Married dad 'left toddler to die in hot car while sexting six other women'

A MARRIED dad accused of killing his son sent a message to a woman saying “I love my son and all but we both need escapes” just hours before the toddler was found dead in a hot car, a court heard.

Justin Ross Harris was charged with murder after he left 22-month-old Cooper in a car for seven hours in June 2014.

Self-confessed “sex addict” Harris, from Georgia, planned his son's death to help further his ability to have extramarital affairs, the prosecutor said.

Justin Harris was allegedly sexting six other women on the day his son died Reuters

Harris was allegedly sexting six different women the day his son died and exchanged explicit pictures with at least one.

According to prosecutor Phil Stoddard, one of the women asked Harris if he had a conscience, to which he responded “nope”.

The 34-year-old’s lawyer argued his online affairs had nothing to do with the tot’s death and sought to have his sexting charges separated from the murder case.

This was rejected by the judge, who found Harris’ texts and emails could help prosecutors establish motive and his state of mind before the death.

The dad is on trial for murder in Georgia AP

Harris’ “escape” message was sent to a woman who posted online saying she hated having children. He also said he missed “having time to myself and going out with my friends”, the court heard.

Prosecutors also testified he regularly visited Reddit threads in the run up to Cooper’s death, including “people who die”, which showed videos of deaths, and a forum called “Childfree”.

The dad argues he forgot to drop his son off at nursery on his way to work and discovered the child after he left the office that afternoon.

The trial continues.