GA - Suspicion over heat death of Cooper, 22 mo., Cobb County, June 2014, #5

[Judicious1]

Using the car to save money on daycare when he knew the danger...the felony murder charge, again, fits like a glove. IMO


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agreed and I have only seen judges and jurors go lightly sentence wise when it was accidental never "I thought it would be done since the Internet said it had to be such and such degrees outside" you can't leave a two year old unattended period in the first place.

 

[matou]

Without knowing the object or the size there is no way to know if the trunk or rear door would have made more sense to open.

Yes, I mean in addition to the driver side door visit. I wonder if he went to the rear door after work. JMO

 

[prima.facie]

I have seen various comments that have mentioned that this guy who was an IT guy should have known how to do this or that.....or that because he was IT he would have been more careful. as if he was some sort of genius. I am addressing this because I have seen it addressed a LOT.

1. IT guy does not equate computer expert. One may know how to build a website or work with prompts, but not know computer science or be a computer engineer. I seriously doubt he was anything past 'home depot trained' and googling how to do something. I seriously doubt he had the knowhow to cover his tracks on a work computer - that operates via a server which records everything he does. No "IRS excuse, the dog ate my email" would work here.

2. with that said, i dont believe he EVER thought his work or home computer would be checked - there would be no need to even attempt to cover tracks. i believe that he mentioned the google search because he THOUGHT that would show that he was a loving concerned parent right off the bat and had done his research because he was such a loving caring father. i believe he was trying to establish innocence (a preemptive strike) before even being accused of foul play because he felt guilty knowing he purposely did this.

if you watch little kids who did something wrong - and they KNOW they did something wrong...sometimes they will just blurt out "i didnt steal any cookies!" or "mom, i really dont want any cookies" when mom wasnt even thinking they did! they self incriminate themselves out of subconscious guilt w/out meaning to incriminate themselves. i believe he did the same thing.

3. This guy was no einstein. In fact, I believe he was a bumbling fool who thought he was einstein but was more along the lines of gomer pyle. his own self inflated esteem was all in his head....his fluffing his feathers around the web. he created this life and persona inside his head that didnt even exist, but he thought it did. the ol' saying "tell a lie enough, you believe it". it doesnt make your life any more true because you have literally become it in your mind. i believe he was a dumb@ss in the every sense of the word. i bet he sat around in circles of smart people and was the one who acted like he knew every topic at hand - when in reality, he knew nothing. he just had a way to BS his way through it.


next mom. when have you EVER....EVER....seen a "hot car, child dies case" where the parent not driving the car was under LE suspicion??? that just doesnt happen. in those cases, the responsibility lies solely with the driver of that car at that moment. so obviously, there is much more to this than we are being told (for obvious reasons). something has made LE take a look at mom. almost after this was made known, she then began acting weird. we have a zillion cases to compare this one against and i cant believe anyone could say she is acting normal and appropriate in this case. combine it all and i feel there will be some damning evidence come trial.


when you look at the totality of circumstances in this case - it is plain as day that dad is guilty. now we wait to see if mom played a role. im not hopeful she did not.

all JMO and subject to change as facts come out.

 

[JeannaT]

"Does not require intent" is why I don't understand why people think this should be involuntary manslaughter charge. Thanks.

Because basically the elements for the offense are the same, both require that a death occurs and neither require intent.

Given that one charge leads to the death penalty possibility, and one with the same elements of the crime is much lesser, I think it's a valid question. Why, for the same actions, can an accused be charged with such incredibly different crimes?

 

[MissJ]

As Dad is tall - I wonder if putting the seat in the center also allowed both of them more room - (dad could adjust seat further back) - which would also put dad even closer to car seat....

IF this goes to trial - I imagine there will be all sorts of re-enactments using car seat, rear view mirror, may even jury trips to see distance from Chick-fil-a to H.D. parking lot.....

Well if I were taller..no car seat would be able to sit behind me rear facing. If you haven't looked at the inside of one of these vehicles it may be hard to imagine how close it is.:moo:

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

My thought was that if he was covering, that he was ALONE at Chick-Fil-A, went to work, didn't notice anything when he dropped off something in his car at lunch, and truly "discovered" Cooper after work & pulled into the parking lot; he knew about the conducted searches and realized what more than likely had happened & had enough presence of mind to put it all on himself (volunteering that he did the searches, yelling "What have I done?", etc) -- WHEN was Cooper (perhaps asleep but still alive) placed in the car ... ??? *** Still not sure about breakfast; when I go back and read the links I'm confused as to what comments are most current -- it seems now that they FIRST said JH buckled Cooper in at Chick-Fil-A and then LATER said they can no longer confirm, but it could be the other way around??? Anyone?


SBM
I agree that some people need to be told a LOT of things when it comes to babies -- it wouldn't hurt in the hospitals, pediatrician's offices, and even OB offices to "brief" expectant & new parents on the dangers of leaving their child alone in a vehicle -- kind of like some already do about "Back to Sleep" to avoid SIDS and other things.



This statement really, really bothers me -- it could be viewed two ways IMO:
1) She's trying to comfort herself & keep it together by convincing herself of the suffering Cooper will not have to endure; trying to think "positively" -- as a mother, she will never have to worry about Cooper's safety or happiness again
2) Without even realizing it, she's trying to sell the congregation on the same line of thinking that justified *anybody's* possible planning of any portion of the events leading to Cooper's death.

All just MOO and speculation!!

adding to the speculation regarding the mom's statement about "Now Cooper won't have to endure the torments of the middle school and high school years. (My own words)"

1.) Possibly this comment was made while she attempted to find SOME kind of positive in such a dismal situation...

2.). I wonder if this is a "window into her psyche"...,does she consider herself a victim of unfair social treatment in her own Junior and Senior High School experiences?

Just some thoughts...

 

[JeannaT]

adding to the speculation regarding the mom's statement about "Now Cooper won't have to endure the torments of the middle school and high school years. (My own words)"

1.) Possibly this comment was made while she attempted to find SOME kind of positive in such a dismal situation...

2.). I wonder if this is a "window into her psyche"...,does she consider herself a victim of unfair social treatment in her own Junior and Senior High School experiences?

Just some thoughts...

I would think both could be true. She may have had a miserable middle school experience, which is pretty common. If you ask adults if they'd like to return to middle school few would.

 

[MissJ]

Because basically the elements for the offense are the same, both require that a death occurs and neither require intent.

Given that one charge leads to the death penalty possibility, and one with the same elements of the crime is much lesser, I think it's a valid question. Why, for the same actions, can an accused be charged with such incredibly different crimes?

My thought is because this was so horrendous and premeditated. LE has more info than we do.

 

[Judicious1]

"Does not require intent" is why I don't understand why people think this should be involuntary manslaughter charge. Thanks.

No because its a felony to knowingly leave a toddler alone for one and leave them in danger, without sustenance makes it cruel. Had it been an older child not strapped into a seat and had snacks and a drink yet was still overcome by heat at some point I could see them downgrading to a manslaughter charges maybe.

Is the 2nd degree felony charge a different sentence category than 1st degree felony murder?

 

[LisaB]

:twocents::twocents: Yep...that time frame and his previous "research" are HUGE red flags to me...not to mention that this young child's eyes would NOT be flickering nor would his body be exhibiting any types of physical motion!


Choking sequence results in very active movement of the sufferer.

I do not think this was an accident. That is my opinion.

HOWEVER, when he removed the child from the car, the body would (obviously) not have felt "cold". It is very slightly possible he may have assumed a dead body would be cold without having considered that it was left in a hot car all day. When he felt a body that was warm, he may not have instantly realized the boy was dead...

IF I was to give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

[JeannaT]

No because its a felony to knowingly leave a toddler alone for one and leave them in danger, without sustenance makes it cruel. Had it been an older child not strapped into a seat and had snacks and a drink yet was still overcome by heat at some point I could see them downgrading to a manslaughter charges maybe.

Is the 2nd degree felony charge a different sentence category than 1st degree felony murder?

No. If you serially hunted children down and tortured them to death over the course of several days, you'd still be in the exact same category of punishment as someone who accidentally leaves his child in a car. (Not saying necessarily that's what Harris did. Generally speaking). But say, someone like Kenneth McDuff would be in the same category of punishment as Justin Harris.

So, that doesn't seem the least bit fair to me.

 

[cavvy]

If I recall correctly, it had to do with the language he was using.

My guess is that the dad was refusing to go with them to the police station to give his statement without first talking to his wife. During the phone call he probably made some derogatory comment about the police officer at which point the officer made the comment about watching his language.

I really think dad thought everyone was going to believe everything he said without question, and he'd be free to go home and live happily ever after. MOO

 

[MissJ]

No because its a felony to knowingly leave a toddler alone for one and leave them in danger, without sustenance makes it cruel. Had it been an older child not strapped into a seat and had snacks and a drink yet was still overcome by heat at some point I could see them downgrading to a manslaughter charges maybe.

Is the 2nd degree felony charge a different sentence category than 1st degree felony murder?

I agree. And the latter I believe so. I'm not a lawyer...just the daughter of a homicide detective. In no way is this manslaughter. Thanks.:moo:

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Respectfully snipped - my thinking re the Chick-Fil-A stop - if it turns out to be a one off and not a regular thing - was if he intended to murder Cooper the death-by-hot-car route, this would be a manufactured 'out-of-routine' event. I'm sure in his research he would have turned up at least a few references to common denominators in hot car deaths one of them being the out of routine factor and since taking Cooper to daycare wasn't out of routine....

I can't help but wonder now why Chick was chosen as a breakfast place by JRH?

- was it "along the way"?

- was it a last "favorite meal" place for Cooper?

- Or....???

:dunno:

 

[MyBelle]

I'm still inclined to think Cooper's death wasn't premeditated, but just the result of extreme negligence from a father trying to save money on day care expenses by using the car as a babysitter.

We haven't heard anyone from Home Depot day care comment on whether Cooper was expected at day care on Wednesday, June 18.

This gets back to my question -- does anyone know whether Home Depot employees who use corporate day care are charged by the month, the day, or the pay period?

For example, I'm paid twice a month -- on the 15th and the last day of the month. June 16th was the start of a new pay period. June 18th was the third day into my latest pay period.

It's the only way I can make the pieces fit --

• it explains the internet searches (how hot does it have to be?)
• the mother's statement that Cooper hadn't slept the past two nights (sedated to sleep during the day?)
• why RH checked the car at lunch (thought Cooper was still asleep?)
• RH headed for home instead of day care (RH thinks smell is a soiled diaper, but LH will deal with that at home shortly)
• "What have I done?" (three days of Russian roulette)

jmo

I place this one in the same category as someone who intentionally drinks and then drives. It is a huge gamble and sometimes the gamble costs an innocent victim their life.

The man knowingly took a big risk with his son's life and as a result, the child is dead. Doesn't matter why he took the risk because he intentionally took the risk. He has been appropriately charged, imo.

 

[Elley Mae]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...mits-researched-car-deaths-online-occurs.html

The mystery deepened even further when the police later revealed that Harris had returned to his SUV at lunchtime and was seen placing an object in the car via the driver’s side door.


I wonder if it's known how he parked that day. When he got out of the car did he proceed towards the front of the vehicle to reach the building, or did he get out and head towards the back of the vehicle to reach the building?


picture of the vehicle at the end of this article shows that you can see inside the vehicle through the glass (windows) quite easily.

 

[MissJ]

No. If you serially hunted children down and tortured them to death over the course of several days, you'd still be in the exact same category of punishment as someone who accidentally leaves his child in a car. (Not saying necessarily that's what Harris did. Generally speaking). But say, someone like Kenneth McDuff would be in the same category of punishment as Justin Harris.

So, that doesn't seem the least bit fair to me.

It does to some of us.:moo:

 

[JeannaT]

It does to some of us.:moo:

I'm aware of that, and still scratching my head.

I'm also aware that in the State of Florida if you deliver a bottle of prescription pills to someone who doesn't have a prescription you serve more prison time than someone who beats a child to death.

Scratching my head over that one, too.

 

[ykw]

I place this one in the same category as someone who intentionally drinks and then drives. It is a huge gamble and sometimes the gamble costs an innocent victim their life.

The man knowingly took a big risk with his son's life and as a result, the child is dead. Doesn't matter why he took the risk because he intentionally took the risk. He has been appropriately charged, imo.

I totally agree.

 

[Spice]

SPECULATION FOLLOWS

Just from some perspective from what we can gather from what we know at this point. Imagine you are having a conversation with RH after the discovery of Cooper:

You: Okay, so you forgot that Cooper was in the car and went straight to work?
RH: Yes. I just totally forgot.
You: Did you go anywhere between leaving your driveway with Cooper and work.
RH: Yes, Chik Fila
You. Did you go in or use the drive thru?
RH: Cooper and I both went in and ate.
You: So you unstrapped him and carried him into the Chikfila?
RH: Yes.
You: So Cooper was awake and you both ate?
RH: Yes
You: And then what did you do?
RH: I strapped him back into the car seat , and instead of driving to his daycare, I forgot and drove to work.
You: How far is the ChikFila from your work.
RH: Really close .5 miles.
You: So it takes about 2 or 3 minutes to drive there.
RH: Yes.
You: Did Cooper somehow fall asleep and become silent in that 3 minutes?
RH: ?
You. Then what happened? You forgot he was in the car after just eating with him and left him strapped in the backseat on a 90 degree day?
RH: Yes, I just totally forgot he was there.
You: Walk me through the rest of your day.
RH: I went into the office at about 9:30 after having breakfast with Cooper, and worked for close to 2.5 /3 hours. Then I went back into my car in the parking lot around noon to get something and went back inside.
You: You went back into the car? Did you notice Cooper? Did you see the carseat? Did the car smell out of the ordinary?
RH: No. I noticed nothing out of the ordinary. I didn't smell anything. I didn't see Cooper or the car seat.
You: Was Cooper in Diapers?
RH: Yes, Cooper was still in diapers.
You: How long had Cooper been left in the care sweltering car at this point?
RH: About 3 hours.
You: So you went back into the office and worked for how much longer?
RH: A little more than four hours.
You: Did you the day care call you or your wife?
RH: (??HOLE HERE)
You: Who was supposed to pick him up from daycare and at what time?
RH (??HOLE HERE)
You: So you left work at around 4:00 PM, walk me through it.
RH: I got in my car, and was driving to meet friends for drinks when I heard Cooper choking and then I realized he had been in the car for the past seven hours and he was in trouble. I realized that I had never dropped him off and forgot him.
You: What did you do?
RH: So I drove about one mile and pulled into a restaurant parking lot. I was screaming for help and asked people to call 911 because I thought Cooper was choking.
You: The police stated that the car smelled very badly. You didn't notice that when you got out of work?
RH: No. I didn't smell anything.
You: Did you smell anything at Noon?
RH: No. Nothing. I never smelled anything
You: The police also stated that Cooper was stiff and in the shape of sitting in his car seat when lying on the ground. This would indicate that he was already dead. How could you hear him choking or not smell anything in your car?
RH: I heard him choking even though he was stiff and I didn't smell the odor that others smelled in the car.
You: That makes no sense to me. Also, why didn't you call 911 when you state you did notice that he was in the backseat?
RH: (HOLE HERE)
RH: I also just wanted you to know that I had searched for how long it would take for a child to die in a hot car and what temperature it had to be for death to occur. I made these searches recently. Those searches will be found on my computer.

You: So you were scared that this would happen, so you researched it online?
RH: Yes.
You: Did you take any precautions from the information that you found to ensure that you would not accidentally leave Cooper in the car?
RH: No.


This. is. ludicrous.

If you had this conversation with a family member or friend what would you be thinking?

I am sorry but I would have to suspend ALL reality and common sense to see this conversation or information in any other way other than premeditated murder of his baby.

It is illogical and makes zero sense and all points to the purposeful "forgetting"
of his son to stage an accidental death so that he could get away with it and garner sympathy from his family, friends, and the public.

If the police did not arrest and charge him after all of these events and information, they would be inept.