Transcripts For KNTV Dateline NBC 20160411

They found the body upstairs in the master bedroom. The victim was clearly shot with a handgun. The kids are missing, julie was missing. Reporter was this a case of murder . This is our neighborhood. These are our friends. Youre just in utter shock reporter there were secrets in that house. Who would unlock them . I didnt want my friends to know, i didnt want my family to know devious, manipulative. This was our best friend it didnt have to end like this. Reporter im lester holt and this is dateline. Heres keith morrison. Reporter grief, like the ocean rolled into their lives in waves. Ride the waves or sink, it seemed to say. Ride them again and again. Its just a shot through the heart. Reporter once there were four fast friends four tall men, before it all went down and the waves took on their new meaning. It didnt have to end like this. Reporter no. Except it did. And when it did . Just felt like someone hit you in the stomach really hard and wanted to cry. Reporter what could they do . Ride its what harp would have wanted, after all. Harp. Jason harper, sports loving, outdoors loving california boy. With a childhood best friend named paul severns who, as they grew, became tall paul. We were always together. In the early years, he was always taller than me. But then i caught up to him. We were both the two tallest guys in school. Reporter so when they got to high school, there was one sport they were very wellsuited to play volleyball. Harp was a stud, you know. Im not gonna lie to you. Im not gonna sugar coat it. He was you know, mvp on the team. Reporter yes, and went on to play at ucla. Where he met jeremy brandt. Here they are together on ucla bruins talk, on Public Access tv. Everybody came back and goes were not going to lose or whatever and we came back and havent lost since then. We can beat a lot of the teams out there. You know, we could definitely be a final four contender. I always said we ran the same speed. And so we would run the warmups the same speed. And we would end up talkin together. And we became roommates throughout college. And just a great guy, a great friend. Reporter quiet, mind you. Shy at least around the girls. He wasnt quite the ladies man. You know, im not gonna lie to you. Reporter and then one night back in 2000, four years after he graduated from college harp met a girl at a party. Tall paul was there, too. The girls name was julie cihak. She kinda zoned in on harp right off the bat and started to talk to him. Reporter so i get the impression she picked him. Yeah, exactly. Reporter it went pretty fast after that. And why not . Julie was pretty and smart, and from a welltodo family. Still, when harp proposed just three months after he met this first real girlfriend. I felt like it was the first girl that he really loved and theres a lot that goes with that and i just didnt want to him to be, have the wool pulled over his eyes. Reporter but they stood up for him and the marriage at san diegos Historic Hotel del coronado was a great happy party. I remember the first dance. They were in this giant ballroom. And they did a very nice ballroom dance, you know. And harp had reporter go figure. A big old smile on his face. Reporter they moved to the seaside to carlsbad, california just north of san diego and jason harper signed on as a math teacher and volleyball coach at a local high school. Jason was your typical Southern California surfer, beach volleyball, Public School teacher. Reporter where he met the third of those tall friends andy tompkinson. Andy and his wife kristin taught at the same school carlsbad high. On a campus of 3,000, 2,500 students, you tend to notice other people who are at the same eye level as you. And jason bein 66 and myself bein 69. Reporter there arent too many people at the same eye level as you. No, no. So you do notice, after a while, who they are. Reporter the two became fast friends surfing, pick up basketball, poker. Guy things. And then jason and julie started a family jake first, then jackie. J names. Even if that meant not playin cards with the boys or goin on a surf trip those kids always came first. Reporter were there times when you wanted to do something with him, and he said, no. Sorry, i gotta stay home . Absolutely. Yes. Reporter home was here in the terraces at sunny creek a brand new gated place not far from the beach. These were their neighbors. So many neighborhoods now, you dont even know who your nextdoor neighbors are, but this thats not like this place at all, right . No, not at all. Julie ran the mother tot group in the neighborhood. So she would actually organize all those activities. She was a good mom. She was really involved with her kids. Reporter and hard to know exactly just why things changed after joshua, their third, was born in 2011. Julie just didnt seem the same. And, as time went by, you would see less and less and less of her. She would say, hi, and get in her car and drive away really quick. Reporter but she like she was hiding from everybody. Yeah. Reporter but jason . He was part of the permanent landscape of our neighborhood. He was there every day. I mean, literally, every day. Every day. A very handson father. Id look out my door to see if hes out there and wave, you know, and wed walk over. Bring the kids over and walk on the driveway, and the kids would Start Playing right when we got home from school. Reporter and then it was an august morning in 2012. You dont know whats happened but you know its not something good. Your some stomach kind of sinks. Reporter didnt take a rocket scientist. Something was awfully wrong. There was crime tape. My house is inside the crime tape and theres a Police Officer stationed at the base of my driveway. And so i ask the Police Officer, is everything okay . And he said, no. No, its not. What had happened that morning . When we come back. They said they found the body up starts in the master bedroom. The kids are missing, julie is missing. What are you talking about. The kids. The safety, number one, their safety. Are they okay . Discover the world animals, seen those before but sometimes they do it on their own mmm foot wow food for giants oooo no wonder no one has eaten this sandwich kids discover the world with their mouths detergent is harmful if swallowed, so keep laundry pacs up and away from children brought to you by tide can this much love be cleanedrlin by a little bit of dawn ultra . Oh yeah. One bottle has the grease cleaning power of two bottles of this bargain brand. A drop of dawn and grease is gone. Thope to see you again soon. Whoa, whoa, i got this. Just gotta get the check. Almost there. I cant reach it. If you have alligator arms, you avoid picking up the check. What . Its what you do. I got this. Thanks, dennis if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. Growwwlph. Its what you do. Oh that is good crispy duck. Sc johnson. And theres moving with thermove free ultra. It has tripleaction support for your joints, cartilage and bones. And unlike the big osteobi flex pills, its all in one tiny pill. Move free ultra. Get your move on. Our bacteria familys been on this alright kiddos erations. Everybody off the backpack, we made it to the ottoman. I like to watch them clean, but theyll never get me on the mattress finally theres a disinfectant mist designed for sofas, mattresses and more. Introducing new lysol max cover. Its innovative cap has a 2x wider spray that kills 99. 9 of bacteria. Max cover is another great way to lysol that. Reporter at 7 30 in the morning on the 8th of august, 2012, Michele Cullen gazed on the police cars, the crime scene tape and asked the cop in her driveway whats happening . You need to go inside. You need to turn on your television. A policeman told you this he told me that, yes. What are you talking about . Reporter that was apparent soon enough when they wheeled out the body bag. One of our colleagues and friends called us and said, i think something really bad has happened. They say that they found a body upstairs in the master bedroom. And it looks like its jasons house. Reporter bit by awful bit, andy and the rest of them heard the details. The body had been hidden under a blanket and other debris. One bullet still lodged in the chest. Death was, at least, quick. The victim was the beloved member of that tall quartet, the neighborhood dad, jason harper. That was terrible enough. But it wasnt all. The kids are missing. Julie was missing. And as details unfolded, we were in complete shock. This afternoon officers continue their investigation at the harper residence. Were all in shock. Jasons dead. Were flippin out. And theyre saying, have you seen this woman . And where is she and flashing her plates and her picture wow. On the news. Reporter so what happened . Home invasion . Kidnapping . Murdersuicide . Did you worry about their kids . Yeah. Thats was the worst part. Absolutely. Absolutely. Their safety. Number one, their safety. Are they okay . Reporter but the Carlsbad Police department had one piece of information the neighbors lacked. Which came in a strange phone call at 11 00 p. M. The night before. Sergeant jeff smith, was the lead detective. The watch commander working that night, got a phone call from an attorney asking him to go or the Police Department to go do a welfare check at a residence. Reporter a welfare check . Seemed like an odd request. Who was this lawyer who called . It was attorney paul pfingst. Reporter that paul pfingst . He just happened to be the exd. A. And now criminal defense attorney, who knew the Police Department very well. Hed called an internal extension that unlike a 911 call was not recorded. The cops went to the house, and they found jasons body. But not julie and the kids, they were gone. So, police talked to paul pfingst again, who said not to worry, julie and the kids were fine. Julie was not a victim, she was his newest client. He arranged the safe return of the children to a local childrens hospital. And then 15 hours after the cops discovered jasons body, pfingst orchestrated julies surrender, at her fathers house. Did she talk to you . No. Reporter but her attorney spoke with local reporters. Shes very upset. Shes upset about her children. Shes upset about her health. Shes upset about seeing that basically at this point her life is in shambles. Its a catastrophe all the way around. Reporter so it was. But what happened in the bedroom . Neither julie, nor attorney pfingst, would say. So the police launched an investigation to figure out what was julie guilty of if anything . To begin, they had specialists interview the two older children ages 8 and 6 who said their day started like a typical summer morning. And then sometime between 8 00 and 9 00. When you were watching cartoons uhhuh. Yesterday morning and you heard the loud clunk. Clunk. A thud. Thats all they could tell ya . A loud thud. Did they know at that point that their father was dead . I dont believe so. They must have been very confused. Yes. Frightened . Yeah. Young children. And the only things you know are theres a guy with a bullet hole and the kids heard a thump yes. Not a lot to go on. Not a lot. So what did you do next . We talked to neighbors whod possibly seen things. One neighbor said that they saw miss harper leaving right around 9 05 in the morning, and exiting the the their gated community. So now you know when they left the house anyway. Roughly. Reporter now the detectives did what they could to retrace julie and the kids movements. 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 jumpy type house place. And from the kids accounts thats where they stayed for a short period, and played. And we were able to corroborate that with cell phone analysis. Reporter which led to a disturbing thought if the thud the kids heard was jason being shot, then the coffee run and the play date happened afterward while he lay, wounded or already dead on the bedroom floor. On august 9th, two days after the shooting, a medical examiner conducted an autopsy and recovered the bullet that killed jason. It came from a. 38 caliber handgun. We did find a gun in the home where mr. Harper was found. Reporter but it was not the gun that killed jason. So, no murder weapon and the only suspect wasnt talking. We believed that there was an argument between the two, and a gun was produced, and she shot him. And we were we didnt know why. Reporter not an easy question, under the circumstances. Oh, there was an answer. But do you think anyone intended coming up i dont understand why any of it happened, you know what i mean. New clues. She was preparing for a new journey in her life. My wildest dreams, i would reporter by the time julie harpers attorney arranged for her to turn herself in, her husband jason had been dead for a day and a half. For reasons nobody could understand. They appeared to be a solid couple. Why would she shoot him . Thats what carlsbad detectives were determined to figure out. Julie wasnt talking so they interviewed friends and family and peeled back the layers. Sergeant jeff smith learned that a whole year earlier, julie sent a friend some envelopes for safe keeping. Reporter what was in the envelopes . Journals, writings Bank Statements personal history. Reporter in that personal history signs of a marriage that wasnt as perfect as it seemed julie wrote that jason yelled at me and, maybe divorce is the answer. It appeared that they were not happy with each other, and that their marriage was going towards the an end, or divorce. Reporter whatever was going on jason tended to keep to himself, said his teacher friends andy and kristin. He would never say any ill words or bad things, he kept it very personal and private. Reporter but it was pretty clear, they said, that the marriage was winding down. Arrangements were bein made. Jasons parents actually bought a house down here. And it had enough room for jason and all the kids. I mean, they were preparing for him to be able to leave. Reporter julie seemed to be getting ready to get out, too, said sgt smith. In fact, she filed for divorce 5 days before the incident. And that same week made some unusual financial transactions. Days prior to miss harper had taken out about 10,000 in cash out of a dormant account that was under her daughters name. And shed written two 4,500 checks to herself. And it was against a credit card in mr. Harpers name. Reporter julie had pulled out nearly 20,000 cash. We found that to be very suspicious. Reporter Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe was assigned to the case on day one. Did it suggest to you that she had been hoarding money in anticipation of something . She was preparing for a change in her life. Reporter but did the change involve divorce or murder . Julies father john cihak lived here 30 miles or so from jason and julies house. This, apparently, was where julie and the kids spent the night after the shooting. So sgt. Smith got a search warrant for dads place and found nothing useful. There were other guns but none of them fired the bullet that killed jason. Perhaps a little frustrated eight days later he got a second search warrant. And this time there was something new tucked away in the garage attic. In a spot they searched the first time around a blue backpack. Must have been hidden between searches. They opened up this blue backpack and they discovered julie harpers wallet, credit cards and id, her passport, a different gun and Jason Harpers last will and testament. Reporter also, jasons cell phone. Its batteries removed and call and text history cleared. The backpack gun was also clean not the one used to shoot jason. This had to be a getaway bag, the prosecutor decided she must have packed it up after she killed jason. Thats the only reason to take a persons last will and testament. Its because she realized he was dead. Reporter julies actions before and after the shooting raised all sorts of questions. And foremost for the prosecutor was did she plan this . Was it premeditated . And, if so for how long . We believed we could prove firstdegree murder, not on the theory that she had planned this murder the days or weeks before the shooting had taken place. Instead we were relying on the theory that, even during this argument, she took enough steps in order to get the gun, that this wouldve been planned and premeditated, even if it was only for a minute or two before the shooting. Reporter and thats enough . In california that qualifies as firstdegree murder. Reporter so thats what he charged her with first degree murder. Julie pleaded not guilty but otherwise kept her mouth shut and sat in jail. But strange details kept coming out. Like what julies dad said at her preliminary hearing about the blue backpack. There had actually been 39,000 inside that backpack. Reporter julies father admitted that he found the cash in the backpack. And gave it to julies lawyer to help pay for bail and legal fees. Reporter what did you think when you heard that . In my wildest dreams i wouldve never expected that. Reporter by the way julies dad testified at the prelim only after being granted immunity he initially pleaded the 5th. And even though bail was 2 million dollars, julies family eventually coughed it up and 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 that she was back and that were gonna have a good talk someday when this is all over. Reporter what did you say to her . I was just completely shocked. I couldnt believe it. Reporter all those comfortable notions about her neighbors and maybe michelle didnt know them at all. I dont understand why any of it happened, you know what i mean . He was our friend and hes gone. I dont know who she is. Reporter and when julie finally did Start Talking well. Coming up i said stop, stop. What are you doing . Stop. On the stand, her life on the line. And figure it out. Secret recordings from behind closed doors. I think we shoula left at the river. Tarzan know where tarzan go tarzan does not know where tarzan go. Hey, excuse me, do you know where the waterfall is . Waterfall . No, me tarzan, king of jungle. Why dont you want to just ask somebody . If youre a couple, you fight over directions. Its what you do. If you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. Oh ohhhhh its what you do. Ohhhhhh do you have to do that right in my ear . Everyone loves how they and to keep those fdarks from fading. Theres woolite darks. Its free of harsh ingredients, keeping dark clothes looking like new for 30 washes so your love for dark clothes will never fade. Woolite darks. Dongo see my big fatake windowgreek wedding 2clear and learn how to use windex the right way on weird stuff not on windows whos got tickets . I do im okay everyone loves how they and to keep those fdarks from fading. Theres woolite darks. 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And we believe she was seriously abusing her prescription medication. Reporter look at this, he told the jury. Pill bottles. Though julie suffered from an autoimmune disease, he said, this made it clear she was abusing powerful medications. And said the prosecutor look at the mess in julies bedroom. As if a hoarder lived here. When jasons body was found, it was hidden under a blanket and surrounded by debris. The bullet that killed him entered from a siderear angle. So he was shot pretty much in the back. What happened . Julie must have shot jason between 8 am and 9 am, said the prosecutor, while the kids were downstairs watching cartoons. A neighbor saw julie leaving just after 9 am and she was at la costa coffee roasting 40 minutes later. She wasnt crying. She wasnt upset. She didnt ask anyone to call 911. It showed that this woman had a calloused heart. She was capable of murdering her husband and really had the wherewithal to be able to go out into public and appear to be perfectly normal. Reporter it was clearly murder said deputy da watanabe. But was it . Remember, julie did not talk not once, to the police, or the prosecutor because her attorney never allowed it. But now it was time. Defense attorney paul pfingst called just one witness julie harper. And she said yes. She did it. She shot him but, she said, it wasnt murder. Why . Because, she said, jason harper, so beloved by friends, and neighbors, and colleagues was, in private, an angry, abusive husband. Did you videotape jason telling you. Reporter and here was her proof, she said. Here was her secret recording of jason losing it over money. I dont want to enable your horrible money waste and your poor credit score and everything else. I dont want to enable that. Its horrible reporter and then, this. Get a carpool bitch. Figure it out. I cant help it if youre too dumb to do it. Too lazy. Well, you know, at least i have more words in my vocabulary than you do. Seems like the bitch is the only word that you can use. Thats right. Right now, that is darn right. Cause thats what you are. Reporter but, said julie it got worse. It got physical. He grabbed my wrists and my hand so forcefully and twisted it so hard that i mean it was hurting into the next day. Reporter remember, jason was a, 6foot6 athlete about a foot taller than julie. By then they slept in separate rooms but sometimes, she said, when he got angry, he came to her room and the abuse turned sexual. Slamming me up against the wall face first. And what were you saying . I said stop, stop, what are you doing . Stop. What are you doing . Stop. Reporter julie told the jury that jason raped her about 30 times. She said she was so frightened she stashed a gun under her pillow just in case. She woke up the morning of the shooting, she said, to the sound of jason, yelling and screaming. He was, you know, using some curse words, and, god im so sick of this, you know, wheres my computer . Reporter jason believed, said julie, that shed hidden his computer. His face was all red, and he was just, you know, his nose scrunched up, his eyes squinting and hed just get this look of absolute rage and hate, but this was, i dont know, this was bad. What did he attempt to do to you then . He grabbed me, and began yanking my top off. I started pushing back and somehow managed to sort of wiggle my way free pulling away. As quickly as i could moved from there across the room to my bed. What did you do when you got to the bed . I grabbed my gun from under my pillow. Reporter a derringer. 38 caliber handgun. He was coming towards me with his arms raised, and he said, im gonna kill you, you and i was shaking and i was holding on to my gun tightly. Next thing i knew, i felt my hand jerk and heard the loud noise, and he was still like coming forward at me, and then all of a sudden, he froze. Completely and just like a tree in the forest, just fell forward at me. Reporter just like a tree. Jason, the tall man, the athlete, the volleyball coach, the math teacher was dead. So that, finally, was julies story that she was an abused woman, who shot her husband in self defense. On that date did you still love your husband . Yes. Did you want him to be dead . No. Reporter but now, for the first time, julie would have to face a prosecutor with a lot of questions. Coming up, the crime recreated in court. Do you need a moment . But did they out maneuver the prosecut prosecutor. This was the smartest woman ive ever crossexamined in my life. When dateline continues. And now we get way cleaner clothes way faster make a mess make a mess, make a mess thats a big mess your first words save time with tide he turbo clean. 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She was saving her own skin. And she was willing to throw her dead husband under the bus and ruin his reputation in order to do so. Reporter well, thats your point of view. Maybe it was true. We considered that possibility. But it simply didnt stand up under the scrutiny of truth. Reporter it was when the prosecutor began his cross examination that he discovered julie was ready for him. As you sit here today, do you believe that your shooting of jason was justified based on your need to defend yourself . I didnt even intend to shoot him. I only wanted to scare him, or to get him to stop. Not rape me, not hurt me, or possibly worse. This was the smartest woman that i had ever cross examined in my life. Reporter dodging and weaving. Yeah. She was able to think on the spot. Reporter those pill bottles all necessary for her medical condition and prescribed by her doctor. She never abused them, she said. But if, as she said, jason was coming at her when she shot why then, the prosecutor wondered did the bullet enter from the back . Do you mind stepping down here and im going to have you reporter prosecutor watanabe set up a courtroom recreation. Okay, im going to have mr. Carr stand in for jason just because then i can. Reporter but, things didnt quite play out the way the prosecutor hoped. Did julie use this moment to her advantage . Your honor the witness is crying now. Do you need a moment ms. Harper . No, its okay. Okay, position his hands where they were. The record will reflect. She broke down and started crying and was visibly upset in front of the jury. Reporter that was maybe not the best strategy on your part then, as it turned out. 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. Reporter julie was on the stand for three days. And then the jury had to decide, was she a murderer . Or a victim in fear for her life . I was juror number three in julie harpers trial. Joseph dyal said he knew early on in the deliberations it wasnt going to be easy or quick. Within 15 minutes, we had taken a vote. And it showed we were way, way apart. And we would argue each points to the to where there was nothing conclusive. Reporter on the second day of deliberations, the judge called everyone back to the courtroom. We received a note from the jury this morning at 10 06am. The note reads, we are unable to reach a verdict on some of the counts. We are deadlocked. Deadlocked on some of the count. But they had been able to reach a unanimous verdict on one count. Count. Lets bring in the jury. Reporter this was the moment of truth. Did the jury believe julie . Ill ask the clerk to read verdict, first degree murd. We the jury in the above entitled cause find the defendant julie harper not guilty of the crime of murder in violation of yes, they did believe her. She did not preplan and deliberately kill her husband, so it couldnt be first degree murder. But was it Second Degree . Not premed dittitatedpremeditat . On that, they were deadlocked. The judge declared a mistrial obviously, when theres a murder trial and you get any form of acquittal, thats a good thing. She would have hoped for total acquittal. Reporter so, with a hung jury, and bail already established, julie walked out of the courthouse a free woman. Did she do it . Yeah, she did it. Was it selfdefense . It certainly was after who knows how many years of the toxic relationship they had, and his incredible cruelty. I felt like ive lost a little bit of faith in the Justice System reporter jasons friends just couldnt understand it. Just felt like, you know, you were a little kid and someone hit you in the stomach really hard, and you wanted to cry, but you werent gonna cry. And your eyes started tearin up. It was very, very s surreal, i guess, you know, emotional. Reporter while the prosecutor thought about whether to charge her again. Julie went on with life back at the house on badger lane. And then she just comes back in the neighborhood and then there she is reporter down the street, right yeah. Living life like before were like, is this ever gonna end . Reporter well. They couldnt know, of course. There was another secret julie was keeping from everyone. Coming. Really that devious . Another bombshell and another trial. I didnt want my neighbors to kn julie harper was walking on air, acquitted of first degree murder, a jury deadlocked on Second Degree, tasted like sweet vectorry. The images of her walking out of that courtroom as a free woman, were tough for me to swallow. Still, what he could do was try again. Of course first degree murder was off the table now. But, he could go for a lesser charge of seconddegree murder, which he did. A new trial date was set for six months later april 2015. And then, one month before that trial was to begin, surprise julie had some astonishing news for the judge. The retrial for a carlsbad woman accused of killing her husband her Attorney Says she is pregnant. Seven months pregnant. Caught everybody by surprise, that did. She intentionally got pregnant in order to interfere with our retrial. Reporter really, that devious, in your mind . Shes really that devious and wellplanned and manipulative. Whats more, julies pregnancy was highly intentional. In vitro fertilization the judge no choice, really, delayed julies trial for 5 months. And josephine faith cihak was born on april 29, 2015. No father listed on her birth certificate. The neighbors on badger lane watched and wondered. She decided she was gonna walk the baby in the stroller through the neighborhood. And, you know it was like nothing ever happened. That was very uncomfortable. It was like nothing had and everything was fine. Everythings fine. And shes you know, my life 2. 0. Well, not quite, of course. In september, 2015, the judge, the attorneys, all assembled before a brand new jury. 12 new strangers to win over. Except this time, the prosecutor knew what was coming from julie. Did they ever see signs of abuse. Did julie appear in any way to be fearful to you . No. Did you see any bruises or marks on her . No. Julie and jasons he would dest son jake, by this time 11, on the state of the marriage. Tell me about how their arguing became worse. It just escalated. Even though the arguing became worse did you ever see your dad hit your mom then . No. Neighbor, Michelle Cullen saw jason and julie together, five days before jasons death. Did you see ever see anything that led you to believe that she was being physically abused . No, never. Reporter but julies sister amy said julie did confide in her that jason was physically abusing her. Jason had become very, very angry was constantly yelling at her, would grab her by her wrists and twist them. Nothing about rape, though. So, why would the jury believe julies claim that jason did rape her violently, and repeatedly . When julie testified, she asked the jury to look at entries in her private journals and day planner. Whenever they saw the word sex, said julie, that was code for rape. Were you making notations of days you had coerced sex . Yes. The prosecutor of course didnt believe that. But when he challenged her, was this real emotion . Now, have you ever called the police on jason for any of these incidents . No. I was very embarrassed, i was very embarrassed that he was doing it. I didnt want i didnt want my family to know, i didnt want my neighbors to know, i didnt want my friends to know. Manipulation or the awful truth . Once again, a jury was asked to pass judgment on julie harper. In the superior court of the state of california. Reporter everybody waited. Baited breath. We the jury in the above and titled clause find the defendant julie harper guilty of the crime of murder and fix the degree there of as murder in the Second Degree. Guilty of Second Degree murder. On went the handcuffs. Just like that. Jury number two was not at all like jury number one. Reporter no doubt at all . No. No. No. No. Not at all. No. Reporter but what about the secret recordings . Jason yelling at julie. I dont want to enable your horrible money waste he did lose his temper at times. But the tapes were so conveniently done, it seemed to come on just at the time when he was at his worst. Thats pretty good evidence. But i i just had the feeling that they were staged. And how about that diary in which the word sex was supposed to mean rape . So it would say, sex. Then we went to the west, a fine dinner house, had filet mignon. Say saying, cuddling [ laughter ] cuddling, and then we talked and cuddled more, and et cetera but that meant rape. But but she would say that meant rape. And that made no sense to us. No disrespect to the first set of jurors from the initial trial. I just dont understand how they could not have found her guilty. And so we made an appointment to talk to julie, by then behind glass in a san dego county jail. Reporter i dont think you expected this result at all. Would i be right about that . Youd be correct in that, yeah. What was really so shocking, was that they could ignore all of that independent evidence outside of my testimony. Reporter by that she meant the recording of jason yelling and her claim that in her diary sex meant rape. And despite what the jury thought, she has big plans. Because of what ive gone through with my husband and the abuse that ive suffered, i am planning and working with a couple of people to start the Julie Harper Foundation as a charity benefiting victims of Domestic Violence and their families. Reporter but first of all, you have to start with getting a jury to believe that you were a victim of Domestic Violence, and that was your problem. Well, and thats where you go, like, the first jury did believe that. Theres different people that process information, the same information, same evidence in very different ways. Reporter the way Jason Harpers friends processed it was that julie tormented a good and decent man, and then threw him under the bus to save her own skin. The hardest thing i think for me was the rape allegations. I just, theres just no way. No way. Not harp. You know, harps gone and you know, we miss him. And we love him. But, you know, for her to be put away it it helps it helps heal. Reporter and julie . On january 15th, she was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. And essentially, im 42 years old and its a death sentence. Reporter very true. Which brought up a question on a lot of minds. Reporter why did you get pregnant . I was such a good parent, and i had that love to give to another child. And really wanted to be able to give and share that love with my daughter who i love more than anything in the world. Reporter her other children live with jasons parents now. The baby is with julies father. Who sent us a statement repeating julies abuse claim and saying the verdict is unjust, we asked him and julies attorney and her friends and siblings, any of them, to sit with us on camera and talk about julie. If nothing else, to defend her. All declined. Thank you very much. Barring a successful appeal, julie harper will die behind bars, alone. Thats all for now. Im lester holt. Thanks for joining us. This sunday, political the hunger games in the gop. Ted cruz sweeps the delegates in colorado. I think we will go in with an overwhelming advantage. It looks more and more like were headed to an open convention that could deny trump the nomination. The man trump just hired to save his campaign joins me. Plus, look who got nasty this week. He hasnt done his homework. I dont believe that she is qualified they called a truce, but is the damage done . Joining me this morning, Bernie Sanders and new york city mayor bill de blasio, a key clinton supporter. Also, ryans hope. Many republicans want paul ryan to be their nominee. He says no. So whats this about . So lets have a battle of ideas. Lets have a contest of whose ideas are better. If ryan doesnt want the nomination, why does this video look like a campaign ad to so many people . Finally, kasich does the deli, bernie eats pizza, the subway, new york, new york. If you can pander there, you can pander anywhere. And joining me for insight and analysis this sunday morning are matt bai of yahoo news, msnbcs joyann reid, molly and rich lowry of the national review. Welcome to sunday, its meet the press. From nbc news in washington, this is meet the press with chuck todd. Good sunday morning. The Bernie Sanders winning streak keeps on keeping on. Sanders won the wyoming caucuses yesterday. Its his seventh win in the last eight contests. How byzantine is the process . Hillary clinton wound up with more delegates than sanders. Well get to the democratic race and worrys that this weeks nasty turn will hold help republicans in november. Mayor bill de blasio of new york, Hillary Clinton supporter will join me. We begin with the changing landscape. From the start donald trump has played it big, made big speeches, draw big crowds and win big in big primaries. And then let the details take care of themselves. But the details arent taking care of themselves. Ted cruz is taking care of them. And hes piling up delegates in this byzantine process. This weekend in colorado cruz won all 34 of colorados available unbound delegates. He also had a big day gathering delegates in iowa, South Carolina and virginia. Its just the latest development in this tortoise and hare race in which cruz is playing the tortoise slowly gaining delegate by delegate on a Trump Campaign thats been sleeping on the job. When it comes to the grass roots, donlald has a very hard time competing. The stop trump