Father Leaves Toddler in Car

[MissZoot]

I wonder if it made the "father" feel good to feed the little guy a last meal before leaving him to die? The article stated that the Chik-Fil-A where they ate was close to where the guy worked, so there's no way he forgot the little boy was in the vehicle in that short distance and also unlikely that the boy had fallen asleep. He also would have been in a forward facing car seat and the guy went out to his vehicle during his lunch break. He knew all along that baby was in the vehicle.

Not to mention that, at 22 months and after a breakfast of fast food, I'm willing to bet that the diaper was not empty and the car didn't smell so good, and you cannot EVER convince me that that would go unnoticed when opening the door at lunch. I look at that sweet little face and my heart breaks.

[cindyt]

Not to mention that, at 22 months and after a breakfast of fast food, I'm willing to bet that the diaper was not empty and the car didn't smell so good, and you cannot EVER convince me that that would go unnoticed when opening the door at lunch. I look at that sweet little face and my heart breaks.

ITA

[Mammy]

Not to mention that, at 22 months and after a breakfast of fast food, I'm willing to bet that the diaper was not empty and the car didn't smell so good, and you cannot EVER convince me that that would go unnoticed when opening the door at lunch. I look at that sweet little face and my heart breaks.

My heart breaks right along with you. I just don't understand it. I know you can't go by what is seen in pictures, but the Dad looks like he adored his little boy. If he was pressed enough for time to not want to risk getting in trouble at work by taking the time to drive his son to daycare, then why even stop at Chik-Fil-A at all? I'm sure the daycare would have fed him.

[cindyt]

My heart breaks right along with you. I just don't understand it. I know you can't go by what is seen in pictures, but the Dad looks like he adored his little boy. If he was pressed enough for time to not want to risk getting in trouble at work by taking the time to drive his son to daycare, then why even stop at Chik-Fil-A at all? I'm sure the daycare would have fed him.

Good point, Mammy.

[Sulamith]

A source with Cobb County LE states Harris used work computer to search how long it would take an animal to die inside a hot car.


http://wreg.com/2014/06/25/source-da...ft-in-hot-car/


Too bad he cannot be tortured and killed now. Sickening.

[cindyt]

A source with Cobb County LE states Harris used work computer to search how long it would take an animal to die inside a hot car.


http://wreg.com/2014/06/25/source-da...ft-in-hot-car/

It just gets worse and worse and worse.

[baroque1]

"He was loved and cherished and protected by both parents and all family members for his short 22 months of life." - Wow I think whoever wrote this obit is in serious denial. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/tus...0524&fhid=8345

[StewartGilliganGriffin]

A source with Cobb County LE states Harris used work computer to search how long it would take an animal to die inside a hot car.


http://wreg.com/2014/06/25/source-da...ft-in-hot-car/



Too bad he cannot be tortured and killed now. Sickening.

Stoning to death seems in order here if what the authorities are saying is true.

[Wendy A.]

A source with Cobb County LE states Harris used work computer to search how long it would take an animal to die inside a hot car.


http://wreg.com/2014/06/25/source-da...ft-in-hot-car/


Too bad he cannot be tortured and killed now. Sickening.

That makes me sick! I just don't see how a parent could do something like that!

[SheeBee]

I have read the major news sites and I am still not understanding why they think it was a homicide and not a horrible accident? It was a huge headline, HOMICDE!!!, but then it doesn't say anything was intentional. So of course I'm asking here. What am I missing?? I see where he went back to the car to throw something back in. Is that what they are basing the charge on?

I cannot imagine leaving my child in a car. But I know it happens. I know there were times I drove to work and would get there and remember nothing about getting there. As if I were on auto-pilot.

[shipmatekate]

I have read the major news sites and I am still not understanding why they think it was a homicide and not a horrible accident? It was a huge headline, HOMICDE!!!, but then it doesn't say anything was intentional. So of course I'm asking here. What am I missing?? I see where he went back to the car to throw something back in. Is that what they are basing the charge on?

I cannot imagine leaving my child in a car. But I know it happens. I know there were times I drove to work and would get there and remember nothing about getting there. As if I were on auto-pilot.

Well there is this

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5530637.html

[cindyt]

Well there is this

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5530637.html

Yep. I was fixing to repost the link about which stated the dad knew he was in the car, they said.

[Mammy]

A source with Cobb County LE states Harris used work computer to search how long it would take an animal to die inside a hot car.


http://wreg.com/2014/06/25/source-da...ft-in-hot-car/


Too bad he cannot be tortured and killed now. Sickening.

OMG, how could he do that? He wanted his little boy to die. Did he go out to his vehicle at lunch time to see if his little boy was dead yet? Did he think he would get away with killing him in such a torturous way by wailing and claiming it was an accident? I'm wondering now if there was a life insurance policy on the little boy? Was the father hoping people would feel sorry for his family and the donations come rolling in? This case is haunting me.

[MissZoot]

OMG, how could he do that? He wanted his little boy to die. Did he go out to his vehicle at lunch time to see if his little boy was dead yet? Did he think he would get away with killing him in such a torturous way by wailing and claiming it was an accident? I'm wondering now if there was a life insurance policy on the little boy? Was the father hoping people would feel sorry for his family and the donations come rolling in? This case is haunting me.

I read the part in the Daily Mail story where the woman basically said that poor little Cooper was in rigor when they took him out of his car seat, and I lost it. Also, I know you mentioned it earlier, Mammy, but why the hell was he still in a rear-facing car seat? He was 22 months old, and he seemed to be sitting up fine in the pictures, so it doesn't appear that there were any severe developmental delays.

[Mammy]

I read the part in the Daily Mail story where the woman basically said that poor little Cooper was in rigor when they took him out of his car seat, and I lost it. Also, I know you mentioned it earlier, Mammy, but why the hell was he still in a rear-facing car seat? He was 22 months old, and he seemed to be sitting up fine in the pictures, so it doesn't appear that there were any severe developmental delays.

Yes, the part about him still being in the position of sitting in his car seat was like a punch in the gut. I also noticed the part about the rear facing seat and was stunned over that. Apparently, it is now recommended to keep the car seat rear facing until a child is two instead of one like it used to be. I had no idea until I googled it.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42186101/n.../#.U6yjerFeaUk

I keep trying to understand why this man deliberately chose to kill his helpless little boy in such a horrible way. I've seen so many pictures of the little boy and he looked healthy, happy, clean, well fed, and loved by his parents. There are several pictures with the father holding his son and he looks so happy and proud of his boy. What could have happened to cause an outcome like this? It's driving me nuts!

[SheeBee]

Well there is this

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5530637.html

That is what I had read also. I just thought there was more that I had missed.

[MissZoot]

Yes, the part about him still being in the position of sitting in his car seat was like a punch in the gut. I also noticed the part about the rear facing seat and was stunned over that. Apparently, it is now recommended to keep the car seat rear facing until a child is two instead of one like it used to be. I had no idea until I googled it.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42186101/n.../#.U6yjerFeaUk

I keep trying to understand why this man deliberately chose to kill his helpless little boy in such a horrible way. I've seen so many pictures of the little boy and he looked healthy, happy, clean, well fed, and loved by his parents. There are several pictures with the father holding his son and he looks so happy and proud of his boy. What could have happened to cause an outcome like this? It's driving me nuts!

Now I feel really old. I see that they've improved the car seats to allow them to hold the bigger kids, as well. Okay, I'd feel better about that except the poor baby is still dead, and honestly, I don't think that an "out of sight, out of mind" excuse is going to fly here, which I assume is the point of the constant mentions of the rear-facing seat.

And I agree, the dad looks happy and proud, although the evil part of me (IOW, the majority)also notes that they appear to be at sporting events where the beer flows freely. Maybe it really was just a horrible mistake, and yet the quote from the cop is telling me that we haven't heard the half of it yet.

I really need to go numb my brain by reading about Courtney Stodden now.

[Mammy]

Now I feel really old. I see that they've improved the car seats to allow them to hold the bigger kids, as well. Okay, I'd feel better about that except the poor baby is still dead, and honestly, I don't think that an "out of sight, out of mind" excuse is going to fly here, which I assume is the point of the constant mentions of the rear-facing seat.

And I agree, the dad looks happy and proud, although the evil part of me (IOW, the majority)also notes that they appear to be at sporting events where the beer flows freely. Maybe it really was just a horrible mistake, and yet the quote from the cop is telling me that we haven't heard the half of it yet.

I really need to go numb my brain by reading about Courtney Stodden now.

Even though I looked it up, it still seems strange to me to think about a 22 month old child facing the rear of the seat. My grandbabies could talk quite a bit at that age and were chatterboxes when we went somewhere. I could look up in the rear view mirror and see their faces. I don't know, I guess the little boy was used to it if that's all he ever knew. The quote from the cop and the fact that the guy actually researched to see how long it would take to kill an animal in a hot vehicle blows the accident theory out of the water. It also made me wonder if he had an animal before and used it for a trial run after looking up information about it on the internet. I just want to make it clear, I haven't read that anywhere, it's just my mind wandering. There was a case of a man and his girlfriend killing the man's young children by poisoning them and they experimented on their dogs before doing it to the children. My mind wanders too much.

[MissZoot]

Even though I looked it up, it still seems strange to me to think about a 22 month old child facing the rear of the seat. My grandbabies could talk quite a bit at that age and were chatterboxes when we went somewhere. I could look up in the rear view mirror and see their faces. I don't know, I guess the little boy was used to it if that's all he ever knew. The quote from the cop and the fact that the guy actually researched to see how long it would take to kill an animal in a hot vehicle blows the accident theory out of the water. It also made me wonder if he had an animal before and used it for a trial run after looking up information about it on the internet. I just want to make it clear, I haven't read that anywhere, it's just my mind wandering. There was a case of a man and his girlfriend killing the man's young children by poisoning them and they experimented on their dogs before doing it to the children. My mind wanders too much.

Didn't the obituary say something about Cooper liking to talk to everyone? My oldest was like that, and if no one was responding, well, he would carry on a conversation with himself, loudly and with great animation. That doesn't fit with the forgetting him theory, either, in my mind. If you have a little one who TALKS, you notice them when they're talking, and you notice when they get quiet, too, because you figure either they are doing something they shouldn't or something is wrong.

But of course I'm trying to extrapolate my experiences on someone else. Clearly, my mind wanders, too.

[Mammy]

Didn't the obituary say something about Cooper liking to talk to everyone? My oldest was like that, and if no one was responding, well, he would carry on a conversation with himself, loudly and with great animation. That doesn't fit with the forgetting him theory, either, in my mind. If you have a little one who TALKS, you notice them when they're talking, and you notice when they get quiet, too, because you figure either they are doing something they shouldn't or something is wrong.

But of course I'm trying to extrapolate my experiences on someone else. Clearly, my mind wanders, too.

I hadn't read his obituary. I saw the link, but haven't read it. I just know little guys his age do talk, sing, giggle, clap, and other noisy activities. My third grandson could carry on a conversation at that age and talked very clearly. I keep imagining this man taking his little son out for breakfast and knowing what he was going to do to him soon because he had researched it. Did he give him something to make him sleepy while they were eating? Did he help feed him and listen to him chatter as they ate? I just can't make sense of it at all.

[*sarah*]

I hate reading stories like this, it's just so sad and senseless. Poor little guy looks just adorable in the pic.

[Mammy]

I hate reading stories like this, it's just so sad and senseless. Poor little guy looks just adorable in the pic.

I definitely agree with you. I can't get him out of my mind.

[cindyt]

I haven't read some of this in the Atlanta papers. That doesn't mean anything. But you know how the media is about such things. And it doesn't mean AJC is holiness itself, either. It all just boggles my mind.

[Mammy]

I haven't read some of this in the Atlanta papers. That doesn't mean anything. But you know how the media is about such things. And it doesn't mean AJC is holiness itself, either. It all just boggles my mind.

I hope a lot of the details aren't true. I can't stand the thought of anything tragic ever happening to any of my grandbabies and I can't imagine how much pain little Cooper's grandparents must be in. The parents of the father are really in an awful position.

[SheeBee]

I just read about the search history about how long it took for an animal to die in a car. Ugh. Guess that answers my earlier question.

I'm with you Mammy and hope the details aren't true.

[Upset]

This is such an incredibly sad story. I not only don't understand HOW you could do something like this, I also don't understand WHY. If you really don't want the kid any more, I'm sure you would have childless couples lined up around the block to adopt him. Why was THIS the only option the guy could see?

[StewartGilliganGriffin]

This has a Casey Anthony feel to it. I just pray the jury gets this one right.... if he doesn't confess and plea it down. I can't wrap my head around anything about this case but what gets me most is how he could sit in his office knowing the agony, pain, and fear his adorable little boy was going through. I mean the father basically slow cooked his son and could have stopped it at any time.

[baroque1]

So disturbing! Being trapped and cooked slowly to death has just got be be one of the worst ways to die. Mammy, my jaded mind says he chose this method because as we know, hardly any legal consequences come from this. Just look at all the public sympathy these parents get when they do it and charges are not brought or a small slap on the wrist only. I have often thought it is the perfect murder to get away with. It still just blows my mind that anyone could do this though to an innocent child.

[AussieBec]

Oh how sad ...He was a gorgeous little boy

[StewartGilliganGriffin]

The cops better be right. They aren't allowing the father to attend the little boys funeral. Which is fine if they're 100% sure it was intentional. http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...ot-car-n142641

[Leasie]

This is such an incredibly sad story. I not only don't understand HOW you could do something like this, I also don't understand WHY. If you really don't want the kid any more, I'm sure you would have childless couples lined up around the block to adopt him. Why was THIS the only option the guy could see?

Yes, WHY? Is he insane????? Insurance???? Or hell, just did not want to be a daddy anymore???

Poor little guy. He suffered so much. Breaks my heart.

[PiggyTx]

Years ago, I told my gf, I hope ppl don't start using this as a way to get rid of their kids. I just CANNOT fathom how you forget there is a kid in the effin car.
none. and no one can tell me any different. And like another hag here said, bet he knew where his cell phone was. BINGO! There needs to be consequences,
whether or not it was an "accident". Something.

p.s. you have to be a cold bastard/bitch to even do this on purpose. but then, there is alot of coldness going on in the world right now.

[MissZoot]

So I found this today while I was...working...

http://www.11alive.com/story/news/lo...eath/11429745/

So he forgot about poor Cooper in three minutes, and then was apparently going to forget to pick him up as well? I see why the police were so suspicious so quickly.

[cindyt]

So I found this today while I was...working...

http://www.11alive.com/story/news/lo...eath/11429745/

So he forgot about poor Cooper in three minutes, and then was apparently going to forget to pick him up as well? I see why the police were so suspicious so quickly.

Plus, the condition of that baby shocked them. Now, you know they have seen horrible things, and to say they were shocked, speaks volumes to me. Of course, it could mean because he was a baby, but don't you think they've seen dead babies before? I can't wait for the trial so that it will all come out. But chances are he'll plea down. Still, maybe we'll find out the real dope.

[*sarah*]

Cindy, where did you hear/read something about the condition of the babies body? Just wondering if I missed something in an article somewhere.

[cindyt]

Cindy, where did you hear/read something about the condition of the babies body? Just wondering if I missed something in an article somewhere.

I didn't read anything about the condition of the body, except that the cops were shocked by it. Nothing has been revealed about it except that his death was related to more than heat and they have ruled it a homicide. Plus they are waiting a tox report.

[Mammy]

So disturbing! Being trapped and cooked slowly to death has just got be be one of the worst ways to die. Mammy, my jaded mind says he chose this method because as we know, hardly any legal consequences come from this. Just look at all the public sympathy these parents get when they do it and charges are not brought or a small slap on the wrist only. I have often thought it is the perfect murder to get away with. It still just blows my mind that anyone could do this though to an innocent child.

I have the same opinion. When other children have died this way, the majority of the parents who "forgot" the child in the vehicle was never charged with any crime. I'm sure this guy was patting himself on the back for being so smart to think of the perfect way to get away with murder. Thank God the guy is stupid, like most criminals are. If the authorities hadn't found out about his breakfast outing with his son and hadn't found out about his disgusting computer search, he probably would have gotten away with it and had several thousand dollars worth of free cash from people who donated to him and his wife in sympathy. I'm curious to see if there was life insurance on little Cooper.

[MissZoot]

Plus, the condition of that baby shocked them. Now, you know they have seen horrible things, and to say they were shocked, speaks volumes to me. Of course, it could mean because he was a baby, but don't you think they've seen dead babies before? I can't wait for the trial so that it will all come out. But chances are he'll plea down. Still, maybe we'll find out the real dope.

I'm with you, Cindy, they were reacting to more than just the fact that a child died in a hot car. Of course it's awful regardless, but the statements made by the police are telling in their own way, and I don't think they'd have said what they did if it truly looked like a straight up accident. I find myself hoping that the poor baby WAS drugged, because then I don't have to have the image of him screaming in that hot car (as he must have for at least a while if he were awake) and no one coming to help.

I doubt we'll ever know the whole story, and I don't think that I'll ever be satisfied with a "reason" or a "motive" because there is NO SUCH THING when it comes to killing a child, but I hope that for Cooper's sake, there is some justice.

[cindyt]

Well, now it's being reported in AJC, too.

Warrant: Cobb toddler’s dad researched child deaths inside vehicles

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

After his toddler son died after being left inside an SUV for seven hours, a Cobb County man told police he had researched children dying in hot vehicles, court documents released Saturday morning state.
Justin “Ross” Harris told police he feared his 22-month-old could be left inside a vehicle, according to search warrant affidavits obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. But no information about the timing of Harris’ online searches was released. And the questions that many across the country have been asking — how did this happen and why — remain unanswered. http://www.ajc.com/news/news/warrant...tlink_homepage

[Mammy]

If any good can come from tragedy, maybe now authorities will start looking closer at such cases and charging them for what they are instead of calling them "accidents" and letting people get away with it. I've thought before that it was the perfect cover up for killing a child and is child neglect at the very least. It has to be one of the most prolonged, torturous deaths imaginable for a baby or young child who has no idea what is happening to them.

[baroque1]

In a washington post article written in a very apologetic view point on parents who do this called Fatal Distraction the author interviewed parents who were guilty of killing their kids this way. He also interviewed Janette Fennell who runs a nonprofit organization called Kids and Cars. Kids and Cars lobbies for increased car safety for children, and as such maintains one of the saddest databases in America. He asks her :What is the worst case she knows of?“I don’t really like to . . .” she says.
She looks away. She won’t hold eye contact for this.
“The child pulled all her hair out before she died.”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-vehicles.html

The funeral was today and they patched the dad in over a speaker from jail. Totally weird how they used this funeral as a support rally for him. Very creepy and wrong

[Mammy]

In a washington post article written in a very apologetic view point on parents who do this called Fatal Distraction the author interviewed parents who were guilty of killing their kids this way. He also interviewed Janette Fennell who runs a nonprofit organization called Kids and Cars. Kids and Cars lobbies for increased car safety for children, and as such maintains one of the saddest databases in America. He asks her :What is the worst case she knows of?“I don’t really like to . . .” she says.
She looks away. She won’t hold eye contact for this.
“The child pulled all her hair out before she died.”

Have you ever been to that site? They have a website and a Facebook page. It's so awful to see all of those little faces and know how they died, although the site isn't just heat related car deaths. There are also children who have been backed over by vehicles and who were strangled when their necks were caught in power windows. There is the story of a little boy from Kentucky who died in 1998 after his babysitter had left him and her own son strapped in car seats while she shopped for two hours. Her son lived, but the 11 month old child she was babysitting died and she served ten years in prison for it. I guess the difference was that she never claimed she forgot them. She left them there on purpose.

The dude in this case had no business being any part of that baby's funeral. I guess they are in denial or they wouldn't want to hear a thing from his mouth. How very Anthonyesque.

[cindyt]

Please combine these posts.

In a washington post article written in a very apologetic view point on parents who do this called Fatal Distraction the author interviewed parents who were guilty of killing their kids this way. He also interviewed Janette Fennell who runs a nonprofit organization called Kids and Cars. Kids and Cars lobbies for increased car safety for children, and as such maintains one of the saddest databases in America. He asks her :What is the worst case she knows of?“I don’t really like to . . .” she says.
She looks away. She won’t hold eye contact for this.
“The child pulled all her hair out before she died.”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-vehicles.html

The funeral was today and they patched the dad in over a speaker from jail. Totally weird how they used this funeral as a support rally for him. Very creepy and wrong

[sierrarose]

CNN reporting that at the child's funeral the dad was allowed to talk through a speaker. The mother of the child spoke also at the funeral and said she had been asked if she was angry at her husband. She said "absolutely not". She described her husband as a caring parent and "the leader of our household". If I were in her shoes, hell yeah I would be angry at my child's father even if I thought it was a total accident. Forgiveness takes more than a few days. There is something really wrong here.

[*sarah*]

Does anyone think the mother is involved with this? I haven't read enough about her to decide either way.

[Mammy]

I don't think so, but I could always change my mind.

[baroque1]

Have you ever been to that site? They have a website and a Facebook page. It's so awful to see all of those little faces and know how they died, although the site isn't just heat related car deaths. There are also children who have been backed over by vehicles and who were strangled when their necks were caught in power windows. There is the story of a little boy from Kentucky who died in 1998 after his babysitter had left him and her own son strapped in car seats while she shopped for two hours. Her son lived, but the 11 month old child she was babysitting died and she served ten years in prison for it. I guess the difference was that she never claimed she forgot them. She left them there on purpose.

The dude in this case had no business being any part of that baby's funeral. I guess they are in denial or they wouldn't want to hear a thing from his mouth. How very Anthonyesque.

No I havent been to that website but I will check it out. Sad stories for sure. Im not into apologising for these parents and resent that article taking that angle. I read somewhere that a judge somewhere used that article to give a light sentence to another parent who did this. Very inappropriate to use that on the bench. Also, I got creeped out at that one woman he interviewed in that fried her child. She still drives the same car. She is the one who used her husbands frozen sperm to have another while he was on a tour of duty. She ended up having five children and killing two of them at different times. Unbelievable.

Cindy-I would merge the two posts if I knew how

[Mammy]

My post is embedded in yours for some strange reason.

[cindyt]

My post is embedded in yours for some strange reason.

That happens sometimes. IDK why. I deleted it.

baroque1, I merged the two posts.

[baroque1]

Thank you Cindy