COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Ross Harris, the man accused of leaving his 22-month-old son in a hot car to die, is facing new charges after the Georgia Supreme Court reversed his murder conviction Wednesday.
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22-month-old Cooper Harris died after he was left inside his father’s car outside a Cobb County Home Depot office in 2014. His father, Ross Harris, was convicted of intentionally leaving him in the car, killing him.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court overturned his murder conviction, saying that much of the evidence presented to the jury was inadmissible when it came to the child’s death. The new evidence exposed Harris as a philanderer who had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl.
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Channel 2′s Dave Huddleston talked to WSB Radio legal analyst Phil Holloway, who covered the trial extensively in 2016. Holloway said that during the trial, prosecutors spent a lot of time tying Cooper Harris’ death to his father’s sexual activity.
“A lot of us who watching this case though this might happen,” Holloway said. “The state did a great job pointing out that Justin Ross Harris was a pervert and a philanderer, but they noted reasonable minds on a jury can differ on whether or not that evidence proved he intended to kill his child.”
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Holloway said that during the trial, both the prosecution and the defense agreed that 7 to 8 new charges of sexual exploitation of a child and violation of the computer pornography act would only come to light if the murder conviction was overturned.
Harris is already serving a 12-year-sentence on charges related to his relationship with the 16-year-old.
“It’s important to remember that regardless of what charges he ultimately gets charged with, he does get credit for all of the time that he’s been in prison or in custody since June of 2014,” Holloway said.
The Cobb County District Attorney’s Office said it will file a motion to reconsider the case.
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