Lead Detective Phil Stoddard ended his testimony after four days on the witness stand. Under cross-examination, Stoddard took some punches, but also delivered some blows. On Friday, the state rested its case after calling 51 witnesses to the stand over the course of 16 days of testimony. They presented no eyewitnesses, no DNA on a murder weapon, no irrefutable video. Instead, prosecutors put into evidence a mountain of circumstantial evidence and a pile of filth – being Harris’ deviant sex life. The defense then started presenting its case, trying to show the jury that Ross Harris was thinking of a life with his son Cooper long after the day he was left in his father’s SUV to die.

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A Georgia State University patrol car rolls through the intersection of Edgewood Avenue SE and Jackson Street SE, where tire doughnuts can be seen after the Fourth of July weekend in Atlanta's Sweet Auburn District. (Alyssa Pointer/AJC 2020)

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Managing Partner at Atlantica Properties, Darion Dunn (center) talks with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens during a tour following the ribbon cutting of Waterworks Village as part of the third phase of the city’s Rapid Housing Initiative on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025.
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Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez