Hot Car Death Conspiracy: Suspicious Mom Plotted To Kill Her Baby, Detective Claims
Oct. 26 2016, Published 8:42 p.m. ET
Justin Ross Harris's wife's "calm and collected" demeanor led the lead detective in the case to become suspicious of her involvement in the vicious crime, the jury learned during testimony in little Cooper's murder trial. Click through the gallery to find out what Leanna Harris did to make the cops question her actions when her little boy was found dead.
Justin Ross Harris in court over toddler’s hot car death on July 3, 2014
Lead detective Phil Stoddard dropped the bombshell that he found baby Cooper's mother's behavior suspicious on the day the toddler was left in the hot car. He said it was shocking that the day her little 22-month-old son died she did not ask to see him. nor did she show any emotion.
Stoddard explained to the jury that they seized Leanna's computer to access 30,000 photos of Cooper. The defense attorney said to him: "So after you went through her stuff, you had the opportunity to observe her demeanor, and your report indicated that her demeanor was calm and collected. And there's no report that you made that she was crying or had tears," according to The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
"You were looking for a conspiracy, weren't you?" the defense attorney asked Stoddard in reference to Leanna. "Fact of the matter is you were dead wrong about Leanna Harris. She was in no way involved in a conspiracy with her husband," WSB TV reported defense attorney Maddox Kilgore ask. Stoddard did not back down, saying "at this time," there was no evidence of that.
The prosecution called Walter Pineda, an expert in video analysis, to testify about a video showing Ross Harris opening his car door at the Home Depot parking lot around lunch time and throwing in a bag of lightbulbs. The video shows that he did not put his head in the car. Prosecutors claimed that Ross Harris intentionally left the baby in the car and Cooper was dead inside just inches away from the door.
Detective Carey Grimstead took the stand and showed jurors a photograph of the SUV with the car seat placed back in the car after it was searched for evidence. He had placed a small doll inside the red car seat to portray Cooper Harris.
Justin Ross Harris in court over toddler’s hot car death on July 3, 2014
The jury was scheduled to leave the court and see the SUV in person. The judge ruled they will be allowed to walk around and examine it. Ross Harris waived his right to be present when the jury viewed the car.
If found guilty, Ross Harris faces life in prison. Stay with RadarOnline.com for updates to the heartbreaking story.
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