Oxygen's Dateline: Secrets Uncovered - Where is Jason Harper's wife and killer Julie Harper now?

Julie Harper reportedly shot her husband Jason Harper, a math teacher and volleyball coach at Carlsbad High School, to death in 2012 at their house, located in a gated Carlsbad community, while their children watched television downstairs.

Oxygen's Dateline: Secrets Uncovered will revisit the murder of the adored school teacher in its episode titled The House on Badger Lane. The case was previously covered in NBC's 2016 Dateline episode of the same name, and will be broadcast again this Wednesday, July 13, 2022, at 8 pm ET.

The official synopsis states:

"Jason and Julie Harper were living the American dream in a picture-perfect home with three beautiful children. Then came the morning Jason was found murdered. Police were quick to discover who did it, but why would prove much harder."

The accused, Julie, was convicted and sentenced to 40 years to life in prison in January 2016 for the second-degree murder of her husband after one failed attempt at a trial, and then a long-controversial one that proved to be successful. But that didn't stop her from pushing the boundaries for early parole.

Find out more about Julie Harper's string of trials.

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A change in state law could have shortened Julie Harper's prison time

Although Julie Harper, after being accused of murdering her 39-year-old husband Jason, kept denying all charges made against her, she was found guilty of second-degree murder in 2016 during the second trial. Reports state that during both her trials, the former claimed that her husband was abusive. The claims were denied by many of her husband's supporters.

She even testified, saying that on the day her 6'7 husband died, they got into a life-threatening altercation and she shot him in an act of self defense. The accused reportedly stated that the tragedy occurred when he charged at her angrily after she informed him about filing for divorce and hiring a lawyer for the purpose, the same morning.

However, Superior Court Judge Blaine Bowman stated that he didn't believe in any of her testimonies. He also called her a liar in his own way, saying,

"She is inherently untrustworthy and not worthy of belief."

The California Fourth District Court of Appeal discovered that Harper's situation was one of many impacted by a new state law that provides trial judges the freedom to determine if a defendant should spend additional jail time for having used a gun to commit a crime. If the judge were to accept Harper's appeal, her sentence would be cut short by 25 out of 40 years.

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The final verdict: Where is Jason Harper's murderer now?

All appeals to shorten Julie Harper's 40-year long prison sentence were turned down. As per reports, she is serving her sentence at the California Institution for Women in Chino, Riverside County. She will be eligible for parole in 2039. It would seem that her attempt to strike a deal with the judge to cut short her sentence failed after all.

Taking the blame for murdering her husband, a popular-amongst-all Carlsbad High School teacher, Harper reportedly expressed regret for her deeds while addressing the court ahead of the final verdict. Additionally, the victim's mother, Lina Harper, told the court that Julie's own children refused to keep "any reminder of her."

Following this, she said, revealing her mother's recent death and her only sister's suicide, saying,

"I have lost everything that was important to me."

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As previously stated, Oxygen's Dateline: Secret Uncovered will air this Wednesday, July 13, 2022, at 8 pm ET.