Ross Harris’ ‘other life’ not so secret, best friend testifies
Ross Harris' best friend testified Wednesday they had ongoing conversations about his "sexual sins," countering the state's narrative that those closest to Harris didn't really know the dad charged in his son's murder.
“I saw him struggle with sexual sin at the same time I saw him be a tremendous friend to me and tremendous father,” said Billy Kirkpatrick, who has known Harris since they first attended The University of Alabama.
Kirkpatrick said he first learned of Harris’ issues with pornography in 2010, when his friend confessed he had a problem.
But as lead prosecutor Chuck Boring would later interject, Harris turned to his college friend only after he was caught by his now-ex wife, Leanna Taylor.
Kirkpatrick became Harris’ accountability partner through a service called Covenant Eyes. Every time Harris visited a pornographic web site Kirkpatrick was notified.
“I wasn’t very consistent with that,” he said.
In 2013, Harris emailed his friend and told him he was still struggling with porn, Kirkpatrick testified. Leanna, he said, told him she was contemplating leaving Harris.
Under questioning by Boring, he acknowledged Harris was responsible for his own actions.
“I don’t think i could’ve stopped him from anything,” Kirkpatrick said.
Court went into recess early Wednesday. Only a handful of witnesses remain for the defense, which is expected to wrap up its case next week.
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.
