Finding out her orthodontist husband was cheating sent Houston-area dentist Clara Harris into a self-improvement frenzy to win him back, an effort that ended futilely and ultimately in his death at the bumper of her Mercedes-Benz, according to testimony in her murder trial.

Clara Harris, 45, is accused of running down her husband on July 24 in the parking lot of the Hilton Nasa Clear Lake, Nasa Road 1, after finding him with another woman.

Employees of two clinics Clara and David Harris owned told jurors Monday that, after he admitted July 17 to sleeping with a receptionist, Clara Harris stopped eating and frantically tried to improve her appearance.

"She couldn't eat -- I don't think it was a diet," office manager Susan Hanson said, estimating Clara Harris lost "a dress size" in one week. "She was consumed by what was going on."

Within two days, Hanson said Clara Harris supplemented her conservative wardrobe with tighter, more provocative outfits, got new nails, began patronizing a tanning salon and consulted with a plastic surgeon regarding breast enhancement and liposuction.

"She was very busy that day," Hanson said, referring to July 17. Also that day, Clara Harris exercised her rights as 51-percent owner of the couple's dental practice and fired David Harris' acknowledged lover, Gail Bridges, Hanson said.

None of it brought David Harris back, though, and Clara Harris confronted Bridges and David Harris at the hotel's lobby, resulting in a tussle between the women. After David Harris yelled at his wife that it was over, witnesses said Clara Harris fatally ran over her husband in the hotel parking lot.

Defense attorney George Parnham claims it was self-defense, though he is prepared to present evidence she acted with "sudden passion" if his client is convicted of murder in hopes to win a reduced sentence under Texas law. Prosecutor Mia Magness contends the deadly collision was a premeditated act by Clara Harris, who turned 45 Monday, and was just plain murder.

Bridges is expected to testify this week as a hostile witness called by the defense, perhaps as early as Tuesday.

Diana Sherrill, who worked at Clara Harris' dental office in Lake Jackson but was temporarily assigned to David Harris' primary office in far southeast Houston, testified Monday she saw a change in David Harris when she arrived at his practice in June. As time wore on, Sherrill said, the obvious affair began poisoning the office environment.

"Other office workers were nice to (Bridges) but physically ill seeing what was going on in the office ... but didn't say anything for fear of losing their jobs," said Sherrill, a defense witness for Clara Harris.

Sherrill testified she returned to Lake Jackson Dental Care on July 16 because she couldn't stomach witnessing an affair bloom. David Harris would spend a day or two weekly at the Lake Jackson office but mostly worked from the southeast Houston area called Clear Lake.

Once back at Clara Harris' practice, Sherrill said she tried to inform her there were problems.

"I told her she needed to protect her marriage, not to ignore anything out of the ordinary," Sherrill said. "Pay attention to Dr. David, maybe get to counseling. I wanted her to be able to start seeing the things I had seen."

In the face of Parnham's daylong effort to portray David Harris as a philanderer with a mean streak, Magness did her best to soften the image of the dead orthodontist.

"With the exception of this affair, David was a good guy, wasn't he?" Magness asked late Monday.

Hanson responded, "Yes."

If convicted, Clara Harris faces up to life in prison. If jurors determine she acted under the legal definition of sudden passion, they could consider a lighter sentence of two to 20 years in prison.

Previous Stories:

• January 31, 2003: Collision Expert Testifies About Harris' Death
• January 30, 2003: Accusations Fly After Harris Daughter Testifies
• January 30, 2003: State Rests In Clara Harris Case
• January 29, 2003: Harris' Daughter Testifies: 'She Meant To Kill Him'
• January 29, 2003: Stepdaughter To Testify In Clara Harris' Trial
• January 28, 2003: Harris Cries Uncontrollably, Removed From Trial
• January 27, 2003: Private Investigator Testifies In Clara Harris Trial
• January 27, 2003: Clara Harris Trial Enters Second Week
• January 23, 2003: Witnesses Describe Harris Running Over Husband
• January 22, 2003: Jury Seated In Clara Harris Trial
• January 22, 2003: Jury Selection Continues In Harris' Murder Trial
• January 21, 2003: Jurors To Be Picked For Clara Harris' Trial
• January 16, 2003: Harris' Stepdaughter's Remarks Spark Debate
• November 19, 2002: Audiotapes Allege Clara Harris Also Having Affair
• November 1, 2002: Harris Featured In Magazine Article
• October 18, 2002: Clara Harris Pleads Not Guilty
• October 10, 2002: Grand Jury Indicts Clara Harris
• September 18, 2002: Custody Battle Stems From High-Profile Murder
• August 23, 2002: Clara Harris' Murder Trial Set
• August 2, 2002: Slain Orthodontist's Daughter Files Suit
• July 31, 2002: P.I. Turns Over Video Of Dentist's Death
• July 29, 2002: Judge: Dentist To Remain Free
• July 26, 2002: Wife Free After Allegedly Running Over Husband
• July 25, 2002: Police: Wife Runs Over Cheating Husband