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Ross Harris: ‘Dateline’ NBC—Did Porn And Sex Cloud Dad’s Mind, Leading To Baby Cooper’s Hot Car Death?

By Traciy Reyes
Published on: 04:06 PST, Jan 27, 2017

The disturbing details in the Georgia hot car death case will be revealed on tonight’s Dateline NBC. Viewers should recall the case that made headlines three years ago after Justin Ross Harris, a suburban father, left his 22-month-old son, Cooper Harris, in a hot car while he went to work at the local Home Depot. Dateline NBC’s episode titled “Unimaginable” will highlight the facts in the case and ask some important questions about whether this was an accidental death or murder. Ross Harris was found guilty in the death of his son and was sentenced to life in prison. On Dateline, law enforcement officials and experts will weigh in on Forgotten Baby Syndrome, and video from Ross Harris’ police interview will be examined.

Baby Found Dead In Car Seat, Dad Hysterical

For Justin Ross Harris, that day in June 2014, should have started out like any other. But it would end up being the worst day of his life. Ross Harris, a corporate worker for Home Depot, took his toddler to Chick-fil-A to eat, then headed off to work. But he forgot one thing: to remove his son from the car and drop him off at the local day care, according to Dateline’s coverage.

For hours, little Cooper Harris suffered in the scorching hot car while his dad was tucked away inside of a cool building. Ross Harris claims he finally made the discovery after leaving work.

When news of Cooper’s hot car death hit the air waves, people were outraged and confused. Was it possible that this was all an accident? Looking back, some believe that Ross Harris seemed genuinely distraught during his many court appearances.

The experts call it Forgotten Baby Syndrome, in which loving and seemingly doting parents lose awareness and somehow forget to attend to their own child.

Investigators believed it was something more. They were convinced that Justin Ross Harris wanted his son dead so that he could continue on living a debauched sexual life.

https://www.facebook.com/NBCNews/posts/1599255703427787?match=cm9zcyBoYXJyaXMsY29vcGVy

Shocking Double Life Of Church Dad Revealed

To some, Ross Harris was a loving church-going dad who often sought counsel from the church’s elders. But to detectives he was a man with many secrets. Detectives found that on the very day that little Cooper Harris was left in the car, Ross Harris sexted six different women. The messages contained photos of his erect genitals, and in exchange, he received sexually explicit photos and messages from the women. And it wasn’t the first time he had done it. Ross Harris was living a lie–a double life–that his wife, Leanna Harris, knew nothing about.

In court, Leanna Harris learned that her husband allowed strange women to come into her home while she was away so they could have sex. Ross Harris’ wife also learned that her husband had sex with a woman in a car at the park.

Here Is A Timeline of the Ross Harris Hot Car Death Case

She always knew something was off about her husband. But she couldn’t have imagined everything he was engaging in outside of the marriage. On the stand, Leanna Harris testified that for years, they had problems with intimacy. Ross seemed disinterested in sex with her, and at times, she felt unattractive.

In times past, Leanna had found out that he was chatting with other women on his cell phone and had a problem with porn addiction. However, she had hoped that through counseling they would be able to get their marriage back on track.

But the truth was brutal.

Ross Harris knew that he had no intention of ending his porn addiction. And he knew that he had taken the fantasies even further by connecting and having sex with women in person.

Leanna Harris finally divorced Justin Ross Harris in 2016. And although he was a terrible husband, she never believed that he was capable of intentionally killing him. In the courtroom, she told the jury that Ross was a hands on father who doted on their son.

But even if Ross Harris had accidentally forgotten his son in the car. The jury heard evidence that at some point Ross Harris had to have realized what he did. Evidence showed that he left his station at work and headed to his vehicle around lunchtime to place something inside, and later that afternoon, Justin Ross asked his wife if he had picked up their son from daycare, according to WSBTV.

According to a witness who saw it all unfold, Ross Harris screeched his tires, then snatched his son out of the car and screamed. To the witness, it all seemed overly dramatic and staged. It didn’t seem like real emotion at all.

In the end, Ross Harris was found guilty. Currently, he is appealing his conviction.

https://www.facebook.com/datelinenbc/videos/10154822996976420/

What Really Happened That Day?

Did Ross Harris’ double life, which included illicit sex and porn addiction, cloud his judgment that day? To some, the actual story looks something like this. (Theory only)

  • Ross Harris was so rushed to begin his sexting conversations that he actually did forget his son in the car.
  • He later discovered what he had done and headed to the car to double check.
  • Once his biggest fear was confirmed, and he did see his son dead in the car, Ross panicked and began covering his tracks.

With Ross Harris trying to appeal his conviction, what do you believe? Did this seemingly loving father allow his son to suffer and die in a hot car just to be free of family life? State your opinion in the comments. Dateline NBC airs tonight at 10/9 p.m. Central. In another episode of Dateline, the case of Erin Corwin was profiled.

[Featured Image by John Bazemore/AP Images]

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