COOPER HARRIS, 2, DIES IN HOT CAR: JUSTIN HARRIS CHARGED WITH MURDER

[SIXFOOTERsez]

Jesus Christ...

Georgia father researched child death in hot car on Internet: reports

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationw...2941.story

A Georgia father charged with murder after leaving his 22-month-old son in a sweltering car for seven hours told police he had researched how hot a vehicle needed to be to kill a child, according to reports released on Saturday.

Justin Harris, 33, told police he conducted the Internet research because he was afraid his son might die in an overheated vehicle, local media reports citing a police search warrant said.

"During an interview with Justin, he stated that he recently researched, through the Internet, child deaths inside vehicles and what temperature it needs to be for that to occur. Justin stated that he was fearful that this could happen," the search warrant said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other media.

Cobb County police spokesman Mike Bowman told Reuters he could not confirm the information was included the search warrant.

Details from a police interview with Harris were released the same day that family and friends gathered in Alabama for a funeral for the child, who a medical examiner ruled had died of heat stroke.


Harris was being held without bail, charged with felony murder and second-degree child cruelty in the death in an Atlanta suburb on June 18.

The case has drawn wide interest after reports of an emotional scene of Harris pulling into a shopping center parking lot on his way home from work and appearing to frantically try to revive his son.

The boy was left strapped in his rear-facing car seat in the back seat of the SUV while Harris went to work.

That day, temperatures in the Atlanta area reached 92 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service.

Police said during his lunch hour, Harris went to his office parking lot, placed something in his SUV through the driver's side door and then returned to his office.

[username]

Gross! Hideous! He intentionally killed his son in a hot car. That said, thank God for investigations. If you're weren't a fucking idiot researching that type of thing on your computer and making all the other mistakes that he did, you could quite possibly get away with a very light sentence.

I left my dog in the car for about 5 minutes. I'd taken her to the dog park, she was snoozing in the back and I went straight in to the house. I don't recall if any windows were down and it was early evening and not terribly hot but still...I forgot the dog.

Unfortunately, I can see it happening purely by mistake. There was a story a few years ago about a guy who DIDN'T typically take his child to daycare, the baby was probably quiet as a mouse and he went to work and it didn't hit him until hours later (I don't recall if he remembered before the end of work, or if someone called him from the daycare center or what). That man was genuinely distraught.

I can fathom it in a perfect storm scenario. Do I think I would ever forget my child in a car? No. But I was with them day in/day out so it would be like an arm suddenly missing. But for those that rarely drive their kids...unfortunately, I can see it happening.

As a result, I think (unfortunately) that they have to dummy proof car seats or the cars. I don't know, maybe the car seat reaches a certain temperature and some raging, loud alarm goes off. Or the car seat can connect to the keys so you can't lock the car, or you get some type of warning beeps before you can lock the car, if there's a child seat in there. Bottom line, I think it would be a good use of technology to make this much less likely to happen (or explain). Maybe they could figure out a way to make sure Fido is safe too.

I was at the gym the other day and there was an announcement. "if you drive a blue xxx, the police are on their way--there's a dog in your car with the windows up".

[Duchess]

People never think something like this can happen to them, never. Devastating things happen to conscientious people all the time.

[ramseycat]

Now the news is reporting that the mother admitted to researching how long it takes to die in a hot car. These fuckers killed their child.

[Duchess]

Cooper's funeral was yesterday. The father wasn't allowed to be there but he had the opportunity to speak over a speaker phone. The wife is standing by her man & defending him.

And in an emotional speech Harris' wife Leanna took to the stage to defend her husband.

She asked the congregation: 'Am I angry with Ross? Absolutely not. It never ever has crossed my mind. Ross is and always will be, if we have more children, a wonderful daddy, a wonderful leader for our children.'

She added: 'Cooper meant the world to him, there was not a day go by that we did not say how blessed we were to have him in our lives.'

Leanna said she had felt compelled to speak in defense of her husband and remember Cooper.

She told him as he listened in: 'Ross I love you, I am doing this for you okay.

'I should be crumpled in a heap of snot and tears into the dirt, but The Lord is holding me up...he is holding Ross up.'



Story

[Midwest Spy]

How incredibly naive or just incredibly stupid.

[HairOfTheDog]

How incredibly naive or just incredibly stupid.

I think it's very incriminating, actually.

Both parents were aware and fearful enough about the dangers of leaving a child in a hot car to proactively search the internet regarding fatal temperatures. That's what they reportedly both told investigators regarding the internet searches.

Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cops-mom-say...-hot-cars/

Yet, still, their child was "accidentally" forgotten in the car all day? It doesn't add up, to me.

They either chose to leave little Cooper in the car to avoid proper day care, for some reason. Or, they conspired to kill the child. That's what it looks like to me, at this point.

[Midwest Spy]

That's what I was originally going to say too, that somehow mom was in on it with him, but that just doesn't make sense.

Both parents want to off their child? Very unusual to me, but probably not unprecedented.

I'm guessing dad will end up having a girlfriend and he wanted to be with her without paying child support for another 16 years.

Just my 2 cents.

[Duchess]

Or, they conspired to kill the child. That's what it looks like to me, at this point.

Dear God

[HairOfTheDog]

That's what I was originally going to say too, that somehow mom was in on it with him, but that just doesn't make sense.

Both parents want to off their child? Very unusual to me, but probably not unprecedented.

I'm guessing dad will end up having a girlfriend and he wanted to be with her without paying child support for another 16 years.

Just my 2 cents.

It could be that the wife, Leann Harris, is covering for her husband when she claims to have done the internet searches conducted on the home computer.

But, her statements at Cooper's funeral are bothersome to me. Not only the one about Justin being a great father and the leader of their family (along with the "heap of snot" comment), but more so the ones about how she wouldn't bring Cooper back if she could because now he won't have to experience the pain of growing up in this "broken world". That's weird and suspicious to me.

The warrant details that were released after the funeral show that Justin Harris drove north when he left work, in the opposite direction of the daycare center (he said he was on his way to meet friends).

So to believe that this was an accident, we not only have to buy that Justin Harris completely forgot about his son just 3 minutes after finishing breakfast with him and for 7 hours thereafter, but also that he forgot about picking his son up at the end of the work day. Defies reason.

I'm wondering if the Harris's had a life insurance policy on Cooper as is the case in some of these "accidental" baby deaths, and/or if they viewed the baby as a hardship financially or to their marriage.

[HairOfTheDog]

Rams: Thanks for posting this story. Looks like there may be a lot more unfolding on this one over time, so I changed the title to make it a dedicated case thread.

We can use the old thread for other stories about kids who were left in the car. Here:
http://mockforums.net/showthread.php?tid...aby+in+car

[ramseycat]

Thanks HOTD.

[QueenBee]

One thing in the back of my mind has always been that the mom is really in denial that her husband could do such a thing OR she has such a "stand by your man" attitude that even though their baby is dead, "my husband would NEVER do such a thing on purpose". It is sad.

[HairOfTheDog]

You might be right and I hope the mom was not involved in the death of her son, QueenBee.

It bothers me that she either looked up the hot car deaths, or she is lying and covering for her husband in saying that she did. Neither sits well with me, but she hasn't been charged with anything so far, so...

Justin Harris will be in court for a probable cause hearing today. Will be interesting to see what happens with the charges against him.

Snip:
At the probable cause hearing, slated for 1:30 p.m. ET, a judge will determine whether there's enough evidence to support charges of murder and second-degree child cruelty against Justin Ross Harris. If prosecutors are successful in making their case to the judge, it will proceed to a grand jury, where the district attorney will seek an indictment.

Fewer than 10 witness are expected to be called, said Kim Isaza, a spokeswoman for the Cobb County district attorney. Police investigators are likely to take the stand, as well as possible character witnesses, all of whom will be subject to cross-examination.

Full story: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/03/justic...?hpt=hp_c4

[ramseycat]

I'm watching the hearing now on CNN.

[ramseycat]

This motherfucker is guilty!!

[ramseycat]

I hate this guy. It's so obvious both him and his wife are guilty.

[HairOfTheDog]

This motherfucker is guilty!!

Are you dying? I am.

Amazing how much circumstantial evidence LE has against this selfish fuck-face.

If the wife doesn't at least suspect that Justin intentionally offed Cooper with all that's been presented, she's mentally retarded.

-he pulled his laptop out of the backseat right near Cooper before going into the office,
-he was sexting and sending/receiving nude photos with six women during the day (and was hooking up with them for months),
-he took out an insurance policy on Cooper (the couple was having intimacy and financial problems),
-he had been reading "child-free living" forums about not adding to the bio-mass,
-the cops smelled decomp hours after Cooper was removed from the car but Harris supposedly didn't notice anything when he got in the heated car and headed for the movies,
-when officers asked him to get off the phone at the death scene, he screamed "fuck you" at them -- that's when he was cuffed and taken away,
-he has previous law enforcement dispatcher experience and was talking cop talk all during his police interviews,
-he has previous sex exploitation charges against him.

Turns out the wife was supposed to pick up Cooper that day. When she went to the daycare center and they told her the baby hadn't been dropped off, she automatically went to Cooper being left in the car and dead. She'd spoken to Justin about an hour before, when he was still at the office.

There's more -- unbelievable. The hearing is underway on HLN tv. Detective Stoddard is a great witness.

Here's the live blog of the hearing: http://www.hlntv.com/article/2014/07/03/...-live-blog

(HOTD edit: formatting)

[ramseycat]

I AM dying. He is so freakin guilty. So is that wife.

[HairOfTheDog]

I AM dying. He is so freakin guilty. So is that wife.

I'm so busy with work right now, but can't tear myself away -- it's so damning and Detective Stoddard is such a good witness.

The courtroom is reportedly packed with supporters from the Harris' church. If they have any supporters left after this hearing, I'll be surprised.

That baby died very slowly and painfully. His psycho dad cooked him to death -- I have no doubt.