Wife of Man Charged in Son’s 'Hot Car' Death Passed Polygraph, Sources Tell ABC
The wife of the man charged in his son’s hot car death passed a polygraph.
— -- Leanna Harris, the wife of the Georgia man indicted after his toddler son died in a hot car this summer, has passed a lie detector test, sources have told ABC News.
Justin Ross Harris is accused of leaving his 22-month-old son, Cooper, in his vehicle on June 18 "with malice aforethought" and causing the boy "cruel and excessive physical pain," according to an indictment earlier this month.
Officials have said Harris wanted to live a child-free life. Harris has pleaded not guilty.
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Cooper’s mother, Leanna Harris, has not been charged in her son's death, and in an interview that aired on “Good Morning America” today, her friend, Angie Bond, came to her defense, saying she had nothing to hide.
“She had absolutely nothing to do with the accident at all,” Bond told ABC News’ Amy Robach.
When Robach asked Bond what she wanted people to know about Leanna Harris, she replied: "That she loves her little boy desperately, and she misses her little boy desperately. And that will never change. That she stands by her husband."
Although Leanna Harris had not been charged, her behavior had been questioned by authorities. A detective has testified in court that she displayed no reaction when she was notified that her son had died. The detective also testified that employees at the day care center said that when Leanna Harris went to pick up her son and was told her husband hadn't dropped Cooper off that morning, she said her husband “must have left him in the car.”
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The officer also said he overheard a phone call between Leanna Harris and her distraught mother in which the mother asked her daughter why she wasn’t crying. Her daughter replied: “I must be in shock.”
Leanna Harris has been present at her husband’s court appearances and has described him as a loving father who wouldn’t knowingly hurt their son.
Bond agreed that Justin Ross Harris was devoted to his son.
“He absolutely adored Cooper,” Bond said. “He was a very hands-on father -- always playing with him.”
Speculation ran rampant over reports that Leanna had asked her husband after his arrest: “Did you say too much?”
Bond says there’s an easy explanation for that.
“Knowing Ross it was, in my mind, all it was she was just saying, ‘Did you run your mouth? Did you make yourself look guilty? Did you talk so much that you made yourself look guilty?’ Because he is most definitely a talker,” Bond said.
Harris was indicted earlier this month on charges accusing him of deliberately leaving Cooper in a hot car that was parked outside of the Home Depot where he worked. Cooper spent nearly seven hours in the car on the 90-degree day and died there, all while his father was at work and sexting multiple women, police allege.
The last few months have been hard on the Harris’ marriage, Bond said.
“It's been difficult. It's been rocky,” Bond said “But through it all, they always wanted to work through things … .”
Bond also said her friend has never expressed doubt about her husband’s actions or anger over what happened.
“Not doubt. And not anger over the accident,” Bond said, adding: “She knows how much Ross loves Cooper.”
Police have said that just days before his son’s death, Justin Ross Harris watched videos warning of the dangers of leaving children inside hot cars.
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