ATLANTA — The judge overseeing the trial of a Georgia man accused of intentionally leaving his son in a hot SUV to die heard on Monday from about a dozen potential jurors who said they had scheduling conflicts. Two were excused.
Justin Ross Harris, 35, faces charges including murder in the June 18, 2014, death of his 22-month-old son, Cooper. Police have said the boy died after spending about seven hours in the SUV on a day when the temperature in the Atlanta area reached at least into the high 80s.
Prosecutors have painted Harris as a man unhappy and unfaithful in his marriage who sought an escape and intentionally left the boy to die. Defense attorneys have called the boy’s death a tragic mistake that Harris will have to deal with for the rest of his life.
Harris is a native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and moved to Georgia in 2012 to work for Home Depot.
He was indicted in September 2014 on multiple charges, including malice murder, felony murder and cruelty to children. That indictment also includes charges related to sexually explicit exchanges prosecutors say Harris had with an underage girl.