GA - Suspicion over heat death of Cooper, 22 mo., Cobb County, June 2014, #1

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belimom

belimom

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Georgia toddler's death -- first blamed on heat -- is ongoing probe, police say

(CNN) -- It was a tragedy from the outset: a toddler found dead apparently after being left alone for hours in a hot car, a distraught father blaming himself and facing serious criminal charges.

Now, Cobb County, Georgia, police imply there is more -- much more -- to the story.

"Much has changed about the circumstances leading up to the death of this 22-month-old since it was first reported," Cobb County Police Sgt. Dana Pierce told CNN. He would not elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation, but his words made it clear this was not just another case of a young life left and lost to heat exposure in a hot car.

"I've been in law enforcement for 34 years. What I know about this case shocks my conscience as a police officer, a father and a grandfather," said Pierce.

140620201004-nr-brooke-mom-lost-kid-in-hot-car-00004516-story-body.jpg




More at http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/21/us/toddler-car-death-probe/?sr=google_news
 
belimom said:

....He would not elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation, but his words made it clear this was not just another case of a young life left and lost to heat exposure in a hot car.

"I've been in law enforcement for 34 years. What I know about this case shocks my conscience as a police officer, a father and a grandfather," said Pierce....
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bbm

I'm trying to read between the lines here, but it sounds like leaving this child in a hot car may have been intentional and a cover-up for something else... :no:
 
I think it is possible the murder was premeditated, and the father left the child in the hot car intentionally.
 
Or the child was already deceased when he was placed in the car.

One of those articles states that police no longer could confirm the child was in the car at 9:00 am as initially claimed.

I'd really like to know why he was immediately taken into custody and held without bail. If the autopsy has already been completed, were there indications of prior abuse ?
 
craftybatchy said:
Or the child was already deceased when he was placed in the car.

One of those articles states that police no longer could confirm the child was in the car at 9:00 am as initially claimed.

I'd really like to know why he was immediately taken into custody and held without bail. If the autopsy has already been completed, were there indications of prior abuse ?
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I agree.

I've tried finding different articles, and what I gather is that his statements to police didn't really make sense and some were contradictory at the time that police responded to the 911 call. After that, they searched his office and computers --- and I think they must've found something...? Seems like that's when the murder charges and other statements came in.

I think LE is holding the autopsy results close to the vest, but there must've been physical evidence of some sort of abuse - something visible that made them dig further.

So sad.

ETA - I also wonder if there was no evidence in the carseat that the child actually died in the car. No fluids, etc.
 
http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/21/us/toddler-car-death-probe/?sr=google_news

Initially, Justin Ross Harris, 33, told Cobb County police that he accidentally left his toddler son in his SUV on Wednesday. According to police, Harris told them he had forgotten to drop the child off at a daycare center, before going to work.

Harris initially told police he realized that he'd left the boy strapped in his car seat as he drove home Wednesday afternoon.
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"He kept saying, 'What have I done? What have I done?'" Dale Hamilton told CNN affiliate WSB-TV.

"Within moments of the first responders getting to the scene and doing their job and questions began to be asked about the moments that led up to their arrival at the scene, some of those answers were not making sense to the first responders," Pierce of Cobb County Police said.

On Thursday, Harris pleaded not guilty to felony murder and cruelty to children charges. He's being held without bond at the Cobb County Jail.
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http://www.ajc.com/news/news/authorities-searched-dead-toddlers-fathers-office-/ngP33/

Posted: 6:45 p.m. Friday, June 20, 2014
Authorities searched dead toddler’s father’s office before arrest

Search warrants were executed at the Home Depot office where Justin Ross Harris worked and where he told police he was when he forgot his toddler was strapped into his carseat,

Channel 2 Action News reported Friday. Details about what was found have not been released.
But within five hours of young Cooper Harris being declared dead in a shopping center parking lot Wednesday afternoon, his father was arrested and charged with felony murder and cruelty to children.
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Ross Harris, 33, of Marietta, was arrested at 10 p.m. Wednesday night and was denied bond Thursday night due to the seriousness of the charges
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Harris will remain in the Cobb County jail without bond until at least July 15, when he’s scheduled to again stand before a Superior Court judge.
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Much more at link regarding petitions and other info
 
JLSChook said:
Much more at link regarding petitions and other info
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I think the folks signing the petitions aren't understanding that there must be something else going on.
 
They aren't understanding he forgot to drop the child off at daycare in the morning and forgot to pick him up in the afternoon as well. Then got in his car and drove approximately 2 miles when he finally remembered the child was in the backseat strapped in his car seat.
Witnesses say when he layed the boy on the ground his body looked like he was still sitting in the seat.

It sure sounds like the ME saw something pretty quickly that disproved some or all of the father's story.

This child was probably dead when placed into the SUV that morning.
Moo

“He was lifeless, he was in the same position as if he were sitting in the carseat,” Hamilton said. “It’s something that I’ll remember for a long time.”

http://m.ajc.com/news/news/breaking-news/child-believed-left-in-car-in-cobb-has-died/ngNdR/

All posts are my opinion only. Sent via Tapatalk
 
I looked at the video, and the news reporter says that 'a lot has changed' since the initial report of being left in the car. He seems to be following this story closely and speaking with officers.

One question that he asked the officer was if there was a stop after leaving work and then pulling into the parking lot/calling 911. The officer said that they cannot say if there was a stop along the way or if it was a direct trip.
 
gngr~snap said:
They aren't understanding he forgot to drop the child off at daycare in the morning and forgot to pick him up in the afternoon as well. Then got in his car and drove approximately 2 miles when he finally remembered the child was in the backseat strapped in his car seat.
Witnesses say when he played the boy on the ground his body looked like he was still sitting in the seat.

“He was lifeless, he was in the same position as if he were sitting in the carseat,” Hamilton said. “It’s something that I’ll remember for a long time.”

http://m.ajc.com/news/news/breaking-news/child-believed-left-in-car-in-cobb-has-died/ngNdR/

All posts are my opinion only. Sent via Tapatalk
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bbm

Very telling. One thing to forget to drop your child off, but if you really did forget, then when you left work, you'd head in that direction - to pick him up. I'm not sure which direction he headed after work, but it does seem that LE may think there was a stop along the way? Or, at least they're not saying. Maybe they don't know yet, maybe they do but aren't telling.

Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for a child to be left in a hot car and die. For LE to charge the father with murder and deny him bond? I think they definitely have more evidence already than they're letting on.
 
"his words made it clear this was not just another case of a young life left and lost to heat exposure in a hot car.

"I've been in law enforcement for 34 years. What I know about this case shocks my conscience as a police officer, a father and a grandfather," said Pierce.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/21/us/toddler-car-death-probe/

Shocks his conscience as a police officer, a father and a grandfather.....

Moo that sounds like abuse possibly over some period of time.

All posts are my opinion only. Sent via Tapatalk
 
When was the last time a third party saw the child alive ?

One witness indicated that even after being removed from the car seat, the child remained 'in position'. The ME would be able to determine whether that was a result of rigor or heat stiffening.

Where was the vehicle parked ? If it was in a visible location, did no one pass by and see the child unattended ?

The little one was 22 months old. I have two of my own children and several nieces and nephews. Each of them were able to undo their own buckles by the time they were 2.
 
craftybatchy said:
When was the last time a third party saw the child alive ?

One witness indicated that even after being removed from the car seat, the child remained 'in position'. The ME would be able to determine whether that was a result of rigor or heat stiffening.

Where was the vehicle parked ? If it was in a visible location, did no one pass by and see the child unattended ?

The little one was 22 months old. I have two of my own children and several nieces and nephews. Each of them were able to undo their own buckles by the time they were 2.
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bbm

It says the father works at Home Depot, so I'm assuming a fairly visible parking lot. However, the car does seem to have tinted windows in the back.

I'm not buying his story.
 
eileenhawkeye said:
I think it is possible the murder was premeditated, and the father left the child in the hot car intentionally.
Click to expand...


I don't know why my first thought when hearing of this stour was how easy it would be to murder a child this way and call it am accident. Idk how LE can tell the difference. And my how horrible it is for parents that have accidentally done this and how unfair to them to accuse them of this. But again how easy it would be to do so.


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danzn16 said:
I don't know why my first thought when hearing of this stour was how easy it would be to murder a child this way and call it am accident. Idk how LE can tell the difference. And my how horrible it is for parents that have accidentally done this and how unfair to them to accuse them of this. But again how easy it would be to do so.


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Click to expand...
I think they could. Hyperthermia would cause severe dehydration. A dead body would not sweat and might still be somewhat hydrated.
Also if there was a pattern of livor mortis that was inconsistent with the child being seated in his car seat, it would indicate the child was deceased prior to being placed in the car.
moo

All posts are my opinion only. Sent via Tapatalk
 
danzn16 said:
I don't know why my first thought when hearing of this stour was how easy it would be to murder a child this way and call it am accident. Idk how LE can tell the difference. And my how horrible it is for parents that have accidentally done this and how unfair to them to accuse them of this. But again how easy it would be to do so.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I think that's totally possible to do it intentionally, but there's no guarantee that the child would die before a passerby saw him and called 911.

Most people know that sometimes parents are charged with the death of the child when left in a hot car, so I think this father knew that the alternative would be a more severe charge for whatever he was trying to cover up - and was trying to escape that charge. JMO
 
I have been saying for years that kids left to bake in hot cars or accidental drownings in pools should be treated as negligence and the parents should be convicted of manslaughter. Otherwise parents who want to get rid of unwanted children and babies can blatantly commit murder and get treated with sympathy.

Based on this quote

"I've been in law enforcement for 34 years. What I know about this case shocks my conscience as a police officer, a father and a grandfather," said Pierce.

it's pretty obvious that the father deliberately left the child to bake to death in the car.
 
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