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, Cooper's 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, 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
Born (1980-11-27) November 27, 1980
EducationUniversity of Alabama
OccupationWeb Developer
EmployerThe Home Depot (2012–2014)
Criminal statusIncarcerated
Spouse(s)Leanna Taylor (m. 2006–2016)
ChildrenCooper Harris
Conviction(s)Malice murder, felony murder, cruelty to children, criminal attempt to commit a felony and dissemination of harmful material to minors
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment without parole
Date apprehended
June 18, 2014
Imprisoned atMacon State Prison

Justin Harris, who goes by his middle name Ross, was born in 1980. He briefly worked as a police dispatcher in Tuscaloosa until 2009, according to police spokesman Sgt. Brent Blankley. [3] Harris graduated from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 2012, [4] receiving a bachelor's degree in commerce and business administration. From there, 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 take Cooper to daycare on his way to work. Harris and Cooper ate breakfast at a Chick-fil-A restaurant less than a mile from his office on Cumberland Parkway, near its intersection with Paces Ferry Road in Vinings, Georgia, at or around 8:57 A.M. After breakfast, Harris 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. He then entered the office at 9:25 A.M., leaving Cooper in his car seat.[5]

At or around 12:30 P.M., Harris was picked up from work by two friends to have lunch at a nearby Publix. Following lunch, they proceeded to a nearby Home Depot located on Cumberland Parkway, where Harris purchased light bulbs. After his friends dropped him off at his workplace parking lot, he walked to his SUV, opened the driver's side door, and placed the bulbs inside. It is not known if Harris noticed Cooper in the back seat during this time.[5]

Seven hours after initially leaving Cooper in the SUV, at 4:16 P.M., Harris returned to the vehicle and drove it away from his office. He had planned to visit an AMC movie theater to see 22 Jump Street with friends after work. After driving for a few minutes, he abruptly pulled into an outdoor mall parking lot to call for help and attempt CPR after, he later claimed, discovering his son unresponsive in the back seat.[1][2][5]

Harris told police he forgot to drop his son off at daycare that morning, instead driving straight to his job as a web developer for Home Depot after forgetting that Cooper was still in his car seat. Temperatures in metropolitan Atlanta that day reached into the high 80s of Fahrenheit (more than 30 degrees Celsius), and Cooper died while sitting for about seven hours in the back seat of his father's vehicle.

Investigation

Investigation into the death of Cooper Harris focused heavily on his father's extramarital sexual affairs. Police had determined that 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 females, some of whom were girls under the age of consent.[5] This led police to believe that Harris had intentionally killed Cooper so that he would have an excuse to leave his wife Leanna Harris.[6]

Police viewed Leanna Harris, Cooper's mother, with suspicion early in the investigation, but ultimately ruled her out as a suspect.[7]

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.[8]

Trial and conviction of Ross Harris

Justin Ross Harris's murder trial was held before Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark, who, after nearly three weeks of jury selection, 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 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 Harris was responsible for Cooper's death, but only by his negligence in forgetting that Cooper was in the car. Eventually, Harris was found guilty of all eight counts against him.[9] In addition to malice murder and felony murder charges, Harris was also found guilty of sending sexual text messages to a teenage girl and sending her nude photos.[10]

Evidence presented by the prosecution included a video of 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,[11] but police investigators contended that the stench of death had filled the car and that 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.[12] Prosecutors also alleged that Harris had researched child deaths in hot cars prior to the incident.[13]

Harris's ex-wife, Cooper's mother, Leanna Taylor, testified on his behalf at his trial, stating that Harris had "destroyed" her life with his sexual affairs, but that he did not intentionally kill their son.[14]

Harris was convicted of malice murder (amongst other charges) on November 14, 2016,[2] and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

Controversy and appeal

In the immediate aftermath of Cooper's death, a petition was published on Change.org urging authorities to drop charges against Harris. This petition included signatures from people who knew 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 Harris's conviction, his ex-wife Leanna Taylor continued to defend his innocence. In an interview with ABC News'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's numerous affairs, and self-admitted sex addiction) "made it an absolute impossibility" for the (then) 36-year-old to receive a fair trial.[16]

Harris's appeal is scheduled to be heard in December 2020.[17]

References
  1. Pearson, Michael. "5 key questions about Georgia toddler's hot-car death". CNN. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  2. "Georgia dad Justin Harris convicted of murder in son's hot car death". NBC News. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  3. Karimi, Faith; Pearson, Michael (January 6, 2015). "Georgia toddler death: Who is Justin Ross Harris?". CNN. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  4. "University of Alabama Commencement, Spring 2012" (PDF). Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  5. "TimelinE". MyAJC. July 3, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  6. Eliott C. McLaughlin; Dana Ford. "Police: Dad was 'sexting' as son was dying in hot car". CNN. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  7. "Leanna Harris, Mother of Toddler Baked In Hot Car, Faces Scrutiny". The Inquisitr News. July 7, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  8. Boone, Christian. "Ross Harris' wife, Leanna, sues for divorce". ajc. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  9. Helling, Steve (November 14, 2016). "Justin Ross Harris Guilty of Murder in Hot Car Death of His Son". People. Retrieved February 18, 2017. After 22 days of testimony and 70 witnesses, it took the jury several days to come to its verdict.
  10. Bynum, Russ (November 7, 2016). "Lawyers make final case to jury in hot-car murder trial". BRUNSWICK, GA. Associated Press. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  11. WSB-TV (October 18, 2016), Security video shows Ross Harris return to car at Home Depot, retrieved March 21, 2017
  12. "State: Ross Harris should've noticed his son's lifeless body sooner".
  13. McNiff, Eamon; Joseph, Jennifer; Effron, Lauren (February 20, 2017). "Justin Ross Harris's ex-wife believes son's hot car death was a tragic accident". ABC News. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  14. "Ex-wife says dad in son's hot car death "destroyed my life"". www.cbsnews.com.
  15. "Justin Ross Harris' ex-wife Leanna Taylor still believes son's hot car death was a tragic accident". ABC News. February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  16. "Hot Car Death: Justin Ross Harris Appeals His Conviction for Murder of Toddler Son". People. January 6, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  17. Rankin, Bill; Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta. "Judge sets hearing for Justin Ross Harris in hot car murder case". ajc.
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