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Leanna Taylor's two-year-old died after being left in a car. Now, she's shared her pain.

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.

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The evidence presented by prosecution lawyers included...

  • The couple had two life insurance policies, one worth $25,000, on their son.
  • Recent internet searches on Harris's computer included "how to survive in prison".
  • Just days before Cooper's death, Harris watched a video about animals dying in hot cars - twice.
  • Cooper had outgrown his rear-facing child seat and his head would have been visible from the front of the car.
  • The smell in the car would have been overwhelming as soon as Harris opened the door after work, but he drove for some time before pulling over.

Harris was found guilty of murder two days ago.

"So now you may be saying, 'justice has been served.' And you are allowed your right to that opinion," Taylor writes in her Facebook post.

"But guess what? You can convict every parent that this has ever happened to, and I can promise you two things … #1 it will never bring our children back and #2 it will not prevent this from happening in the future."

Taylor divorced Harris earlier this year. However, at his trial, she insisted he was a "very involved" parent, and said she didn't believe he would have left their son to die intentionally.


“Next summer, as this begins to happen over and over again, ask yourself, ‘What can be done?!’" she finished her post.

"The problem is not the parent! The problem is a society that refuses to believe this can happen to them! Wake up! Accept it! And by accepting it you will be protecting your child!

"I don't care what your opinion is in my situation. I don't care what your opinion is of me! It does not matter! Your opinion will never bring back my son. So-called 'justice' will never bring back my son. Nothing will ever take that pain away. And nothing will ever feel worse than living with the knowledge that his pain and his death could have been prevented.

"Be the wise parent, and accept that this can happen. And you will never have to walk the path that my family has had to walk. And I pray YOU never have to walk this path."

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