BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) - The Latest on the trial of a Georgia man charged with murder for his toddler son’s death in a hot SUV (all times local):
3:30 p.m.
Police video shows a Georgia man crying, “What have I done? My boy!” after his toddler son was found dead in the back of a hot SUV.
But the 90-minute video from an officer’s patrol car watched by a jury Tuesday also shows Justin Ross Harris staying completely silent for long stretches.
Harris is being tried on murder charges in the June 2014 death of his 22-month-old son, Cooper. The video shows how he reacted after police arrived on the scene.
Harris tells an officer: “I was supposed to drop him off this morning and I didn’t do it. I swear I dropped him off.”
Prosecutors say Harris, who moved to Georgia from Alabama in 2012, intentionally killed his child. Defense attorneys say it was an accident.
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12:30 p.m.
A police officer testified that a Georgia man accused of intentionally leaving his toddler son in a hot SUV to die was initially combative with officers.
Cobb County police Det. Jacquelyn Piper was called as the first prosecution witness Tuesday in the trial of Justin Ross Harris.
Harris’ 22-month-old son, Cooper, died in June 2014 after being left for seven hours in Harris’ vehicle.
Piper testified that Harris was on the phone when she arrived at the scene and initially refused to get off, using an expletive when telling another officer to shut up.
Piper said Harris also insisted he had to call his wife because she was going to go to Cooper’s daycare and he wouldn’t be there and later made casual conversation while she was taking him to police headquarters.
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11 a.m.
A defense attorney says a Georgia man is responsible for the death of his toddler son in a hot SUV, but the father did not commit a crime.
Justin Ross Harris cried in the courtroom Tuesday as his lawyer delivered an opening statement jurors at his murder trial. His 22-month-old son, Cooper, died in June 2014 after being left for seven hours in Harris’ vehicle. Prosecutors say Harris, who moved to Georgia from Alabama in 2012, plotted to kill his son.
Defense attorney Maddox Kilgore said there’s “no doubt” the death is Harris’ fault, but it was an accident. He also said Harris was involved in “sexually immoral behavior,” but that’s no motive for Harris “to murder the person he loved more than anybody in the world.”
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3 a.m.
Prosecutors say a Georgia man left his toddler son to die in a hot SUV so he could “escape” to another life filled with sexual obsession. Now a jury will soon hear from the father’s defense lawyers.
Attorneys for Justin Ross Harris were scheduled to deliver opening statements at his murder trial Tuesday morning. Jurors already heard Monday afternoon from prosecutors, who said Harris saw his child and wife as obstacles to fulfilling his sexual desires.
Prosecutor Chuck Boring said Harris sent about 30 phone messages - mostly to women and mostly about sex - on the day his 22-month-old son, Cooper, perished in June 2014.
Harris, who moved to Georgia from Alabama in 2012, is charged with malice murder. Defense attorneys have said the death was a tragic accident.
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