GA - Suspicion over heat death of Cooper, 22 mo., Cobb County, June 2014, #6

[Sonya610]

Then why did they change it to second degree from first degree?

Well it doesn't affect the "felony murder" portion right? Second degree is still a felony?

Perhaps first degree usually involves violence or ongoing suffering beyond one incident, and they worry if he were to beat the "cruelty" charge on a technicality then that would automatically take the DP off the table.

 

[SStarr33]

Reproductive technology is very expensive - IUI with donor sperm would only be $350-$1500, from what I can see. It looks like something like ICSI/IVF would easily be $7000-$14,500. I don't know their financial portfolio or anything, but since both parents worked and it seems HD was paying for the funeral, I don't know how much money they had available to pour into fertility treatments.

Maybe at the time he didn't mind if the baby was conceived using donor sperm, since he thought it had a chance of not working, but as time went on, it bothered him more and more. Maybe they have poor credit and didn't qualify for financing.

Just because something exists doesn't mean it's attainable for everyone. I mean, for all we know, she got sperm from a friend and used a turkey baster (the cost: a turkey baster.)

All it would take is a DNA test to prove whether or not Justin was the bio dad, any way. I don't personally think he looks a ton like dad - he has mom's coloring, mom's chin, a big smile... Even his nose looks kind of like a generic kid nose, you know? It doesn't necessarily look distinct enough, to me any way, to attribute to Justin. YMMV.

Does Home Depot insurance cover infertility?

 

[momrids6]

I want to know if the Father got coffee in a cup to go. Was that cup left in the car or did he carry coffee into work? Because that cup should have triggered his memory at some point. "Oh, my coffee. Chik-Fil-a....My God, my child!!! I carried in the coffee and left my Baby!"

GA is the land of the "to-go" cup. Even in better restaurants, you are offered one. Speculating due to experience- not only did he have a logoed to go cup in the car, it stared him in the face at his desk.

Good point. Ohio is an at-will state...not sure about GA.

GA is an "at will" state.

That's why I asked earlier if the tinted windows up close would look like "sunglasses" and prevent him from seeing inside the back seat of the car. The back windows are narrow and dark. It's possible that if they are tinted dark enough and he only stood by the front door he wouldn't have seen his son.

The tint on my car is 32%- the max allowed in GA. Even with sunglasses on, I can see into the car. ( eta: from standing next to the front door.)

rsbm

 

[Nana46]

I'm glad this baby was rescued! Who the hell thinks this is OK? =( There is an experience that will be burned into my brain forever. I was in the right place at the right time to help save a baby that was trapped in a hot car.

In 2005 I had recently graduated college and moved back to my hometown for the summer. My mom and I stopped for lunch and parked next to a car w/ the windows up and a baby in an infant seat. We lived in inland So. California at the time and it was the labor day weekend... super super hot! It was in the low 90's that day. I worked as a nanny at the time and had a habit of looking into carseats while walking by cars. It's just something I've always done just in case... but I never expected to see a baby! Luckily there was a fire station about 2 blocks away.

I asked my mom if it was a doll and she NO. I banged hard on the window and the baby didn't move. Her face was bright pink. My mom ran into the restaurant to see if she could find the owner and I called 911 on my cell phone. I said, "I need help for a baby that is locked in a car. I'm at Jack in the Box on Woodside and there is a baby in a car with the windows up. I banged on the windows and the baby could just be asleep but it did not move. I have no idea how long the car has been here."

They had the baby out of that car in about 1.5 minutes from the time I made the call. I could hear the fire engine sirens start up and the dispatcher asked for a description of the car. I swear before I could finish telling the lady the make, model, color and plate number, two fire engines came screaming down the street, and as the first was rolling to a stop in the road two guys jumped off the back and had the car window broken out. They didn't spare one second, didn't try to assess the situation, didn't attempt to locate the owner to find out if the car had only been sitting a minute or two or anything... they just took swift action and saved her life. The only question they asked me before the broke the window was when they were running up from the engine, "this car?" I said yes and it was done.

The baby was ultimately OK but they took her to the hospital because she was so lethargic, not very alert, and hot to the touch. They arrested the guy who was supposed to be taking care of her. He didn't hear my mom call for the owner of the car because he was in the bathroom reading the paper. He came waltzing out of the restaurant with his newspaper under his arm 15 minutes AFTER the baby was out with his paper irate that they broke his window out. It was estimated that the baby was in the car for 15-20 minutes prior to me arriving because he ate first. The police had assumed the car was abandoned at the restaurant because he didn't even respond when they went in the restroom to see if the driver was in there. WTF.

I will never forget that day. These stories hurt my heart so badly.

You are an angel! Thank you for sharing your story!

 

[Melanie]

Guesses on what happens Thursday when he goes to court? If the DA's case is as strong as it appears to me, I say no bond or 1Million.

He certainly isn't a danger to any other children in the home and he has ties to the community and he has a place to go unless the LL requests that they leave for some reason. I suspect in that case he could stay with family.

My guess is that if he is released, he wont be able to stop himself from talking to any and all. jmo.

My guess is he may be released as well.

Just my opinion though.

Mel

 

[chlban]

Not very often, really.

There are very few cases where people are fooled by murderers - besides acquaintances I mean.

I know it's been said here that Harris must be a narcissist - but wives KNOW that. Acquaintances don't - but close family and wives do.

If someone is roundly beloved by family and live long friends, you can believe it. IMHO.

Say What???

If wives know that, how come they stay with the men that end up murdering them?

I know let's ask Laci Peterson, or Susan Powell, or Colette MacDonald.....oh, never mind.

 

[stmarysmead]

When the attempt to defend this man becomes exaggerated to the absurd, it makes me sad for this child. It's unfair, so unfair to that Baby, to the horrific, unimaginable pain he suffered.

If there are logical, honest points that defend the Dad, okay. But we all know the difference when sweeping exaggerations are posted as fact. It just morphs into a game. This is no game.

I can hardly think of the minutes ticking away in that car, and the fear and pain of that tiny little guy with no one to help him, just strapped there, helpless.

 

[liltexans]

My guess is he may be released as well.

Just my opinion though.

Mel

It will be interesting to see if bail is set and the amount. The youcaring fund has collected over $22,000 so far. That may be enough to make bail. We will see.

 

[Melanie]

Bond hearing Thursday afternoon, sounds like he will get bond.

With all the public scrutiny -- he may want to stay in jail for his own safety. Folks can get quite angry. Look what happened to Casey Anthony. But it does look like he has some support on the outside, but I'm sure he won't be talking to the media -- under attorney's orders!

JMHO

Mel

 

[SStarr33]

Well it doesn't affect the "felony murder" portion right? Second degree is still a felony?

Perhaps first degree usually involves violence or ongoing suffering beyond one incident, and they worry if he were to beat the "cruelty" charge on a technicality then that would automatically take the DP off the table.

I'm not sure--maybe a legal eagle can help us out.

 

[LayzeeDayzee]

I think we need to stop feeding the trolls in our midst and completely ignore. JMO.

 

[liltexans]

With all the public scrutiny -- he may want to stay in jail for his own safety. Folks can get quite angry. Look what happened to Casey Anthony. But it does look like he has some support on the outside, but I'm sure he won't be talking to the media -- under attorney's orders!

JMHO

Mel

Speaking of attorneys, do we know yet who is representing him? Has the media released that information?

 

[jennapuppy]

Sorry for double posting, but I forgot something I wanted to ask. I thought I'd read all of the posts and links, but haven't seen this on any of the links. Has it been stated in MSM that he was diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, or is another case of psychic evaluations? TIA

No formal diagnosis, just speculation.

 

[sorrell skye]

When someone is charged with murder, I give little credence when I hear the accused is beloved by family/friends. Most folks are loved by their families. I would hope that most folks are also loved by their friends, otherwise, they need to pick new friends.

Some perps are more gregarious and therefore have a large social circle, while other perps are less outgoing and have a small social circle.

Someone can know hundreds of people on a superficial level, and those hundreds of people may believe the person is a bag of chips & then some, because friendly folks have that effect on others. But that doesn't necessarily mean that those hundreds of people "know" the person behind the public façade.

A standing ovation for the accused by a few hundred attendees at a funeral means less than zero to me, in terms of how well RH is truly known by his community. The lack of any derogatory statements against RH by anyone in his past or current community or within his social circle also means little to me in terms of who RH may truly be, except that he's lucky to know people who don't speak ill of him.

It could be that he's truly an all-around great guy. It could be that he's cautious to not let others get to know the "real" RH and projects a false image of who he wants others to believe he is. IDK

Prisons are full of convicted felons (some who are perceived as all-around great guys and some who are murderers) who are loved by their family and friends.

 

[chlban]

No he wasn't. I don't think many thought he was THAT weird that he would murder so many women, but not many people had nice things to say about him, expressed any surprise whatsoever, and he had no family or friends attend his court appearances. The nicest thing that was said about him in this article is that he was "generally liked" in school but too awkward to function socially.

It's an interesting thing to think that someone could be a monster and keep it hidden, but in fact, it doesn't happen. You just don't get murderers with a throng of well-adjusted normal people standing there saying that can't be true.

http://crime.about.com/od/serial/p/tedbundy.htm

You are wrong. Ted Bundy was well liked and considered a "future star" of local politics. In fact he was often compared to JFK for his charm and charisma. Read "A Stranger Beside Me" by Anne Rule. She worked alongside him on a suicide prevention hotline. Thought he was wonderful. She was already a crime writer at the time, but recognized NOTHING, by her own admission.

As for monsters not keeping it hidden, that is even more patently absurd.
Scott Peterson, Jeffrey MacDonald, Darlie Routier, Susan Smith, Casey Anthony, OJ Simpson, just to name a few.

Every one was well liked by many people. MacDonald was considered the picture of the perfect young husband, father, Doctor. OJ was a freakin' hero, as hard as it is to recall now, everyone loved OJ, back in the day.

 

[Lovejac]

When the attempt to defend this man becomes exaggerated to the absurd, it makes me sad for this child. It's unfair, so unfair to that Baby, to the horrific, unimaginable pain he suffered.

If there are logical, honest points that defend the Dad, okay. But we all know the difference when sweeping exaggerations are posted as fact. It just morphs into a game. This is no game.

I can hardly think of the minutes ticking away in that car, and the fear and pain of that tiny little guy with no one to help him, just strapped there, helpless.

Thank you for getting this thread for Cooper, back on track :blowkiss:

 

[MyBelle]

I couldn't agree more. It doesn't take much reading up on Narcissistic Personality Disorder, particularly in context to a relationship, and you'll very easily find that N's are masters at gaslighting and leading their partners/spouses to believe they (the victim spouse) are the one with the problems/who's crazy/who has issues/who is in the wrong/who isn't as intelligent/who is intellectually inferior/who is a silly overdramatic woman, etc etc. I used to belong to a large online Forum for victims of Narcissists.........and the common them which I can personally attest to, is that relationship victims of Narcissists have no CLUE they're in a marriage/relationship with an N.............until they finally break free from the relationship and even then it can take months to years to get over the denial..........because they have been so deeply brainwashed/manipulated/controlled/abused.

Thank you for sharing this. Our daughter certainly didn't see it ahead of time and we were also fooled for years.

I urge every parent of a high school or college-age daughter to read up on this personality disorder and instill awareness in your daughters. If he seems too good to be true, he is.

JMO

 

[popsicle]

Well it doesn't affect the "felony murder" portion right? Second degree is still a felony?

Perhaps first degree usually involves violence or ongoing suffering beyond one incident, and they worry if he were to beat the "cruelty" charge on a technicality then that would automatically take the DP off the table.

1st degree involves intent..premeditated. It does not affect the felony murder charge.

 

[lightlady]

GA is the land of the "to-go" cup. Even in better restaurants, you are offered one. Speculating due to experience- not only did he have a logoed to go cup in the car, it stared him in the face at his desk.

Perhaps he decided he had better put that cup back in the car after carrying it into the office...

 

[Karmady]

Reproductive technology is very expensive - IUI with donor sperm would only be $350-$1500, from what I can see. It looks like something like ICSI/IVF would easily be $7000-$14,500. I don't know their financial portfolio or anything, but since both parents worked and it seems HD was paying for the funeral, I don't know how much money they had available to pour into fertility treatments.

Maybe at the time he didn't mind if the baby was conceived using donor sperm, since he thought it had a chance of not working, but as time went on, it bothered him more and more. Maybe they have poor credit and didn't qualify for financing.

Just because something exists doesn't mean it's attainable for everyone. I mean, for all we know, she got sperm from a friend and used a turkey baster (the cost: a turkey baster.)

All it would take is a DNA test to prove whether or not Justin was the bio dad, any way. I don't personally think he looks a ton like dad - he has mom's coloring, mom's chin, a big smile... Even his nose looks kind of like a generic kid nose, you know? It doesn't necessarily look distinct enough, to me any way, to attribute to Justin. YMMV.

Ime, huge companies like HD typically cover infertility treatments. Especially these days. They have the negotiating power and economies of scale. Even back when I was trying to conceive, the similary huge Atlanta-based company my ex worked at covered all types of treatments. HD may not, but it would be a big assumption. jmo