also to
then know that like their meeting to end it would be also fucked up of a feeling because you know they're meeting and when they're breaking And you're not there.
Like he's breaking up with the woman that he's having an affair with.
Like it's just like what?
It's a wild concept.
And then to then be hearing they just checked into a hotel and you're sitting here with his daughter.
Yeah. Because you're, why are you breaking it off at a hotel?
And it's, well, and that's the thing.
It's like we're getting so messy.
And it's like, you just know, like, and again, this is what I mean.
Like nobody should pay with their life for these kind of indiscretions.
No way. way but like bar hands down like that's it but it's like you just wonder like you're just like oh my god that was like shot after shot for her like and you just uh she wasn't supposed to have that information like she just shouldn't have had that information you know there's literally a cut there was a company policy put into place because that this kind of information can set somebody into a tailspin and the fact that like the company policy already was in place tells you there had been situations in the past where they had to then put that policy in place.
Or they'd at least seen enough evidence to know this could go a lot gnarly if we really you know because you just don't need to give all that information.
Yeah people in heightened emotional states do crazy terrible things.
The human species is very flawed that way.
We need to be aware of it but it's just like there's those two sides of that coin where it's like he did not deserve to pay with his life.
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Well, so as far as Claire and Lindsay knew, like I said, David's plan was to meet Gail, but at a local restaurant, a public place.
Yeah. Where it was much less likely that there would be a scene.
But according to the PI, the couple had checked into the Nassau Bay Hilton in Houston, which to add insult to injury, was the same hotel where David and Clara had their wedding reception a decade earlier.
Wow. Let that sink in for a second.
Yeah, that's fucked up.
And then when you know how this all ends, it's like, you walked out that door as newlyweds And then, like, he ends his, like, he doesn't end his own life, but his life ends there.
Like, what a horrible.
That is tragic. Yeah, what a tragic.
On another level. And also, like, Gail, does Gail know?
Gail must know that he has an entire family.
Yeah. Honestly, Gail, go fuck yourself.
She might have been told some interesting details that we'll get to, but still, please.
Please. So when she heard the news, Clara's attitude in Demeter apparently changed immediately, where she had previously been very determined, irritated, confused even.
Now she was silent, humorless, just affectless, like, in another world entirely.
That must have been so scary.
For Lindsay. For Lindsay.
Absolutely. She's 16 years old.
And to see someone just, like, to go numb like that, like affectless, is like, whoa.
Like, we've crossed over into dangerous territory.
Really dangerous territory.
And she's 16. She knows that.
Yeah, of course. So Clara dialed the phone again, this time calling the house to speak with the nanny, who was taking care of the couple's two other children.
Oh, man. Yeah. When Maria Gonzalez answered the phone, Clara told her in a flat, even tone to, quote, pack her husband's best clothes in the couple's oldest suitcase and place it outside the door in the garage.
And the rest of his clothes, she told Gonzalez, could just be thrown in the trash.
Damn. Which I think was really nice of her to let him keep his oldest clothes.
And honestly, I wish it had just gone there.
Yeah, that's it. Just kick that motherfucker out.
Yeah, yeah. And then go spend the money.
Yeah. That's it. That's the recipe.
No one gets hurt physically.
No. When she hung up the phone, though, Clara, in the same flat tone as she had used with the nanny, instructed her stepdaughter to go to the Nassau Bay Hilton.
Oh, no. It was about 8 .30 p .m. when Lindsay pulled the Mercedes into the Hilton lot and parked in one of the guest spaces and then followed Clara into the lobby.
Oh, no. She should not be part of this.
I didn't even realize that she was like such a big part of.
I always knew that she was there, like that's such a big part of the story, but I didn't realize how there she was.
That she was like brought into the lobby and shit like that.
She should not be witnessing this kind of shit.
No, this poor girl, lots and lots of trauma.
Yeah. So at the front desk, Clara asked for her husband's room number, but she was told that nobody was registered under that name.
So she asked for the room number of Gail Bridges, but received the same response.
she's getting nowhere so she lied to the clerk and she was like listen my son is sick i need to get in touch with my husband immediately like i know he's here but the clerk only repeated that there wasn't anybody registered under those names so he just couldn't help her later after detectives went through the hotel security footage and records they learned that the clerk had been telling the truth david harris had paid cash in advance for the room so the clerk hadn't bothered with the usual check -in procedures like getting his guests like the guest names or their license numbers.
So feeling frustrated and defeated, Clara did a slow walk around the lobby one final time, Lindsay just reluctantly in tow.
Oh, God. And as they were heading back to the car, Clara spotted what she thought was Gail Bridges' car in one of the spaces in the employee parking lot.
When she got closer, she saw some of the identifying details and confirmed that it was indeed Gail's car.
And she turned back in the direction of the hotel lobby, but not before ripping off the rear windshield wiper and dragging her keys along the side of the vehicle.
Damn. Yeah. Carrie Underwood style.
Oof. So the explosive attack on Gail's car seemed to have exhausted Clara briefly.
I've never keyed a car personally, but I feel like.
No, I feel like that would exhaust you though.
And ripping the windshield wipers off.
I can't even get my windshield wipers off when I'm supposed to.
And here's the thing.
It's like, this is like.
This is wrong. I know you're angry.
You have every right to be angry.
She has every right to feel whatever feeling she is feeling right now.
mouth. You got to hold some of that stuff.
You know what I mean?
You got to do it in a better way.
It's like, you can't be destroying property.
You can't be killing people.
When you're a mom, like you're a mom in this scenario to Lindsay, like a stepmom.
Yeah. You're a parental figure to her.
And you have two other kids.
Exactly. Like you got to immediately think of them and say, this is going to get me in trouble.
And this is bad to show them as a way to get your anger out.
You know what I mean?
It's like, Like, obviously, I've never been in this situation.
So it's like, but you, it's just like, oh, no. And you can just see it, like, escalating really quickly.
Because I can't imagine being, like, I don't think I've ever been cheated on.
Drew's, like, my only serious relationship and he definitely never cheated on me.
But being cheated on in, like, a relationship where there's no kids is one whole world and level of hurt.
Being cheated on by your husband when you have multiple kids together is, like, a whole other level of betrayal.
that's gotta be a because now you're thinking of them yeah like you cheated you didn't happening to them you didn't just cheat on your wife you cheated on your family exactly and that's the hard part and it's like yeah so she's just not thinking clearly but so now she's consumed with and she's determined to get david out into the opening of the hotel lobby so she had lindsey call her father's cell phone and he answered right away and lindsey as instructed told him you need need to come home Bradley is sick that was one of their sons yeah so he was like okay I'll be right there and hung up Clara and Lindsay
watched the bank of elevators from outside the glass front doors of the hotel just waiting for David and Gail to emerge after a few minutes passed and they still hadn't appeared Clara herself called David's phone and repeated the earlier message that their son was sick and again David said he was on his way immediately by that point Clara had gone back into the lobby and was waiting right by the elevators to confront him when he came out which honestly you wish that that had happened well that doesn't confront but i mean like and that's it and like just confrontation in a public place yeah because that's
bad enough like that's bad enough yeah but it's like you're not nobody's getting hurt everybody's alive yeah you're in a public place like obviously you don't want that to happen at all but it's like if it's gonna happen that you wish that was the end of that and then it's just like and then And divorce.
Yes. The end. Like, get out of there.
Yeah. Well, so anticipating the confrontation, Lindsay convinced her stepmother to go back outside and wait.
She's like, we shouldn't wait right here.
And this 16 -year -old trying to defuse this situation, you feel so hard for her.
Oh, I feel, Lindsay, I want to like gather up and hug.
And just go take her shopping.
Like, I know she's a grown adult now because this was 2002.
Yeah, but that trauma probably still lives in her.
I still want to give you a hug because this was a lot, a lot, an unimaginable thing to go through.
When she's being the adult here, she's saying to Clara, like, we don't want to cause a scene.
She's trying to deescalate.
Exactly. She's trying to deescalate.
So she does try to, but unfortunately that didn't do a lot of good.
Lindsay said she was calm until she saw Dad and Gale come out.
Then, because Lindsay was able to get her inside, or outside.
But then she said she ran inside.
She was ready to go inside and fight.
As soon as she saw David and Gale come out of those elevators, Clara rushed into the lobby and just started hitting Gale.
Oh, I see. tearing her shirt open just starting a brawl with this woman and as far as clara was concerned this was the woman who had stolen her husband and destroyed her family and it's like yeah like like you know she's she's the other woman she's that's not good that's not a good person at the same time you don't know what he's told her well also and like it doesn't even matter if she's if she's like full -on doesn't give a shit that she has a whole it doesn't even matter water.
It's like, you can't physically attack someone and you can't, and what is it getting you?
Right. That's the thing.
A charge. Many times I have wanted to physically hurt someone.
Same. For sure. Same.
Like, that's just, we're animals.
We are animals. It's, it's a thing.
It's a primal instinct.
Anger can fight or flight.
Fight is part of it.
Yeah. And it's like, that is, It's going to happen.
But you have to fight against that instinct.
Because again, especially as a parent, as a human, but especially as a parent when you have even more under your responsibility, not just yourself.
And more to lose. You know what I mean?
Especially as a parent, you have to sit there and go, is this worth it?
This momentary second of getting all my rage out on this woman and feeling like, hell yeah, I just punched her in the face.
Probably not. is that gonna be how long is that gonna last it's gonna last a split second of like that felt good and then boom reality's gonna hit you like a fucking a 747 jet it's like that is not gonna be good because then you're gonna catch a charge you're gonna have your kids are gonna have to see how you reacted to a situation right they might take cues from how you reacted to a situation and think that's how they should act or could be embarrassed by the situation depending on how how old they are.
Like, there's a lot of layers.
It's just, it's bad.
And you are now walking around, you know, like, it's like, so even this is like, oh, girl.
It's bad. It's bad.
And it shows you that she was just out of her mind.
Out of her mind. Because this is such an overreaction, you know?
It is. It is. So she yelled in Gail's face, you bitch, she's my husband, and just knocked her to the floor.
She was just repeatedly striking Gail in the face and in the head.
And she looked up at all the guests who were just crowding around watching in a mix of horror and curiosity because we're all terrible people.
And told them, this is David Harris and he's fucking this woman right here.
Damn. Huh? I mean, like, you hear this stuff and you get...
You look so wild. You look so wild.
And it's like you get the emotion behind it, though.
Absolutely. That's the thing.
that we can I cannot stress enough that like this the emotions that would come with this would be horrific and it's and I can't imagine you would want to embarrass this man yeah but you're also embarrassing yourself that's the thing you're really not just embarrassing them yeah and again there's a child here yeah there's a child not only involved there's children involved but there's a child literally present and it's like this is just that's gonna affect her forever witnessing Just that.
Yeah. You know, if that was where it ended, that was going to fuck her up.
And again, she's taking, she's a child, she's taking cues from you and she's very upset with her father.
So now she's implicated in things and done things that she probably regrets.
yeah and it's pitting it's pitting this lindsey her emotions against her father right which obviously he made a massive mistake it's like was you know it's not like there was this like whole you know you know he he she hated him because he was physically abusive kind of thing to her anything like that like i mean like lindsey like you know this is all purely emotion -based and betrayal base, which is a very real thing.
Absolutely. But to involve her in that kind of like emotional fight there, like you're having with him is involve it is like directly inviting her into the trauma with you.
Yeah. When she should be able to deal with it in a way that she because she's going to feel betrayed by him.
And she needs to deal.
But in a different way.
That's the thing. In a different way, she needs to deal with her piece of it.
Yeah. And not co -opt yours because your marriage does not equate to their relationship right of course again like we said she's gonna feel a betrayal but she's gonna be feel a betrayal as a as a daughter and not as a spouse right and those are two different things that need to be worked out in two very different ways and two very different therapy and this is very much involving her in the like romantic relationship of it all which is a messier way in a totally different way you know kind of situation It just is very upsetting.
Well, so it didn't take long before several hotel employees rushed over to the scene and started trying to separate Gale and Clara.
By then, Clara's anger had turned into uncontrollable rage.
As one employee was pulling her away from Gale, she clung to the woman's blouse and nearly ripped it off.
And then when she lost her grip on the shirt, she grabbed Gale's leg and bit down hard on her leg.
She's like animal level right at this point.
I was just going to say this is animalistic.
So when it was clear that hotel employees were having no luck separating the two women, David finally stepped in and put his hand on Clara's forehead and pushed her away to the floor, giving the desk clerk enough time to get Gail outside to her car and David walking a few feet behind after Gail.
This is just so bad in every way.
No one is making a correct decision here in how to act.
No. Like, none of this was okay.
No. Because he's not helping de -escalate this situation in any way, shape, or form.
And it's like, this is just not good.
It's horrible. So with Gail removed from the situation, things seemed to calm for a moment as the clerk then walked Clara and Lindsay out to the car in the parking lot.
But then sitting behind the wheel of the Mercedes, Clara started crying.
As one of the guests, Evangelos Smyros helped her into the driver's seat, just the fight having gone completely out of her.
Now she's sobbing. And this sweet man is helping her in her car.
Which I'm also like, don't let her drive right now.
I know, but he's like, he's, he doesn't know her.
Nobody could have predicted this.
No, no, no, no. So he closed the door and started to walk away.
And then he heard the tires of Clara's car screech as she threw it into gear.
He said she was screaming again, crying, hysterical, out of control.
And then he watched as Clara threw the car into drive and tore through the parking lot in the direction of the hotel's front entrance.
And Lindsay's in the car.
Lindsay's in the car.
See, already. Which is devastating.
not only are you like you're out of control you're reckless endangering no matter what is gonna happen here you're endangering this child yeah that's fucked up it is fucked up like get your emotions in check you are an adult it's like this is absolutely are this is a very emotional scene I get it I this is this is fucked up in every way you gotta check yourself get yourself together check like become an adult and also it's one thing to like try like you were just saying like when there's kids in the equation like you have to think of them first yeah you have to do do that when they're not there.
She's sitting there right next to you as a reminder that like you need to check yourself.
Every decision I make in my life I think of my children and what that decision is going to do to affect them.
Of course you do. Every single decision whether they are in the room with me not in the room with me whether I'm somewhere else if they're in the fucking car with me.
It's a lot easier. A lot easier to make that decision because they're right there and And it's like, you got to become an adult in this situation.
And she just didn't.
No. So Smeros tried to catch up to the car, yelling for her to stop, that she's going to hurt someone.
But she already picked up speed.
Oh, and that poor man.
I know. He's just trying to stop it.
All he could do at this point is watch as she drove away.
At the front entrance of the Hilton, the desk clerk, Garrett Clark, was standing on the curb watching David Harris walk back into the hotel after saying bye to Gail.
After saying bye to Gail.
I know. Jesus Christ. He could hear Evangelos Smiros yelling just moments before he saw Clara's Mercedes swerve around Gail's car.
He said, I saw her driving very fast around the corner and accelerating towards me.
She clipped the rear bumper of Gail's car as she swerved around, just as Clark turned to see her intended target, David Harris.
He said, I saw bulging eyes, a terrified look in his eyes.
I then saw the Mercedes hit David Harris and then come to a complete stop.
up this must have been absolutely horrifying to watch um yeah and all i'm thinking about in this moment is obviously david harris did not deserve this at all and probably did not who can predict that this is gonna happen you know what i mean like people cheat on people all the time and you don't always hear this outcome but you know like it's nobody's like hurting somebody physically or killing anybody here.
And it's like... Until now.
Until now. And it's like this has been escalated to a point where it's no longer...
Lindsay is in the car that just struck her father.
I'm thinking of David Harris here who made a mistake and is not the good guy in this situation up until this point, but he did not deserve this.
And then Lindsay in this fucking out -of -control car with somebody who is so animalistic that they can't even see straight.
Stop for a second. him like this poor child is probably like well now what is going to happen is she going to like send us into the side of this building like are we going to die here yeah and the car has just hit her father yeah and she watches as her as her father's body was thrown 25 feet into the air and then landed on the other side of the parking lot median where obviously it came to a hard thud nobody should have to witness this it only gets worse elena last year long crime brought you the trial that captivated the nation she's accused of hitting her boyfriend boston police officer john
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store. Garrett Clark and other guests in the parking lot watched in absolute horror as Clara proceeded to drive in a loop around the parking lot and over the median where she then drove over her husband's body not one more time but two more times.
That's like so beyond.
When you have have time to stop beyond a snapped moment yes and you have time to stop and realize that what you're doing is wrong like after the first I mean the first hit alone watching your husband's body go 25 feet in the air should absolutely like it should never get to that point that should take you out of here that should take you out of it hearing the thud of your husband's body after it's been thrown across a parking lot median come down onto the ground should snap you out and And hearing whatever poor Lindsay is probably doing in that car should be snapping you out of this situation.
And this is haunting.
Later, Clark, who was the hotel employee who was just standing by watching all of this, he said, I heard her cackling and laughing as she drove the last two feet before she hit him.
I can't stop thinking of Lindsay in that car.
I can't stop thinking of her seeing this woman laughing and cackling.
Inside the car, all they could hear was Lindsay screaming And at one point even trying to get out of the car while it's still moving but slowed down.
And she was trying to get out just before her stepmother drove over her father.
Because you feel that.
Yeah. Like, she's feeling every second of this.
She knows she's driving over her father right now.
Yeah. Like, yup. Like, this is just so beyond.
It's on another level.
It's on another level.
Human emotion. This is, like, so beyond.
So, after hitting David for the final time, Clara finally put the car in park.
and according to witnesses once the car had stopped Lindsay jumped out of the passenger seat ran around the driver's side and punched Clara in the face which here's the warranted i know i just said like you gotta think before you go violent with somebody you run my dad over with a car i'm punching you in the face i'm having human emotions right now you like just no no we're all having human emotions and if you disagree with this you're stupid yeah it's like whatever i'm in a car that some my stepmom is driving and she runs or like i i have a stepmom and a dad if my stepmom mom put me in a car at 16
years old and drove over my dad multiple times, I would get out and punch her in the face.
Yeah, I can't. That's my fucking dad.
I cannot for one second blame Lindsay in any way, shape or form for punching her in the face.
And honestly, she's probably trying to get her out of her fucking stupor.
Yeah, like snap out of it.
Snap the fuck out of it.
Look what you just did.
Exactly. Like now it's all done.
God damn. So then Clara got out of the car seemingly in a daze, uncertain what to do next.
And at this point, she just stood over David's body and started sobbing uncontrollably then dropped to the ground and cradled him in her his cradled him in her arms and started begging him to breathe.
Witnesses heard her saying over and over again I'm so sorry David I'm so sorry I love you.
Wow she was just gone gone she was just in fucking orbit.
Because that's the thing like there's a lot of argument over what her state of of mind was when this all happened for me like i think what she did is wrong and i think she deserved to spend time in prison for it a hundred thousand gajillion percent but i don't think she was all there when this happened something and then i think when she realized what she did she had a moment of fuck yeah because she starts sobbing and begging him to breathe and telling him how sorry she is and how much she loves him and i don't think that was for show i think that That was a, I just fucking killed my husband.
Which also, that's a dangerous person.
Oh my God, yeah. That's a really dangerous person that can snap like that.
Because that's an impulsive, reckless motherfucker.
One that they just blink out like that.
You can't just come back and go, oh shit, sorry.
That's the thing, because I'm not saying, just to be clear, I'm not saying she was insane at the time.
No, you're saying she blinked out.
Exactly. That's the only phrase I can think of to describe how I'm seeing it.
Yes. Like, it is like, she literally just was, boop.
Like, I don't think she was criminally insane at all during this.
I think she deserved to go to prison for this.
I think she was fully blinded by the most intense rage.
Rage. That I can, I don't think any of us can conceive of.
No, hopefully not. So, and I think she literally was gone.
And then came to. And then blinded by rage, I think is apparently a real thing.
I think she was just not there.
Thankfully, I've never experienced it.
But moments later. But that's so dangerous.
So dangerous. Moments later, Houston police arrived at the scene and placed her under arrest for the murder of her husband, which everyone had just watched.
Holy shit. So the news of Clara Harris murdering her husband actually fucking shocked everyone who knew them.
I would assume. Clara and David were, as far as anybody could tell, the perfect couple.
In fact, people said they had the type of relationship that they wished they had with their husbands.
But that's for show.
go yeah until it tells you nothing on the outside is real and you don't know anyone's life unless you're in that house with them it's true you don't know anything all these influencers that we all love online all these fucking housewives that we watch we don't know shit yeah it's true but everyone has an opinion everybody thinks they know exactly what's going on we don't know this This is the kind of shit that tells you you have no fucking clue.
No, that's why I don't aspire for anybody's relationship.
I focus on my relationship and making it the greatest it can be.
You don't look at this is the perfect couple.
No, it's the perfect couple.
No, it's not real. I'm concentrating on my own relationship.
That's all I can control.
So Clara, going back a little ways, Clara had been born in Columbia and raised by a mother who was widowed very young.
So she'd seen firsthand what it was like to struggle and to get by, and she vowed that she was going to work hard. She was determined to make a life for herself and support herself.
She was actually very successful.
After finishing high school in the early 80s, she started studying to become a dentist in Columbia and then she was accepted into the dental program at the University of Texas Houston where she finished her studies and started a dental residency at the school.
By all accounts, she was beautiful, she was talented, she was smart, she had a very bright future ahead of her.
In fact, just a few months after completing her dental residency at ut houston she was crowned miss columbia houston in a local beauty contest oh wow so she like as far as everybody was concerned from the outside she had it together had it all in every way you possibly could had it all david met clara in 1991 when they were both working at castle dental center in houston and his father gerald told a reporter i remember david calling soon after he had met clara and telling me he was completely smitten oh which is so sad like Clara he was a skilled dentist with a bright future he was actually very
gifted when it came to his personal studies and his chosen profession but he also had a way with patients that just put them at ease when they sat down he had he had a great personality it seems and honestly that with dentists you need that you do you need to be able to put people at ease according to author my guy Skip Hollensworth he writes on like all the big Texas cases which I just love According to Skip Hollingsworth, David, quote, had a charming, folksy nature and used words like golly long after they had fallen out of fashion.
Okay, I love that. I do too.
I actually love that.
I love golly. David had been married once before to Lindsay's mother, but the marriage didn't last long.
They separated after just a few years because Lindsay's mother felt like he was too driven, too career focused, just didn't have enough time to spend with the family.
As divorces go, it was pretty amicable.
He got partial custody of Lindsay.
He saw her on occasional weekends and holidays.
and as we know she spent summers at his house.
So that's a great custody deal.
It was true that he was a man driven to succeed in his field but by the time he met Clara he was already what most people would consider to be successful so that drive diminished a little bit because he was already So she probably got a little bit of a different version.
She did. Yeah, exactly.
I think that's a great way to say it.
And for that matter Clara was also career focused so I think maybe they had that in common. Yeah.
So she and David had a lot in common. They hit it off immediately, and within a year, they were engaged to be married.
They got married at the Windmere Yacht Club in Houston on February 14, 1992, and as we know, had a large, beautiful reception at the adjacent Nassau Bay Hilton, which is just fucking chilling to me.
That is. It is chilling to me that their wedding reception is where she, ten years later, would kill him.
Their wedding guests parked in that parking lot.
But it really all comes down to you gotta you gotta be a human adult human about it and you can't go off the handle like this like we there's ways to handle this yeah and those ways are you choose to work through it or you divorce or you divorce like you're taking the cleaners yeah yeah that's fine yeah you know like why not yeah but this just is so upsetting it is so yeah before long david's reputation as a skilled orthodontist had gotten around houston and he and clara ended up opening their own practice it was called space center orthodontics in the years that followed they would open several
other offices basically they had like a small chain of privately owned orthodontic offices in the houston area and they were serving as many as a hundred 120 clients per day wow so they were like in business probably making bank yeah they definitely were making bank i I think they were among Houston's richest. Yeah.
Maybe not richest, but they were rich. In 1993, Clara told a reporter, I found the best. I found the one God had reserved for me.
Oh, man. Yeah. And the feeling was mutual at the time.
Like Clara, David had photographs of him and Clara, photos of their family, hanging all over the various offices, which tells you everything you need to know.
Exactly. And if the photographs weren't enough of a reminder of their love, they spoke on the phone two or three times all throughout the day, all before going home to each other in the evening.
Which seems like it's, like, great.
Yeah, they were in constant contact.
After they were married, Clara welcomed Lindsay into her life with open arms. And Lindsay was actually smitten with her father's new wife.
Which, that's even sadder.
I know. Because it's like, you love to hear that.
You're like, yes. Well, that's also, like, not common. No, which is, like, really sad.
You know? Yeah. But, like, she got that and fucked it up.
Yeah. But, like, beyond repair.
pair massive way but before we got there clara also really wanted children of her own and in 1993 that dream became reality when she gave birth to two twin uh to twin boys so they had like a big happy yeah everything's great yeah they have the sprawling suburban mansion the mercedes the kids but it was equally important to her that she showed the world that she was just as committed to her family as she was to her career she wanted both skip hollinsworth wrote no matter how many patients clara had to see she always got home in time to cook dinner for her family and their palatial white brick home
in the cheery suburb of friendswood wow like when i tell you real when i tell you quintessential like and like picture perfect it seems so perfect with her being like i have to get home to have dinner with my family like that's so and that's telling me like she had had that like that like parental like way of thinking where it's like no my family comes first yeah and it's like where did it go on this day she's she blinked out it just blinked out but she would always tell her patients before this all happened she had the perfect life and those who knew her even just a little bit would have been
inclined to agree absolutely a former co -worker said I used to tell people I wished I could be able to love my husband in the way that Clara love david which i was like damn i think you should do some internal work um that that's an unsettling statement yeah but she really loved her husband i guess like holy shit she's like damn i wish i liked my husband like oh shit okay that's sad you should talk to someone about that yeah well the birth of the twins obviously was a major milestone in clara and david's lives both of them and one they absolutely relished but it also seemed that they may have underestimated
the way that priorities change once kids enter the picture uh -oh at first david's attentiveness to claire and his two son his two sons was unwavering former employee susan hansen said clara was idolized by her husband when she called he would always run to the phone but after a few years things started to change especially after one gail bridges joined the practice as a new secretary in 2001.
with clara at home or at work in another practice david started paying attention to gail in ways that he had not ever paid attention to other women in the office that's fucked up yeah and as far as anybody could tell the feeling was mutual they all agreed quote unquote gail went out of her way to gain david's attention as he flitted from exam room to exam room so this is like lifetime movie bullshit and it's literally like she has twins and suddenly what eyes are wandering yeah that's fucked that's super fucked up i don't know six months later in february 2022 David invited Gail to lunch at Perry's
one of his favorite local restaurants and their affair pretty much started then once Gail was hired the change in David's behavior wasn't far behind Susan Hanson said I began to notice a difference in David around February he was not making decisions as well as he had been in the past and he was much less attentive to his patients Wow which remember this is the guy who was like super attentive yeah Yeah, two attentives in his first marriage.
So much career focus that that didn't work out.
And now he's like not really attentive at all.
Hanson there also started to notice that David was different with Gail than he was with other employees.
He definitely seemed more intimate and attentive.
And now she said when Clara would call, he was much less eager to rush to pick up the phone and sometimes would just put her on hold until he figured out and finished what he was doing.
That's yucky. Mm -hmm.
It wasn't long before David's relationship with Gail was obvious, not just to everybody working in the office, but to even people who stopped by for a visit.
And that's humiliating.
Like his daughter, Lindsay.
Yeah, that's humiliating.
And gross. Yeah, it's humiliating to Clara.
And to Lindsay. On one occasion, Lindsay came by the office to visit her dad, and she was very troubled by something she saw.
According to Lindsay, she was sitting in the waiting area by the front desk, and she saw that her dad had dropped a patient vial on the floor.
and before he could reach down to pick it up she said gail had bent over to pick it up not bent at the knees like you would normally expect but bent over at the waist making a point of bending right in front of him i'm gonna be honest i don't like gail no let's let's let's get that out of the way that's gross and also like his daughter's there so maybe like get it together yeah like maybe like get yourself out of heat for a minute exactly take a cold shower Maybe somebody spritz her down with some water.
Susan Hansen said, I told Lindsay she should talk to him or to somebody about what she'd seen, which is so sad that she was obviously upset and went to another employee who she probably knew, like she's grown up in this practice.
She should not be having to see that kind of shit.
No. Get it together.
Now, it wasn't just the obvious tension that tipped others off to David and Gail's relationship, but also subtle changes happening around the office.
Gail was hired as a front desk receptionist. she was gonna you know schedule appointments say hey to patients file paperwork yeah receptionist shit yeah but by winter of 2002 she seemed to take on a much larger role in the company seemingly at david's insistence huh by march other employees were stunned to find her participating in management meetings making staffing decisions and even touring the new facility that David was having built by Interstate 45.
Wow. Making staffing decisions sent me.
Yeah. Like, come on.
I'm sorry, but like, come on.
That's, that's different.
It's inappropriate.
That's a different, that's a different job.
Yeah, it just is. Yeah.
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Diana Sherrill, who worked at the office, said when we went on a tour of the new offices, Dr. David and Gail slipped off.
He had forgotten I was there.
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Even though most people who noticed that, you know, this change was for sure happening, were disgusted with his behavior.
A few women in the office considered it a quote -unquote natural part of aging.
And here's a problem, women.
Okay, ladies, let's do better.
Okay, ladies, let's do a little fucking better for ourselves and each other and not just say, well, he's going to try to fuck his secretary at some age.
One of them said, men go through the change of life no get get the fuck out of here and women don't oh get the fuck out of here we all go through changes in life that doesn't mean i'm gonna hop on my secretary like what the fuck take that shit and choke on it are you fucking kidding me woman yeah like mikey just mumbled in the corner mikey is mark happy pride everybody yeah that's fucked up i'm I'm sorry.
Whoever said that, seek help.
Like, that's insane.
Yeah. That's wild, wild work.
It's also just indicating that he's doing this because his needs aren't being met at home.
It's a boys will be boys mentality.
Men will be men. Well, then fuck the men, okay?
Because, no, you can't.
And not all men. And not all boys.
Of course. Get out of here.
Just leave. Get out right now.
Leave. Just, like, blanket it over them.
like this is what they all do no what it's a very uh 2002 way of thinking and again does anyone deserve to die because of this absolutely not but by that summer uh diana their employee there had grown very irritated and very tired of watching this affair play out in front of everybody and i'm sure good for diana he wasn't being a great boss starting this time so she called clara and asked if they could meet well because they probably they know clara she works there she She works there.
She's a huge part of the practice.
They've known her. And he's basically asking all of them to be a part of his bullshit.
Yeah. And they're probably getting really tired of it, and that's a girl's girl right there.
It is. Diana's a girl's girl.
And she's sitting there saying, you know what?
I can't sit here and watch you do this and just pretend that it's fine.
Wilson, that's what you got to do.
Yeah. So when they finally sat down together in early July, Diana told Claire, you need to protect your marriage.
You need to pay attention to Dr. David.
I take it back. She's not a girl's girl.
Diana is not a girl's girl.
I was trying to look at you.
I take that back. I was trying to look at you.
I also realized that Diana's the one that said they go through the change too.
Diana, you're not a girl's girl.
Yeah. I don't like that at all.
I don't either. I'm actually really angry at that.
Because she was basically being like, listen, he's stepping out on you, so you got to like.
And it's your fault.
Shove your boobies in his face when he gets home or something.
I actually have beef with Diana right now, so that's where we are.
Okay, that's, Diana, we have beef.
Yeah. Like, that's fucked up.
Yeah. And now you've totally put it on her.
oh yeah it gets worse as far as diana saw it ever since the twins were born they had become the center of claire's world as it motherfucking should be as it motherfucking should be their infants they need their mom and dad i'm sorry are you telling me that a man is jealous of bebis of baby twins of his own bibbons getting more attention fuck off you gotta the day you gotta The day a motherfucker says that to me.
The day. That doesn't even sound real.
No, it doesn't. Like that is.
And that left less time for David.
He felt like he'd been pushed to the side.
Ooh. Diana said, finally, she asked me if he was having an affair.
And I said, yes. And Diana went one step further.
She told Clara exactly who David was having an affair with.
His secretary. How cliche.
You made so many weird choices there, Diana.
You really did. Yeah, she really.
she she gave me whiplash what happened yeah well anyway the news obviously was a lot for clara i can't that's a lot to swallow but she at this point is like oh no i've been so wrapped up in you know the boys and my practice i didn't have any time to think about david in recent months like how dare i but also she didn't want to believe that any of that was true that he like she was like maybe he's not having an affair she said later we were best friends we were very much we were a team that's so which is really sad that she thought that because they weren't because you weren't and that's awful
it was true that david had been you know seemed more stressed out lately he even was seeming to snap at her and the kids more often than he had in the past not cool but she said it hardly seemed like a reason to think he was having an affair but the more she thought about it the more things started to fall into place he was more distant than usual and he wasn't even just more busy with work he was busy at home too he used to love to come home and sit down and play with the boys for a few hours participate in bedtime that whole thing but now he seemed far more interested in coming home and locking
himself in his music room where he would just sit around playing piano grow up grow up it wasn't just that he was busy it was like he was busying himself to avoid his family that's not cool so that night after leaving her meeting with diana clara actually actually called david's mother millie harris which i think millie is the cutest it is a really cute name and she told millie what she'd learned in the hope that maybe his mom would know what she could do to salvage their relationship and their marriage so rather than really share any insider suggestions though millie just succeeded in convincing
clara that her friend had no idea what she was talking about and there was no way david was having an affair but you can understand why his mom wouldn't think that that's his mom she's probably like no yeah like not my kid you you know, never mind.
She was like, it's natural for people, married or otherwise, to find others attractive, maybe even flirt a little bit.
But she said David was not the kind of person who would have a straight up affair.
And I mean, she's probably really hoping that that's the case.
I think she's trying to probably convince herself of that as well.
Also, if you flirt with other people or are married, you're cheating on me.
I'm going to fight you.
Period. After 45 minutes on the phone with her mother -in -law, Clara came away pretty relieved, reassured, but then she got home that night and she just couldn't shake the thought that maybe Maybe he was involved with another woman.
Her gut was telling her something.
So then next morning, she was getting into the shower when David came into the bathroom looking very troubled.
And she's like, what's wrong?
And after struggling to form his thoughts, he confessed that he had indeed been seeing another woman.
He said, I think that you have to know there's somebody else.
Obviously, completely shattered by the confirmation that her husband was definitely having an affair, fair she ran downstairs to the kitchen where lindsey was making breakfast and it turned out lindsey already knew her dad had told her the relationships here i am without words the relationships here are without borders this is wrong on every level it can be wrong yeah like we need some boundaries in these relationships with our children shit yeah Yeah.
The revelation that David not only was having an affair but was having an affair with an employee at their shared practice was devastating.
Clara said, he told me there was no intimacy between them, that he'd just been lonely.
Oh, there it is. Fuck off!
Classic. Mm -hmm. He said, this is also, I'm like, fuck you.
Oh, no. He said, Gail grew up in the US and they shared a lot in common and it was nice to share that with someone.
one so he looked at his colombian wife and was like you know she's from the u .s we have more in common fuck you fuck you i don't even know how to respond to that i would look at him and be like we opened several practices together because i'm a successful ass motherfucker and you have more in common with your secretary because she's from the u .s that is quite possibly the stupidest thing i I have ever heard someone say, especially in reference to why they were having an affair.
I'm having an affair because she was born on American soil.
Because those colors don't run, okay?
That's why. He's essentially saying me.
What? You're saying this to your Colombian wife?
Crazy. Who has built things with you, created a family with you.
I'd be like, that's cool.
Your children are Colombians.
What? That's the thing.
I'm like, what? That's cool.
These two boys that you procreated with me, Colombian.
Like, damn. Cool. Cool that you and Gail have the U .S. in common. But it's really nice that you guys are from the United States.
Can you imagine looking at anybody and just being like, we're both from the U .S., so we have so much in common. What a weird reason.
Frankly, I don't want to have much in common with the U .S. What a strange -ass reason.
Yeah. Holy shit. So that afternoon, David and Clara drove to the office where Clara confronted Gail about the affair.
I mean, yeah. Which, like, absolutely.
Oh, yeah. If you're going to do it without being physical, absolutely.
Yeah, and do it right away.
Gail denied the relationship, but Clara said, I know you're lying.
My husband told me you're fired.
Fired her on the spot and demanded that she hand over her keys to the office and get the fuck out of there.
Which, like, great.
So at this point, support.
Yeah. Supporting what is happening.
Yeah. Then her initial reaction to David's confession was to start looking for a divorce lawyer, which, like, let's go, girl.
Yes. This is so frustrating because you're, like, you're moving in the right direction.
I wish you had kept moving in this direction.
But later that day, after the initial shock had worn off, she decided she didn't want to end her marriage, which I get.
You have two fucking babies together.
It's got to be the worst kind of whiplash that you can imagine.
And I understand both sides.
I understand when you find out your husband has stepped out on you, you get the fuck out of there.
And I also understand wanting to fight for your marriage.
Yeah, I get all of it.
It's a horrible, horrible situation that is unfathomable, really.
The next day, she started the process of making herself over to be more attractive to her husband, which is really sad.
That's devastating.
She bought sexy clothes from Victoria's Secret.
She scheduled breast augmentation surgery with a local plastic surgeon.
And she bought a book about saving a marriage written by the one and only Dr. Phil.
Oh, my goodness. Yeah.
That's just really sad.
it is that night she and david went to a restaurant to talk things over and while they were there she pushed her husband to make a list comparing the attributes of both women oh no so that like she could do better i think oh no the lists were long and brutally honest describing gail as quote no No fat, perfect body.
And Clara as, quote, a large person, too big.
She gave birth to your fucking children at the same time.
She was pregnant with two human beings.
I'm willing to bet, David, you might get a little fucking bigger when you're growing two circulatory systems. Speaking of somebody who has grown two circulatory systems in their body.
two two at once two at once two at once you got a little bigger you it's going to be different after a little bit and i literally here's the part where it's like david should not have been killed nope i'm gonna keep saying that because i want to make sure no one takes what i'm saying differently that is what i'm saying and that is what i believe but that doesn't mean that he was was a good guy at this point he wasn't that's a horrible he was not being a good guy this is not a good guy in this moment he might have been a good guy his whole life he really took a turn here this is cruel to do to
somebody can you imagine awful to do to somebody body shaming your wife if john had ever said to me you're you're bigger like it made any kind of bigger person too big Any kind of comment about what I looked like after I gave birth to our twins, any kind of negative comment, it would have sent me into fucking orbit.
Because also, yeah, she knows because that shit is very jarring after you have kids and especially after you have multiples, you look different.
And it's like you get out of that shower and you look in the mirror and you go, whoa, who's that?
And even now I look at them like, wow, you see, it's always different.
you look incredible you have nine -year -old twins though like but you're always gonna look like you i had twins i look like i had twins and the thing is like these were young boys yeah they're big it takes a while to get your quote -unquote body back yeah if you ever do my kids are we're almost a decade in and it's it's different still it just isn't ever going the way it was before there's a lot that goes into it you have to maintain a certain weight if you want to breastfeed you You have to, like, there's a whole bunch of reasons why you don't just snap right back.
And it shouldn't matter.
You should look different.
Yeah. You did something crazy and incredible.
You did something life -changing.
So you should look different.
And you should have somebody that is in absolute awe of that.
It's like, wow, yeah, your body's amazing.
It created two of my favorite people in the world.
And went through, like, crazy trauma to do so.
Yeah. And I hate, because I know there's listeners that are listening right now who don't have somebody doing that.
and you should because you're beautiful don't kill anyone don't that's never the answer but you should always have somebody who is saying wow your body's incredible and especially after you give birth your body just created one of my favorite people on planet earth your body just did a miracle yeah your body created a circulatory system a miracle like fuck off like large person too big so sad and if anybody ever says that to you you get up and you leave right then you don't even think about it twice i don't have sympathy for the act that she committed by any means but i have sympathy for her in this moment
because i just can't imagine being torn down like that that would kill me in postpartum you're already saying the worst things to yourself and it's like that's so cruel to do it's mean i just wish that this had gone a different way me too because like damn me too so despite the obvious uh fucking cruelty of comparing his wife's looks to those of his mistress among other things david and clara did agree to work on their marriage with clara taking most of the blame for him having an affair in the first place and also shouldering the responsibility of fixing things a few days later they went away
to the beach for a long weekend and everything seemed like it was back on track to getting normal but just two weeks later david harris would be dead crushed to death under the weight of his wife's mercedes oh man yeah it just just escalated so quickly yeah and i would say that was a lot of information for you guys to digest so that is where we're gonna wrap setting that's where we're gonna wrap for part one oh lord this is just sad and horrible and in every way imaginable yeah every single way because it's It's just like none of this needed to happen.
None of it. No. And again, it's also like, and I'll state it again, it's not his fault.
State it again. That what happened to him.
No. But if you don't want to be with your significant other, that's cool.
Don't be with them anymore.
Divorce. Affairs never end well.
I never understand why people go into them.
It's like just, it's not going to end well.
It never does. How many affairs have I talked about on this fucking podcast?
exactly end it there'll be sad hurt feelings but that's much better than a murder charge and a dead person involved yeah like come on yeah but emotions run so high and humans are wily creatures there's also a lot more to this story that we haven't even gotten into yet so interesting stay tuned for part two it gets wily oh man and with that being said we hope you keep listening and we hope you keep it weird weird but that's a way that you hit your husband with a car even if he did cheat on you no you can't do that don't do that it's really bad Thank you.
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