Sexting dad who left son in car could face death penalty

A US father could face the death penalty after allegedly leaving his toddler son in a hot car for seven hours to die while he sexted teenagers.

Ross Harris, from Georgia, has been indicted with the murder of his 22-month-old son Cooper, the New York Daily News reports.

Harris, 33, initially told police his son’s death was a terrible accident and that he had forgotten he was in the backseat.

But police arrested the father the same night on June 18, saying his story did not ring true.

Harris is now facing eight charges relating to Cooper’s death including malice murder, felony murder and cruelty to children.

The father told police he planned to drop his son off at his childcare centre but after the pair had eaten breakfast he forgot he was in the car and went to work instead.

He said he found the boy seven hours later, but police allege the timing does not add up.

A police detective testified in July that Harris sexted several women, including teenagers, while he was at work that day.

Harris made online searches before Cooper’s death about how long an animal would take to die in an overheated car.

The father said he made the searches because leaving Cooper in a hot car was his biggest fear.

Source: New York Daily News