After all, she notes, the Justice for Garrett campaign became Get Nick Hillary. They were always, always intertwined. ", Shortly after he took office in 2018, the new St. Lawrence County D.A., Gary Pasqua, told NCPR he wanted to conduct his own review. proceeds with the case. Per The Daily Beast, Jones was involved in the immediate aftermath of Phillips' death; he went with Phillips' mother to police interviews and called dispatchers to get information on what was going on. HE HAD A KEY!!! Police collected fingerprints from the window; they are not Hillary's and have never been identified, Murray said. Phillips also knows that the former DA, Mary Rain, had her law license suspended last summer. The apartment that Jones helped Cyrus find was the same spot where Phillips was found gravely hurt. Nick is innocent, and cannot be retried. That trial could begin later this fall. https://www.oxygen.com/martinis-murder/who-killed-garret-phillips-theories, https://heavy.com/news/2016/09/garrett-phillips-abc-news-2020-trial-potsdam-obituary-nick-hillary-websleuths/, https://philosophyofcrime.com/the-murder-of-garrett-phillips/, https://www.nny360.com/news/crime/garrett-phillips-revisited-recent-leads-in-murder-case-fall-flat/article_615185e3-73a4-511c-a287-43c85b845d14.html. The prosecutor would thunder that the camera had in fact recorded Nick out "hunting" for the boy just minutes before his death. People want to be heroes. On October 26, two days after the murder, Nick was brought into the station. Tonight, ABC News' and Dateline will both. But who's looking, you know, 40 yards off, 50 yards off the street on a dark, rainy night for someone jumping out a window?". When 12-year-old Garrett Phillips was murdered in 2011 . Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. The next part of the investigation was from a surveillance camera. They were very much in his personal space as he was standing there naked with several cops around. You know, outlandish thoughts like, 'Maybe Garrett fell out the window and made his way back up here and died,' or an accident happened in the apartment and one of the kids didn't wanna get caught or in trouble, so he went out the window. Soon afterwards, a neighbor in Garretts apartment building heard strange noises and called 911. After about a year together, Tandy moved out with her sons. Garbus and her crew interviewed him many times, filmed him with his kids and in his home, and included footage of his 2016 trial. At 4:40pm, Shanna-Kay took a shower. Garbus shares that she was in contact with Tandy while in production on the project, and she expressed the possibility of sitting down for an interview once the trial was over. And that's an important part of the lawsuit Hillary has since filed against many individuals involved in his case. Today, Garrett's mother's ex-boyfriend, Nick Hillary, was found not guilty in the boy's murder. But Hillary was black and Jones was white, and Hillary was focused on as a suspect with much more intensity. Oral "Nick" Hillary, center, hugs defense attorney Edward Narrow after being found not guilty in the murder of Garrett Phillips on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016, in Canton, N.Y. Years ago, Nick patronized a bar on Potsdam's main drag where the bartender was a single mother. When he arrived back home to the second-floor apartment he shared with his mother and younger brother , someone would strangle and suffocate the life out of the boy. It doesn't appear as though his daily life has been drastically altered following the case: without reports to the contrary, one can assume that he still resides in Potsdam, New York. Its no secret how police usually do their work. Oct. 24 marked the ninth anniversary of the murder of 12-year-old Garrett Phillips. For years, no one was named in Phillips death. The two-part HBO documentary Who Killed Garrett Phillips? doesnt solve the mystery but looks at the case through a critical lens. Phillips refused to make an example out of anyone. They tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital around 7pm. "Everybody that knows me knows what goes through my head and who I believe," Phillips said. Hillary still swears by his innocence, while the cops and prosecutor reiterate that Hillary was the only person who could have done this and had opportunity in their minds.. Nicks defense team said right away that the police had tunnel vision and said it was a race issue. They're calling for the state Attorney General. He loved sports, being with his friends and ripsticking (kind of like skateboarding, but your back leg always moves). Nick Hillary's defense had elected to waive a jury trial and argue directly to the judge. Mar 8, 2019. And that was the tunnel vision., And that was on what Garbus wanted to shine a larger light with this project. "It was a true tragedy," he said. The documentary examines and chronicles the years following the 2011 murder of 12-year-old Garrett Phillips and the subsequent trial of Clarkson University soccer coach Oral "Nick" Hillary. MORE : Robbie Williams takes terrifying Halloween decorations to the next level with a giant witch statue, MORE : Rose McGowan pays homage to Mia Farrow on Halloween in Rosemarys Baby costume, Putin formally suspends last nuclear arms treaty left with the US, Today presenter forced to leave mid-show and rush home after falling ill, Boy, 15, shot dead by his older brother, Scott Mills misses romantic weekend after getting locked in electric car for five hours, How a group of LGBTQ+ MPs helped fight Hitler years before Britain did, Robbie Williams takes terrifying Halloween decorations to the next level with a giant witch statue, Rose McGowan pays homage to Mia Farrow on Halloween in Rosemarys Baby costume, Do not sell or share my personal information. But in a county thats population is more than 90% white, the killing of a child -- a crime that screamed out for justice -- became an investigation that boiled with questions of racial fairness. The lead does not involve Nick Hillary, the person who was found not guilty of Garrett Phillips' murder. The coachs daughter Shanna-Kay Hillary testified for her father and said he was in their house at the time of Garretts murder. NCPR checked in with Pasqua last month. "You could see that Garrett had neatly set his sneakers by the closet. Criminal justice experts say its not uncommon for an investigation this complicated to have leads that dont really go anywhere but that doesnt mean police should just forget about them. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The neighbors knocked on the door, and heard what sounded like the door being locked and latched. It concerns a group of people who were living in the North Country around the time of the murder. When they didnt hear back, they called on state Attorney General Tish James to intervene. July 24, 2019. New information has come to light and is being investigated in the 2011 murder of 12-year-old Garrett J. Phillips. Nick Hillary, Tandy Cyrus Collins, lawyer who questioned Hillary in civil suit to be featured on NBC https://t.co/EkWKVOTN1o #lawyer. Yet somehow, within hours, police. He was the last person seen with him and he was know to be violent and committed a confirmed violent act. I dont want to ever talk bad about the police, because some of them actually do their jobs the way they are supposed to, however this police department didnt. Powered by. Shanna testified that Hillary was home with her at the . Nick Hillary 20/20 Interview After Found Not Guilty of Murder. Director of the documentary Liz Garbus, added: And what you dont know if you havent seen the documentary yet is Nick was an all American soccer champion and a graduate from Saint Lawrence University and became a coach at Clarkson, coaching a great soccer team and a military veteran. For five years my family and I have been livin underneath this cloud, said Nick. "Im here because justice is due for Garrett and justice is due for Nick Hillary, too," Baxtron said on Friday. His mother's ex-boyfriend, Nick Hillary, was found not guilty of the murder just over two years ago in a. Phillips's final hours. She told ABC, I just remember him looking down at me over the tops of his glasses, telling me that there was nothing else that they could do., Cyrus was initially told that Garrett fell. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. Hillary was confused, especially because Jones was not in his deputy uniform and he wasn't sure if Jones was there in an official capacity or not. There was really nothing beyond whats in the film that we were able to learn.. "It's a very busy street. In a complaint filed to the county attorney's office, Hillary claimed that Jones "trailed [him] home in his truck" in September 2010, then knocked on his door to ask him about his "romantic relationship with a certain individual." Join now Sign in . Whether Phillips mother agrees remains to be seen. Police have estimated that Garretts murder took place around 5pm neighbors called the police to complain of hearing strange noises coming from his apartment at 5:07pm. Filling the benches behind, were foursquare supporters of Hillary across the aisle from Tandy's extended family. The murder trial began in the county seat, Canton, New York this month. Cyrus did not want to participate. But Hillary and a vocal group of supporters say that he has been wrongfully accused. He loved his ripstick," Phillips said. With the case still very much open and unsolved, justice for Phillips has not been achieved. He added: "It was definitely frustrating. Hillary, after years in the bulls-eye of public opinion, also broke down in tears, a free man once more. Read more at watertowndailytimes.com. Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. His killer is still out there. (Courtesy of HBO ). Years passed with no arrest, and now Nick Hillary, a former college soccer coach and an ex-boyfriend of Phillips's mother, awaits trial on a murder charge. ), Police canvassed the neighborhood, but no one had witnessed anything, Murray said. By the time Liz Garbus 's two-part documentary " Who Killed Garrett Phillips ?" debuts on HBO, there could be a new public lead in the case of the murdered titular 12-year-old. Genre: Documentary. The medical examiner also collected DNA from under Garretts nails. Lauren Rosenthal (Investigative Reporter and Producer), A phone call from inside the investigation, Gumball machine serves up free poetry in the Adirondacks, Not in Old Forge's backyard? Dateline's been covering the case of Garrett Phillips for over a year. He was 12. Apparently, the town of Potsdam is split about if Nick is guilty or innocent. Weve been covering the case for over a year. The only real signs of struggle was his sweatshirt laying in the hallway and his physical body.". The two-part HBO documentary "Who Killed. As least, that's. miaomy 3 yr. ago. Before he spoke with NCPR, Trainum reviewed press clippings and media coverage to familiarize himself with the Garrett Phillips case. Rain ran for district attorney of Potsdam in 2013 with a platform that specifically singled out Tandy Phillips, promising to prosecute someone for the murder of Garrett. The victim, Garrett Phillips, was only 12 years old. Oral Nick Hillary stands outside the St. Lawrence County Courthouse Wednesday in Canton during a press conference after he was found not guilty of murdering Garrett Phillips. That there'd been a rush to judgment. And we talked of his passion: Soccer. "But the day of the verdict, something just hit me. "In [the Garrett Phillips] case, the head person is a chief of police who ran the investigation originally, is convinced that they got the right person, and is not going to want to devote a lot of time and resources of his personnel into something that hethinks is useless," Trainum said. "When someone is wrongfully convicted or wrongfully prosecuted, the true perpetrator remains on the streets to commit another crime," Bastuk said, referring to the Phillips case, which remains unsolved. Director: Liz Garbus. Garrett was described as always being a happy kid, who always had a smile on his face. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Interim Police Chief in Potsdam, New York, Mark Murray, stands in the house where Phillips' body was found on Sept. 27, 2016. Just to say, I tried. A 'Justice for Garrett' sign is pictured in an undated photo. But going forward, it looks like industry-shifting life sciences On that rainy afternoon in October 2011, police responded to the scene at just after 5 p.m. after next-door neighbors heard concerning noises from Garrett's apartment and called 911. He also said he'd talked with police and met with Garrett Phillips mother but he didn't want to discuss his findings. They also knocked on the door and said they heard footsteps coming from inside the apartment. Meanwhile Garretts autopsy was done. Here was the thing about the investigation though: crime scene techs could come up with no forensic clues -- no fingerprints, no DNA, no tissue and no hair linking Nick to what was theorized to be a violent hands-on struggle in a small space. On the morning of October 26, 2011, Hillary, then a soccer coach in Potsdam, was summoned to the Potsdam police station. Also pictured is his defense team, Norman Siegel, left, Edward Narrow, right center, and Earl Ward, right. Hillary claims Potsdam and St. Lawrence County law enforcement violated his civil rights, in part because hes Black. Today, Garrett's mother's ex-boyfriend, Nick Hillary, was found not guilty in the boy's murder. If Carranza, the dude changing a tire at 100 Market, saw a black man in the window, could it have been Amos? He was 19 at the time of the 2013 arrest, which makes him the same age as the Brandon D. Murphy in question for Garrett's murder. They called 911 around 5:08pm. The new DA made the case her central mission and finally got a grand Jury to indict Nick Hillary. IE 11 is not supported. 23, with Part 2 following the next night on Jul. Police suspect the killer jumped out it after strangling Garrett. Garretts mother, Tandy Cyrus, has said that her son was a gregarious boy who had absolutely no fear. is available to stream on Sky Crime. Part 1 of Who Killed Garrett Phillips? This button displays the currently selected search type. The accused was Nick Hillary, 37 years old at the time of the boy's death. They couldnt break down the door, so they got the manager to unlock the door, which was locked from the inside. Nick Hillary is the ex-boyfriend of Tandy Cyrus. Nick did drive a blue car, however the footage is so blurry that you cant tell who is driving or see the license plate. His close friend Mani Tafari is less optimistic. It was a dramatic tableau in an ornate courtroom. Advocates for the wrongfully accused are trying to draw new attention to the murder of Garrett Phillips in Potsdam nine years ago. Theyre calling for the state Attorney General to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the 12 year-old boys death. Tonight, ABC News and Dateline will both investigate the 2011 murder of Garrett Phillips. After medics rushed the boy to the hospital two blocks away, Wentworth noticed that one of the window blinds in another bedroom had been damaged. 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