Cooper a 22-month-old little boy, son of Justin Ross Harris and Leanna succumbed to death on a fateful day due to the negligence of his father. On a hot summer morning in Marietta Georgia. Justin set off to drop off his son at nursery. They stopped on the way and had breakfast while Justin conversed with his colleagues, holding Cooper in his arms. After breakfast, Justin drove off to work. A few miles after the café. Unfortunately, he did not drop off his son at the nursery which was near his workplace. June 18, 2014, Cooper lost his life strapped in his rear-facing car seat inside his father’s car, a silver SUV. The scorching sunshine hit his father’s car increasing temperature every hour which later led to him suffocating to death.
Justin, on the other hand, had come to the back of the car not once, but twice. The first time was to drop some light bulbs in the front of the car and the second time was later in the evening when he drove to the cinema to watch a movie. However, he claims he didn’t see his son at the front of the car on closing the doors. Justin had earlier on texted his wife Leanna asking her when she would pick up their son Copper from school.
The tragedy.
On the way to the cinema, he stopped at the Shopping Centre parking lot where he pulled out his lifeless son. Witnesses said he was confused and disturbed as he could not believe that his son had passed away mysteriously. Strangers struggled to bring Cooper back to life but in vain, he was long gone. The temperature in the car had risen to around 51˚C. Cooper could not survive it. Justin said he forgot to check on his son who was in the back seat of the car. He forgot to drop him off at the nursery. How could one forget their only child in a car? Justin swore to police that he literally had a memory lapse, his only son skipped his mind. Was he hiding something? Was he living a double life?
The Truth.
They say a thief has 40 days, well Justin’s 40 days had come to an end. The police discovered he had been lying about forgetting his son in the car. More secrets were revealed. It turned out that Justin was not a responsible father neither was he a faithful husband. He was having affairs with many women, inclusive of a minor. During the day he had been sending sexual messages to these women online while his son was fighting for his dear life. Some of these women confessed that he lied to them about his marital status and age. One of the messages he sent read: “I love my son and all, but we both need escapes” What did he mean by this? Was his son an inconvenience? Apparently, Justin had watched a video of a vet spending time in a hot car to illustrate the danger to animals just five days prior to the death of Cooper.
The verdict.
October 2016, 33-year-old Justin Ross Harris was charged guilty of the murder of his son Cooper and arrested. On one hand was the defense who argued that he was wrongly accused just because of his sexual affairs and immorality and on the other hand was the prosecution who believed he was r a ruthless human being who intentionally killed his child in fear of family commitment. Surprisingly, his ex-wife Leanna who had divorced him before the trial testified in his defense stating that he was innocent and could not have dared to murder his son as he loved him so much. She was very heartbroken at the sudden death of her beloved son.
At last, Justice was served. Justin was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole and received 32 more charges one of which was sending messages to an under age girl. The law saw it fit to put him behind bars so that he pays for the crimes he committed and it concluded that Justin murdered his son despite the fact that he claims he ‘forgot’ him in the car. Cooper’s memory lives on among his loved ones.
