Testimony heats up as defense attorney grills lead detective

GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. — The defense began its cross-examination of the lead detective in the Ross Harris hot car death trial Tuesday.

• Lead detective Phil Stoddard continued his testimony
• Stoddard said Harris had several chats about leading a double life and wanting to be single
• Defense began its cross-examination
• Stoddard said there was no history of neglect or abuse
• Defense grilled Stoddard over statements he made in prior hearings
• Stoddard admitted some statements were inaccurate because of new information they've received

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

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.

The prosecution finished their questioning with a look at a few more chats Harris sent to women about leading a double life and wanting to be single. Stoddard said all the chat applications on Harris phone were hidden inside a folder titled “Weather.” %

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“My bad side wants to be single sometimes,” Harris wrote to one woman. “I do live another life,” he said to another.

Defense attorney Maddox Kilgore then took the reins.

He began by questioning Stoddard about the relationship between Harris and Cooper.

Stoddard said during his more than two year investigation he never found anyone who said Harris hated or resented his child

"You learned from speaking to them that Ross was a loving and caring father?" Kilgore asked. "That was the general opinion, yes," Stoddard said.

He also, when pressed, said there were no reports of abuse or neglect.

"You never found anything like that before his death?" Kilgore asked. "You mean besides his death?" Stoddard responded. "You know what I'm asking about," Kilgore said. "No I don't," Stoddard replied.

Kilgore said Harris was planning a cruise for his family, arguing that that's inconsistent with a man who was planning to murder his son.

"You would agree that, objectively, that if he was planning a cruise in the future with his son, that would be inconsistent with a plan to murder the boy the next day?" Kilgore asked. The prosecution objected to that question and Stoddard never gave a direct answer.

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Stoddard said Harris lived double life

Kilgore talked about how much Harris loved his son, showing a picture of Cooper sleeping that Harris had taken just days before Cooper’s death. But Stoddard said that photo is evidence of his double life. He said next to that photo of Cooper in his photo gallery was an inappropriate photo of Harris’ private parts. %

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The defense said that’s evidence in itself. Kilgore said Harris had thousands of inappropriate photos and chats on his phone, but didn’t delete any of them on the day his son died. Kilgore insinuated that if Harris had known police would have his phone, he would have deleted those things.

When asked about Harris' attitude on the scene, Stoddard said he believes Harris faked his outburst in the patrol car. He said if he had seen Harris’ tears or nose running he would have been more likely to believe that Harris was sincere.

Defense grills detective about prior testimony

The defense spent much of the afternoon grilling Stoddard about statements he made during previous hearings.

Kilgore insinuated that Stoddard lied or exaggerated several statements, causing public uproar and bringing more attention to the case.

Stoddard admitted some of what he'd said earlier, including statements about Harris researching hot car deaths, wasn't true because new information has since come out.

Kilgore said that is that's the case, Stoddard should have made a report and corrected it as soon as he determined something was incorrect.

On Thursday, the jury is expected to view Harris' car, where Cooper died.

Harris told Judge Mary Staley that he does not want to be present when that happens.

The defense argued about the decision to show jurors the car with the car seat inside. They said if jurors see it with the car seat, they will likely substitute their view for what Harris saw that day, which Kilgore argued is not accurate or fair.

Judge Mary Staley ruled against him, saying the car seat will be allowed. She also ruled that Stoddard will be allowed to be there during the viewing, but is not allowed to say anything.

They will agree on a location to view the car, which has been brought to Glynn County, on Wednesday.

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.

Cox Media Group