All language subtitles for Who Killed Garrett Phillips_S01E02_Who Killed Garrett Phillips Part 2.en

( birds chirping )

( crows cawing )

( music playing )

( thunder rumbles )

Female Reporter:
Six months have passed

since 12-year-old
Garrett Phillips was killed.

Now, the family knows they can't
get their loved one back,

but all they want now
is justice,

and they're saying it
through a new decoration

in their front lawn.

Brian Phillips:
We just want justice
for Garrett where,

you know, somebody pays for
the crime that was committed.

They need to pan up.

I don't know how they can
shut their eyes at night.

Female Reporter:
And the investigation into
his murder hasn't stopped,

so they just have to wait.

Phillips:
It was just a way
to try to generate money

to maybe get somebody
to come forward and say,

"I have some information."

We made $40,000 just like that.

That's a rather
large amount of money.

Then everybody and their brother
wanted them

to show support.

Say you drive by this place,

they've got a sign.

This place is for Garrett,

this place for Garrett.

Half the time we were waiting
for signs because we had,

you know, everybody and their
brother would be wanting them.

And we sold them
for seven dollars.

That seven dollars
bought another sign.

So you make nothing off that.

But most people,
"Okay, here's $10."

Okay, the other three
goes into his reward.

But it was a lot of work.

But, being that--

I have two children,

I couldn't go
and do something...

just out of hate,

and then where would I be?

I felt the best thing for--
for Nick

is to go to prison

and pay for his crime,

and maybe, you know,

not have another
good day in his life.

Marissa Vogel:
In the beginning it
seemed like a slam dunk,

Hillary had done it.

And then all of a sudden

it's thrown out,

there's not enough evidence.

You kept hearing mixed stories,

"There is evidence,
there is no evidence.

This is good evidence,
this is bad evidence.

They have a great case,
they have nothing."

What little bit we were getting
seemed conflicting.

So it was--
we had no idea.

Ian Fairlie:
When I left Clarkson
I went immediately to Buffalo

to start coaching there.

That was in May of 2012.

First day of preseason
at Buffalo on campus

all those signs
started showing up.

You know, I was like, oh,
that's kind of--

that's kind of messed up.

Like, and they're there for me.

I was the only one
connected to the case.

Buffalo is really far
from Potsdam.

When he told us
that story it was, like,

there's a lot of forces
at play here.

Oral "Nick" Hillary:
That symbolizes
and tells me that,

you know, the Justice
for Garrett signs

is one way of discreetly saying,

"Let's get Nick Hillary
for this."

But then I stopped working
at Buffalo in January 2013.

It was right at
the turn of the year--

went back to my--
lived with my parents
briefly in Owego...

Natasha Haverty:
Some small town
far from Potsdam,

pulled onto his street,
you know,

and there are
Justice for Garrett signs
down the road.

Somebody doesn't necessarily
like what Ian Fairlie is saying.

You know,
I think that's, like,

kind of an objective thing
you can deduce.

Whatever you're
trying to do,

you're really
just making yourselves

look really, really creepy
and desperate.

( birds chirping )

( whistling )

Later.

All right.
Have a good one, bud.

Hillary:
I could move, leave,

but obviously
I can't really do that

because my family is still very
much soil entrenched there.

One down, one to go.

Hillary:
The best way
for me to put it,

it's like living
on house arrest.

To have to calculate

your every move that
you are going to make

within the community

really takes a toll on you.

Nobody will ever
look at you the same way.

Nobody wants to interact
with you the same way.

Hi.

Hillary:
Hi, how are you?

You want some milk?

Okay.

Hillary:
Here we go, come on.

Come, Lolo.

All right.

I think if my demeanor

was on the weaker side,

then I think they would...

suffer a lot more.

What happened?

You know, hopefully,

God will continue
to keep them strong.

Lisa Marcoccia:
So when he left the
police station that day,

it wasn't just, "Oh, you know,
I was at the police station
for a couple of hours."

- His life changed.
- His life was
completely destroyed.

Clarkson University didn't
want him back on campus.

The public had already said,
"Okay, well, this is their guy."

It was really the beginning of
the destruction of his life.

Female Reporter:
A Clarkson coach has
filed a notice of claim

against the Village of Potsdam,

and his attorney says
a civil lawsuit

will follow in the near future.

He says the notice
of claim is being made
for injuries and damages

sustained during
the investigation,

including claims
for false arrest,

illegal detention,
illegal search and seizure,

emotional distress,
and defamation.

Hillary's attorney says
that his client has handled

the situation the best he can.

Well, Mr. Hillary
has conducted himself

with extreme dignity throughout
this entire process.

And Mr. Hillary has faith
in justice and also the truth.

Marcoccia:
For us Nick's case has
always been bigger than Nick.

It's about our
justice system as a whole.

You want to do things that your
kids are going to be proud of,

and so I think that we've been
trying to fight the good fight.

- Hey.
- Hi, sweetie!

- Hello.
- Hey, guys, high-five!

Hillary:
...catches the ball
with a baby in his hands.

That's it.
That's it.

You know it's not
the first baby.

Tafari:
Kick to Nick.
Kick it to Nick.

Hillary:
This is not one of
those situations

wherein which you just
get up in the morning

and is able to say,

"Okay, you know,
that happened yesterday.

Let me forget about it
and move forward."

The civil case was
the initial step for me

in starting the process.

To slowly erase

what they had started
in terms of...

deconstructing, demolishing,

everything that I have earned

and built as a legacy
up until that point in time.

Thomas J. Mortati:
This was in
early January of 2012,

and that's the first
I'd heard of it.

I had no understanding
of this incident,

the crime taking place,
or anything, until that day.

One of the things I typically do
when I first get a claim

is I do a Google search.

Holy smokes,

this is a murder case.

If he goes forward
with a civil suit,

my defense is going
to be an offense against him.

I'm going to go after him

to show that
he committed this crime.

If that ends up
benefiting the police

and the district attorney,
fantastic.

They're somewhat stymied
in their investigation.

They're waiting for
something to come up.

Marcoccia:
They took Nick's DNA
right away.

There was no match of the DNA,

no match of the fingerprints,

you know, nothing tying
Nick to the crime.

And that's obviously
confirmed because

had there been a DNA match
I'm sure Nicole Duve

would have brought an
indictment against him, right?

Male Reporter:
The district attorney
will only say

it remains an
open investigation.

Everybody associated
with this case continues
to work very diligently,

following up
every possible lead.

Unfortunately sometimes these
kinds of cases take time.

This is one of
those kinds of cases.

She knew there was nothing,

and therefore she did nothing.

Male Reporter:
Well, it's been
nearly two years

since 12-year-old
Garrett Phillips
was killed in Potsdam.

While no arrests
have been made yet,

the family holds onto hope
that one day

the person responsible
will be brought to justice.

Um, he loved everybody.
He'd do anything for anybody.

He was a great kid.

Phillips:
All's I would really
ask the people

is to still keep putting
little clips in the paper,

keeping the pressure on,

so that it's just not, you know,
left on somebody's desk.

Why is there no evidence?

Why was there no forensics,
no fingerprints, no anything?

And it really wasn't
until Mary Rain,

when she ran for office,
she started really pushing

for some advancements
in this case.

Male Reporter:
The unsolved murder of
12-year-old Garrett Phillips

taking center stage
at a political rally

for GOP district attorney
hopeful,

Mary Rain, Wednesday.

With Garrett's mother
at her side,

Rain promised that if
elected she would work

with police to find
Garrett's killer

and bring them to justice.

Mary Rain:
I explained to Tandy

that if they came to
the campaign stop in Canton

that I would bring Garrett's
case to the forefront to, again,

give it more publicity
and keep it alive.

Rain:
Garrett's murderer should
be behind bars at this point,

but he's not.

And that's all because
of the ineffective

incompetence of our
district attorney's office.

Nicole Duve:
It is unfortunate
and disheartening

that someone would
play on the emotions
of a grieving family

during a political campaign.

Male Reporter:
Mary Rain has made
two unsolved murders

the lynchpin of her campaign,

blaming Duve for
not getting convictions.

Hillary:
She's making a promise.

It just goes to show

what she was about,

and the situation
that I was up against.

People get up in arms,
and people go and vote
for presidents,

and congress people,
and they don't understand

that the one position
that will affect your life,

that will possibly send you to
jail for the rest of your life,

even if you're innocent,
is that of a prosecutor.

And there's absolutely
no checks on power-hungry people

who are willing
or who have a willingness

to destroy a man's life
to advance their careers.

If you don't have a plan,
you're doomed to commit

the same errors
over and over and over again.

And that includes dismissals,

grand jury dismissals,
acquittals at trial...

Duve:
Let me assure you that
there is no lack of vigor

in that investigation, okay?

So I can promise you that.

William J. Fitzpatrick:
I was just driving
in the North Country--

these signs had begun to pop up,

"Justice for Garrett."

And I called Nicole because
the murder of this young boy

was becoming a political issue,

which can be
a little distasteful.

So I called her and discussed
her political future,

and she sent me a bare-bones
summary of the case.

And I probably called her back,
you know, two days later,

and in words or substance said,

you know, "Why isn't
this guy in handcuffs?"

And I said, "This sounds like
something that would be amenable

for the Mutual Assistance
Committee of the
State D.A.'s Association."

Which is a committee that
I had formed years earlier.

And we'll put together a panel
of very, very experienced

homicide prosecutors.

And she did not avail
herself of that opportunity

for whatever reason.

Rain:
My understanding is
that she thought that

she didn't have
enough evidence,

and she declined their offer,

indicating that it
would make her look weak.

Male Reporter:
Mary Rain has also had
to defend her record.

She resigned as county
public defender in 2011,

citing an
overwhelming caseload.

But that was after
she was stripped

of operational oversight
of her office

and put on
administrative leave.

If she couldn't handle
the workload, as she had said,

when she was in the public
defender's office,

how would she handle
the workload as the lead
prosecutor in the county,

where there is plenty of crime?

Male Reporter:
Watching the results,

Nicole Duve the democrat
actually had a pretty big lead,

but that was before
a lot of the precincts
started reporting in.

And as we got closer to 100%,

the numbers
flipped completely

and in fact Nicole Duve
has been beat.

Rain:
I have a lot of
work ahead of me.

I can't wait to get started.

And I want to dive right in.

Rain:
What I told Tandy is that
would be my top priority

when I came into office
January 1st.

Actually after I got
elected in November

I contacted Bill Fitzpatrick,

who is the district attorney
of Onondaga County.

He's also the committee chair
for the Mutual
Assistance Committee.

And he said he was very
familiar with the case already.

I'll put together five
prosecutors and we'll review it.

They don't have
any smoking guns.

Perhaps the most
important bit of information

that the investigators were
looking at, at that time,

was the Potsdam High School
security camera video

that had a vehicle consistent
with Mr. Hillary's vehicle

coming into the parking lot
at Potsdam High School.

Fairlie:
Investigator, what, Gary Snell,

who's the state trooper,
and Mark Murray.

So the two showed up at my door
again to check in on me,

and they were like,
"Can we come in?"
and I was like, "No."

So they're just standing
in the doorway.

They pulled out this laptop
and they're like,

you know,
"We want to show you this video.

Please know it's--
the timeline isn't right.

It's just kind of unedited."

"Okay, let's see it."

So they're, you know,
you see this

video of Nick's car pulling in.

They're like,
"Do you recognize that car?"

"Yeah, that's Nick's car."

Then they split to
this different video

and it's Garrett,
like, skateboarding.

They're like,
"Do you recognize that?"

I was like, "It's Garrett."
And they're like, "Great."

And then they kind of
split to this other video

and it's Nick leaving
and kind of always prefacing

that this is not--
this isn't the final cut.

And then, like, Nick leaves,

and they're like,
"Well, what way would
he go to his house?"

I was like,
"Well, he would take a right."

And they're like,
"Well, he took a left."

"Okay. How does this
make you feel?"

You know, "After seeing this,

does anything make
you think differently?

Does it change it?"
"Doesn't do anything."

And then it just kind of
stumbled and kept like,

"What if he followed him down
this way? What if he did this?

What if he did that?"

I'm like, "Guys,
it just showed him

pulling into the school
and leaving the school,

and at one point Garrett."

And just--
it didn't make me feel anything.

For me that was
kind of the clincher.

He followed Garrett Phillips
home that day.

I mean, that's my
take on the video.

That's--
how do you refute that?

But we didn't have
a license plate.

We didn't know
who was driving the car.

We didn't know
who was in the car.

Mortati:
It's not like "CSI."
It's not like the movies.

Let's zoom in on the
license plate, or better yet,

let's zoom in on the
person behind the wheel.

Oh, that's Nick Hillary,
we got him.

Doesn't work that way.

Female Speaker:
The date is January 20th, 2014.

The time is 10:08.
( inaudible )

Tafari:
Mani Tafari for
Mr. Oral Nicholas Hillary.

Mortati:
Thomas Mortati of Burke,
Scolamiero, Mortati,

and Hurd, for the defendants.

And I'm here with
Amanda Sherman of my office,

as well as defendants
Edward Tischler
and Mark Murray.

Mortati:
The civil suit is going
to be a game-changer,

because the one person
they really wanted
to speak to the most,

who basically said,
"I'm not talking
to you anymore,"

on October 26th, is now not
only going to talk to them,

but he's going
to do it under oath.

Mortati:
Good morning, Mr. Hillary.

As you know,
my name is Tom Mortati

and I represent the
defendants in a lawsuit

that you have brought.

And we're going to be here
doing your deposition today.

Just a couple of ground rules,
I know you and I...

Mortati:
You can't make this stuff up.

I've been working in
a civil career as an attorney

doing defense work
of one kind or another.

I've never,
ever come across anything

even remotely similar to this,
nor likely will I ever.

Mortati:
Monday, October 24, 2011,

I want to start with
the beginning of the day.

Do you recall when
you got up that day?

Tafari:
Objection, relevance.

I typically get up around
6:30 in the morning.

Tafari:
People object for the record.

If you look even at
the other side's deposition,

Tom Mortati,
the attorney for the Village

is objecting also quite a lot.

Mortati:
What vehicle were
you driving, sir?

Tafari:
Objection, relevance.

I was driving my vehicle.

Mortati:
What vehicle is that?

A Honda.

Mortati:
Can you tell me
the make and model--

or rather the model and year?

Tafari:
Objection, relevance.

It's a CRV, 209.

I was-- to be honest with you,

I was, um,

surprised that he was
even talking to me,

first of all,
about any of this stuff.

2009.

Mortati:
Light blue?

That is correct.

I was pleased obviously.

I mean, my job is
to defend the police.

And again, my defense of
the police is essentially

to investigate this crime
and prove that this guy did it.

This is great,
and everyone's like,

"Why is this great for you,
being sued?"

Well, they have to--

He finally has
to answer questions.

Mortati:
Do you recall entering

the Potsdam High School
parking lot with--

In your vehicle that afternoon,
October 24th, 2011?

Tafari:
Objection, relevance.

Yes.

Mortati:
Why were you going to
Potsdam High School that day?

Tafari:
Objection, relevance.

To watch a soccer game.

Mortati:
And what did you do while
you were in the parking spot?

Tafari:
Objection, relevance.

Waiting for the rain to break.

Mortati:
Did it break?

No.

Female Speaker:
And where did you go?

I went home.

Mortati:
Need a break?

Tafari: Yeah.

Mortati:
We took a break
after about two hours,

and upstairs in the
Potsdam Police Department

are several members of
the New York State Police.

I went upstairs,
walked in and said,

"Not only is he talking,
but he just put himself

in that car in that
parking lot at that time."

And they were all
absolutely amazed.

And basically it was,
"Okay, get back down there.

Keep asking him more questions."
( laughs )

I have nothing to hide.

But me talking to you

versus talking to
a group of police officers,

who's trying tricks and trades,

it's two total different things.

There's a stenographer

who is taking down
what I'm saying.

There is an attorney

who have my best interest
at hand,

who's here,

and you're getting
to ask your questions.

Mortati:
Mr. Hillary,
are you aware that, um,

approximately seven seconds
before you left

the Potsdam High School
parking lot onto Leroy Street,

Garrett Phillips left
the Potsdam High School
parking lot onto Leroy Street?

Tafari:
Objection, relevance.

Calls for facts
not yet in evidence.

No.

Mortati:
And you didn't see
Garrett Phillips

at all in that parking lot,
correct?

Tafari:
Objection, asked and answered,
relevance.

No.

Mortati:
Mr. Hillary, are you aware
that Garrett Phillips

turned left out of the
Potsdam High School parking lot

that afternoon
as he left Potsdam High School?

Tafari:
Objection, relevance.

No.

Mortati:
Are you aware, Mr. Hillary,

that there is
security camera video

that shows you turning left

in the same direction
as Garrett Phillips

exiting Potsdam High School
parking lot

in your blue Honda CRV
that afternoon?

Tafari:
Objection, relevance, assumed
facts not yet in evidence.

No.

Rain:
During the deposition

the civil attorney Tom Mortati

very masterfully walked
him through, painstakingly slow,

a fantastic cross-examination
of exactly

everything he did
on October 24th, 2011.

Mortati:
If you turned left
out of the parking lot

to go home to your apartment,

what route did you take?

Through his masterful job,

along with the evidence
that we had,

we were able to compile a case.

Mortati:
And I believe you testified
in the 50-h examination

that you went straight home

after you left the Potsdam
High School that afternoon.

He added the word, "Oh, you said
you went straight home."

No, I didn't say that
I went straight home.

I said I went home.

Mortati:
Mr. Hillary,

your apartment was to the right

up Leroy Street from
Potsdam High School, correct?

Yes.

Mortati:
And you've told me under oath

on two different occasions

that you went home that day,

leaving Potsdam High School
parking lot.

- Correct?
- Yes.

Mortati:
The fastest way for you
to get from your--

from the Potsdam
High School parking Lot

to your apartment
would be to turn right

out of the parking lot
onto Leroy Street

to go in the direction
of your apartment?

- Woman: Do that one again.
- Mortati: Sure.

And the fastest way for
you to get to your apartment,

driving from
Potsdam High School,

would be to exit the
parking lot and to turn right

onto Leroy Street, correct?

Yes.

Mortati:
And if you made a left
out of that parking lot,

and Garrett Phillips was on
the sidewalk on Leroy Street,

approximately seven to eight
seconds ahead of you,

is your testimony
you never saw him at any point

while you were doing that?

Tafari:
Objection, asked and answered,
compound.

That is correct.

They have made it seem as if

I lived 200 miles away.

I was not supposed
to be in that area.

Typically if I make a
left out of the parking lot

I would be checking in
with my assistant coach,

who lived on Garden Street,

which is what
I would normally do,

- if I'm in the area.
- You did that afternoon?

I cannot recall.

You know, going to try
and see if he was home

at that point in time
on my way home.

It's normal, you know,
sometimes we often do things

just because it's what
we consistently do.

Mortati:
You don't recall whether
or not you stopped

into Mr. Fairlie's apartment on
Garden Street that afternoon?

That is correct.

Mortati:
Just to be clear, you left
Potsdam High School parking lot

- to go home, right?
- Hillary: Yes.

Mortati:
But you have no recollection
as to whether or not...?

The grand jury spent
over a four-day period
looking at the evidence,

so there is a significant
amount of evidence.

Male Reporter:
Rain says they have
both physical

and circumstantial evidence,

some that came out recently

during Hillary's deposition

from his civil suit against
the Village of Potsdam

for defamation.

I'm 100% innocent,

100% innocent.

That's all I have to say.

Am I really living
in a dream right now,

or this is really happening?

Everything that could
have been done possible

to prevent me
from getting my freedom

by the district attorney's
office was done.

For 70 days I was held in jail,

and every time
there was a hearing

something new would
come to the surface

that required more time
to explore,

which means I get to put--

sent back to jail while
they let it get explored.

To have lived that
for 70 days, you know,

has definitely given me

a certain level
of drive

to fight and do whatever
it is for me to do

not to see the walls

of those environments
ever again.

Finally the judge
decided, okay,

pretty much
enough was enough.

♪ Where did you
put your belt? ♪

Child:
Right here.

( humming )

Hillary:
Okay. Please walk.

Hillary:
Love you!

Good morning.
Who's that?

Shanna.

Yeah!

Shanna is awake, huh?

Yes.

Oh, we're grateful.

Before the whole thing I was,

like, friends with everybody,
you know, carefree.

Well, I'm from around the area,

and I know it's
a fantastic school.

And I wanted to be part
of the community here.

Now you have to be,
like, vigilant,

and you have to pay attention
to everything.

You can't say the wrong things,

you can't talk to
the wrong people,

you can't go to,
like, certain places.

I'm part of his, like,

"Where were you when
this whole thing went down?"

So, I was with my dad
at that time.

So they needed me to, like,

cement that, that I was
where I was with him

when whatever
was happening. So...

Mortati:
Just so I understand
the chronology,

your daughter arrived
home from school at
approximately 4:30,

is that correct?

Around 4:30.

Well, that day
I had soccer practice,

so I came home from soccer
and my dad was there.

Mortati:
So if your daughter
arrived home

at or about 4:30 p.m.
on that afternoon,

then you would've left
for Potsdam High School

at approximately
4:35 to 4:40 p.m.?

Around there.

Rain:
The last we see of Garrett
in the high school parking lot

is at 4:52.

And if we presume that he
went straight home afterwards

it's about a six-minute ride

going at the speed
he was going on his RipStik.

He passed by
some hospital cameras.

Nick Hillary
pulled out at 4:53.

The call came in to

the Village of Potsdam Police
Department at 5:08.

Police Dispatch:
Potsdam Police,
Dispatcher Schneider.

Vogel:
Hi, my name is Marissa Vogel,
and I have...

Rain:
But you have to backtrack
a little bit because...

Vogel:
...not sure if I should
call or not.

...it's at least
two minutes that Sean Hall

and Marissa Vogel took to stop,

listen, and then determine
what they were going to do.

So a very conservative estimate
would be two minutes.

So now you're putting
the time of death at 5:06.

So you have a very tight
timeline of 4:53

when we last see Hillary
on the high school video,

to 5:06 when we believe
the murder occurred.

That would've given him enough
time to go down two blocks,

park the car...

And you have to remember,
he's extremely fit.

He's not only got a six-pack,
he's got an eight-pack.

He's very, very fit,

and to jog two blocks
to get to Garrett's home

wouldn't take but
45 seconds, max, for him.

We believe he had a key.

We believe he opened the door,

Garrett recognized
that it was him,

tried to push him back out,

and then tried to retreat,
and he was murdered.

Mortati:
And when you arrived
home at your apartment

was anyone there?

Yes.

Mortati:
Your daughter, Shanna-Kay?

- Tafari: Objection, relevance.
- Yes.

Mortati:
What time did you arrive
back at your apartment?

Tafari:
Objection, relevance.

A few minutes before 5:00.

Mortati:
How long did you remain
at your apartment?

I was there until
shortly after 5:00.

Mortati:
Well, now, when you say,
"Shortly after 5:00,"

what do you mean?

5:15.

Mortati:
And when you say,
"A few minutes before 5:00,"

in terms of when you arrived
there, what time was that?

I'd say about five to 5:00.

Mortati:
So you would've been
in your apartment

for an approximate
20-minute span

between 4:55 p.m.
and 5:15 p.m.?

- Tafari: Objection, relevance.
- That is correct.

Shanna-Kay Hillary:
Mary Rain was relentless

during the whole
questioning part.

She would ask me the same
question more than once,

or try and word it
a little differently, or...

At the end she would, like,
ask the same exact question,

like, ten times,
and I was like,

"I don't-- I don't know
what you want me to do.

I'm not changing anything."

Rain:
Here's how it goes.

So they say to you,

"I remember what I had
for dinner on June 30th,

two years ago."

Okay. "What did you have
for dinner on June 29th?"

"I don't remember."

"What did you have
for dinner on June 28th?"

"I don't remember."

"What did you have
for June 27th?"

"I don't remember."
"But you remember what
you had on June 30th?

Is that true?" "Yes."

The lawyer at the time
made sure that I, like,

had everything cemented
in my mind of, like,
what had happened that day,

because I felt like he knew that
eventually I'd be brought in.

We call it "walking them
up and down the ladder,"

and that's what
he chastised me about.

She was looking-- I don't know
what she was looking for,

but she was, like,
digging hard for something.

Tafari:
Well, there's no defense
attorney in the grand jury,

so basically a DA

can run rough-shot over
the proceedings,

which is what happened.

Marcoccia:
According to Judge Richards

we do know that
when the district attorney,

Mary Rain,
questioned Nick's daughter,

who is one of his alibis,

the judge had indicated
that she was badgering her,

and asking her
inappropriate questions.

Which is why
it was dismissed.

( music playing )

Female Reporter:
With the case again in limbo,

the community keeps searching
for some resolution.

Natasha Haverty was at
the remembrance gathering

and has more.

Haverty:
Justice for Garrett.

Justice for Garrett.

A lot has happened

with that first word,
"justice,"

in the past six months.

One suspect was finally
arrested and arraigned,

but the proceedings
were mishandled

and charges were
later dismissed.

But this evening, people
are here to remember Garrett.

Are we ready?
One, two, three.

All: Garrett!

Haverty:
Yes, we were working on
this big investigative story,

but we were also, as reporters
in the North Country,

going to the balloon release
ceremony, you know,

on the anniversary
of Garrett's death.

We were also covering
small-town events

that were each a tiny piece
of this bigger story.

Like, I can't emphasize
that enough.

Like, you are in the checkout
line with the defense attorney.

That small-town thing is real.

Pastor:
Father God, we stand in
your presence, Father.

Male Speaker:
And as you gather here today,
remember this--

through the power of
prayer, justice will be served.

The judge indicated that

there was sufficient evidence
to indict him,

"I just think you
did these things wrong

so I'm going to dismiss it."

So we basically
provided the exact

same presentation
the second time.

Male Reporter:
Now, this is the second time

Hillary has been indicted
for Phillips' death.

Oral Nick Hillary was back
in a St. Lawrence County
courtroom Monday.

Hillary was arraigned on a
charge of second-degree murder.

Female Reporter:
The D.A.'s office
has until 30 days

before trial to hand over
all photo and video evidence.

Rain:
They're going to
find what I found.

The video inculpates.

That means it tends
to show that Nick--

Oral Nicholas Hillary

was at the crime scene,

was present near
the time of the murder,

and in fact is evidence that
he did murder Garrett Phillips.

Hillary:
Whatever videotape they could
have gotten their hands on,

the one thing that
I know deep inside,

that it was not
going to reveal

what they are trying

to showcase to the public.

So they figure
not having what they need,

they're just going
to manipulate

what they claim they have
to prove their theory.

Tafari:
Justice for Garrett
is justice for Nick.

But the prosecutors
in this case

don't want to
solve this case.

They want to get
a conviction from this case.

Nick is seeking
the same truth

that will set
Garrett's spirit free.

Haverty:
When we had stories
about anything to do with

the Garrett Phillips case--

little ones,
I'm talking about, like,

the bail hearing is set for,

you know, June 30th--

we would have to shut down
our comments every time.

Every time.

Because within an hour
of the story going online,

to quote our web guy, like,

"abusive, vitriolic comments."

The most hateful speech
people are capable of.

W.T. Eckert:
I remember leaving one
of the hearings

and a lot of Nick's
supporters were there.

And somebody yelled out,
"Why haven't we heard
anything about John Jones?"

And that was the
first time I had heard

the name "John Jones,"
and I didn't know who Jones was.

A much better case could
have been put together

again John Jones than
was put together against Nick.

Marcoccia:
You know, we know that
his behavior was volatile.

You know, Tandy knew that,
Nick knew that.

You know, was that a
motivation for killing a boy?
I don't know.

But it shows that maybe
you're slightly unhinged.

There were allegations
that he was an angry man,

a racist guy, and that
the love of his life

was now sleeping
with a black man.

You know, listening to this and
trying to process this stuff,

like, why would this
former boyfriend go after,

you know, this boy?

Talk about defamatory.

The defense team had maligned

John Jones for years,

years leading into this thing.

Tafari:
She actually wrote a complaint

ten months before Garrett died,

stating that,
"Because of Deputy John Jones

I fear for the safety
of my children."

John Jones:
I didn't get
the statement directly,

I got it indirectly
from my boss.

And I read it,
and I said to my boss,

I go, "That's not
Tandy's writing."

And it was typed.

And he's like,
"How do you know that?"

I go, "Because Tandy doesn't
know the definition

of some of these words in here."

I go, "so there's no way
that she wrote this."

And he's like,
"Well, that's interesting."

I said... I go, "We'll find out
someday who wrote this,"

I go, "Because Tandy didn't."

If you write
four different letters,

sign four different letters,

and send it to
four different people

after getting it notarized,

that's the truth.

Within the body of the letter

Tandy states that
John Jones sent her

threatening text messages.

Tandy also says that Jones sued
her in small claims court

as retaliation for dating Nick.

Recording:
The time, 6:16 p.m.

Police Dispatch: Mm-hmm.

Jones: Sure.

( inaudible
background conversation )

Jones: Yeah.

Police Dispatch: Okay.

They were together
from the beginning,

and then they spent
the night together,

and then at the police station
the next morning they said,

"We're not speaking to you guys
without being together."

Haverty:
You have someone
who now we know

was a suspect at
some point, John Jones,

holding the hand
of Tandy Cyrus,

sitting across the desk from
his buddy, Mark Murray.

So my thoughts are, like,

"This is really messy."

When we learned about that,
reading those depositions,

it was just another kind of
step on this road of,

okay, we need to
talk about John Jones.

There's no denying that he
took part in the investigation.

He helped in the investigation.

Mike Murray:
There was nothing that
he hid from us,

or there's no level
of cooperation that
he didn't go to

to try to help
the investigation.

He cooperated 110%,
provided his DNA sample,

fingerprints,
let us photograph his body.

Tafari:
So the person of John Jones,

here we see no face shots,

no dehumanizing--

Still has his tie on,

so nothing for anyone
to look at to even know

who this picture of except
it says the person of Jones.

So why bring in someone

if these are the pictures
you're going to take?

And if they're both suspects,

why is the person of Jones

so much different from
the person of Nick?

And what's the difference
besides skin color?

Haverty:
A big treasure trove
for us as reporters

is the civil case.

Because when Nick Hillary
filed that civil case,

not long after
the investigation began,

as for us reporters,

that's all public documents,
you know?

So all those depositions,

all the testimony of
law enforcement saying,

"We didn't have
physical evidence."

To be able to read
a lot of officers

that were involved in the case,
to see Ed Tischler's remarks,

to see Mark Murray's remarks

answering, "No, we didn't
have any physical evidence."

I mean,
it's interesting to think

that the first theory
before Nick Hillary even,

as we've heard in the calls,

is some kids were
getting rowdy, you know?

And something happened
with kids.

Well, those kids' fingerprints
aren't in the database.

My last story...

for North Country Public Radio

was this story.

It sounds weird and paranoid,

but it wasn't a coincidence

that we aired it
when I left town.

At the time
it was a big thing

to air anything
about John Jones.

Haverty ( recording ):
John Jones is still
a deputy sheriff,

and again, Jones was at some
point considered a suspect,

all of which raises
big questions about trust,

about public safety,

about what it means when
a local police officer

was also a suspect in a murder
that's under investigation.

Haverty:
It was a big thing to...

kind of uncover these
declarative statements

from multiple people saying,

"We have no DNA evidence."

We kept thinking,

"How many other cases are there
like this around the country?"

If anything, I think we thought,

"This must happen
more than we know."

When national media
started paying attention

it was just really affirming
for us as journalists of,

wow, this thing that
we followed our curiosity on,

or that raised some
big questions for
us in our community,

is somehow universal enough

that it applies to big questions

the whole country
might be facing.

If the facts had
been exactly as they are,

but Nick Hillary had been white,

would the "New York Times" be
covering this story as it has?

Well, I think you have
to step back a second

and look at what's going on
in the country right now.

The issues of race
and law enforcement,

it is something that
people are talking about,

it's something people
are concerned about.

It is through the information
we got in the civil suit

that the media took a
real interest, before, right?

Most time media take
interest after someone's been
wrongfully convicted, right?

And the person's sitting
there for 25 years.

Hillary's been very
fortunate and very blessed

in not just having information
but in having friends.

Marcoccia:
A lot of people
empathize with him.

Sarah Johnson and Greg
are perfect examples of that.

Male Reporter:
Hillary's new lead attorneys

are criminal defense lawyer
Earl Ward

and civil rights
lawyer Norman Siegel
out of New York City.

The two have consulted
in the case since the fall.

Norman Siegel:
How did I get involved?

"The Amsterdam News"
owner and publisher

called me last summer and said,

"Please come.
I want you to hear about a case.

I'd like you to get involved."

I said that
I would get involved.

My one condition was

that Earl Ward be
co-counsel with me.

And then we made phone calls,
we talked to people.

Everything we've been told

is totally in opposite

to what the prosecution
is trying to make

Nick Hillary out to be.

Earl Ward:
I think Pete has
the same sort of view here.

I've known Nick
for over two years now.

It's always been
a calm conversation.

In fact, when you discuss
how people are vilifying him

in social media,
how they're calling him names,

not once has he erupted
in anger like you'd expect.

He's just calmly said,
"The truth will come out.

I'm going to fight this,
and I'm not going
to do it that way."

Peter Dumas:
I know that there
are some people

who are very charged
about this case,

and people that
were friends of mine

that don't really talk
to me right now.

You know,
and they may not ever again,

no matter how this case goes.

Male Reporter:
This is news from
North Country Public Radio.

Female Reporter:
Thanks very much.

We're sorting out
the latest turn

in the Garrett Phillips
murder case.

Female Reporter:
District Attorney
Mary Rain says

DNA evidence points the finger

directly at accused killer
Nick Hillary.

Mark Murray,
who's lead investigator,

testified under oath.

There was no
fingerprints match.

There was no DNA match.

There was no eyewitnesses.

They basically had no case.

And then all of a sudden
years and years later

Fitzpatrick comes
on the case,

you know,
takes a lead role,

and all of a sudden
they have this DNA match.

The STRmix concluded
very, very simply

that the DNA mixture

under Garrett Phillips'
fingernails,

one of them was
Garrett Phillips,

and the other was
a partial profile

of a individual

who in likelihood ratio terms

was millions of times
more likely

to be Nick Hillary
than a random stranger.

We knew that something
was so suspicious with it

because we knew it had
been tested at the lab.

We knew they had
100-and-something samples,
nothing matched.

Now how all of a sudden
they got this match?

Peter:
I think that they, uh...

they pounded and pounded
and pounded

until they got that
square peg in the round hole.

Fitzpatrick:
The last physical act
the kid does

is try to tell us who did it,

scratch Hillary's
face somewhere.

Not deep enough
to cause scratching.

You know, he's not thinking,

"I'm going to leave this guy's
DNA under his fingernails,"

but I'm speaking metaphorically.

Ward:
We've all heard the phrase that

DNA is the finger of God
pointing at the accused.

This is not that case.

This is the finger
of a statistician

pointing at Nick Hillary,

and that is not what
DNA should be all about.

Clint:
What we're talking about
is a very, very,

very small amount of DNA.

Jesse McKinley:
DNA has this mythology
of being infallible.

If you watch "CSI,"
you know, it is that thing.

It is, "Oh, well,
we've got the evidence.

It's right here on the DNA."

And I think
particularly for jurors

who are probably not accustomed

to kind of
high-scientific theory,

this is--
this is a smoking gun.

If the jury has to hear it,
I mean, I--

Hillary:
I mean, to sit here
and tell you I'm scared

would be an understatement.

I mean, some of the lawyers
don't even understand,

much less a lay juror.

Male Reporter:
Hillary's trial is scheduled

to start September 6th
in Canton.

What was already considered
a tough case

for the prosecution to prove
just got even tougher.

Male Reporter:
Some very complex DNA test
results will not be allowed.

Female Reporter:
It might've been key evidence

in the upcoming
Nick Hillary murder trial.

Now a judge has
tossed it out of court.

We find the DNA-- not find,

but find an expert
that can testify

as to the significance
of the DNA evidence,

and, um...

it winds up getting thrown out.

Dumas:
You know,
Nick is really excited,

but he's also worried because
we still have a trial date.

Having done over 100 trials,
I know one thing,

is that anything can happen
in front of a jury.

Siegel:
Ms. Shanna-Kay,
my name's Norman Siegel.

- You know me, Earl Ward.
- ( laughs )

- And you know this guy, right?
- Dumas: Yep.

This is all in preparation
for the trial.

And we are giving
serious consideration

to calling you
as one of our witnesses.

So you've been through
this before a little,

- right?
- Yes.

You testified
in the grand jury

on two occasions,
right?

- Yes.
- You told the truth.

All we're looking for
is the truth from you.

And again, I think you're going
to make a terrific witness,

so, you know,
just don't be nervous as we,

you know, go through this.

- Okay.
- All right?

- Okay.
- You look nervous.

- I'm just a little nervous.
- ( laughs )

- Ward: Why are you a little--
- S. Hillary: I'm just nervous.

I don't really have,
like, a reason.

It's just what
happens every time.

I just get a little nervous.

Ward:
Okay.

N. Hillary:
They have no idea.

Truly no idea,

the negative impact

they have...

imposed and put upon my kids.

My two oldest are

good with their knowledge
with what's going on.

So, you know, with me saying,
"Hey, I'm going off.

I'm going to address this
situation once and for all."

They're good.
The two youngest,

they're still not as cognitive
to understand the big picture.

Not too hard.

Let me see. Yeah.

You know, but for Elijah,

he's really at
that stage where,

you know, he needs answers,

and he will ask questions.

Man on phone:
( inaudible )

Yeah, exactly, exactly,

exactly, exactly.

You know what I'm saying,
you know, I mean,

that's all we need
is just good eyes,

you know, for look over
all the necessary moving parts

and see where we're going.

Man on phone:
Yeah, man. Yeah, man.

(Inaudible) me, bro.

N. Hillary:
Yes, starting to look good,

starting to look good,
you know?

Man on phone:
(Inaudible)

- All right, one love.
- Yeah, man.

Yes, yes.

( phone beeps )

Yeah, so,

you know, back again.

N. Hillary:
All right. All right, come on.

Elijah, let's go.

Are you leaving tomorrow?

No, no, no.

Yeah, I know I gotta go back up
in a couple days, right?

- Yeah.
- Huh?

Why?

Up back to the North Country,
you know,

I've got to have some
stuff to finish up.

Wait, can I come?

- If you could come?
- Yeah.

Well, maybe on the weekends

when you don't have school
you could come, you know,

or I will come down, you know?

No need to worry, okay?

Can I come?

No, because you've got
to be here to go to school.

Yeah, I know.

But a day before
the school starts

can we come with you?

That's not going
to be feasible.

You are just really...
(inaudible)

Okay?

(inaudible)

It's not going to be
possible for that to work out.

Oh, okay.

- Okay?
- Yeah.

- All right.
- You'll see?

Yeah, I'll see.

( whispers ) Goodnight.

Goodnight.

Yeah.

- Child: Daddy, (inaudible)?
- Yes.

Child:
Okay.

Okay. All right.

Love you.

Maybe, okay?

- Love you.
- Daddy, lay with me.

Okay, I'll come back later.

Vogel:
I think...

having all of this
drawn out for so long

has affected us in that

it feels like a book
that needs to be closed,

and you can't close it yet

because you haven't
read that last page.

It feels unfinished,

and it's just hung
there over us.

Everybody is upset about this.

The poor child's family
has gone through a lot.

The community is in turmoil.

Just needs to be taken care of.

I mean, the evidence
is probably good,

it's just that they don't
like the way it was handled.

Yeah. It can't be used now.

With Hillary's
two-hour deposition,

I think things
were looking good.

You could ask
everybody in the world

where they were on the 24th

of that night...

that Garrett was taken.

They're not going to lie.

They're not going
to need to lawyer up.

They're going to not hide DNA.

One person killed him.

Woman:
The family has kept it
in front of all of us,

which they should.

for the last five years.

I'm hoping, as everyone else is,

that this is resolved
and that they do have proof,

and that there is something
that comes out--

Conviction comes out,
whether it's Nick or whomever,

but that they--
So they can put this to rest.

I'll feel awful if anything
that I've done, you know,

ends up hurting,
you know what I mean?

I mean, I don't know
how that works

in the court or the law.

You know, you can twist
things however you want.

( indistinct conversation )

Fairlie:
I'm just an average person.

I'm just in it.

Haverty:
This case has been
adjudicated on the streets,

and in the Price Choppers,

and in the parking lots,

for years.

Now this is a real trial.

This is really happening.

Dumas:
We were really worried
going into the jury process

that we were going
to run into a roadblock.

Woman:
The commissioner of jurors
told me that

1,000 people from
St. Lawrence County

have been summoned
for jury duty,

and that's four times
as many as usual.

Dumas:
We were worried that we
were going to have some very

opinionated people on the jury,

and we were worried that there
wasn't going to be one juror

in the courtroom who didn't know
anything about this case.

Turn around for me please.

( beeps )

Thank you, sir.

Everyone says they're
going to be fair.

You've just got
to sit back and decide

if this is the person
who really can be.

Rain:
I thought voir dire
went excellent.

We got ten jurors
the first pass.

One of the jurors I knew,

and I felt that
he would do a very fair job.

He would give both sides
a fair shake.

So I was very confident
that we had good ten jurors.

Dumas:
I drove all the way home.

I live about an hour away from
where the trial's happening.

I got home and I got the call
from Norm, and Earl, and Kate.

They said,
"God, you've got to come back.

We've got to talk about
this some more."

So dropped whatever I was doing,
hopped in my car,

and I drove back,
and we talked about it

for another
three or four hours.

Rain:
The defense came into chambers

looking like somebody
just kicked their puppy
in front of them.

And I had no idea why
they had such long faces.

And they were kind of hemming
and hawing, saying,

"We were up all night
talking to the defendant,"

and I thought,
"Is he going to plead?"

( laughs ) You know,
I didn't have any idea

what was going on.

You know, "He wants to do this,"
and I'm, like, "What is this?

What is this? Tell us."

Tafari:
Hillary chose himself
to go bench.

I would never classify
myself as a risk-taker,

you know, but after
the first round of seating

and there was just no one

who I can say with
great sense of comfort,

would be... (inaudible)

We'd actually found out
after the fact

that one of the jurors
was actually friends with--

That they had picked,

was friends with
the Phillips family.

It's too connected up there.

Everyone's too close
with the family.

Tafari:
And I think five years

of poisoning

turned Justice for Garrett
into "Lynch Nick Hillary."

The trial will be
trial by a judge.

We understand the enormity

of what Nick is charged with,

and we take that
responsibility seriously.

You can hear my voice
sort of crackling there,

which indicates it's
not just my brain--

My whole body recognizing
what I just said. So...

Female reporter:
Can I ask how Nick's feeling?

I'm feeling very well,
thank you.

Okay.

When we actually
had a trial date

and we were all sitting
in court together,

it just seemed like some
kind of weird,

surreal dream that this
was actually taking place.

( door opens )

Bailiff:
All rise.

St. Lawrence County Court
is now in session.

The Honorable
Felix Catena presiding.

Good morning, everybody.
Please be seated.

We're on the record.

This is the
People of the State of New York

against Oral Nicholas Hillary.

Mr. Fitzpatrick,
your opening statement.

Fitzpatrick:
Thank you very much,
Your Honor.

It's normally at
this point, Judge,

where either you
or some of the litigants

would say to a jury

to keep an open mind.

And I don't think, Judge,

I've ever beseeched someone more

in a criminal case
to keep an open mind

than I would in
this matter right now.

Because the narrative
of this case

up to this point has been
very, very simple.

A group of bungling,

incompetent cops from a small
town in upstate New York...

Fitzpatrick:
Okay, these guys,
very experienced lawyers,

just selected this individual
to decide this case.

And I wanted to disavow
him of the narrative.

The narrative which
has been established

at this point for 4.5 years.

That this case is razor-thin,

that this case is nothing but
a bunch of, you know,

upstate hicks that want to grab
the only black guy in town

and put him on trial.

None of that stuff is true.

From day one
the murder investigation

focused almost exclusively
on Nick Hillary.

You will learn that after
a thorough inspection

of the deceased's apartment
at 100 Market Street,

the police found
no fingerprints,

no hairs,

or no fibers linking
Nick Hillary to this crime.

Fitzpatrick:
Let's examine in what is
the most conclusive piece

of guilt against this man,

at the exact instant

Garrett reaches Leroy Street,

the defendant backs up,

K-turns out of the parking lot,

and according to him

at least a dozen times
under oath,

"I went straight home,

back to my daughter."

Except the camera doesn't lie.

Mr. Hillary doesn't turn right,

he turns left,

because he's hunting
Garrett Phillips.

Siegel:
This is all the video
will show you.

But the prosecution wants
you to jump to conclusions.

You will not see or hear
any credible evidence

of Nick or Nick's
car approaching,

at, or leaving 100 Market Street

during the critical time from
when Nick exits the parking lot

until Officer Mark Wentworth
found the deceased.

And why?

Because he wasn't there.

Fitzpatrick:
Now, meanwhile, Judge,
just outside

in the back of Market Street

there's a young man by
the name of Andrew Carranza

and his then girlfriend
Shannon Harris,

and they're in the
process of changing a flat tire

on Carranza's truck.

Andrew's now deployed with
the United States Marine Corps,

but he'll be here to describe
what he saw and what he heard.

Don Tracy:
When Nick came to the trial

I was hired by Nick's attorneys

to locate and
interview witnesses

to find out what they would
know and say at the trial.

I learned that the D.A.'s
office was going to

fly Andrew back from Hawaii,

and he was a vital witness
in this case.

So I called him.

And he apparently jumped
to the conclusion

that I was working for the
D.A.'s office, quite quickly.

I didn't tell
him any different.

I didn't feel
I had a responsibility
to tell him that.

He said, "They're flying me
from Hawaii to testify in this.

I'll be showing up
Monday in Canton."

"Fine. What are you
going to testify to?"

"Well, I saw a black guy

on the second floor,

a silhouette of somebody
that fits Nick's."

Talked with him
as much as I could, went on,

and the other witnesses
that I was trying to locate

was Andrew's girlfriend,
Shannon.

Harris:
Don Tracy called me,

told me he was an investigator.
He stopped over.

He questioned me about what
I was doing that day,

what I heard, what I saw.

We were changing his tire,

and we kept hearing
this ripping noise. And...

Fitzpatrick:
The decision was made by me
to fly Andrew Carranza in.

It was my judgment
that Andrew described

the noises that he heard
a little bit better.

Harris:
Police asked both of us if we
had seen anybody in the window,

any movement,
anything like that,

and we both said no.

This window right here
on the top, on the outside,

was the window that had
the screen forced out.

So these parking spots
right here

would've been occupied
by the Carranzas,

this being Andrew's.

Would've been very hard to see
a body standing in that window.

And if there was,

it certainly would've been
a time to say it at that time.

And they did state
they didn't see anything.

Their statements indicate that.

Harris:
We went over the
statements multiple times,

and nothing was different.

Afterward he told me

Andrew had an opposing story.

I told Don Andrew he was
trying to get a hold of me,

and I had called him anyway,

and I did record the entire
conversation with Andrew,

just in case he said
he was making it up.

Harris:
Now I feel like you're changing
your story or something,

and I don't know, Andrew,

but I am not going
to go to court and, like,

lie for something about you,

if that makes sense.
If they question me on it

I'm going to have
to be honest and tell them--

Andrew Carranza:
But that's exactly what I had
written down on the paper.

Harris:
I think I would remember

because it would be
in my statement.

Harris:
Yeah, well, you saw somebody

but you didn't
necessarily see Hillary.

So I don't understand how--

Even if you did, that would be
substantial evidence.

Harris:
Andrew, come on.

Andrew clearly knew what
had to be said in that trial

to make a difference.

And he was willing
to step up and do it.

Ward over phone:
Wow.

Wow. Wow.

Wow.

So is she willing to testify?

Is Shannon Harris on
the witness list? No, right?

Don spoke to--
The investigator spoke to her.

- Siegel: And?
- Thinks-- She says,

"Carranza's full of shit."

Yeah, this is crazy.

That's a big one.
Don, thank you very much.

I'll fill the team in on what's
going on here, but that's big.

Thank you.

Okay, cool.

- Okay.
- Do we have enough plates?

- All right.
- Yeah?

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- Plenty of everything.
- Ward: Okay, great.

All right, Don, Thank you.

Bye-bye.

Don spoke to the girlfriend
of their star witness,

and she says he's full of shit.

- Who did?
- Awesome.

All right.

Man:
Okay, who's saying this?

Siegel:
Shannon Harris.

The girlfriend who was there,
who was present.

Man 2:
Oh, the girl changing the tire?

- Yep.
- Yeah.

- Man: Super.
- Siegel: Super, good.

good win, good win.

( indistinct conversation )

- Man: Good morning, everybody.
- Man 2: Morning.

Tracy:
The next day when
the trial had resumed

I happened to bump
into Dan Manor

from the D.A.'s office,

and Dan knew what I knew.

Because he looked at me,
he says,

"What are you doing
talking to my witness?"

And I said,
"Dan, how could you

bring him all
the way from Hawaii

to testify to something that
you knew was not the truth?"

And he said,
"I have rules to follow.

I have people
I'm responsible to."

Fitzpatrick:
Dan Manor would've
spoken to Carranza

to logistically get
him flown in.

Nobody interviewed him
prior to flying him in.

I had no knowledge that
he was going to say

it was a black male
at the window

until I spoke to him
the day before he testified.

Why didn't anybody
ask Mr. Carranza

about the color
the man who was
looking out that window?

They said he was
looking out the window,

but no one asked
the description of the man...

Ward:
(Inaudible)

...the description of the man.
Was there...?

If there was a person
looking out that window

and there was a--

That was an
African-American person,

he would've said it.

Fitzpatrick:
There was no way

we could ethically
allow Andrew Carranza

to now say suddenly
four years later that,

"Oh yeah, it was a black male."

And in fact I'm fairly certain

he was prepared to say that it
was Nick Hillary at the window.

If we had not
had Shannon Harris

to come and testify,

or not planned on calling
her after he testified,

who would know the difference?

Knowing that we had witnesses

who would contradict
their statements in real time

and blow this up
in their faces,

they did not know that
when they booked his flight
from Hawaii...

- Right.
- ...to come up.

They found that out after
he was in Potsdam.

( indistinct conversation )

( metal detector beeps )

( music playing )

Catena:
Mr. Dumas?

Fitzpatrick:
Judge, I didn't take Mr. Duma''
remarks as accusatory,

but essentially
it's being suggested

that I'm withholding
exculpatory evidence

regarding a witness
I've never heard of.

So I will go through
our archives

and talk to the
investigators on the case

in an attempt
to identify Mr. Brown.

And obviously if there's
anything exculpatory

I fully know my obligations.

Rain:
D.A. Fitzpatrick has said,

"Well, who's Gregory Brown?"

I said, "I don't know
who Gregory Brown is."

And then as
he started explaining

that he was an inmate,
I was, like,

"Oh yes, I do remember
something about

the state police going out

and interviewing
this person at Attica.

Can I see counsel
in chambers, please?

Dumas:
We got into chambers
and they handed us two pages.

And we looked at it,

and we all just
kind of jaw-dropped.

Because this piece
of paper said that

John Jones entered
100 Market Street

approximately 15 minutes

before Garrett Phillips
entered 100 Market Street.

Eckert:
So my question is,

how would he even
know who John Jones is?

And John says that
he knows Greg Brown

from having played
football with him.

You know, he's, like,
"I didn't know him by name,

but I knew who he was."

"You know G-Money?"
I go, "Who's G-Money?"

And I'm not trying
to stereotype it

but I assumed
it was a black man.

And I said,

"No, I don't hang around
with a lot of black people,

so no I don't know who he is."

And he goes,
"You don't know Greg Brown?"

I said, "No." I go,
"Help me out with this."

And he goes, "You used to bounce
at this local establishment."

And I go, "Oh yeah.
Yeah, I know him."

I go, "Why?" He goes,

"Apparently he saw
you come out of--

or go into Tandy's
house that day."

I go, "Seriously?" I thought
it was a joke. He goes, "Yeah."

Dumas:
When they handed us
that document

I took one look at it

and that was probably

the one instance
in my whole career

of the clearest-cut
Brady material I've ever seen.

Brady material is a material

that's favorable to the defense,

something that might show
that Nick Hillary

didn't commit the crime.

And it's one of
those things that

you take a step back
as a defense attorney

and you're working
late at night,

and you say to yourself,

"Wait a minute.

If this is just coming out now,

what else is there?
What else don't we know?"

That's why these rules
are in place.

they're to protect
someone like Nick Hillary.

They're to protect
his constitutional rights.

Fitzpatrick:
Here's the problem.

Okay.

Should it have been disclosed?

Absolutely.

Inexcusable that
it wasn't disclosed.

In Mary's mind,

there's irrefutable proof

that John Jones
did not commit the crime,

ergo someone alleging
that John Jones

did commit the crime is lying.

So in her mind it went
from potentially exculpatory

to just total B.S.

Can't make that decision
as a prosecutor.

All I have is my reputation
when I'm appearing in court.

And I thought about, you know,

just packing it up and leaving,

but I couldn't do that to
Tandy and the Phillips family.

The prosecution's
witnesses today,

but instead the defense got up

and asked Judge Felix Catena
for a dismissal.

Now, that's an extreme
remedy to the situation,

but this is an extreme case.

You know, we've got a man who's
on trial for his life here.

This is a murder in the second,
and they're hiding this.

I think that it should be
an extreme remedy.

McKinley:
The judge is the judge
and the jury.

He is the man. He will
decide Nick Hillary's fate.

And so for him to sit in
a courtroom and someone say,

"Oh, by the way,

we forgot to give
some information

to the defense team,"

I'm sure that that
must've set off some alarm bells

for him in his brain,
where he was, like,

"What's the
prosecution doing here?"

And I think that that

probably was part of
the defense's strategy as well.

Liz Garbus:
Excuse me, Earl,

can you say where
you're going now

and then we'll let you go?

We are headed over to

the jail to speak
to Gregory Brown.

Garbus:
They brought him down
fairly quickly, huh?

Yes, fairly quickly.
Rapid speed.

I'm sure some of
you are thinking,

"Well, they didn't
use Gregory Brown.

He must be a whack-job."

Gregory Brown
is not a whack-job.

He's not a whacko.

He was very credible,

and he didn't
remember everything

in part because there's
been a passage of time.

The idea that somehow
John Jones was at that building,

did you find it credible
or was it the case

of there being too many holes in
his account to use it in court?

Siegel:
The fact that John Jones
was not only there

but went into 100 Market.

Which I thought was important.

I found that credible.

There is no way
in hell John Jones--

The guy is on video
walking his dog

at the time the
murder takes place.

You can't have
better evidence.

And his DNA didn't match

the DNA profile under
the fingernails.

It wasn't John Jones because,

you know, as I've said before,

who brings their dog
to a murder?

Nobody.

Coincidences happen.

Twenty-nine seconds
after John Jones

pulled into his driveway,

Garrett rode by on his Ripstik.

Now, I think the prosecution
would clearly say,

"That's a coincidence."

Mortati:
There's a camera on the side of
Canton-Potsdam Hospital,

and among other things,

it just coincidentally
also captures John Jones' house

because he happened to live on
Cottage Street at that time. Two

different cameras.

You see Garrett coming down the
northside sidewalk of Cottage.

He gets to the driveway
that you would turn right

to go towards the ER.

The second camera from the ER

that shows the parking lot,
shows Garrett

basically passing
from left to right

as he's traveling down
Cottage Street.

They don't pass each other
waving or anything like that.

You don't see that on camera.

Ward:
It's a coincidence
with John Jones,

but it's not a coincidence
with Nick Hillary.

John Jones,

who was the former
boyfriend of Tandy Collins.

John Jones,
who didn't like Nick Hillary.

John Jones,
who once pushed Tandy Collins.

John Jones,
who had sued Tandy Collins.

Nick being in the parking lot,

in their view,
is evidence of murder.

I submit to you, Judge,
it is not.

Siegel:
What we now have to do

is weave together
all of the depositions,

the grand jury testimony,

the transcripts of the days
of testimony so far

of 28 witnesses,

and put together a concise,
powerful statement.

There's always pressure when
someone's life is on the line.

I mean, Nick loses,

he's going-- We lose,

he's going away for
the rest of his life.

He has two young kids,

two young boys, really cute
little boys who love him.

And last time I saw him,

kids was holding onto
him and saying, "Don't go."

And so it was
really heartwarming

and at the same time...

scary.

And we've got
Fitzpatrick in there also?

Siegel:
Yes.

I'll double-check on that.
I think-- Yep.

- Great.
- Siegel: Yeah,

and so it's on page 76.

Ward:
I've seen a lot of injustices,

and I just hope that
this is not one of them.

And we're hoping that we can

win this case for him so that
he can get back to his life.

Ward:
The prosecution
has pieced together--

they've cobbled together

fabrics of
so-called "evidence."

And they've given you, Judge,

a torn and tattered quilt.

And they have given this torn
and tattered quilt to you,

and they've called it
"circumstantial evidence."

They're trying to paint
this picture of Nick

as an obsessed psychopath who,

unable to get the love of
his life, kills her child.

Does that make sense?

I submit to you it makes
absolutely no sense.

It's not the type of theory
you bring into a courtroom

and ask a judge to find
a man guilty of murder.

Guilty of murder
in the second degree.

What they're trying
to do here, Your Honor,

what they're trying to do here
is to demonize--

Is to demonize this man.

I know the prosecutor's going
to stand up here,

and he's going to say to you,

in the loudest voice as he can,

"You have to convict
Nick Hillary."

And he will say to you,

"I have proven my case beyond
a reasonable doubt."

Judge, this case
is riddled with doubt.

Fitzpatrick:
I can't emphasize enough,
Judge,

how in this case...

there's two
possible explanations.

You have to give the benefit
of the doubt to the defendant.

But possibility number one
is either Nick Hillary

is the victim of
the most bizarre convergence

of coincidences

since man first learned
to write and record history,

and he sits there
an innocent man,

or, on October the 24th, 2011,

obsessed by his break-up
with Tandy Cyrus,

enraged that it
came down to the needs

of the 12-year-old boy--

As if there was some moral
confluence between

his needs and the needs
of a 12-year-old boy.

He entered
that boy's apartment,

he chased him down,

he dragged him into a bedroom,

and he spent 90 seconds
choking the life out of him.

And he's been lying
about it ever since.

What kind of mind can
orchestrate something
like that, Judge?

The same type of mind that
can look you right in the eye

and say that,
"When I leave the Potsdam

parking high school
parking lot,

and my apartment is
four-tenths of a mile

in a straight line to the right,

sometimes I go left,

and it doesn't make
any difference to me."

That's the type of mind
that we're dealing with.

"And of course you've
got to believe me,

because I'm Nick Hillary,
and I said it.

And that's good enough--

Should be good enough for you."

And we're here, Your Honor,

because of tapes,

but frankly none more
important than exhibit 71.

And there's the last time

we ever see
Garrett Phillips alive.

Garrett Phillips

wasn't killed by someone
passing through town

who hates little boys.

He was killed by Nick Hillary.

He wanted to be
with his friends.

He wanted to occasionally
watch TV, judge.

He wanted to play on
his Ripstik.

He wanted to be 12 years-old,

not be dictated to,

and that cost him his life.

Now Garrett belongs
to the ages.

He's forever 12.

I wish you Godspeed, Judge.

I pray to God you've seen this
defendant for what he truly is.

A person who with premeditation

murdered a beautiful
12-year-old little boy.

And he did it so
arrogantly and stupidly,

that he can now finally
be brought to justice.

Thank you, Your Honor.

Catena:
With regard to
the Court's decision,

the Court's verdict,

I anticipate Wednesday
or Thursday of next week

that we'll stand in recess
to await the court's verdict.

Thank you, everybody.

( gavel bangs )

( music playing )

A verdict is expected
at some point this week

in the Nick Hillary
murder trial.

The former Clarkson
University soccer coach

is facing a second-degree
murder charge

for the 2011 death of
his ex-girlfriend's son.

He'll be back in the courtroom

as soon as
a verdict is reached.

Child:
Hi, daddy.

N. Hillary:
Look at what I got right here.

Child:
I want hot dogs.

N. Hillary:
It is. It's a special
kind of hot dog.

Just trust me, okay?

No, that's not a hot dog.

N. Hillary:
It's not a hot dog?

No, it's pepperoni.

- That's pepperonis?
- Yes.

N. Hillary:
No, this is better
than pepperonis, man.

Good job, Jo-Jo.

Good job, Jo-Jo.

Child:
(Inaudible)

N. Hillary:
Wake up every day

and you're trying
to enjoy every second,

every minute with your kids,

all the while trying
to protect them

and shelter them
from the unknown.

( indistinct conversation )

- ( phone ringing )
- Huh?

Child:
(Inaudible)

Okay.

All right.

N. Hillary:
Come on boys.

- Child: I want a lift.
- Okay. All right.

Let's say bye.
Give me beso.

Child:
But why?

N. Hillary:
Give me beso.

I love you. I'll see
you in a few, okay?

I want One more beso.

One more beso.

All right.

Give daddy beso now, son Jo-Jo.

- Beso! Beso!
- Give me beso.

Elijah:
Dad, how are you going
to work this out?

( kisses )

N. Hillary:
One more.

( kisses )

- All right.
- Elijah: Daddy...

Hmm?

I'll give you a (inaudible),

- okay?
- Elijah: Yeah.

Remember the promise.

What's the promise?

Don't cry.

Okay, good, good.

( inaudible )

N. Hillary:
All right?

All right, Jo-Jo.

Give me five, man.

All right.

( inaudible )

N. Hillary:
Be strong, okay bud?

Elijah:
How are you going
to work this out, dad?

N. Hillary:
Everything's going
to be all right, okay?

( horn honks )

( music playing )

N. Hillary:
Praying continuously
that the correct decision

will come down,

and I will have to get down
on my hands and my knees

and start rebuilding, you know?

Because everything I have built
up until this point

has been totally destroyed.

Haverty:
No matter what happens,

you know, there's no real,
like, reparations

that are going to go
back to Nick's family

for all the--

The fact that he lost his job,

for the debt that
his family went into.

His name is kind of ruined.

Google "Nick Hillary"--

His name is next to
the word "murder."

And even if it's
that he's innocent,

He's stuck with that
for the rest of his life.

( dog barking )

Female reporter:
In the news today,

Judge Felix Catena will
hand down his verdict

in the Nick Hillary
murder trial.

We'll bring that
to you live at 10:00 a.m.

Male reporter:
One or two more words,
"guilty" or "not guilty."

Man:
Nick, how you feeling today?
Confident?

McKinley:
You can look at
it one of two ways.

You can look at it
that Nick Hillary did this,

that he strangled a 12-year-old,

either out of rage
or to punish Tandy,

and then clambered out
that back window

and has managed since then

to convey himself
as an innocent victim,

which would be an
act of true pathology.

Or that someone else did this,

and somehow entered
that apartment,

strangled this little boy
for reasons unknown,

then clambered out
that apartment

and escaped into the night,

and has never
been heard from again.

And either one of those
options are frightening.

( ticking )

( bangs )

Catena:
Please be seated,
ladies and gentlemen.

Good morning and welcome back
to St. Lawrence County Court.

This is a continuation
of the People,

the State of New York,
against Oral Nicholas Hillary,

indictment number 2015-015.

The matter was
scheduled this morning

for the Court to
deliver its verdict.

Mr. Hillary,
if you'll please rise.

Defendant was indicted
on January 19, 2015

for the October 24, 2011
murder of Garrett Phillips.

A trial was had before this
court sitting without a jury

over the course of three weeks.

The case against the defendant
is entirely based upon

circumstantial evidence.

Because of this the Court
must review the evidence

in this case under
a rigorous standard.

Accordingly,

it is the judgment of this court
that as to the charge of murder

in the second degree as
charged in the indictment,

the defendant,
Oral Nicholas Hillary

is found not guilty.

( applause )

There having been an acquittal,

the court shall enter an order
pursuant to section 160-50

of the criminal procedural law.

Bail is exonerated,
and the defendant is released.

Ladies and gentlemen,

this court is adjourned,
thank you.

( music playing )

Siegel:
Someone killed
Garrett Phillips,

but it wasn't Nick Hillary.

Rain:
The families were
extremely distraught.

They've lost a 12-year-old boy,

and now they see their--

The murderer of that
12-year-old boy

walking out of
the courtroom, free.

Siegel:
The criminal justice
system worked here.

It is important that the public

fully understand

how our criminal justice system
is intended to work,

and that sometimes...

Sometimes it
actually does work.

I'm 100% certain that
Nick Hillary was the man.

There will be no search
for anybody else.

He was the only person
that committed this crime,

I'm 100% certain of that.

Man:
Conversation that you
might've had with Tandy?

Rain:
Tandy is a very private person.

I just simply...

expressed my condolences,

and that was about it.

And she said,
"I know you guys tried."

Ward:
So I just want to say
that this team,

this legal team,
is not oblivious
to the fact

that there is a
family that even after
five years still grieves.

And I think the judge,

despite all of that emotion

that was exhibited
in that courtroom,

despite all the pain that
he saw from that family,

he had the courage
and he had the strength

to apply the law to the facts,

and after doing so

he determined that
Nick Hillary was not guilty.

( indistinct chatter )

( applause )

Yeah.

He's a man of God,
you serve a little time.

N. Hillary:
It was the second time,

you know, some of my teammates
have seen me crying.

Garbus:
What was the other time?

It was when we won
the national championship.

Yeah. So that was
the first time.

Are you going to go
back to coaching?

I mean,
I've never ruled it out,

but at the same token,

you know, the focus
right now at this moment

is to get back with my family,

and try to get back as

best sense of normalcy
within their life,

and then start to explore
the possibility going forward.

N. Hillary:
Brother Norm. Thank you.

- Siegel: You take care.
- N. Hillary: Yes, will do,

- will do.
- Be careful.

Yes, yes, yes.

Even though it's over,
it ain't over.

Exactly, exactly, exactly.

- It's never over.
- It's never over, exactly.

( music playing )

N. Hillary:
Thank you so much.

Man:
Yep.

N. Hillary:
All right.

( music continues )

Hey, boy.

What's going on?

Yeah.

( child exclaims )

N. Hillary:
Hey. ( laughs )

Elijah:
Why are you still dressed up
from the meeting?

N. Hillary:
Well, you know,

I didn't have time to change.

Elijah:
Let's go.

N. Hillary:
All right. Here we go.

( theme music playing )