The father of 22-month-old Cooper Harris has been charged with an unthinkable crime: the murder of his toddler son by leaving him for hours in the family’s SUV.
People close to Justin Ross Harris, already grieving over Cooper’s loss, raged against the charges.
“Cobb County is making a big mistake,” said Roger Webb, the Harris’ real estate agent, who has known the family for two years. “He’s a very good guy. He wanted what’s best for his family.”
His friends believe Harris’ account to police that he made the terrible mistake of forgetting to drop off Cooper at day care before going in to work Wednesday. They accept Harris’ statement that he didn’t notice his dead son in the back of the car until after he had left work that day and driven part of the way home. Harris, they said, needs to be with his family, not behind bars.
The suspect made his first appearance in court Thursday night before a Cobb County magistrate judge. Harris, in a blue jail jumpsuit, appeared calm during the brief hearing, in which the judge told Harris’s attorney he could not set bond for the suspect because of the seriousness of the charges. The judge said Harris would have a bond hearing in Superior Court July 15. In addition to murder, he also is charged with felony cruelty to children.
The 33-year-old father, friends said, is successful at his IT job at Home Depot, where he works at corporate headquarters in Vinings. He referees at high school sports and attends church.
“Everything was going right for this couple,” said Joe Saini, who rents the family their condo on Wynnes Ridge Circle in Marietta. He said the family was actively shopping for a house. “They wanted to buy a house so they could have some space for their child to run around the backyard.”
Saini said Harris had been excited recently about a promotion and pay raise and was planning with his wife to begin house-hunting in East Cobb.
‘We have some pretty strong feelings’
The arrest warrant for Harris leaves many questions open.
“Said accused did leave a 22-month-old juvenile male unattended and strapped into a child care seat in a parked vehicle for approximately seven hours during daytime hours after which the child was found deceased,” the warrant says. It notes the outside temperature reached 88 degrees.
Investigators talked to Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds before securing the warrant for Harris, and Reynolds said Thursday the investigation is far from over. He noted that when a suspect is charged with a felony — such as cruelty to children — which results in a loss of life, a murder charge is appropriate.
The Harris family moved to their condo two years ago from Alabama, when Harris got his job at Home Depot. It rests in a neighborhood filled with crisp taupe and white garden-style units built in the early 1980s, perfect for professional singles and young couples starting a family.
When a reporter tried to reach the family by phone, the woman who answered was sobbing. She said she was grateful for the support the family was receiving from friends.
“Obviously I appreciate that,” she said.
But she said she could not speak any further, adding, “I don’t think now is the time.”
On Thursday afternoon, a handful of cars were parked outside the family’s condo. A man identifying himself as Justin Harris’ father, Reggie, came outside to walk the family dog.
“We have some pretty strong feelings but we can’t talk right now,” he said.
He went back into the house and closed the door.
‘What have I done? What have I done?’
Saini, the landlord, said he last spoke with Harris on Sunday, and that Harris, who goes by the name Ross, was happily looking toward the future. He was anticipating a promotion and raise at Home Depot, which would emable Harris to buy a house in a nice neighborhood. Harris and his wife were already scouting out houses on the Internet, favoring the East Cobb area because of its good schools. They expected to start visiting them in a few weeks.
Wednesday’s tragedy changed all that.
Police said Cooper, just short of 2 years old, was supposed to be dropped off at a day care sometime between 8:30 and 9 Wednesday morning. Instead, police say the child was left in the backseat of the family’s four-door Hyundai Tucson, as Harris went to work at the Home Depot offices in Cumberland Mall area. The child’s day care is located nearby.
Harris and his wife alternated days for dropping off Cooper at the day care, Saini said.
When Harris left work shortly after 4 p.m., he realized the boy was in the backseat and something was wrong with him, he told police. About two miles from Home Depot, he turned into Akers Mill Road and into the Akers Mill Square shopping center, witnesses said. Behind a strip of small restaurants, he started screaming for help and calling 911.
“What have I done? What have I done?” Harris screamed, according to witnesses. “I’ve killed our child.”
Bystanders rushed to the car and administered CPR to the boy as police and firefighters arrived. Cooper was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said Harris did not cooperate when they tried to question him at the scene. They said they had to handcuff him before taking him to police headquarters for further questioning. He was arrested late Wednesday night.
An autopsy is pending.
‘We know him; he’s not that kind of character’
A petition has appeared on the website change.org to drop the charges against Harris.
Harris is a Tuscaloosa, Ala., native, and is a web developer, according to his online profile. His son’s picture is the main photo on Harris’ Facebook page, which has numerous references and photos of the boy. One shows a photo of the wispy-haired blond boy holding a children’s book titled Giggle.
“Dude is growing up fast,” Harris wrote.
Harris won several in-house awards at Home Depot. The site shows he is a member of the Atlanta Area Football Officials Association.
Back in January, he groused on Facebook about the gridlock from Atlanta’s big snowstorm, writing, “Thousands of people never even made it close to home last night.”
Saini said the Harrises were perfect tenants. When the air-conditioner recently broke down, Harris didn’t get angry about it. Most often, they paid their rent one day early. He said Cooper’s room was filled with toys.
Even when Harris was arrested Wednesday, he made sure to have a family member call the landlord to tell him what happened.
Saini said it is absurd to even consider that Harris would hurt his child.
“We know him. He’s not that kind of character,” he said.
He called the charges “cruel and unusual punishment.”
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