Page 4 - Why Ross News Today

Kill their toddler, but the prosecution presented a case pointing to his guilt. what will the jury decide? here with the conclusion of the story is andrea kade. >> ross harris whose ex-wife said he never met a stranger was about to have a future decided by the 12 of them. how were you feeling when the jury went out to deliberate? >> ying there was any chance of them coming back with guilty on anything that had to do with cooper. >> reporter: ross cousin katie saw nothing to sway ross innocence. ...

Time to deliberate the charges. not only multiple counts of child cruelty and murder, but ross also faced charges in exchanging sexually explicit photos with a minor. one day passed, then two. then on the fourth day, word came, a verdict. >> we, the jury, find the defendant guilty. >> guilty on all counts. >> im sure you will never forget that moment. >> its ludicrous. its insanity. >> what would you say to the jury? >> im disappointed. i dont feel like they did their job. >> we wanted to know h...

Sexual contacts he had made outside his marriage. a parade of women too the stand. a woman ross said he was in love with, another woman he met at his home. >> we had sex. >> and a prostitute. >> did you actually engage in sexual acts with him back in may. >> yes, on three different occasions. >> this is one of the six women ross was communicating with on the day he says he for got about cooper. >> and within 17 seconds of your messages did he respond? >> he did. >> did you have to consider the f...

Jury why she asked ross that question that made investigators so suspicious. >> did you say too much? >> i couldnt understand what was happening. i didnt understand why he was being charged, and the only thing that i could think in my head was what -- what did you say. and so those words came out. >> as for that prosecution theory that ross had wanted to escape his family for his secret life, leanna said it wasnt true. she had known for years that ross had a problem. >> i came home from work one...

Harris meant to kill his son. the prosecution says the jury got it completely right. but hearing the word guilty was no cause for celebration. >> what i want to hear most is, we can bring cooper back. you cant get that from it. >> three weeks later, a judge sentenced ross harris to life in prison. >> the sentence of the court is life to serve in confinement without parole. >> his defense team has already filed an appeal, arguing among other things that the judge never should have allowed all tha...

Stand for ross, it is her. >> right. >> but yet she did. >> because she believes 100% that it was not intentional. >> so there she was in court, not condemning ross but defending him. >> tell me a little bit about cooper. >> cooper was the sweetest little boy. he had so much life in him. he was everything to me. >> and everything to ross too, she testified, as the jury watched family videos of father and son. >> what are we looking at there? >> thats them in our bed, and they would just -- thats...

Bravado and of the state and the charges, we felt extremely confident that house of cards was going to collapse in trial. >> in october 2016, more than two years after the death of his son, ross harris went on trial for murder. >> death. deception. and a double life. >> chuck boring, the lead prosecutor, told the jury why rosss story had never added up. that chick-fil-a video showed cooper wide away. that drive was too short to forget a toddler. the car seat was just inches behind ross. and at r...

>> nothing further, judge. coming up -- >> ross harris is an innocent man. >> the jury has its verdict. when "dateline" continues. pampers is the first and only diaper

That it was not intentional. >> reporter: so there she was in court, not condemning ross, but defending him. >> tell these folks a little about cooper. >> cooper was the sweetest little boy. he had so much life in him. he was everything to me. >> reporter: and everything to ross, too, she testified, as the jury watched family videos of father and son. >> what are we looking at there, leanna? >> thats just them in the bed. and they would just -- thats kind of a little game they would play. >> rep...

Because she knew ross so well. he could be forgetful. and when she saw the video of him with police, she recognized that ross, too. >> this morning we woke up -- >> reporter: the overly-social guy just chatting away. >> he just would talk to everybody, very outgoing, very vocal. he didnt -- he never met a stranger. >> reporter: but leanna also told the jury how ross looked when she first saw him at the police station. she says he was in terrible pain. >> it was very difficult to see him like tha...