Defense: Georgia hot car death is dad's fault, but no crime

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia man charged with killing his toddler son wept in court today as his attorney told a jury the child's death two years ago inside a hot SUV is certainly the father's fault, but he committed no crime.

Justin Ross Harris was charged with malice murder and other crimes after his 22-month-old son, Cooper, perished in June 2014. Authorities say the boy was left for seven hours in his father's vehicle parked outside the Home Depot office where Harris worked in the Atlanta suburbs.

Maddox Kilgore, Harris' lead defense attorney, told jurors during the second day of the trial that Harris forgot his son was in the back seat because of a simple change in routine – he took the boy with him to breakfast that morning, though he usually dropped Cooper off at daycare before eating.

"Ross Harris is responsible for his child's death. It's his fault, no doubt about it," Kilgore told the jury in his opening statement. "What you're going to see here at this trial is that being responsible is not the same thing as being a criminal."

Prosecutors say Harris actually plotted to kill his son, hoping to escape his family responsibilities to focus on sexual liaisons he was having with prostitutes and women he met online. Harris is also charged with sending sexually explicit text messages and photos to an underage teenage girl.