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Tragic accident or murder in hot-car toddler death?

Eliott C. McLaughlin, (CNN) — What sounded like the most tragic of accidents — a dad absentmindedly leaving his toddler in the car on a scorching Ge...
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Justin Ross Harris mug shot

Eliott C. McLaughlin, (CNN) — What sounded like the most tragic of accidents — a dad absentmindedly leaving his toddler in the car on a scorching Georgia day — is now being treated by police as a horrific, and intentional, crime.

Two new details were added to a revised Cobb County criminal warrant Tuesday: Not only did Justin Ross Harris put his son in the car minutes before arriving at work on June 18, but he returned to his car hours later during his lunch break.

Harris placed his son, 22-month old Cooper, into a rear-facing child restraint in the backseat of his Hyundai Tucson after eating breakfast at a fast-food restaurant. He then drove to his workplace, a Home Depot corporate office about a half-mile away, according to the warrant.

The 33-year-old father returned to the car during his lunch break, opening the driver’s side door “to place an object into the vehicle,” the warrant states.

Later that afternoon, around 4:16, Harris left his workplace near Vinings, outside Atlanta. Within minutes, he pulled into a shopping center asking for assistance with the toddler, who had been in the car for about seven hours at that point, the warrant says.

The average temperature was about 80 degrees that day, but the mercury topped 92 at the hottest point in the day. Police say the temperature was 88 degrees when the child was pronounced dead at the scene.

At first, it seemed like a mistake. Witness Dale Hamilton told CNN affiliate WSB-TV that an emotional Harris pulled into the shopping center after purportedly realizing he had forgotten to drop Cooper off at day care at 8:30 a.m. The day care is reportedly located at the Home Depot office where Harris works.

“Laid his son on the ground, started doing CPR trying to resuscitate him. Apparently the child wasn’t responding,” Hamilton told the station.

Police saw a crowd, and when officers began to investigate, they saw the child on the ground. Once it became clear that Cooper was dead, Harris had to be physically restrained, police said.

“There were a number of witnesses — passers-by in the area who observed basically the father in a very distressed moment,” said Sgt. Dana Pierce of the Cobb County police.

Added Hamilton, “He kept saying, ‘What have I done? What have I done?’ And that’s all that I could ascertain that he was saying.”

Police seemed sympathetic at first, and Pierce told media that Harris apparently forgot the child was in the back of the vehicle while he was at work.

When Harris was charged with felony murder and child cruelty, there was vigorous debate over whether the heartbroken father should be punished. Surely, he had suffered enough, many thought.

Erin Krans of Marietta started a change.org petition asking Cobb District Attorney Vic Reynolds to drop the charges. It garnered hundreds of signatures.

“This could happen to anyone. Anyone. Charging a grieving father is abusive,” wrote Susannah Waldron of Universal City, Texas.

Another signatory, Molly Greenwood of Centerville, Ohio, wrote, “I think the accident alone is enough punishment for the man. I cannot imagine.”

But the story of the hapless father making an innocent mistake quickly changed as police released more details.

“Within moments of the first responders getting to the scene and doing their job and questions began to be asked about the moments that led up to their arrival at the scene, some of those answers were not making sense to the first responders,” Pierce said last week.

“I’ve been in law enforcement for 34 years. What I know about this case shocks my conscience as a police officer, a father and a grandfather.”

According to an obituary on legacy.com, Cooper “was a happy baby. He loved to speak with anyone and made impacts on many people’s lives in his short time.”

The toddler loved cars and trucks and would tell them goodbye as he left parking lots, the obituary said, adding that he had just learned the color red.

“As we passed red vehicles he would tell his mommy and his daddy, ‘Bye red car, bye red truck.’ He was a joy and will always be cherished,” it said.

Last week, Harris pleaded not guilty to felony murder and child cruelty charges. He’s being held without bond at the Cobb County Jail and is scheduled to appear before a county judge July 3.

Cooper’s mother, Leanna Harris, told CNN last week that she’s been advised not to discuss the case with the media.

“We have been in communication with the mother throughout the investigation. At this time, I’m not at liberty to discuss her involvement. That’s a part of the case our detectives are working on,” Pierce said.

Cobb County Medical Operations Manager Mike Gerhard confirmed that the autopsy of the child is complete, but the boy’s manner of death has not been released.

Repeated calls to the father’s attorney have not been returned, and a woman answering the phone at H. Maddox Kilgore’s office said the lawyer would not be commenting at this time.

Home Depot said through spokeswoman Catherine Woodling that, per company policy, Harris is on a leave of absence without pay.

“It is not appropriate to comment on any new developments in this active investigation. Like the rest of our community, we’re deeply saddened by this tragic event and we continue to cooperate with authorities on their ongoing investigation,” she said in an e-mail.

Cooper Harris’ funeral will be Saturday at the University Church of Christ in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The service is open to the public.

CNN's Victor Blackwell, Devon M. Sayers, MaryLynn Ryan and Joe Sterling contributed to this report.

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