The Georgia dad charged with murder for leaving his 22-month-old son in a hot car to die will not be allowed to attend the boy's funeral Saturday. Cobb County officials say jail policy dictates that Justin Ross Harris must be kept locked up without bond while the rest of his family gathers in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to mourn Cooper. The tot died of hyperthermia in a parked SUV while his father was at work at The Home Depot.
After police announced that the evidence will show the boy's death was not "simple negligence," the anonymous sponsor of a Change.org petition that collected 11,000 signatures in support of Harris shut it down. "I think that based on the recent developments this petition is no longer relevant. I still pray that this was truly an accident," a note on the petition reads. An online fundraiser collected more than $22,000 for the family but donations dwindled as police insisted the felony murder charge is warranted.
IN-DEPTH
- Top Cop Says Death of Kid in Hot Car Was Not Negligence
- Is Leaving Your Child in a Hot Car Murder?
- 13 Children Died in Hot Cars This Year
