The wife of the Atlanta-area dad charged with killing their toddler son by locking him in a sweltering SUV has filed for divorce.
Declaring their marriage "irretrievably broken," Leanna Harris submitted the paperwork to sever her nearly 10 year marriage to Justin Ross Harris on Wednesday in Cobb County Superior Court in Marietta, Georgia, according to records obtained by NBC News.
"Leanna has made the decision to file for divorce," her lawyer, Lawrence Zimmerman, said. "This is a private matter and I won't go into any other details at this time."
Harris is asking for their 2012 Toyota Camry and attorney fees if her husband contests the divorce, according to the papers.
Justin Ross Harris is behind bars and his trial is scheduled to start on April 11.
The couple married on May 27, 2006. But they have been apart since June 18, 2014 — the day their 22-month-old son Cooper was found dead and his dad was arrested.
Prosecutors contend that Justin Ross Harris was having marital problems and left his son in a hot Hyundai Tucson on purpose for 7 hours because he wanted to be rid of the boy. That day temperatures topped 92 degrees and investigators testified it was more than 100 degrees in the car.
They said he was sexting with other women, including a 17-year-old, while his son was dying.
The accused dad claims he drove to work and didn't realize his son was strapped in the back into a car seat. His lawyer, Maddox Kilgore, said the lewd texting is not evidence of alleged wanton disregard for his son.
Harris’ actions after the tragedy come under increased scrutiny after a detective testified during her husband’s bail hearing that she appeared unfazed when she learned Cooper was dead. Both she and her husband have admitted to researching hot car deaths online, according to warrants.
But Harris has not been charged with a crime.
