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

[Sonya610]

Oh and just to throw in my twopennorth, we're in CA, I do the roll down windows and let hot air out thing too but my husband doesn't. We've had some um warmish exchanges about the relative benefits of doing so versus not doing so in the past and in the interests of marital harmony have agreed to disagree. I'm pretty sure I'm right and he's wrong though. :winkkiss:

Of course you are right! The whole danger regarding "hot cars" deals with the fact that the interior temperature gets MUCH MUCH hotter than the outdoor air! If it is 85 outside the car can easily be 115 inside.

It just stands to reason that by opening a door/windows for a minute or two to EXCHANGE the hot 115 degree air with the 85 degree ambient air the car WILL cool off faster when the AC is turned on.

Plus if the car has been sitting for a long time I think it is better for the engine to let the car run for a minute or two before starting the AC.

 

[CarolinaMoon]

Did we already go over the choking comment RH was said to have made when he pulled the car over? I remember a witness mentioned he said something about the baby choking.
I don't understand why he'd have said that.

The only thing I can think of is that, in his research, JRH learned that children w/hyperthermia may choke. Maybe he thought the mention of choking would mean that the child just passed away.

Too bad that poor Cooper was in full rigor at the time and the car had a foul odor.

 

[NancyA]

Of course you are right! The whole danger regarding "hot cars" deals with the fact that the interior temperature gets MUCH MUCH hotter than the outdoor air! If it is 85 outside the car can easily be 115 inside.

It just stands to reason that by opening a door/windows for a minute or two to EXCHANGE the hot 115 degree air with the 85 degree ambient air the car WILL cool off faster when the AC is turned on.

Plus if the car has been sitting for a long time I think it is better for the engine to let the car run for a minute or two before starting the AC.

Thank you for that. I'm no scientist but I've always believed (and said) it was the same thing as opening an oven door and letting the heat out.

 

[cebee]

It was mentioned that he was working as a dispatcher when a police dog died after 15 min in a hot car... I wonder if he thought it would be that quick for Cooper- maybe thought he would just fall peacefully asleep- and would not suffer much. Hence telling his wife that the baby looked peaceful, with eyes and mouth closed... Perhaps SHE worried that he would suffer and JH had assured her he would not? Maybe that is why she did not want to see the baby... prefers to think of him peacefully asleep...

Speaking of asleep... if CFA is only a few minutes from his work... I do not believe a fully awake and fed child would have fallen asleep in that time... poor little guy was probably babbling away... this was not a newborn. Those 30 seconds JH spent in the car after pulling in were probably spent answering 16 questions... no matter what your plan, it had to be hard to get out of the car...hearing that voice...

 

[southern_scout]

I've been watching snippets of the bond hearing. I didn't watch it live, so I am playing catch-up. The lack of emotion from both parents through most of it is disturbing (MOO). I cannot imagine sitting and listening to the events of how one of my children died without being a hysterical mess. I know everyone grieves differently, it's just something that stands out to me.

 

[Elley Mae]

So am I correct in thinking that the carseat straps were in the lowest setting, as in for a infant? If that is correct, then why are there pictures of Cooper in that carseat and the straps are in the center (middle) slts. Why would they be in the middle when he was younger, then be in the lowest when he is older?

Oh and yes, the odor had to be noticeable. NancyA, I want to ride in your car, no offense to your hubby, I open the windows in a parked hot car when I start the engine to. Years ago the dashboards in some vehicles would crack from the heat. A simple test would be to crack an egg in a dish and put that in your car and see how long that takes to fry. I know some anchors love to do the sidewalk/asphalt test, but try the car and see for yourself how hot it gets. I can not imagine the pain. I keep telling myself that he passed out.

 

[NancyA]

It was mentioned that he was working as a dispatcher when a police dog died after 15 min in a hot car... I wonder if he thought it would be that quick for Cooper- maybe thought he would just fall peacefully asleep- and would not suffer much. Hence telling his wife that the baby looked peaceful, with eyes and mouth closed... Perhaps SHE worried that he would suffer and JH had assured her he would not? Maybe that is why she did not want to see the baby... prefers to think of him peacefully asleep...

Speaking of asleep... if CFA is only a few minutes from his work... I do not believe a fully awake and fed child would have fallen asleep in that time... poor little guy was probably babbling away... this was not a newborn. Those 30 seconds JH spent in the car after pulling in were probably spent answering 16 questions... no matter what your plan, it had to be hard to get out of the car...hearing that voice...

I was just surmising the same thing in the LH thread.

 

[southern_scout]

The thing about the straps being lower confuses me, too. The straps fit more snugly just at or above the shoulder. Had they been at the lowest setting, there would have been more "play" in them simply because they would have wrapped around the shoulder and down the back in order for them to be long enough to buckle in the front. That gives a child more room to wiggle out, it doesn't make them tighter in the seat, really.

 

[SCHMAE]

I'm in Texas and when I get in the car, I just leave the door open a few extra seconds while the AC is on. I don't drive like that. But speaking of, this week I had to take 2 dogs to the vet. It was bout 10 a.m. when we left to come home , a 30 minute ride. It was maybe 85 to 88 degrees during the ride home in bright sun. And I had the air blasting full steam , past me and straight to them in between the seats. They were in the back seat. When we got home, they were both so hot and panting and came in straight to the water . I was worried about them that they got so heated up , even though I was with them, car was moving and AC was on as high as it would go. After drinking, they lay across the wood floor and collected themselves for 10 or 20 minutes before they could function and proceed with their day. FWIW .

For the record , my post above was not about AC/doors open or shut/ in the south! It was about how quickly my dogs became over heated in the car with AC on and how quickly a child would be overcome in similar conditions with no AC on

 

[Lemony]

It was mentioned that he was working as a dispatcher when a police dog died after 15 min in a hot car... I wonder if he thought it would be that quick for Cooper- maybe thought he would just fall peacefully asleep- and would not suffer much. Hence telling his wife that the baby looked peaceful, with eyes and mouth closed... Perhaps SHE worried that he would suffer and JH had assured her he would not? Maybe that is why she did not want to see the baby... prefers to think of him peacefully asleep...

Speaking of asleep... if CFA is only a few minutes from his work... I do not believe a fully awake and fed child would have fallen asleep in that time... poor little guy was probably babbling away... this was not a newborn. Those 30 seconds JH spent in the car after pulling in were probably spent answering 16 questions... no matter what your plan, it had to be hard to get out of the car...hearing that voice...

But he did say 'I dreaded how he would look'.
Thoughts?

 

[NancyA]

But he did say 'I dreaded how he would look'.
Thoughts?

Yep, there's a strong case right there for premeditation. The past tense use alone has me believing there had been prior discussion between them about killing Cooper and the best way to make it look like an accident.

 

[SCHMAE]

It was mentioned that he was working as a dispatcher when a police dog died after 15 min in a hot car... I wonder if he thought it would be that quick for Cooper- maybe thought he would just fall peacefully asleep- and would not suffer much. Hence telling his wife that the baby looked peaceful, with eyes and mouth closed... Perhaps SHE worried that he would suffer and JH had assured her he would not? Maybe that is why she did not want to see the baby... prefers to think of him peacefully asleep...

Speaking of asleep... if CFA is only a few minutes from his work... I do not believe a fully awake and fed child would have fallen asleep in that time... poor little guy was probably babbling away... this was not a newborn. Those 30 seconds JH spent in the car after pulling in were probably spent answering 16 questions... no matter what your plan, it had to be hard to get out of the car...hearing that voice...

Absolutely ! They talk nonstop at that age or at least a normal, well adjusted, content and comfortable child does. I guess it's too early to speculate if he was all of those things in a family like this ?

 

[CarolinaMoon]

I hope LH has spent the weekend with a really good criminal attorney. If she's hanging on to JRH's star, she may be doomed from the start. She will have to testify against him or go down with him. If she was in any way involved in a "plot" she has the option of saying that JRH dominated her as she was the dutiful wife.

Were I in her situation, I'd opt to do that. This gal needs a slap in the face with reality. It would be better for her to go to LE with representation than wait to see if she is arrested and charged. That would give her much more credibility with LE and a jury.

On a different subject, there was mention that JRH had recently purchased an expensive, $4000? guitar to get air miles. This made her angry with him as their finances are tight. I read elsewhere on the board that JRH made about $67,000 a year. If she was working part time, that would add some to the family income. Even so, with that income and two sets of student loans, car payments for 2 vehicles, rent, a child/childcare, etc., their budget would be tight. They were supposedly saving to buy a home as well. JRH was passed over for promotion (wonder why!).

DH and I are retired and on fixed incomes, although he does a little outside consulting when it's available. Our retirement income, thanks to over 65 years of public service employment between the two of us is just about at that level. We have to watch what we spend. Our youngest car is 8 years old and paid for. When we were at an airport, we were approached by a credit card representative to open a new account. If we charged $3000 over 3 months, we'd get two free round-trip tickets to anywhere in the country. DH and I signed on the dotted line. But, we didn't charge $3000 for goodies, we charged the new furnace we were going to have to pay for anyway. That bill was paid for immediately by transferring the balance to a 0% card.

 

[CarolinaMoon]

But he did say 'I dreaded how he would look'.
Thoughts?

A most unusual statement, for sure. Consider that if he only "discovered" Cooper and almost immediately pulled into the parking lot to "discover" him, that's very little time to come to the conclusion the child is dead AND wonder what his dead son would look like.

 

[NancyA]

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I hope LH has spent the weekend with a really good criminal attorney. If she's hanging on to JRH's star, she may be doomed from the start. She will have to testify against him or go down with him. If she was in any way involved in a "plot" she has the option of saying that JRH dominated her as she was the dutiful wife.

Were I in her situation, I'd opt to do that. This gal needs a slap in the face with reality. It would be better for her to go to LE with representation than wait to see if she is arrested and charged. That would give her much more credibility with LE and a jury.

BBM and respectfully snipped. If she was involved, and I think she was, I would hope she goes down too but, realistically, I'm guessing some kind of plea deal involving her turning state's evidence and getting a light sentence will be more likely. Her role in this is starting to stink to me as much as Adam Baker's did in little Zahra's case and he slunk away back to Australia without so much as a slap on the wrist - I hate to think LH is gonna be home free too when all this is settled.

 

[rabidstoat]

All of yesterday's back-and-forth about cooling off cars, and windows up versus windows down, reminded me of this cartoon:

 

[daisy7]

It was mentioned that he was working as a dispatcher when a police dog died after 15 min in a hot car... I wonder if he thought it would be that quick for Cooper- maybe thought he would just fall peacefully asleep- and would not suffer much. Hence telling his wife that the baby looked peaceful, with eyes and mouth closed... Perhaps SHE worried that he would suffer and JH had assured her he would not? Maybe that is why she did not want to see the baby... prefers to think of him peacefully asleep...

Speaking of asleep... if CFA is only a few minutes from his work... I do not believe a fully awake and fed child would have fallen asleep in that time... poor little guy was probably babbling away... this was not a newborn. Those 30 seconds JH spent in the car after pulling in were probably spent answering 16 questions... no matter what your plan, it had to be hard to get out of the car...hearing that voice...

Do we know that the dog dying actually happened besides RH saying it did. Here, when a canine is not actively working a scene, they are left locked in the back of the patrol car with the engine running and the AC/heat on. They know how to get out if the trainer needs immediate help and gives the right command.

 

[daisy7]

all of yesterday's back-and-forth about cooling off cars, and windows up versus windows down, reminded me of this cartoon:

View attachment 54198

o/t

 

[eileenhawkeye]

I feel like it is relatively rare for a parent to kill their child in a premeditated fashion, where it is planned days, weeks, or months advance. I think that is another reason why people are so shocked by this case. RH did not go into a rage one day, he actually researched how to murder his child. And if Leanna is involved, that means they both talked about the plan together.

 

[Flutterby80]

I have the feeling that if LH doesn't throw RH under the bus, he will be more than happy to do it to her. I am not seeing loyalty from him to her. He's a douchebag and out for himself. If she doesn't get wise to this, and fast, I am betting he will take her down.

One way or the other, makes no difference to me. They both deserve what they get and so much more.