Justin Ross Harris has been found guilty in the US state of Georgia of murdering his young son by leaving him in a hot car.
Harris, 35, had denied intentionally leaving his son, Cooper, to die in the car park near his Atlanta office in 2014.
Harris argued the death was an accident, since he had forgotten to drop the toddler off at day care.
The trial heard he was sending lewd text messages to underage girls during the time that Cooper was dying.
Prosecutors argued Harris plotted to kill his son and wanted to leave his family to continue affairs with other women.
But Harris’ attorneys said that though he was responsible for the boy’s death, he loved his son and the incident was result of a tragic forgetfulness.
Cobb County Police Detective Phil Stoddard had testified in court that Harris was sitting in his office, exchanging nude photos with several women, including a teenage minor, on the day his son died.
Mr Stoddard also told the grand jury panel Harris had researched online how long and what temperature it would take to die in a hot car.
The jury found Harris guilty on all of the eight counts he was charged with. The charges were:
Count 1 Malice Murder (Mandatory life sentence)
Count 2 Felony Murder (Mandatory life sentence)
Count 3 Felony Murder (Mandatory life sentence)
Count 4 Cruelty to Children in the First Degree (5-to-20 year sentence)
Count 5 Cruelty to Children in the Second Degree (1-to-10 year sentence)
Count 6 Criminal Attempt to Commit a Felony (10 year sentence)
Count 7 Dissemination of Pornography to Minors (12 month sentence; $5,000 fine)
Count 8 Dissemination of Pornography to Minors (12 month sentence; $5,000 fine)
After a change of venue from Marietta to Brunswick, the trial proceeded through more than 20 days of witnesses from the prosecution and defense, and was followed by four days of jury deliberation before ending in the verdict that was handed down.
Harris’ ex-wife, Leanna Taylor came to his defense, though during her testimony she told the jury he ‘destroyed my life.’ Taylor divorced Harris last March. During her testimony, she said he was a loving father, who loved his son deeply, and would have never intentionally harmed him in any way.
Leanna Taylor, reacted to the conviction on Facebook saying:
“For those of you who want to know if I am ok. The answer is no. I have not been “ok” since the moment I was told my son was dead.
I have not been “ok” since the moment my life was put on this path that has led to Ross being found guilty of maliciously murdering our child.
So now you may be saying “justice has been served.” And you are allowed your right to that opinion.
But guess what, you can convict every parent that this has ever happened to, and I can promise you 2 things…
#1 it will never bring our children back and #2 it will not prevent this from happening in the future.
Next summer, as this begins to happen over and over again, ask yourself, “what can be done?!”
The problem is not the parent! The problem is a society that refuses to believe this can happen to them!
Wake up! Accept it! And by accepting it you will be protecting your child!
I don’t care what your opinion is in my situation. I don’t care what your opinion is of me! It does not matter! Your opinion will never bring back my son.
So called “justice” will never bring back my son. Nothing will ever take that pain away. And nothing will ever feel worse than living with the knowledge that his pain and his death could have been prevented.
Be the wise parent, and accept that this can happen. And you will never have to walk the path that my family has had to walk. And I pray YOU never have to walk this path.”
Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds said in a statement “Today is not a victory, nor is it a day we celebrate. In fact, today is a monumentally sad day.”
“This has been a 29-month journey culminating in this guilty verdict. I want to thank the community of Glynn County for their hospitality and the Cobb Police Department for their hard work. And I certainly want to thank all the members of DA’s Office who worked on this case. It was a true team effort, and I believe justice was served today on behalf of young Cooper Harris.”
Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark has set sentencing for December 5 at 1:30 p.m. at the Cobb County Courthouse in Marietta.
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