Christina Harris Murder: Why Did Jason Harris Kill His Wife?

Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.

In September 2014, Christina Harris, a married mother of two, was found dead in her home in Michigan. A neighbor of Christina’s went to check on her after Jason Harris, Christina’s husband, called her, asking her to see if Christina was fine. When the neighbor went in to check, she found Christina unresponsive and cold, on the bed. She called for another neighbor who was a nurse. The nurse quickly understood that the victim was dead, NBC News reported.

An autopsy revealed the cause of death to be an accidental heroin overdose. However, Christina’s family and friends told authorities that she wasn’t prone to substance abuse and found the ruling odd. Moreover, Jason told his neighbors that Christina had been sick the night before her death. He said she dropped a bowl of cereal that he served her before passing out and falling asleep. Her mother gave a contrary statement and said she met Christina that day and she wasn’t sick.

As per a report by Fox 2, amidst the demands to investigate Christina’s death, Jason Harris’ brothers reported to the police that Jason had been having an affair for a while before his wife died. They also said that Jason told them he was trying to get Christina out of the way. Supporting this, the police found evidence that Jason went to visit a woman from Rhode Island just nine days after Christina Harris died.

Jason’s co-workers told authorities that he spoke about adding five Xanax pills to a glass of water and serving it to his wife. He also claimed that he hired a hitman to kill his wife. He said the hitman got stuck in a different criminal case before he could kill.

What was Christina Harris’ killer Jason Harris convicted of?

Jason Harris was convicted of first-degree murder, solicitation of murder, and delivery of a controlled substance causing death in the killing of Christina Harris. The police found out that Jason laced Christina’s cereal with heroin. He then left her to die so that she would get out of his way. Jason allegedly wanted to see the other woman he was interested in. He was sentenced to life in prison without chance for parole, The Washington Post reported.

CBS News reported that Jason Harris’ trial was the first criminal trial in the state that used breast milk as evidence. The police collected frozen breast milk from Christina Harris’ fridge to test for any drug abuse in the past. However, the tests made it very clear that she wasn’t prone to drug use. Suspicions of homicidal violence arose. The case was termed a homicide in August 2019.

According to The Detroit Free Press, Jason Harris received $120,000 in life insurance benefits following the death of Christina Harris. Another woman, whom he was reportedly seeing, moved into their home only two weeks after the murder. As per a report by Fox 2, Harris had been in contact with multiple women both before and after Christina died.

The episode of Meet, Marry, Murder that aired on Lifetime in August 2023 explored the death of Christina Harris and the subsequent conviction of Jason Harris.