"At first vote, all 12 [jurors] leaned toward guilty. She also said that she had not spoken to Harris since earlier this year and that she had now moved to Florence, Alabama, to be near a new boyfriend. Nothing about it felt real, nothing about it felt like it was happening, she says. Knowing who Ross was and knowing that hed talk to a wall about nothing, I just didnt understand.. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Leanna Taylor carries the memory of her son with her every day. 2022 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Never. He emphasized that detectives had found more than 30,000 photos of Cooper on Leannas laptop, undercutting the idea that she was out to cause him harm. Nahmias wrote in the majority opinion that it was clear that Harris did leave his son in the back of his sweltering SUV, but it was up for debate whether he did it intentionally and maliciously.. The public was going by what was being given to them and the media was writing what was being provided to them, she said. Ross served as a top lieutenant to Maryland House Speaker Michael E. Busch. "It was something I considered. Also on Wednesday, Cobb police detective David Raissi took the stand to discuss Justins odd use of specific legal terms during questioning soon after his son died. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Woman calls for mothers arrest after 2 kids die in her care less than a year apart, Grandpa charged in tots hot-car death drove vehicle 3 times that day: cops, Ohio dad, 19, admits he left his infant son to die in 130-degree car, Screaming in anguish: New Jersey mom collapses to ground after toddler dies in hot car. WSB. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. A judge sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole plus 32 years for other offenses among them sexual crimes involving a 16-year-old girl. In the weeks that followed, Taylor said she was not prepared for what would come out of a probable cause hearing. Justin Ross Harris and Leanna Taylor divorced during the investigation into Cooper's death. She added that it has been eight years since Coopers death, yet children have continued to die the same way every year. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Petchenik asked her if she would ever consider having children again. The wife of Justin Ross Harris is speaking out, saying that he was "a loving and proud father" who simultaneously was "a terrible husband." Harris, now 41, was convicted of murder after. We cannot say that it is highly probable that the erroneously admitted sexual evidence did not contribute to the jurys guilty verdicts., Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool, Stephen B. Morton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool. Taylor said her first thought was that someone must have taken him from daycare, and then she said she thought, and admits she said out loud, that Harris must have left him in the car. Harris' defense attorney argued in November that his client was"clueless" and forgetful. This story has been shared 174,099 times. Mom Of Toddler Who Died In Fathers Hot Car Says Overturned Conviction Is A Vindication, Even though Taylor doesn't think Harris intentionally murdered their son, she doesn't forgive him for the affairs he had during their marriage, which police said, was killed after his father, Justin Ross Harris, left him in a hot car. Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. The boy was pronounced dead on June 18, 2014, after he spent about seven hours in a car seat in Harris' locked sport-utility vehicle in the Atlanta area. She also doesnt want someone to sit in prison or be convicted of something that she knows they didnt do intentionally.. However, while some of the evidence about Harris sexual activities was properly admissible, the trial court should have excluded much of the evidence, the court said, because it was needlessly cumulative and prejudicial.. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Its a horrible thing to try to accept as a parent that you could forget your child in your car and bring harm to them.. Petchenik asked Taylor what she would say to Harris if she had the chance. Nothing will ever take that pain away. The courts majority opinion said the jury heard and saw an extensive amount of improperly admitted evidence. It claimed that as prosecutors painted Harris as a man who intentionally and maliciously abandoned his child to die in the summer heat, they also presented a substantial amount of evidence to lead the jury to answer a different and more legally problematic question: what kind of man is (Harris)?. In an opinion issued Wednesday, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that evidence submitted by prosecutors of Harris extramarital sexual relationships which the state portrayed as the motivation behind his decision to kill his son had unfair prejudicial impact on the jury. I knew his personality he doesnt shut up, Taylor said. She told Petchenik she made the statement out of anger, but has considered meeting Harris if he ever gets out of prison to seek closure. While this will not change anything about my day to day life, I do hope that it shows people what those closest to the case have been saying since the beginning: Ross was a loving and proud father to Cooper, Taylor said in a statement issued by her lawyer, Lawrence Zimmerman. He received a total of 12 years in prison for those crimes and will remain behind bars. This evidence did little if anything to answer the key question of (Harris) intent when he walked away from Cooper, but it was likely to lead the jurors to conclude that (Harris) was the kind of man who would engage in other morally repulsive conduct (like leaving his child to die painfully in a hot car) and who deserved punishment, even if the jurors were not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that he purposefully killed Cooper., The evidence admitted was far from overwhelming, the opinion read. I knew my husband. On Monday, a jury found Harris guilty on eight counts, including malice murder and two counts of felony murder, in their son Cooper Harris' death. Authorities argued that Harris going back to the car at lunch proved he knew Cooper was still there, but Taylor sees it differently. That day temperatures topped 92 degrees and investigators testified it was more than 100 degrees in the car. The going back to the car part actually for me solidifies that it wasnt intentional, she said. He was very outgoing. But her life is still difficult in the wake of her sons death, nearly three years later. included sex with prostitutes and "sexting" underage girls. But he was also engaged in online sexual communication with multiple women including two underage girls while also carrying on extramarital sexual encounters in public. It just felt like a bad dream, Taylor said. The ruling means that Harris is entitled to a new trial on the murder and child cruelty charges against him. CNN reached out to attorneys for Harris for comment but did not immediately hear back. Pick up PEOPLEs special edition True Crime Stories: Cases That Shocked America, on sale now, for the latest on Casey Anthony, JonBent Ramsey and more. Leanna Harris, wife of Justin Ross Harris, the father of a toddler who died after police say he was left in a hot car for about seven hours, arrives for her husband's bond hearing in Cobb. I dont know if its something you can have peace about.. I saw a grieving mother, a woman with a hole in her heart that will never heal, she says. But if Harris is to be found guilty of his sons murder, it will need to be by a jury not tainted by that sort of evidence.. Fish contaminated with "forever chemicals" found in nearly every state, CBS News Poll: How GOP primary race could be Trump v. 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We are very appreciative and grateful that well have a new trial, said Harris attorney, Mitch Durham. A Georgia man sentenced to life in prison for leaving his toddler inside a hot car to die back in 2014 has had his murder conviction overturned by his state's supreme court. There was evidence in our relationship that would suggest that he would be capable of being unfaithful to me, she said. How do you forget your child is there?. And, while Taylor said she doesnt believe Harris intentionally murdered their child, she hasnt forgiven him for his extramarital affairs, that police said included sex with prostitutes and sexting of underage girls. See additional information. "So now you may be saying 'justice has been served.' Justin Ross Harris' wife wants out of their marriage after her husband was charged with killing their son by locking him in sweltering SUV. It never crossed my mind that Ross had done it on purpose. Nothing else that my mind was going to made sense, she said. Justin Ross Harris is behind bars and his trial is scheduled to start on April 11. During the trial, prosecutors argued that Harris killed his son so that he could be free to have sexual relations with as many women as possible. However: No evidence has come forward to bring us up to a level of probable cause that you need to arrest [ex-wife] Leanna Harris, Stoddard told jurors in Brunswick, Georgia. IE 11 is not supported. Your opinion will never bring back my son. Some of the charges referred to sexually explicit text exchanges from March 2014 through the day of Cooper's death that, prosecutors said, Harris had with an underage girl. For not being faithful to me. Stephen B. Morton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP Photo, Pool, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Juror No. Since then Harris has become the de facto face of hot. Taylor said she soon became the target of a media throng. Three were unsure completely and wanted to review more evidence," Parish said of the deliberation process. The wife of the Atlanta-area dad charged with killing their toddler son by locking him in a sweltering SUV has filed for divorce. We never reached that point.. Taylor said she slept with his blankets every night for months and it took her two years before she could bring herself to wash his dirty clothes. Taylor said she first learned something was wrong when she went to Coopers daycare that afternoon to pick him up. I have not been 'ok' since the moment my life was put on this path that has led to Ross being found guilty of maliciously murdering our child. Leanna Taylor is speaking out for the first time exclusively to ABC News.
Let's think about possible futures!