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

[blue22]

A misbehaving app drained my phone battery by lunch time once. Wasn't even an app I was using, it was something that ran in the background. Flat battery is one reason an IT guy couldn't make a call.

While i"m not saying that's not possible (Who hasn't drained their battery?) it would be very convenient for him.

 

[blue22]

not a fan of the unnamed sources, never am. But am interested in what shakes from the trees re this latest scoop. Taking it in with a grain or two of salt.

I don't like that either. Usually means it's a leak (which really are credible much of the time,) or they jumped on the story without checking to get there first. That almost never ends well.

I hope more will come out this week.

 

[murphy3k]

Police leak maybe? I wonder if he was somewhere he wasnt suppose to be so lied about being at work? If that's the case still doesn't prove he knew the kid was in the car all day. Could mean he knew and couldn't call police from there. For example if he was leaving another women's house and realized the baby was in the car he could have freaked out and drove somewhere near his office as not to lose wife and baby in the same day. Still not seeing enough evidence to planning. Hopefully more comes out soon

That's an interesting possibility!

I wondered after reading the latest articles if he searched for something on his work computer dealing with how long death would take in a hot car or something along those lines. A search of that nature (i.e. how long death takes, what temps are required, etc.) would indicate he was aware of the child's location.

 

[tlcya]

Harris, 33, told investigators he forgot to take his 22-month-old son Cooper to daycare last week at the on-site child care facility at Home Depot Headquarters where he works.

Something revealed by the search of his workplace? A log or record of a phone call from daycare asking where the little one was? An email perhaps? hmmm Hoping for more detail by the time I get home from work and dinner done.

 

[newone]

Harris, 33, told investigators he forgot to take his 22-month-old son Cooper to daycare last week at the on-site child care facility at Home Depot Headquarters where he works.

Something revealed by the search of his workplace? A log or record of a phone call from daycare asking where the little one was? An email perhaps? hmmm Hoping for more detail by the time I get home from work and dinner done.

He could answer work emails remotely from his smartphone for sure, but his terminal log ins at his desk in the office might reveal he hadn't logged in there at all that day blowing apart his alibi.

 

[tiredblondy]

Harris, 33, told investigators he forgot to take his 22-month-old son Cooper to daycare last week at the on-site child care facility at Home Depot Headquarters where he works.

Something revealed by the search of his workplace? A log or record of a phone call from daycare asking where the little one was? An email perhaps? hmmm Hoping for more detail by the time I get home from work and dinner done.

Not going to work and lying about being there tops my list IF that's what happened...LE could get that info real quick. All my opinion only by the way!

Dinner??? is it that time already?

 

[Judicious1]

I really doubt, if this was planned, that there was anything found on a computer. Just because of the nature of his job. I find it more likely that he was somewhere with someone he shouldn't have been with and forgot to drop the kid at daycare on his way. At some point left and saw the child unresponsive. Maybe he waited and tried to think of a way out and whoever he was with was later questioned and confirmed he knew prior to 4pm. Cell phone ping could have placed him somewhere else or ip address if he accessed work database. Maybe the evidence at the office was that he was never there or had logged in remotely. My husband can access his work intranet from anywhere with a key fob. I'm thinking accident but the lying about where he was screwed him. Nothing else fits what friends have described his personality to be.

 

[JeannaT]

So I'm curious. Did he know at the beginning that his son was in the car, or did he know all day that his son was in the car?

Reason I ask is my boss had this awful thing happen to her and by the mercy of God all was well. She took her baby to an in-home daycare, and the sitter was sick that day. So she intended to go to work, grab a few things and go home to work from home that day. When she arrived at work there was a crisis going on and she switched into crisis mode until about an hour later when she remembered her baby.

So. Did he know initially that he didn't go by the daycare and then got switched to a different mode, or does it appear he willfully worked all day and left his baby in the car all day on purpose?

 

[murphy3k]

Watching WSB-TV's 6:00 newscast. The reporter stated during the news story that:

Investigators quickly backtracked Harris's movements that day, serving search warrants on Home Depot, gathering info that showed the story didn't quite add up. That at some point during the day Harris had contact with his car and should have seen his son at that time.

So, I guess this means LE has security footage showing JRH going to his vehicle sometime during the work day. I wonder if the camera angle allows LE to be certain JRH would've seen his son from whatever vantage point he had? IMO.

 

[Judicious1]

I also was thinking if something happened to baby before Wed or suspected or there was any evidence that the baby was deceased prior to 9am the mom would have been detained as well. Whatever happened happened between the time mom left for work Wed morning and 4pm. Maybe he didnt go in to work and kept Cooper home with him. Ran out during the day and forgot baby in the back because he didnt normally have him during the day. I guess I still feel there was an accident but the fact that he lied about certain details is going to bite him even more than his negligence

 

[x_files]

Watching WSB-TV's 6:00 newscast. The reporter stated during the news story that:



So, I guess this means LE has security footage showing JRH going to his vehicle sometime during the work day. I wonder if the camera angle allows LE to be certain JRH would've seen his son from whatever vantage point he had? IMO.

Lunch break?
Noticed the child but did nothing?

 

[Linda7NJ]

I also was thinking if something happened to baby before Wed or suspected or there was any evidence that the baby was deceased prior to 9am the mom would have been detained as well. Whatever happened happened between the time mom left for work Wed morning and 4pm.

What's the timeline on full rigor for a child in that heat and situation? Anyone know?


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[Judicious1]

Watching WSB-TV's 6:00 newscast. The reporter stated during the news story that:



So, I guess this means LE has security footage showing JRH going to his vehicle sometime during the work day. I wonder if the camera angle allows LE to be certain JRH would've seen his son from whatever vantage point he had? IMO.

Interesting however unless he thought the kid was there there was no reason to check a rear facing carseat if you thought the kid was at daycare. Not defending him just saying most cases I read about this the people drove to pick up their kids not knowing they were deceased in the backseat. If he went to lunch and came back it would make this that much sadder and crazier but doesn't make it intentional

 

[x_files]

Interesting however unless he thought the kid was there there was no reason to check a rear facing carseat if you thought the kid was at daycare. Not defending him just saying most cases I read about this the people drove to pick up their kids not knowing they were deceased in the backseat. If he went to lunch and came back it would make this that much sadder and crazier but doesn't make it intentional

Wouldn't there be a smell? Hate to be graphic but a hot sweaty dirty diaper and deceased child would NOT smell good.

 

[tlcya]

Watching WSB-TV's 6:00 newscast. The reporter stated during the news story that:



So, I guess this means LE has security footage showing JRH going to his vehicle sometime during the work day. I wonder if the camera angle allows LE to be certain JRH would've seen his son from whatever vantage point he had? IMO.

possibly to see if Cooper had expired yet. Maybe planned to "discover" him during the noon hour or on an afternoon break but then chickened out on doing it at work. Drove around for a bit til he found a parking lot crowded with witnesses?

SPECULATION no link will be provided - simply suggesting that LE may think that was what that trip to the car was about.

 

[tlcya]

Rigor normally appears within the body around two hours after the deceased has passed away with - as we have already mentioned - the facial and upper neck and shoulder muscles first to visibly suffer from its effects. Many Scenes of Crime Officers (SOCO) have reported that upon discovering the deceased that their face might have taken on what looks to be a grimace; this is because the facial muscles have contracted as ATP drains from them.

Once the contracting of all the body's muscles has taken place this state of Rigor - technically referred to as the Rigid Stage - normally lasts anything from eight to twelve hours after which time the body is completely stiff; this fixed state lasts for up to another eighteen hours.

http://www.exploreforensics.co.uk/rigor-mortis-and-lividity.html

Hours 2 to 6
Because the heart no longer pumps blood, gravity begins to pull it to the areas of the body closest to the ground, a process called livor mortis. If the body remains undisturbed long enough (several hours), the parts of the body nearest the ground can develop a reddish-purple discoloration from the accumulating blood. Embalmers sometimes refer to this as the "postmortem stain."

Beginning approximately in the third hour after death, again depending upon numerous factors, chemical changes within the body's cells cause all of the muscles to begin stiffening. Known as rigor mortis, the first muscles affected include the eyelids, jaw and neck. Over the next several hours, rigor mortis spreads upward into the face and down through the chest, abdomen, arms and legs until it reaches the fingers and toes.

Interestingly, the old custom of placing coins on the eyelids of the deceased might have originated from the desire to keep the eyes shut, since rigor mortis affects them soonest. Also, it is not unusual for infants and young children who die not to display rigor mortis, possibly due to their smaller muscle mass.

Hours 7 to 12
Maximum muscle stiffness throughout the body occurs after roughly 12 hours due to rigor mortis, although this will be affected by the decedent's age, physical condition, sex, the air temperature, etc. At this point, the limbs of the deceased are difficult to move or manipulate. The knees and elbows will be slightly flexed, and fingers or toes can appear unusually crooked.

http://dying.about.com/od/thedyingprocess/a/My_Body_Postmortem.htm

Livor mortis (Latin: livor—"bluish color," mortis—"of death"), postmortem lividity (Latin: postmortem—"after death", lividity—"black and blue"), or hypostasis (Greek: hupo, meaning "under, beneath"; stasis, meaning "a standing" ) is one of the signs of death. Livor mortis is a settling of the blood in the lower (dependent) portion of the body, causing a purplish red discoloration of the skin: when the heart is no longer agitating the blood, heavy red blood cells sink through the serum by action of gravity. Intensity of color depends upon the amount of reduced hemoglobin in the blood. This discoloration does not occur in the areas of the body that are in contact with the ground or another object, as the capillaries are compressed. As the vessel wall become permeable due to decomposition, blood leaks through them and stains the tissue. This is the reason for fixation of hypostasis.

Coroners can use the presence or absence of livor mortis as a means of determining an approximate time of death. The presence of livor mortis is an indication of when it would be futile to begin CPR, or when it is ineffective to continue if it is in progress. It can also be used by forensic investigators to determine whether or not a body has been moved (for instance, if the body is found lying face down but the pooling is present on the deceased's back, investigators can determine that the body was originally positioned face up).

Read more: http://www.deathreference.com/knowledge/Livor_mortis.html#ixzz35OfW5S6W

bumping to add to the rigor discussion while I look for any info on whether temperature affects this process and if so how.

 

[Judicious1]

Wouldn't there be a smell? Hate to be graphic but a hot sweaty dirty diaper and deceased child would NOT smell good.

Guess it would depend on how long it took the little guy to pass. I read they go into a coma and eventually have kidney failure. Depends on the age and health of the child. Ughhh so sad

 

[x_files]

Guess it would depend on how long it took the little guy to pass. I read they go into a coma and eventually have kidney failure. Depends on the age and health of the child. Ughhh so sad

horrific.
Can't imagine being that busy and distracted not to remember your own child.

 

[tlcya]

Several factors also affect the progression of rigor mortis, and investigators take these into account when estimating the time of death. One such factor is the ambient temperature. When conditions are warm, the onset and pace of rigor mortis are sped up by providing a conducive environment for the metabolic processes that cause decay. Low temperatures, however, slow them down. Therefore, for a person who dies outside in frozen conditions rigor mortis may last several days more than normal, so investigators may have to abandon it as a tool for determining time of death.[7][8]

Rigor mortis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ambient temperature: Warm conditions speed up the onset and pace of rigor mortis by providing a hospitable environment for the bacteria and processes that cause decay. Cold temperatures, on the other hand, slow it down. If someone dies outside in freezing temperatures, rigor mortis can last for days. Investigators might abandon it entirely as a tool for estimating the time of death.

http://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/death-dying/rigor-mortis-cause2.htm

7) Other factors

Rigor mortis develops quicker at higher temperatures and is affected by the decedent’s activity prior to death. A higher internal body temperature causes more lactic acid to be produced, which accelerates the development of rigor

Accelerated rigor can also be found in some drug-related deaths as certain substances (for example cocaine, PCP and methamphetamine) can cause higher internal body temperatures even if the environmental temperature is not raised

Physical activity before death also causes accelerated rigor due to a higher internal body temperature and increased lactic acid production

http://therealcsi.tumblr.com/post/21318622276/rigor-mortis-1-what-is-rigor-mortis-after

 

[tangelo]

Police say they have info that Harris knew child was in SUV as early as noon