In a shocking case of child abuse, little Cooper Harris struggled to escape from his child seat in a sweltering car while his dad spent nearly seven hours sexting with six different women – including a teen – The National ENQUIRER has learned from prosecutors.
Scratches on the 22-month old’s face and abrasions on the back of his head indicate he was squirming violently, investigators concluded as they tightened the noose around his dad, 33-year-old Justin Ross Harris, with one bombshell allegation after another.
Detectives uncovered Harris’ risqué texts, which included an exchange of nude photos, after they seized six computers from his home, office and car. What’s more, cops say he visited the website Reddit to learn about living without children – and watched videos about people dying – just days before June 18, when he headed to his job outside Atlanta, leaving his toddler to die.
According to affidavits released July 7, investigators executed 16 no-knock warrants against Harris seeking numerous items, including a 32GB thumb drive, an external first 10 minutes after Harris shut the door, and 40 to 50 degrees in the next hour, said Janette Fennell, president of kidsandcars.org.
“That is not a survivable temp,” she said. “A little guy like that could’ve been dead in 30 minutes to an hour.”
Cobb County, Ga., Police Detective Phil Stoddard testified that Cooper suffered a “painful death.” In a sickening twist, Harris entered the car during a lunch break to put something inside, but claims he still did not see Cooper in the rear-facing car seat or smell the foul odor of his dead son.
He said he remembered the boy 10 minutes after leaving work and immediately pulled into a shopping center.
According to authorities, “Justin exited the vehicle…and pulled his child out. He was witnessed yelling, ‘Oh my God, what have I done.’”
But he showed no emotion during interrogation, and reportedly confessed to family members about two life insurance policies he wanted them to cash in – totaling $27,000!
His wife, Leanna, was not charged, despite cops saying she asked Harris at the police station, “Did you say too much?”
