Defense Investigator authors book on the Cal Harris trials

It has been a little over three years since the charges against Calvin Harris, in relation to his wife’s disappearance on Sept. 11, 2001, were dismissed following a fourth trial in Schoharie, N.Y., and where a trial judge rendered a verdict of not guilty.

Throughout the four trials, and a period of incarceration that followed the second trial, Calvin Harris maintained his innocence. Now, a private investigator hired by Harris following his wife’s disappearance has published a book, “Reign of Injustice.”

Defense investigator David M. Beers worked on the Calvin Harris case from start-to-finish. His account, “Reign of Injustice,” walks you through the details and events of the case never before revealed. 

When we spoke with David Beers on Wednesday, he explained why the book had to be written.

“We need to make the public aware of what’s going on, because justice hasn’t been served; Michele [Harris] is still missing,” said Beers.

On the evening of Sept. 11, 2001, 9/11, Michele Harris never returned to the estranged couple’s Spencer, New York home. To this date, her body has never been found.

The State Police in New York and their investigators launched what was continuously described during all four trials as a “relentless pursuit” of Calvin Harris as their primary suspect.

In 2005, an indictment was secured against Harris, but in 2006 the first trial was postponed when Judge Vincent Sguelia was asked to recuse himself from the case by the then District Attorney Gerald Keene. 

Shortly after, state court officials appointed Broome County Judge Martin E. Smith, who threw out the District Attorney’s indictment. But in February of 2007, another indictment was secured. 

The second murder trial began in Tioga County Court, with a jury finding Calvin Harris guilty of the charge of second-degree murder. Sentencing was sentenced for August 2007.

But prior to sentencing, a farmer, Kevin Tubbs, came forward with testimony that conflicted with the prosecution’s timeline of events leading to Michele’s disappearance. 

Judge Smith, with the testimony provided by Tubbs, threw out the jury’s conviction and ordered a new trial. 

In 2009, Chemung County Judge James Hayden was selected to preside over the second murder trial, which resulted in a guilty verdict. Harris was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, but was released when a State Court of Appeals overturned his second-degree murder conviction in 2012.

After a change in venue was granted, the third trial moved to Schoharie, a small town off of I-88 and near Albany. 

The third trial lasted five months, and ended in a mistrial. 

A fourth trial began in March of 2016, and was a bench trial with Judge Richard Mott presiding. It was during this time that arguments surrounding third-party culpability were allowed; arguments that the author, Beers, dives into further in his new book.

The trial ended on May 24, 2016 with a not-guilty verdict rendered by Judge Mott, thus leaving Calvin Harris a free man.

During Wednesday’s interview with Author David Beers, he stated, “Cal was convicted because of his character, and not his actions.”

Other information revealed in the book surrounds a trip that Beers took to Texas, the home of Stacey Stewart; a third party that became a defense focus during the trial(s). 

In his book, Beers reveals some of his own theories. “It was based on a good faith estimate from what I learned,” said Beers.

As for the title, Beers stated that it really defines what the book is about. “For 15 years it was a reign of injustice,” he added.

And although the 476-page book is complete, and can be preordered on Amazon, Calvin Harris is still in the courtroom, this time regarding his Civil Complaint filed on Aug. 22, 2017 against the Tioga County District Attorney’s Office, former Tioga County District Attorney Gerald Keene, and several State Police investigators, to include Susan Mulvey.

The complaint states that Calvin Harris was charged, prosecuted, and tried over an 11-year period for the death of Michele Harris, who went missing on Sept. 11, 2001. In the complaint, Harris states he was targeted, hunted, and pursued.

The complaint filed by Harris is pending, with a recent response from Tioga County that denies accusations within the complaint, and argues that all four of the murder trials were pursued within the scope of the law.