Murder of Cooper Harris

Cooper Harris was a 22-month-old toddler who died of hyperthermia on June 18, 2014 in Vinings, Georgia, after being left strapped in the rear-facing car seat of his father's SUV. Though he has maintained that the death was a tragic accident, Harris' father Justin Ross Harris was arrested and charged with his son's murder.[1] On November 14, 2016, after a trial which garnered national media attention, Ross Harris was found guilty of malice murder, among other charges, and subsequently sentenced to life in prison without any possibility of parole.[2]

Justin Ross Harris

Justin Ross Harris
Residence Marietta, Georgia
Education University of Alabama
Occupation Web Developer
Criminal penalty Life imprisonment without parole
Criminal status Incarcerated at Macon State Prison
Spouse(s) Leanna Taylor (m. 2006–2016)
Children Cooper Harris
Conviction(s) Malice murder, felony murder, cruelty to children, criminal attempt to commit a felony and dissemination of harmful material to minors

Harris, who goes by his middle name Ross, was born in 1980. He graduated from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, receiving a bachelor's degree in commerce and business administration. After graduating he briefly worked as a police dispatcher in Tuscaloosa until 2009, according to police spokesman Sgt. Brent Blankley.[3] From there, Justin Ross Harris moved to Georgia to work for The Home Depot as a web developer.

Incident

On the morning of June 18, 2014, Justin Ross Harris was supposed to bring Cooper to daycare on his way to work. Ross and Cooper ate breakfast at a Chick-fil-A restaurant less than a mile from Ross' office on Cumberland Parkway, near its intersection with Paces Ferry Road in Vinings, Georgia, at or around 8:57 A.M. After breakfast, Ross drove his SUV, a Hyundai Tucson, to the Home Depot office where he worked, with Cooper strapped in a rear-facing car seat in the back. Ross then entered the office at 9:25 A.M., leaving Cooper in his car seat.[4]

At or around 12:30 P.M. Justin Ross Harris got lunch with two friends at a Publix nearby, then proceeded to a nearby Home Depot store located on Cumberland Parkway, where Ross purchased light bulbs. When Ross returned to his SUV in the Home Depot parking lot, he opened the driver's side door and placed the bulbs in the car. It is not known if Ross noticed Cooper in the back seat of the SUV while placing the bulbs in the SUV.[4]

Seven hours after initially leaving Cooper in the SUV, at 4:16 P.M., Ross returned to the vehicle and drove it away from the office, stopping moments later at a nearby shopping center to call for help upon, he claims, discovering Cooper's lifeless body.[1][2][4]

Ross told police he forgot to drop his son off at day care that morning, instead driving straight to his job as a web developer for The Home Depot after forgetting that Cooper was still in his car seat. Temperatures in metropolitan Atlanta that day reached into the high 80s, and Cooper died while sitting for about seven hours in the back seat of his father's vehicle.

Investigation

Investigation into the murder of Cooper Harris focused heavily on his father's extramarital sexual affairs. Police had determined that Ross Harris had been involved with multiple women, and on the day of Cooper's death had been texting sexually explicit messages (some with nude photos) with at least six women, some of whom were under the age of consent.[4] This led police to believe that Harris had intentionally killed Cooper so that he would have an excuse to leave his wife.[5]

Police viewed Leanna Harris, wife of Ross Harris and mother of Cooper, with suspicion early in the investigation, but ultimately ruled her out as a suspect.[6]

In February 2016, Leanna Harris filed for divorce. After the divorce was finalized, she retained her maiden name, Leanna Taylor. In spite of the divorce, Leanna continued to defend her former husband's innocence regarding the charges of murder in Cooper's death.[7]

Trial and conviction of Ross Harris

Justin Ross Harris' murder trial was held before Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark, who, after nearly three weeks of jury selection in, decided that pretrial publicity had made it too difficult to find a fair jury in Cobb County, where the boy died, and in April 2015 granted a defense request to relocate the trial. A jury in Glynn County, led by Cobb County Senior Assistant District Attorney Chuck Boring, spent about a month listening to evidence in the case and deliberated for four days. The prosecution contended that Ross Harris had intentionally left his son Cooper in the SUV to die so that he could be freed from his familial responsibilities and could pursue a carefree life of extramarital sexual affairs. The defense, led by Maddox Kilgore, admitted that Ross Harris was responsible for Cooper's death, but only by his negligence in forgetting that Cooper was in the car. Eventually, Ross Harris was found guilty of all eight counts against him.[8] In addition to malice murder and felony murder charges, Mr. Harris was also found guilty of sending sexual text messages to a teenage girl and sending her nude photos.[9]

Evidence presented by the prosecution included a video of Ross Harris returning to the SUV at midday to put some lightbulbs into the front seat. In the video, it does not appear that Ross Harris looks into the vehicle,[10] but police investigators contended that the stench of death had filled the car and that Ross Harris must have noticed it, either at that point or when he drove the car away at the end of the day. On cross-examination, the officers admitted that they had not mentioned the stench until over a year after Cooper's death, and other witnesses at the scene said they did not notice a smell.[11] Prosecutors also alleged that Ross had researched child deaths in hot cars prior to the incident.[12]

Ross Harris' ex-wife, Cooper's mother, Leanna Taylor, testified on Ross' behalf at his trial, stating that Ross had "destroyed" her life with his sexual affairs, but that he did not intentionally kill their son.[13]

Justin Ross Harris was convicted of malice murder (amongst other charges) on 14 November 2016,[2] and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. He is currently being held at Macon State Prison.[14]

Controversy and appeal

In the immediate aftermath of Cooper's death, a petition was published on Change.org urging authorities to drop charges against Ross Harris. This petition included signatures from people who knew Ross Harris personally, and included comments like, "He has been nothing but a caring father and supporting husband." The petition was removed from publication shortly thereafter.[1]

After Ross Harris's conviction, his ex-wife and Cooper's mother Leanna Taylor continued to defend his innocence. In an interview with ABC's Amy Robach in February 2017, she stated that she has always believed Cooper's death was an accident.[15]

In January 2017, Harris's legal team filed for an appeal, arguing that prejudicial testimony (revelations of Harris' numerous affairs, and self admitted sex addiction) "made it an absolute impossibility" for the 36-year-old to receive a fair trial.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 CNN, By Michael Pearson. "5 key questions about Georgia toddler's hot-car death - CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  2. 1 2 3 "Georgia dad Justin Harris convicted of murder in son's hot car death". NBC News. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  3. ↑ Karimi, Faith; Pearson, Michael (6 January 2015). "Georgia toddler death: Who is Justin Ross Harris?". CNN. Cable News Network. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "TimelinE". MyAJC. 2014-07-03. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
  5. ↑ CNN, Eliott C. McLaughlin and Dana Ford. "Police: Dad was 'sexting' as son was dying in hot car". CNN. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  6. ↑ "Leanna Harris, Mother of Toddler Baked In Hot Car, Faces Scrutiny". The Inquisitr News. 2014-07-07. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  7. ↑ Boone, Christian. "Ross Harris' wife, Leanna, sues for divorce". ajc. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  8. ↑ Helling, Steve (14 November 2016). "Justin Ross Harris Guilty of Murder in Hot Car Death of His Son". PEOPLE.com. Time Inc. Retrieved 18 February 2017. After 22 days of testimony and 70 witnesses, it took the jury several days to come to its verdict.
  9. ↑ Bynum, Russ (2016-11-07). "Lawyers make final case to jury in hot-car murder trial". Associated Press. BRUNSWICK, GA. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
  10. ↑ WSB-TV (2016-10-18), Security video shows Ross Harris return to car at Home Depot, retrieved 2017-03-21
  11. ↑ State: Ross Harris should've noticed his son's lifeless body sooner
  12. ↑ McNiff, Eamon; Joseph, Jennifer; Effron, Lauren (2017-02-20). "Justin Ross Harris' ex-wife believes son's hot car death was a tragic accident". ABC News. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  13. ↑ Ex-wife says dad in son's hot car death "destroyed my life"
  14. ↑ TEGNA. "Justin Ross Harris currently serving sentence in Valdosta State Prison". WXIA. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  15. ↑ "Justin Ross Harris' ex-wife Leanna Taylor still believes son's hot car death was a tragic accident". ABC News. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  16. ↑ "Hot Car Death: Justin Ross Harris Appeals His Conviction for Murder of Toddler Son". PEOPLE.com. 2017-01-06. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
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