Ross Harris trial: Jury dismissed for the day

The jury was dismissed for the day after defense attorneys in the Ross Harris murder trial called five witnesses to the stand Wednesday morning. 

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Harris reached out to church members for help with his pornography addiction, according to defense witnesses. Nathaniel Coyle and his wife Heather attended Stonebridge Church in Marietta with Harris and his ex-wife, Leanna Taylor. The couples were in a small group together where they would talk and pray about any problems they were having. 

"Ross confessed about the struggles he was having with pornography and the men prayed for him," Coyle told the jury.

Coyle's wife, Heather, is also a travel agent. She told the jury Harris contacted her on June 17, the day before Cooper died, asking her to look into a family cruise to the Caribbean. 

The defense's final witness was Harris' best friend, Billy Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick is a psychologist who runs an AIDS outreach program. 

Kirkpatrick told jurors he and Harris were extremely close and shared a lot of personal things with each other.  

Harris wrote Kirkpatrick an email on March 16, 2013 asking his friend to hold him accountable for his struggles with pornography. The email indicated his then wife was aware of his problems and they planned to get counseling to work through the issue. 

Kirkpatrick told jurors he let Harris down because he didn't follow up like he should have. 

During cross examination, the state asked Kirkpatrick if he was so close to Harris, why didn't  Harris tell him he had engaged the services of a prostitute. 

Kirkpatrick said no and went on to explain that Harris was probably too embarrassed to do so. Kirkpatrick described Harris as being unique.

"I love Ross, but he often acts like a massive dork," Kirkpatrick confided.

All of the defense witnesses from Home Depot and the church Harris and Taylor attended agreed, Harris loved his little boy. 

Tuesday, close family and friends of the defendant took the witness stand, beginning with the continued cross examination of Harris' ex-wife. 

Taylor told the court in an angry tone that Harris ruined her life and she knew nothing about his dark behavior with other women. Prosecutor Chuck Boring asked Taylor, "Were you aware Harris was using Craigslist to set up meetings with men and women for sexual relations?"

Taylor responded no. Then defense attorneys asked her how she feels about Ross now.

"He destroyed my life. I am humiliated. I may never trust anyone again. If I never see him again after today, it is fine with me," Taylor said as her voice cracked.

Taylor filed for divorce earlier this year.  She also told attorneys she moved to Alabama to be closer to her new boyfriend.

The defense furthered their case with former Home Depot co-workers Jason Abdo, Aundrae Brown and Jelani Etiene. Abdo asked Harris what was it like to have kids. He said Harris responded with a music analogy since both of them were musicians.

"As much as you love music, you will love your child 100% more," Harris told Abdo.

Leanna's best friend, Angie Bond, said she really didn't like Harris that much, but she did make one observation.

"He loved that little boy very much," she told Defense Attorney Maddox Kilgore.

Bond says she was so upset about the lies that were being said about Ross and Leanna that she went on a network TV show to tell the truth about how much the couple loved their son.

"They offered me a $1,000.00, but I did not take it because I wanted to tell the truth, not take money," Bond said.

The defense also called Harris older brother Michael Baygents to the stand. Baygents is a police Sergeant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He described his half brother as extremely talkative and sometimes annoying, but Baygents told jurors there was one thing he knew for sure.

"Ross loved Cooper more than life itself," the sergeant said.

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The state rested its case against the Cobb County father Friday after 50 witnesses and 16 days of testimony.

Harris is charged with murder as well as disseminating harmful material to a minor and criminal attempt to commit sexual exploitation of a minor, offenses dealing with the sexual texts. 

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