A Georgia father made international headlines back in 2014 when his toddler son died of heat exhaustion after he intentionally left him in his SUV for hours while he worked at Home Depot.
After a month-long trial, Justin Ross Harris, 35, is facing life in prison after a jury convicted him of all eight counts, including malice murder, two counts of felony murder and numerous other charges. According to CBS News, Harris reportedly faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 42 years.
Harris intentionally left his 22-month-old son, Cooper, to die in his SUV in the parking lot of a suburban Atlanta Home Depot on June 18, 2014. The temperature in the car reportedly hit 120 degrees. The boy had perished when his father pulled him from the vehicle more than seven hours later.
https://twitter.com/michaelharrisdr/status/798266902690795520
The prosecution argued that Harris killed his child to escape his familial engagements after he became emotionally involved with other women he met online. Phone and internet records reveal Harris was sending explicit messages for most of the day to multiple women while his son was suffering in stifling heat.
Justin Ross Harris' ex-wife gives emotional testimony in hot-car murder trial. "I was in complete denial." https://t.co/CWtVOrybAl pic.twitter.com/NAIpfzqcOb
— ABC News (@ABC) October 31, 2016
During the trial, prosecution called numerous women to the stand, including a minor and a woman Harris claimed to love, according to Mirror.
The defense claimed that their client was “clueless” and “forgetful” and simply forgot to drop his child off at day care before spending an entire day at Home Depot. They claimed that the prosecution leveraged Harris’ sexual sins to paint him as a malicious criminal.
Harris became emotional several times during the trial, including when a medical examiner detailed the boy’s “agonizing” last hours.
CBS News reports that Harris became emotional numerous times during the trial, including when a medical examiner detailed the boy’s “agonizing” last hours.
My colleague JCamm said it best, “Anyone who kills a kid should get tortured to death for 5 straight years. I’d pay higher taxes to see that happen.”
[h/t CBS News]