Justin Ross Harris’ ex-wife: 'When you have experienced every parent’s worst nightmare . . .’
Leanna Taylor is the ex-wife of Ross Harris and the mother of Cooper, the 22-month-old boy Ross Harris left to die in his SUV in 2014. After 2½ years of silence, Taylor had an extended interview last week with the AJC and Channel 2 Action News.
» Listen to Season 2 of the AJC podcast "Breakdown"
On whether she wants to have more children: "I want that because I've always wanted to be a mother, and I enjoyed being Cooper's mom very much. ... But it is a difficult thing to think about. It's scary.
“When you have experienced every parent’s worst nightmare, to think about having another child and that fear of something happening again and that constant worry of wanted to keep them safe — for me it’s going to be 10 times worse than for the average parent.”
On the public's perceptions of her: "One thing that's bothered me is that people keep making comments, 'Why does she keep defending Ross? Why does she keep defending him?'
“It’s not about me defending Ross. ... I have to tell the truth. And I can’t sit up there and say he was a bad father. I can’t sit there and say he was annoyed by having a child, because that’s not what I saw. And I can’t help that that’s not what I saw. What I saw was a very engaged, involved father who wanted to be with his child, who wanted to spend time with his son.”
Read more on the Harris case:
» Ross Harris found guilty: 'He has malice in his heart absolutely'
About the Authors
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.
Bill Rankin has been an AJC reporter for more than 30 years. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Bill has primarily covered the state’s court system, doing all he can do to keep the scales of justice on an even keel. Since 2015, he has been the host of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.
