A Carlsbad woman who killed her husband was allegedly so "out of it" a former neighbor didn't want his child around her, the man testified Tuesday.
Julie Harper admits she killed her husband, Jason, on Aug. 27, 2012 but has said she did it because she feared for her safety. After an acquittal on first-degree murder charges, Harper now faces a retrial on second-degree murder charges.
Jurors heard from Richard Norton who said he hung out with Jason several times a week. He said they would barbeque as their kids played or would go surfing.
Norton testified that he noticed a change in Julie over the time that they were neighbors.
“We carpooled with one another and in that time I noticed a change in Julie Harper and I noticed that she was really out of it,” he said. “I didn’t allow carpooling with my daughter any longer.”
He also said he didn’t know Julie had an illness until he heard it from another neighbor.
Defense attorney Paul Pfingst said Norton spoke with Julie maybe three or four times during the entire four years that they knew each other.
Harper has said she shot her husband out of fear that he would kill or rape her.
This is the second trial for Julie Harper.
Last October, a jury acquitted her on first-degree murder charges but was deadlocked on the second-degree murder and manslaughter counts.
Prosecutors decided to retry her on the lesser charges.
