The police asked him why he turned the opposite way. He died at the hospital that night. 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. 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? 24. 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." Garbus credits the dogged local reporters who wouldnt let up on the case for bringing it to the larger attention, including her own. David SommersteinGroups call for independent probe of Garret Phillips murder. North Country Public Radio has learned that a local source reached out to state troopers last fall with a possible tip. His admiring teammates in their undefeated season called him, "The General. He'd parlayed his experience into a job as the head coach of the men's soccer team at Clarkson. Phillips was the 12-year-old boy who was fatally Mar 08, 2019 A St. Lawrence County prosecutor says there's a new tip in the Garrett Phillips murder case. A police chief whose brother names his successor as mayor. ), Police canvassed the neighborhood, but no one had witnessed anything, Murray said. I was in complete shock, she told ABC News. But no one would see his killer leap out of the back window. Director Liz Garbus is pictured in an undated photo. He looked like he was sleeping.. Around 5:16pm, the police arrived. Garrett and his family lived on the second floor, so the police determined that the killer would have had to jump on the landing and then down to the ground. Phillips refused to make an example out of anyone. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. A few other people who were interviewed in this episode also said they didnt see a limp and it could have been the recording and camera. She added Nick warned her, "If I didn't get Garrett under control or get him on a more strict schedule, then when he got older I wasn't gonna be able to control him. It suggests that a kid named Brandon who lived next door gave two different statements about his whereabouts. proceeds with the case. HBO. Interim Police Chief in Potsdam, New York, Mark Murray, stands in the house where Phillips' body was found on Sept. 27, 2016. Now, it looks like as if the case is not over after all not since new information made its way to police. There are no clues as to who killed Garrett. he was with his dad cutting wood (his dad confirmed this), 2.) They struck up an easy conversation that, in short order, became a live-in relationship with a blended family. July 18, 2019 2:39 pm ET. The police wanted to locate Garretts family and tell them what had happened. Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Photo: Brit Hanson, Groups call for independent probe of Garret Phillips murder, Groups call for independent probe of Garrett Phillips murder, David Sommerstein (News Director), cleared in Garrett Phillips death almost four years ago, local police and prosecutors declared the case closed, Nick Hillary's civil rights case, and how it links to a broader moment of reckoning, A phone call from inside the investigation, Gumball machine serves up free poetry in the Adirondacks, Not in Old Forge's backyard? As least, that's. In 2006, Hillary was acquitted of murder after a trial before a judge without a jury, The jury pool came from the same individuals who had elected the district attorney, Hillary, 45, told The News. Brian Phillips helped produce hundreds of yard signs that read "Justice for Garrett," with a picture of the boy, smiling. aired on HBO on Jul. (Also pictured: Potsdam Village attorney Thomas Mortati.) His career, its Nick interrupted: Its gone., Continuing her spiel, Liz said: His family have suffered great trauma and Nicks financial situation is not what it was before its not a happy ending.. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. In the gallery, Tandy slumped and cried. Hillary was considered a suspect because he was an ex-boyfriend of the boy's mother. Powered by. Dec 18, 2020. They immediately called an ambulance. 1. In Shanna-Kays cross-examination, the prosecution brought her attention to surveillance footage that showed her walking home at 4:02pm, which would have gotten her home at 4:12pm, and therefore into the shower at 4:22 pm. The mystery of what happened to Garrett Phillips continues. Theyre Aug 17, 2020 Advocates for the wrongfully accused are trying to draw new attention to the murder of Garrett Phillips in Potsdam nine years ago. Police suspect the killer jumped out it after strangling Garrett. civil actions filed against DA Rain and Jones, circumstantial evidence against him and Hillary. For years, no one was named in Phillips death. Its season 6 episode 2 titled Home Alone.. 2. It's going on four years since . "It became very clear that the only place to get in or out, other than the front door that hadn't been utilized, was this window," he said. An officer arrived on the scene and found 12-year-old Garrett . Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. Ms. Again, this doesnt really prove anything. As least, thats what many may hope after the new St. Lawrence County district attorney admitted a new tip earlier this spring. Advocates say raise it first, DEC says 2022 tied for the safest hunting season on record, Governor Kathy Hochul Releases New York State Budget, New York redistricting commission to hold final public hearings this week, New York unlikely to have a new chief judge until later this spring, Adirondack Council leader to step down later this year, Stefanik opens district office in Rensselaer County Government building, Budget watchdog says NY should plan for an upcoming "fiscal cliff", Community Advisory Board (NCPR Executive Council). Hillary does not shy away from the scrutiny the film will bring, saying his ordeal will have had purpose if it saves others from similar mistreatment by law enforcement. According to the documentary, that once police focused in on Hillary an Army veteran and respected soccer coach at nearby Clarkson University other investigative avenues were not explored. Dismiss. -- It was Oct. 24, 2011, when 12-year-old Garrett Phillips was found strangled to death inside his home in Potsdam, New York, a small town near the Canadian border. In 2011, Garrett Phillips, who was just 12-years-old, was killed in his upstate New York home. Just to say, I tried. Hillary has since moved back to the city, where he coaches soccer and wishes the film will put pressure on cops to solve the murder. Nick is targeted. "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. At that point "we weren't sure what we had," Murray told "20/20." 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For years, one of the loudest voices demanding justice for Garrett Phillips belonged to his uncle. This button displays the currently selected search type. IE 11 is not supported. He was 12. They knew that Garrett and his brother lived there and had heard noises before, but never this loud. The latest events in the case come as Oral "Nick" Hillary, who was found not guilty of the murder, is suing Potsdam and St. Lawrence County police, claiming he was unfairly accused because he is Black. Garrett was taken to the local hospital where he was declared dead later that night. The next part of the investigation was from a surveillance camera. Though the crime happened almost five years ago, the whodunit of it all has consumed this quiet area. Oral "Nick" Hillary still coaches soccer. A St. Lawrence County prosecutor says there's a new tip in the Garrett Phillips murder case. He was just all about control.". Mar 8, 2019. For years, no one was named in Phillips' death. Movie Info. Photo: Julie Grant, St. Lawrence County DA Mary Rain at a press conference after the trial in 2016. The district attorney, Mary Rain, teared up at a post-verdict press conference, and said Tandy told her, I know you guys tried., But Nicks attorney Earl Ward, speaking to a group of press outside the courthouse, reiterated what the defense team maintained all along: Nick Hillary is an innocent man., Nick spent that afternoon surrounded by a group of family, supporters and former soccer teammates. Cyrus did not want to participate. Rain said she was "100% certain" she'd prosecuted the right person. Heres what you need to know about the case. Back at the crime scene, the police realized there was no forced entry, but there was an open window, with the screen cut out. "It's very frustrating," he told "20/20." When Hillary was acquitted this week, the judge said that his case was mostly circumstantial and didnt prove he was guilty without a doubt. That's a remarkable jump from the window.". The altercation made him fearful for himself and his family, NNY 360 reported. But despite being a free man, it seems Hillary is still struggling to clear his name in his community. A new foreign DNA company called Starmix said that Nicks DNA matched the crime scene, however, during the investigation, the police said the DNA mixture was too small. He denied any butt-head moment with Garrett, or spats over homework or chores. 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NCPR checked in with Pasqua last month. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Garrett Phillips was strangled in his familys second-floor apartment in upstate Potsdam in October 2011. Two years after the slaying, Garretts mothers ex-boyfriend, Oral Nick Hillary, was arrested, tried for the murder and acquitted. So we had intelligent people, people with a lot of power working to deny him of his freedom, knowing that hes innocent., Teacher who misgendered trans pupil 'was acting like a preacher', Teacher sacked for restraining 'out of control pupil' wins unfair dismissal claim, Emergency assemblies and extra staff: how schools are tackling Andrew Tate, He added: District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, he knew there was no evidence, and he said quote after Nick was acquitted: I have locked people up with much less evidence than this.. Chronicling the five years after the murder, the film is an eye-opening look at how justice is delivered and delayed. They were biased right away. If Carranza, the dude changing a tire at 100 Market, saw a black man in the window, could it have been Amos? Director Liz Garbus is pictured in an undated photo. Also pictured is his defense team, Norman Siegel, left, Edward Narrow, right center, and Earl Ward, right. When 12-year-old Garrett Phillips was murdered in 2011, suspicion turned to soccer coach Oral "Nick" Hillary. Jobs People Learning Dismiss Dismiss. July 24, 2019. Yet somehow, within hours, police. After 22 witnesses testified and after a two week trial, Nick was found not guilty. In most cases, there's a hierarchy. There was another former flame of his mother Tandy Cyrus a local sheriffs deputy against whom she had previously filed a complaint saying he made her fear for the safety of myself and my sons.. It's an unlikely setting for what reporter Jesse McKinley of the New York Times would tell us turned out to be a story about "love triangles and fated love." Her father said Ill be right back through the door, and when she got out of the shower 20 minutes later, her father was home. His mother's ex-boyfriend, Nick Hillary, was found not guilty of the murder just over two years ago in a. Thats why Who Killed Garrett Phillips? devotes so much time to following Hillary himself. Nick said he was at the high school to watch a soccer game, went home and talked with his daughter, and then went to his assistant coachs house. The prosecution, he ruled, had not made its circumstantial case "beyond a reasonable doubt." 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. ", North County Public Radio - NPR for the Adirondack North Country, For years, there were no formal charges in Garrett Phillips' murder. "Theoretically, the person making this jump is waiting," he said. With the case still very much open and unsolved, justice for Phillips has not been achieved. And while the killer of the 12-year-old boy could still be on the loose,. Sky Crime launched the documentary Who Killed Garrett Phillips? We did hear these rumors, and we wanted, as much as we could, to go out and explore them and accompany local journalists, Garbus says, but there really was so little [to go on]. The group wrote a letter to DA Pasqua seeking an independent prosecutor two weeks ago. Nothing is ever 100 percent, but Nick is a highly decent lovely person, with no sign of a temper and no weird evasions, explained Garbus, who says she came to the table with an open mind. Just like his father, spitting image of my brother, a heck of a little athlete. But he said Hillarys situation fits in with nationwide protests over racism in policing a Black man associated with a crime even after a not guilty verdict. He was the last person seen with him and he was know to be violent and committed a confirmed violent act. Text. When 12-year-old Garrett Phillips was murdered in 2011 . On Wednesday morning, Hillary was found not guilty by a judge, after a two-week long trial. Years ago, Nick patronized a bar on Potsdam's main drag where the bartender was a single mother. Garrett, 12, was found strangled in his empty home on October 24, 2011, with no witnesses reporting seeing the killer enter or exit the second-floor apartment. You would send a wave of evidence, you know, expecting a probative piece of DNA, or fingerprint or a hair or fiber then just not getting that. They moved in just months before Garrett died, after Cyrus and Hillary broke up. Photo: Brit Hanson, Brian Phillips pushed hard to get a resolution to his nephew's case. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Trainum is part of a growing movement that encourages police and prosecutors to check their work with these reviews. 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