Wife in Georgia hot car death case has attorney

Published 10:00 am Friday, July 11, 2014

ATLANTA — The wife of a Georgia man facing charges after their son was left in a hot car and died has retained a criminal defense attorney for herself.

Atlanta attorney Lawrence Zimmerman said he now represents Leanna Harris.

Her husband, Justin Ross Harris, faces murder and child cruelty charges in the June 18 death of their son, 22-month-old Cooper Harris. The father told Cobb County police he left the boy in the SUV for about seven hours after forgetting to drop him off at day care and going to work.

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Leanna Harris has not been charged with any crimes in the death. Asked about his role in the case Friday, Zimmerman told The Associated Press he could not comment further.

“We practice only criminal defense which means that our clients are represented by criminal defense specialists, not a general practice lawyer,” Zimmerman’s website states.

Meanwhile, the online payment site PayPal says it will give refunds to people who donated to a now-defunct fundraising campaign for the family.