Georgia father charged with murder
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 5:08 pm
Whether the prosecution will seek the death penalty in Justin Ross Harris hot-car death case will be decided in two to three weeks, Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds said Thursday.
Reynolds' statement came hours after the Georgia father was indicted by a grand jury on eight counts, including malice murder and two counts of felony murder.
"We're pleased with the pace and thoroughness of this investigation, which continues on today," Reynolds said. "The evidence in this case has led us to this point today. Whether it leads us to anyone else remains to be answered."
The next step will be to put Harris' case on Superior Court Judge Mary Staley's arraignment calendar, which should happen within three weeks, the prosecutor said. Motions will then be filed before the case goes to a trial calendar.
Reynolds declined to take questions or comment further, saying, "This case will be tried in a court of law," and not in the media.
If Reynolds seeks the death penalty, it will be for the malice murder charge, which alleges that Harris, who has claimed his son's death was an accident, premeditated the child's killing.
Harris' attorney, H. Maddox Kilgore, called the charges excessive, describing them as a part of the "state's maze of theories."
"It was always an accident. When the time comes, and we've worked through the state's maze of theories at trial, it's still going to be a terrible, gut-wrenching accident. And all the eccentricities and moral failings of Ross' life isn't going to change that," he told reporters.
The other five charges Harris faces are: first-degree cruelty to children, second-degree cruelty to children, criminal attempt to commit a felony (sexual exploitation of a minor) and two counts of dissemination of harmful material to minors.
According to the indictment, the grand jury found that on June 18, Harris "did unlawfully, and with malice aforethought, cause the death of Cooper Harris ... by placing said Cooper Harris into a child car seat and leaving him alone in a hot motor vehicle."
http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/04/justice/hot-car-death-ross-harris-grand-jury/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
Reynolds' statement came hours after the Georgia father was indicted by a grand jury on eight counts, including malice murder and two counts of felony murder.
"We're pleased with the pace and thoroughness of this investigation, which continues on today," Reynolds said. "The evidence in this case has led us to this point today. Whether it leads us to anyone else remains to be answered."
The next step will be to put Harris' case on Superior Court Judge Mary Staley's arraignment calendar, which should happen within three weeks, the prosecutor said. Motions will then be filed before the case goes to a trial calendar.
Reynolds declined to take questions or comment further, saying, "This case will be tried in a court of law," and not in the media.
If Reynolds seeks the death penalty, it will be for the malice murder charge, which alleges that Harris, who has claimed his son's death was an accident, premeditated the child's killing.
Harris' attorney, H. Maddox Kilgore, called the charges excessive, describing them as a part of the "state's maze of theories."
"It was always an accident. When the time comes, and we've worked through the state's maze of theories at trial, it's still going to be a terrible, gut-wrenching accident. And all the eccentricities and moral failings of Ross' life isn't going to change that," he told reporters.
The other five charges Harris faces are: first-degree cruelty to children, second-degree cruelty to children, criminal attempt to commit a felony (sexual exploitation of a minor) and two counts of dissemination of harmful material to minors.
According to the indictment, the grand jury found that on June 18, Harris "did unlawfully, and with malice aforethought, cause the death of Cooper Harris ... by placing said Cooper Harris into a child car seat and leaving him alone in a hot motor vehicle."
http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/04/justice/hot-car-death-ross-harris-grand-jury/index.html?hpt=hp_t2