GA - Suspicion over heat death of Cooper, 22 mo., Cobb County, June 2014, #9

[LittleRose]

I'm on the fence, but at this time, I am thinking that this was a terrible accident. Make no mistake, I'm not defending JRH – this guy is a terrible parent, husband and employee – but I'm not sure he's a cold-blooded child murderer. I know I am a member of a tiny minority here, so please don't skewer me!

There are several reasons why I think Cooper's tragic death wasn't planned, but the main reason is, ironically, JRH's disgusting behavior. Just about everyone now knows that after a suspicious death, phone, text and internet records will be analyzed. That's even more true for someone working in a tech field like web development. So I have a lot of trouble believing that if he planned this, he would send lewd photos of his anatomy and text with multiple women all day while his child was dying. He may not be a genius, but he would surely know that his phone and internet records would be scrutinized.

Perhaps, after eating at CFA, his mind immediately turned toward his titillating virtual activities, and all thoughts of his child vanished. I would be curious to see if he sent or received texts or chat messages before he arrived at work. Perhaps he and his wife were so afraid he would leave Cooper in the car because he had a history of being absent-minded, or maybe because it had happened before. Parents DO sometimes forget when an infant is in the car - it happens quite often, and there have been several stories recently in the news. I don't have children, but I do really, really stupid things all the time when I'm distracted, and if I had a child this would be a major fear for me.

There has been no evidence so far, other than a brief visit to a "Child-Free" website, that JRH didn't love his child or enjoy being a father. His friends say he talked about Cooper all the time and enjoyed spending time with him. Sexting with other women and underage girls may be sick, but it is not solid proof he wanted to kill his child. Shocking as it may be, sexting and chatting on these kinds of forums and social apps is common, even among married people. Ditto for marital problems or insurance policies.

I wish I could feel as convinced as some of you of his guilt - but until I hear more evidence, I am hanging out on this lonely fence.

Ross is a typical sociopath- self-destructive. That's why he exposed himself in one of the most soulless crimes of our times.

Wondering why you're breaking ties in favor of the perpetrator rather than the victim...

In order to identify with little Cooper, you would have to be an adult advocate for little La Cavaliere.


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[ScarlettScarpetta]

Same here. As I said yesterday, it's a good thing my fence had been getting shorter in the days prior to the hearing, or I would have broken my neck falling off it. Once the hearing got underway, it took me little time to fall off onto the he's-so-guilty side. When I heard Det. Stoddard describing the minuscule amount of time between "him" strapping Cooper in at CFA and getting to the light where he would go right for day care and left for work (and having to turn his head to the right to ensure he could make the u-turn to go to work), I knew, because Det. Stoddard's description of the position of the car seat left no room for "him" not seeing Cooper and thinking, "Man! I almost forgot to take Cooper to day care!"

And when I heard the mother's comments a) to her spouse about saying too much, and b) her immediate jump to the conclusion that Cooper had been left in the car, I knew she was right with the father on the planning. And when I heard he'd said he dreaded looking at Cooper...dreaded...as in already knew he was in the back seat and what horrible shape he'd be in...well...that sucked up any last breath of leeway for me.

I only hope that she did NOT know of her husband's sexting habits and yesterday in the hearing was the first she'd heard of them. And I only hope that now she sees what a devil she's married to and she turns on him and sings like a canary.

I wanted it to be an accident. And could see it being an accident.. until. The officer described the light bulb drop off, the stopping when someone went near his car, AS if he wanted to be able to be there when Cooper was discovered, The comments from the mother first thing at the day care.

I have never ever heard of a parent forgetting a child and then starting to drive that child home. They are either discovered by someone else or the parent remembers at some point.

There are things that make him a monster that don't make him a killer. But what I know so far says this guy has skewed values and thinking and so the possibilities start opening to what else he could be capable of.

The childfree forum has no other purpose than to say, Hey I have no kids or I want to have no kids and hey I am looking for fun.

 

[newone]

Same here. As I said yesterday, it's a good thing my fence had been getting shorter in the days prior to the hearing, or I would have broken my neck falling off it. Once the hearing got underway, it took me little time to fall off onto the he's-so-guilty side. When I heard Det. Stoddard describing the minuscule amount of time between "him" strapping Cooper in at CFA and getting to the light where he would go right for day care and left for work (and having to turn his head to the right to ensure he could make the u-turn to go to work), I knew, because Det. Stoddard's description of the position of the car seat left no room for "him" not seeing Cooper and thinking, "Man! I almost forgot to take Cooper to day care!"

And when I heard the mother's comments a) to her spouse about saying too much, and b) her immediate jump to the conclusion that Cooper had been left in the car, I knew she was right with the father on the planning. And when I heard he'd said he dreaded looking at Cooper...dreaded...as in already knew he was in the back seat and what horrible shape he'd be in...well...that sucked up any last breath of leeway for me.

I only hope that she did NOT know of her husband's sexting habits and yesterday in the hearing was the first she'd heard of them. And I only hope that now she sees what a devil she's married to and she turns on him and sings like a canary.

I can only imagine the level of devastation a woman might have felt at hearing the evidence in public yesterday if she had no previous proof......could explain the secret exit with security out of the building (they do make arrangements for that -- ). Would certain raise the temperature of the flames licking at her feet at this point and I am sure she's got to be thinking of ''sharing more of the story'' ((if she's smart))

 

[SoSueMe]

Hearing Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9u--A2TwZg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff6SR0oHFQ8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9QIKX9JE4Q

 

[LinasK]

He didn't pull backwards into the space. He pulled backward into a space between two cars then forward into a space with a car on one side and a grass area on the other (not sure if the exact word was grass, but point being that it wasn't between two cars). I just reviewed that this morning.

Still, the act of driving in reverse would still necessitate him turning his head so that he would see Cooper's little head sticking above the car seat.

 

[Karmady]

I wasn't thinking about Ross.[emoji6] (hint-hint)
I have seen a few young women do some things that shocked me! No one died and technically no children were harmed, but I have known 2 girls/women One literally married a guy 20 years older for $ (he owned a big department store) had 2 kids filed for divorce after a few years asked for the house the car etc. 1/2 of everything...
and got it.

I had another friend who married a rich guy he made about $12,000 a day, he supported tje 4 kids her first 2 husbands didn't. then 3 years in she had in vitro finally after 2 more years ended up using a surrogate to have a baby (her 5th) only baby with this guy...
and literally served him divorce papers on their 10th anniversary. Just so that she can get the house, alimony, child support and 1/2 his soc security. And be rid off him.
She.never wanted anokid but.in order to get what she wanted from the divorce he was necessary.
*Both of these couples over
$1 million on each other and.the women didn't even work!
This was the plan for both of them before the 1st date.
I'm selling my grandma's antique marble tables and my Ford Expedition I had for 11 years just to make ends meet!
I will have my 25th anniversary this year.

There are.some.cold cold women out there!
Sorry for the OT!

If Leanna doesn't get charged. Doesn't have an internet history like Ross, performed well at work, made more money than him... why couldn't she divorce him take the $and move on?

I've posted before that that practice is practically considered a viable "career" option in my neck of the woods. Get him to marry you...get pregnant and immediately quit your job if you have one...hang on for 10 years = set for life

 

[ScarlettScarpetta]

Still, the act of driving in reverse would still necessitate him turning his head so that he would see Cooper's little head sticking above the car seat.

I don't believe that Coopers head was above the car seat. I think it is possible that he was above the height limit but that did not mean his head was above the shell of the car seat.

 

[Karmady]

Still, the act of driving in reverse would still necessitate him turning his head so that he would see Cooper's little head sticking above the car seat.

sometimes the things I post are just to keep the facts straight. This is one of those times. He did not ultimately park nose out, so it's not valid to say he did so to avoid Cooper being noticed. Your point is different and may be valid.

 

[LittleRose]

I wasn't thinking about Ross.[emoji6] (hint-hint)
I have seen a few young women do some things that shocked me! No one died and technically no children were harmed, but I have known 2 girls/women One literally married a guy 20 years older for $ (he owned a big department store) had 2 kids filed for divorce after a few years asked for the house the car etc. 1/2 of everything...
and got it.

I had another friend who married a rich guy he made about $12,000 a day, he supported tje 4 kids her first 2 husbands didn't. then 3 years in she had in vitro finally after 2 more years ended up using a surrogate to have a baby (her 5th) only baby with this guy...
and literally served him divorce papers on their 10th anniversary. Just so that she can get the house, alimony, child support and 1/2 his soc security. And be rid off him.
She.never wanted anokid but.in order to get what she wanted from the divorce he was necessary.
*Both of these couples over
$1 million on each other and.the women didn't even work!
This was the plan for both of them before the 1st date.
I'm selling my grandma's antique marble tables and my Ford Expedition I had for 11 years just to make ends meet!
I will have my 25th anniversary this year.

There are.some.cold cold women out there!
Sorry for the OT!

If Leanna doesn't get charged. Doesn't have an internet history like Ross, performed well at work, made more money than him... why couldn't she divorce him take the $and move on?

Ross controlled the money. That speaks volumes. He's the "leader". My guess: Leanna has no identity apart from Ross.


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[LinasK]

Hearing Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9u--A2TwZg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff6SR0oHFQ8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9QIKX9JE4Q

Could we get a link to the bond hearing thread please? Only got to read one page of it.

 

[claudicici]

I think after the hearing it is clear that he is not only guilty of negligence but of First degree pre-meditated murder !!!! ......and his wife took part in the planning or at least knew about the plan.I hope she will be arrested soon.

 

[newone]

whew I am WAY behind, but I wanted to make a comment from thread #4:


Maybe Cooper had a premonition of his death!?

Also regarding Harris seating in his car for "30 seconds" - oh my god - that IS a long time...

okay - think I will skip threads #5 thru 8 and start here! :wave:

just a minute.......whoa Nellie.....that poor baby was bright....kids hear Everything we say....KWIM
he may have been afraid to fall asleep - not exacting kidding here KWIM
I think there was some serious fighting or equivalent going on there -- there had to be....if not ''verbal sparring'' but disagreements

 

[Wendy101]

This forum is really hard to get used to..

 

[la_cavalière]

do you believe he should be held accountable for his negligence?

Hmmm... that's a tough one for me. If it was truly an accident, I would say no. I don't think prosecuting parents for tragic accidents is effective, and besides, their grief is enough of a punishment. Instead, we need to come up with solutions to prevent hot car deaths.

When I was living in St. Louis, there was a terrible case of a husband whose baby girl, Sophie, died after he accidentally left her in the car while he went to work at Washington University. His wife worked as a pediatrician there, in fact, and blames herself for not reminding her husband to take Sophie to the day care. In this case, it was considered a tragic accident, and the couple received much sympathy, although some wanted them prosecuted for child endangerment. I couldn't imagine punishing these parents more - they were already suffering immensely. There is now a prevention program named in Sophie's honor called "Sophie's Kiss."

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/...cle_65da8eb2-e818-5c92-9dfc-483b5f4cae7d.html

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/...cle_65da8eb2-e818-5c92-9dfc-483b5f4cae7d.html

"Statistics collected by Kids And Cars suggest more than half — 54 percent — of the 717 recorded child vehicular heatstroke deaths from the early 1990s through 2013 were caused by parents forgetting their child was in the back of the car."

 

[LittleRose]

whew I am WAY behind, but I wanted to make a comment from thread #4:


Maybe Cooper had a premonition of his death!?

Also regarding Harris seating in his car for "30 seconds" - oh my god - that IS a long time...

okay - think I will skip threads #5 thru 8 and start here! :wave:

Most likely, Cooper picked up on his folks' change in behavior before his death. They were paying more attention to him, more hugs, kisses, favorite meals, maybe gifts... His little subconscious mind may have been in overdrive, processing at night.


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[DeDee]

I'm on the fence, but at this time, I am thinking that this was a terrible accident. Make no mistake, I'm not defending JRH – this guy is a terrible parent, husband and employee – but I'm not sure he's a cold-blooded child murderer. I know I am a member of a tiny minority here, so please don't skewer me!

There are several reasons why I think Cooper's tragic death wasn't planned, but the main reason is, ironically, JRH's disgusting behavior. Just about everyone now knows that after a suspicious death, phone, text and internet records will be analyzed. That's even more true for someone working in a tech field like web development. So I have a lot of trouble believing that if he planned this, he would send lewd photos of his anatomy and text with multiple women all day while his child was dying. He may not be a genius, but he would surely know that his phone and internet records would be scrutinized.

Perhaps, after eating at CFA, his mind immediately turned toward his titillating virtual activities, and all thoughts of his child vanished. I would be curious to see if he sent or received texts or chat messages before he arrived at work. Perhaps he and his wife were so afraid he would leave Cooper in the car because he had a history of being absent-minded, or maybe because it had happened before. Parents DO sometimes forget when an infant is in the car - it happens quite often, and there have been several stories recently in the news. I don't have children, but I do really, really stupid things all the time when I'm distracted, and if I had a child this would be a major fear for me.

There has been no evidence so far, other than a brief visit to a "Child-Free" website, that JRH didn't love his child or enjoy being a father. His friends say he talked about Cooper all the time and enjoyed spending time with him. Sexting with other women and underage girls may be sick, but it is not solid proof he wanted to kill his child. Shocking as it may be, sexting and chatting on these kinds of forums and social apps is common, even among married people. Ditto for marital problems or insurance policies.

I wish I could feel as convinced as some of you of his guilt - but until I hear more evidence, I am hanging out on this lonely fence.

I do not understand your position of not being able to find premeditation in this case. Did you know he took his son out of the hot car 7 hours after strapping him inside and placed him down directly onto the hot pavement and not nearby in the shaded grassy area? The very shade tree whose branches RHarris pulled leaves from. Did you know that he did not perform CPR for his son? A stranger did that. That means, he took his son's body from the hot car, let someone else perform CPR, while he walked away to use the phone w/HD for 6 minutes. Did you know he researched how long it takes to die in a hot car? Did you know he watched the veterinarian's reenactment video warning twice, about how it feels to be inside a hot car, within 5 days of Cooper's death? Did you know he and his wife experienced difficulties conceiving? Did you know RHarris used AndroGel for years? It is very expensive but it works great for erectile dysfunction. Did you know he had two life insurance policies on his 22mo baby boy for $27K? Did you know he was recently looked over for a promotion? Did you know he was denied employment with ChikFilA in May, 2014? Did you know he said his son looked peaceful and his eyes and mouth were closed? That's a lie. Cooper died with his eyes open. The jaws of death released his bottom jaw so his tiny blue lips parted with a dark tiny tongue protruding.

Are you aware that Cooper's daddy normally took his son to daycare in the mornings? As a special treat, frequently, Cooper loved to happily walk into ChicFilA for breakfast before daycare so, of course, they would go eat there on this last day of his life. Did you know his daddy switched the forward facing carseat to a back-facing infantseat 2-3 weeks before Cooper died? Did you know, because he had out-grown it, Cooper's head was 2-3" above the top of the carseat and the restraints were placed in the tightest position, thereby, preventing his son any possible wiggle room? Did you know Cooper suffered deep abrasions on the back of his head from beating his head in an attempt to escape the heat or while he was convulsing during heatstroke? Other than trying to scratch his face off, we are not privy to further injuries until the AR is released.

You do know Cooper's murderer was involved w/ an online group called "ChildFree". Did you know Cooper's father had to make a right turn out into traffic when leaving the HD parking lot with his small boy who smelled of death 6" from his driver's seat? Then, he kept driving with his dead baby in rigor still strapped tightly into his infantseat.

This is the link to Ven's Ten Levels of Slime that is highly recommended reading.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...bb-County-June-2014-8&p=10699343#post10699343

 

[Sonya610]

I still don't think he was sedated but to be honest, I am hoping he was. I wish I could go back and believe this was a mistake.

Well since he had scratches on his face and bumps on the back of his head from frantically trying to get OUT it sure doesn't seem like he was sedated.

 

[Karmady]

Let's suppose at one time JRH and LH were happy and loved their child and would never ever do this intentionally. When did that time cease to exist? When was the alleged affair? Was it the catalyst? At what point did he openly start not caring about his son? Surely there were signs well before this horrific murder occurred. What led him to start sexting with minors? The only thing I can think of is LH probably paid less attention to him after Cooper was born. My husband had a very hard time adapting to not being the center of my universe when our son was born and really did not do much with him until he was past the toddler stage; but he always loved him. Our son can be difficult because he and I both have severe ADHD and I also have PTSD which lowers my tolerance of his hyperactivity even more, even with us both on meds. My husband has untreated PTSD and ADD. Our house can be completely chaotic. Add 4 Pugs and it's like a mad house. As angry and screaming as I can be, or my husband, we would NEVER in a million years hurt our son. He is the one element of my life that keeps me alive and sane. Without having had him I'm fairly certain I would have long passed the 38th parallel from crazy over to psychotic and would probably never have made it to this forum as a member, but instead as a subject of discussion. I am completely serious. I am not fooled. IME (family) NPD and Sociopaths can have affection for someone until it no longer suits them. I can spot master manipulators and narcissists from a mile away even though sometimes my developed conscience tries to give them benefit of the doubt and I struggle with trusting my intuition.

I'm with Linda on this one. I think LH is very much involved. I also think that she may have inadvertently planted the idea in his head and as things got worse in their marriage he became apathetic and no longer cared about his family. Maybe she gave him the idea that if Cooper were gone he would once again become the center of her world. She clearly acts as if this is the case. I'd say she is equally guilty of neglect and murder. MOO

Pure speculation on my part, but couples who are going through infertility can immerse themselves in that process (women, in particular, for obvious reasons) to the point that they are so unfocused on their actual relationship, they don't have one when the baby finally comes. Then, the first few months/years of the newness of being a family with a child continues to take a lot of focus off the relationship and then someone finally wakes up and goes wait, I've got what I thought I wanted, but it's not at all the way I thought it would be. Maybe a little of that going on here. They were married for quite some time before Cooper was born. And considering their religious bent, I don't see them having waited very long to try and conceive. jmo

 

[jennapuppy]

whew I am WAY behind, but I wanted to make a comment from thread #4:


Maybe Cooper had a premonition of his death!?

Also regarding Harris seating in his car for "30 seconds" - oh my god - that IS a long time...

okay - think I will skip threads #5 thru 8 and start here! :wave:

I'm no longer sure that the anecdote about Cooper sleeping in their bed even happened. I think everything LH said at his eulogy was scripted, and calculated to garner sympathy and perpetuate this facade of a perfect family.

 

[newone]

I'm having issues trying to quote and post ... forgive me

with regard to Ross being the leader (I believe that's the image LH wants to convey to her/their supporters)

I believe LE during testimony indicated that LH said that RH recently took over the finances and had himself run up a credit card balance ((incidently the guitar was recently purchased - april I believe -)

''recently took over the finances'' indicates some sort of power struggle to me MOOOOO