Julie Harper on trial — take 2

A jury of seven women and five men was seated September 10 for the retrial of Julie Elizabeth Harper, 42. The defendant was acquitted of first-degree murder at the conclusion of her first trial one year ago. The accused took the witness box during her first trial and admitted that she shot her husband Jason Harper, 39. The confrontation occurred in the master bedroom of their Carlsbad home on August 7, 2012.

The Carlsbad housewife could still face 40 years in prison if she is convicted of second-degree murder and personal use of a firearm, according to prosecutor Keith Watanabe. This second trial is expected to last approximately four weeks.

The defendant is expected to testify again; a year ago she claimed that she was the victim of verbal abuse and rapes during her ten-year marriage. Defense attorney Paul Pfingst has described Julie Harper as a “devout Catholic” who had been resisting the idea of divorce but finally “she couldn’t take it anymore.”

During her first trial, Julie Harper stated that she did not remember actually pulling the trigger of the handgun, which she said was an American Derringer two-shot revolver. The petite pistol was a gift from her father when she was attending college in the early 1990s — for self defense, she said. The alleged murder weapon has never been recovered; Harper told the first jury that she buried the weapon on a public street, and when she went back later to look for it the gun was gone.

Julie Harper was a fugitive for more than 24 hours after police found her husband’s body.

Jason Harper was killed by a single .38 caliber round through his rib cage. There was some argument as to whether he was shot in the side or the back; the bullet entered the left side of his torso and travelled from back to front and came to rest at the front edge of his right chest, according to expert testimony.

The deceased man was a math teacher and occasional volleyball coach at Carlsbad High School.

The couple’s three children, then aged 8 years, 6 years, and 18 months, were downstairs playing and watching TV when their parents were upstairs, at the time of the shooting. They were reportedly ear-witnesses to the shooting and the two eldest children are expected to testify again.

Julie Harper, who has been at liberty on $2 million bond since September of 2013, was in the courtroom this week. She took notes, conferred with Pfingst, and participated in jury selection.

Prospective jurors were asked if they owned or had ever fired or had any objections to firearms. They were also asked if they had ever been divorced or part of a custody battle for children. One female juror was excused because she said two family members were part of the Carlsbad police force.

The judge who heard the first trial, Blaine Bowman, will also hear this second trial. Opening statements from attorneys are expected at 9 a.m. on Monday, September 14. Attorneys will present evidence for three weeks in San Diego’s North County Superior Courthouse.