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A (0:00)
Hi, I'm Darina, co founder of OpenPhone. My dad is a business owner and growing up I'll never forget his old ringtone. He made it as loud as it could go because he could not afford to miss a single customer call. That stuck with me when we started OpenPhone. Our mission was to help businesses not just stay in touch, but make every customer feel valued no matter when they might call. OpenPhone gives your team business phone numbers to call and text code customers all through an app on your phone or computer. Your calls, messages and contacts live in one workspace so your team can stay fully aligned and reply faster. And with our AI agent answering 24. 7, you'll really never miss a customer. Over 60,000 businesses use OpenPhone. Try it now and get 20% off your first six months@openphone.com business and we can port your existing numbers over for free. Open Phone no missed calls, no missed.
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Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre for suggested phone numbers, for confidential support and for a more detailed list of content warnings, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. Today's episode involves crimes against children and won't be suitable for all listeners. 30 year old Leannah Harris was nearing the end of her workday on Wednesday, June 18, 2014 when at 3:16pm she received a text message. It was from her husband, 33 year old Justin Harris, who went by his middle name of Ross. When are you getting my buddy the message ready? Ross was referring to the couple's son, 22 month old Cooper Harris, who needed to be picked up from daycare. The couple typically took turns dropping Cooper off and picking him up, depending on whose schedule worked best at the time. Ross had dropped him off that morning as Leanna had an early start in her job as a dietitian. It was agreed that Leanna would pick Cooper up because because Ross had plans to go to the movies with Franz after work to see the comedy action film 22 Jump Street. Lianna clocked off at 4pm and made the one hour drive to the Little Apron Academy in Vinnings, Georgia. The childcare facility was custom built for employees at the Home Depot's Atlanta headquarters where Ross Harris worked as a web developer. It was conveniently located just five and a half miles from the Harris home in the city of Marietta and right around the corner from Ross's work. Cooper had been a regular attendee at the Little Apron Academy since he was about six weeks old, where the staff had come to know the Harris family well. Leanna had done the daycare run countless times, but when she entered the building on this occasion, cooperation, Cooper's teacher looked surprised to see her. What are you doing here? The teacher asked. Lianna was confused. I'm here to get Cooper, she responded. The teacher looked at her with a puzzled expression on her face and said, cooper's not here. It took Lianna a moment to register what she was hearing. Assuming it was some kind of twisted joke, she asked, no, really, where is Cooper? But the teacher looked her square in the eye and firmly repeated, he's not here. Lianna didn't know what to think. She was immediately overcome with fear as all kinds of scenarios flooded through her mind. What if someone had kidnapped Cooper? What if Ross had absentmindedly left him at home that morning by mistake? A daycare employee offered to drive with Leanna to Ross office building around the corner. When they got to the Home Depot parking lot, Leanna couldn't see Ross car anywhere. Panicked, Leanna raced into the office building, desperately trying to call Ross as she ran. He didn't answer his phone and the security guard in the lobby told her that Ross had already left work for the day. Leanna sat in the lobby as she contemplated what to do next. Then her phone rang. It was a detective. He asked Leanna where she was and told her to stay put, saying he was coming to see her. It's bad, right? Liana asked him. Yes, the detective replied. It's bad. Approximately half an hour earlier, at 4.24pm, police officers had pulled into the parking lot at the Acres Mill Square shopping Centre, roughly two miles from the Home Depot depot headquarters to find a troubling scene. A silver Hyundai Tucson SUV was parked haphazardly on the curb with a crowd gathered around looking at something on the pavement. It was the body of 22 month old Cooper Harris, his skin a bluish green and his veins clearly visible under his pale skin. His father, Ross Harris, was pacing nervously nearby, his cell phone pressed to his ear, and as a Good Samaritan unsuccessfully attempted CPR on the small boy. What have I done? Ross screamed. What have I done? I killed my son. One of the officers stepped in and took over the resuscitation attempt, but it was clear that Cooper had been deceased for some time. Ross came closer, shrieking hysterically. Oh my God. Oh my God. One of the officers asked Ross to get off the phone and show them some id. He told them to hold on. When they asked him again, he snapped, shut the fuck up and hold on. My son just died. This reaction prompted the police to place Ross in handcuffs and put him into the back of a patrol car to ensure he didn't flee the scene. He promised to calm down if they just removed the cuffs, saying, you have to understand, I'm just really upset. Ross told the police he needed to call the Little Apron Academy before his wife arrived to find Cooper wasn't there. One of the officers asked why she would think her son was there. Ross responded, because I was supposed to drop him off this morning and I didn't do a second look in my car and left him in my car while I was at work. I swore I dropped him off. I thought I did. Ross Harris was taken to the police station, where he explained to two interviewing detectives that the morning had started out like any other. Cooper had been having trouble sleeping over the past few nights and had woken up early at around 5:15am Ross got up and brought him into bed with him and Lyanna, where they all snoozed until Lianna left for work at around 7:15. Ross and Cooper then got up and watched cartoons until it was time to leave for the day. Ross typically dropped Cooper at daycare in time for breakfast, but they were running late, so he decided they'd have a dad Daddy Sun Meal at the Chick Fil, a restaurant near his work instead. Ross ordered breakfast from there most days, usually from the drive through. But every couple of weeks he brought Cooper along with him and they dined in. Ross said that after eating breakfast, he strapped Cooper into his car seat and kissed him like he always did. He then pulled onto Cumberland Parkway and headed towards the Little Apron Academy. But instead of turning left at the upcoming intersection like he was supposed to, he must have continued straight towards his office. Ross said that Cooper didn't make a sound, so he must have fallen asleep and Ross had completely forgotten he was there. He parked in Home Depot's surface parking lot and proceeded to work a normal seven hour shift, going out for lunch with some friends before knocking off to go to the movies. Ross admonished himself for not checking the backseat before he went into work that morning. He told the detectives that he knew how dangerous a hot car could be for a small child, ever since he'd seen a news report about a man who accidentally did the same thing. That man had since become an advocate for parents to always turn around and double check the back seat, Ross explained. I've been doing that because the worst fear for me is to leave my son in a hot car. He said he'd also watched an online video about the dangers of leaving dogs inside hot cars and it had made him think about how terrible it would be for a child. When asked about his relationship with Leanna, Ross said it was good with its typical ups and downs. He said their finances were solid other than some student debt from their college days. The detectives told Ross that Lianna had been notified about what happened and was at the station. They needed to go speak with her and in the meantime they told Ross he'd be held in a cell. Ross asked why. The detectives explained that because his actions led to Cooper's death, he was going to be charged, most likely with cruelty to a child. Ross seemed shocked. It was completely unintentional, he stated. I have no history of child abuse, no history of domestic violence. I have no criminal history. I have no record whatsoever. I've worked in a law enforcement environment. I'm a great father and I have multiple people who would back that up. Ross wasn't exaggerating. The 33 year old had a clean background. He'd been raised in the Alabama city of Tuscaloosa, where he'd held various jobs at the University of Alabama before working as a police dispatcher for several years. He'd met Lianna when he was 23 and the two quickly fell in love and got married. Leanna was introverted and earnest, whereas Ross was extroverted and outgoing. Together, they brought out the best of each other's personalities. Ross helped bring Lianna out of her shell, while Lianna motivated Ross to reach his potential and encouraged him to go back to school. He went on to get a bachelor's degree in Commerce and Business Administration, which led to his job at Home Depot. The couple relocated to Atlanta in 2012, where Ross lived an active social life and played guitar in their church band. Life was going well for the couple, but there was just one thing missing. From a very young age the one thing Liana wanted was to be a wife and mother. Likewise, Ross wanted children so badly that his work colleagues even referred to him as soccer dad. After months of trying, in early 2012, the couple got the good news they'd been desperately hoping for. Leanna was pregnant. Ross was so excited that he uploaded a video of their first ultrasound to his YouTube account along with the caption first video known as Cooper When Cooper was born on Sunday, August 12, 2012, holding him for the first time was the best feeling in the world for Lianna. As the couple navigated their way through the first few exhausting months of parenting a fussy baby, Leanna was impressed with how well Ross stepped into his new role. He was a dedicated hands on father who never hesitated to get up in the night to put Cooper back to sleep. The father and son developed a special bond with the young boy's blue eyes lighting up every time Ross walked into the room. Cooper grew to be a happy, smiley and thriving baby. By the time his second birthday was approaching, he'd developed an adventurous personality and a love for cars of all kinds. Everyone who knew Ross Harris described him as a nice, well mannered man who was a great husband, supportive friend and devoted father. He gushed about Cooper so much that one colleague even told him that people were sick of hearing about the baby. Therefore, as the news spread about Cooper's death, there could only be one explanation. For those who knew the Harris family, this was a tragic accident that couldn't have happened to less deserving people, and it wouldn't be the first time. According to the not for profit organisation Kids and Car Safety, an average of around 40 young children die in the US each year after being left in a hot car. While some of those deaths occur due to criminal negligence or after a caregiver uneducated on the dangers decides to leave a child in the car while they work or attend an appointment, a majority of caregivers simply forget that their child is in the car. It is such a common phenomenon that it has its own forgotten baby syndrome. As Associate professor of Law Erica Breitfeld explained in her article about the phenomenon for the Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law, part of the reason parents can forget their children in the car is because of where the children are placed in a vehicle. Children, especially those under the age of three, are almost always in a rear facing car seat. Consequently, when a parent looks behind them in the backseat, whether or not the child is in the car, they see the same thing the back of the child's car seat, not the child. Because many young children fall asleep during car rides, there are often no audio cues to remind a caregiver of their presence in the vehicle. Parents who are often sleep deprived in those early years have nothing to remind them that a child is in the backseat except their own memory. On a warm day, the internal temperature of a vehicle rises rapidly even when the windows are partially open. A child's body heat also rises up to five times faster than an adult. If a child is left in a hot car, it doesn't take long before they become hypothermic and their organs begin to shut down. On the day Cooper Harris died, the external temperature had reached 86 degrees Fahrenheit, or 30 degrees Celsius by midday. It was estimated that the inside of Ross vehicle could have reached around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, or 38 degrees Celsius by 1pm and that Cooper was likely dead by then. Scratches on the young boy's face as well as small abrasions on his head, hands and feet indicated he had struggled as he became increasingly uncomfortable. The medical examiner said he likely experienced nausea, headache, anxiety, and possible seizures before succumbing to heatstroke. It is a common misconception that only a negligent parent could accidentally leave their child in a hot car. The unfortunate reality is that it could happen to anyone. Neurologists who have studied Forgotten Baby syndrome have found that these incidents typically occur when the brain's prospective memory system, which is responsible for reminding us to do things, goes into conflict with the brain's habit memory system, which is the part of our brain that runs on autopilot. When tensions arise between these two systems, often due to stress, fatigue, external events, or a change in routine, the habit memory can take over. If a parent's usual routine is to drive to work alone and there are no cues to remind them that the child is in the car, they might drive to work on autopilot without ever dropping the child where they are supposed to go. The brain is then capable of creating a false memory, leading the parent to believe that they dropped their child off safely. Journalist Jean Weingarten wrote about the phenomenon in a Pulitzer Prize winning article for the Washington Post titled Fatal Distraction. After looking into various cases and statistics involving children left in hot cars, Jeane what kind of person forgets a baby? The wealthy do, it turns out, and the poor and the middle class parents of all ages and ethnicities do. Mothers are just as likely to do it as fathers. It happens to the chronically absent minded and to the fanatically organised, to the college educated and to the marginally literate. Last year it happened three times in one day. The worst day so far in the worst year so far in a phenomenon that gives no sign of abating. It therefore caused public outrage when it was announced that Ross Harris was being charged not only with second degree child cruelty, but with Cooper's murder. People who knew the Harris family as well as total strangers immediately came to Ross defence. Two petitions were launched urging authorities to release Ross and drop the charges. Concerned citizens said Ross had suffered enough and should not be punished for an innocent lapse in memory. Other parents whose children had died as a result of forgotten baby syndrome also came out in support of Ross, with one of his friends writing on one of the petitions, Ross is an incredible friend. He's always the first to help when tragedy strikes others, so I'm returning the favour. Another said, I've known ross for over 10 years and he is a selfless man who loved people and loved his family more. But from the moment police arrived on the scene outside the Akers Mill Square shopping centre, they didn't feel like this was a typical hot car death. Straight off the bat was the unusual positioning of Cooper's car seat. Unlike most hot car deaths where the child was in a rear facing seat, either directly behind the driver's seat or passenger seat, Cooper's rear facing seat was in the middle. This placed him just inches from the driver's seat, right near Ross elbow. It was hard for the police to imagine that Ross could have looked to his right without seeing him there. Furthermore, when crime scene examiners entered the car, they were hit with a distinct odour that they knew to be the smell of death. They could also smell Cooper's urine soaked diaper. It seemed unimaginable that Ross could have driven the two miles from his work to Acres Mill Square without noticing the odour and investigating its source. Not only that, but Cooper's autopsy confirmed that he was 33 inches tall. The height limit for his car seat was 30 inches and by Cooper's age most parents had already opted to put their children in forward facing seats. Then there was Ross reaction at the scene. Passersby who had seen Ross pull Cooper from his car found it strange that he placed the child's body on the hot pavement and stopped attacking, attempting CPR after just a couple of compressions. It seemed even stranger that he walked away from Cooper and immediately got on his cell phone while others stepped in to try and help his son. Curiously, Ross didn't call emergency services, but instead tried calling Cooper's daycare so that they could alert Lianna. Witnesses and police thought his reaction looked staged. One minute he was shrieking hysterically, the next he was completely calm. While he appeared to be crying, he didn't shed any actual tears. One officer described Ross's behaviour as very random and very odd, while another thought that his yelling seemed monotone and forced. Things just got stranger once Ross was placed in the police car, despite having found his son dead in a hot car just minutes earlier. Ross immediately started complaining about how hot it was, even though the air conditioning was on. He also complained that the handcuffs were hurting him and asked for them to be released. At no point did he ask to see Cooper or mention him at all. Dash cam footage captured Ross as he alternated between sitting calmly and wailing. Oh my God, what have I done, my boy, what have I done? At one point, he looked directly into the camera. Then, on the drive to the police station, Ross engaged in casual chit chat with the officer who detained him. He asked her how long she had been in law enforcement and made comments about how the handcuffs their department used were different to the ones he had seen while working for the police in Alabama. This casual conversation coming from a man who had just lost a child under horrific circumstances, made the officer uncomfortable. This erratic behaviour continued once Ross was put into the interrogation room. During the 14 minute wait before the interviewing detectives arrived, video cameras captured Ross sitting calmly. Every now and then, his calm demeanour would give way to a brief moment of dry eyed crying while wailing or heavy breathing, interspersed with erratic yells of oh God, my boy. Why? At one point, he started pacing around the room, rubbing his eyes and huffing. One of the detectives who was watching Ross on the camera thought he looked like he was trying to make himself hyperventilate. When Leanna was taken in to see him, Ross started talking about how scared he was of going to prison. All I can think about is that jail cell, he said, specifying he was particularly worried about the hard bed and the metal toilet. He also asked what would happen if he lost his job. To the investigators, these seemed like strange concerns for a man who had just lost his son to a slow and painful death. Stranger still, Ross had told Leanna that when he pulled Cooper from the vehicle, he, quote, dreaded how he would look. Not only did investigators find it concerning that Ross had used the past tense, but Ross told Leanna that Cooper's eyes had been closed and he looked at peace. First responders at the scene said that Cooper's eyes had actually been open when Ross was taken to a holding cell after being informed he was being arrested for murder. His cellmate also found his demeanour to be inconsistent with someone who had just lost a child. Instead of seeming sad or upset, he appeared calm and nonchalant. While the members of law enforcement who crossed paths with Ross Harris that day were aware that everyone responds very differently in moments of grief, they all agreed that Ross reaction was completely out of the norm. Their suspicions only grew after viewing CCTV footage taken from the day Cooper died. The footage from Chick Fil A showed Ross holding a happy Cooper in his arms as they ordered their breakfast and chatted to the manager. After finishing eating, they then headed to the Home Depot parking lot. Ross claimed that Cooper must have fallen asleep during this drive, but it was only a four minute journey, leading some investigators to question the validity of his claim. At 9:24am the grainy footage captured Ross as he parked his Tucson in a spot in the back corner of the lot, a considerable distance from the security cameras. There was a parked car on one side of his vehicle and a grassy patch on the other. Ross sat in the car for around 30 seconds before walking into his office building carrying a Chick Fil A cup and his work bag. Throughout the day, various people passed the Tucson without noticing Cooper inside. Then, at 12.42pm, almost three and a half hours into Cooper's ordeal, the CCTV footage captured something unexpected. Ross returned to his car. He opened the front driver's side door and placed something inside before walking back into his office. Curiously, Ross had made no mention of this to the police, despite going into a lot of detail about everything else. When questioned about it, Ross explained that the Franz he had gone out for lunch with that day worked around the corner from him. They'd picked him up, which they typically did, and taken him to one of their frequent eateries nearby. Afterwards, they all stopped into Home Depot so Ross could buy some lightbulbs. Ross's friends then dropped him back at his car and drove away. The CCTV footage showed Ross reach into the front driver's side of his vehicle and throw the bag of light bulbs inside without putting his head in or glancing into the back seat. He then closed the door two seconds later and walked away. The police weren't entirely sure what to make of this. The fact that Ross had withheld this information raised some questions about whether he could have returned to the vehicle to check that everything was going according to plan. Otherwise, if Ross had genuinely forgotten that Cooper was inside the vehicle. The police assumed this moment would have triggered his memory, and according to the medical examiner who performed Cooper's autopsy, it was possible that Cooper could have still been alive at this time. With members of the public debating over whether or not Ross Harris was guilty, Cooper was remembered at a funeral service paid for by Home Depot. Ross, who had been denied bail, was not allowed to attend. Instead, he called in from jail, listening in via speakerphone as Leanna Harris spoke publicly for the first time since Cooper's death, Leanna clarified to the 250 mourners gathered that she held no anger towards her husband. It has never crossed my mind, she stated, prompting a round of applause. Ross is and was and will be if we have more children, a wonderful father. Ross is a wonderful daddy and leader for our household. Cooper meant the world to him. Lianna said that Cooper had been perfect. He changed their lives, turning things upside down in a way she wouldn't trade for the world. She recalled the last two nights of Cooper's life, where he ended up sleeping between her and Ross. I remember turning over in the middle of the night, she said. His mouth was open and his full toddler lips just breathing right into my face. I will cherish that moment forever. Leaning on her Christianity for strength, Liana continued, some of you might wonder how I'm even standing here today. I wonder that myself, and I asked myself that question over and over the last week. I should be crumpled into a heap of snot and tears into the dirt. But the Lord is holding me up right now. He is holding Ross up and he is holding both of us up when we can't hold ourselves up. She said that Cooper was in the most peaceful, wonderful place there is. Lianna followed Cooper's casket out of the church with Ross still on speakerphone. Before hanging up, she told him that she loved him. For those close to the Harris family, Lyanna's impassioned show of support for Ross was further testament to their belief that he was being subject to a cruel injustice. But what they and the sympathetic public didn't know was that the police had uncovered evidence to suggest Ross wasn't who he painted himself to. Foreign Casefile will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's sponsors. 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