Calvin Harris, who remains charged with second-degree murder following the disappearance of his wife, Michele Harris in September of 2001, departs the Schoharie County Courthouse in Schoharie, N.Y. on Wednesday, Aug 26, 2015 following a conference that discussed the direction the court will take regarding the charges. Although a motion for dismissal has been filed by the defense, a fourth trial for Calvin Harris has been set on the court’s calendar for March 2, 2016. (Photos by Wendy Post)
Defense Attorney Bruce Barket addresses the media at the Schoharie County Courthouse in Schoharie, N.Y. on Wednesday, Aug 26, 2015 following a conference that discussed the direction the court will take regarding his client, Calvin Harris’ second-degree murder charges. Although a motion for dismissal has been filed by the defense, a fourth trial for Calvin Harris has been set on the court’s calendar for March 2, 2016.
A conference was held at the Schoharie County Courthouse on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015 to determine the direction for the Calvin Harris second-degree murder trial. After mulling over a 51-page motion submitted by the defense asking for dismissal, a date for a fourth trial was placed on the court’s calendar for March 2, 2016, with a pre-trial conference planned for Jan. 20, 2016 at 1 p.m.
These dates, of course, are dependent on the motion filed by the defense, in which Schoharie County Court Judge George Bartlett III gave the District Attorney, Kirk Martin, until Oct. 5, 2015 to respond to. Judge Bartlett allowed the defense two weeks following the Oct. 5 date to respond to the district attorney.
Tioga County, N.Y. resident Calvin Harris remains accused of second-degree murder in connection with the disappearance of his wife Michele Harris in September 2001.
With a handful of reporters, investigators, and the family of Calvin Harris on-hand for Wednesday’s 1 p.m. conference in Schoharie, N.Y., a new trial date, following a brief private conference with the judge and counsel, was set for March 2, 2016, with a pre-trial conference planned for Jan. 20, 2016 at 1 p.m. at the same location.
The motion filed by the defense, dated Aug. 24, 2015, requested the court to bar a retrial as a violation of double jeopardy, and to dismiss the indictment.
Within the motion, signed by Defense Attorney Donna Aldea, Esq., it was stated, “Because the People’s case was facially insufficient, failing as a matter of law to prove either that Mr. Harris killed Michele, or that he did so intentionally, as required for a second degree murder conviction, the defense motion for a trial order of dismissal should have been granted. As a result, the motion continued, Mr. Harris’s retrial should be barred by double jeopardy.
As stated earlier, the district attorney will have until Oct. 5 to respond, and then the defense offered two weeks to counter-respond.
As for the rescheduling of a March 2, 2016 fourth trial, Defense Attorney Bruce Barket stated that they are ready.
“We filed to prevent another trial,” said Barket following the conference, adding, “They [the prosecution] haven’t presented enough.”
Barket also noted they will argue third party culpability again.
“We have witnesses that testified that two men burned bloody clothing, and we think that’s significant; they are looking in the wrong place,” Barket added.
Specifically, Barket was referring to documents filed during the third trial regarding Stacy Stewart and Christopher Thomason containing witness statements that would change the course of the trial with accusations surrounding a burned bloody t-shirt, and alleged bragging about being able to hide a body. Stewart also left New York and returned to Texas immediately following Michele Harris’ disappearance.
None of these statements were allowed to be presented to the jury in the third trial held in the spring based on a third party culpability ruling rendered by Judge Bartlett.
The defense stated on Wednesday that they plan to fight harder for third party culpability to be presented in this case, which could ultimately exonerate their client, Calvin Harris.
Defense Attorney Barket said they expect they will have even more evidence pointing in that direction at the next trial, and criticized the prosecution, stating that their case has been a rerun, three times.
When asked why the prosecution is insisting on a fourth trial versus looking in other areas, Barket stated, “Read Moby Dick and you will get the answer for that. They won’t admit that they made a mistake in their investigation.”
After three trials, with the first ending in an overturned conviction by the judge, the second being thrown out on appeals, and the third at a new venue, concluding with a hung jury, Calvin Harris, who remains charged with second degree murder in connection with the disappearance of his wife Michele Harris in September 2001, is now scheduled to face a fourth trial on March 2, 2016.
Calvin Harris’ wife disappeared sometime during the evening of Sept. 11, 2001 and the morning of Sept. 12, 2001. Neither the body of Michele Harris or a murder weapon has ever been found.
Following her disappearance, investigators converged on Calvin Harris’ home with sonar, heat seeking sensors, dogs, 4-wheelers, helicopters, and even night vision goggles. They also used a GPS tracking device to follow him.
In 2005, the district attorney at that time, Gerald Keene, pushed to indict Calvin Harris. By 2007, the first second-degree murder trial took place in Tioga County, N.Y.
After approximately three weeks of testimony, and four hours of deliberations, a jury found Calvin Harris guilty following a circumstantial case presented by the prosecution that centered around blood stains found in the home, and Calvin Harris’ behavior following his wife’s disappearance.
But a farmer, Kevin Tubbs, came forward after the first verdict was rendered — stating he saw what appeared to be Michele Harris at the end of their driveway on Hagadorn Hill on the morning of Sept. 12, 2001, and she was arguing with a man that wasn’t Calvin Harris.
The judge at that time, Judge Martin Smith, held a credibility hearing, and determined Kevin Tubbs was credible. The judge then allowed his testimony to be entered, and then overturned the verdict.
Since that trial, the defense was able to connect Tubbs’ description to that of Stacy Stewart, and Kevin Tubbs was able to testify to this in the third trial.
In 2009, another trial was held in Tioga County that lasted five weeks, and saw 10 hours of deliberations. The verdict — guilty. Judge James Hayden presided.
This time Calvin Harris was sent to the Auburn Correctional Facility where he spent three years until an appellate court overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial.
A change of venue was granted, and in 2015 the third trial began in Schoharie County. This trial spanned through 11 weeks of testimony, and 11 days, or 57 hours and 15 minutes of deliberations before ending in a deadlock, or hung jury.
The defense is now stating they are prepared for a fourth trial if that is what they have to do.
