Police are investigating the possibility that a man who left his son in a hot car for seven hours may have intentionally killed him. Cooper Harris died tragically after he was left alone in the car during the day while his father was in work.
According to the Daily Mail, new information has now come to light after the police seized the office computer of the man in question. They apparently found that Justin Harris, father to Cooper Harris, did an internet search to find out how long it would take for an animal to die in a hot car.
The news comes just after the police had announced that the official cause of death for the child was hyperthermia or intense heat exhaustion. They also confirmed that the manner of his death was a homicide.
The Daily Mail also confirmed that a police warrant revealed that Mr. Harris had taken his son to breakfast that morning. It also revealed that he had returned to his car at lunch time to place an object in the car.
Harris had originally claimed that he had forgetten to drop Cooper off at day care on the morning of the incident and had discovered his lifeless body in the car on the way home and panicked.
Some eye witnesses claimed that Mr. Harris was acting “very odd” at the scene and that he originally claimed Cooper was choking.
Police confirmed earlier this week that they were investigating the possibility that Mr. Harris may have intentionally left Cooper in the car. They also declared that they couldn’t confirm if Cooper was in the car at 9am when Mr. Harris arrived at work.
Harris is charged with felony murder and cruelty to a child in the second degree.
Chief of police John R. Houser said: “I understand that tragic accidents similar to this one do occur… (but) this investigation must be weighed on its own merit and the facts that lead our detectives to charge the father must be presented at the appropriate time during the judicial process.
“The chain of events that occurred in this case does not point towards simple negligence and evidence will be presented to support this allegation.”
He added: “In fairness to everyone involved in this emotional case, I would ask that you not make conclusions based on rumor or suspicions and let our judicial system work as it is designed.”
