LeAnna (Mom) #1

[swan366]

People react to grief very differently. Some go numb. Some bawl. I vomit. My closest friend goes stone-faced and catatonic. You cannot, in my humble opinion, judge someone's grief by their outward appearance as you cannot judge someone's guilt and/or involvement by their expression or appearance at a funeral. I recall reading general discussion threads here (on Somer Thompson) prior to joining Websleuths. This little girl had been abducted, raped and murdered on the way home from school in her own neighborhood after running off from her siblings. The things said about her mother's attire and demeanor the day Somer Thompson was buried were shameful. It later came out her mother had ZERO involvement. I know that this is a forum for crime sleuthing and part of that involves speculation. I don't really think judging someone's outward appearances as 'bad' or 'telling' is accurate or appropriate, though.

This is obviously just my opinion.

You know, you are absolutely correct; I had forgotten about that story, and I remember thinking that her reaction was so bland, she had to be involved in some way. I felt terrible about that later on. Thanks for the reminder about prejudging; I needed that.

 

[LisaB]

What if LH was pretty upset with RH for his sexting/ cheating on her, and decided to set him up to take the fall for Cooper's "accidental" death?

What if LH perceived RH to be "not very bright", and unable to control himself with the sexting?

What if she manipulated him into being convinced everyone would think Cooper's death was an accident? The ultimate set up. Revenge? This woman's reactions are so far off any scale of cultural normal, I do think she could have set him up by convincing him everyone would assume it was a tragic accident.



http://www.waff.com/story/25897601/warrants-harris-wife-also

MOO, but I think L is a he!! of a lot smarter than her husband. Not to say that is a good thing in this case. Her academic history, etc. all seem to show her as being very bright, and easily capable of concocting a plan this simple, but that seems at odds with "Ross must have left him in the car" and "Did you say too much?" along with the bizarro-world speech at the funeral. To look at them it seems as though she MUST have self-esteem issues. She's kind of cute, whereas he looks like an overgrown LEGO minifigure. She is well-educated, which enabled him to quit work, take a summer off, and then go to school full-time while she supported them. All in all, she had a lot more invested in the marriage, and when he finished school, she was pregnant in short order. Maybe he wanted that to keep her attached and too busy to check up on him? Maybe she wanted that to keep him, or as her "reward" for putting him through school. Who knows? But she seems like a girl who could have done better.

 

[NancyA]

What do you mean? It will always be possible to find a jury. They have done it in every other high-profile case. Are you saying they wouldn't have the trial b/c it would be impossible to have a fair one?

LOL. They could only wish it were impossible to seat a jury but it won't stop them trying. No, realistically, I'm thinking they'll say all the adverse publicity and public reaction will mean the Harrises can't get a fair trial, they'll do what defense teams do a la Casey Anthony case - they'll throw massive tantrums, raise every objection they can to suppress 'inflammatory' evidence and witnesses, drag it on and on through hearings, venue changes and nitpick through jury selection - to point of bussing in the Georgia equivalent of the Pinellas 12 if they have to!

 

[AnnieMagnolia]

And, supposedly, when they do get an exclusive story, the person must sign a waiver that they don't talk about the story to any other news outlet. I just found this out from the guy that was with RH in the holding cell. He told MSM that whatever he was quoted as saying in the National Enquirer was true, and that he couldn't speak more about it because he was under contract with them.

I just read the article and watched the video of his interview on National Enquirer's website. I believe this guy. Too bad he didn't ask RH what he was in there for. Apparently no one asked, and he didn't talk about it.

 

[SnoopyDawgDawg]

[snipped]

MOO, but I think L is a he!!...

Reading on only three sips of coffee, THAT part of your post really got my attention!!!

(Here's the FULL post):

MOO, but I think L is a he!! of a lot smarter than her husband. Not to say that is a good thing in this case. Her academic history, etc. all seem to show her as being very bright, and easily capable of concocting a plan this simple, but that seems at odds with "Ross must have left him in the car" and "Did you say too much?" along with the bizarro-world speech at the funeral. To look at them it seems as though she MUST have self-esteem issues. She's kind of cute, whereas he looks like an overgrown LEGO minifigure. She is well-educated, which enabled him to quit work, take a summer off, and then go to school full-time while she supported them. All in all, she had a lot more invested in the marriage, and when he finished school, she was pregnant in short order. Maybe he wanted that to keep her attached and too busy to check up on him? Maybe she wanted that to keep him, or as her "reward" for putting him through school. Who knows? But she seems like a girl who could have done better.

 

[believe09]

Just catching up, but I suspect it is aimed at message boards as well.

Thank you so much to Gitana and K_Z for such great informative posts explaining defamation and what a suit would entail. You guys rock. :loveyou:

Having read what you had to say, I'm very much inclined to believe this rumour is probably aimed at scaring the media into backing off a bit. Seems to me though it's a pretty futile effort since the media have their own lawyers who would be quite capable of calling LH and her attorneys' bluff.

 

[AnnieMagnolia]

I wish we knew just how much researching they did about child left-in-car deaths. I keep thinking that while they fully expected to be questioned, and even possibly charged with negligence, never in their wildest nightmare did they expect felony murder charges. I believe they expected a lot of public sympathy, and that donations would pour in. They could have buried the baby and had a private memorial service for him,but that funeral was a staged very public event for the benefit of ROSS. ("I'm doing this for you"). JMO

From what I read, it appeared as if they searched for dogs dying in cars, then what temperature it would have to be inside a car to kill a person, who long it would take to kill a person, what a person looks like dying (don't know if this was in a hot car or just in general). Keeping these searches up on their computers might have been to show LE that they were good parents worrying about this instead of people who had no idea and were bad parents. Bad planning on their parts, imo.

 

[believe09]

I have dealt some with the National Enquirer-I wouldn't assume the source of some of the stories is their own staff and their digging. They pay for stories-maybe LH and or RH are orchestrating leaks for money. Seems like something that would be up Lin Wood's alley, although I am not familiar with him.

 

[believe09]

LOL-I should be reading backwards today...

I just read the article and watched the video of his interview on National Enquirer's website. I believe this guy. Too bad he didn't ask RH what he was in there for. Apparently no one asked, and he didn't talk about it.

 

[matou]

I think Leanna should be trying to heal like a normal person instead of going after media for $$$$. This stinks IMO. All about the $$$. JMO

 

[LisaB]

Here's a weird thought... a possible alternative explanation to one of the bigger stumbling blocks to finding her innocent.

What if Ross was talking to her at the police station and he said something like "I don't ________ too much" and she asked "Did you say "too much"?" Asking if he had used those specific words with police.
I don't eat at CFA too much
I don't call Leanna too much during the day
I don't get to go out with my friends too much
My wife and I don't agree too much

 

[JerseyGirl]

Just catching up, but I suspect it is aimed at message boards as well.

Maybe it's directed at the Daily Mail? Can they sue a UK newspaper??

 

[LambChop]

Well, we still do not know what that one minute conversation was about between RH and LH. You know LE had to have asked both of them and it is possible that their stories do not match. So under those conditions I can see her getting an attorney because LE is probably not through questioning her and if she feels RH lied about their brief conversation an attorney would be the right choice for her. jmo

 

[matou]

This is what was revealed on the stand, not in the tabloids:

Leanna went to daycare: “I’m here to pick up Cooper. They told her he didn’t drop Cooper off.
In front of several witnesses she said, “Ross must’ve left him in the car.”
“They tried to console her, said there could be a million reasons.”
She said no.”
Showed “no real emotion” after being told Cooper was deceased. Didn’t ask to see Cooper. Asked to see her husband.

What was so inflammatory in the press that she would try to sue?

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/inside-the-courtroom/ngYcc/

 

[LisaB]

She was able to make her rah-rah speech for RH.

She did not speak at the hearing. I was referring to the hearing.

 

[SuperTmo]

I wonder what RH's answer was to the question, "Did you say too much?"

 

[CCmakes3]

Curious...

LH has confessed to doing 'hot car' searches online. I wonder if LE have discovered this article to be one that she searched? It's the story of a woman with a doctorate who taught grad students at a Christian college who left her 11-month old little girl in the minivan all day, in 90-degree weather. The little girl died, the teacher got paid leave that fall semester to recover from the tragedy, and prosecutors declined to press charges. The article says that the Christian college and community surrounded her with love and support, and the article ends with the college president, Faust, saying these words:

"It's not possible to make sense of Jenna's death," Faust said, "but we know we live in a terribly broken world."

So eerily similar to what Leanna said at the memorial service--that she wouldn't bring Cooper back into this "broken world."

http://archive.cincinnati.com/article/20080822/NEWS0107/808220336/-Just-tragic-mistake-

Great catch! This whole "broken world" BS really pisses me off. I have a feeling we're going to start hearing more of it. Great way to take the focus off of the perp and reallocate the blame. Even in cases where the death is truly an accident, isn't the parent still more responsible for the child than the rest of the world? Wth?

 

[ScarlettScarpetta]

Great catch! This whole "broken world" BS really pisses me off. I have a feeling we're going to start hearing more of it. Great way to take the focus off of the perp and reallocate the blame. Even in cases where the death is truly an accident, isn't the parent still more responsible for the child than the rest of the world? Wth?

Here is the thing for me. I believe we do live in a very broken world. I don't think it is something that is new to anyone who goes to church. Often our pastors will ask us to pray for the broken in this broken world.

Right now we have JRH as the person responsible. We have her saying some odd things but nothing that is not inline with her faith. I have also been thinking about her statement about saying too much in the police station. I don't have an issue with that. The more I think about it, At that point she could have believed this was an accident and was worried about him saying something that could be used against him like we are all warned about. Once they slap that cuffs on you should just shut up and get a lawyer.

So at this point with no evidence of her collusion, I am going to put that in the "could have just been concerned about her husband and was trying to protect him because she thought he was innocent" at that point. IMO

 

[gngr~snap]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And could you tell the judge, what was he being emotional about? What was the main thing he was crying about or sobbing about or whatever he was doing?

STODDARD: Oh, it was all about him. I can't believe this is happening to me. I can't believe, you know, this happened to me. Why am I being punished for this? And it continued. It was all very one-sided.*

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he talk about losing his job?*

STODDARD: He talked about losing his job. What are we going to do? I'm going to lose my job. I'll be charged with a felony.*

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did his wife ever say anything to him about what he said to police?*

STODDARD: Well, she asked him -- she had him sit down and he starts going through this and she looks at him and she's like, well, did you say too much?*

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1407/03/cnr.05.html

He was talking about himself, his job and Home Depot. He was afraid he was gonna get fired. Was she asking if he told Home Depot too much?

How did he know what the charges would be?
IMO

We don't have his answers and we wont get them until the trail.

He wasn't questioning IF he was going to be arrested. He knew, and he knew everything else would be an open book.

So at 10:00pm
he is crying or sobbing with Leanna and then in booking, he like "hey, what's up?" Unemotional nothing...
he must have been a pro at manipulating...

 

[K_Z]

MOO, but I think L is a he!! of a lot smarter than her husband. Not to say that is a good thing in this case. Her academic history, etc. all seem to show her as being very bright, and easily capable of concocting a plan this simple, but that seems at odds with "Ross must have left him in the car" and "Did you say too much?" along with the bizarro-world speech at the funeral. To look at them it seems as though she MUST have self-esteem issues. She's kind of cute, whereas he looks like an overgrown LEGO minifigure. She is well-educated, which enabled him to quit work, take a summer off, and then go to school full-time while she supported them. All in all, she had a lot more invested in the marriage, and when he finished school, she was pregnant in short order. Maybe he wanted that to keep her attached and too busy to check up on him? Maybe she wanted that to keep him, or as her "reward" for putting him through school. Who knows? But she seems like a girl who could have done better.

A couple things stand out to me, gleaned from the "small details" thread:

*Ross apparently (interview in small details thread) had a long time reputation for being "always late"-- which may have become a more serious problem for him. Could be his irresponsibility in this area was irritating to LH, as well as his job, where he was passed over for promotion. So, his behavior being late for work the day Cooper died, and stopping for fast food anyway, was actually not out of character for him. He also apparently was irresponsible with some money management, from interviews.

* Ross has a history of chatting up women on line that goes back to his college days, according to an interview with a college buddy. Lots and lots of online GFs, lots of computer equipment, going back to college days. So, it's not out of character for him to be juggling 6 different women online the day Cooper died. That means he has a TEN YEAR (or more) history of his online activities with women, rather than a recent bout of infidelity. Depending on when LH found out about this substantial online "dating" history, that could be extremely upsetting to her. If she found out recently, the long term betrayal and facade of religiosity could have been devastating for her. If she knew for a long time, his behaviors might have been more of a frustration causing her to question whether their marriage could survive. Either way, most wives would be highly annoyed and angry with this behavior, if not contemplating divorce. Especially if she knew he was meeting women in person. (Imagine the worries about STDs, etc.)

* Comment in the small details thread about RH's social awkwardness in person, as well as the parents of other GFs being unhappy/ disapproving of him. If LH's parents also were somewhat disapproving of her choice of marrying him, it might explain why she went to stay with HIS parents, not hers. She may have married him as a "fixer upper", thinking he would change over time, love conquers all, etc.

I'm more and more convinced that LH was the brains in this family. RH is appearing to be more and more irresponsible and immature as one looks at his behavior over time. He is sloppy with his electronic dating presence, and doesn't seem to care if he is found out, DESPITE a strong interest and knowledge of computers. I'm thinking LH was highly frustrated with him. I wonder if he could have made threats to LH-- "if you divorce me, I will hurt you", that kind of thing.

I was originally thinking she may have set him up, thinking he was none too bright, and pretty lazy. But now I wonder if there was a threat that she thought was directed at her, and was shocked that he took out his anger at her on Cooper, to hurt her. Like a veiled threat, "wouldn't it be awful if someone forgot and left Cooper in a hot car?" That might explain why she wasn't as shocked as would be expected. And why she said "did you say too much?"

I still don't think she was abused in any way, emotionally or otherwise. I think she "wore the pants" in the relationship, and Ross was like a big sociopathic adolescent she had to manage. IDK-- just speculating, if any of my rambling makes sense! Leanna's ongoing behavior is so strange that there has to be a back story, IMO.

Anyway, I think it's likely Leanna was very seriously contemplating divorce when Ross left Cooper in the car, "accidentally on purpose". I think that might have something to do with the entire set of circumstances.

Regardless, I also thing RH's defense team will actually use his chronic lateness, and long term history of sexting, as an excuse for why he "forgot" Cooper. I don't think it will persuade a jury that he's not guilty, though. And regardless of what exactly the back story is on LH, IMO, she better cooperate with authorities. Things just don't look good for her. Prosecutors essentially put her on notice that she is more than a witness. I think she should tell everything she knows to the investigators.