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Nancy Grace
Nancy Grace Investigates Hot Car Death, Mistake or Murder. Aired 8- 9p ET.
Aired October 04, 2016 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dozen of children die each year, left alone in hot cars.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, Atlanta, another hot and humid day, and today, not a huge chance of any storms to break that heat out there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: June 18, Atlanta, Georgia. The temperature outside soars. Inside the car where Justin Ross Harris leaves his toddler son
Cooper, the heat races past 100 degrees.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cause of death in this case is going to be hyperthermia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But when I got closer, I thought it was doll. And about three or four feet away, I noticed that it was the body of a toddler.
Right then, my heart dropped because I saw this precious boy laying there lifeless.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: A parent`s worst nightmare, something everyone could only bear to think of as a horrific accident, leaving your child in a
baking hot car. But as shocking evidence emerges of Daddy sexting with multiple women, conducting Google searches on "hot car death" and "child-
free living," suspicions turn to Daddy, Justin Ross Harris.
Was his tot trapped in a carseat in the boiling hot SUV intentionally left there all day by his daddy to die?
Tonight the state versus Justin Ross Harris, hot car death, mistake or murder?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what is the manner of death?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was listed as a homicide.
GRACE: Breaking news tonight, police investigating the tragic death of a 22-month-old little toddler boy, Cooper, seemingly left alone for hours in
a baking hot car by his father.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Witnesses were overwhelmed as they watched the silver SUV turn sharply into the parking lot at Acres Mills Square as the
driver...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Popped out of the driver`s seat, opened the back door, pulled his child out and laid him on the concrete, tried to resuscitate
him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His 22-month-old son was dead, probably long before he tried to resuscitate him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was tough. It is tough to see anyone pass, but especially small child. That made it especially tough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cobb County police say the child`s father was supposed to drop him off at day care, but instead went to work, apparently
forgetting his son was in the back seat, strapped into a child`s seat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Medical personnel arrived on the scene, determined that the child apparently had been in the automobile, the father`s automobile,
since about 9:00 o`clock this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It wasn`t until the father was driving home from work shortly after 4:00 PM that he noticed his son in the carseat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ever have to witness something like that before in your life?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the first, and hopefully, the last.
GRACE: When I first saw about the father basically bent over in grief, trying to resuscitate the little boy, I was so distraught for that father
and mother, I couldn`t even -- I couldn`t even look at the story, Victor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, Nancy, and what we`re learning today from Cobb County police is that right after he was over, bending over crying and
screaming there, he started cursing and screaming at police, we`re told by a spokesperson for the department, and he had to be restrained and placed
in the back of a car and then taken to the police department, where he was questioned. And after some of those -- the answers to those questions did
not make sense, that`s when they arrested him and charged him with child cruelty and felony murder.
GRACE: What exactly happened that day, Nanette (ph). Take it from the beginning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At 9:00 AM, this father is going to work at the Home Depot. Four o`clock rolls around. He gets ready to leave. He even drives
away, and then he notices, Oh, my God. What have I done? Pulls over to another parking lot, where he jumps out of the car.
And it`s a busy shopping center-like, and he`s just screaming, What have I done? Oh, my gosh! You know, What have I done here.
[20:05:02]People come running to him. One witness says that when he pulled the child out of the car that the child remained in the sitting position,
which -- is it possible that rigor mortis had already set in?
GRACE: Are you telling me that this child was observed when the father took him out, his body, the child`s body was stiffened, was stiffened with
rigor mortis?
Rodney Smith (ph), an eyewitness who sees Daddy remove the baby from the car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The boy is pulled out of the car, and they put him on the ground and they try to give him CPR, but he wasn`t revived. But what
made it seem so suspicious is the actions that he took, more like not in shock, but you know, he was more -- it was more suspicious, you know,
putting on a show more than anything.
GRACE: When you say putting on a show, what do you mean by that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Putting on a show, more like trying to make something seem that it`s not or (ph) you already heard of, more than in shock. If my
child just died, or if I killed my child, there would be teardrops coming down. There would be (INAUDIBLE) shock. I wouldn`t know what to do. But
the first thing you should do is try to see what`s really going on, observe the area pretty much, see if the child is still breathing. He didn`t do
any of that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But when I got closer, I thought it was doll. And about three or four feet away, I noticed that it was the body of a toddler.
Right then, my heart dropped because I saw this precious boy laying there lifeless.
Just (ph) hear his cries and his desperation for his son to be revived. Well, he was saying, Oh, my God, Oh, my God. My son is dead. Oh, my God.
My son is dead. He was yelling, he was hollering, he was screaming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New search warrants just released this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Search and seizure of Cooper`s medical records, as well as a DVD-R and external hard drive from the boy`s father.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Up to six different conversations with different women.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Charged with murder and second-degree child cruelty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Harris apparently went back out to his SUV during a lunch break, went into the SUV, placed something inside the driver`s side
of the vehicle, closed the door and went back into his work at the Home Depot support center just outside Atlanta.
Now, initially, the story from this father was that he drove to work with his son in the car, forgot to drop the child off at day care, worked a full
day, and only realized the child was in the car seven-and-a-half hours later.
But this new information from Cobb County police is that they have evidence that this father went out to the vehicle, opened the door, and the child
was still in there, presumably as he roasted. The temperatures outside got to about 88 degrees, and we know from experts that temperatures inside the
car likely could have gotten above 120 degrees.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The breaking news is out of Cobb County, Georgia, the so-called hot car death. Justin Ross Harris has been indicted on eight
counts, including felony murder and malice murder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Justin Ross Harris was seen at this Atlanta-area Chick- fil-A. The newly released arrest warrant says after breakfast, Harris was seen strapping his 22-month-old son, Cooper, into his carseat. He drove
less than a mile away to this Home Depot store support center, where he works as a Web designer. Normally, Harris takes Cooper to day care on
site, but not on this day. Instead, Harris headed inside the office and left his toddler in the rear-facing carseat in the back in the blazing
Georgia sun.
Investigators say Harris returned to the SUV at lunchtime, opened the drive`s side door and placed something inside. He then closed the door and
walked off. The temperature outside hit 88 degrees that afternoon. The temperature inside the SUV potentially exceeded 130 degrees. And Cooper
was likely already dead.
The arrest warrant says at 4:16 that afternoon, at the end of the workday, Harris returned to the SUV and started to drive home. Seven minutes later
and about two miles down the road, Harris screeched into this parking lot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hopped out of driver`s seat, opened the back door, pulled his child out, laid him on the concrete, tried to resuscitate him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But little Cooper was dead. Patrol officers were in the area when the 911 calls came in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Medical personnel arrived on the scene to determine that the child apparently had been in the automobile, the father`s
automobile, since about 9:00 o`clock this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Harris told police he`d somehow forgotten to drop Cooper off at day care that morning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He just screamed, What have I done, loudly. Obviously, it was a bit dramatic, you know, hands in the air, looking up
towards the sky. What have I done?
[20:10:02]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But police say it was all an act, charging him with cruelty to a child and felony murder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More than 10,000 people have signed an on-line petition urging the district attorney to drop the charges.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s no way it would have been intentional, especially from the father`s reaction.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meanwhile, investigators continue to search for answers.
JUSTIN ROSS HARRIS, CHARGED WITH MURDER: Thank you for everything you`ve done for my boy. Good life. No words to say. Just horrible. I`m just
sorry I can`t be there.
GRACE: In the last hours, Daddy speaks and his son`s funeral, live from behind bars. Yes, he makes an appearance, so to speak, from behind bars.
And in the last hours, damming evidence is coming to light.
Straight out to Martin Savidge, CNN correspondent standing by on the scene. Martin, what`s the latest?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nancy, a number of things. One of them, of course, was that emotional funeral in which the father appears
over the telephone, much to the shock of many people.
And then there are the warrants that have been released by investigators, and there are at least 10 of them. And they say that the father admitted
to them -- this was quite shocking revelation, but admitted during interrogation that, yes, he had searched the internet to check about how
long it would take for a child to die in a hot car. He said he did so because he was worried he would do that. Well, that`s exactly what police
said he did on June 18th.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: When we come back, a secret double life emerges as police investigate Daddy, Justin Ross Harris.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you uncover anything, and what he was doing during that day while his child was out in the car?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. What did you uncover?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was having up to six different conversations with different women.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m at five minutes in. It is unbelievably hot in here.
We`re nearing 100 degrees already 10 minutes in. I`ll tell you, it is almost unbearable.
At this point, the temperature is about 106 degrees.
Fifteen minutes now, and it`s about 110.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:15:48]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) child care (ph) wide awake and happy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What he was doing during that day while his child was out in the car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was having up to six different conversations with different women.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sexting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No tears, no, you know, real emotion coming (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The photo is being sent back and forth between these women (INAUDIBLE) during this day while the child`s out in the car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. There are photos of his exposed penis, erect penis, being sent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when he approached the car and stuck his head in -- did he stick his head in?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he did that, was there anything of note that he noticed an hour and 20 minutes after with the door open?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, there was a foul odor or stench coming from the vehicle. It smells like decomposition, or death.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In his home town of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, friends say what Justin Ross Harris is accused of doesn`t make sense. Family friend
Terrell Brown. (ph)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s just hard to imagine that that could happen. If that could have really happened, it just seems out of character for Ross.
GRACE: The tragic death of 22-month-old toddler boy Cooper, seemingly left alone for hours in a baking hot car by Daddy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a picture of little Cooper Harris we got from Facebook. Cobb County police says his dad, Justin Harris, left him in the
back of his SUV while he went to work at the Home Depot store support center. According to investigators, Harris claims he simply forgot to drop
Cooper off at the Little (INAUDIBLE) Academy Day Care inside the office complex, instead leaving him inside the hot SUV for seven long hours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Medical personnel arrived on the scene, determined that the child apparently had been in the automobile, the father`s automobile,
since about 9:00 o`clock.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: But was the tot murdered? Stunning and damning evidence emerges Daddy sexting with six different women, including sending pictures of his
erect penis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These messages and these chats -- do they start in the morning?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. And do they continue throughout the day?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when did they end?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Around 3:00 o`clock that afternoon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So about an hour before he left. Now, the 16-year-old girl -- were these chats of the -- or now 17. They started when she was
16.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did these -- were these sexually involved, as well?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Did she send him a picture that day?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She sent a picture of her exposed breasts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did he send any pictures to her?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did. He sent a picture of his exposed erect penis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell the judge what specifically he stated to her that would show his intent to obtain a photograph of her vaginal area.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That morning, he said (DELETED), with a question mark. And then, "Please, please, please," all caps.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how did C.D. respond?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "As much as I hate to say it, because I really do, maybe we should be done with this. And I honestly can`t believe I actually
said that."
GRACE: Horrendous and horrific facts coming to light. Joining me, Dr. Vincent di Maio, forensic pathologist joining me tonight out of San
Antonio. Dr. Di Maio, thank you for being with us.
What do you make of the police officer saying that nearly two hours later, the stench of death was still in the car? How could the father not have
noticed it?
DR. VINCENT DI MAIO, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: He had to have noticed it because that would have been within a few hours. Because of the extreme
temperatures, there would have been decomposition. The child would have loosened his bowels. There would have been fecal material, rotting in this
closed environment.
The temperature would have been 40, 50 degrees higher than the outside temperature. And the temperature would have only taken an hour to go up
that high. So within an hour, the child was exposed to temperatures of 130, 140, depending on how the car was oriented to the sun, maybe 150
GRACE: Dr. Di Maio, we heard testimony -- and I`m recalling all this off the top of my head -- where the child had scratched his face, and it was an
open wound, which suggested to me he was scratching at his neck and it had not coagulated because the blood quit pumping.
[20:20:06]Also, there were abrasions on the back of the child`s -- back of his head, where I can imagine the child banging and banging, trying to get
out of that carseat at 22 months, screaming out for his father. What would that child have endured dying this way?
DI MAIO: Well, of course, there would have been tremendous emotional stress. But it`s even worse than that because in the end, the child would
have gone into convulsions. And you know, he may have been scratching at his face, and you know, banging his head while he was in convulsions. And
the heat also interferes with coagulation of the blood. So there may have been some internal bleeding, as well.
GRACE: Another thing. I watched him very carefully. He sat stoically until the issue of him sexting and sending pictures of his erect penis to
other women, one of them underage, by the way. That`s the first time he showed emotion. The detective had been up there talking about the child`s
dead body for an hour, and he sad there without even blinking an eye, practically!
But you say "sexting" and "penis," and boom, he was angry! He said something to his lawyer. His lawyer jumped up...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now this 16-year-old girl, OK, did she send him a picture that day?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She sent a picture of her exposed breasts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did he send any pictures to her?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did. He sent a picture of his exposed erect penis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He also did a search "how to survive prison."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) called "child free," and child-free is a -- people who advocate living child-free.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He wanted to live a child-free life, of there`s evidence to suggest that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say Harris watched these child safety videos only days before Cooper`s death, warning of the dangers of leaving children
in hot cars.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Ross that I know is always on the computer, always searching new things, always checking things out. If these things
are true, in my opinion, it would be something that he saw and he just kind of clicked on a link or he heard about it and was curious about it.
GRACE: That from ABC`s "GMA," "Good Morning America."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whose responsibility was it usually to take the child to the day care?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Normally, Justin would take him to the day care.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. So the defendant would be the normal person to take him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So taking him to day care that day would not have been out of the routine?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: During the interview, Harris stated leaving his son in a hot car was the biggest fear. According to Harris, he recently views a
television concerning child death in cars. Harris also stated that he researched issues of death in cars on the internet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did the defendant, in fact, make an inference that he wanted to see a picture, a photograph of C.D.`s vagina?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What statement, I guess, evinced a desire to see a photograph of C.D. and her vagina?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He says, "I want to see your hot, wet (DELETED) On that day, she actually sends a picture of -- it looks like a kitten in a
person`s hand. She says, "Ah (ph). When can I see yours?"
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: When we come back, we recreate Daddy`s movements.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prosecutors have laid it out for us. It`s .6 miles from the Chick-fil-A to the Home Depot office here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:27:24]GRACE: Was toddler boy Cooper Harris left to die on purpose in a baking hot car by his own father? As investigators try their best to
recreate Daddy`s movements that day, we do the same.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One thing to know before we even take this drive to what ends up being work, this is not a large SUV. Little Cooper is right
here, literally six inches to a foot away, and I can see the top of his head.
So Justin Ross Harris has had another one of his special daddy-son times at the Chick-fil-A. And here we go. So he comes up to the first stop sign.
And that`s one of the things to note as we continue driving. How often does he look back? So we are going to take a U-turn here. And like that,
I`m looking at the stopwatch -- we are a little over a minute, and we`re coming up to the intersection.
It is here that Justin Ross Harris would have turned off to take Cooper to day care at the main Home Depot corporate office. Instead, Harris
continued on to work.
We`re just going really a matter of blocks. Prosecutors have laid it out for us. It`s .6 miles from the Chick-fil-A to the Home Depot office here.
So we are already here. So within two minutes, a little over two minutes, Justin Ross Harris is already at work.
Defense says he has forgotten about little Cooper. Prosecutors say he didn`t forget at all, this was the plan all along.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he parked, how did he park?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he pulls in the parking lot, he pulls past the space. After he pulls past the space, he goes into reverse. He backs up.
And when he backs up, he backs up in between two cars that were parked in the row behind him. And then pulls forward into the parking space.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The defense -- they`re going to argue he didn`t see little Cooper. He`s using his mirrors. His car does not have a back-up
camera, so he`s using his side rearview mirror, as I am.
Prosecutors are going to say, No, no back-up camera, so you`re looking back, as I am right now. So the prosecutors will say of course little
Cooper was in his field of vision. And I`ll tell you as we go through this reenactment, literally the top of our mannikin`s head is inches from my
forearm.
Prosecutors says Justin Ross Harris revisited the car after lunch. It`s about 12:42. He throws some light bulbs in the car. But at this point,
prosecutors are going to make the case that he should have seen little Cooper.
It`s 4:16. Justin Ross Harris`s work day is over. He enters the car. First thing prosecutors are going to say, he should have smelled something.
A judge said the smell should have been unbearable.
We continue on, as we leave the parking lot here at the Home Depot -- and this is not a short drive. Some other things to think about. What could
have distracted Justin Ross Harris as he is driving to the shopping center? Little Cooper is dead in the car. What has he done all day?
Prosecutors will say, he was texting with up to six women. That could have been the distraction. As we come up on to that shopping center, we know
that panic does set in or at least we believe and that`s what the defense will say, he`s realized that his son is dead. So Justin Ross Harris speeds
into the parking lot. Witnesses say he screeched the breaks. Does not even find a parking space.
And here we go. He is trying to do something to save his son. He gets little Cooper out of the back of the car and then witnesses say he begins
performing life saving measures on the concrete. That`s to no avail. More witnesses say other people came to help out.
Now, another thing that is in dispute. Differing accounts of Justin Ross Harris` demeanor. Some say he was messing around the scene while others
will say, yes, he was distraught, a father feeling the loss of his son.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, THE NANCY GRACE SHOW HOST: Next, daddy`s defense.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A 34-year-old father leaves his son in a hot car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A terrible gut-wrenching accident.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was saying, oh, my God, my son is dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely that he didn`t know Cooper was in the car.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was Justin Ross Harris a distracted dad who accidentally left his kid in a hot car or a calculated, cold-hearted
killer? His defense says there`s absolutely no evidence Harris intentionally killed his child. His attorney says he is a good dad living
a nightmare. They pointed Harris` family and friends who said without a doubt he loved his son Cooper.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A typical loving father of a toddler.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Justin Ross Harris accused of leaving his baby boy, Cooper, to die in a baking hot car on purpose. The defense? It was a tragic accident. That
he just forgets baby Cooper was in his SUV that morning. But how can you forget your baby? The baby he just had breakfast with minutes before.
Well, the defense says, Harris completely deaf in his right ear and insists, that`s why he couldn`t hear Cooper in the back seat. But the
toddler`s head is actually visible over the top of his little car seat. What is the defense to, daddy is sexting six different women at the same
time? Baby Cooper is dead in a boiling hot car.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you uncover anything? What he was doing during that day while the child was out in the car?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you uncover?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was having up to six different conversations with different women. It appeared from the -- from the messages from Kick
mostly, which is a messaging service.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that a computer-related messaging service?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And these conversations he was having with these females, were these -- what nature were they?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The most common term would be sexting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were photos being sent back and forth between these women and the defendant during this day while the child is out the car?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. There were photos of his exposed penis being sent. There were photos of women`s breasts being sent back to him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, did you actually -- have you looked at everyone of these girls that he has had contact with?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you located any of them?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have located them.
GRACE: Take a look at the defendant. The first time registered any emotion is when all this comes out. Now he`s starting to look around. Keep
watching.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She stated that she had first met Ross and she knew him as Ross through Scout, which is another messaging service. And that he had
met up, you know, that he wanted to hook up with her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the first court hearing I can remember attending where you had audible gasps from hundreds of people in the courtroom and
laughing. It was one of the more bizarre scenes we`ve ever seen. But, Nancy, a lot of questions you got on this very subject from our audience.
The life insurance. There were in fact two life insurance policies. One, $2,000. The other, $25,000. Totaling $27,000 grand on this little child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. What is he thinking taking out life insurance policies on a toddler boy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard the evidence that the life insurance policy for $25,000 was taken out long before these events occurred.
GRACE: 2012, to be precise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly. So, do you know.
GRACE: Two years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: . then the other policy.
GRACE: I don`t know why you think that`s a long time ago. It was two years. And we don`t even know the date. It was less than two years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was before the internet searches. It was before and also the life insurance policy.
GRACE: You don`t know that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: . the other life insurance policy was from work.
GRACE: You don`t know that. Can I ask you this, when your children were 22 months old, did you have life insurance policies on them?
KIRBY CLEMENTS, ATTORNEY: Those things come in the mail, Nancy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does that matter, whether I did or not?
GRACE: Okay. All right. So, I`m gonna take that as a no. And Kirby Clements, those things do not just come in the mail. I`ve never once
gotten.
CLEMENTS: Really?
GRACE: . a solicitation to buy life insurance on my children.
CLEMENTS: I -- I get those all the time.
GRACE: . on your children. On your children.
CLEMENTS: I get all those on my children. I understood the question. On all my children.
GRACE: You know what? You show me one. You bring one.
CLEMENTS: I will do that.
GRACE: We keep talking about motivation. All right. All right, gentlemen. Let`s have a throw down and talk about motivation. You want to pooh-pooh
the life insurance policy? You want to pooh-pooh his sexting and sending pictures of his erect penis while his child is baking in the car? Let`s
talk about his computer searches.
And I don`t mean for underage girls. I am talking about searches for a child-free life. A child-free life. Who is looking up videos to watch
people die? To watch them in the throes of death. Shortly before your own child dies because of your actions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two things. First of all, lots of people who have not committed any murders looked at.
GRACE: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen to me. Listen to me. Listen to me. I was looking through cable the other day. What did I find? A television show called "A
Thousand Ways To Die" where they sketched out and filmed and re-created all these ways people die. I hope no one ever arrests me for murder for
watching that show.
GRACE: That`s a thousand ways to die from original productions. Okay, you were sleeping through. You did not look up the videos and then click on one
after the next. And can I ask you, on a thousand ways to die, does it actually show people in the throes of death, don`t lie, because I can look
it up here. Did you actually sit there and watch one human after the next in the throes of death? Did you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a show that reenacted them.
GRACE: Reenacted them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did I do what he did? No.
GRACE: Just like watching Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote. All right? It`s not the same thing. Kirby Clements, are you now trying to tell me that
doesn`t make a connection in your brain? Ding, ding, daddy looks up. People in the throes of death. And then suddenly his child dies in a hot car.
CLEMENTS: It doesn`t make any connection, Nancy. I`ll tell you why. Number one, daddy is not looking at videos of children dying in a hot car. That`s
number one.
GRACE: Actually, he did.
CLEMENTS: They`re not showing videos of actual children dying in a hot car, Nancy.
GRACE: Put him up. Put him up.
CLEMENTS: They`re not showing videos of children dying. That didn`t happen.
GRACE: You just served it up to me on a silver platter.
CLEMENTS: That does not show any video of any child dying.
GRACE: You put up a Christmas tree for me. Thank you for the present.
CLEMENTS: Is there a video of a kid dying in a hot car, Nancy? Is that a video of it?
GRACE: Actually, actually not only did he look at people in the throes of death, he also looked up how long it would take, how much time is needed
for a child to die in a hot car. When we come back, damning evidence emerging as the state builds its case for murder against Justin Ross
Harris.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was having up to six different conversations with different women.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators said they had evidence this father and husband yearned to be single, leading a sexually charged double life with
multiple women on the internet. Sexting even the day his son was dying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Stunning evidence emerges as the prosecution building its case against Justin Ross Harris. Financial troubles. Life insurance policies on
baby Cooper. Killing internet searches including child-free living. And how long it takes an animal to die in a hot car? Conducted before the baby
dies. Alleged affairs, sexting other women including a young girl. Evidence, according to prosecutors, Harris wants, desperately wants a new
life. And baby Cooper out of the way.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She said something to the effect that you have a conscience.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what was the response?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nope.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did Justin Ross Harris intentionally leave his son in a hot car? A murder made to look like a horrific accident. According to a
search warrant, Harris told investigators he searched online for how hot a car needed to get to kill a child.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He recently searched through the internet, child dies inside vehicle and what temperature the car is at.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cooper died in a 92-degree day in June. Experts say inside the car, it could have reached 140 degrees. So what happened after
he discovered his son`s body at least seven hours later?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He just screamed what have I done? Obviously, it was a bit dramatic, you know, hands in the air, looking up towards the sky.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Phone record show that`s when Harris made three phone calls. One to his employer, lasted six minutes. Police say he never called
911. Officers say, Harris was erratic, refused to put away his cellphone, cursed and threatened cops.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The officer told him to get off his phone and that`s where he cursed at her. He told her to shot (beep) up and we had to take
him with handcuffs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After he was talking about how Cooper looked peaceful and his eyes were closed and it just, you know, looked like he was
sleeping. He goes, I dreaded how he would look.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dreaded. Past tense.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As in past tense.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Harris drove through seven traffic lights before he pulled over for help. A judge said he would have smelled death as soon as
he opened the car door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The stench in the car was overwhelming at that point in time. He got in the car and drove it for some distance before he took any
action to check on the welfare of his child.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then there`s the car seat. It is rear facing. Police say 22-month-old Cooper had outgrown and it and the top of his head was
visible from dad`s driver seat. Harris also told police he gave Cooper a kiss when he strapped the child in. It was about a half mile drive to work.
So in less than a minute, Harris would have gone from kissing his son to forgetting to drop him off at daycare. The alleged motive? He was unhappy
in his marriage. Desired a child-free life. Police say he visited a subreddit called child-free and read four articles. He also allegedly
searched the internet for how to survive in prison. That morning, Harris wrote to an anonymous woman on app Whisper.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love my son and all but we both need escapes. That was done at 9:15:33.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About ten minutes before he last saw his son alive. Then there`s the sexting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has a conversation with a young lady. When can I see your (beep)? She comes out, she said, can I be honest? And he`s like, yes.
She goes, I`m 15. He`s like, oh, that`s nice for 15. Show me more. Makes me a naughty older guy. He asked her to bend over. Do you like me being a
perv?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While Cooper died alone in the parking lot, police say Harris sexted up to six women including a 16-year-old girl.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were photos of his exposed penis. There were also photos of women`s breasts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prosecutors also say, Harris had sex with prostitutes just a few weeks before Cooper`s death.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was actually seeking out and meeting up with prostitutes and paying for sex. Again, actions speak louder than words.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And here`s something strange. A puzzling entry on Harris` phone. Harris wrote, anatomy of temptation. He wrote desire,
greater than sin, greater than death. Just three days before the tragedy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: When we come back, a jury set to decide. Accident or murder?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: The much anticipated trial of Justin Ross Harris. A father accused of leaving his tot boy Cooper to die in a baking hot car on purpose. A
father, accused of murder.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We plan to show that he wanted to live a child-free life where there was evidence to suggest that based on his internet
searches.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: The baby Cooper case should strike the heart of every parent. Because in this case, the life of baby Cooper seemingly is less valuable
than the lives of other murder victims. The case has already lost any possible of a death penalty. The death penalty has been taken off the
table.
Why? Because if this is premeditated, if this was planned, and that is what the state is alleging, what worse of a death is there to be strapped into
a car seat, so hot, so stifling hot, you are literally clawing at your own face, rocking back and forth to get out of that pressure cooker. If this is
premeditated, is there any other case that screams death penalty more than that?
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he discuss the issue of being afraid of children, his child dying in a car?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did he tell you about that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said it was a fear of his.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he explain further things did he about this fear that he had?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. He researched websites on this fear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: For people that believe this is an open and shut case, you`re very wrong. There is never a lock on a case. History teaches us that. Look at
O.J. Simpson. Look at Robert Blake. You can never predict what a jury is going to do.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I first looked at the cruelty charge, he argued it and said it was an accident.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: If one juror believes this was simple negligence. Whether you like the dad or dislike the dad. If this is a case of simple negligence, an
accident, accident is a complete defense. So, yes, there is a very good chance Justin Ross Harris will walk free.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did decide to charge him with murder. I brought him back to the interview room. We sat him down to explain the charge to him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you told him what he was being charged with, what language did he use when responded to you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He looked at me and said, but there was no malicious intent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Thank you for being with us for tonight`s special hot car death. Mistake or murder? Nancy Grace signing off. Good night, friend.
END
