GA - Suspicion over heat death of Cooper, 22 mo., Cobb County, June 2014, #7

[Chewy]

I see what you mean, but I think it might be due to it being a "selfie."

A totally superficial observation-what is with the manscaping on his face in his booking photo? (Is that his booking photo or DL?) I must be old fashioned but he looks unprofessional.

It's not a selfie, you can see the reflection of his wife taking the picture in the lamp behind him. Just something my obsessive observational skills noticed the first three seconds I looked at the picture. I told you all I have extreme detail abilities. LOL:blushing: You can even tell she's smiling in the reflection and see the camera phone she's holding up to take the picture turned sideways. (Stop Chewy!!! Stop it!!!)

And also, my observation, (totally my own judgment and bias) when I look at his mug shot is that I see deep depression in his face. Not sudden emotional outburst. I see it based on the way his second eyebrow lies over his eyes. Weeks of being depressed not a sudden outburst. No sense of anger or outward showing of malice because of the lack of crease between his eyebrows straight down. He's been crying for sure, he's devastated. I don't see an evil man I see a desperate one though.

Of course this is all just pony baloney years of reading faces. But if I were a cop working him for details I would think that he did it on purpose out of desperation and depression, not evil and horror. He's an overwhelmed man who turned his anger inward until it turned into deep depression.

JMCO.

And to add one thing, this has nothing to do with how I'm evaluating the evidence and why I want evidence and not emotions. It's possible I'm totally wrong, I'm usually not but it's possible. But even with my confidence I don't count it as anything more than a parlor trick and would be especially suspect of my own observations and bias informing my interpretation of the facts.

I just thought I'd share.


Since I started I thought I'd add a few more of my "observations" but please don't think I take them that seriously. I know absolutely nothing about this man or his life.


If you look at the picture of him lying down you see a double crease in his chin. If I were to evaluate this picture I would say that he spends a lot of time lying down in bed or on the couch on the laptop. That's what creates the second crease in his double chin. And because it shows up when he's standing up it means he lies down a lot on the internet escaping from reality. Based on the difference in his wife's demeanor on the lamp reflection I would think that Cooper fell asleep and that she brought him in and asked him to put down the laptop for a second to take a picture. She wanted the "doting father and son" picture. But at the time he was deeply engrossed in a movie on Netflix or something like that, and basically tolerated the picture for a few seconds and then went back to watching his show.

Permanent placement of a fan behind the lamp shows it's there for comfort, his cup is next to him on the bedside or end table. He's used to laying here during his day, after work etc.

Ok I promise I'll stop now.


.

 

[Patience]

To me he appears to be thinking get this thing off me!

My humble opinion

 

[NancyA]

There are many excellent details in this thread as I read this early AM. Thanks to all you sleuthers!

First, the fact that the Father actually forgot him in ONE minute....not even 5 minutes....when he turned in the wrong direction...toward work, not the daycare. This is beyond ridiculous for a functioning adult. Even using the "reasonable man" theory...no one "forgets" a beloved child in one minute. When he made that turn away from Daycare...this tragedy began. THAT moment!

Second, the video of the interior of the car was very telling. Add to that, that Ross had to lean in to place something on the passenger side seat. Can he argue that he was still clueless? Well, again...do they own two car seats? If not, the presence of that big hulking object should have alerted him immediately unless he was in some hours long stupor. And children, clean or dirty, have a "scent." All baby powder and lotion and the scent of those paper diapers. Or...fecal matter and urine.

One post here mentions coworkers seeing him google....THAT very day....about animals dying in hot cars. Another post mentioned that he went to the car after 2 and a half hours. Then , of course, we find out that he walked to lunch.

I'm not sure I believe my own theory here...but what if he turned the wrong way coming out of Chik-Fil-a....and maybe he was late and figured...hey, I'll leave the kid in the car and take him over in an hour or so. He'll just sleep, blah, blah.

Just to reassure himself, he googles how long he can leave him. But on that first trip down, he finds him dead. He then has all day to try to figure out how to CYA. That would explain the reduction in the current charge to 2nd degree. It wasn't intentional...just hideously negligent.

One hole in this theory is the previous searches that may be on the home computer. There are probably lots more holes.

As to motive, do we really believe that "motive" has to fit into our favorite generic mold every single time? No one gets murdered unless there is a motive of sex, money, revenge...those biggies? Every day we read of someone snapping over something trivial...after a long buildup of quiet resentment. Sometimes the "buildup" is never even noticeable to others. "I had no idea you were so upset when I did such and such."

Some people seethe to themselves but keep on their happy mask at church and work. You would have to have access to the inner workings of their mind to perceive any "motive." So when someone posts, "until I can find a motive, this person is innocent to me."....in many cases, they are setting an impossible bar to reach.

There is a rather well-known poem called "Richard Corey" that some of you may be familiar with. It is about a man of wealth and stature who was admired (and envied) by everyone in town. It ends like this...

"So on we worked, and waited for the light...and went without the meat and cursed the bread.

And Richard Corey, one calm summer night, went home and put a bullet in his head."

Very often, it is just not possible to every understand another person's emotional baggage, world-view, or "motive."

BBM. LOL. Sorry that struck me as funny. You probably don't believe your own theory because when I suggested something similar in an earlier thread the idea was shot down in flames - by you. Something about leaving jewellry although my suggestion was he googled after he realised prior to visiting the car..and damned if I can find either post now. :loveyou:

Thing is, are we sure the co-workers saw him google that day? I thought it had been established the googling happened in the days before.

 

[JusticeSeeker6]

The local FD even put this name on a helmet and jacket. The Des Moines Register had pictures. It was very touching. It was just so sad due to he was hit by a car, tragic accident. The lady who hit him was in her 80's and didn't see him until it was to late.

In the case of my cousin it really was a tragic accident and he was given a beautiful tribute. Then poor little Cooper's funeral was turned into a 3 ring circus. Cases like this make my heart hurt and yet, also makes me want to break something.

~Mel


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Are you from the Des Moines area Mel? I'm in Iowa, very near Des Moines.

 

[popsicle]

I don't buy it only should take 1 min 20 sec. Not with traffic on a weekday morning, even if it was past 9.

It is 1 min and 20 sec from CFL to Coopers daycare.

 

[Elley Mae]

I read somewhere he placed something inside the driver side door. Maybe I read it wrong. JMO I will look for a link.

The criminal warrant also stated, "During lunch [Harris] did access the same vehicle through the driver's side door to place an object into the vehicle."

http://www.people.com/article/toddl...s-georgia-murder-police-respond-false-reports

The new information in the criminal warrant claims that "during lunch said accused did access the same vehicle through the driver's side door to place an object into the vehicle.

http://www.hlntv.com/article/2014/06/25/justin-harris-arrest-warrant-baby-hot-car

WGCL-TV reports a new warrant says Harris warrant states Harris entered his vehicle through the driver’s side door at lunch, “to place an object into the vehicle. He then closed the door and left the car, re-entering his place of business.”

http://wreg.com/2014/06/25/source-d...-die-in-hot-car-before-child-left-in-hot-car/

Drivers Side Door

rear passenger door
rear drivers door
passenger door
drivers door

are there other ways to describe the doors on a 4 door vehicle? That driver's side door really bothers me, I hope that gets fixed to be better understood. jmo

 

[Sonya610]

It shows planning on his part, to eat before hand so he'd have a valid reason to tell people why he didn't drive somewhere and notice his kid was in the back seat sooner, when he should have given his usually routine.

If he went to lunch with work friends he had a ready made excuse. When I worked in offices where group lunches out were the norm there was always a discussion regarding "who wants to drive"?

The folks with small kids would always say "Well I can't....there is a car seat in the back".

 

[SStarr33]

yep and he's a tall guy so he'd be ''looking down'' on it from almost any point at the car

Interesting. So he could be looking down at the roof of the car instead of into the windows.

 

[katydid23]

Interesting. So he could be looking down at the roof of the car instead of into the windows.

it's an suv, not a vw bug. lol

 

[Ociboys]

Chewy….I agree with your posts above 100%…didn't want to clog the thread quoting you. My husband brought this up over the weekend. He was so upset about reading the news on Cooper, he said, "while I was cleaning out my car, I closed the doors just to feel how hot it gets". He didn't last 10 minutes. He said to me, If I every did such a thing to my child even by accident , I would put myself in the back of the police car, plead guilty and expect to be locked away. Yes we are not perfect, and I commend you for sharing your story. Thanks button wasn't good enough for me.

 

[popsicle]

The criminal warrant also stated, "During lunch [Harris] did access the same vehicle through the driver's side door to place an object into the vehicle."

http://www.people.com/article/toddl...s-georgia-murder-police-respond-false-reports

The new information in the criminal warrant claims that "during lunch said accused did access the same vehicle through the driver's side door to place an object into the vehicle.

http://www.hlntv.com/article/2014/06/25/justin-harris-arrest-warrant-baby-hot-car

WGCL-TV reports a new warrant says Harris warrant states Harris entered his vehicle through the driver’s side door at lunch, “to place an object into the vehicle. He then closed the door and left the car, re-entering his place of business.”

http://wreg.com/2014/06/25/source-d...-die-in-hot-car-before-child-left-in-hot-car/

Drivers Side Door

rear passenger door
rear drivers door
passenger door
drivers door

are there other ways to describe the doors on a 4 door vehicle? That driver's side door really bothers me, I hope that gets fixed to be better understood. jmo

JMO but if it was papers or tupper-ware etc it went up front most likely. If he put one of the electronic devices that they found in the car, in there at lunch time, it went in the back.

 

[JusticeSeeker6]

I don't buy it only should take 1 min 20 sec. Not with traffic on a weekday morning, even if it was past 9.

I believe it would take that or perhaps less to get from CFA to the lights he should have turned at to take Cooper to daycare. This was posted a couple days ago on another thread but I am posting again. You can see how short a distance it is from CFA to the lights where he should have turned. This is the short distance he "forgot" his son in? There is no way in my mind.

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.863...ata=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sDyRpX5GcMbnZ8RmDsB5LdA!2e0

 

[oh_gal]

I posted it before myself and commented that especially regarding Coopers position, it's usually a type of moment that elicits tenderness in the parent. I just don't see it in his father's face. <<Bias

Going to see if it's the picture I was thinking about.- Edit....yep!

He looks mad. Not a happy guy.

 

[newone]

On many of these true crime shows they refer to the "Mormon Divorce." A Mormon divorce refers to the way some Mormons feeling they can't get a divorce will actually murder their spouse. It's odd how many murders happen in the Mormon church IMO.

Very religious people are often not very sincere in their beliefs but feel indoctrinated into the faith and simply can't see a way out of their lives without a miraculous intervention that changes everything.

Most people would say "But surely murder is worse than divorce???" but time and time again they find that the person just could not figure out a way out of what they didn't want anymore and decided they'd try to get away with murder. It makes absolutely no sense to me at all. But not everyone is strong enough to stand up to their beliefs.

Their religious convictions present a sense of motive to me. Her difficulty in getting pregnant coupled with him taking medication that actually reduces sperm count is worth looking into. He could have been apprehensive about having children and then God gives them a miracle. And then life turns out to be much harder than he realizes and he realizes economically he's doomed if he tries to get a divorce and walk away.

Death of a child is a prime reason for divorce, no one would blame them if they did. In addition there are countless stories on the internet of people making hundreds of thousands of dollars from donations from people who care. (Just look at the recent KFC story and the School Bus driver from a few years ago) This man and his family had campaigns raising money almost immediately. So who needs a life insurance policy anyway?

what you are describing is the perfect ''passive aggressive'' act -- I think you are correct in your assessment of this situation - truth is so few marriages can withstand this sort of loss (((I know I would be difficult to live with -- huge understatement if my husband FORGOT my 22 month old child in a hot car)))

I do think there's a dark seemy underside to this story that involves serious amounts of $$ that they are anticipating will be theirs for the taking.....and they seem slimy enough to ride that gravy train.

 

[newone]

He looks mad. Not a happy guy.

hostile petulant little boy ((the father)) L'Enfant terrible

 

[Elley Mae]

The Cobb County District Attorney's Office has said they opposed any bond in the case.

http://www.11alive.com/story/news/local/smyrna/2014/07/01/cooper-harris-hot-car-death/11934425/

 

[JusticeSeeker6]

The criminal warrant also stated, "During lunch [Harris] did access the same vehicle through the driver's side door to place an object into the vehicle."

http://www.people.com/article/toddl...s-georgia-murder-police-respond-false-reports

The new information in the criminal warrant claims that "during lunch said accused did access the same vehicle through the driver's side door to place an object into the vehicle.

http://www.hlntv.com/article/2014/06/25/justin-harris-arrest-warrant-baby-hot-car

WGCL-TV reports a new warrant says Harris warrant states Harris entered his vehicle through the driver’s side door at lunch, “to place an object into the vehicle. He then closed the door and left the car, re-entering his place of business.”

http://wreg.com/2014/06/25/source-d...-die-in-hot-car-before-child-left-in-hot-car/

Drivers Side Door

rear passenger door
rear drivers door
passenger door
drivers door

are there other ways to describe the doors on a 4 door vehicle? That driver's side door really bothers me, I hope that gets fixed to be better understood. jmo

BBM Personally I would describe the doors as:

driver's side door
passenger side door
rear driver's side door
rear passenger side door

To me driver's door and driver's side door are the same thing unless the word "rear" is included to mean the back doors. JMO

 

[SStarr33]

it's an suv, not a vw bug. lol

LOL, everyone has been emphasizing how tiny it is.

 

[Lyra500]

He looks mad. Not a happy guy.

That is true.

As Chewy pointed out, you can see LH taking the picture in the reflection of the lamp. She definitely looks as if she is smiling. So lying relaxing at home with your gorgeous baby sleeping peacefully on your chest -and your wife smilingly capturing the moment on camera - what on earth is that facial expression about - would you not at least being giving a half smile in response?

 

[SStarr33]

I posted it before myself and commented that especially regarding Coopers position, it's usually a type of moment that elicits tenderness in the parent. I just don't see it in his father's face. <<Bias

Going to see if it's the picture I was thinking about.- Edit....yep!

Why would he take a selfie of something he hated?