Daughter's heartbreaking words to her mother for shooting father dead: 'You made my brothers and me orphans'

Downstairs at the home of the Harper family, three young children watched cartoons on the television. They were blissfully unaware that upstairs, tragic events were unfolding that would tear their family apart forever. They might not have registered the sound of the pistol going off, but they did hear the thump on the floor of the master bedroom. As their mum Julie hurried the siblings out of the house, they had no idea they’d never see their dad again or that, eventually, they’d disown the woman bundling them into a car.

Julie Harper was married to maths teacher Jason, 39. They lived in the tranquil beach town of Carlsbad, California, with their three children, aged eight, six and one.

Athletic 6ft 7in Jason was popular with pupils and teachers, and also coached volleyball locally. Julie was a former successful estate agent but had been forced to step down as she suffered badly with arthritis.

By 2012, she was focused on raising her two sons and daughter. The couple had been married 10 years and, from the outside, they seemed to be living the American dream – with a comfortable life in an upmarket area – but Julie had just filed for divorce.

Self-defence

On August 7, 2012, the Harper children were happily watching TV while their parents argued in their bedroom. After they heard the thud on the floor above, Julie appeared with a packed bag and bundled the clueless kids into the car and took them to her dad’s house. There, Julie told her father Jason was dead – and she’d shot him.

She called a lawyer who sent police to the Harpers’ home. They found Jason’s body in the bedroom, hidden under a blanket with a bullet wound. Julie was arrested. When questioned, she didn’t deny shooting Jason but insisted it was in self-defence. She claimed that she’d told him about the divorce and they’d argued.

Julie said Jason had been violent throughout their marriage and that he had raped her before. During their fight, he came at her. She pulled their gun out to scare him off and it accidently went off.

But police were suspicious. If she hadn’t wanted her husband dead, why hadn’t she attempted CPR or called 911? Instead, she packed a bag full of money and documents, and fled. She even took the gun, a Derringer pistol, which she buried to ‘preserve the evidence’ but it was never found.

She claimed that, behind closed doors, Jason was violent and aggressive but she hadn’t declared this on her divorce papers – or mentioned it to anyone.

At the trial in 2014, the court heard how Julie had packed a bag before shooting Jason, which showed premeditation, which would lead to a first-degree murder conviction, but the jury dismissed these charges. When it came to second-degree murder charges they were in deadlock and a mistrial was declared.

While Julie was released on bail to wait for the next trial, she was refused access to her children who were being cared for by Jason’s parents.

While free, Julie fell pregnant and claimed it was a result of IVF treatments and a sperm donor father. She told the local press it was her last chance to be a mum again because of her age. Julie gave birth to a baby daughter, who was just a few months old when she faced another jury.

The second trial started in September 2015 and, this time, the prosecution focused on second-degree murder. Again, Julie claimed self-defence.

"I turned around and saw him coming toward me," she testified. "He said, “I’m going to kill you.” I told him to stop. I heard a loud noise and felt [the gun] jerk. He froze, stopped and fell forward."

The defence team highlighted that Julie had no criminal record or a violent past. "The history of Julie Harper does not lead one to believe that all of a sudden she turns into an assassin," they said.

Julie’s journal was used as evidence and she said that every time she’d used the word ‘sex’ she meant ‘rape’. But the jury decided that it didn’t suggest that at all.

After the shooting, Julie hadn’t acted like it was an accident. She’d taken time to move Jason’s car, delete messages on his phone and take his wallet and keys. If she really feared for her life, why hadn’t she mentioned the violence in her divorce papers? And if Jason had attacked her that day, why didn’t she have a single mark on her body?

Despite not having the murder weapon, the prosecution were allowed to test fire a similar gun and show that it was unlikely to ever fire without intent. The bullet pierced Jason’s heart and experts testified that the angle suggested he was running away at the time, not charging towards her like Julie claimed.

This time, the jury were united and found Julie, now 42, guilty of second-degree murder. At the sentencing, Julie’s lawyers requested a retrial with manslaughter charges but were denied.

Julie spoke for 40 minutes and apologised for putting her
family through everything, but showed no remorse for killing Jason.

"My husband was a different man behind closed doors," she insisted. "I’m still recovering from everything he did to me all those years."

Kids orphaned

The courtroom was flooded with emotion as impact statements from Julie’s children were read out.

The one from her 12-year-old son said, "Julie Harper has caused much pain and misery to all the members of the Harper family. She murdered with no sense of consequence, leaving me and my siblings parentless… The suffering and pain we have endured, that she caused, should be answered with justice."

Julie’s 10-year-old daughter’s words included, "I no longer have a mother because she was so selfish. Because you killed our dad, you are no longer “Mom”. You are Julie. You made my brothers and me orphans."

Jason’s parents, who have custody of the children, said the kids suffer from nightmares and want nothing to do with their mother.

Jason’s mum said, "Julie Harper is a selfish, arrogant and vile person. She threw away her children and made them orphans when she murdered their dad. She ended the life of a very good man. She deserves to bear the consequences of her crime."

Julie’s fourth child is now in the custody of her father.

The judge said she was a ‘danger to society’ and he suspected she’d taken the easy way out of their marriage so she wouldn’t have to give up her luxury home and children.

"You have to understand that your husband got a death sentence," the judge said. ‘Tragically, your selfish actions have left your children without a mother, without a father."

He sentenced Julie to 40 years in prison.

When Julie pulled the trigger, that one bullet destroyed so many lives.