Dad in Hot Car Death Indicted, Could Face Death Penalty

Justin Ross Harris, the Georgia man accused of murder after fatally leaving his son in a hot car, has been indicted by a grand jury on eight counts, including malice murder, CNN reports. The other charges include two counts of felony murder and multiple counts of cruelty to children, and they carry a possible death sentence, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Cooper Harris, 22 months, died June 18 after spending seven hours inside an SUV in the parking lot of his father's office.

These charges supersede Harris' previous charges; he had pleaded not guilty to murder and child cruelty in mid-June after he was arrested in his son's death. Prosecutors say Harris messaged six women other than his wife, some of them explicitly, while at work the day his son died—one of the texts, allegedly sent to an underage female, included a picture of an erect penis. Prosecutors have used that to describe what they see as Harris' motivation, saying he wanted a childless life, but Harris says he simply forgot Cooper was in the car. (More Justin Ross Harris stories.)