Father who left his child in car, charged with murder, no bond

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andthebeatgoeson

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http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/father-who-left-child-hot-car-charged-murder/ngNzp/

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The man who is accused of leaving his child in a hot car has been charged with murder.
Justin Ross Harris was charged with felony murder and cruelty to children in the first degree. He was being held with no bond Thursday.
According to Cobb County police, Harris was supposed to take his 22-month-old to day care around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. Police said the father forgot and left his child inside his vehicle while he went to work.

"Apparently, he forgot the child was in the car seat in the back of the automobile and went to work, left work sometime around 4 or 4:15," said Sgt. Dana Pierce of the Cobb County Police Department.

Dale Hamilton witnessed the emotional scene as a father realized that his child was in the car.

"I wish I could have done something but there's nothing that could be done," Hamilton said.

After leaving work and making the discovery, the father pulled into Akers Mill Square near Cumberland Mall.

"Laid his son on the ground, started doing CPR trying to resuscitate him. Apparently the child wasn't responding," Hamilton said.

Police said the man had to be physically restrained once it became clear his child was gone.

"There were a number of witnesses, passersby in the area who observed basically the father in a very distressed moment," Pierce said.

"He kept saying, ‘What have I done? What have I done?’ And that's all that I could ascertain that he was saying," Hamilton said.

The child was pronounced dead at the scene.
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FYI, it only takes a few minutes for the car to get to 100 degrees. So sorry this happened. And it's another reminder. Seems a lot of these things may be related to inattentional blindness. I have a few people (family, friends, baby sitters) that take care of my kids and I'm shook when thinking about this.

I wonder why they charged him. More info or overzealous prosecutor? I can only assume there has to be more info. No bond either.
 
St3v3 said:
Murder doesn't seem right?
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That's why I assume lack of details (ie he meant to leave the kid) or overzealous prosecutor.

I have 3 kids and my heart is breaking just thinking about those few minutes when he found his kid in the back.

I'm glad my kids don't stay quiet.
 
PAULINK said:
Being negligent is not a valid excuse to go scott free.
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The tape is unendurable. Mostly, you hear a woman’s voice, tense but precise, explaining to a police dispatcher what she is seeing. Initially, there’s nothing in the background. Then Balfour howls at the top of her lungs, “OH, MY GOD, NOOOO!”

Then, for a few seconds, nothing.

Then a deafening shriek: “NO, NO, PLEASE, NO!!!”

Three more seconds, then:

“PLEASE, GOD, NO, PLEASE!!!”

What is happening is that Balfour is administering CPR. At that moment, she recalls, she felt like two people occupying one body: Lyn, the crisply efficient certified combat lifesaver, and Lyn, the incompetent mother who would never again know happiness. Breathe, compress, breathe, compress. Each time that she came up for air, she lost it. Then, back to the patient.
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Yeah, you're right, they got off scott free.
 
As someone with a 9 month old, I am ultra-paranoid about this. My wife and I both installed mirrors in our cars that give us a full view of the car seat when looking in the rear-view mirror. Whenever I'm going to work, I put my laptop bag in the carseat when he's not there so I'm in the habit of always checking the backseat.

I can't even imagine.
 
Poor guy. Felony murder seems overly zealous... negligent homicide/manslaughter would be more appropriate, unless they have proof he planned to kill the child :/
 
PAULINK said:
Being negligent is not a valid excuse to go scott free.
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This.

You make a choice of being a father, you're responsible for their well being. Also an entire workday went by before he realised that his kid was still in the car. It sounds cruel but that kid will never grow up, raise a family or anything.

He messed up bigtime and paid the price. Its not like it was a fire, carcrash or a freak of nature kinda thing. Its entirely his own fault.
 
Jesus, exactly the same thing happened in Poland couple weeks back. Exactly the same. Only difference being that it was little girl instead of a boy.
 
Negligent homicide maybe, but he will get off on a murder charge if they try and make that stick.
 
PAULINK said:
Being negligent is not a valid excuse to go scott free.
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Losing a child to your own mistake is 'scot free'?
What would be 'real punishment', then? Twenty years of torture?
Prison is supposed to be for rehabilitation and\or restraint of dangers to society.
Is this guy a danger to society?
 
I don't think murder is appropriate in this case. I can't imagine going to prison is any worse than living your life wit that pain.
 
Whitechocolatekrispies said:
His son is dead because of him. I think he's going to suffer enough for the rest of his life.
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This. I don't believe he should be sent to prison especially considering he has to live with this mistake for the rest of his life.

I do, however, believe he should be sentenced to some kind of serious counseling or mental therapy of some kind. This kind of mistake won't be easy to live with at all, I'm sure.
 
Raiden said:
This.

You make a choice of being a father, you're responsible for their well being. Also an entire workday went by before he realised that his kid was still in the car. It sounds cruel but that kid will never grow up, raise a family or anything.

He messed up bigtime and paid the price. Its not like it was a fire, carcrash or a freak of nature kinda thing. Its entirely his own fault.
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As a father of a 13 month old girl I completely agree with this. I am sorry but honestly he needs to be charged with something. Murder might be a bit too much but child endangerment for sure at the minimum.
 
This happens quite a lot...so sad, but murder? What the hell? No way is that murder. Negligent homicide at the most.
 
The prison sentence and murder charge hardly seem appropriate. Are they trying to make an example of him? If so for who? What's the point?
Horrible situation, and as a father myself I can only imagine how painful it has already been. A prison sentence here achieves absolutely nothing.
 
luxarific said:
Everyone should read this article before commenting:

Fatal Distraction: Forgetting a Child in the Backseat of a Car Is a Horrifying Mistake. Is It a Crime?

Imho, these parents have already been given the worst sentence possible: they will have to live the rest of their lives knowing that they were responsible for the death of their child. Any other punishment is basically superfluous.
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Seconded. This article was terrifying. It really can happen to anyone who would describe themselves as human. "Negligence" doesn't play into it.
 
Maybe a new level of parental negligence that rivals "murder" in severity.

Not straight up murder though, this isn't that.
 
How the hell do you forget a whole work day that you left your kid in the car ? Was he dropping him off at day care why was he in the car in the first place ?
 
While I think he should be charged with at least negligence I do feel so sorry for the guy. Course I'm not going to cry foul at the murder charge. Ultimately he killed the kid via the mistake he made. He didn't mean for it to happen though. Yes that's not an excuse. I think the worst punishment he can have though is that he will have to live with this for the rest of his life. The article points out his distress when he realized what he had done. I have no doubt that inside of him right now he's probably wishing it was him that was dead and not his son. He'll have to live with the fact that he was negligent and lead to his son's death for the rest of his life. That's not going to be easy. It could just be impossible. I really wouldn't be surprised if we hear a story of him having killed himself soon.

Ultimately my heart goes out to him and the family. Again though keep in mind I'm not defending him. That was a fatal mistake. One that should not have been made.
 
Negligence directly leading to the death of a child. I don't know that "murder" is the right word, but he's directly responsible for the death, here. The pain and suffering that his negligence caused the child and any family are his fault. He clearly didn't have intent, but that doesn't excuse the fact that he did it.
 
luxarific said:
Everyone should read this article before commenting:

Fatal Distraction: Forgetting a Child in the Backseat of a Car Is a Horrifying Mistake. Is It a Crime?

Imho, these parents have already been given the worst sentence possible: they will have to live the rest of their lives knowing that they were responsible for the death of their child. Any other punishment is basically superfluous.
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Thanks for that link.

From that video, 6 tips:
1.Never leave a child unattended in a car in any type of weather.
2. Put a purse, briefcase or phone in the back seat as a reminder.
3. Lock the doors after you've exited to keep kids from getting inside.
4. If you see a chile alone in a car, don't hesitate to call 911.
5. Use drive-throughs when possible, or take your child inside with you.
6. Have daycare call if your child has not been dropped off.

luxarific said:
Yeah, you're right, they got off scott free.
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Getting those feels from that transcript.
 
ElectricBlanketFire said:
I agree. The punishment should be more severe. Like never being able to see his son alive again.
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The fact that it was his son is irrelevant.

If you accidently kill anyone, you get punished.
They don't just say 'oh well he'll have to live with the consequences'.

I don't agree with a prison sentence though. Seems pointless in this case.
But he does deserve to repay society in some way.
 
luxarific said:
Everyone should read this article before commenting:

Fatal Distraction: Forgetting a Child in the Backseat of a Car Is a Horrifying Mistake. Is It a Crime?

Imho, these parents have already been given the worst sentence possible: they will have to live the rest of their lives knowing that they were responsible for the death of their child. Any other punishment is basically superfluous.
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I remember reading this article a while ago and murder seems absurd. Prison is not what this man needs, he is already going to suffer for the rest of his life :/
 
LowKeyedUp said:
Seconded. This article was terrifying. It really can happen to anyone who would describe themselves as human. "Negligence" doesn't play into it.
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That's the thing. You can be the most vigilant person in the world, but you're still human, and humans still make mistakes. This is especially true when something screws up your routine.
 
Solaire of Astora said:
Because at some point in the future, some forgetful parent will be walking away from their car, remember this tragic event and then realize that they accidentally left their child in the car?

...
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Or simply hear of this and not leave their child in a car without supervision, ever. It's against the law to do so at all, IIRC. There's a reason for it.
 
To me this is obviously negligence, if you have a kid you check your backseat every single time. I feel sorry for him, but I feel much more sorry for the kid that was robbed of its life.
 
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