[Bolduan:] Welcome back to a special hurricane edition of nude day. We're going to have much more of our special coverage on hurricane Arthur coming up in just a moment. But we also want to take you to another big story this morning. Shocking new details revealed at a court hearing in Georgia. Prosecutors laying out the beginnings of their case against Justin Ross Harris. He is the father accused of murder after leaving his toddler son in a hot car for some seven hours. As CNN's Victor Blackwell explains, the evidence was powerful and the story it tells, disturbing.
[Victor Blackwell, Cnn Correspondent:] What was Justin Ross Harris allegedly doing while his 22-month-old son, Cooper, suffered in the back of his scorching SUV?
[Detective Phil Stoddard, Cobb County Police Dept:] He was having up to six conversations with different women. The most common term would be sexting.
[Blackwell:] Stunning claims of raunchy text messages, suspicious Internet searches and a plan to kill his son.
[Stoddard:] Evidence has shown us right now that he's got this whole second life that he's living with alternate personalities and alternate personas.
[Blackwell:] Harris shackled and sullen, as detective Phil Stoddard with the Cobb County Police Department detailed X-rated messages allegedly exchanged the day Cooper died, including with a then 16- year-old girl.
[Unidentified Male:] Were photos being sent back and forth between these women and the defendant during this day while the child was out in the car?
[Stoddard:] Yes, there were photos of his exposed penis, erect penis, being sent. There were also photos of women's breasts being sent back to him.
[Blackwell:] No visible reaction from the 33-year-old's wife Leanna Harris, who sat with her family and supporters in the packed courtroom.
[Unidentified Male:] He was a loving father. He loved his son very much. We went on family vacations together. He was a good dad.
[Blackwell:] But just five days before Cooper's death, Internet searches revealed that Harris watched videos online about the dangers of being trapped in a hot car and that Harris visited a web forum devoted to the child-free lifestyle.
[Unidentified Male:] So, there's no you don't have any evidence that he actually typed in a Google search or Reddit search or anything for child free?
[Stoddard:] True.
[Unidentified Male:] We are getting so far afield from the events of June 18th. This has got nothing to do with those events whatsoever. The status of his marriage and his fantasy life has got nothing to do with the events of June 18th. We're just getting so far afield, Judge. This isn't relevant to anything. Judge, this goes to the state of mind to the two weeks leading up to the death of this child.
[Judge:] So, this occurred within two weeks?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes, Your Honor.
[Judge:] Overruled the objection.
[Blackwell:] The detective also testified the couple had financial problems and took out life insurance policies on Cooper.
[Stoddard:] They had two policies on Cooper. The first policy is a $2,000 policy, through the Home Depot.
[Unidentified Male:] The second one, was this something that they got back in 2013?
[Stoddard:] Yes. Well, yes, November 2012 is when he signed up for it.
[Unidentified Male:] OK. And was this something that he still had at the time of the child's death?
[Stoddard:] That is correct.
[Unidentified Male:] And how much was the policy?
[Stoddard:] It's $25,000 policy.
[Blackwell:] Stoddard laid out the strange way he saw Harris reacting the day Cooper died.
[Stoddard:] He started off trying to work himself up. And we're watching him on the cameras he's doing this. And he's walking around, and he's rubbing his eyes, and he's you know, trying to look like he's trying to hyperventilate himself. No tears, no real emotion coming out except for you know, the huffing.
[Unidentified Male:] And through the time you are talking with him about his son and his son's death, did you ever see any tears coming from him?
[Stoddard:] No.
[Blackwell:] Even more bizarre, how witnesses say Leanna Harris reacted at the day care when she was told that Cooper was never dropped off.
[Stoddard:] And in front of several witnesses, all of a sudden, she states, Ross must have left him in the car. And, they are like, what? There's no other reason. Ross must have no other explanation, excuse me, Ross must have left him in the car. And they tried to console her. They're like, no, there are 1,000 reasons. You know, he could have taken him to lunch or something. We don't know yet. And she's like, no.
[Blackwell:] Then, another shocker.
[Unidentified Male:] Were there any injuries to the child's face?
[Stoddard:] There were.
[Unidentified Male:] And what were those?
[Stoddard:] The way it's explained, there were several marks on the child's face that would have come from the child or a scratch being made while the child was alive and then not healing, not scabbing over or anything like that just soon after he passed away.
[Unidentified Male:] Were there any injuries to the child back of the child's head?
[Stoddard:] Yes, there were abrasions to the back of the child's head.
[Blackwell:] After three hours of stunning testimony, Judge Frank Cox denied Harris bond. The defense maintaining.
[Unidentified Male:] It's not criminal negligence. It's a horrible tragedy and accident.
[Blackwell:] Victor Blackwell, CNN, Marietta, Georgia.
[Bolduan:] That is a horrible story and difficult to listen to.
[Michaela Pereira, Cnn Anchor:] And again, that's the probable cause hearings, supposed to be short, fairly quick and it lasted three hours. It felt like we were in the case, in the trial already and we weren't.
[Bolduan:] And they were just just in the beginnings of this.
[Pereira:] I know. It's going to be very, very difficult to watch at times.
[Bolduan:] Sure.
[Pereira:] All right. We have a lot of other stories making headlines. Let's get to Christine Romans. It's another day of all girls today.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, it is and a lot of news, ladies, a lot of news on this holiday. Let's get straight to it. Iraq's Kurdish leader calling for independence as large parts of the country continue to fall to ISIS militants. But U.S. officials are objecting to the calls, saying the only solution to conflict is for the country to stay united. This as U.S. military officials say the door is still open to step up American forces in Iraq if ISIS militants pose a threat to the U.S. Mississippi's Republican primary results now being challenged. Tea Party-backed State Senator Chris McDaniel fighting those result, serving papers to Senator Thad Cochran's sons Thursday. Campaign staffers and volunteers say they have combed through voting records in 51 counties. They claim to have found nearly 5,000 irregularities. We'll talk with McDaniel later in the program. Another Supreme Court decision this week slamming Obamacare over its requirement for birth control coverage. The high court ruled that Wheaton College, a Christian school, doesn't have to abide by the contraception mandate because of a religious objection to providing birth control to employees and students. Earlier this week, the justices said closely held companies like Hobby Lobby would be exempted if their owners objected on religious grounds. A newly released 911 call reveals a mother and son's terror as their car is swallowed up by a sinkhole. Fifteen-year-old Benjamin Hernandez was delivering newspapers when his mother when the road gave out from under them.
[Pineda:] My son, he's having problems breathing.
[Reporter:] A frantic call for help after a mother and son plummet no a giant sinkhole while driving down a dark road in rural Illinois. Her son badly injured.
[Romans:] Thankfully, he had so many injuries, thankfully, you guys, he should be OK. I mean, he broke one arm. He had a fractured spine.
[Bolduan:] Unbelievable.
[Romans:] Broke some ribs. You know, they drove into the sinkhole unbeknownst to them and suddenly another car drove on top of them. They had to be they had to rip the roof off the car to get both of them out so we wish them well.
[Pereira:] The chances of even driving no a sinkhole or having a sinkhole happen under your vehicle is so rare. But then to have another vehicle
[Romans:] It was darkness, pitch black, just driving along and not even knowing the sinkhole was there, driving into it, and the next car drove right on top of them so really, just an amazing, amazing story.
[Pereira:] Thanks. Christine.
[Romans:] You're welcome.
[Bolduan:] Coming up on NEW DAY, the latest track of Hurricane Arthur, the East Coast bracing for a rough holiday. Look at that wind. We're going to tell you where that storm is headed next and what you should do to prepare.