The show on NBC’s ‘Dateline’ The House on Badger Lane show reveals to viewers an investigation into Jason Harper’s death. The murder occurred in August 2012, as killed by his spouse, Julie who claimed it was done to defend herself.
However, it was the defense that managed to convince the jury that it was not. It did not come without its challenges but, in the end, Julie was forced to stand trial again following the trial that ended with a deadlocked juror.
Let’s learn the details concerning Julie and where she’s at in the present, shall we?
Who is Julie Harper?
Julie Harper’s arrest over her husband’s murder in August 2012 triggered a long-running investigation that was heavily reported by local news outlets. On the 7th of August in 2012, Julie killed her husband for nearly a decade of age in their bedroom.
Julie along with Jason Harper lived with their three children in Carlsbad, California. The authorities were informed they were told that Jason Harper had warned her to shoot her in the morning following an argument, and she was scared for her own life, which led to her shooting.
When she was arrested on the following day, police found no obvious marks on her body.
Julie was also stated she was told by her husband that he had been abusive to her and had raped her 30 times during the span of their relationship. In court, she later admitted, “My husband was a different man in the privacy of his home.
I’m still struggling to recover from all the things that he did to me throughout through those many years.” The woman also stated that she had written about her abuse in a diary in which, in some cases, sexual contact was the standard for sexual assault.
After killing Jason, Julie took off with her kids instead of calling the police. After being challenged in court as to what she had done she replied, “It was obvious he was dead.”
The mom who stays at home arrived at her father’s office following leaving her children at the house of her sister. She surrendered herself after speaking with an attorney. In her trial in 2014, she was able to testify that she did not leave the room the day that she was scared for her life as she was worried that Jason might catch her.
Also, she wanted to keep her children from being able to hear the arguments. She said, “I didn’t even intend to shoot him. I just wanted to scare him or get him to stop, not rape me, or hurt me or make me feel more serious.”
The jury was acquitted her of murder in the first degree during her trial for the first time. They couldn’t decide on the lesser charge of second-degree murder and manslaughter. However, they were leaning toward an acquittal for the first.
The second trial was delayed due to her pregnancy. The judge claimed that she was pregnant through in-vitro fertilization during her time in jail this summer.
Where is Julie Harper Now?
In Julie’s second trial during 2015, Julie clung to her version of incidents and claimed that she was acting in self-defense. Her lawyer claimed that she had killed Jason in a heated debate about their divorce. The lawyer also asserted that she had buried the gun to preserve evidence.
At the end of the day, she was found guilty of murder in the second degree. Julie stated that she was stunned by the decision. In January of 2016, Julie was sentenced to 40 years in prison and life in prison.
Julie spoke after her sentence, “I am not guilty of the crime for which I’m being held. I’m not guilty of any criminal offense.” She also expressed her offense to her kids. In the year 2018, an appeals court rejected the demand to have her sentence reduced because of an amendment to the law in the state.
She was hoping that the 25-year prison sentence she was given for the use of a firearm would be reduced in her case. According to the prison records, she is imprisoned at the California Institution for Women in Chino, Riverside County. Julie is eligible for parole by 2039.
