Two years ago, Leanna Taylor’s 22-month-old son Cooper died after his father left him in the back seat of a hot car for seven hours while he was at work.
Now, Taylor has opened up about her pain in a heart-wrenching Facebook post.
“For those of you who want to know if I am ok, the answer is no,” Taylor began.
“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.”
On the day of Cooper’s death, Justin Ross Harris had had breakfast with his son at a fast-food restaurant in Marietta, Georgia. Afterwards, he was supposed to drop Cooper at his childcare centre, as he did every day. But he missed the turn-off, just half a minute down the road. Instead, he drove straight to work.
Harris says he didn’t notice Cooper in the car until he was driving to a movie after work. By then the little boy had been dead for hours, killed by the high temperature inside the vehicle.
Justin Ross Harris. Photo via Facebook.
At first, it seemed like a terrible accident. Dozens of children in hot cars every year, after being forgotten by parents. But before long, Harris was charged with murder.
Defence lawyers claimed it was a memory lapse on Harris's part that led to Cooper's death. But prosecution lawyers said Harris knew his son was in the car, and may have wanted him out of his life. On the day of Cooper's death, Harris was sexting six different females, one of them underage.