Murder Made Me Famous Season 2 Episode 5 Jean Harris

Jean Harris was a woman perfectly poised on the cusp of desperation. A widow with a respectable background, she had not only lost her husband but the life she knew. In an effort to forge ahead, she dove into education, eventually landing a position as the headmistress of a prestigious private school for girls. However, the frustration of a relationship with her boss and unfaithful lover, Dr. Herman Tarnower, would lead to a series of decisions that would culminate in murder and infamy.

The public would come to know Jean Harris not for her achievements as an educator, but for the murder of Dr. Tarnower, who was found shot to death in his bedroom. In the midst of a four-year-long rocky relationship, Harris had made several attempts to end things, even traveling as far as Arizona to seek guidance from a renowned psychiatrist. But nothing seemed to work, and on the evening of March 10th, 1980, Harris would drive to Tarnower's home with the intention of trying once again.

What happened that evening remains up for debate. Some claim that Harris was overcome with rage when Tarnower announced plans to marry his much younger assistant, Lynne Tryforos. Others suggest that Harris had suffered a mental breakdown and had lost touch with reality. Regardless of what truly happened, the end result was the same: Tarnower lay dead from multiple gunshot wounds, and Harris was arrested for his murder.

The trial that followed would captivate the nation, with tabloids and journalists alike flocking to the courthouse to cover the proceedings. Harris, dressed in chic and stylish attire, would become an unwittingly iconic figure of the proceedings, with stories detailing everything from her eating habits to her impressive collection of scarves being published. But beneath the media frenzy was a woman who was struggling to come to terms with what had happened and finding it difficult to understand why she had done what she had.

The testimony featured in this episode of Murder Made Me Famous explores the events leading up to the murder and the posturing of both the prosecution and defense teams, including the contentious story that Jean had purchased a firearm under a false name and the discovery of diaries filled with incriminating evidence. Highlighting Harris's self-destructive tendencies and tragic downfall, the episode is both a cautionary tale about the realities of love and a reminder that not all criminals start out that way.