The morning of June 18th
In 2014, Justin Ross Harris and his wife, Leanna, lived in Marietta, Georgia with their 22-month-old son, Cooper. Two years before, they had relocated from their native Alabama to suburban Cobb County. Ross was a web developer with Home Depot and Leanna was a dietician.
On the morning of June 18th, Ross planned to take Cooper to his day care, Little Apron Academy, after the two ate breakfast together at a nearby Chick-fil-A. Upon leaving the restaurant, Ross approached a traffic light. A left would have taken him to Cooper’s day care. But he continued straight through the light, which was his habit, with his son still strapped in his rear-facing car seat. Ross left his office that day at 4:15 p.m. to meet some friends for a 5 p.m. movie.
While looking over his right shoulder to make a lane change, he caught a glimpse of Cooper’s head in the back seat. He pulled into the parking lot of Akers Mill Square, a shopping center, and screeched to a halt. He attempted to give his son CPR, but immediately realized that it was too late. Cooper had died of hyperthermia.
Early October, 2016
Ross was arrested that night and charged with murder. His trial began in early October, 2016, in Brunswick, Georgia. The prosecution argued that Ross intentionally murdered Cooper so that he could live a child-free life. The defense contended that it was a tragic accident, the result of a false memory of having dropped Cooper off at day care. After a nearly five-week trial which drew national media attention, Ross Harris was found guilty of malice murder, along with other charges, on November 14, 2016. He was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. In June 2022, the Georgia Supreme Court overturned his murder and child cruelty convictions. Prosecutors later decided not to retry him, and he has since left prison.
Read more about the Justin Ross Harris case. Start with the overview, then the testimony and evidence from the trial and the Georgia Supreme Court oral arguments.