Harris told detectives leaving his son in his car was '(his) worst fear'

GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. — Jurors watched some of the most compelling evidence of the Ross Harris hot car death trial Friday when prosecutors played two videos from inside the interrogation room the day Cooper Harris died.

• A minor testified about her sexting relationship with Harris
• She told jurors Harris knew how old she was and they never met in person
• The lead detective took the stand
• Jurors watched two videos from the interrogation room
• Harris said leaving his son in his car was "(his) worst fear"

Harris is accused of killing his 22-month-old son, Cooper, by intentionally leaving him inside a hot car for nearly seven hours in June 2014. Harris is facing eight charges, including malice murder.

Lead detective testifies

The lead detective in the case took the stand Friday.

Cobb County detective Phil Stoddard’s testimony is extremely important to both the prosecution and the defense, and is expected to be lengthy. %

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Stoddard testified that when he first arrived on scene on June 18, 2014, Harris was already handcuffed in the patrol car.

He briefly spoke with Harris before another officer took Harris to Cobb County police headquarters.

Channel 2’s Ross Cavitt and Carl Willis are in Brunswick, where the trial is being held. They will have updates from inside the courtroom on Channel 2 Action News.

Stoddard arrived later and began to interview him.

Friday afternoon, prosecutors watched an hour and a half long video of Harris in the interrogation room.

Police and prosecutors have said Harris' actions and words after his son's death points to his guilt.

Early in the video, before detectives arrive, Harris cries hysterically as he paces the room.

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He calms down as detectives enter the room and begin questioning him about what happened. Police have said they think he was too calm.

Harris walked them through the morning, telling them he took Cooper to Chick-fil-A and then strapped him in his car seat. %

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"I gave him a kiss. He gave me a kiss. It's what I do every time. It's my routine. I let him know I love him, I give him a kiss and I do that because if for some reason, God forbid, we're in an accident and I died, I would hope he'd have a memory of me telling him every time, the last time he sees me that I love him and giving him a kiss.

"And just today I was careless. I got in my car and instead of going from here to here I went straight to work," Harris told detectives. "I went to work as if he wasn't even in the back and I probably didn't even hear him because he falls asleep real easily when you drive the car."

Harris then described leaving work and the moment he saw Cooper.

"As I was driving down Akers Mill I caught a glimpse of him. When I looked to my right to change lanes I caught a glimpse of him in the back and I thought I was seeing things. And then I saw him and then I lost it," Harris said. "I pulled in. I pulled him out, and then I for a few minutes, for I guess what seemed an eternity, for just a few seconds, I attempted CPR. I couldn't compose myself to do it."

Harris said he knew right away that Cooper was gone.

"I just saw him laying there and he had that stare on his face. I knew he was gone," Harris said.

Harris admitted cursing at an officer on the scene, saying he was losing his mind with his son lying dead nearby.

As he went through the events of the day, he did not tell them he had returned to his SUV during lunch when Cooper was still strapped in his car seat. He also said he never got anyone on the phone while at the Akers Mill scene, although prosecutors have alluded otherwise.

His matter-of-fact description of what happened will be a central point of debate.

"I knew that I had done what every parent in their life fears they've done and that's just leaving their son in the car on a hot day," Harris told detectives.

Harris was then left alone again in the interrogation room. He paced and breathed heavily as he waited for detectives to return.

During the second round of questioning, Harris told detectives that he recently saw a news report about a father who had left his child in a hot car. He also says he just watched a video made by a veterinarian about how hot it gets for a dog left inside a car.

"My worst fear for me is to leave my son in a hot car," Harris said.

When detectives told Harris he was going to be put into a cell and charged, Harris asked why they were charging him and with what.

"Right now, cruelty to child," Stoddard told Harris.

Harris responded by saying, "It was completely unintentionally," and telling detectives he had no history of child abuse or criminal record. "I'm a great father," he said.

Stoddard told him he was charged because his actions caused the death of his son. Harris continued to argue with Stoddard saying, "I didn't do it on purpose."

Legal analyst Esther Panitch says she believes the interview may have done Harris more harm than good.

"It essentially undoes all the efforts that the defense has made thus far. Ross Harris, in my opinion, appears to be rehearsed," Panitch said. "His ability to give details about other issues that they were asking about really go against somebody who is really caught by surprise because they were so distracted."

The second video played for jurors Friday showed the first interaction between Ross Harris and his wife, Leanna, at police headquarters.

Upon entering the room, Harris cried hysterically on her shoulder, apologizing over and over again and saying he didn't do it on purpose.

"I know you didn't ... I do not hate you. I love you," Leanna Harris told him.

Ross Harris cried in the courtroom as he watched the video play. %

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"He wasn't making a sound. I think he fell asleep," Harris told his wife about leaving his son in the car.

He then said when he pulled Cooper out of the car and realized he was dead that, "He looked so peaceful."

Ross Harris cried continuously during the 42 minute video while Leanna Harris remained calm and collected.

"It hurts so bad. It hurts to my core. It's my fault. It's my fault," Harris told her. "I'm sorry I put you through this."

After Harris said they should probably get him a lawyer, Leanna Harris asked him, "Did you say too much?"

At one point, Leanna Harris asked Ross Harris if he thinks they'll have more kids. %

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"Of course. I want to have more kids. I don't want just because we lost one child to mean we can't have any more. I want more kids. I want a family. We had a family. Even though he's gone, we still have a family. He's still our little boy," Harris said.

Leanna then told her husband, "You've got to start trying to forgive yourself."

When Stoddard reentered the room, Leanna asked him if Ross had to be charged with a crime.

"By his actions your son is dead. I have to charge him with that," Stoddard replied.

Stoddard will return to the stand when the trial resumes at 8:30 a.m. Monday.

Jurors also heard from a minor Friday morning, who said she was sexting with Ross Harris the day his son died. The audio and video for her testimony was not shown to the public because of her age.

Along with the murder charges, Harris is also charged with sending graphic, sexual text messages and photos of his penis to a girl for a period of several months when she was 16 and 17.

That young woman, now 19, told the jury Friday she met Harris online in the fall of 2013 when he responded to a comment she posted on the app Whisper stating she wanted a sexual relationship like the one depicted in the erotic novel "50 Shades of Gray."

"When it started, it was strictly sexual," the witness said of her relationship with Harris. "Then at times it would be like a normal conversation."

They never met in person, but Harris knew her age and that she was in high school, the young woman testified. She sent him one of her prom photos, she said, and would tell him about her efforts to choose a college.

According to a transcript of their text messages that the young woman read in court, one time Harris asked for a photo of her breasts and she replied: "I'm at school."

They also discussed sex acts they wanted to perform with each other, and Harris would send the girl photos of his penis. A prosecutor showed four photos to the jury in court. She said he asked her to send him photos of her genitals "countless" times, but she never did.

"There wasn't any pressure applied to you to participate in this, is that fair to say?" defense attorney Maddox Kilgore asked the young woman. "Yes," she replied.

Prosecutor Chuck Boring noted that under Georgia law, the girl's consent was irrelevant because she was a minor.

The day Cooper died, Harris was texting the teenage girl from his workplace, according to transcripts read in court Friday.

At about 2 p.m. that day, he asked for a photo of her breasts.

"I'm super sunburned," the witness read from the transcript in court, saying she sent a photo regardless. Harris' reply: "Yummy."

The young woman said Harris would sometimes send her photographs of himself that weren't sexual. At least twice, he also showed her photos that included Cooper. She said he would sometimes brag about his son and how smart the boy was.

"He would never do anything to hurt his baby?" Kilgore asked. "No, definitely not," the young woman replied.

You can watch the entire trial LIVE on WSBTV.com/Ross-Harris-Trial. We will have minute-by-minute coverage as well as a daily summary from the courtroom each day. Like Ross Harris Updates on Facebook and follow @RossHarrisTrial on Twitter for updates throughout the trial.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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