ATLANTA (AP) — Prosecutors in Georgia will apparently be setting out to prove that Justin Harris deliberately left his 22-month-old son to die in a hot car.
More than two months after the death of his son Cooper, a grand jury today indicted Harris on multiple charges, including malice murder — a charge that indicates intent. It could bring a death sentence.
The indictment also includes charges related to sexually-explicit exchanges that prosecutors say Harris had with an underage girl. They have said Harris sat in his office exchanging nude photos with women, including a teenager, while his son was dying in the car outside.
An Atlanta defense attorney who isn’t involved in the case says the malice murder charge means prosecutors probably have more convincing evidence than they presented during earlier hearings that Harris intended for his son to die. The attorney, Page Pate, also says prosecutors probably included the sexting charges because they want to be able to bring up that evidence at trial — and a judge could rule that the evidence is inadmissible without the related charges.
Police have said Harris also had looked at websites advocating a child-free lifestyle — and had researched how long it takes to die in a hot car.
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200-c-25-(Rita Foley, AP correspondent)-“with several women”-AP correspondent Rita Foley reports that a Georgia man’s been charged with murder in the death of his young son. (4 Sep 2014)
< 199-v-25-(Rita Foley, AP correspondent)–A Georgia man’s been charged with murder, after his toddler son died in a hot car. AP correspondent Rita Foley reports. (4 Sep 2014) < APPHOTO NY119: FILE – In a Thursday, July 3, 2014 file photo, Justin Ross Harris, the father of a toddler who died after police say he was left in a hot car for about seven hours, weeps as he sits at his bond hearing in Cobb County Magistrate Court, in Marietta, Ga. On Thursday,, Sept. 4, 2014, a Cobb County grand jury indicted Harris on multiple charges, including malice murder, felony murder and cruelty to children. The malice murder charge indicates that prosecutors believe that Harris intentionally left his son Cooper in the hot car to die. (AP Photo/Marietta Daily Journal, Kelly J. Huff, Pool, File) (3 Jul 2014) < Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.