GA - Suspicion over heat death of Cooper, 22 mo., Cobb County, June 2014, #2

[Lorne Malvo]

Police said the smell inside auto was overwhelming. Kind of cancels tot dad's explanation.

 

[Judicious1]

I realize in the grand scheme of things that children die from, it's not all that common... but a child dying from vehicular heatstroke every 10 days is still shocking to me personally. And extremely heartbreaking... how do you force people to slow down, at least enough to put your child first when you are behind the wheel? It seems like common sense, but obviously not

Yes that is a scary statistic for sure! But... And I hate myself for saying this ... The percentage of children who face this type death (left on accident not hyperthermia) is very low overall. One time a year is to much for me but it isn't something that a police department probably sees once a year.

 

[Tawny]

(a) A person commits the offense of murder when he unlawfully and with malice aforethought, either express or implied, causes the death of another human being.

(b) Express malice is that deliberate intention unlawfully to take the life of another human being which is manifested by external circumstances capable of proof. Malice shall be implied where no considerable provocation appears and where all the circumstances of the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart.

(c) A person also commits the offense of murder when, in the commission of a felony, he causes the death of another human being irrespective of malice.

(d) A person convicted of the offense of murder shall be punished by death or by imprisonment for life.

ETA: sorry, I really can't get this to link right now Those are felony murder requirements in Georgia. I bolded what seems applicable here.

So the felony is the neglect charge, and the murder charge will result because of the felony neglect charge?

 

[Karmady]

Police said the smell inside auto was overwhelming. Kind of cancels tot dad's explanation.

where are you seeing that, please?

 

[Karmady]

So the felony is the neglect charge, and the murder charge will result because of the felony neglect charge?

exactly!

 

[Leilei]

Well no ... Now they don't have to prove intent nor motive. The act of leaving him on accident is a felony cruelty 2nd degree and it resulted in a death which translates into a murder.

Wonder why manner of death wasn't released?

It was ruled "consistent with homicide", wasn't it, with COD as hyperthermia?

 

[CrazytownUSA]

All that felony murder requires is the intent to commit the underlying felony. So if the underlying felony does not require malice, neither does the related felony murdre charge. Think of it this way...if you happen to kill someone while committing a felony, you're automatically guilty of "murder" if you are proven to be guilty of the felony. The law looks at it like -- well, when you decided to commit this felony, you took the chance that someone would end up dead -- and they did, so now you're automatically guilty of that crime, too, and we don't have to prove it separately.

Here's a somewhat easy to read link

http://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/the-crime-of-felony-murder-in-georgia

Thank you for that... I'm not familiar with GA laws, I just know that many of these cases end up with the "aggravated manslaughter" charge, so I was confused (which is not unusual at the end of the day, LOL) Thanks everyone for explainign!! :loveyou:

 

[blue22]

where are you seeing that, please?

It was in the 6 o'clock newscast on their local station.

 

[Lorne Malvo]

I imagine this will be the lead story on Nancy Grace tonight. She would love a national case in Atlanta for an excuse to come home. But I can only take her in small doses.

 

[blue22]

It was ruled "consistent with homicide", wasn't it, with COD as hyperthermia?

Yes. That was the preliminary ruling. They will call the final ruling when toxicology is in, I'm sure.

 

[tlcya]

By Alexis Stevens
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
UPDATE: The autopsy on a 22-month-old left in an SUV determined the child died from hyperthermia and the manner is consistent with a homicide, Cobb County police said Wednesday afternoon.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/cops-cobb-toddlers-death-investigation-continues-t/ngRfn/

 

[blue22]

So the felony is the neglect charge, and the murder charge will result because of the felony neglect charge?

Yep. The murder charge is because sweet Cooper died during the commission of the neglect charge.

Similar to if I'm driving the getaway car during a robbery and someone is killed. I am charged with murder.

 

[Lorne Malvo]

where are you seeing that, please?

Randy Travis - Fox 5 investigative reporter.

 

[gngr~snap]

Nah.. they downgraded it because ethically they can only charge what they can prove. If it becomes clear that it was premeditated they can up the charges again.

Goodness! As long as they don't over charge him! We have seen how that turns out.

All posts are my opinion only. Sent via Tapatalk

 

[jjenny]

I'm leaning towards he accidentally left the child in the morning ( somehow ) .... noticed at noon- panicked - googled information but put animals in the search to be "safe" and left the kid in the car for 3-4 more hours trying to figure out what to do and say to his wife and police. Had this been planned ahead of time I think he would have had a much better plan and less of a trail. What goes trough people's minds when they accidentally kill their children and know it could have been avoided had they paid more attention I don't know and hope I never do. He must not have wanted to be seen as responsible. I guess he thought saying Cooper choked and thats what made him pull over then changed it to he left him on accident but didn't notice the smell right away wouldn't change Cooper's
fate but might have taken away the fact he left him for hours before contacting police to report what he had done. This is my opinion based on everything revealed about him and this case. I do not feel he started out the day intent on getting rid of his child.

I think all of this depends on when exactly he allegedly did these searches on how long it takes animals to die in a hot car.

 

[tlcya]

just getting home from work and trying like heck to catch up with today's developments.

So - this is puzzling, this trip to chik filet

Hours before the toddler, Cooper Mills Harris, was pronounced dead, he and his father stopped at Chick-fil-A for breakfast, according to an arrest warrant obtained Wednesday by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The father then put his son back in a rear-facing car seat in the middle of the backseat and drove to work, less than a mile away, the warrant states.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/cops-cobb-toddlers-death-investigation-continues-t/ngRfn/

Because initial report and timeline have Cooper being fed breakfast at 8:45 that morning at home. So I am thinking dad must have been the only one eating breakfast at the fast food joint at 9?

Unless the bit about Cooper being fed breakfast at home at 8:45 is as inaccurate as the two children in the car stuff that came from the same article.

 

[Judicious1]

Ah, that makes more sense. Still, if it truly WAS an accident, being charged with ANY type of "murder" is so damning. More so when it's your baby...

Well I'm not sure manslaughter is much better. I believe manner of death on a death cert can still reflect homicide opposed to accident. I think it just depends. Regardless he is still responsible for the death. Punishment in these cases vary. A man was just sentenced to 4 years I think. He went into work, worked 4
hours, smoked pot, went to his car for paperwork and realized the
3 month old was still in the car. Associated press did an article in 2007 saying average jail time was a year for dads and 2 -4 for moms. They also said parents tend to get convicted more than baby sitters or family members caring for children. Parents are also known to do more time. These were all manslaughter cases. Felony murder in GA I think faces 25-life no parole or death penalty should the prosecutor feel crime warrants death. Don't quote me on this.... In could be wrong. Just my understanding

 

[CrazytownUSA]

It still doesn't explain why he got in his car and drove a few miles before pulling into the shopping center. If LE says the car smelled that horribly, how and why did he ignore that? If I had a bad odor in my car (and I'm assuming it was quite pungent), I would look around to see what was causing it.

 

[Chewy]

I'm leaning towards he accidentally left the child in the morning ( somehow ) .... noticed at noon- panicked - googled information but put animals in the search to be "safe" and left the kid in the car for 3-4 more hours trying to figure out what to do and say to his wife and police. Had this been planned ahead of time I think he would have had a much better plan and less of a trail. What goes trough people's minds when they accidentally kill their children and know it could have been avoided had they paid more attention I don't know and hope I never do. He must not have wanted to be seen as responsible. I guess he thought saying Cooper choked and thats what made him pull over then changed it to he left him on accident but didn't notice the smell right away wouldn't change Cooper's
fate but might have taken away the fact he left him for hours before contacting police to report what he had done. This is my opinion based on everything revealed about him and this case. I do not feel he started out the day intent on getting rid of his child.

This doesn't fly at all, or he'd have freaked out and called 911. No parent is going to see their kid dead and go back to work If it was unintentional he'd freak out, not calmly close the door and return to work

 

[blue22]

Goodness! As long as they don't over charge him! We have seen how that turns out.

All posts are my opinion only. Sent via Tapatalk

It's pretty common to charge with one thing right in the beginning and tweak the charges as evidence unfolds. I don't think the original charges were overcharging or overzealous...just kind of a typical to do that and adjust.