GA - Suspicion over heat death of Cooper, 22 mo., Cobb County, June 2014, #11

[Spice]

They didn't even get married in a church. Not sure why everyone thinks they are so religious.

Um. Their pastor was a character witness for him at the hearing. How many people who are not religious and attend church regularly know their pastor well enough to ask them to testify to their character. Also, LH words at the funeral were peppered with a lot of references to The Lord giving her strength and heaven etc.

It's well known that they were very active in their church and definitely religious.

 

[gngr~snap]

The guy on Dr. Drew knew her a whole 2 years,
as a Jr and Sr in high school and he is a childhood friend?
Yeahh, he doesn't know her.
moo

 

[LinasK]

I have felt like RH was guilty from the beginning and also suspect LH's involvement, but playing Devil's advocate and thinking about context, I wonder about this statement "Did you say too much?" It sounds bad, really bad. But, if she truly believed this was an accident, than it would be smart to advise RH "not to say too much".

Our family just had a terrible experience of having our son falsely accused of a crime. You'll just have to trust me that it was indeed a false accusation. But there was a series of coincidences that briefly made things look pretty bad for my son. Our first inclination was to just talk to the police, thinking that the truth would prevail and the whole mess would get sorted out. But we had also read online that you should never, ever talk to police if you have been falsely accused of something. We felt very confused, because on TV and often on Websleuths, I know that when someone "lawyers up" they look guilty. But I was reading that in real life you should always lawyer up and zip it--even if you are totally and completely innocent. So, in the end we told the police that our son would not be talking to them. In the end it became very clear that the accusations were false and the DA declined to press charges.

So, I have a new perspective about not talking to the police. But having said that, in this case we are talking about a very extreme situation of the possible murder of a child. In light of that, I can't understand the lack of emotion in what LH said to her husband. Was this the first time seeing him right after being informed that her child was dead? Who would be that lucid and reasonable to be thinking about such things? I just don't get that--I mean I would be screaming, "What happened? What did you do?" and beating him with my fists. Yeah, yeah I know people grieve differently--but I don't believe asking "Well, did you say too much?" fits into the range of normal. I just can't wrap my mind around it. I need context.

But I still believe Rh is guilty based on the very short drive, close proximity to child in car seat, this being RH's normal routine, and the smell in the car. All the other stuff is just curious and bizarre extras for me.

Why??? If your son was innocent, why not talk to the police and tell them exactly why. That's what I would do!
P.S. My brother is a lawyer. I have nothing to hide.

 

[MsMarple]

And he wouldn't be in a musical group in his church, would he? I don't know. One of my bosses has some hearing impairment but it's not enough for anyone to notice. He's in the musical group at his church and plays guitar. I think the only reason I even know about it is that he mentioned he has a hearing aid. I can't see it or tell by the way he acts that anything is unusual.

I play music with several guys who are hard of hearing, wear an aid and even one who wears two. It doesn't impact their playing abilities for the most part. And musicians who play fretted instruments like guitar usually use a tuner clipped on the headstock for tuning up. So, I'd say he has no problem playing in his praise band.

 

[Kensie]

All this religious/Christian talk has me a bit uncomfortable I must admit. Not that I'm saying it shouldn't be discussed, just that I don't like the generalizations.

Bad people often times say they are Christians and hide behind the Bible. Then they are bunched in with the rest of us. Then generalizations are made about Christians having the ability of being not truthful or downright hateful. That's not the case. They were never Christians to begin with. Because Christian hearts could never be evil.

I can tell you right now, NO CHRISTIAN has EVER purposefully killed their child. NONE!

They may claim to be Christian, but there is no way they are. True followers of Christ could never hurt an innocent baby.

There is a huge difference in being a true Christian and those who claim to be "religious".

Several things LH said at that funeral were far from Christian.

Sorry if this is OT and rambling, but I had to say it.

JMO and all that jazz.

Thanks for posting. I feel the same way.

 

[Kip]

Here is a question for you, about his statement " I was dreading how he would look."

WHEN, exactly, was he dreading? Wasn't it an instantaneous discovery that his son was in the car? It would have been an immediate realization that Cooper was still in the seat. So WHEN, exactly, did Dad have a chance to do any dreading?

If I had just realized I left my child in a hot car all day I would simultaneously be hoping that he was okay and dreading to look at him to see what I had done.

When my son came running to me saying he had cut his hand, I dreaded looking at it.

I'm 99.9999% sure RH purposefully left his son in a hot car to die, but the use of the word "dreaded" isn't a smoking gun, IMO.

 

[song22]

Why??? If your son was innocent, why not talk to the police and tell them exactly why. That's what I would do!
P.S. My brother is a lawyer. I have nothing to hide.

That's what we thought, too. But we talked to a lawyer and asked why not? The lawyer gave all kinds of examples of things you might say that could be misinterpreted or twisted out of recognition or taken out of context. In general, I am very trusting and have had good experience with LE, so I'm not inherently distrusting of them. I tend to defer readily to authority. But LE are just people and there are some with bad judgment. Or maybe someone with their own biases and they interpret what you say in ways you never intended. Or they see something suspicious or off--when it isn't but they interpret it that way. Just the usual potential for misunderstanding and miscommunication I guess.

 

[Spice]

All this religious/Christian talk has me a bit uncomfortable I must admit. Not that I'm saying it shouldn't be discussed, just that I don't like the generalizations.

Bad people often times say they are Christians and hide behind the Bible. Then they are bunched in with the rest of us. Then generalizations are made about Christians having the ability of being not truthful or downright hateful. That's not the case. They were never Christians to begin with. Because Christian hearts could never be evil.

I can tell you right now, NO CHRISTIAN has EVER purposefully killed their child. NONE!

They may claim to be Christian, but there is no way they are. True followers of Christ could never hurt an innocent baby.

There is a huge difference in being a true Christian and those who claim to be "religious".

Several things LH said at that funeral were far from Christian.

Sorry if this is OT and rambling, but I had to say it.

JMO and all that jazz.

BBM

Whoa. Seriously??? You absolutely cannot claim that and would be seriously erroneous to do so. It is simply false and the largest sweeping generalization that I have read on this thread in reference to religion.

Also, religion was brought up in relation to most religions thrusting women in a submissive role and demanding they obey their husbands. This happens in Christianity and every other religion and sects of religions known to man. It was not a statement only about Christianity but about religion period, and I do not think anyone is making any generalizations about Christians. This man just happens to be Christian. And, further, people have killed and committed horrific acts for and in the name of religion since the beginning of time, Christianity included.

No religion is better or holds the moral high ground over any other. That's outrageous. And NO religion has the corner on peace. That's for sure.

 

[joypath]

---------
I watched NG. also. Did you listen to the Dr. speaking? he mentioned different things and one was drugs.
He did NOT say CP. was drugged. It was to the effect that if drugs were used it would show up in the Toxicology
report. I paid attention as I have wondered if JH. gave him something to make him fall asleep. Now I have no basis
for this . It is merely a thought . The car was in the parking lot right? wouldn't someone possibly have heard the
child crying. The windows on the car are blackened so it would have been hard to see, but to hear, kids can be
very loud at times. Would have been possible to slip something in his food or milk at Chikafila. again I have nothing
to base this on. This is a gut feeling I have. Toxicology will tell but that comes later. :seeya: .

Up thread there's a video from a local news report that stated the tox report came back clean.
Given the age of the decedent, I "assume" that ALL types of " impairment medications" were considered, in fact, I'd bet that there were tox screens done during the post and that body fluids & tissues were sent for GC/MS as confirmation. That's standard protocol at many (I say ALL but I know better!:facepalm: ) Medical Examiner Offices!:truce:

 

[momrids6]

If this is what RH was taught, and if he backed up with his hand on the front passenger seat and also looked behind him while backing into the parking slot, then it's worse for him because there's no way he wouldn't have seen Cooper in the car seat.

"Before backing, you should look to the front, sides, and rear and continue to look over your right shoulder to the rear while backing. Do not depend on your mirror. "


page 67- Alabama's DL Manual

http://dps.alabama.gov/documents/manuals/driverlicensemanual.pdf

 

[gritguy]

Motive. Not a necessary thing to prove, but to me critical. I don't see any evidence that RH was regularly cruel to Cooper or suffered from any serious anger issues. If he did this on purpose (and I think/feel he did), it was for a reason. What reason? The obvious ones are possible: money and freedom. As unlikely as an accident is in this case, and as much as a RH obviously is, to me evidence of a motive would be very important. The case is in the very early stage - if this was a murder it seems some evidence of motive should be out there to be found.

RH was so successful trolling around did he really need to kill his child to do more? There's a lot to this case that just doesn't totally fit yet.

 

[Ruby]

Here is a question for you, about his statement " I was dreading how he would look."

WHEN, exactly, was he dreading? Wasn't it an instantaneous discovery that his son was in the car? It would have been an immediate realization that Cooper was still in the seat. So WHEN, exactly, did Dad have a chance to do any dreading?

At that exact moment you are describing - yes, it would be an instantaneous discovery with Cooper still in the rear facing car seat unseen by RH until he stopped the suv and removed Cooper from the car seat.

IF it was an accident,
and at the moment he realized Cooper was still in the car, (according to RH it would have been when he pulled into the mall?/restaurant? parking lot)
I can imagine the amount of whirl wind emotions going on all at once - and one of them being "dread" especially at the thought of seeing your own child's remains after being in a boiling hot car all day long. And then, later on telling his wife how he felt.

Now, IF it was on purpose, that statement takes on a whole different meaning/angle and the "dread" was anticipated all day and was an obstacle he had to endure. And then later on told his wife about it.

We all know he did it - it's IF it was an accident, or on purpose (murder).

I hate to think if it was an accident what they must be feeling or having to live with now, and for the rest of their lives knowing what has been done by his own thoughtless actions. I don't think I could live with myself if that happened to me.

If this was murder, and he left their own child to be boiled to death, well, that is just unthinkable, the lowest of the low and by all means should be punished to the fullest, and anyone who helped punished right along with him.

I'm just not at the majority conclusion of this being murder.
With the information on hand - I think if it went to trial, it could be a disappointment for most who would want a conviction, there's still room for doubt it was done premeditated - at least that's what I believe.

my opinion etc., all that jazz, and can change in the future.

 

[Bernina]

Well....we only have to look at the record of the Catholic Church to challenge this. (I was raised Catholic) and Catholicism is "Main stream", whatever that means. Just because someone appears Pious, is religious, and active in their church, temple, synagogue, mosque, or ward does not by any means mean that they do not commit horrific acts. It happens all of the time. I am never blinded by someone's religious beliefs or practices. no matter what their religion is.... It does not make them a better person than anyone else in my eyes, or somehow incapable of murder and inflicting pain on others. It does not make them any less suspect than anyone else when it comes to murder, rape, molestation, or any other darkness.

If fact sometimes, they are able to hide behind it because people do not want to believe them capable of heinous things. The fact is they are just as capable as any "non religious" person, Main Stream religion or not.

^That^ is exactly what I'm implying. Just because someone knows all the right "catch phrases", "behavior", etc. of a specific faith, it does NOT make them an example of that faith. I'm excommunicated Mormon by choice, and the Catholic church has NOTHING on Mormonism, much of which I suffered through as a child. The 1st Counselor to the Arizona Temple would pay his tithe, speak graciously at sacrament meeting, perform Temple marriages, and was in the highest regard of everyone he met, all the while molesting me, his GRANDAUGHTER, from the age of 2.

I call BS on LH's religious values. She's just mimicking what she grew up with, it means absolutely nothing, but her lack of emotion means everything. God didn't kill her son, the one she thought she would never be able to conceive, her husband did.
If her religious conviction denies emotional responses, I'd call it a cult. She must be totally brainwashed. But she doesn't belong to a cult.
So she mustn't be brainwashed..........
$27,000 and being "child free" seem pretty good reasons to "play" to her captive audience at the funeral services.

JMO.

 

[matou]

This is the shocking tweet from Justin Ross Harris to a friend on September 11 of last year that suggests his baby Cooper, then 13-month-old, was not sleeping to his satisfaction.

Of course, many parents of young babies have shared similar frustrations about wishing their babies would sleep through the night. But the shocking tweet from @ross harris: ‘NEW INVENTION: Snooze buttons on babies’ is shocking in light of the charges against Harris, who has been charged with leaving his son to die in a scorching hot SUV on June 18, is alarming.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...TION-Snooze-buttons-babies.html#ixzz36voHVP4B
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

[matou]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-die-NEW-INVENTION-Snooze-buttons-babies.html

 

[Lovejac]

Cooper's tox screen was clean!

That makes me sad, although not too surprised after hearing about the scratches on his little face and the abraisons on the back of his head

 

[LinasK]

Motive. Not a necessary thing to prove, but to me critical. I don't see any evidence that RH was regularly cruel to Cooper or suffered from any serious anger issues. If he did this on purpose (and I think/feel he did), it was for a reason. What reason? The obvious ones are possible: money and freedom. As unlikely as an accident is in this case, and as much as a RH obviously is, to me evidence of a motive would be very important. The case is in the very early stage - if this was a murder it seems some evidence of motive should be out there to be found.

RH was so successful trolling around did he really need to kill his child to do more? There's a lot to this case that just doesn't totally fit yet.

Money- there was $27,000 in life insurance policies. I consider that a fair bit of money. People have killed for alot less.
Freedom- he was searching Child-free sites, so obviously he didn't want to be a daddy anymore. Probably hated the demands of parenthood. You actually have to watch little ones, feed them, clothe them, and pay attention to them.

 

[who knew?]

---------
I watched NG. also. Did you listen to the Dr. speaking? he mentioned different things and one was drugs.
He did NOT say CP. was drugged. It was to the effect that if drugs were used it would show up in the Toxicology
report. I paid attention as I have wondered if JH. gave him something to make him fall asleep. Now I have no basis
for this . It is merely a thought . The car was in the parking lot right? wouldn't someone possibly have heard the
child crying. The windows on the car are blackened so it would have been hard to see, but to hear, kids can be
very loud at times. Would have been possible to slip something in his food or milk at Chikafila. again I have nothing
to base this on. This is a gut feeling I have. Toxicology will tell but that comes later. :seeya: .

Somewhere in the last couple of pages of this thread, there is a link saying tox results show Cooper was not drugged. I was hoping he had been. The dr went through many of the things Cooper would have gone through, and it was horrid.

What I keep thinking - Cooper's dad and, IMO, mom killed their child in such a horrible, painful, frightening way, but prisoners have to be put to death in a painless way, a humane way. But then, some states won't allow the dp because it's inhumane. There is something very wrong here.... I would like to see Ross receive the same inhumane treatment his innocent child received.

 

[SStarr33]

This is the shocking tweet from Justin Ross Harris to a friend on September 11 of last year that suggests his baby Cooper, then 13-month-old, was not sleeping to his satisfaction.

Of course, many parents of young babies have shared similar frustrations about wishing their babies would sleep through the night. But the shocking tweet from @ross harris: ‘NEW INVENTION: Snooze buttons on babies’ is shocking in light of the charges against Harris, who has been charged with leaving his son to die in a scorching hot SUV on June 18, is alarming.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...TION-Snooze-buttons-babies.html#ixzz36voHVP4B
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Daily Mail has officially jumped the shark.

 

[human]

You're supposed to turn fully around to back up.

Yes, but you have to look in all directions which means rear view mirror as well. He was not backing up in his driveway, but in a parking lot which may have other cars and pedestrians.

And it means looking on both sides, so how did he miss his son?