Prosecutors say Julie Harper’s actions after killing her husband do not support her story that she shot in him self-defense.
The body of Carlsbad High School math teacher Jason Harper was found in his bedroom on Aug. 7, 2012. His wife told the court that she shot Jason during a violent argument after enduring months of verbal and sexual abuse.
During cross examination Wednesday, prosecutors focused on the moment Harper pulled the trigger. She became emotional when she was asked to re-enact the shooting.
Harper testified that after shooting her husband, she hid in the bathroom. When she came out, she said her husband was lying face down and appeared to dead.
After burying the body under blankets, Harper took her kids out to eat and then dropped two of them off to play. Prosecutors questioned why she didn’t call 911 instead, but Harper said it wouldn’t have made a difference.
“It was obvious he was dead. There was just no question once I had checked," she said.
Authorities discovered Jason’s cell phone inside Harper’s getaway bag, which she said she packed in case she needed to get away from her abusive husband. Harper texted a relative as Jason, saying he’d see them in a few days, and then removed the phone battery. Prosecutors say these actions were suspicious.
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“I think I just didn't want to deal with it ringing or going off with going to pick up the kids and everything else I was dealing with,” Harper said in her defense.
The defendant admitted she buried her gun the night of the shooting. She told prosecutors she was advised to preserve the gun as evidence for a potential trial and panicked.
“I guess I was basically trying to figure out some safe place that I could put it to be able to keep it in the event I might need it for my defense for trial,” she said.
The gun later disappeared from where she'd buried it and has not been found.
