A father has been found guilty of murdering his toddler by leaving him in the back of his car for seven hours to die in the heat.
Justin Ross Harris, 35, was found guilty on eight counts, including malice murder and cruelty to children, after he left his 22-month son, Cooper, in his car while he went to work, according to The Daily Mail.
After the verdict was returned, Cooper’s mother, Leanna Taylor (who filed for divorce after her son’s death) wrote a devastated message to other parents.
“For those of you who want to know if I am ok. The answer is no,” she wrote. “I have not been ‘ok’ since the moment I was told my son was dead. I have not been ‘ok’ since the moment my life was put on this path that has led to Ross being found guilty of maliciously murdering our child.”
“So now you may be saying ‘justice has been served,’ ”she said. “And you are allowed your right to that opinion. But guess what, you can convict every parent that this has ever happened to, and I can promise you 2 things…#1 it will never bring our children back and #2 it will not prevent this from happening in the future.”
The tragic case has gripped the US.
According to the BBC, prosecutors argued that Harris plotted to kill his son and, wanted to leave his family to continue affairs with other women.
However, the Harris’ defence said Cooper’s son was a tragic accident.
During the trial, Harris was painted as a sex-addict who was ‘sexting’ a series of women – and one underage school girl. He even exchanged texts with another woman while his son struggled to breathe in the rapidly overheating car.
During the emotional trial, jurors were told how Harris came to a sudden to a stop in a shopping centre car park after leaving work that June day and frantically screamed for help as bystanders ran to his aid and pulled the lifeless boy from the back seat of the car to administer CPR.
After filing many mistrial motions, defense attorney said appeals will be made before the December 5 sentencing.
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