Case 326: Cooper Harris

Casefile True Crime

Casefile Presents

True Crime, Society & Culture, History, Documentary

4.7 • 41.6K Ratings

🗓️ 23 August 2025

⏱️ 93 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

*** Content warnings: Child victim ***

When doting mother Leanna Harris arrived to pick up her 22-month-old son Cooper Harris from daycare in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 18 2014, she was shocked to find that Cooper wasn’t there. She soon discovered that her husband, Ross Harris, had made a fatal mistake, leaving Cooper to die in the backseat of his hot car after forgetting to drop him off on his way to work.

As details about Cooper’s death emerged, many questions arose. Was this another innocent family who had fallen victim to the phenomenon known as Forgotten Baby Syndrome, or was something more sinister at play?

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Narration – Anonymous Host

Research & writing – Elsha McGill

Creative direction – Milly Raso

Production & music – Mike Migas

Audio editing – Anthony Telfer

For all credits and sources, please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-326-cooper-harris

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need
0:19.5	support, please contact your local crisis centre.
0:23.3	For suggested phone numbers for confidential support and for a more detailed list of content
0:28.8	warnings, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website.
0:35.5	Today's episode involves crimes against children and won't be suitable for all listeners.
0:45.4	30-year-old Leanna Harris was nearing the end of her workday on Wednesday, June 18, 2014,
0:52.0	when at 3.16 p.m. she received a text message. It was from her husband,
0:58.0	33-year-old Justin Harris, who went by his middle name of Ross.
1:03.5	When are you getting my buddy? The message read.
1:08.0	Ross was referring to the couple's son, 22-month-old Cooper Harris, who needed to be picked up from daycare.
1:15.6	The couple typically took turns dropping Cooper off and picking him up depending on whose schedule
1:21.2	worked best at the time. Ross had dropped him off that morning as Leanna had an early start in her job as a dietitian.
1:30.4	It was agreed that Leanna would pick Cooper up because Ross had plans to go to the movies with
1:35.8	Franz after work to see the comedy action film 22 Jump Street.
1:41.9	Leanna clocked off at 4pm and made the one-hour drive to the Little Apron Academy in Vinnings, Georgia.
1:49.9	The childcare facility was custom built for employees at the Home Depot's Atlanta headquarters,
1:56.4	where Ross Harris worked as a web developer.
1:59.7	It was conveniently located just five and a half miles from
2:03.5	the Harris' home in the city of Marietta and right around the corner from Ross's work.
2:10.2	Cooper had been a regular attendee at the Little Apron Academy since he was about six weeks old,
2:15.4	where the staff had come to know the Harris family well.
2:20.5	Leanna had done the daycare run countless times, but when she entered the building on this occasion,
	...

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