TRIAL Week One - Ross Harris 3 October 2016

[JudyBolton]

Sorry, I haven't read where anyone in this forum has accused Law Enforcement of plotting this all out against Harris. Perhaps I missed it. However, Detective Stoddard did at the very least embellish parts of his testimony during the preliminary hearing. You only have to read the AJC podcasts to know that. You referenced Harris' behavior. I assume you are referring to his sexual activity and/or his reactions. I haven't given Ross a pass on his sexual indiscretions. However, that is for another day and a different trial. I'm also not going to assume this man is guilty because he didn't react like you or I would. To tell you honestly, I don't know how I would react in a similar situation.

BBM - He was texting another woman at the Chic-fil-a (complaining about his life) - he then drove a few minutes to his office where he continued texting 6 different women including a photo of his private parts to a 16 year old girl!!! He obviously had his mind totally on women and sex and not his son! That is why I feel it's not for another day but it belong squarely in the scenario of what happened on the day little Cooper died.

 

[Hoosgirl]

A little bit more about the photo thing. Was new to me too:

3:10 p.m.: Prosecutors say Harris used to take a photo of Cooper at day care everyday and send it to his wife to let her know he made it safely. Two weeks before Cooper's death, day care workers say he stopped sending the photos and told them, "He's just getting too old for that."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/wsbtv....ath-trial/452970908?client=ms-android-verizon

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[DexterMorgan]

What do you think this means? Did he send her photos everyday when he dropped Cooper off?

Agree. Any parent would eventually stop sending daily photos of school arrival. Jmo.

 

[DexterMorgan]

Self delete

 

[magnolia]

Agree. Any parent would eventually stop sending daily photos of school arrival. Jmo.

I think that would get old after awhile. IMO

 

[popsicle]

Hard to say you forgot your kid when you send a photo everyday.... of course he would have to stop sending photos. Extra small carseat so Cooper has no chance to struggle loose or make much of a scene even.

 

[Peppery]

This is why I have a difficult time believing Cooper's death was an accident. The fact he left chik fila and pulled into work so soon after is why I don't find his claim he forgot-credible. Then hearing about his trip @ lunchtime to the car to put light bulbs in-I'm not buying his story. Him asking the officer how long she had been working for the police, just after Cooper was lying on the ground deceased & in rigor mortis.

The lunchtime stop by the car confuses me too. Did he "not notice" Cooper then because he wasn't sure he'd passed yet? Or did he need more time to plan his reaction? Did the autopsy say if he was still alive at that point?


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[DexterMorgan]

The lunchtime stop by the car confuses me too. Did he "not notice" Cooper then because he wasn't sure he'd passed yet? Or did he need more time to plan his reaction? Did the autopsy say if he was still alive at that point?


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Agree. He tossed the light bulbs in the car like they aren't fragile.

Then he texted his wife to pick up his little buddy?

Slime ball.

 

[Jinkasaurus]

There is another dad who is now being charged with negligent manslaughter (although no accusations of it being premeditated yet) in Florida recently. If folks here think RH tossing some light bulbs into his car at lunch is bad... well check out what this guy did.

Father Troy Whitaker, a firefighter, took his 5yo daughter to school and then was supposed to drop his 23-month old son at daycare. After dropping the older girl at school, he went home to study for some sort of fire certification exam. Six or seven hours later, he goes out to the car, gets in the car, drives to the grocery store. He goes into the store, buys groceries, comes back to the car and puts them on the front seat of the car. He then drives home. When he gets home, as he is getting the groceries out of his car, that is when he realizes that his son has been strapped in the car all day.

From very early on, LE has been willing to cut this guy slack: “It’s not an intentional act. I’m not saying it is. What I’m saying is that you got to be responsible for kids, and you can’t leave ’em in the car for eight hours and let their body temperature get to 108 degrees and they die.”

For some reason it is not letting me link to the article that quote is from, but here's another one: http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/10/us/florida-toddler-hot-car-death/

 

[popsicle]

The lunchtime stop by the car confuses me too. Did he "not notice" Cooper then because he wasn't sure he'd passed yet? Or did he need more time to plan his reaction? Did the autopsy say if he was still alive at that point?


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I kind of think he wanted to 'find him' then, but his friends just dropped him off and drove on down the lot iirc I really have to see the security footage and witness statements from that time before I can make up my mind.

 

[DexterMorgan]

There is another dad who is now being charged with negligent manslaughter (although no accusations of it being premeditated yet) in Florida recently. If folks here think RH tossing some light bulbs into his car at lunch is bad... well check out what this guy did.

Father Troy Whitaker, a firefighter, took his 5yo daughter to school and then was supposed to drop his 23-month old son at daycare. After dropping the older girl at school, he went home to study for some sort of fire certification exam. Six or seven hours later, he goes out to the car, gets in the car, drives to the grocery store. He goes into the store, buys groceries, comes back to the car and puts them on the front seat of the car. He then drives home. When he gets home, as he is getting the groceries out of his car, that is when he realizes that his son has been strapped in the car all day.

From very early on, LE has been willing to cut this guy slack: “It’s not an intentional act. I’m not saying it is. What I’m saying is that you got to be responsible for kids, and you can’t leave ’em in the car for eight hours and let their body temperature get to 108 degrees and they die.”

For some reason it is not letting me link to the article that quote is from, but here's another one: http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/10/us/florida-toddler-hot-car-death/

Maybe Ross lawyers need to remind the jury of cases like this. Jmo.

But before that. I would definitely check to make sure that the firefighter didn't plan this as well.

 

[GA_Peach]

I kind of think he wanted to 'find him' then, but his friends just dropped him off and drove on down the lot iirc I really have to see the security footage and witness statements from that time before I can make up my mind.

That security footage has been released publicly. I will see if I can find a link. I have watched the security footage of JRH returning to his car at lunch. He tossed/dropped the light bulbs on the front seat, and then he headed back into the office. IMO he did not see Cooper at this time. His head never dipped below the roof, and as a result Cooper was not in his sight line.

 

[MsMarple]

Ignoring the sexting for a minute, there were signs that something was going on in the Harris marriage, starting in May. May marked their 8-year anniversary. According to msm, in January Leanna talked about having another baby. However, by May:

If Leanna had her way, Cooper would not be an only child, according to the church friend, who says as recently as last winter, Leanna told her she wanted more kids.

“She told me that she wanted an even number of kids, so each kid would have someone to play with,” says the friend. “She said that she ideally wanted two boys and two girls, but whatever happened would happen.”

But somewhere along the line, the plans changed.

“I think it was in May when she told me that ‘now is not the time for more kids,’ ” says the friend. “I didn’t press her to find out what had changed.”

http://people.com/crime/hot-car-toddler-death-friends-react-to-justin-ross-harris-murder-charges/

Add to that some financial troubles (Ross had charged his credit cards up to a high amount), coupled with his being passed over for promotion at Home Depot. He also applied for a job at Chick-fil-a and didn't get it. Today we learned that he stopped texting pics of Cooper at daycare, though we don't know why.

Now, adding in the sexting, well, it paints a picture of a man unhappy in his marriage. Was he also unhappy about being a dad? Hopefully we'll find some answers during the trial. I guess what I'm saying is that it isn't all that far fetched that Ross would eliminate a child that he imagined was standing in the way of his freedom - you can divorce a wife but a child, not so easy.

 

[AuntB]

I'm catching up with today's events on YT right now. IMO the defense is making this first officer look kinda bad.. She noted that Ross cleared his throat? What? Why? Plus, she's having to admit to the jury that she made a mistake in her report about Ross' answer to one of her questions. Then, she assumed (and testified) that Ross was left-handed because he held his phone with his left hand?

Having said that, since LEOs see a lot of grieving people, I trust that they probably develop a good BS-o-meter, even allowing for the fact that people react differently to tragedy.

OT/ I'm thinking of Natalee Holloway's mother, Beth. She was the picture of composure. I never saw her cry or become emotional during her numerous appearances on Nancy Grace/Greta Van Susteren, yet I never doubted her anguish. /OT

So, Ross doesn't have to cry, but if his overall demeanor seems "off", it's a clue, just one piece of the puzzle.

MOO

 

[Mystymiss]

Dont forget he makes group movie plans as well?

aaaa maybe he forgot he was at work and forgot what the company paid him to do while at work? Oh it's just that he's just so forgetful.

 

[colette]

In the sound/tape of the first officer's partner was the one that got crappy with Harris first. You can hear him in the background. Then Harris says something loudly about his son just died and cursed then the officer cursed right back. Plus the way she asked for his ID was a little harsh if he was in shock or really left Cooper in the car by accident. The police immediately thought he was suspect. I don't know yet, but they could have done some investigation before they made up their mind.

 

[Carolina Girl]

Marking my place I have a lot of catching up to do! Thank you all for your updates.

 

[momoftwocrazies]

No court today?

 

[Cinnalauda]

In the sound/tape of the first officer's partner was the one that got crappy with Harris first. You can hear him in the background. Then Harris says something loudly about his son just died and cursed then the officer cursed right back. Plus the way she asked for his ID was a little harsh if he was in shock or really left Cooper in the car by accident. The police immediately thought he was suspect. I don't know yet, but they could have done some investigation before they made up their mind.

Yes I was a bit surprised by the officer's demeanor too, considering they were dealing with someone who had just lost their child. We can only hear the audio hear though, there's no video evidence to show what kind of body language was going on, maybe Ross and his body language warranted a harsh tone. Or maybe the officer's body language was the reason why Ross swore at them in the first place. But based on hearing the audio only - IMO the officer instigated the aggressive tone of their interaction.

Edit to add: It also sounded like the officer lost their temper after Ross swore, not very level headed of a trained professional to do this in an emotive situation. It only makes me like the officer less, and not judge Ross for swearing at them.

 

[Inthedetails]

Agree. Any parent would eventually stop sending daily photos of school arrival. Jmo.

I'm wondering if his wife wanted the texts because she knew Ross had a habit of leaving Cooper in the car, or because she simply didn't trust him to be responsible with the task. Maybe he was chronically late for work (which I kind of recall he was?), and having a text at least kept him on a schedule. I'm not thinking the daily texts were cute momentos for a photo album, but were a way of the wife making sure daily routines were followed.

And then he stopped sending texts. He just couldn't keep up with the daily responsibility. That's my opinion of him - not able to keep up with being an adult.

Again, I think he left Cooper in the car "on purpose" - intending to pop into the office to make an appearance that he was there, with the plan to quickly go back to the car and drive him to daycare. This would mean any phone text he sent to his wife would be "late," but he wasn't sending photo texts anymore so he didn't have that reminder to prove himself as doing what was required.....and he forgot.

I think he got distracted with sexting.

And I think he remembered at lunch.