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

[popsicle]

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:

Because it is right there by the daycare place maybe.

 

[Spice]

Perhaps first he admitted to looking up animals and the cops said you know we are going to confiscate ALL of your devices and do a thorough forensic search, right?? At which point he admitted to searches on children as well. I have found this is something children and immature/manipulative adults do when they are in trouble....float out little pieces or facsimiles of the truth until they know you truly have proof.

Did the Harris' have a dog?

 

[who knew?]

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.

I see what you're saying, and yet, the results are the same. A dead child who suffered tremendously.

 

[Canadian4]

Yesterday my 8 year old nephew passed away in his sleep. He is now free from the life long suffering he endured having cp. He was never able to talk, walk, turn himself over or even swallow food. The only thing he could do was smile and that smile never left his lips. My brother and sister in law are devastated as am I. I hope Cooper is up there teaching him how to run.

 

[MissJ]

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.

Some laws don't seem to place much value on the life of a child it seems. I'm still scratching my head over a college friend who spent 20 actual years in prison over having a pot plant in his kitchen.:moo:

 

[MissJ]

Yesterday my 8 year old nephew passed away in his sleep. He is now free from the life long suffering he endured having cp. He was never able to talk, walk, turn himself over or even swallow food. The only thing he could do was smile and that smile never left his lips. My brother and sister in law are devastated as am I. I hope Cooper is up there teaching him how to run.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[MissJ]

I see what you're saying, and yet, the results are the same. A dead child who suffered tremendously.

That is how I look at it.:moo:

 

[Minette]

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

If he had, without intent, caused the death of his child or someone else, in the commission of an unlawful act that was not a felony he could be charged with involuntary manslaughter.

2010 Georgia Code
TITLE 16 - CRIMES AND OFFENSES
CHAPTER 5 - CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON
ARTICLE 1 - HOMICIDE
§ 16-5-3 - Involuntary manslaughter
O.C.G.A. 16-5-3 (2010)
16-5-3. Involuntary manslaughter


(a) A person commits the offense of involuntary manslaughter in the commission of an unlawful act when he causes the death of another human being without any intention to do so by the commission of an unlawful act other than a felony. A person who commits the offense of involuntary manslaughter in the commission of an unlawful act, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than ten years.

(b) A person commits the offense of involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act in an unlawful manner when he causes the death of another human being without any intention to do so, by the commission of a lawful act in an unlawful manner likely to cause death or great bodily harm. A person who commits the offense of involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act in an unlawful manner, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as for a misdemeanor.

But he did cause the death of his child through the commission of an unlawful act that was a felony:

Section 16-5-70

Legal Research Home > Georgia Laws > Crimes and Offenses > Georgia Code - Crimes and Offenses - Title 16, Section 16-5-70

(a) A parent, guardian, or other person supervising the welfare of or having immediate charge or custody of a child under the age of 18 commits the offense of cruelty to children in the first degree when such person willfully deprives the child of necessary sustenance to the extent that the child́s health or well-being is jeopardized.

(b) Any person commits the offense of cruelty to children in the first degree when such person maliciously causes a child under the age of 18 cruel or excessive physical or mental pain.

(c) Any person commits the offense of cruelty to children in the second degree when such person with criminal negligence causes a child under the age of 18 cruel or excessive physical or mental pain.

http://law.onecle.com/georgia/16/16-5-70.html

Personally, I think a child roasting to death in a hot car would constitute 'cruel or excessive physical or mental pain' but I realize some wouldn't agree.

 

[CCmakes3]

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.

Bbm. I so agree with all of this. This guy is a complete idiot.

Also, much has been made of how everyone called him "soccer dad" even before he was a father. Someone pointed out from pictures that several of his friends were good-looking....I believe JRH was called "soccer dad" because he LOOKED like a dorky, rotund, middle-aged man from the time he was a teen, and acted like a know-it-all amongst his peers. It was probably the nicest nickname they could think to give him.

 

[JeannaT]

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

Then they should charge him accordingly if they have enough to charge him with intentional murder.

Although I guess in that state, you get the same penalty whether you have no intention to kill anyone or if you kill a mass of people on purpose.

So maybe best to charge him with something where the facts already prove themselves - he left the baby in the car (intentionally or unintentionally doesn't matter in that state) and now the poor child is dead.

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Me either. My biggest problem is how quick they arrested him. I think they should have waited gathered more information and evidence and then arrested with cause.

I think it was all too rushed.

IIRC... At the strip mall parking lot (crime scene) RH began to act irrationally... Belligerently..(uncooperative, inappropriate words over the phone, etc.). So LE may have had to cuff him for his protection as well as others... LE probably did not feel it was safe to release him on his own recognizance at the time...

JRH wasn't arrested until approximately 10:00 p.m. Later that night... About 5 hours later...

I imagine there was a enough time to gain information in those 5 hours for LE to confidently make an arrest...

Additionally... There is some speculation that there was further incriminating evidence of some type at the crime scene in the strip mall parking lot...(taken from comments of LE itself...)

all... JMO

 

[nursebeeme]

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.

those are federal mandatory minimum charges... completely different. I have just read about five books on those

http://famm.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Chart-All-Fed-MMs-NW.pdf

(famm is families against mandatory minimum charges)

 

[Minette]

Yesterday my 8 year old nephew passed away in his sleep. He is now free from the life long suffering he endured having cp. He was never able to talk, walk, turn himself over or even swallow food. The only thing he could do was smile and that smile never left his lips. My brother and sister in law are devastated as am I. I hope Cooper is up there teaching him how to run.

I am so sorry for your loss, Canadian4. I hope this thread is not to distressing for you right now. :hug:

 

[MsMarple]

Again, holding out hope here that Cooper was drugged unconscious. This murder (imo) is bad enough without imagining conscious continual suffering.

Same here, but I'm not so sure that a sleeping Cooper would have suffered less. When I did my research I learned a lot about how heat stroke/hyperthermia progresses and towards the terminal stage the victim begins deep gasping – enough to cause intrathoracic petechiae (tiny hemorrhages in the chest cavity) as the heart struggles to pump blood and oxygen through the body.

Unless Cooper was deeply sedated it's likely the lack of air would have aroused him. As time went on he probably became comatose but since the average length of time for death by hyperthermia to occur is about 4.6 hours, well...

Here's more info if you have a strong stomach:

http://www.jems.com/article/patient-care/how-treat-vehicular-hyperthermia-childre

This is a long and agonizing way to die.

So would someone please tell me again how a concerned and fearful parent would research this manner of death and then go on to expose their baby to those exact circumstances – by accident because they were distracted....

This case makes me sick. :furious::stormingmad:

ETA: By sleeping I meant from a dose of Benedryl. IMO it would have to be something stronger like a prescription drug.

 

[Spice]

And for the record, I think his wife is pulling a "Cindy Anthony" by claiming that she made the same searches. She is in denial and in protective mode in my opinion.

The strange funeral antics further solidify that for me.

CMA...CMA....CMA...

There are so many similar tones and paralells for me.

 

[Davia18]

I do NOT believe for one moment he didn't ever think of his son during his work day. I also read at CNN he took his son daily , therefore he had a routine.
Such a caring parent that researches a child left in a hot car and how does researching this help no leave a child in a car, this does not make any sense at all.
I have 3 babies, this is not something that I ever worried about, I wouldn't forget my child.

 

[LisaB]

I don't think that he has admitted that he was aware that Cooper was locked in the car all day. JMO.

So he's under the impression that the babysitter delivered the kid to his car just before he got off work? I don't think so.

How does he THINK the boy got into the car and buckled into the seat 7 hours after he THINKS he dropped him off? IMO, as soon as he realized the child was IN THE SEAT, he knew he'd been there all day. Smell notwithstanding.

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

1–3 years
Keep your child rear-facing as long as
possible. It’s the best way to keep him or her
safe. Your child should remain in a rear-facing
car seat until he or she reaches the top
height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s
manufacturer. Once your child outgrows
the rear-facing car seat, your child is ready
to travel in a forward-facing car seat with a
harness.

http://www.gahighwaysafety.org/docs/childpassenger.pdf

bbm

I may have read it else were, but let me ask. Was it said that Coopers head was above the top of the car seat.

http://fox2now.com/2014/06/25/new-warrant-indicates-man-may-have-intentionally-left-child-in-car/

It wasn’t until Harris left work and started driving home that he said he looked in the backseat and saw the child still strapped in the car seat and unresponsive.

snipped
The car seat was centered on the rear seat of his car.

BBM...

Wow!

so... It seems JRH could have seen Cooper in the backseat...(not hidden from JRH's view...

:what:

 

[LisaB]

Frankly, I'm hoping the toxicology come back positive for something that rendered this baby unconscious.
The thought of him scared and suffering is just too much.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

And THAT, my friend, would justify PREMEDITATED MURDER.

 

[Spice]

IIRC... At the strip mall parking lot (crime scene) RH began to act irrationally... Belligerently..(uncooperative, inappropriate words over the phone, etc.). So LE may have had to cuff him for his protection as well as others... LE probably did not feel it was safe to release him on his own recognizance at the time...

JRH wasn't arrested until approximately 10:00 p.m. Later that night... About 5 hours later...

I imagine there was a enough time to gain information in those 5 hours for LE to confidently make an arrest...

Additionally... There is some speculation that there was further incriminating evidence of some type at the crime scene in the strip mall parking lot...(taken from comments of LE itself...)

all... JMO

Exactly! And cuffing him at the scene so that he did not interfere with the LE and First Responders is not the same as arresting him.

If Miranda rights were not read.....he was not under arrest.

In fact, they showed restraint and kindness. If he was that out of control they could have used a taser to subdue him. They have done it to many people.

His arrest came 6 hours later, after the gathering of evidence. And they would have NEVER arrested him if they did not believe they had enough to charge him.