A 41-year-old mother of three from California has been acquitted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of her schoolteacher husband, and the jury deadlocked on lesser charges against her. Julie Harper was found not guilty Wednesday of murdering her husband of 11 years, Jason Harper, 39, in the couple's home in Carlsbad in August 2012 as their three children watched cartoons upstairs. Judge Blaine Bowman declared a mistrial on the charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter, and it is now up to the prosecution to decide whether or not to re-try Harper. Scroll down for video . Not guilty: Julie Harper, 41, pictured in court September 15, has been acquitted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of her schoolteacher husband, Jason, in August 2012 . Not so happy couple: A wedding portrait of Julie and Jason Harper is projected on a screen on the first day of the murder trial. The wife testified that her husband abused her throughout their 11-year marriage . In the course of the three-week trial, prosecutors argued that Harper shot dead her husband during a domestic dispute as part of a plot to regain her freedom. Authorities responded to the Harpers' home in the 2400 block of Badger Lane in Carlsbad after getting a call from Julie Harper's attorney. Officers entered the house and found Jason Harper's lifeless body lying on the floor of the second-story master bedroom. Police issued a bulletin to search for Julie Harper and her children, ranging in age between 18 months and 8 years. Sixteen hours after the killing, Harper turned herself in at her father's home in Scripps Ranch . Prosecutors described the Harpers’ marriage as turbulent and punctuated by frequent arguments over money and the wife's weight gain. A week before the killing, Mrs Harper filed for divorce and allegedly forged her husband's signature so she could withdraw $20,000 from two bank accounts and their daughter's college fund, reported 10News. Her version of events: Mrs Harper said in court she shot 39-year-old Jason Harper (right) in self-defense to stop him from raping or killing her during a domestic fight . Bust: After going on the run for 16-hours Julie Harper was arrested at her father's home in Scripps Ranch . Throughout the trial, Julie Harper portrayed herself as a victim of domestic and sexual abuse at the hands of her husband, and insisted that she fired the fatal shot in self-defense. But prosecutor Keith Watanabe challenged Harper's claims, saying that she had prepared for the final showdown with her husband by packing a ‘getaway bag’ and putting inside passports for herself and her children, U-T San Diego wrote. . After killing her husband, Watanabe said in court, his wife did not call 911 and hid the gun, which has not been found to this day. Julie Harper, a former real estate agent-turned-homemaker, testified that on that fateful night in August 2012, Jason was threatening to kill her, prompting her to fire the gun to stop him from sexually assaulting, or otherwise harming her. ‘He would just be in an absolute fury, in his rage, yelling and screaming,’ she was quoted as saying by ABC News. The 41-year-old woman told the jurors that in the course of their troubled marriage, Jason Harper, a math teacher and volleyball coach at Carlsbad High School, raped her no fewer than 30 times. Raving mad: The jury panel was shown this video recording of Jason Harper berating and hurling insults at his wife while holding one of their children in his arms . A few days before the shooting, Julie Harper said she had started sleeping with an unregistered handgun under her pillow for protection. ‘I didn’t even intend to shoot him. I only wanted to scare him or to make him stop,’ she said from the stand while under cross-examination, according to Times of San Diego. ‘[I] felt my hand jerk, and heard the loud noise, and he was still coming forward at me. And then all of a sudden, he froze, completely. Like a tree in the forest, he just fell forward at me.’ Who was Jason? Harper's friends and colleagues portrayed him as a 'gentle giant' and a loving father . The jurors got to watch video recordings made by Mrs Harper showing her husband yelling and hurling insults at her, at times in the presence of their children. In one of the videos, an enraged Jason Harper holding a toddler in his arms screams at Julie: 'You’re putting our kid in the day care and making me pay for it and you claim you're taking care of her. F*** you, b****!' But those close to Jason Harper, including his friends and colleagues, have painted a starkly different picture of the man, describing the father of three as a 'gentle giant.' ‘He was a very, very nice person,’ Harper's colleague Andy Tomkinson told 10News. ‘He was gentle, he was calm, he was above all a really, really good father.’ Another Carlsbad High School staffer Amanda Waters challenged Julie Harpers' claims that she had been abused by her husband. ‘My friend and colleague was portrayed as this abusive guy, and in my opinion, they [jurors] bought it,’ she said. In his obituary, the 39-year-old educator was described as a man who 'had integrity, was honest and taught his children what is right.’ Julie Harper is due back in court October 15, at which time the prosecution is expected to announce its decision regarding a possible retrial.
Julie Harper, 41, has been acquitted of first-degree murder in shooting death of her California schoolteacher husband, Jason, in August 2012 .
Harper shot her husband of 11 years during a domestic fight and went on the run in California with their three children for 16 hours .
In court Julie Harper argued she acted in self-defense out of fear that Jason would rape or kill her .
The prosecution claimed her actions before and after the shooting pointed to premeditation .
Harper could still be re-tried on lesser charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter .
A 41-year-old mother of three from California has been acquitted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of her schoolteacher husband, and the jury deadlocked on lesser charges against her. Julie Harper was found not guilty Wednesday of murdering her husband of 11 years, Jason Harper, 39, in the couple's home in Carlsbad in August 2012 as their three children watched cartoons upstairs. Judge Blaine Bowman declared a mistrial on the charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter, and it is now up to the prosecution to decide whether or not to re-try Harper. Scroll down for video . Not guilty: Julie Harper, 41, pictured in court September 15, has been acquitted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of her schoolteacher husband, Jason, in August 2012 . Not so happy couple: A wedding portrait of Julie and Jason Harper is projected on a screen on the first day of the murder trial. The wife testified that her husband abused her throughout their 11-year marriage . In the course of the three-week trial, prosecutors argued that Harper shot dead her husband during a domestic dispute as part of a plot to regain her freedom. Authorities responded to the Harpers' home in the 2400 block of Badger Lane in Carlsbad after getting a call from Julie Harper's attorney. Officers entered the house and found Jason Harper's lifeless body lying on the floor of the second-story master bedroom. Police issued a bulletin to search for Julie Harper and her children, ranging in age between 18 months and 8 years. Sixteen hours after the killing, Harper turned herself in at her father's home in Scripps Ranch . Prosecutors described the Harpers’ marriage as turbulent and punctuated by frequent arguments over money and the wife's weight gain. A week before the killing, Mrs Harper filed for divorce and allegedly forged her husband's signature so she could withdraw $20,000 from two bank accounts and their daughter's college fund, reported 10News. Her version of events: Mrs Harper said in court she shot 39-year-old Jason Harper (right) in self-defense to stop him from raping or killing her during a domestic fight . Bust: After going on the run for 16-hours Julie Harper was arrested at her father's home in Scripps Ranch . Throughout the trial, Julie Harper portrayed herself as a victim of domestic and sexual abuse at the hands of her husband, and insisted that she fired the fatal shot in self-defense. But prosecutor Keith Watanabe challenged Harper's claims, saying that she had prepared for the final showdown with her husband by packing a ‘getaway bag’ and putting inside passports for herself and her children, U-T San Diego wrote. . After killing her husband, Watanabe said in court, his wife did not call 911 and hid the gun, which has not been found to this day. Julie Harper, a former real estate agent-turned-homemaker, testified that on that fateful night in August 2012, Jason was threatening to kill her, prompting her to fire the gun to stop him from sexually assaulting, or otherwise harming her. ‘He would just be in an absolute fury, in his rage, yelling and screaming,’ she was quoted as saying by ABC News. The 41-year-old woman told the jurors that in the course of their troubled marriage, Jason Harper, a math teacher and volleyball coach at Carlsbad High School, raped her no fewer than 30 times. Raving mad: The jury panel was shown this video recording of Jason Harper berating and hurling insults at his wife while holding one of their children in his arms . A few days before the shooting, Julie Harper said she had started sleeping with an unregistered handgun under her pillow for protection. ‘I didn’t even intend to shoot him. I only wanted to scare him or to make him stop,’ she said from the stand while under cross-examination, according to Times of San Diego. ‘[I] felt my hand jerk, and heard the loud noise, and he was still coming forward at me. And then all of a sudden, he froze, completely. Like a tree in the forest, he just fell forward at me.’ Who was Jason? Harper's friends and colleagues portrayed him as a 'gentle giant' and a loving father . The jurors got to watch video recordings made by Mrs Harper showing her husband yelling and hurling insults at her, at times in the presence of their children. In one of the videos, an enraged Jason Harper holding a toddler in his arms screams at Julie: 'You’re putting our kid in the day care and making me pay for it and you claim you're taking care of her. F*** you, b****!' But those close to Jason Harper, including his friends and colleagues, have painted a starkly different picture of the man, describing the father of three as a 'gentle giant.' ‘He was a very, very nice person,’ Harper's colleague Andy Tomkinson told 10News. ‘He was gentle, he was calm, he was above all a really, really good father.’ Another Carlsbad High School staffer Amanda Waters challenged Julie Harpers' claims that she had been abused by her husband. ‘My friend and colleague was portrayed as this abusive guy, and in my opinion, they [jurors] bought it,’ she said. In his obituary, the 39-year-old educator was described as a man who 'had integrity, was honest and taught his children what is right.’ Julie Harper is due back in court October 15, at which time the prosecution is expected to announce its decision regarding a possible retrial.
been acquitted of first-degree murder in the the jury deadlocked on lesser charges against of murdering her husband of 11 years, Jason August 2012 as their three children watched mistrial on the charges of second-degree murder Harper, 41, pictured in court September 15, has shooting death of her schoolteacher husband, argued that Harper shot dead her husband during a a bulletin to search for Julie Harper and her years. Sixteen hours after the killing, Harper raping or killing her during a domestic fight .