Ross Harris jurors get close-up view of car where son died
Jurors in the hot car death trial were given five minutes Thursday morning to look inside what prosecutors call “the murder weapon.”
Ross Harris’ 2011 Hyundai Tucson was transported to the Glynn County Courthouse over the objections of the his defense. Under the supervision of Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark, jurors were allowed to circle the car and look inside but were prohibited from touching any part of the vehicle. Harris was not present, having waived his right to observe.
Lead defense lawyer Maddox Kilgore called the brief field trip “an absolute disaster.” Harris, accused of intentionally leaving his 22-month-old son Cooper in the SUV to die, can no longer receive a fair trial after Thursday’s re-creation,” Kilgore said.
“I don’t think it can’t be undone,” he said.
The judge denied the defense’s motion for a mistrial.
“The vehicle is evidence in this case,” Staley Clark said. “The jury has a right to look at every piece of evidence. An argument can be made that it was restrictive to them.”
Kilgore argued that there were too many variables at play to stage a faithful re-creation.
“We have jurors of all different heights,” he said. “I’m 5 feet 5 and we have jurors even shorter than I am. Their view would’ve been totally and completely different than the evidence in this case.”
Surveillance video showed that Harris’ head was above the car frame when he returned to his car after lunch on June 18, 2014. By then his 22-month-old son Cooper had been in the car for roughly three hours.
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About the Author
A native Atlantan, Boone joined the AJC staff in 2007. He quickly carved out a niche covering crime stories, assuming the public safety beat in 2014. He's covered some of the biggest trials this decade, from Hemy Neuman to Ross Harris to Chip Olsen, the latter of which was featured on Season 7 of the AJC's award-winning "Breakdown" podcast.
