It doesnt say what his relationship was like. Prosecutors have also said they will not reopen the investigation. For years, no one was named in Phillips death. Nick and Tandy met while Tandy was working part time as a bartender. Two years after the slaying, Garretts mothers ex-boyfriend, Oral Nick Hillary, was arrested, tried for the murder and acquitted. There is only one door to the apartment. As least, that's. The big question now is how law enforcements following up. 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. 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." Garrett was taken to the local hospital where he was declared dead later that night. 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. Nick Hillary Found Not Guilty in Murder of 12-Year-Old Garrett Phillips. A security camera recorded Garrett skating home from an afternoon of basketball with his school pals just before 5 p.m. Hillary claims Potsdam and St. Lawrence County law enforcement violated his civil rights, in part because hes Black. Residents of upstate New York, where Phillips was killed, are reportedly split between those who believe in Hillarys guilt and those who believe in his innocence. 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. Inside the home that day, "Everything was very clean," Murray said. He was asked many questions about where he was the day of the murder. In most cases, there's a hierarchy. Ms. Pasqua and local police have declined to comment. The new DA made the case her central mission and finally got a grand Jury to indict Nick Hillary. He was 12. They realized that the killer could have had an injury since the jump was pretty far. First, why the actual eff was he allowed to be in the interrogation room with Tandy? He has maintained his innocence since day one telling Elizabeth Vargas, I have absolutely nothing to do with what has happened to Garrett. "Nothing in the living room area was out of place," Murray said. Also pictured is his defense team, Norman Siegel, left, Edward Narrow, right center, and Earl Ward, right. 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. We were fascinated by the legal intricacies, the nuances of the case, and picturesque Potsdam, a river town so far upstate New York the closest big city is in Canada. With the case still very much open and unsolved, justice for Phillips has not been achieved. IE 11 is not supported. The judge took it all in and after about a week of both sides summing up their arguments, he came back with a verdict. There are no clues as to who killed Garrett. ", 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. 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. Again, I saw an abrasion, but it ankle didnt look swollen to me. The DNA was ruled immiscible, and the case was based on circumstantial evidence. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Though the crime happened almost five years ago, the whodunit of it all has consumed this quiet area. Release Date (Streaming): But you cant take race out of the picture the way in which white Americans are just more likely to look at Black people as capable of committing crimes. He was a popular, athletic kid. He had minutes left to live. A deputy sheriff as a suspect who also helps the investigation. In the gallery, Tandy slumped and cried. Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Its season 6 episode 2 titled Home Alone.. 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.. This button displays the currently selected search type. I needed someone trained to put their emotions to the side., 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. (Jason Hunter/AP). Garbus film, which debuts on Tuesday, uses police footage and photos, video evidence and interviews to recount what went wrong in meticulous detail. After the trial ended in 2016, Murray told NCPR, were confident we prosecuted the right person.. For more information, please see our He was the last person seen with him and he was know to be violent and committed a confirmed violent act. The coachs daughter Shanna-Kay Hillary testified for her father and said he was in their house at the time of Garretts murder. The cops checked out the alibis of the significant men in Tandy's life, including a sheriff's deputy, but they seemed to always have their sights on Hillary. The prosecution, he ruled, had not made its circumstantial case "beyond a reasonable doubt." As le Powered by. he was with his dad cutting wood (his dad confirmed this), 2.) A St. Lawrence County prosecutor says there's a new tip in the Garrett Phillips murder case. Dismiss. Tafari, a lawyer who provided legal support to his former Tilden High School friend, doesnt believe this film can change a corrupt system. 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. 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. And the fact that his life has apparently remained much the same, while Hillary's was thrown into disarray, proves that. Garrett Phillips' mother, Tandy Cyrus. But then when we looked at it closer. On Tuesday, the eve of the verdict, Interim Potsdam Police Chief Mark Murray took ABC News' Elizabeth Vargas through the crime scene: a 3-bedroom apartment where Garrett lived and where he was found on the floor that fateful October day. The apartment that Jones helped Cyrus find was the same spot where Phillips was found gravely hurt. The window is how it is believed that the killer escaped. The apartment is on the second floor of the roughly 100-year-old building, Murray said. Tonight, ABC News' 20/20 will investigate the death of 12-year-old Garrett Phillips. NY Man Speaks out After Not Guilty Verdict in Murder of Ex's Son: He was accused of strangling to death his e https://t.co/y1qpX8JO62, Around 5pm on the night of Monday, October 24, Sean Hall and his fiance, Marisa Vogel, heard a scream, a bang, and then moans, coming from the neighboring apartment. Police soon said it was a homicide. But he backed off after the main suspect was acquitted. Tandy's 12-year-old, Garrett, bristled at his mom's new boyfriend, said Tandy. Sky Crime launched the documentary Who Killed Garrett Phillips? Being a father and having known this young man I would hope the objective is to pursue the killer and do the right thing by Garrett Phillips.". Clearly, the film won't be . Hillary was considered a suspect because he was an ex-boyfriend of the boy's mother. David SommersteinGroups call for independent probe of Garret Phillips murder. Garbus questioned them about their missteps and lack of physical or DNA evidence tying Hillary to the crime. A silent picture of a kid on a skateboard moves into the frame from lower right, sails past for about 16-seconds and exits frame left. That process has a name sentinel event review. Nick is targeted. 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. Knowing where John Jones is now shows how differently he was treated by police after Phillips' murder. In April 2012, Nick filed a suit against the police department for how he was treated. They are the only reason that Nick is not in prison, she says. "I think about him every day. The two-part HBO documentary Who Killed Garrett Phillips? doesnt solve the mystery but looks at the case through a critical lens. 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. His killer is still out there. After Nick was done smoking, he kept the butts in his pocket and even put one in the drain. I did everything I could. By the time Liz Garbuss 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. Again, this doesnt really prove anything. A 'Justice for Garrett' sign is pictured in an undated photo. Despite the fact that the circumstantial evidence against him and Hillary was so similar, he didn't suffer nearly so many consequences as Hillary did. New information has come to light and is being investigated in the 2011 murder of 12-year-old Garrett J. Phillips. he was with his girlfriend til 11pm (his girlfriends mom confirmed this). https://www.nny360.com/news/new-leads-surface-in-phillips-murder/article_129462bd-bed2-53ab-b550-39d06dfacc74.html. When the police arrived on the scene, Phillips was still breathing. 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. If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page - we'd love to hear from you. The first part of the documentary Who Killed Garrett Phillips? I probably will the rest of my life," Phillips said. Hammond, Norfolk teens jailed on charges of sex abuse, endangering the welfare of child . No prints or hairs from the scene matched the police's suspect, Hillary. However, if youre innocent, why would it matter? He thought Nick [Hillary] was the guy, so I think the likelihood of this being pursued by the police and the DA needs the police to do the pursuing is pretty low. The medical examiner also collected DNA from under Garretts nails. Hillary has adamantly denied the charge, saying from day one he was innocent. 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. Part 2 premieres on HBO on . I believe John Jones committed the murder. Yet, the suspect was indicted for a second time before he was found innocent by Judge Felix Catena, in 2016. Before he spoke with NCPR, Trainum reviewed press clippings and media coverage to familiarize himself with the Garrett Phillips case. For five years my family and I have been livin underneath this cloud, said Nick. On the morning of October 26, 2011, Hillary, then a soccer coach in Potsdam, was summoned to the Potsdam police station. Oral "Nick" Hillary and Tandy Cyrus are pictured in an undated photo. -- 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. Rain said she was "100% certain" she'd prosecuted the right person. He was read his rights. Nick told the police that he was with his assistant coach, a man named Ian at the time of the murder. For years, one of the loudest voices demanding justice for Garrett Phillips belonged to his uncle. Garrett Phillips was a 12 year old boy who lived with his mom, Tandy and brother, Aaron, in Potsdam, New York. Read more at watertowndailytimes.com. A lot of people discredit The Choke Out Theory, but after digging in to find something else other than tips called into the Potsdam Police Department I have tracked down this article that the DA's office has been looking into. "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. And that was the tunnel vision., And that was on what Garbus wanted to shine a larger light with this project. Nick Hillary's defense had elected to waive a jury trial and argue directly to the judge. Yet somehow, within hours, police. But no one would see his killer leap out of the back window. Whatever you might say about the film and how it portrays the justice system and Nick Hillary, my hope is that it also reflects the pain of the loss of this family and the gaping hole it left in their lives, Garbus says. Gary Pasqua in his office near the St. Lawrence County courthouse. The only real signs of struggle was his sweatshirt laying in the hallway and his physical body.". All Rights Reserved. Talking on Build, ahead of the series which dropped onto Sky Crime earlier this month, Hillary spoke about his life after the case. "Theoretically, the person making this jump is waiting," he said. 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.. Dec 18, 2020. 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. He is also a Jamaican immigrant, who was living in a community that was 94 % white a fact crucial to understanding how the justice system failed Garrett, Brooklyn-based director Liz Garbus told the Daily News. He loved sports, being with his friends and ripsticking (kind of like skateboarding, but your back leg always moves). The murder trial began in the county seat, Canton, New York this month. However, at 6:24pm, Nicks daughter texted her dad asking what was for dinner, despite having told the police Nick was home with her at the time of the murder and they had talked about dinner. Garrett didnt ever want to be alone with Nick, even though Nick said he never had any problems with Garrett. The DA says an investigation is ongoing, but its hard to know if police are taking the new information seriously. Nick is innocent, and cannot be retried. When we met Hillary before his trial, we talked about his early years growing up in a large family in Jamaica. 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