Calvin Harris is pictured during his second trial held in 2009. (File Photo)
Jury selection is expected to begin Thursday in Schoharie County in New York for Calvin Harris, the Spencer, N.Y. resident and Tioga County businessman who was convicted twice for murder in the disappearance of his estranged wife, Michele Harris sometime between the evening of Sept. 11, 2001 and Sept. 12, 2001. Neither her body nor a weapon has ever been found.
After Calvin Harris’ second conviction, he spent some time in prison before the conviction was once again overturned in appeals and a new trial ordered. Shortly after, a change in venue was ordered.
The reason for the change of venue was based on the polarization that revolved around all proceedings, to include airings on 48-Hours and Dateline. The defense has continued to argue that Calvin Harris did not receive a fair trial because of the saturated local media and this polarization. Coverage authorization of the third trial, according to reports, was being debated as the trial neared.
Thursday, jury selection is projected to begin, with the trial anticipated to last into February, and take place Monday through Thursday of each week at the courthouse in Schoharie County.
The first trial’s verdict for Calvin Harris was overturned following testimony by Kevin Tubbs who came forward, stating that Michele Harris was at the end of the Spencer, N.Y. driveway the couple shared in the early morning hours on Sept. 12, 2001, hours after the prosecutor claimed that Calvin Harris had killed her.
Following the second trial held in 2009 in Tioga County, N.Y., in which Calvin Harris was found guilty, he was sent to the Auburn Correctional Facility where he spent approximately three years.
In the fall of 2012, the State Court of Appeals overturned the second-degree murder conviction of Calvin Harris, setting the stage for a third trial.
Calvin Harris, when he returned to the Tioga County Courthouse after his conviction was overturned, was subsequently released on a previously set bond.
According to reports, the trial is expected to begin Monday.
Schoharie County is located half way between Oneonta and Albany in New York.
