This is a running account of the Justin Ross Harris hot-car murder trial for Friday, Nov. 4. Harris is accused of leaving his 22-month-old son, Cooper, in a hot SUV to die on June 18, 2014. He is charged with eight counts, including malice murder and felony murder.
Staley Clark is dismissing the jury for today.
Closing arguments will begin Monday morning.
The judge will now meet with the attorneys to discuss next steps.
Court will resume Monday at 8:30 a.m.
Credit: WSB-TV
Credit: WSB-TV
The state rests, and there’s nothing more from the defense.
The evidence in the case is concluded, Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark said.
Kilgore pointed out that Stockinger asked Leanna if she was in shock. Stockinger said he shows compassion to family members who have lost someone. He was also trying to start a dialogue with her.
Leanna left her car still running on the curb with her purse in the car, Kilgore said.
On the recording, Stockinger was talking to a lieutenant, not the lead detective in the case.
On the phone with her mother, Leanna asked her mom to get somewhere safe.
“Did you take that to mean she was kind of worried about her mom’s safety?” Kilgore said. “It was obvious,” Stockinger said, although he added that he didn’t know what was in her mind.
On the recording, you can hear some whispering, some sighing, some sniffling
“She was faking it all for you?” Kilgore asked.
Stockinger said he couldn’t answer that but that “I am 100 percent she was not emotional.”
In his 20-plus years as an investigator, including being the lead detective on a case where a child died, Leanna is the first parent he’d seen that wasn’t hysterical, Stockinger said.
Stockinger said her only concern was to see Harris. Didn’t she asked about what happened? Kilgore asked. Yes, Stockinger said. But he said she never asked to see Cooper, only Harris.
Kilgore pointed out that Leanna appeared to be concerned about her mother.
You don’t have any evidence today that this is exactly how Cooper looked in the car seat on two particular days that the defense has photos of, Kilgore asked. No, Stockinger said.
Stockinger said he had no knowledge about how the life-sized doll was placed in the car seat for a digital scan that was taken of the interior of the car. You didn’t know if it was slouched or sitting up straight and tall, Kilgore said.
The defense is cross-examining Stockinger.
Kilgore said he wants to talk about the measurements he took of the life-sized doll. Stockinger said he took the measurements last night.
How did you decide where on this doll’s head to measure? Stockinger said used the biggest portion of the doll’s head by just how it looked.
The prosecution is now playing another recording. This one is of Leanna sitting in the car with detectives.
It’s difficult to hear but it sounds in the background that Leanna is talking on the phone potentially to a friend or family member.
The detective explains that they are waiting on a search warrant.
“I have three animals,” she said. Two cats and a dog.
Stockinger tells Leanna he’ll take her to the police department where Harris also is.
You can hear Stockinger then having a discussion with a colleague over the phone.
I don’t know if it’s sunk in for her yet, Stockinger said of Leanna’s reactions during the interview.
“Her mom was just blowing up hysterical on the phone,” he said. “(Leanna) hasn’t shed a tear yet. She’s not showing any signs of 'I don’t give an (expletive).'”
Stockinger said they had to go to the couple’s house before going to the police station. There may be a search warrant, he explained, to see the living conditions of the child. It’s normal in this type of situation, he said.
She and Harris never argued over Cooper, Leanna said.
Credit: WSB-TV
Credit: WSB-TV
Leanna asked again if they were going to let her see Harris. Yes, Stockinger said, but they had to go to the couple’s condo first.
I know you’re still in shock are you with me in all of this right now?” Stockinger said. Her response is inaudible. She asked to go
“We talk about it a lot. It’s always been a big fear of mine, always,” Leanna said. “You hear about it on the news.”
How was Harris with Cooper, the detective asked her. “He’s a wonderful father,” Leanna said, starting to cry. She repeatedly says she doesn’t know how they’re going to make it through this.
“Ross is never going to forgive himself,” she said. “This is something I just really hope I wake up and it’s a bad dream.”
Leanna said Harris had never done anything like that before.
“Cooper is not with us anymore,” Leanna said to her mother who called during the interview. “Ross forgot to drop him off at daycare and he was left in the car all day.”
You can hear Leanna’s mother become hysterical on the phone.
“I’m not processing this right now,” Leanna said. “I don’t have a reaction because I don’t know what my reaction will be but I need you to just go somewhere and be safe."
Leanna's mother was apparently driving somewhere when she got the news.
“I don’t know what to do. This does not feel like this is happening,” Leanna said. “This can’t be happening. … I need for this day to not have happened.”
The prosecution is playing the first recording of when Stockinger first approaches Leanna.
“Your child is deceased, I’m very sorry to have to tell you that,” Stockinger said to her.
“Where’s my husband,” Leanna immediately asked.
She told the detective that she talked to Harris at 4 p.m. and that he was going to the movies with some friends.
Leanna’s voice is quiet but steady and calm. Harris was supposed to drop Cooper off at daycare and she was supposed to pick him up.
Stockinger told Leanna that sjhe was probably “in shock” over what happened.
“I was really trying to warm up to her, trying to comfort her a little bit,” Stockinger said.
“She wasn’t crying,” Stockinger said, describing when he first saw Leanna.
She really didn’t have much emotion when he first made contact with her, Stockinger testified.
In the middle of the interview, she received a call from her mom. Stockinger said Leanna’s mom, Cooper’s grandmother, was hysterical, yelling into the phone.
Stockinger said Cooper’s body was going to be taken to the medical examiner’s office.
Stockinger was tasked with finding Leanna, Harris’ wife at the time, and interviewing her. He called her and she said she was at Harris’ Home Depot office. Leanna said she would wait for them there.
He recorded his interaction with Leanna.
Stockinger made the “death notification” to Leanna, which is captured on the recording.
In particular, he measured the circumference of the head. Cooper was in the 66 percentile in size for his age.
Credit: WSB-TV
Credit: WSB-TV
Stockinger was in the office when the call came in about a child dead in a vehicle. He was one of two detectives to first arrive at the scene. Uniformed officers were already on the scene and Harris was in the patrol car by the time Stockinger got there.
He compared Cooper’s measurements in medical records to the life-sized doll later created for purposes of the investigation.
The prosecution is calling a rebuttal witness, Det. Ed Stockinger of the Cobb County Police Department.
Stockinger works in the crimes against persons unit. He previously worked at the New York City Police Department.
Court is back in session after the lunch break.
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Credit: WSB-TV
After Staley Clark concludes her questioning of the defendant, lead defense attorney Maddox Kilgore says, "On behalf of Ross, we rest our case."
The state has said it wants to call Cobb County police Det. Ed Stockinger as a rebuttal witness. Prosecutor Jesse Evans says his questioning should take about an hour.
The judge calls the lunch recess and says the court will hear from the rebuttal witness afterward.
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Credit: WSB-TV
The judge says she wants to question Harris about his decision not to testify in his own behalf. Harris stands and answers the judge's extensive questioning, designed to make sure he fully understands his rights and his decision.
Judge: If you disagree with anything that they have said, you need to alert Mr. Kilgore of that or to me.
Harris: Yes ma'am.
Judge: Do you have any disagreement?
Harris: I do not.
Judge: As Mr. Kilgore has said, when we get to this point in the trial, the defendant has two rights: the right to remain silent or the right to testify. These rights are personal to you. Do you understand that you ... have no obligation to testify in this case?
Harris: Yes ma'am.
Judge: Have you thoroughly vetted this decision with your attorneys?
Harris: Yes, ma'am, I have.
Judge: You elect not to testify at this time?
Harris: Yes ma'am.
Judge: Do you need any further time or opportunity to consider this?
Harris: No ma'am, I don't.
Credit: WSB-TV
Credit: WSB-TV
"Mr. Harris is going to waive his right to testify," says lead defense attorney Maddox Kilgore. "He has the constitutional right to testify, so he's not aware of it just because we're in trial the last couple of weeks. He's aware of it because of conversations we've had over a (long) period of time. ... He also understands that the right ... is personal to him: only he can make that decision."
Kilgore says Harris understands that this is his only opportunity to speak in his own behalf -- "that there's no do-over."
On re-direct, Rodriguez asks whether Harris was constantly clicking on a variety of topics on Reddit and also sharing links with friends. Moulton says he was.
They talk now about VPN -- virtual private networks -- which are designed to protect "point to point contacts." Moulton says he has set up VPN "tunnels."
Rodriguez: Was it your intent to mislead this jury with any testiomny you were ofering?
Moulton: Absolutely not.
Evans asks a question on re-cross, and Moulton is excused.
Now the parties approach the bench and go off-mic.
Moulton acknowledges that he found a "divorce checklist" reference on the Home Depot HR site in May 2014.
Evans asks about the "I hate being married with kids" post on Whisper (see image below) that Harris accessed minutes before he left Cooper in the car. Harris sent a number of messages in response. The time of the first was 9:15:15 a.m. and the second, 9:15:33 a.m. He sent a third at 9:24 a.m.
Evans asks Moulton whether he saw a record that Harris looked at a "subReddit" on "watching people die." Moulton says yes.
Evans takes Moulton through web searches that were carried out on Harris's iPhone. They include "young and wild" and "Atlanta casual encounters classified." Evans asks for dates associated with these searches. Moulton says the only dates listed are June 17 and June 18 (the day of Cooper's death).
Evans asks Moulton whether the key F5 updates cache. He says yes. Evans asks what control-F5 does. Moulton says he doesn't know. Evans says (in paraphrase), you, a forensic computer expert, don't know what control-F5 does?
Credit: WSB-TV
Credit: WSB-TV
Under questioning, Moulton acknowledges that Harris did search for information on statutory rape. (He testified on direct that Harris's legal-related searches appeared to focus on how to start up a company.)
Evans cites criminal cases Moulton has worked on and asks whether Moulton ever testified in behalf of the prosecution. He says no.
Prosecutor Jesse Evans does the cross-examination. "Show me one piece of paper that documents what you've done in terms of a report," Evans says.
Moulton says he has not written a report. Evans seems incredulous. "$20,000 and not one single report."
He is referring to Moulton's earlier testimony about what he has billed for his work on the case.
Evans refers to a phone conversation between him and Moulton. He asks Moulton whether he declined to talk to Evans and his investigator about his impending testimony. Moulton acknowledges that he did decline to talk about certain specific things that he had covered with the defense, which is employing him.
Defense attorney Carlos Rodriguez and Moulton are talking about a website for Griffin Psychology that Harris was helping to develop on the side. They show that there were emails between Ross Harris and Dr. Michael Griffin from sometime in 2012 until June 17, 2014, the day before Cooper's death.
Moulton says Harris was being paid to develop the Griffin website and that there were frequent communications regarding the website.
The jury returns from the break. Scott Moulton, an expert in computer forensics and data recovery, resumes his testimony for the defense.
Judge Staley Clark calls for the midmorning break and excuses the jury.
In response to a question, Moulton says he has been paid $19,900 for his work on this case so far and that he will bill about that much more for work he has done since that first payment, so his bill will total about $40,000.
He says he saw no effort to hide, delete or overwrite content on either computer -- something Moulton says he frequently sees when he's investigating a divorce case.
Moulton says that a Lenovo PC was Harris's work computer at Home Depot, and a MacBook was his personal computer. Rodriguez says there was earlier testimony that data had been deleted from Harris's computers prior to his arrest. Moulton says there was ample data on both computers.
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Credit: WSB-TV
On another issue that arose in the prosecution case, Rodriguez asks whether there was anything unusual about a web developer "clearing his cache" on his web browser. Moulton says he, like Harris, is a web developer and it's common for developers to clear cache. But he also points out that clearing cache (or the history of web searches during a period of time) does not actually delete the history itself.
Rodriguez turns to Harris's extensive use of anonymous messaging services, such as Whisper and Kik. Moulton says they were not hard to find on Harris's iPhone, although they were stored in folders within subfolders. Neither Kik nor Whisper had been deleted, he says. Moulton says nothing was deleted from Harris's phone on June 18, the day Cooper died.
Moulton said Harris frequently did searches on football and also on "praise" or religious music. (He was a guitarist at his church.)
Rodriguez asks whether Harris searched for information on the law. Moulton says yes, but says Harris may have been searching for legal information on how to set up a business. The prosecution objects, saying the witness is speculating. The judge sustains.
Moulton says he also has worked on divorce cases. In HArris's case, he did not find any searches for divorce lawyers, for information on alimony or for criminal defense attorneys.
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Credit: WSB-TV
Rodriguez turns to the time when Harris accessed a video by a veterinarian on how hot a car gets for an animal left inside it on a hot day. The prosecution had established earlier that Harris had watched the video twice. Moulton says Harris did click on the video twice, but the clicks were within one second of each other. He says the 2012 video has been viewed more than 2 million times now. Harris accessed the video on June 13, 2014, but Moulton says he could not find any instances of Harris accessing it before that time or after. (Cooper died on June 18, 2014.)
Moulton talks about a chat Harris engaged in on Reddit about the second season of "Orange is the New Black."
In response to a question, Moulton said he could not find any searches by Harris regarding how to kill a child in a hot car, or how hot a vehicle must be for a child to die inside it.
Rodriguez asks about a search by Harris on "why is it hazy when it's hot?"
Moulton says the site Harris went to had nothing to do with the temperature inside a parked car. He says it's just an explanation of why you would see haze in the air when looking at the Atlanta skyline on a hot day.
Rodriguez asks whether Harris accessed an article on Reddit.com regarding a man who was wrongly convicted. Moulton says yes.
He says Harris spent a lot of time on Reddit, a site where the user can choose the kinds of topics he wants to see. The site "pushes topics up" depending on their popularity, Moulton explains.
Defense attorney Carlos Rodriguez is doing the direct examination of Moulton. He asks what Moulton did on this case. The witness asks for a glass of water.
Rodriguez: Were you asked to identify a Red Whisper image?
Moulton: Yes.
Rodriguez: Were you asked to examine certain allegations of web searches and web visits that were testified to at the probable cause hearing ... and in search warrant applications ... and at trial?
Moulton: Yes, sir.
The "Red Whisper" image was a post to the Whisper anonymous messaging app in which the writer hated being married with kids. Police initially believed that Harris had created that post.
Rodriguez: Explain to the jury how easy it was for you to identify that the creator of that meme was not Ross Harris.
Moulton said it took him less than two hours to determine that someone else created the post.
Moulton says he worked often with law enforcement on data recovery. HE published a two-volume book on how to recover data and also designed a 50-hour class on the topic. Also has a company called My Hard Drive Died.
First witness: Scott Moulton, a digital forensics expert who has worked in computers and information technology since 1993. He also has a background in data recovery; for example, retrieving data from broken cell phones or crashed servers.
The jury is ushered in to the courtroom.
Credit: WSB-TV
Credit: WSB-TV
Still no word from the defense on whether Harris will testify today.
The court is waiting for Evans and Rodriguez to finish their private debrief with the defense's expert witness. Meanwhile, Ross Harris is seated at the defense table, wearing a blue blazer, a striped shirt and a purple tie. He doesn't always wear a jacket. At the moment, he is chatting and smiling with defense attorney Bryan Lumpkin.
Staley agrees that the summary provided by the defense is insufficient. Evans asks that the witness be disqualified as an expert. The judge says she will not do that, but she suggests that Evans and defense attorney Carlos Rodriguez go to the witness, who is waiting to testify, and speak with him about his plan to testify. Evans clarifies for the court that he does not believe the defense was stonewalling the state on this; rather, he says, he believes it was an issue with the witness himself.
Judge Mary Staley Clark reads the summary. Prosecutor Evans says the witness declined to speak with the prosecution when it contacted him about his prospective testimony.
The prosecution is registering a complaint that it hasn't had a preview of expert testimony the defense plans today. The defense responds that it provided a summary of the witness's testimony to the prosecution.
The trial usually convenes between 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. The unanswered question today: Will Harris testify in his own defense? If not, the defense is expected to rest today, with closing arguments on Monday.
Please return for updates.
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