The Grand Jury & Trial

[seattlechiquita]

Cathy@courtchatter #JustinRossHarris - READ LATEST RULING. Judge rules probable cause existed for search/seizure electronic devices.... http://fb.me/788eJR8mJ



01/26/2016 - Order denying motion to suppress

BOOM. :happydance:

 

[Minette]

Everyone should read that ruling, which documents exactly what happened from the time Ross Harris stopped his car through his initial questioning to understand just how cold-blooded he is. Also, I did not realize that he was attempting to suppress the information collected from the computers owned by Home Depot, which included the infamous 'hot car death' video he admitted to detectives that he watched. On his work computer.

 

[blue22]

I'm not familiar with details on any hot car death but this one (I'm familiar with the overview of many of them, though).

Some of the differences in this case:
*it was his normal routine to drop Cooper off (often a deviation in routine causes the parent to go into auto-pilot mode and they forget they're supposed to drop the child off)

*he literally had to have forgotten Cooper was with him in less than 3 minutes, based on the location of the Chik-Fil-A to the turn he had to make to the daycare

*he is on camera appearing to choose a somewhat secluded parking spot, where Cooper would be less likely to be spotted by passers-by

*the car seat was positioned rear-facing in the middle of the back seat, and at Cooper's height the top of his head would have been visible just over JRH's right shoulder, and JRH had to lean to the right to pick up his bag (from the passenger seat floor area I believe)

*the car seat was too small for Cooper and likely had been for at least a couple of months, which isn't remarkable by itself, because many parents might make the seat work longer than it should because they can't afford a new one yet, but they had another, bigger seat for Cooper already, and JRH made statements to police about how he knew all about the car seat Cooper was in, so he clearly knew it was not the right size for him

*and...I need to search for a source on this part, but I believe it was part of the testimony that the car seat straps were set on the lowest setting, as they would be for an infant...so even if they were trying to wait to get a 2nd bigger car seat, the straps should have been adjusted properly since JRH knew all about the seat

(As an aside, it is very common for parents to leave car seats at the day care so the person picking up has a seat for the little one, so even if JRH and LH could only afford one bigger seat, there was really no excuse for them to continue using the infant seat)

*he returned to the car during the middle of the day to put away the light bulbs he purchased during lunch

*he sent his friends a text saying he'd be late to the movie, yet he left work early in order to get to the movie

*detectives testified that there was a noticeable odor in the car even hours later when they examined it, yet JRH entered the car, never put the windows down, and drove at least a couple miles while in the car with the odor, and said he only noticed Cooper was still in the car when he glanced over his shoulder to look for cars so he could change lanes

*and of course, his activity on that day having conversations with six women, and his computer history revealing he had watched a video about animals dying in hot cars and he had been reading a forum about child free living, and his text that morning to a woman said something along the lines of he loved his son but missed his freedom

I think there was one other case I've read about where the woman got in the car and drove with the child in the car. She worked at a university I think, and the child was about a year old, give or take a couple months.

Another difference is that Cooper was a lot older than most kids who die from being forgotten in the car. It was highly unlikely that he was even being quiet - he was 2 and had just had breakfast, it wasn't like it was nap time.

So...those are off the top of my head. From what I know, it's a lot different than most hot car deaths.

BBM. I think that point will be really important at trial. I accidentally left a frozen bag of broccoli in my car early this morning. I just got in about an hour ago and the stench was awful!! It's only 70 degrees here. Much cooler than that day. I think many people have experience with forgetting something in the car, that smelled awful by the end of the day.

 

[Hez]

BBM. I think that point will be really important at trial. I accidentally left a frozen bag of broccoli in my car early this morning. I just got in about an hour ago and the stench was awful!! It's only 70 degrees here. Much cooler than that day. I think many people have experience with forgetting something in the car, that smelled awful by the end of the day.

You've exhibited more care and concern over a bag of broccoli left in your car than JRH did about his son. :moo:

 

[blue22]

You've exhibited more care and concern over a bag of broccoli left in your car than JRH did about his son. :moo:

Poor, sweet little guy. I got so emotional in my car with a silly bag of smelly broccoli. It made me think of Cooper and what he must have gone through. It's JMO, but I do think it will be obvious to a jury, that he didn't care about his son.

 

[al66pine]

Anyone have more detail on this, like a pdf of judge's ruling?

From a Jan 29 MSM article:
"The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (http://bit.ly/1KKERPy ) Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mary Staley ruled the . Attorneys for Justin Ross Harris wanted the judge to bar the evidence from trial. They say police went on a "fishing expedition" using overly broad warrants."

http://www.stltoday.com/news/state-...cle_5f079e4f-59a2-5f8d-adc7-ade2d6742b80.html Jan 29

 

[JudyBolton]

Here is a little discussion about the judge's ruling:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4bnHIAyizw&feature=youtu.be&a

 

[angelainwi]

Is there a court hearing today? I have one on my calendar

 

[JerseyGirl]

Is there a court hearing today? I have one on my calendar

Two hearing dates this month and a potential trial date in April remain in place following a short “status hearing” Friday morning [February 5]. It lasted only about five minutes.

...

Assistant DA Chuck Boring told Staley, “We are ready for the upcoming motions hearings Feb. 22 and 23.” One of Harris’ attorneys, Maddox Kilgore, responded similarly.

Harris was not present at Friday’s status hearing, choosing to waive his right to be present, Kilgore told the judge.

Following the scheduled Feb. 22 and 23 hearings, as of now the next courtroom occurrence is set to be the trial itself, which is scheduled to start with jury selection on April 11.


http://mdjonline.com/view/full_stor...-hearing?instance=secondary_story_left_column

 

[gngr~snap]

I saw his wife Leanna is divorcing him. This may be old news. I have been out of the loop for awhile.

http://www.11alive.com/story/news/local/2016/02/11/ross-harris-wife-files-divroce/80224612/
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[MzOpinion8d]

I saw his wife Leanna is divorcing him. This may be old news. I have been out of the loop for awhile.

http://www.11alive.com/story/news/local/2016/02/11/ross-harris-wife-files-divroce/80224612/
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

I've been wondering if he was put on suicide watch after that news...or if he secretly rejoiced, thinking "yes, I'm finally free of my family!"

 

[Paulas88]

I've been wondering if he was put on suicide watch after that news...or if he secretly rejoiced, thinking "yes, I'm finally free of my family!"

Well I'm glad she's seen the light. JRH' plan, (IMO) was to intensionally kill his son, and then divorce his wife. No child support that way. Maybe LH is lucky SHE'S alive.

 

[MzOpinion8d]

Well I'm glad she's seen the light. JRH' plan, (IMO) was to intensionally kill his son, and then divorce his wife. No child support that way. Maybe LH is lucky SHE'S alive.

I think you're right. I hope she testifies in his trial.

 

[angelainwi]

Looking forward to tomorrow and Tuesday's hearings

 

[Rayemonde]

That was the only case in the story I could find where the parent was accused of murder---and she was acquitted. I didn't see one example in the story of the parent even getting a year in jail.

Sorry if it's already been mentioned, but Audrionna Rhoads is another case where the parent was originally charged with 2nd degree murder, for leaving her kid in a hot minivan for 10 to 11 hours. She tried to blame her roommate, too.
But the second-degree murder charge was dismissed and Rhoads pleaded no contest to leaving a child in a vehicle resulting in death, and was sentenced to probation.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-buckled-hot-minivan-ten-hours-went-work.html

 

[Rayemonde]

So it does seem like JRH's case is unprecedented. I did a google search for [child left in hot car "years in"] since I figured that would bring up all the cases where the parent recevied or faced 2+ years in prison. I am just a little worried about how there doesn't seem to ever be a case where the parent was charged and found guilty of intentionally killing their child in this manner. Is JRH the first person to murder his son this way or is this the first case where prosecutors feel they have enough evidence to go forward with murder charges?

I'm just having a look, too...

Benjamin Smith's drove 3 times with the dead or dying baby in the car apparently without noticing but he just got a one year suspended sentence in the end.
http://www.news.com.au/world/kyle-s...t/news-story/097271ba763e017662bee030837dec49

Monique Andre intentionally left her baby in the car more than whilst she ran errands even though the child was sweaty and vomiting from the heat, then she failed to seek medical assistance and showed no remorse when the baby died. The prosecution argued that she did it on purpose because she wanted to be childfree. She pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and child neglect, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

http://www.wctv.tv/news/floridanews...r_Being_Left_in_Hot_Car.html?device=phone&c=y

Brokale Lytte Marques was sentenced to 23 years in prison for child abuse after intentionally leaving his child in the car whilst he went to work because he got up late and didn't have time to take him to the sitter
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news...ntenced-23-years-sons-death-hot-car/80055276/

Kimberly Sue Fudge was found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. Looks like she intentionally left the baby in the car but then ended up forgetting about her and falling asleep. Fudge also had meth in her system.

http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jan/07/local/me-51793

Molly Shouse was found guilty of wanton murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison for taking xanax and smoking pot then passing out whilst her daughter died in the car outside. The conviction was overturned 3 years later.
http://m.nydailynews.com/news/crime...eaving-tot-die-hot-car-high-article-1.1131519
http://www.wdrb.com/story/30110822/...c-murder-conviction-for-child-left-in-hot-car

 

[CCmakes3]

I'm just having a look, too...

Benjamin Smith's drove 3 times with the dead or dying baby in the car apparently without noticing but he just got a one year suspended sentence in the end.
http://www.news.com.au/world/kyle-s...t/news-story/097271ba763e017662bee030837dec49

Monique Andre intentionally left her baby in the car more than whilst she ran errands even though the child was sweaty and vomiting from the heat, then she failed to seek medical assistance and showed no remorse when the baby died. The prosecution argued that she did it on purpose because she wanted to be childfree. She pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and child neglect, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

http://www.wctv.tv/news/floridanews...r_Being_Left_in_Hot_Car.html?device=phone&c=y

Brokale Lytte Marques was sentenced to 23 years in prison for child abuse after intentionally leaving his child in the car whilst he went to work because he got up late and didn't have time to take him to the sitter
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news...ntenced-23-years-sons-death-hot-car/80055276/

Kimberly Sue Fudge was found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. Looks like she intentionally left the baby in the car but then ended up forgetting about her and falling asleep. Fudge also had meth in her system.

http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jan/07/local/me-51793

Molly Shouse was found guilty of wanton murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison for taking xanax and smoking pot then passing out whilst her daughter died in the car outside. The conviction was overturned 3 years later.
http://m.nydailynews.com/news/crime...eaving-tot-die-hot-car-high-article-1.1131519
http://www.wdrb.com/story/30110822/...c-murder-conviction-for-child-left-in-hot-car

I'm shocked by the number of guys who can drive around blissfully unaware that there is a dead baby in their car. There's the Seitz case you mentioned above AND the Wade Naramore case just recently in Arkansas. Perhaps it isn't the red flag it seems like it would be. All I can think is that these guys better never complain about a burnt meal or changing a diaper ever again with those pathetic olfactory senses of theirs.

 

[borndem]

Here is one in Connecticut where the death was ruled a homicide by the M. E., but it hasn't yet been ruled "criminal."

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Death-of-Baby-Hot-Car-Death-Ruled-a-Homicide-272160271.html

And another ruled a homicide, but no details on whether anyone will be charged.

http://kfor.com/2015/08/31/police-oklahoma-6-month-old-dies-after-being-left-alone-in-hot-car/

 

[CCmakes3]

Here is one in Connecticut where the death was ruled a homicide by the M. E., but it hasn't yet been ruled "criminal."

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Death-of-Baby-Hot-Car-Death-Ruled-a-Homicide-272160271.html

And another ruled a homicide, but no details on whether anyone will be charged.

http://kfor.com/2015/08/31/police-oklahoma-6-month-old-dies-after-being-left-alone-in-hot-car/

Sick of it. I don't understand why being absent-minded, scatterbrained or preoccupied absolves you of your number one responsibility in life. Just because you feel bad about it afterwards doesn't mean the law doesn't apply to you. The judicial system still needs to do its job and not rely on karma or conscience to punish these people who clearly put other priorities ahead of their children. If they could forget their child in an instant, I'm not sure these are even the type of people who will be "tortured" for the rest of their lives over their "mistake" anyway.

 

[JerseyGirl]

The prosecution’s filing regarding the evidence it plans to show came days before Harris’ wife, Leanna Harris, filed for divorce. Her attorney, Lawrence J. Zimmerman, filed the paperwork, which alleges the Harrises’ marriage is “irretrievably broken,” and the two have been separated since his arrest and “continue to live in a bona fide state of separation.”

The divorce proceedings could play a role in Harris’ trial.

A spouse cannot be compelled to testify against their husband or wife, Cauthorn said, though the spouse is free to do so if they wish. That spousal privilege ceases, however, upon divorce.

But Cauthorn said communications between the two during the time of their marriage remain privileged even if a divorce is finalized.

“The spousal privilege against being compelled (to testify) terminates when the person is no longer a spouse, whereas the privilege with regards to inter-spousal communications does not terminate upon divorce, so that privilege exists even after the divorce,” he said. “There is historical reason for that, and that is there is no longer a marriage to be sanctioned and supported by the court system once the divorce takes place, therefore compelling to testify is not going to destroy the marriage because the marriage no longer exists. That’s why the law treats the compelling one way, and treats the inter-spousal communication privilege a different way.”

http://www.mdjonline.com/view/full_...in-Ross-Harris-case-returning-to-court-Monday