GA - Suspicion over heat death of Cooper, 22 mo., Cobb County, June 2014, #4

[eileenhawkeye]

Jose Baez, this is a shout out to you-don't touch this one with a ten foot pole. This is not a 20 something shot girl. This guy is not going to be sympathetic to a jury...at least not as he is being portrayed via his online posts and media. Wouldn't that be something?

Let's hope he is only able to practice law in Florida.

 

[JeannaT]

What I have seen over and over and over again is wife supports,hubby through school.

He graduates. He dumps old wife for hot new babe

Let's be honest here. When you look at the two of them, as a couple, does it seem likely looking at current pics of him (before Cooper died) that he was in the market for a "hot new babe"? That he might have had one on the side at that time?

Look at her, look at him, look at the EVER peaceful happy sweet expressions on all 3 of their faces do you see a man on the prowl?

I ask that because I don't.

 

[Chewy]

And I do believe the expectation is VERY strong among many Southern families.

From what I have seen folks feel the need to "explain" if they didn't have kids for whatever reason as it is just "expected" in the culture.

This may be annoying, but it's called "cultural hegemony" an unconscious going through the motions of expected behaviors in a society without really thinking about it.

http://beautifultrouble.org/theory/cultural-hegemony/

 

[Kimberlyd125]

I've already addressed this point several times. I'm not going to keep explaining it. Please feel free to read my comments about it after, it's not meant to be an indictment of parents who put their kids in daycare. :facepalm:

I was catching up and frankly could not believe what I read. Then the following posts did nothing to help either.
Blanket statements about what other parents should do with their children without knowing each and every parents' circumstances is very inconsiderate and offensive.

JMO

 

[BrownRice]

This is so true.

Do you google "how much rat poison does I take to kill a child? " NO. Because you will put that poison under lock and key.

Do you google how long can a toddler be underwater in the bath? NO. Because you are interested in that NEVER happening.

If I google "home fire prevention" and then my home burns, that is not suspicious, but if I google how long it would take to burn totally to the ground...that is far different.

The only way this makes any kind of sense ...other than premeditation...is if they planned to leave their toddler in the car for periods of time and wanted to know how long they could do it. "Okay, we can leave him in a hot car alone for 15 minutes and he'll be okay."

Someone was not googling PREVENTION...that person was googling how long till death.

This is an EXCELLENT point. I have probably googled a million things about fire prevention (ladders for kids' bedrooms, best alarms to have, how to make a family safety plan). I have never once thought about googling how long will it take for my child to breathe in smoke and die.

 

[Sonya610]

Let's be honest here. When you look at the two of them, as a couple, does it seem likely looking at current pics of him (before Cooper died) that he was in the market for a "hot new babe"? That he might have had one on the side at that time?

Look at her, look at him, look at the EVER peaceful happy sweet expressions on all 3 of their faces do you see a man on the prowl?

I ask that because I don't.

I don't think he was on the prowl either. At the same time if he wanted to stay married and loved his wife killing the baby would obviously be quite upsetting to her and the household. Plus (unless it was for financial gain) she could just have another baby so what would be the benefit of murder if he wanted to stay with her (and I think he did).

Unless of course she wouldn't be all that upset by it.

 

[jking]

While others compare this to Casey Anthony or Scott Peterson I think this may end up being closer to the Rusty Sneiderman murder case (that happened at a day care in the same area), not because of any affair but because there was more than one person plotting the death. In that case the co-conspirator was treated like a "victim" for quite some time even though many thought they were probably involved.

Ross is really starting to remind me of Bob Bashara for some reason.

 

[JeannaT]

I know people like that but for some it's all about the lifestyle, nothing to do with supporting and helping the team. It's about appearances, the image it projects and pillar of the community social status it confers. To me he seems the type that wants to be the sort of head of the housing association who's in it not for the good of the community but to throw his weight about and for his own sense of self-worth.

Nancy, does it at all give you pause that they had a huge following of loving family and friends who gave a standing ovation (unheard of, really) at this dear baby's funeral when Leanne supported her husband?

I know most on this board are looking at this and disbelieving that he could have forgotten the baby in the seat in the car, and then that thought ripples out and out and out and finally believe he never wanted to be a father, he was having an affair, he purposely killed this child, who knows if his wife was in cohoots, he clearly lied to the daycare caller, etc.

None of us know then or have ever met them.

Does it give you pause when you see that all their friends are still with them, despite what could be called a media smear campaign? Those who know them best, and loved Cooper best, are still supporting Ross. And there are a LOT of them. And despite being churchy and knowing this is not really done, they were still moved to a standing ovation at a funeral?

 

[BrownRice]

Ross is really starting to remind me of Bob Bashara for some reason.

Oh god, don't go there.

 

[Chewy]

Jose Baez, this is a shout out to you-don't touch this one with a ten foot pole. This is not a 20 something shot girl. This guy is not going to be sympathetic to a jury...at least not as he is being portrayed via his online posts and media. Wouldn't that be something?

I can't imagine anyone ever choosing him again to represent them in a child homicide case. That would be a surefire way to get a guilty verdict. :floorlaugh:

 

[Sonya610]

Does it give you pause when you see that all their friends are still with them, despite what could be called a media smear campaign? Those who know them best, and loved Cooper best, are still supporting Ross. And there are a LOT of them. And despite being churchy and knowing this is not really done, they were still moved to a standing ovation at a funeral?

That doesn't surprise me at all. They believe what they WANT to believe!

I really don't think the MPD would press these changes so quickly unless they had VERY GOOD REASON! If they weren't "sure" they would have kept investigating for a much longer period of time before accusing a father of "murder" under these circumstances. Not child neglect, or even manslaughter, but FELONY MURDER that qualifies for the DP.

 

[JeannaT]

I don't think he was on the prowl either. At the same time if he wanted to stay married and loved his wife killing the baby would obviously be quite upsetting to her and the household. Plus (unless it was for financial gain) she could just have another baby so what would be the benefit of murder if he wanted to stay with her (and I think he did).

Unless of course she wouldn't be all that upset by it.

Would you characterize Leanne as "not being all that upset by it" because she still wanted to continue her life as planned with Ross, and create a larger family?

(there actually is a term for babies couples decide to have later, despite the pure agony of losing the first. It's "rainbow babies". Couples numb with pain of loss create joy out of the ashes of their sorrow, and in memory of, their darling lost first one)

 

[Chewy]

I was catching up and frankly could not believe what I read. Then the following posts did nothing to help either.
Blanket statements about what other parents should do with their children without knowing each and every parents' circumstances is very inconsiderate and offensive.

JMO

That's your opinion and I respect it. My personal opinion is that when you have a child you make sacrifices in the best interest of the child. If that means you can't have the nice house and the nice car because you have a parent stay home to take care of the baby then that's what you do. IMVHO it is wrong to put a baby in a daycare center unless you absolutely have to, ex, Single Parent.

I don't personally understand the point of having a baby and leaving them for eight hours in a group day care center so you can go to work full time to buy things to make your life nicer. I understand to some that it seems judgmental and I apologize. But that's personally how I feel. :blushing: Older kids are a different story. But babies? No way.

This is an EXCELLENT point. I have probably googled a million things about fire prevention (ladders for kids' bedrooms, best alarms to have, how to make a family safety plan). I have never once thought about googling how long will it take for my child to breathe in smoke and die.

I agree that this is an excellent observation.

 

[Sonya610]

Would you characterize Leanne as "not being all that upset by it" because she still wanted to continue her life as planned with Ross, and create a larger family?

That was my point, if he planned to stay with her then what good would killing the kid do? She could and would just have more! Unless it was for financial gain.

Part of me suspects Ross was the weaker partner, not sure why I feel that way but I do. Maybe because it reminds me of the Rusty Sneiderman case, the wife was at first a "victim" and then later it came out that she very well could have masterminded the whole thing.

 

[jmcgladr]

Nancy, does it at all give you pause that they had a huge following of loving family and friends who gave a standing ovation (unheard of, really) at this dear baby's funeral when Leanne supported her husband?

I know most on this board are looking at this and disbelieving that he could have forgotten the baby in the seat in the car, and then that thought ripples out and out and out and finally believe he never wanted to be a father, he was having an affair, he purposely killed this child, who knows if his wife was in cohoots, he clearly lied to the daycare caller, etc.

None of us know then or have ever met them.

Does it give you pause when you see that all their friends are still with them, despite what could be called a media smear campaign? Those who know them best, and loved Cooper best, are still supporting Ross. And there are a LOT of them. And despite being churchy and knowing this is not really done, they were still moved to a standing ovation at a funeral?

It's completely possible for a narcissist and/or a sociopath to have a lot of people fooled. They are wonderful actors. It takes skills and knowledge and most of all detachment to see through their act. They manipulate people. And this whole theatric calling in to the funeral was a perfect example of that. It was vulgar, the applause for Ross. For what? Even if he accidentally killed his son, does that act somehow deserve applause at the son's funeral?



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[NancyA]

Nancy, does it at all give you pause that they had a huge following of loving family and friends who gave a standing ovation (unheard of, really) at this dear baby's funeral when Leanne supported her husband?

I know most on this board are looking at this and disbelieving that he could have forgotten the baby in the seat in the car, and then that thought ripples out and out and out and finally believe he never wanted to be a father, he was having an affair, he purposely killed this child, who knows if his wife was in cohoots, etc.

None of us know then or have ever met them.

Does it give you pause when you see that all their friends are still with them, despite what could be called a media smear campaign? Those who know them best, and loved Cooper best, are still supporting Ross. And there are a LOT of them. And despite being churchy and knowing this is not really done, they were still moved to a standing ovation at a funeral?

No, it doesn't give me pause to question what's beneath the surface when the picture perfect appearance of something doesn't gel with what's happening. A poster yesterday said she knew someone at that funeral who wasn't at all comfortable with the whole applause and standing ovation thing and I'm sure that person wasn't the only one who was there to mourn Cooper not to cheerlead for his father. History is full of people with wonderful images who had adoring families and everyone around them fooled yet behind closed doors were involved in the most nefarious of activities. I accept very little purely on it's surface value. I ask questions and if the answers don't satisfy me I ask more questions. The answers here don't satisfy me.

edited to include quote.

 

[Lovejac]

OT for a second, but PM me if you want. It sounds like your son might be a high functioning Aspergers. Those students usually struggle with social skills but have high aptitude. Over time their aptitude scores can drop because of the difficulties and challenges they face in school. You might want to have him evaluated. (This is part of what I do for a living so please feel free to drop me a PM) But it has absolutely nothing to do with you putting him in day care or not. Zero.

Back on topic. There have been some absolutely amazing ideas evaluated in this thread. I would like to send them to the DAs office.

I think the comment about the tinted windows makes perfect sense and explains a lot. And I'd like to list some ideas here, like someone did before, to show premeditation. So here goes.


A. He stopped at Chikfila and got the kid out of the car. Doing so stalled him for time and helped him arrive at the parking lot long after everyone had gone inside.

B. The tinted windows on the car helped conceal the child from people who might pass by. It also screwed up the timing of the death by a little bit of time which is his undoing.

C. Theory is he came down to put something in the car during lunch. That was for the big reveal. What did he put in the car??? Important, was it something that couldn't have been put there later?

D. Having worked as a LE dispatch he knew that his voice on the phone call could be evaluated and analyzed in court. In many cases this has been the thing that removed reasonable doubt. So he was careful not to be the one who called 911. Think about it, someone who has worked in dispatch knows all the ins and outs, he would be the first one to call in reality if he wanted help because he'd know the way to get the call through the fastest. But he let someone else call.

E. He led with his alibi. This is something that has been the undoing of other criminals in the past. (Ironically on 911 calls.) The person calls and says something like "I was at my brother's house for the last two hours and I just got home and my husband isn't breathing!" etc. The police analyze this and say "why did you start off letting us know your alibi????" Well RH did the same thing with the "google searches" He tried to say it FIRST to cover it being revealed in a computer search. As an IT guy he knows there is no way to hide it. So he "outs himself" at the scene. But why would THIS be something on his mind right then and there???

F. It was the hottest day on record for the last two weeks and his routine "didn't change" he changed his routine. Difference.

G. Uber religious guy who can rationalize to himself that he didn't actually kill the boy, he left him in God's hands. God took him home. Grrr.

H. After stating that he had been worried about this happening. He is at the car THREE times and doesn't look in the back seat. 1 When he left the car. 2. When he arrived at the car during lunch and then left 3 When he got in the car at the end of the day. Three times he never looked in the back seat. I hope the DA drives this point home.

Ok there's my list so far.

One last thing. IMO I think people should just stop talking about the mother altogether. My heart just absolutely breaks for the woman at the moment. She's had her entire life ripped out from underneath her in the cruelest of ways. For the moment, she has a free pass on everything as far as I am concerned. JMO MOO>

Coming out of lurking to give your post a well deserved thumbs up.

 

[eileenhawkeye]

A family friend got on stage with Cooper’s mother and asked the crowd of nearly 200 people to give Ross Harris a round of applause. Leanna said God was holding her up through this time. She said she'll miss her son forever, but now he will not have to deal with heartbreak, worry about awkward stages or deal with middle or high school.

Awkward stages?!

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/cobb-county-father-makes-jailhouse-call-sons-funer/ngT8H/

Patsy Ramsey said similar things like how JonBenet never had to deal with cancer or the loss of a child. Most parents, however, talk about what their child will miss out on; getting married, kids, going to college, prom, etc.

 

[Chewy]

It's completely possible for a narcissist and/or a sociopath to have a lot of people fooled. They are wonderful actors. It takes skills and knowledge and most of all detachment to see through their act. They manipulate people. And this whole theatric calling in to the funeral was a perfect example of that. It was vulgar, the applause for Ross. For what? Even if he accidentally killed his son, does that act somehow deserve applause at the son's funeral?



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It's very interesting to me that you posted this. Last night I was watching an interview with Paul Cortez. He's the one who killed the dancer in NYC and they found his fingerprint in the girls blood on the wall and yet there are many people who are completely convinced he's innocent.

What I noticed in the interview with him, was something that I noticed in interviews with many other sociopathic personalities that I watch on these shows. That is, they had the world fooled when they were being positive and charming and talented and creative and successful. When they put on that face they do it VERY WELL.

But when they are expected to talk about darker issues, like explaining themselves in a murder investigation, they don't know how to do it. It's because they have spent years developing that charming mask, with smiles and delightful engaging conversation.

I watched another interview with Darlie Routier, and it was the same thing, she smiled and laughed and charmed her way through discussions where she was asked about her boys. Yet you would think any mention of her boys would at some point break her into tears. She couldn't fake the tears. Neither could Paul Cortez or others like them. What they come up with instead is a sense of "being lost, confused, overwhelmed, a victim" They tamp down any sense of anger, they keep it all at bay and try to talk about things that are upsetting but they can't draw on any emotions in that discussion because they have spent years hiding those real emotions away.

I don't quite know how to explain it, maybe someone else can better. But they can't talk about sad or upsetting things and show any valid emotion, they are "empty" when those conversations are happening.

But they can go on and on with smiles, laughter and delight when talking about how much they loved the person they killed. It's like they don't realize how they come across at all.

Maybe someone else can explain what I mean.

 

[jking]

Awkward stages?!

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/cobb-county-father-makes-jailhouse-call-sons-funer/ngT8H/

Patsy Ramsey said similar things like how JonBenet never had to deal with cancer or the loss of a child. Most parents, however, talk about what their child will miss out on; getting married, kids, going to college, prom, etc.

Wow. That is messed up.