Calif. woman acquitted of husband's murder will be retried
SAN DIEGO - A San Diego County woman acquitted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of her husband will be retried on charges of second-degree murder, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Earlier this month, a judge declared a mistrial after jurors couldn't agree on second-degree murder and manslaughter counts against Julie Harper.
The 41-year-old had faced 50 years to life in prison if convicted of the maximum charge in the 2012 death of her 39-year-old husband, Jason, a high school math teacher.
Harper testified that her husband had raped her and verbally abused her for years and that she shot him as he moved toward her in a rage during an argument. Prosecutors disputed that story and said the mother of three had decided to kill him because their marriage was unraveling, according to UT San Diego. She had reportedly filed for divorce five days earlier.
Harper surrendered to police at her father's Scripps Ranch home a day after the killing, reports CBS affiliate KFMB.
Harper is currently out on $2 million bail but is prohibited from traveling beyond San Diego and Orange Counties. She also may not contact her three young children, who are cared for by her deceased husband's parents, reports UT San Diego.
The retrial is set for April 15.