But just when we thought this story couldn’t possibly get any worse, it does.
Justin Ross Harris, the 33-year-old Georgia father who police say left his son Cooper, 22-months, in a hot car for seven hours, stood in front of a judge today.
In addition to the charges he faces in the death of his little boy, prosecutors also presented some shockingly disturbing evidence about his extramarital affairs with six other women!
Investigators say that as Cooper was dying in his car seat from hyperthermia, Harris was sending sexts and nude pictures to these women, one of whom is reportedly only 17!
How horrible can one man be??
Harris is now expected to face charges of felony sexual exploitation of a minor and misdemeanor illegal contact with a minor. During today’s probable cause hearing, the prosecution suggested that there is reason to believe that Harris intentionally left his son trapped in the car because he didn’t want kids anymore.
Eyewitnesses say though that when Harris discovered he had killed Cooper, he broke down, screaming:
“What have I done?!”
According to a criminal warrant, Cooper was in a rear-facing car seat in the backseat of Harris’s Hyundai Tucson. He was left there while Harris went into work at a Home Depot corporate office.
Authorities say Harris returned to his car at lunch but left the child in the car for another 4 hours! It wasn’t until after he left work and pulled into a parking lot that he realized what had happened and began frantically asking for help.
At first glance, many believed this was a tragedy brought on by an absentminded father. But as time went on, police noticed strange behavior from Harris.
First of all, he never called 9-1-1 after discovering his son dead. He did however make a phone call to an unidentified person in order to tell them Cooper had died! When police arrived and asked Harris to get off the phone, he allegedly told the officer:
“F*ck you.”
Harris was then handcuffed and placed under arrest.
Also, when the boy’s mother, Leanna Harris, arrived to pick her son up only to be told that Cooper never came to day care that day, sources say her first reaction was that her husband must have left him in the car.
Police also believe that Harris searched how hot a car needs to be to kill a kid on the internet! He also researched how to survive in prison!
The couple confessed to conducting those searches but said it was because they feared it could happen to Cooper.
Leanna has said she will stand by her husband through this ordeal, admitting:
“Am I angry with Ross? Absolutely not. It has never crossed my mind. Ross is and was and will be, if we have more children, a wonderful father. Ross is a wonderful daddy and leader for our household. Cooper meant the world to him.”
We will continue to follow this truly tragic story, Perezcious readers.
[Image via AP Images.]
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