GA - Suspicion over heat death of Cooper, 22 mo., Cobb County, June 2014, #10

[lillybell]

I have a question regarding the car park.
I know it was stated that there was a car to one side and grass on the other, but were there cars parked directly behind him?
Sorry if it's been addressed, thankyou x

 

[ILikeToBendPages]

The thing that bothers me the most is Cooper being strapped down with the restraints in the lowest position. One that is normally used for newborns and infants up to about nine months old. That had to be painful for him. That in itself is child abuse..

 

[LinasK]

Setting aside all the evidence that points to this being an intentional act, the current charges do not require there to have been any intent. The charges are based on gross criminal negligence and do not require malice or premeditation (though many of us think those were present). Try to think of it this way:

-- If you fail to properly set the gears/parking brakes of your vehicle and it rolls down a hill and crashes into an elderly person and kills him or her, should the negligence be excused because you cry a lot about it?
-- If you fail to lock gate of the fence enclosing your empty swimming pool and a neighbor's kid falls in and breaks his or her neck should you be let off the hook because you feel real bad?
-- If you burn trash in your backyard and fail to put the fire out properly and it catches the neighbors' house on fire and they all die of smoke inhalation should you get nothing worse than a scolding because you would give anything for a 'do-over'?

Or do you believe that you should only get a 'bye' on causing a death by negligence if the deceased is your own flesh and blood?

P.S. The above cited examples depending on the jurisdiction could in fact be considered lesser acts of negligence than causing 'excessive mental and/or physical suffering to a child' by forgetting him in a hot car and letting him roast to death. IMO.

To add to your examples of "NOT My Fault"- the woman whose dogs nearly mauled mine to death in front of me, had the audacity to claim it wasn't her fault, because it was her gardeners who left the gate open!!!!!

 

[Elley Mae]

We can have a conversation like that about the majority of people and their priorities.

So if I understand this correctly because (according to you) the majority of people don't have their priorities in order then they can be excused for forgetting their kid in a car or intentionally leaving their kid in a car because it's about the majority and what they do. ?jmo Not to steer this off topic but we are not talking about the majority here, it's about justin harris.

 

[MyBelle]

That is exactly my point. If his murder plan was to say he forgot about him, he used the wrong seat in the wrong position. But I need to see a demo of their new FF seat in his car to determine if that is correct.

He did claim he forgot about him. That part is correct.

 

[lillybell]

The thing that bothers me the most is Cooper being strapped down with the restraints in the lowest position. One that is normally used for newborns and infants up to about nine months old. That had to be painful for him. That in itself is child abuse..

Makes me wonder if little Cooper was telling dad it was tight or fussing over the straps.
Certainly makes the idea of him just falling asleep as soon as he was put in the car hard to believe.
All three of my children would defiantly let everyone know if they were uncomfortable.

 

[PigPong]

To my knowledge, it was just one of them that had a side business with Ross and generally there is a "Conflict of Interest" agreement between their primary employer and the parties involved in the side business but, it doesn't appear Home Depot was very aware of anything Ross was doing during his time as their employee. From what I see, a 7 hour day with over an hour lunch, using more company time to do his illicit texting, communications with all his other recreational sites, doesn't leave much time to contribute to your actual job. I bet new policies have been enforced since this happened.

In my experience (and as a photographer I had several conflict of interest clauses) as long as they weren't doing any web development for anything that could be considered competition for HD, they should have been fine. I would think competition would be thinks like other do it yourself/home improvement stores, tool rentals, hardware stores, commercial contracting suppliers, etc...

HD can't be happy to learn that the four of them were most likely discussing their new venture on company time.

Also, I wonder if they were going for a Christian client base. The 9th hour is when Jesus was supposed to have died.

 

[LibertyandJustice4]

I am still catching up so my apologies if this has been said. When it comes to narcissists, I've noticed they tend to depersonalize people in terms that sound caring. For example, RH saying, "When are you going to pick up my buddy?" It sounds affectionate, but sometimes narcissists only refer to people in relationship to themselves: my daughter, my son, my wife, etc. Not saying he did that for sure because I wouldn't even begin to know, but it's something I see as a minor red flag and would be curious to know if he referred to CH as "my buddy" more often than he referred to him as Cooper.

 

[minor4th]

So if I understand this correctly because (according to you) the majority of people don't have their priorities in order then they can be excused for forgetting their kid in a car or intentionally leaving their kid in a car because it's about the majority and what they do. ?jmo Not to steer this off topic but we are not talking about the majority here, it's about justin harris.

For sure the majority of parents do not forget their children in the car to die, even among parents whose kids may not be their priority 100% of the time

Even if it's legitimately an accident (in general, not referring to JRH), it's inexcusable and should be a felony homicide. The parent is the sole means for sustaining the baby's life - so there is no room at all for that kind of forgetfulness or distraction or negligence.

 

[MyBelle]

The thing that bothers me the most is Cooper being strapped down with the restraints in the lowest position. One that is normally used for newborns and infants up to about nine months old. That had to be painful for him. That in itself is child abuse..

I think he wasn't strapped in because it would be impossible with the straps in that position. The abrasions and scratches could be from not being strapped in. He was on the pavement when cops arrived.

JMO

 

[SStarr33]

So if I understand this correctly because (according to you) the majority of people don't have their priorities in order then they can be excused for forgetting their kid in a car or intentionally leaving their kid in a car because it's about the majority and what they do. ?jmo Not to steer this off topic but we are not talking about the majority here, it's about justin harris.

That is not at all what I meant and I am not sure how to say it without going way OT.

 

[leah]

Leanna Harris followed her son's casket out of the church, still on the phone with her husband. That action startled me more than anything she has said. The looks on her face at the hearing, cold as ice. "First of all Ross, I love you and I'm doing this for you, OK? I took this statement as a threat. She doesn't appear to me, to be some poor defenseless woman whose husband is the leader. She knows exactly what she is doing IMO

 

[zoey]

The thing that bothers me the most is Cooper being strapped down with the restraints in the lowest position. One that is normally used for newborns and infants up to about nine months old. That had to be painful for him. That in itself is child abuse..

The whole thing was painful!

 

[minor4th]

Can that car seat that CH was in even be used in a front facing position?

 

[SStarr33]

He did claim he forgot about him. That part is correct.

Yes, he did. But if it was his murder plan it would have looked better for him if Cooper was in a FF seat directly behind him.

Third time I said it. Don't know how to make it clearer.

 

[RainCheck]

I would need to see a demo, but it seems to me it would be easier for him to say he forgot his kid in a FF seat placed directly behind him.

But then the child is facing you and moving around. You would see the child clearly when you threw lightbulbs in or walked in the front of the car. If the seat is rear facing, you're looking at the back of a car seat. Now my car seats are taller, but you can not see my son at all looking into the front of my car.
All you can see is the back of a car seat. Even if Cooper's head was two inches above the car seat, RH could still claim all he saw was the back of the car seat.

 

[PigPong]

Makes me wonder if little Cooper was telling dad it was tight or fussing over the straps.
Certainly makes the idea of him just falling asleep as soon as he was put in the car hard to believe.
All three of my children would defiantly let everyone know if they were uncomfortable.

My girls scream and cry even when they are NOT nearly too tight or uncomfortable.

 

[Elley Mae]

According to the paper, Cobb County Police Det. Phil Stoddard testified Thursday Cooper was "several inches" too big for the rear-facing child seat in which he died.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/police-seek-medical-records-in-georgia-tots-hot-car-death/

"Harris knew the specific make and model of the seat and what the weight limit was for the child to be seated in it," warrants state, according to the paper. "When the seat was inspected the straps for the seat were set on the lowest level for a small child."

 

[PigPong]

Even if it's legitimately an accident (in general, not referring to JRH), it's inexcusable and should be a felony homicide. The parent is the sole means for sustaining the baby's life - so there is no room at all for that kind of forgetfulness or distraction or negligence.

Yes, yes, and yes!

 

[SStarr33]

For sure the majority of parents do not forget their children in the car to die, even among parents whose kids may not be their priority 100% of the time

Even if it's legitimately an accident (in general, not referring to JRH), it's inexcusable and should be a felony homicide. The parent is the sole means for sustaining the baby's life - so there is no room at all for that kind of forgetfulness or distraction or negligence.

My problem with that is there are parents whose distraction and negligence result in death and other poor outcomes for their older children.

Why do they get a pass?

Please remove mods if too OT.