Cooper Harris was one year old when he was killed in the back of his father’s car. Left in the vehicle for over eight hours in temperatures exceeding 90°F, he perished. His father, Justin Ross Harris, was convicted of his murder; his mother walked free.
Was his death a deliberate act of murder or a tragic case of forgotten baby syndrome? Was his mother, Leanna Harris, part of the plot to murder her son, or a victim?
Forgotten baby syndrome claims the lives of 37 children a year on average. Parents who have been awake all night and are barely functioning forget about their children. Their exhaustion causes severe brain fog. It is a tragedy that happens to everyday families, but was this what happened to young Cooper?
The Fateful Day
Ross and Leanna met when she was twenty years old. The Georgia couple struggled to conceive their first child, and when Leanna learned she was pregnant, the couple declared they had been given a miracle.
On June 18th 2014, Ross was scheduled to drop his son off at daycare on his way to work. This was the couple’s set routine: he dropped Cooper off, and Leanna picked him up after work at 4:00 pm. On that morning, CCTV showed Ross stopping at a local Chick-fil-A, carrying Cooper in his arms as they enjoyed breakfast together.
Afterwards, Ross drove his Hyundai Tucson just one mile to his Home Depot office. Instead of dropping Cooper off, Ross drove straight past the daycare facility. Upon arriving at work, Ross parked his car; 30 seconds later, he stepped out and walked straight into his office, leaving Cooper strapped into the back seat. He later claimed he forgot the toddler because he had fallen asleep, though investigators questioned whether the child would have fallen asleep during such a short one-mile drive immediately after breakfast.