The tragic case of Robert Harris
Colleen couldn’t believe what she’d just done.
She watched as her husband laid lifeless and drenched in his blood. So she decided to call her attorney David Weiner.
David called 911.
Dispatcher: 911, what’s your emergency?
David: There’s been a homicide.
Dispatcher: Okay. What happened?
David: Yeah, I can’t tell you. I’m an attorney.
Colleen and Robert Met in California
Colleen met Robert “Bob” Harris for the first time when Robert was on vacation in California. The two were still teenagers at the time. They went on a date. But they lost touch afterward.
In adulthood, Robert worked as a manager in the US Forest Service. He got married to another woman. And he had three children. But Robert’s marriage collapsed after twenty-five years.
On the other hand, Colleen had two failed marriages. She had three children. And her last marriage had ended in a homicide.
Colleen was tried for the murder of her husband. But she was found innocent.
Colleen and Robert Rekindled Their Love
Thirty years after they first met, Colleen and Robert ran into each other again.
The two of them re-fell in love with each other within weeks. When they started dating, Robert introduced Colleen to his children, and Colleen did the same.
Everything went smoothly. But the problem came when Colleen met Robert’s mother.
Robert’s mother was very skeptical of Colleen.
It got worse when she discovered Colleen was the prime suspect in her former husband’s murder. So Robert’s mother told one of Robert’s sons about the case.
One of Robert’s sons confronted his father. But Robert told him he already knew about everything.
There was nothing to worry about.
Colleen and Robert Got Married
Colleen and Robert soon got married.
The couple lived happily in their marriage for many years. Robert decided to retire when he was in his fifties. But Colleen later told Robert that she wanted both to retire when the couple reached their sixties.
Robert wasn’t too keen on the idea.
He was afraid they wouldn’t be able to afford the repayments on their home. So, Colleen came up with a plan. Colleen was entitled to survivor benefits because she was once a widow.
But Colleen could claim the benefits only when she was single. So Colleen convinced Robert to get divorced and claim the benefits. Then get remarried afterward.
Robert eventually obliged.
Colleen and Robert Remarried Afterward
Colleen and Robert got remarried a year later after she claimed the benefits. But Robert’s opinion of Colleen had changed.
He saw a side of her that he didn’t like. And Robert’s love for Colleen began fading away fast. However, the two remained married until their seventies.
Robert then formed a close relationship with another woman from Mongolia. Colleen soon found out about it. Colleen was devastated. She didn’t like the idea of Robert leaving her for another woman.
Nonetheless, Robert told Colleen that he wanted a divorce. And then he moved out of the couple’s home.
Robert Moved Back in With Colleen
Bob moved back with Colleen in November 2012.
Colleen was scheduled to have surgery. So she asked Robert to help and take care of her.
As days passed, Colleen slowly started feeling like they still had a chance to make their marriage work. But Robert had already moved on.
Then Colleen overheard Robert talking to his girlfriend in Mongolian on January 5th, 2013. So she waited until Robert fell asleep. Then she put a bullet in his head.
Colleen then called her lawyer, David Weiner.
Colleen and David stayed on the call for almost ninety minutes. Then David called 911.
David Reported That There Had Been A Shooting
Ten hours later, David told the police there was a shooting at Colleen and Robert’s house.
The police went to the house and found Robert lying on the bed. There was blood everywhere.
Robert had died from gunshots.
Colleen told the police that she only remembered Robert getting a phone call from his girlfriend. But she couldn’t remember what happened after the call.
Colleen claimed she blacked out afterward.
The police soon found out that Colleen had gone to San Francisco. It was a 200-mile trip. So how did she make the trip if she claimed she had blacked out?
Collen was also in possession of the gun she used to kill Robert. And she had Robert’s coin collection on her. She intended to put them in a storage unit.
The Police Immediately Arrested Colleen
The police took Colleen into custody.
In court, Colleen claimed that she accidentally shot Robert.
But the prosecution revealed that Robert was asleep when he got shot. That was also provable by the way the bullet had entered his head.
Colleen’s journal was also used as evidence.
She wrote in her journal that she felt like she was dying inside after she found out about Robert’s affair.
Colleen also stated that she would confront Robert the day before the shooting. So Colleen killed Bob because she was in a jealous rage.
The Aftermath
Colleen was found guilty of first-degree murder.
She was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison. So she will spend the rest of her life in prison.
Robert’s daughter said she always knew that Colleen was going to kill her father one day. She stated;
“A gut-wrenching fear engulfed my body as I asked, ‘It’s my dad! She killed him, didn’t she?’… I just knew.”
Bob’s eldest son also stated;
“Someone else has died…It was the woman who we thought that we all knew, that we loved as our own. … Now that person is dead. All the pictures. All the videos, all the memories (of Colleen) have been destroyed. They’re gone, because this hurts so bad.”
Sources:Sacbee, Danielle Kirsty, dailymail