Ross Harris and his then-wife Leanna expressed an interest in buying a home with a good school district in the weeks before their son died in a hot car, a real estate agent testified Friday.
Roger Webb was the first witness called by Harris’ defense team, which is expected to present its side of the case for another week or two. Shortly before the lunchtime break, Cobb County prosecutors rested their case after 15 days of testimony from 51 state’s witnesses.
Prosecutors say Harris intentionally left his 22-month-old son Cooper in his SUV to die on June 18, 2014. The defense called Webb to the stand to try and convince jurors that Harris was thinking of a life with Leanna and Cooper well into the future.
In early 2014, Webb said, Harris expressed an interest in moving out of the Marietta condo he was leasing and buying a home. A priority at the time was getting a home in the East Cobb, known for its highly regarded school district.
The quality of the school system “was very important to him,” Webb testified.
Webb said he had a lunchtime meeting with Harris and Leanna Taylor and began sending the couple home listings. By late February, Harris said they’d widened their search to the Acworth and Kennesaw areas and wanted to get a handle on the schools there, according to an email Harris sent to the real estate agent.
On May 19, 2014, Webb sent Harris a message to check in again. Harris responded 10 days later by saying they were still checking prices, locations and schools. He also said they didn’t want to “rush” into buying a home, according to an email he sent to Webb on May 29, 2014. That was the last time Webb said he heard from Harris.
Lead prosecutor Chuck Boring, during cross-examination, tried to give the impression that Harris wasn’t actively searching for a new home.
Boring asked Webb whether he knew anything about Harris’s double life of sexting with multiple women.
“If he had this other side of his personality, he obviously kept that hidden from you,” Boring told the witness.
Yes, Webb answered. “He seemed very typical of any buyer who would come into the office.”
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