This building is the fourth one to serve as the Schoharie County Court House; the first was in a private residence and the other two burned to the ground. The present blue limestone structure was built in 1870. The Court House is now the scene of the third trial for Calvin Harris of Tioga County, N.Y. who is on trial a third time for murder charges in connection with the disappearance of his wife Michele Harris in September 2001. (Schoharie County Court Photo)
According to reports regarding the Calvin Harris murder trial in Schoharie County, opening arguments began on Thursday, Feb. 5, and following a grueling jury selection process. Calvin Harris, the 53-year-old Tioga County resident and businessman is on trial, for a third time, for murder charges in connection with the disappearance of his wife, Michele Harris, who was last seen sometime during the evening hours of Sept. 11, 2001, and whose body has never been found.
The trial was moved to Schoharie County after the second verdict was overturned in 2009 by the New York State Court of Appeals, and a new trial ordered.
According to reporters covering the trial that have been providing Twitter updates, the jury selection process was slow, and during opening arguments on Thursday, the defense immediately requested a mistrial, a request that was denied by presiding Judge George R. Bartlett III.
The prosecution delivered a 40-minute opening statement, according to reports, arguing that Calvin Harris threatened his wife Michele’s life several times during their marriage, and desired to control everything, including his finances, children and marriage.
Prosecutor Kirk Martin talked of the demise of the couple’s marriage, and stated that it was full of threats, lies, and infidelity.
Calvin Harris’ Attorney, Bruce Barket of Marion, Epstein & Kearon, LLC, requested a mistrial Thursday morning and stated, according to reports, that “he (Kirk Martin), torpedoed the defense’s credibility in a way he didn’t think they can recover from.”
The defense team will give their opening statement at 9:30 a.m. on Monday morning, followed by the prosecution’s first witness.
The prosecutor in this case, newly appointed Tioga County District Attorney Kirk Martin, stated last week that Dr. Henry Lee, the forensic blood expert who testified at a previous trial for Calvin Harris in Tioga County, N.Y., will be called back for testimony in this third trial regarding blood splatter analysis found at the Harris residence during initial investigations — which was a prosecution argument in both previous trials.
Judge George R. Bartlett III has stated that the trial will most likely take place for six to eight weeks, and possibly longer.
Calvin Harris was first convicted in 2007 of murdering his estranged wife, Michele Harris, who disappeared sometime during the evening of Sept. 11, 2001.
That conviction was overturned when Kevin Tubbs, a livestock and hay hauler, came forward following the verdict stating that Michele Harris was seen with an unidentified man at the end of the driveway at the Hagadorn Hill Road residence in Spencer, N.Y. that Calvin and Michele Harris shared, hours after the prosecution said Calvin Harris had killed her.
A statement by a man named John Steele was introduced into a previous trial that paralleled that of Kevin Tubbs. This statement, however, was never introduced as evidence as Steele passed away and was unable to be cross-examined.
According to Attorney Barket, during a press conference held last year in Tioga County, N.Y., he stated, “New York State has the most wrongful convictions.”
The Change of Venue was granted to offer Calvin Harris an unbiased and fair trial, he added.
