GA - Suspicion over heat death of Cooper, 22 mo., Cobb County, June 2014, #13

[gngr~snap]

Wow.

"Her new attorney, Lawrence Zimmerman has a reputation for being aggressive and is qualified to defend death penalty cases"
. - See more at: http://m.wsbradio.com/news/news/mom-hot-car-death-case-lawyers/ngdG2/#sthash.9haxJnRC.dpuf

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[minor4th]

It's not at odds with the warrant because the new law didn't go into effect until July 1. But it was passed in April.

Aha! That makes sense then. So when the acts were committed, the old law was still in effect, so those are the laws that will be used as the charged offenses.

 

[tlcya]

FACT


"They can and do routinely order social-media companies to shut down a Twitter or Facebook page, for example, immediately after a crime has been committed or have relevant information archived before any changes can be made. "It's no different than physical evidence," says Bob Hopper, manager of theComputer Crimes*section at the*National White Collar Crime Center."

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech...edia-law-enforcement/53614910/1?fullsite=true

Forensic analysis of social data is performed post-incident. Naturally, investigators will gravitate to where the evidence exists — in this case, sites such as Facebook,*Twitter,*Flickr, YouTube and others. Although the photo and video evidence is sometimes posted by the criminals themselves, investigators can also utilize information posted by others to both strengthen a case and even identify the perpetrator of a crime.

http://mashable.com/2012/02/13/social-media-forensics/

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They can. The debate I was weighing in on was whether they have in this case.

The opinion was stated that that occurred in this case. Another disputed it and asked for a link. then went further and asked for a link that illustrates it EVER happens. I was voicing my thought that in this case there will be no link because it hasn't been suggested or verified via MSM therefore it is opinion. I was not opining on whether it ever happens as I have followed cases where it has.

 

[Karmady]

Aha! That makes sense then. So when the acts were committed, the old law was still in effect, so those are the laws that will be used as the charged offenses.

I assume so, but there are still major problems with the potential sentencing, imo. I think they need to upgrade (if they think they can prove it) if they intend to get a life or DP sentence that sticks. I honestly don't think that type of sentence WILL stick unless they do. The law was enacted to provide for more lenient sentences in this specific situation. jmo

 

[gngr~snap]

"Clearly she's a subject of investigation," Hodges said. "If she's part of the murder, then she's facing life in the penitentiary as well as, possibly, a death sentence."

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mom-in-georgia-toddlers-hot-car-death-hires-attorney/

I guess this explains the gum smacking in court. She was hoping no one grabbed her and slapped cuffs on her before she got out.


Maybe she did know. Wth?

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[minor4th]

I assume so, but there are still major problems with the potential sentencing, imo. I think they need to upgrade (if they think they can prove it) if they intend to get a life or DP sentence that sticks. I honestly don't think that type of sentence WILL stick unless they do. The law was enacted to provide for more lenient sentences in this specific situation. jmo

Yeah, that's really too bad - unless the charges are upgraded to 1st degree cruelty, the defense is going to have a really good argument against felony murder and its penalties. I'm just wondering if they are going to have enough to prove intent though.

 

[Lorne Malvo]

As The World Turns in the Clampett's case when a jail mate of Ross gives detective details of what happened that day for a lighter sentence.

 

[MsMarple]

I have to backtrack a bit on my first post about this case - my original thought after watching the PC hearing was that this guy is a monster and he conspired with his wife to kill Cooper and make it look like an accident. And that still may very well be the case...

However, since I watched the PC hearing I have read about several cases where parents did actually forget their child in a carseat while they worked all day. It has actually happened several times before, which is stunning to me! Since this is a thing that actually happens, and seems to happen to professional, well-educated and otherwise good parents, I have to consider that it is a possibility that RH really did forget his child in the car seat.

Not sure yet ...really anxious to see more evidence to see how strong the case is for an intentional murder.

The thing of it is that in this case there's only a 30 – 40 second window involved – the time it took RH to strap Cooper in his car seat and give him a kiss at the restaurant and then drive to the intersection where he went straight instead of turning. Also, when he parked at HD he sat in the car for another 30 seconds so he'll have to claim that Cooper fell asleep in the meantime.

Furthermore, while other parents who forgot their kid were distracted by something, RH stated he wasn't on his phone at the time nor has anything been released (yet) about a work or family emergency occuring during that time or a change in his normal routine.

That's very different from the other cases. The only thing that RH's defense might claim is sleep deprivation, as per LH's speech at Coooper's funeral and IMO that would be quite a stretch as most parents are sleep-deprived for the first couple of years.

Even then, I can't imagine the legal can of worms such a defense, if successful, would open for future cases.

 

[matou]

If he was up at 7ish with Cooper watching cartoons in bed and ate at 9 at Chick-Fil-A, he must have had at least 3 coffees during that time and one at the restaurant too. I remember seeing a photo on one of his accounts of a new french press coffee maker with a red logo on it (!). He must love his coffee as much as his football. UNLESS, him watching cartoons really means he was sleeping until ???? and then rushed out with Cooper to eat and go to work. JMO

 

[CCmakes3]

Repeating my request for MSM link w statement that "LE shut down" FB page of a suspect or arrestee.
Ross, Leanna, or anyone in other cases (not involving *advertiser censored*).
Thx in adv.

I have always assumed that the POI's defense attorney probably took their client's FB pages down, to avoid LE combing it for incriminating info.

 

[minor4th]

The thing of it is that in this case there's only a 30 – 40 second window involved – the time it took RH to strap Cooper in his car seat and give him a kiss at the restaurant and then drive to the intersection where he went straight instead of turning. Also, when he parked at HD he sat in the car for another 30 seconds so he'll have to claim that Cooper fell asleep in the meantime.

Furthermore, while other parents who forgot their kid were distracted by something, RH stated he wasn't on his phone at the time nor has anything been released (yet) about a work or family emergency occuring during that time or a change in his normal routine.

That's very different from the other cases. The only thing that RH's defense might claim is sleep deprivation, as per LH's speech at Coooper's funeral and IMO that would be quite a stretch as most parents are sleep-deprived for the first couple of years.

Even then, I can't imagine the legal can of worms such a defense, if successful, would open for future cases.

I imagine the defense is going to need some kind of expert to explain that a person can really forget a child in the car 30 seconds after strapping him in to his car seat - and also that various cues throughout the day did not alert the parent to their failure to take the child out of the car. I would not have thought it possible, which was why I was convinced it was intentional. But reading some other cases, apparently it is possible.

ETA: In any event, I think a parent who leaves their child to die in a car seat all day is criminally responsible for the child's death - if it is intentional, obviously there should be harsher sentencing though.

 

[Baznme]

"Clearly she's a subject of investigation," Hodges said. "If she's part of the murder, then she's facing life in the penitentiary as well as, possibly, a death sentence."

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mom-in-georgia-toddlers-hot-car-death-hires-attorney/

I guess this explains the gum smacking in court. She was hoping no one grabbed her and slapped cuffs on her before she got out.


Maybe she did know. Wth?

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and she hires a death penalty qualified lawyer. Hmmmm...............

 

[Karmady]

Yeah, that's really too bad - unless the charges are upgraded to 1st degree cruelty, the defense is going to have a really good argument against felony murder and its penalties. I'm just wondering if they are going to have enough to prove intent though.

Agree. And major props, again, to Popsicle. This is a hugely important aspect of this case that she (?) found, imo

 

[Baznme]

I have always assumed that the POI's defense attorney probably took their client's FB pages down, to avoid LE combing it for incriminating info.

LE can get all the historical records for FB accounts, whether the account is still active or not.

 

[MsMarple]

I imagine the defense is going to need some kind of expert to explain that a person can really forget a child in the car 30 seconds after strapping him in to his car seat - and also that various cues throughout the day did not alert the parent to their failure to take the child out of the car. I would not have thought it possible, which was why I was convinced it was intentional. But reading some other cases, apparently it is possible.

ETA: In any event, I think a parent who leaves their child to die in a car seat all day is criminally responsible for the child's death - if it is intentional, obviously there should be harsher sentencing though.

I agree about the expert. One possibility is Dr. David Diamond. But in an article I read where he talks about Forgotten Baby Syndrome, it really doesn't look like RH fits the description, at least according to what we know right now.

“The quality of prior parental care seems to be irrelevant,” he said. “The important factors that keep showing up involve a combination of stress, emotion, lack of sleep, and change in routine, where the basal ganglia is trying to do what it’s supposed to do, and the conscious mind is too weakened to resist. What happens is that the memory circuits in a vulnerable hippocampus literally get overwritten, like with a computer program. Unless the memory circuit is rebooted—such as if the child cries, or, you know, if the wife mentions the child in the back—it can entirely disappear.”

In this case, RH had reminders – the email from the daycare center and if his claim about sending a text to LH asking what time she was picking up “his little buddy” is true then he had at least two memory 'reboots.'

http://theweek.com/article/index/94741/the-last-word-forgotten-baby-syndrome

ETA: I hear your ETA and I agree!

 

[MissJ]

And don't forget his dream about Cooper being in heaven with Jesus.

Yes, one too many signs....JMO

 

[Karmady]

and she hires a death penalty qualified lawyer. Hmmmm...............

hmmm what? If the DP is on the table, which it is, why wouldn't you hire a qualified lawyer. Her husband is facing the death penalty and she will be called upon to provide evidence to convict him.

 

[CCmakes3]

LE can get all the historical records for FB accounts, whether the account is still active or not.

Yes, but it would prevent others from continuing to post on their wall, or send them private messages which could somehow possibly incriminate the person charged

 

[MissJ]

IMO some people to forget their child for a period of time but remember and rush back to the car.....something jogs their memory. In this case we are to believe his whole memory of his morning and Cooper was wiped out.

 

[Kip]

If he was up at 7ish with Cooper watching cartoons in bed and ate at 9 at Chick-Fil-A, he must have had at least 3 coffees during that time and one at the restaurant too. I remember seeing a photo on one of his accounts of a new french press coffee maker with a red logo on it (!). He must love his coffee as much as his football. UNLESS, him watching cartoons really means he was sleeping until ???? and then rushed out with Cooper to eat and go to work. JMO

I've never understood that morning's activities.

Most toddlers who get up at 7 are going to want their breakfast before 9.

If RH was up at 7, why did he leave for work late?

If RH was late for work, why keep CFA on the schedule? Why wouldn't RH just make some toast or a PB&J sandwich or bagel with cream cheese for Cooper to eat in the car on the way to daycare?

And, actually, I would have been more likely to believe that RH forgot C in the car if he was late for work and had driven straight to work.