A trial for a former Bell city councilman accused of fatally shooting his wife of 52 years was cut short Monday following his death during a monthslong break in his trial.
Danny Lee Harber died last month, prompting the case to be dismissed Monday, according to Deputy District Attorney Cesar Rodriguez.
Harber, 80, appeared in court in a wheelchair when his trial began last November in connection with the Sept. 1, 2020, death of his 81-year-old wife, Donna, at their home.
But the trial was subsequently put on hold later that month after Harber was hospitalized, with both sides due back at the Norwalk courthouse Monday for the trial to potentially resume.
In his opening statement last year, the prosecutor had told jurors that they would hear that Harber had earlier told his wife that he wanted her to die and that he hated her.
Defense attorney Joseph Gutierrez countered that in his opening statement that “the shooting was an accident” and that Harber thought the gun was unloaded, while acknowledging the couple’s relationship was “tumultuous.”
Harber’s attorney described his client as the only caregiver for his wife — whom he said had bipolar disorder and dementia — during the COVID-19 pandemic despite his own terminal cancer diagnosis.
“He never ever intended to kill her,” Harber’s attorney told jurors last November, adding that the gun “accidentally went off” while Harber was trying to wake her up as he was going outside to do some chores.
Meanwhile, the prosecutor said jurors would “hear the defendant’s threat, the rage, the defendant’s hatred,” telling the panel that the evidence would show that Harber made “good on this threats” and that he “took a gun and shot” his wife as she was laying in bed.
The deputy district attorney said the evidence would show that the shooting was a “willful, deliberate and premeditated act,” noting that were no signs of a struggle.
Harber subsequently called his daughter and told her that he had shot her mother and that he was going to jail, and he also called 911.
Bell Police Officer Jose Garcia testified that officers used a public address system to call out for Harber to come out of the house after the shooting. He said he recognized Harber as a former city councilman.
“He stated he shot his wife, he killed her,” the officer told jurors.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s Detective Robert McGaughey testified that the woman was found on top of the blankets in the bed with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the cheek.
Harber had served on the Bell City Council from 2011 to 2013, with his attorney saying last year that his client was recruited to run for the post following a corruption scandal that rocked the city.