Defense: Ross Harris was stressed, sleep-deprived on day son died

David Diamond, an expert on the brain and memory, testified Monday that . Justin Ross Harris was operating on little sleep and straying from routine on the day his son died. Factors that likely contributed to the former Home Depot web developer leaving his only child inside his SUV for roughly seven hours. Diamond was to have been the defense’s expert witness in Harris’ 2016 murder trial. He wasn’t called after Judge Mary Staley Clark ruled the state should have access to his notes from pre-trial meetings with Harris and his lawyers. Diamond was the first to testify at Monday’s hearing for a new trial. Judge Staley Clark has reserved three days for the motion for a new trial. She’s unlikely to grant one ― judges rarely do, said Marietta attorney Ashleigh Merchant