Dad in Toddler's Car Death Can't Attend Funeral

The funeral for 22-month-old Cooper Harris takes place today, and dad Justin Ross Harris won't be allowed to leave prison to attend, reports NBC News. The 33-year-old left his son in a hot car in a case that police in Georgia's Cobb County say wasn't "simple negligence." As more fishy circumstances about the case have surfaced, supporters of Harris have taken down a Change.org petition demanding that police drop murder charges. Authorities say they will lay out the evidence against Harris in more detail eventually, and new details are scarce in the meantime because his family isn't talking to the media and Harris himself is refusing visitors in jail, reports CNN.

His employer, Home Depot, has placed him on unpaid leave as those who know him try to make sense of the murder charges. "I've known Ross for over 10 years and he is a selfless man who loved people and loved his family more," reads a typical post on that now-closed petition site. "NOTHING in his life even hints at this behavior." Prior to his job with the online side of Home Depot, Harris worked as a police dispatcher for three years in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, reports Al.com. He also had low-level jobs at his alma mater, the University of Alabama. (More Justin Ross Harris stories.)