GA - Suspicion over heat death of Cooper, 22 mo., Cobb County, June 2014, #6

[ScarlettScarpetta]

I still think the arrest was too soon. I am curious about the hearing this week.

 

[gngr~snap]

2 standing ovations at funeral?
barf
per reporter on JVM

 

[Melanie]

Well its not great press you have to admit although I doubt many will stop shopping there as a result of this. I think some might think about it walking into a store but that's all. I'm sure if for any reason the mother becomes a POI then I'm sure there will be a lot of angry people over the funeral being covered by the company.

BBM

Hi Judicious,

The funeral was not paid for by HD. They have a charity fund that others contribute to that is called The Homer Fund.

In lieu of flowers or donations, the Harris family asked people to contribute to the Homer Fund.

I believe this was a very generous gesture, and gave the family the opportunity to make sure Cooper received a proper funeral/burial.

The Homer Fund is a charity exclusively for associates of the Home Depot and its family of companies and benefits many people. You can find their web-site on-line.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/27/justice/georgia-toddler-death-duplicate-2/

A charity fund at Harris's employer, The Home Depot, will pay for the funeral, company spokeswoman Catherine Woodling told CNN. Harris, who worked as a web designer, has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, she said.
The funding of the funeral from the Home Depot charity, the Homer Fund, is a "standard approach," she said.

Best,

Melanie

 

[ScarlettScarpetta]

What is stirring in my head is that He is an IT guy. He knows that it will look bad for him. IF he was doing it deliberately to get away with murder, then he would not do it from his computer. The fact that they were both searching means to me that they were both concerned about it. It is just too plain to me.

 

[Tricia]

It may or may not be. It is too early to tell until all the evidence is in.

I wonder how many people whose children drown have looked up water safety or child drowning.

It is just too soon to say. IMO

I agree 100%

Yes there are some strange coincidences but I can't jump on the guilty side of the fence just yet.


What's missing for me is the motive. Unless a well-defined motive is revealed it will be hard to prove this was anything but a tragic accidence with some weird coincidences

 

[nightwatch]

True, but in essence, the funeral was for Cooper, not his dad, even though... I'll stop here

JMO

I know it wasn't for the [modsnip] father. and I'm glad HD stepped in quickly and helped the mother. Jmo

ciao

 

[CHERIE.T]

Home Depot released a statement, they are cooperating fully with the investigation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Makes perfect sense to me, afterall J was/is one of their employees.

 

[Lovejac]

I'm still catching up with today's posts, but just listened to the audio of Mom's words at Cooper's funeral. I'm just sick after listening.

http://www.hlntv.com/video/2014/06/30/georgia-boy-hot-car-baby-death-warrant

http://www.hlntv.com/video/2014/06/30/georgia-boy-hot-car-baby-death-warrant

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! :blowkiss:

I've been wanting to hear her words in her voice

 

[hopingicanhelp]

What is stirring in my head is that He is an IT guy. He knows that it will look bad for him. IF he was doing it deliberately to get away with murder, then he would not do it from his computer. The fact that they were both searching means to me that they were both concerned about it. It is just too plain to me.

But not if never expected to be investigated and only volunteered the information to bolster his image as a loving & protective father.

I appreciate "innocent until proven guilty" and they have yet to prove him guilty, true.

But all the little bits of circumstantial evidence released up to this point provides more than adequate reason for arrest and probable cause hearing, IMO

Now let the wheels of justice turn

 

[Melanie]

I still think the arrest was too soon. I am curious about the hearing this week.

Hi Scarlett,

I'm not going to say it's standard procedure, but from reports that I read there was probable cause to arrest him on site. Here is a link to the arrest warrant. I, too, am curious about the hearing this week, and hope it is broadcast -- because right now we are being fed bits and pieces of information, that I am so anxious to put together.

http://archive.11alive.com/assetpool/documents/140625101300_redacted warrant.pdf

Melanie

 

[Spice]

"

Essentially what happens is that the body temperature gets so high that it begins to kill the cells," forensic pathologist and former medical examiner Vincent DiMaio told HLN. "It's like you're cooking something."

While hyperthermia can strike anyone with enough exposure to heat, babies and small children strapped into rear-facing car seats are at particular risk if a parent or caregiver forgets they are there. On an 80-degree day, a car can heat to an unsafe temperature in just two minutes, according to the National Weather Service, and the temperature can rise to 123 degrees in just one hour.

On the day Cooper died, the temperature peaked at 88 degrees.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/27/justice/georgia-toddler-death-questions/


Uggghh.

 

[DeDee]

Ages

The children that have died from vehicular heatstroke in the United States (1998-2013) have ranged in age from 5 days to 14 years. More than half of the deaths are children under 2 years of age.
•Less than 1 year old = 31% (184)
•1-year old = 22% (134)
•2-years old = 20% (118)


STATISTICS
•Total number of U.S. heatstroke deaths of children left in cars, 2014: 13
•Total number of U.S. heatstroke deaths of children left in cars, 2013: 44
• Total number of U.S. heatstroke deaths of children left in cars, 1998-present: 619
• Average number of U.S. child heatstroke fatalities per year since 1998: 38


Circumstances

•An examination of media reports about the 606 child vehicular heatstroke deaths for an fourteen year period (1998 through 2013) shows the following circumstances:

•52% - child "forgotten" by caregiver (316 Children)

•29% - child playing in unattended vehicle (175)

•18% - child intentionally left in vehicle by adult (108)

•1% - circumstances unknown (6)

http://ggweather.com/heat/

 

[popsicle]

Hi Scarlett,

I'm not going to say it's standard procedure, but from reports that I read there was probable cause to arrest him on site. Here is a link to the arrest warrant. I, too, am curious about the hearing this week, and hope it is broadcast -- because right now we are being fed bits and pieces of information, that I am so anxious to put together.

http://archive.11alive.com/assetpool/documents/140625101300_redacted warrant.pdf

Melanie

Even if there isn't a live link the reporters are going to be tripping over each other to report the details. lol

 

[ScarlettScarpetta]

Hi Scarlett,

I'm not going to say it's standard procedure, but from reports that I read there was probable cause to arrest him on site. Here is a link to the arrest warrant. I, too, am curious about the hearing this week, and hope it is broadcast -- because right now we are being fed bits and pieces of information, that I am so anxious to put together.

http://archive.11alive.com/assetpool/documents/140625101300_redacted warrant.pdf

Melanie

Im just trying to think of other cases and see how soon their was an arrest or case brought against someone.

 

[Spice]

It seems that it is very rare.

619 children have died this way since 1998. I wonder if this pertains to all child deaths from hypothermia or specifically children left in cars or enclosed spaces and died from hypothermia.

it appears he died the same way at least 619 other children have died since 1998, according to a study by a San Francisco State University researcher: his body got too hot and there wasn't anyone there to cool him down. It's a condition called hyperthermia.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/27/justice/georgia-toddler-death-questions/

 

[JLSChook]

It may or may not be. It is too early to tell until all the evidence is in.

I wonder how many people whose children drown have looked up water safety or child drowning.

It is just too soon to say. IMO

BBM
That is so different that it can't be compared to this case. People do use water to bathe, shower, swim in, boat, water ski, etc....

Is there some recreational activity that involves baking to death in a hot car?

 

[Judicious1]

Why? It was the funeral for a baby... a final send off. I wouldn't be. jmo

That true... But people are not always kind and it could be spun that the parents benefited from the generosity if HD and that Cooper would have had a funeral regardless. Just saying I think people, not me, but people who will comment on it if mom is involved anyway shape or form.

 

[tlcya]

A motive is not supposed to be necessary to prove the neglect/cruelty charge, but it sure would help. Jurors recently IMO are stupid. And they need lots of dots connected - so yes, it would be lovely if we had some motive because I think jurors would have an easier time with this case but it is not required if a juror follows the jury instructions and the letter of the law while deliberating. Again JMO

 

[EGirl]

What is stirring in my head is that He is an IT guy. He knows that it will look bad for him. IF he was doing it deliberately to get away with murder, then he would not do it from his computer. The fact that they were both searching means to me that they were both concerned about it. It is just too plain to me.

It is not a 'fact' that the mother searched. I think she is lying.

I think he never thought he would be investigated, he thought he would be taken at his word. Tragic accident.

JMO

 

[LibertyandJustice4]

Wow, I just found this forum this weekend and I am embarrassed to admit how long I've spent catching up on threads! You all are quite insightful! I don't normally follow cases like these because they are so sad, but RH is a friend of friends. I was so sad for him and his family when I heard the news. I've kept up with news articles and defended him here and there.

Then I wondered why didn't he pick up CH if he just forgot to drop him off? I didn't know LH usually did it at the time. I found this board and have been reading pretty much nonstop ever since. Like I said, I don't know him at all, but what you all have uncovered in his personality reminds me very much of my ex husband who is a narcissist in these same circles where appearance is everything.

When my ex and I had our baby, he did not adjust well to no longer being the center of attention or being able to do what he wanted when he wanted. He was the image of the doting father, but behind closed doors, it wasn't like that. Eventually, he decided he wanted out, but he couldn't stand the thought of being the bad guy, so he came up with an elaborate scheme to make the end of the marriage my fault. He put us through absolute misery before finally terminating his parental rights to avoid paying child support while adopting his stepkids. He has quite the following of people who think he's the best dad in the world and would be shocked if they knew. The reason they don't is because I know they wouldn't believe me. Funny enough, both my ex and JH were on the same message board for awhile where they were both liked and accepted.

Why couldn't they walk away like most dads? IMO, 2 reasons. 1) As narcissists, they can't stand the idea of sharing THEIR money in paying child support. 2) In their ultra conservative communities, they can't take the ego crushing idea that they might be seen as the bad guy. It's too much for their egos to handle. Because they are the most important person in the world to themselves, they don't think about how their actions hurt others. It's all about getting what they want and saving face, never having to admit they did anything wrong.

Now that I've been through it, I can spot this personality type a mile away and imoo, JH pings my radar.

This points directly to the elusive motive. I think his motive was exactly the same as my ex's: get out of a situation that requires genuine self-sacrifice and responsibility, get out of paying child support, and do all in such a way that people not only don't blame them for doing something bad but also feel sorry for them. While not everyone feels sorry for JH, of course, the people in his circle DO. And that was the entire point.

Everything else, I have nothing to add. I completely agree this was an accident on purpose for all the reasons you all have already stated. Excellent points.

All of the above MOO. Sorry for the super long first post!