State says dad in Georgia hot-car-death case wanted son gone

Author: CNN

May 1, 2016 at 16:01

On June 18, 2016, Justin Ross Harris, then 33, strapped his son Cooper into his rear-facing carseat in the back seat of the car.

(CNN)Two years ago, a Georgia family's nightmare became a front-page mystery. Twenty-two-month-old Cooper Harris died after being left in the sweltering back seat of a car in June 2014 while his father, Justin Ross Harris, was at work. What seemed like a tragic accident took a shocking turn when, three months later, a Georgia grand jury indicted Harris on c-harges of murder.

The case so far has been an emotional one, with the defense saying Harris was a loving father who experienced an unthinkable -- but not unheard of -- breach of memory. The prosecution, on the other hand, says Harris knew his son was in the car, and may have had personal reasons for wanting the boy out of his life.

While the case centers around the tragic death of young Cooper, prosecutors have also revealed allegations about Harris, claiming the churchgoing 35-year-old regularly sought sexual fulfillment outside his marriage and maintained a sordid online presence.

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