i am not going to lie to you. >> do it all mom. >> she would do family-oriented thing. >> the picture perfect home tucked away on badger lane. >> he wanted a lifestyle where he could be there for his family and kids. >> that is what made what happened so startling. >> it was dark when they got there and found the body upstairs in the master bedroom. >> the victim was shot with the handgun. >> kids were missing. julie was missing. >> you are just in utter shock. >> there were secrets in that house. who would unlock them? >> i didn't want my family or neighbors to know. >> devious and manipulative. >> this is our best friend. >> it did not have to end like this. >> welcome to dateline. jason harper's life looked perfect from the outside. popular high school teacher and coach, wife a stay at home mom to three beautiful kids and close circle of loving friends. when one member of the perfect family ended up dead, it was just the first of many shocks to their quiet seaside community. here is keith morrison with the house on badger lane. >> grief, like the ocean, rolled into their lives in waves. ride the waves or sink it seems to say. ride them again and again. >> just, you know, just a shot through the heart. >> once there were four fast friends, four tall men. before it all went down and the waves took on their new meaning. >> it didn't have to end like this. >> no, except it did. and when it did. >> just felt like someone hit you in the stomach really hard and you wanted to cry. >> what could they do? ride. it is what harp would have wanted after all. harp. jason harper. sports loving, outdoors loving california boy with a childhood best friend named paul, who as they grew became tall paul. >> we were always together. early years he was taller than me and i caught up. we were the two tallest guys in school. >> when they got to high school there was one sport they were well suited to play. volleyball. >> harp was a stud, you know. i am not going to lie to you and sugar coat it. mvp on the team. >> yes. went on to play at ucla where he met jeremy grant. here they are together on ucla bruins talk on public access tv. >> everybody came back. we are not go to lose or whatever. came back. they have not lost since then. >> we can beat a lot of the teams out there, you know, we can definitely be a final four contender. >> we ran the same speed. we would run the warm-ups and end up talking together and became roommates throughout college. just a great guy, great friend. >> quiet, mind you. shy. at least around the girls. >> he wasn't quite the ladies man. not going to lie to you. >> one night back in 2004 years after graduating from college harp met a girl at a party. tall paul there was too. the girl's name was julie. >> she zoned in on harp off the bat. she started talking to him. >> i get the impression she picked him. >> exactly. >> went pretty fast after that. why not? julie was pretty and smart and from a well-to-do family. still, when harp proposed just three months after he met the first real girlfriend. >> i felt it was like the first girl he loved and didn't want the wool pulled over his eyes. >> they stood up for him and the marriage was a great happy party. >> i remember the first dance in this giant ballroom. they did a very nice ballroom dance, you know. harp had a smile on his face. >> they moved to the seaside, carlsbad, california and jason harper signed on as a math teacher and volleyball coach at a local high school. >> your typical southern california surfer, beach volleyball, public school teacher. >> he met a third of the friends, andy. they taught at carlsbad high. >> on a campus of 3,025 students, you tend to notice people at the same high level. you do notice after a while who they are. >> the two became fast friends, surfing, pickup basketball, poker, guy things. and then jason and julie started a family. jake first and then jackie. j names. >> even if it meant not playing cards with the boys or going on a surf trip the kids always came first. >> home was here in the terraces at sunny creek. these were their neighbors. >> so many neighborhoods now you don't know your next door neighbors. >> julie would organize all of the activities. a good mom. really involved with her kids. >> hard to know why things changed. after joshua, their third was born in 2011 julie did not seem the same. >> as time went by you would see less and less and less of her. >> she would say hi, get in her car and drive away. >> like she was hiding from everybody. >> jason. >> he was part of the permanent landscape of the neighborhood. he was there every day. hands on father. >> then it was an august morning in 2012. >> you don't know what happened but you know it is not good. your stomach sinks. >> didn't take a rocket scientist, something was awfully wrong. >> there was crime tape. there is a police officer stationed at the base of my drive way and i asked the police officer if everything is okay. he said no. no it's not. >> coming up, what had really happened that morning. >> they say they found the body upstairs in the master bedroom, the kids are missing. julie is missing. >> when dateline continues. julig >> when dateline continues how did olay top expensive creams? 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>> did you worry about the kids? >> that was the worst part. their safety, number one. are they okay. >> the carlsbad police department had one piece of information the neighbors lacked coming in a strange phone call at 11:00p.m. the night before. >> the watch commander working that night got a phone call from an attorney asking him to go and do a wellfare check at a residence. >> a wellfare check, seemed like an odd request. >> who was the lawyer that called? >> the ex d.a. and now criminal defense attorney who knew the police department very well. he called an internal extension that unlike a 9-1-1 call was not recorded. the cops went to the house and they found jason's body. not julie and the kids. they were gone. he said not to worry. julie and the kids were fine. julie was not a victim but his newest client. he arranged the safe return of the children to a local children's hospital and then orchestrated julie's surrender at her father's house. >> did she talk to you? >> no. >> her attorney spoke with local reporters. >> very upset. upset about her children, health. her life is in shambles, a catastrophe all the way around. >> so it was, but what happened in the bedroom. neither julie or her attorney would say and the police launched an investigation to see what julie was guilty of, if anything. to begin they had specialists interview the two older children, ages 8 and 6 and said their day started out like a typical summer morning and then sometime between 8:00 and 9:00a.m. >> when you watching cartoons. >> a thud. all they could tell you. >> a loud thud. >> there is a guy with a bullet hole and the kids heard a thump. >> what did you do next? >> we talked to neighbors who possibly had seen things. one neighbor said they saw miss harper leaning around 9:05 in the morning and exiting their gated community. >> now the detectives did what they could. during their interviews the kids said their mom took them to a coffee shop first. >> from that point they went to a local playworks or jump house place. from the kids' accounts they stayed there for a short period and played. we were able to corroborate that with cell phone analysis. >> that led to a disturbing thought. if the thud the kids heard was jason being shot, the coffee run and the play date happened afterwards while he lay wounded or dead on the bedroom floor. august 9, two days after the shooting a medical examiner conducted an autopsy and recovered the bullet. >> we did find a gun in the home. >> but it was not the gun that killed jason. so, no murder weapon. the only suspect wasn't talking. >> we believed that there was an argument between the two. a gun was produced and she shot him. >> not an easy question under the circumstances. there was an answer, but you think anyone intended to reveal that? >> coming up -- >> i don't understand why any of it happened, you know what i mean. >> new clues. >> she was preparing for a change in her life. >> private journals and secrets in the attic. >> my wildest dreams never i would have expected that. >> when dateline continues. d tht >> when dateline continues ♪ 'cause it's the only thing i wanna do. ♪ turns out everyone does sound better in the shower. and it turns out the general is a quality insurance company that's been saving people money for nearly 60 years. ♪ 'cause it's the only thing i wanna do ♪ shaq: (singing in background) can't unhear that. for a great low rate, and nearly 60 years of quality coverage - make the right call and go with the general. small businesses like yours make gift-giving possible. and nearly 60 years of quality coverage now, comcast business has an exclusive gift for you. introducing the gift of savings sale. for a limited time, ask how to get a great deal for your business. and get up to a $500 prepaid card with select bundles when you switch to the network that can deliver gig speeds to the most businesses. or get started with internet and voice for $64.99 per month with a 2-year price guarantee. give your business the gift of savings today. comcast business. powering possibilities. what does a foster kid need from you? to be brave. to show up. for staying connected. the questions they weren't able to ask. show up for the first day of school, the last day at their current address. for the mornings when everything's wrong. for the manicure that makes everything right, for right now. show up, however you can, for the foster kids who need it most— at helpfosterchildren.com by the time julie harper's attorney arranged for her to turn herself in, her husband jason had been dead a day and a half for reasons nobody could understand. they appeared to be a solid couple. why would she shoot him. that is what carlsbad detectives were determined to figure out. julie wasn't talking. they peeled back the layers and sergeant jeff smith learned a year earlier julie sent a friend envelopes for safe keeping. >> what was in the envelopes? >> journals, writings, bank statements, personal history. >> in the personal history, signs of a marriage that wasn't as perfect as it seemed and said jason yelled at me and maybe divorce is the answer. >> it appeared they were maybe not happy with each other and their marriage was going towards an end or a divorce. >> whatever was going on, jason tended to keep to himself said his teacher friends, andy and kristen. >> he would never say any ill words or bad things. >> but it was pretty clearhey said that the marriage was winding down. >> arrangements were being made. >> jason's parents bought a house down here and had enough room for jason and all of the kids. they were preparing for him to be able to leave. >> julie seemed to be ready to get out too. she filed for divorce days before the incident and that same week made unusual financial transactions. >> days prior to miss harper had had taken out about $10,000 in cash out of a dormant account. she had written two $4,500 checks to herself. >> julie had had pulled out nearly $20,000 in cash. >> we found that to be suspicious. >> did it suggest to you she was hording money in anticipation of something? >> she was preparing for a change in her life. >> did the change involve divorce or murder? julie's father lived here 30 miles or so from jason and julie's house. this apparently was where julie and the kids spent the night after the shooting and they got a search warrant for dad's place and found nothing useful. there were other guns but none of them fired the bullet that killed jason. frustrated, eight days later he got a second search aren't. this time there was something new. tucked away in the garage attic in a spot they searched the first time around. a blue back pack, must have been hidden between searches. >> they opened up the blue green bay packers and discovered julie harper wallet, credit card, i.d., passport, a different gun and jason harper's last will and testament. >> jason's cell phone, battery removed, call and text history cleared. gun was clean, not the one used to shoot jason. she must have packed it up after killing jason. >> that is the only reason to take a person's last will and testament, because she realized he was dead. >> julie's actions before and after the shooting raised questions before and after. did she plan this? was it premeditated. if so, for how long? >> we believed that we could prove first degree murder, not on the theory that she had planned the murder the days or the weeks before the shooting had had taken place. we were relying on the theory that even during the argument she took enough steps in order to get the gun that it would have been planned and premeditated, even if it was only for a minute or two before the shooting. >> that is enough? >> in california that qualifies at first degree murder. >> so, that is what he charged her with it. first degree murder. julie pleaded not guilty, but otherwise kept her mouth shut. strange details kept coming out. what julie's dad said about the blue back pack. >> there had actually been $39,000 inside the back pack. >> julie's father admitted he found the cash in the back pack and gave it to julie's lawyer to pay for bail and legal fees. >> what did you think when you heard that? >> in my wildest dreams never i would have expected that. >> julie's dad testified only after being granted immunity and initially pleaded the fifth. even though bail was $2 million, julie's family eventually coughed it up. after more than a year in jail she moved back into the house on badger lane, three doors down from michelle miller. >> she knocked on my door to let me know she was back and we are going to have a good talk some day when it is all over. >> what did you say to her? >> i was completely shocked. i couldn't believe it. >> all of the comfortable notions about your neighbors, maybe michelle did not know them at all. >> i don't understand why any of it happened. he was our friend. he is gone. i don't know who she is. >> when julie finally did start talking, well -- >> coming up. >> i said stop. stop. what are you doing. stop. >> on the stand life on the line and -- secret recordings from behind closed-doors. when dateline continues. closed. when dateline continues. 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julie must have shot jason between 8:00a.m. and 9:00a.m. and she was at la costa roasting. >> she wasn't crying or upset. it showed the woman was capable of murdering her husband and to be able to go out into admissible and be perfectly normal. julie did not talk once to the police or the prosecutor because her attorney never allowed it but now it was time. one witness, julie harper. she said yes. she did it. she shot him. but she said that it wasn't murder. why? jason harper, so beloved by friends and colleagues was an angry, abusive husband. >> did you videotape -- >> her is her secret recording of jason losing it over money. >> i don't want to enable that. it is horrible. >> then this. >> get a carpool. figure it out. i can't help if you are too dumb to do it or lazy. >> at least i have more words in my vocabulary than you do. seems like the -- >> that is right. right now that is darn right. because that is what you are. >> it got worse and physical. >> he grabbed my wrist and hand so forcefully and twisted it so hard jason was a 6'6" athlete. they slept in separate rooms but when he got angry he came to her room and the abuse turned sexual. >> slamming me up against the wall. face-first. >> what were you saying? >> stop. stop. >> julie told the jury jason raped her about 30 times and she stashed a gun under her pillow. she woke up the morning of the shooting to the sound of jason yelling and screaming. >> he was using curse words. jason believed that julie hidden his computer. >> his face was red. he was just, you know, his nose skrunched up. his eyes were squinting. he had a look of rage and hate. this was bad. he grabbed me. he began yanking my top off. i pushed back. i somehow managed to sort of wiggle my way free, pulling away as quickly as i could move from there across the room to my bed. >> what did you do? >> i grabbed my gun from under my pillow. >> the.38 caliber handgun. >> he was coming towards me with his arms raised. he said i am going to kill you. and i was shaking. i was holding on to my gun tightly. next thing that i knew i felt my hand jerk and i heard a loud noise. he was still coming forward at me. and then all of a sudden he froze. i completely. just like a tree in the forest just fell forward at me. jason, the tall man, the athlete, volleyball coach and math teacher was dead. so, that finally was julie's story, that she was an abused woman who shot her husband in self-defense. >> on that date did you still love your husband? >> yes. >> now for the first time julie would have to face a prosecutor with a lot of questions. >> coming up -- the crime recreated in court. did the witness outmaneuver the prosecutor. >> this is the smartest woman i cross examined in my life. >> when dateline continues. ined. >> when dateline continues with rybelsus®. the majority of people taking rybelsus® lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than 7. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. wake up to the possibility of lower a1c with rybelsus®. you may pay as little as $10 for up to a 3-month prescription. ask your healthcare provider about rybelsus® today. ♪ i'm gonna keep on lovin' you ♪ turns out everyone does sound better in the shower. and it turns out the general is a quality insurance company that's been saving people money for nearly 60 years. for a great low rate, and nearly 60 years of quality coverage, go with the general. >> he was coming towards me. his arms raised. >> finally julie harper told her story. her husband jason was an abuser and she killed him in self-defense. >> what did you think when you heard that? >> heard my stomach and heart. there are two sides to everything. he is not here to tell his. >> the story was not a big surprise to the deputy d.a. but as a prosecutor that specialized for years in spousal abuse cases he didn't believe it. >> she was saving her own skin. she was willing to throw her dead husband under the bus and ruin his reputation in order to do so. >> that is your point of view. >> we considered that possibility but it did not stand up under the scrutiny of truth. >> it was when the prosecutor began the cross-examination he discovered julie was ready for it. >> do you believe that your shooting of jason was justified based on your need to defend yourself? >> i didn't intend to shoot him. i only wanted to scare him or not rape me or not hurt me or possibly worse. >> this is the smartest woman i cross examined in my life. she was able to think on the spot. the pill bottles necessary for her medical condition and prescribed by her doctor. she never abused them. if as she said jason was coming at her when she shot why the prosecutor wondered did the bullet enter from the back? things did not play out the way that the prosecutor hoped. did julie use the moment to her advantage? >> do you need a moment. >> she broke down. she started crying. maybe not the best strategy on your part. >> it was a powerful moment for her because it allowed her to really retell the story in an emotional way and bring the jurors into her story. >> julie was on the stand for three days. then the jury had to decide. >> i was juror number three in julie harper's trial. >> he said that he knew early on in the deliberations it wasn't going to be easy or quick. >> within 15 minutes we had taken a vote and it showed we were way apart and would argue each points to where there was nothing conclusive. >> the note reads we are unable to reach a verdict on some of the counts and we are deadlocked. but they had been able to reach a unanimous verdict on one count. this was the moment of truth. did the jury believe julie? yes, they did believe her. she did not preplan and deliberately kill her husband so it couldn't be first degree murder. was it second degree and still intentional? on that the jury was deadlocked and the judge declared a mistrial. >> she would have hoped for a total acquittal. >> with a hung jury and bail established julie walked out of the courthouse a free woman. >> did she do it, yeah. was it self-defense? certainly was after who knows how many years of the toxic relationship they had and his incredible cruelty. >> i felt like i lost faith in the justice system. >> jason's friends couldn't understand it. >> it was very surreal and emotional. julie went on with life back at the house at badger lane. we are like is this ever going to end. they couldn't know of course. there was another secret julie was keeping from everyone. >> julie's testimony leaves her seaside community reeling and another bombshell and another trial. >> coming up, are you making notations of the day you had sex. >> yes. >> have you ever called the police on jason for any of the incidents. >> no. i was very embarrassed. i didn't want my family to know. >> when dateline continues. y to. >> when dateline continues and buying a car 100% online. now we've created a brand-new way for you to sell your car. whether it's a year old or a few years old. we wanna buy your car. so go to carvana and enter your license plate answer a few questions. and our techno wizardry calculates your car's value and gives you a real offer in seconds. when you're ready, we'll come to you, pay you on the spot and pick up your car, that's it. so ditch the old way of selling your car, and say hello to the new way at carvana. ♪ and i'm gonna keep on lovin' you, ♪ ♪ 'cause it's the only thing i wanna do. ♪ turns out everyone does sound better in the shower. and it turns out the general is a quality insurance company that's been saving people money for nearly 60 years. ♪ 'cause it's the only thing i wanna do ♪ shaq: (singing in background) can't unhear that. for a great low rate, and nearly 60 years of quality coverage - make the right call and go with the general. -hey. -hi. and nearly 60 years of quality coverage whoa, nice car. thanks, yeah. i actually got a great deal on it too, although my interest rate is awful. have you checked your credit? 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(swords clashing) -had enough? -no... arthritis. here. aspercreme arthritis. full prescription-strength? reduces inflammation? thank the gods. don't thank them too soon. kick pain in the aspercreme. >> julie harper was walking on air, acquitted of first degree murder, a jury deadlocked on second degree and tasted like sweet victory. >> the images of her walking out of the courtroom as a free woman were tough for me to swallow. he could go for a lesser charge of second degree murder, which he did. a new trial date set for april. a month before the trial was to begin, surprise. julie had astonishing news for the judge. >> the retrial her attorney says she is pregnant. >> she intentionally got pregnant in order to interfere with our retrial. she is that devious, well planned. >> the judge, no choice, delayed julie's trial for five months. her daughter was born in april 2015, no father listed on the birth certificate. she decided she would walk the baby through the neighborhood. >> everything is fine. my life, 2.0. julie, judge, attorneys all assembled before a brand-new jury. 12 new strangers. this time the prosecutor knew what was coming from julie and canvassed the witnesses. did they ever see signs of abuse. this is jason's mother. >> did julie appear in any way to be fearful to you? >> no. >> did you see any bruises or marks on her? >> no. >> julie and jason's eldest son, jake, 11 on the state of the marriage. >> tell me about how their arguing became worse. >> just escalated. >> did you ever see your dad hit your mom then? >> no. >> michelle saw jason and julie together five days before the death. >> did you ever see anything to lead to you believe she was physically abused r no, never. >> jason had become angry, constantly yelling at her. would grab her by the wrists and twists them. >> nothing about rape though. why would the jury believe the claim that jason did rape her, violently and repeatedly? when julie testified she asked the jury to look at entries in her private journal and day planner. whenever they saw the word sex that was code for rape. >> the prosecutor did not believe that. when he challenged her. >> was this real emotion? >> have you ever called the police on jason for any of the since debts? >> no. i was very embarrassed. very embarrassed he was doing it. >> manipulation or the awful truth? once again, a jury was asked to pass judgment on julie harper. we fix the second degree murder. >> guilty of second degree murder. on went the handcuffs just like that. jury number two was not at all like jury number one. >> no doubt at all? >> no. >> what about the secret recording of jason yelling at julie. >> the tapes were so conveniently done and came on at the time he was at his worst. pretty good evidence. i had the feeling they were staged. >> how about that diary in which the word sex was supposed to mean rape. >> sex and went to the dinner house. >> cuddling. then we talked. cuddled more. et cetera. >> yeah. she would say that meant rape. that made no sense to us. >> no disrespect to the first set of jurors but i don't know how they couldn't find her guilty. >> we made an appointment to talk to julie. >> i don't think you expected this result at all. would i be right about that? >> you would be correct. what was so shocking is that they could ignore all of that independent evidence outside of my testimony. >> the recording of jason yelling and the claim that in her diary sex meant rape. despite what the jury thought she has big plans. >> because of what i have gone through with my husband and the abuse i have suffered i am planning and working with a couple of people to start the julie harper foundation as a charity benefitting victims of domestic violence and their families. >> you have to start with getting a jury to believe you were a victim of domestic violence. that was your problem. >> the first jury did believe that. >> the hardest thing for me were the rape allegations. just no way. no way. >> you know, harp is gone. we miss him. we love him. you know, for her to be put away it helps heal. >> julie was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. >> i am 42 years old. that is a death sentence. >> why did you get pregnant? >> i was such a good parent. i had the love to give to another child. i really wanted to give and share that love with my daughter who i love more than anything in the world. >> julie's father sent us a statement repeating the abuse claim saying the verdict was unjust. we asked any of them to talk about julie skpp defend her. all declined. jason harper was 39 when she killed him. now julie harper will grow old behind bars alone. l grow old behind bars alone. >> it was very surreal. i was reeling from shock that my parents were gone. >> a beloved couple found murdered, bodies discovered inside their home along with a lifetime of valuable curiosities they had collected. >> he was big into civil war guns, coins of all kinds. >> there was any connection between the memorabilia and