Criminal Defense: Fatal hot car case leads to criminal charges

Criminal defense: In the summer months, there are often many tragic deaths that are reported after parents forget their children in hot cars. This may be true for one case in which a 22-month-old boy was recently discovered by his father, Ross Harris, in a hot car after being left there for several hours. The Georgia father claims that he forgot his son in the car when he went to work and now, he is facing state criminal charges for murder.

A probable cause hearing is expected to be held for prosecutors to state their reasons to charge him with murder. According to reports, the man was supposed to drop his son off at a childcare center, but he forgot and went to work. When he arrived at his place of employment, he went about his usual day, but failed to remember that his infant was in the car where he remained for hours. Prosecutors stated that the man went out to his vehicle around lunch time, where he placed an unknown object, and then left the boy in the vehicle.

Later on, the man drove home from work, and then pulled over at a shopping plaza where he was reportedly observed to be distraught. The boy’s cause of death was from overheating and hyperthermia. In addition, authorities reportedly discovered that the man, along with his wife, previously searched the internet for child heatstroke. Since the formal charges were made, the man has pleaded not guilty and the wife was not charged.

Authorities view this case as being suspicious and not just a simple mistake made on part of the father. Supporters of the father have reached out and believe that this was a tragic, but accidental mistake. In regard to his state criminal charges, Georgia prosecutors will need to prove that the defendant intentionally left his son in the car to die. The burden of proof remains with the government, and the man has the right to vigorously fight the charges with the help of a criminal defense attorney if he so chooses.

Source: ABC News, “Authorities to Justify Murder Charge in Georgia Boy’s Hot SUV Death“, , July 3, 2014

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