The Cobb County father accused of killing his 22-month-old son by leaving him inside an SUV will find out this afternoon if he’ll be granted bond.
Justin Ross Harris, 33, of Marietta, is scheduled to appear at 1:30 in Cobb County Superior Court for a probable cause and bond hearing.
Harris has been held without bond since his June 18 arrest, which came just hours of his toddler son being pronounced dead. Harris told police he forgot to take his son, Cooper, to daycare and instead drove to work, leaving the boy strapped into his car seat inside the vehicle for seven hours, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported.
When he left work at a Home Depot corporate office, Harris said he realized his son was still in the backseat, according to police. Harris pulled into a shopping center parking lot off Akers Mills Road, where he and witnesses tried unsuccessfully to revive the boy.
Harris was charged with murder and cruelty to children after the boy’s death, sparking a national debate over whether the charges were appropriate or too harsh.
But a week after the boy's death, Cobb County police Chief John Houser said the case did not involve "simple negligence" in a letter released to the media.
Search warrant affidavits obtained by The AJC state that both Harris and his wife, Leanna, told police they had each done research online about child deaths in hot vehicles. Leanna Harris has not been named a suspect in the case.
The AJC will have a team of journalists at the courthouse for the hearing.
— Please return to ajc.com for updates.
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