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Social media, alleged prostitute at center of final hearing before Ross Harris trial

By Ross Cavitt
By Ross Cavitt

GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. — Lawyers addressed a few more items before the murder trial for Ross Harris begins in a few weeks.

Harris is accused of leaving his 2-year-old son, Cooper, in a hot SUV in 2014.

The juror pool was filled Wednesday when a total of 45 jurors were qualified.

Jury selection highlights:

  • It took the court eight days to fill the jury pool.
  • Potential jurors expressed knowledge of the case, but overall feelings in Glynn County were not as strong as they were in Cobb County.
  • The pool of 45 jurors will return Oct. 3 for final selection followed by opening statements.

Juror forgets about post in Ross Harris Facebook group

One of the jurors was called back Thursday because of a post she made in a “Justin Ross Harris Trial Watch” group on Facebook a while back.

Prosecutors wanted her kicked out of the pool, but the defense wanted to keep her.

Channel 2's Ross Cavitt said Harris stood up at one point and said he wanted the juror to stay because she made some comments about how she was initially horrified by the crime, but then admitted that she didn't know all of the facts.

The juror said she had forgotten about the post and thought she had left the group.

The judge decided to keep her in the pool.

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Alleged prostitute brought into the conversation

Prosecutors want jurors to hear about Harris hooking up with an alleged prostitute prior to his son’s death.

The hook up goes along with the prosecution’s theory that Harris was unhappy with his life and wife and wanted to start a new life without the burdens of being a parent.

Harris’ lawyers said detectives pressured the alleged prostitute to ID their client.

“When they confronted her, they gave her an ultimatum that she could either go to jail or she could cooperate,” defense attorney Maddox Kilgore said.

The defense said she didn’t identify Harris directly.

“She was not able to give any sort of identifying information other than skin color and fat and dumpy,” Kilgore said.

The judge said they will have to argue more on that next month.

Last-minute arrangements

The prosecution asked the judge if they could show a 3D recreation video to the jurors during the trial, and the judge said she will allow it.

The defense team wants to tour the courtroom that the trial will take place in.

This was the final hearing before the trial begins Oct. 3.

The jury will be selected from the pool that day and then the court will move forward with opening statements.

Cox Media Group

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