COBB COUNTY, Ga. — It’s been almost a decade since a Georgia toddler died after being left in a hot car, and now the case against his father has been dropped.
Justin Ross Harris, the man accused of leaving his toddler in a hot car back in 2014, will no longer be pursued by the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office.
Two years after little Cooper’s death, his father, Harris was convicted of his murder and several other crimes relating to the toddler’s death.
He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
However, this isn’t where the story ends. In 2022, the Georgia Supreme Court made the decision to reverse the conviction, believing the jury “heard and saw an extensive amount of improperly admitted evidence."
The evidence being referred to stems from a 2016 sexual assault case, where Harris was accused of abusing a 16-year-old girl.
While Harris will continue to serve time for sexual abuse charges, the court concluded that the evidence presented from this case shouldn't have been included in the murder trial.
Following the court’s decision, the Cobb County District Attorney's office announced back in 2022 that they planned to file a motion for reconsideration in the case.
However, after reviewing the case for 11 months, it was determined that much of the evidence initially presented in the trial couldn't be used – following the ruling from the court.
The DA’s office then made the “difficult decision to not retry Justin Ross Harris on the reversed counts of the indictment,” according to a release.
Harris will continue to serve a 12-year sentence for charges involving the sexual abuse of a 16-year-old. He was “convicted of the remaining counts of the indictment, including Criminal Attempt to Commit Sexual Exploitation of Children and Dissemination of Harmful Material to Minors,” the release added.
What happened to Cooper Harris?
The 22-month old boy was left strapped in the rear-facing car seat in the back of an SUV, outside an office building where Harris worked.
While his father was supposed to drop him off at daycare, Cooper never made it. His father arrived at his job at Home Depot and left the child in the car.
Cooper was inside the SUV for roughly seven hours in the Georgia summer heat, dying of hyperthermia June 18, 2014.
Cooper was previously described by his mother as sweet and vibrant. June will mark nine years since his tragic death.