Ross Harris told detectives one of his biggest fears was leaving his 2-year-old son in a hot car, and that he would never have done it intentionally.
The video of Harris being interviewed by Cobb County police was shown to jurors Friday afternoon. Harris, 35, was taken into custody June 18, 2014, after discovering the boy's lifeless body in the back of his SUV.
That morning, Harris had taken his son to have breakfast at the Chick-fil-A in Vinings, across the street from the Home Depot building that housed the boy’s daycare.
Then, Harris said in the interview, he put his son in his car seat.
“I strapped him in, I tightened him up, I gave him a kiss, he gave me a kiss,” Harris said.
Harris then drove to work, where he parked outside under a tree. That afternoon, he left work to go to a movie, he said.
While driving down Akers Mill Road, Harris saw a glimpse of Cooper in his rear-view mirror.
“Then I lost it,” Harris told the detectives.
Cooper’s eyes were open half-way, he wasn’t breathing and he didn’t have a pulse.
“I knew he was gone,” Harris said.
Harris was crying and breathing heavily while waiting for detectives to question him, and appeared visibly upset during the interview.
After a short break, court is scheduled to resume with Det. Phil Stoddard on the witness stand.
