Justin Ross Harris

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Georgia Father Is Free 10 Years After His Son Died in a Hot Car

Justin Ross Harris' murder conviction was overturned in 2022

(Newser) - A father from Georgia has been released from prison 10 years after his toddler died in a hot car, a case that made global headlines after prosecutors accused him of murder, the AP reports. Justin Ross Harris was freed on Sunday—Father's Day—from the Macon State Prison, Georgia...

Father Won't Be Retried in Toddler's Death in a Hot Car

Georgia court had thrown out conviction

(Newser) - Prosecutors in Georgia said Thursday they will not retry a man whose murder conviction in the death of his 22-month-old son left in a hot car was overturned. The state Supreme Court's decision revolved around evidence that it said should not have been admitted in the trial. Because of...

Ex of Dad Who Left Son to Die in Hot Car: 'It Was an Accident'

Leanna Taylor defends Justin Ross Harris, convicted of murder

(Newser) - The ex-wife of a 36-year-old Georgia man convicted of murder for leaving their toddler son to die inside a hot SUV says she still believes "it was an accident," the AP reports. Justin Ross Harris was sentenced to life in prison after a jury found him guilty in...

Dad in Hot-Car Death Will Never Leave Prison

Justin Ross Harris was sentenced Monday

(Newser) - If life in prison without the possibility of parole wasn't unequivocal enough, Justin Ross Harris had that and another 32 years handed to him on Monday. Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mark Staley Clark followed the state's recommendation—what he called "the very least that can be...

Georgia Father Found Guilty in Son's Hot-Car Death

Justin Harris found guilty on all counts

(Newser) - A Georgia father has been found guilty of murder in the 2014 death of his toddler son who perished after being left in a hot car, the AP reports. A jury reached its verdict Monday in the trial of Justin Ross Harris. The former Home Depot web developer's 22-month-old...

Defense: Dad Committed No Crime in Son's Hot-Car Death

But it was definitely Harris' fault, lawyer says

(Newser) - A Georgia man charged with killing his toddler son wept in court Tuesday as his attorney told a jury the child's death two years ago inside a hot SUV is certainly the father's fault, but he committed no crime. Attorney Maddox Kilgore told jurors during the second day...

Prosecutor: Man Whose Son Died in Hot Car Had 'Double Life'

Georgia man accused of 'horrible, unimaginable' murder

(Newser) - A Georgia father left his 22-month-old son to die a lonely, agonizing death in the back of a hot SUV because he was unhappy with his family life and wanted to have sex with other women, a prosecutor alleged at the start of what is expected to be a grueling,...

Dad in Hot Car Death Indicted, Could Face Death Penalty

Justin Ross Harris indicted on 8 counts

(Newser) - Justin Ross Harris, the Georgia man accused of murder after fatally leaving his son in a hot car, has been indicted by a grand jury on eight counts, including malice murder, CNN reports. The other charges include two counts of felony murder and multiple counts of cruelty to children, and...

Shoppers Smash Window, Free 2 Kids From Hot Car
Shoppers Smash Window, Free 2 Kids From Hot Car
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Shoppers Smash Window, Free 2 Kids From Hot Car

Witnesses now say they were helping mom, who was on the scene

(Newser) - Media attention from the Justin Ross Harris case has placed citizens on high alert for children stuck in hot cars—and shoppers at a strip mall in Katy, Texas, are the latest to come to the rescue. The group smashed in a car window yesterday to free two young children...

Lawyer: Dead Toddler's Mom Harassed, Can't Work

He wants media to leave Leanna Harris alone

(Newser) - Some of Leanna Harris' statements in the wake of her 22-month-old's hot-car death and her husband's felony murder charge have raised eyebrows. Her lawyer didn't specifically discuss those lines ( among them : After learning of the charge, she reportedly asked Justin Ross Harris, "Did you say...

Boy's Final Hours in Hot Car Recreated

Toxicology report shows Cooper Harris wasn't sedated

(Newser) - Investigators in Georgia yesterday had the grim task of trying to recreate the horrific final hours of Cooper Harris, the 22-month-old boy whose father is accused of killing him by deliberately leaving him in a hot car. The investigators parked Justin Ross Harris' SUV in the same place he left...

Mom Now Faces Scrutiny in Hot Car Death

Leanna Harris' behavior puzzles investigators

(Newser) - Leanna Harris—unlike her husband —has not been charged in the death of her 22-month-old son in a hot car but investigators are puzzled by some of her behavior. Police say she had done online research on children dying in hot cars and on the day her son, Cooper,...

Dad Whose Son Baked in Car Parked 'Near Back of Lot'

A new batch of search warrants issued June 24 is released

(Newser) - A probable cause hearing yesterday revealed Justin Ross Harris exchanged sexually explicit messages and nude photos with six women—including one 17-year-old—as his 22-month-old son baked to death in a hot car, and the fresh details don't end there. This morning saw the release of a new batch...

Cop: Dad Sexted With Teen as Son Baked in Car

Justin Ross Harris makes first court appearance

(Newser) - Justin Ross Harris exchanged sexually explicit messages and nude photos with six women as his 22-month-old son baked to death in a hot car—including one 17-year-old, police detective Phil Stoddard testified today, as Harris appeared in court for a probable cause hearing. Harris' lawyer objected repeatedly during the testimony,...

Cops: Toddler's Mom Also Researched Car Deaths

Leanna Harris has not been charged

(Newser) - Justin Ross Harris wasn't the only one who researched children dying in hot vehicles before his son died the same way—police say his wife, Leanna, researched the same subject. The mother of 22-month-old Cooper Harris "made similar statements regarding researching in car deaths and how it occurs,...

Dead Tot's Dad: I Looked Up Ways Kids Die in Hot Cars

Cooper Harris' mom supports husband, says she did similar research

(Newser) - The father who left his toddler inside a hot car for seven-plus hours has confirmed to police that he did Internet research on the very manner in which his son died . "During an interview with (Justin "Ross" Harris), he stated that he recently researched, through the internet, child...

Dad in Toddler's Car Death Can't Attend Funeral

Justin Ross Harris accused of murdering son Cooper

(Newser) - The funeral for 22-month-old Cooper Harris takes place today, and dad Justin Ross Harris won't be allowed to leave prison to attend, reports NBC News . The 33-year-old left his son in a hot car in a case that police in Georgia's Cobb County say wasn't "simple...

Autopsy: Boy's Death in Hot Car Looks Like Homicide

But police aren't revealing more specifics

(Newser) - The autopsy on the Atlanta toddler who died after being left in a hot car is out, and while it doesn't seem to shed much light on what happened, police are sticking by their decision to charge dad Justin Ross Harris with murder. "The Cobb County Medical Examiner...

Dad Who Forgot Child in Car First Took Him to Breakfast

The two went to Chick-fil-A then drove less than a mile to Justin Ross Harris' work

(Newser) - New details are emerging in the case of the toddler who died inside his father's hot SUV last week, but they're not bringing much in the way of additional clarity as to how the child came to be left in the vehicle for hours. An updated arrest warrant...

An Unusual Murder Charge After Toddler Dies in Hot Car

Georgia man forgot to drop son at day care

(Newser) - A father in Georgia has been charged with not only child cruelty but murder after his 22-month-old son died in a hot SUV while he was at work. Police say Justin Ross Harris, 33, left his son Cooper strapped in a car seat for seven hours on Wednesday, when temperatures...

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