Father who left his son to boil to death in red hot car while he sent lewd texts to teen prostitutes found guilty of murder
Justin Ross Harris, 35, faces life in prison for killing toddler Cooper who endured an 'agonizing and prolonged death' trapped in his father's vehicle
AN child killer has been found guilty of killing his son after he left the boy trapped in a boiling hot car while he sent lewd text messages.
Justin Ross Harris, 35, initially denied deliberately leaving 22-month-old Cooper in the car park for eight hours, where he had a "prolonged and agonizing death."
He argued the death was an accident, saying it happened because he forgot to drop the toddler off at his day care, and his legal team said it was a terrible act of forgetfulness.
However prosecutors said he plotted to kill Cooper so he could have affairs and leave his wife.
His ex-wife Leanna Taylor, who had defended her former husband in the witness box, said she was "not okay" and the verdict hadn't dulled the pain of losing her little boy.
In an impassioned post on Facebook, the still grieving mum wrote: "I don't care what your opinion is of me! It does not matter! Your opinion will never bring back my son.
"For those of you who want to know if I am ok. The answer is no. I have not been "ok" since the moment I was told my son was dead.
"I have not been "ok" since the moment my life was put on this path that has led to Ross being found guilty of maliciously murdering our child.
"So now you may be saying 'justice has been served.' And you are allowed your right to that opinion.
"But guess what, you can convict every parent that this has ever happened to, and I can promise you 2 things... #1 it will never bring our children back and #2 it will not prevent this from happening in the future.
"So-called "justice" will never bring back my son. Nothing will ever take that pain away.
"And nothing will ever feel worse than living with the knowledge that his pain and his death could have been prevented."
The tragedy happened in Atlanta, Georgia, US in 2014 - Cooper was found dead in the back of Harris's SUV in oven-like 120 degree (49C) temperatures.
Left alone for eight hours, his father was found guilty of abandoning him to have sex with teenage prostitutes.
Harris wept during the trial, as jurors were shown 34 autopsy photographs of his son's body.
"I believe he went through various stages as he was passing," former Cobb County Medical Examiner Brian Frist said.
"He would’ve experienced nausea, a headache, dehydration, seizures, anxiety..."
Witness Mark Wilson told the court he was in the Cobb County Police 'holding pit' on a drink-drive charge when Harris arrived.
Wilson said Harris said:"What's up, guys?" and he was "pretty nonchalant and didn't appear sad or upset," reported .
Jurors were shown haunting images showing the final moments of the toddler.
In the new footage, which was played to jurors in Harris's trial, the dad can be seen holding Cooper in his arms and ordering food from a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Vinings, Georgia.
The blonde toddler appears happy in the arms of his father - no idea that minutes later he would be trapped inside the deadly hot car.
Jurors previously heard that Harris sent more than 30 messages which were "mostly to women, mostly about sex" on the day his son Cooper died.
It emerged he was texting a 17-year-old girl asking for images of her genitals.
Prosecutors allege Harris was unhappily married, wanted sex with other women and his son was an obstacle to this lifestyle.
Investigators found that Harris had researched child deaths inside vehicles.
But his attorneys have said the death was a tragic accident after the father took his son for breakfast at Chick-fil-A.
They claim he forgot to drop his son at day care and drove to work forgetting Cooper was inside.
Chris Redmon, manager at the fast-food restaurant, told jurors he recognised Harris as a regular customer who he had seen maybe a dozen times, .
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He remembered shaking hands with Harris as he introduced his son, adding: "I asked "Who is this little guy?" and then I said "Hey, Coop'".
Harris seemed to "love his child", Redmon told defense attorney Maddox Kilgore during the trial.
Paramedic Peyton Barwick told the court he saw no emotion from Harris while questioning the dad as he sat in the rear of a patrol car.
The father seemed "very dry and emotionless" while being questioned about his son, Barwick said, adding: "He told me he ate breakfast about 8:45 and arrived at work at 9. He rolled up the windows and locked the car,' before walking into his office,'"
The paramedic added: "Harris asked, 'Is he dead?' I said, 'Yes sir, he is deceased'.
"There were no tears."
Cobb Police Captain James Ferrell told the court he smelled "a unique odour of death" when he approached the SUV.
Harris now faces life in prison as prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty.
He faced eight charges: malice murder, two counts of felony murder, cruelty to children in the first degree, cruelty to children in the second degree, criminal attempt to commit a felony of sexual exploitation of children, and two counts of dissemination of harmful material to minors.
At a previous hearing, Cobb County prosecutor Chuck Boring said Harris killed his son “in one of the most unimaginable, horrible ways”, according to .
Boring said Harris shed “not a tear” when he was being questioned by police.
“Is he screaming, ‘Can I see my son? What is going on here?’” Boring said. “No. He complains that it’s hot in the back of the patrol car.”
Minutes before leaving Cooper, he also sent an online message which read: “I love my son and all, but we both need escapes.”
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