Evidence is piling up against Justin Ross Harris, the Atlanta father facing murder and child cruelty charges after he “accidentally” left his toddler son, Cooper, in the back of a hot car while he worked. Not only is it looking more and more like Cooper’s death was no accident, there are shocking allegations that while he was in jail, Harris instructed family members on how to collect on Cooper’s life insurance policy.
Uh, question: who takes out a life insurance policy on a 2-year-old? And what kind of parent makes cashing it in their top priority in the wake of their child’s sudden, horrific death?
Someone with a hidden dark side, apparently. Very dark. Despite his public image as a churchgoing family man, Harris allegedly spent the day “sexting” six different women and underage girls as Cooper was dying. One of the women asked Harris, “Do you even have a conscience?” To which Harris replied, “Nope.”
I hope this small but oh-so-telling detail is the nail in the coffin during Harris’ murder trial. While some murderers kill in a fit of rage and irrationality and then come to regret it, others are simply depraved. No one with an ounce of conscience could spend the day texting photos of his package to multiple women as his child bakes to death in the back of his car. Harris obviously understands the evil of his actions, but admits to feeling no remorse.
If this story weren’t shocking enough already, Harris’ wife, Leanna, is also under suspicion. Like Harris, she researched hot car deaths online, and when a daycare worker reported that Cooper was missing, she allegedly replied, “Oh, Ross must have left him in the car.” When Leanna called to tell her that Cooper was dead and her husband was in jail, police say Leanna’s own mother was chilled by her lack of emotion, asking, “Why aren’t you crying?”
Thank God that Georgia is a death penalty state.