Transcripts For WRC Dateline NBC 20170205

They dont have the witness. Theres a darkness thats at work here. You believe nick hillary killed your boy . Yes. People call me a murderer. Im 100 innocent. You could have heard a pin drop in that courtroom. Reporter potsdam. Way upstate new york. A small speck on the map on the road to the canadian border. That they like to joke up there that theres more cows than people, and i dont think theyre joking. Reporter in this sleepy place, with a main street from the 1950s, youd think nothing happens that could possibly interest the outside world, but an epic story has been unfolding here. A murder case, for sure, but so much more than that. Its a little bit fargo. It is a little bit fargo. Jesse mckinley, a reporter for the New York Times was drawn to it. Its got a small town. Its got love triangles. Its got fated love. And those elements, for a writer, are irresistible. Reporter the woman in the middle of it all, tandy cyrus. A very pretty woman in a town where pretty women stand out. Reporter one of her lovers stood out too, nick hillary. As a black man in a predominantly white town. You still have people who will not accept interracial relationship. Reporter what happened between tandy and nick would tip the balance in a political campaign, give rise to a controversial lawsuit, and lure high profile, big city attorneys to confront each other in a murder trial that attracted national attention. This has become a story that kind of echoes beyond st. Lawrence county, and even beyond new york. Reporter except, when you drill down, its as local as it gets all about a smalltown boy. This one. Y tandys son. Garrett was a blur of a kid, perpetually set on fastforward, according to his mom. He was very energetic. Always on the go. Always had to have something to do. Reporter people here remember him tearing around town on his ripstick, a little bit skateboard, a little bit snowboard, all hip action and balance. There goes garrett sidewalksurfing his way home in 2011. Did you think, wow, my kid is really an awesome little athlete . Yes. Soccer, lacrosse, football, hockey. He was very good at everything. Reporter his bedroom wall a poster shrine to his sports heroes, including new England Patriots quarterback tom brady. Hes never really inside. Wasnt much for video games. Reporter its got to be pitch black before hes ready to come in for the night, huh . Yes. Reporter but when he was still a toddler, garrett was dealt a devastating blow. The death of his father, robbie. Garrett was nine months old when his dad had a brain aneurysm that ruptured. And then he was 2 when robbie passed away. Reporter tandy, a single mom, picked up the pieces as best she could. She studied at the Police Academy but eventually gave up Law Enforcement for a job in a credit union, where she became a loan officer. She also had a brief marriage, which gave garrett a kid brother, aaron. Did garrett like to mess with him . All the time. Reporter he liked to play jokes a little bit, didnt he . Yes. April fools was his favorite day of the year. Reporter then tandy moved in with a sheriffs deputy named john jones but it didnt last. How did the breakup go . Not well. At one point, she said that john shoved her during an argument, and that that was the last straw reporter so in 2010, tandy was alone again, making ends meet by moonlighting as a bartender in a joint on potsdams main drag. Thats when nick hillary walked in and pulled up a stool. So hes just a customer who comes in . Yes. He came in on evenings after he was done work and coaching. Reporter they came from different worlds. She was local, the frozen north. He was from lush jamaica. Whats a happy memory from jamaica for you, nick . Going to the rivers. Just swimming all day. Coming back home. Mom has a great homecooked meal waiting for you. I mean, you thats a fantastic day. Reporter he moved to brooklyn as a teenager and found his niche as a soccer star, earning a scholarship to nyu. But the kid from jamaica was still searching, so he ditched school for the army, just as the first gulf war was winding down. I said, leme reporter three years in the army, all stateside, forced nick to grow up, and now he was ready for college. Soccer was his ticket to st. Lawrence University Near the canadian border. Heres a jamaican guy used to swim all day in the rivers and youre going to be in fields of snow for six months a year . Exactly. Exactly. You know, but in the summertime, it brings me back, right back to jamaica again. Reporter weirdly, had you found something in upstate new york that worked out very well for you, a good fit . Yeah. It sure was. Reporter he felt most comfortable on the soccer field, where his respectful teammates gave him a nickname. Nick was the general. He was a leader. The general. Reporter so that was a tip of the hat both to his career as a vet yeah, absolutely. Reporter but also his traits as a person. Yeah, his leadership traits for sure. I mean it fit him to a tee. Reporter in 1999, nick led st. Lawrence to an undefeated season and a national championship, cementing bonds of friendship that remain tight today. Just great person on and off the field. A great role model. Yeah, he was our brother. He was our big brother. Reporter he was the glue that kept us all together. He brought us together. He arranged dinners at his house. He cooked for the whole team. Is that the rasta pasta nights . The rasta pasta. Absolutely. I mean it, it was a staple of who we were as, as a group. Reporter after the championship season and graduation, nick kept leading. He became a coach and, in 2009, landed a plum job, head soccer coach at clarkson, just minutes from his alma mater. Life was good. It got even better when nick, a father of three whod drifted from his kids mother, met tandy at that bar. Him drinking guinness and die graham agplays on a cocktail napkin. What do you think the attraction was, tandy . Conversation was just it was easy. The one thing that i liked about tandy, she had goals and ambition. Reporter things between the two heated up quickly, as these emails attest. From nick, i miss you millions. Have a great work day. From tandy, i cant wait to get home to you. I ly. I love you. They were sharing a house, blending families, and going on vacations as a couple. Nick took her to jamaica. But, as they say in the islands, it wasnt a cool breeze being an interracial couple in potsdam, which is over 90 white. And, he said, it was particularly hard on garrett, tandys boy. Garrett was being teased at school because his mom is dating a black man. Reporter so hes getting schoolyard aggravation, huh . Exactly. Reporter but, whatever tensions garrett was feeling, it didnt keep him from his sports. They were always a welcome distraction. Even on the fateful afternoon of october 24, 2011. He was playing basketball with his friends in the gym. But i had got upset with him because he knew the rule was he had to go home and do his homework first. Reporter do your homework and then go play with your pals . Right. So i made him go home. Home on his ripstick on what seemed like a nothingspecial, raindreary monday in potsdam, where Community Safety was a given. So no worries hed be home first, home alone. What could possibly go wrong . As it turned out, a lot. Potsdam police. Reporter a little after 5 pm a neighbor called police. Hi. I live in an apartment house and the folks next to us, i thought i heard um screaming like no and help a couple of times. So i knocked on their door, and i heard the lock click. Reporter what happened in that apartment . They get the key. They open the door. 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Reporter that october monday in 2011, Garrett Phillips was supposed to be the first one home to his secondfloor apartment at 100 Market Street. He apparently arrived just before 5 00 pm. Its on a very busy street. Market street is basically the reporter right off the main drag. Right, it is the main drag. Its a kind of rundown apartment building. Reporter sean hall and marissa vogel, engaged then and now married, didnt know tandy cyrus or her sons, but they were very familiar with the boyswillbeboys activities across the hall. You could hear running or roughhousing sometimes, or something rolling down the hallway like a skateboard. Reporter but that afternoon, as sean and marissa were watching the drama dexter on tv, the sounds coming from next door were different scary different. I heard a loud crash, and after that it was silence for a few seconds, and then in a low voice, i heard what sounded like moaning, help, ow, or, no. At that moment, i didnt think it was two little boys roughhousing anymore. It felt more dangerous. It felt wrong. Reporter concerned, marissa walked down the hallway and listened in. I knocked on the door and waited a moment, and then i definitely heard a click, like a lock. I had the feeling that there was somebody on the other side of that door. Reporter she called potsdam pd. I live in 3a, and they live across the hall. It just made me a little nervous that i thought i heard yelling and then i knocked to see if theyre okay and then it was silent. Im sorry if its not anything. It was a weird situation that it makes me uncomfortable. Okay. Ill have somebody check on it. Reporter a Patrol Officer arrived at the secondfloor apartment around 5 15 pm. No one answered his knock so he waited for the building manager to bring a key. The patrolman hears what he thinks is footsteps moving inside. Reporter inside . Inside the apartment. And then they get the key. They open the door. And they go inside. Reporter everything appeared to be in order. The living room was tidy, garretts stuff all in place rip stick propped against a wall. Backpack in the corner. They walk to the back. They turn the corner there, and then they find garrett. Hes lying there. They think at first hes sleeping. Perhaps hes fallen. Perhaps hes knocked himself out. But at that point hes pretty much in physical distress. Potsdam rescue. Need an ambulance to respond to 100 Market Street. Apartment 4 and expedite. Patrol on scene beginning cpr. Reporter the Patrol Officer called in the distressing details. Unresponsive male. No pulse. The mother is tandy cyrus. Isnt she john jones exgirlfriend . Reporter jones was a sheriffs deputy, so police knew tandy, and tracked her down. She raced to the cantonpotsdam hospital. And garretts in a very bad way in the hospital. Yes. Reporter what has happened . Is there any information about this . When i got there the doctor told me that he was in full cardiac arrest when they brought him in. But i had no idea what had happened. And couldnt understand how my 12yearold had a heart attack. Reporter did you think at first that maybe this had something to do with his dads problem . Maybe there was something genetic, aneurysm or something that had happened to him . I, honestly, was in shock. And couldnt wrap my head around anything. Reporter and i dont really want to take you back there. But youre there when he finally gives up . Yes. Reporter they cant bring him back. No. Reporter how awful for you. Garrett phillips, unstoppable in life, was dead at age 12. What happens in the next few hours, tandy . It was kind of a blur. We were at the hospital for a while. We got sent home. And i slept in aarons room with him. Reporter at the hospital, tandy had been joined by some of the men in her life, her exhusband Casey Collins and john jones, the sheriffs deputy. But no one notified nick hillary. Split up the month before, and he was no longer in her loop. So lt. Mark murray of the potsdam pd called nick. Mr. Hillary speaking. Its mark murray of the Potsdam Police department. Uh we had an incident uh occur this evening and wed like to speak with you in regards to it. Reporter minutes later, lt. Murray and two other investigators were at nicks door, a courtesy notification, they said. Its, were gonna reach out to all the people who are connected to this kid. What do they know . Do they know anything about where he was or who he might have been with . Reporter attorney tom mortati represents the Potsdam Police. Mr. Hillary, we have some bad news for you. Yes. You know mr. Hillary expresses shock, i cant believe this, oh my goodness, puts his hands on his head. Reporter nick hillary says he remembers the moment well. Im still broken up over the situation. He has lived with me. How could i not be affected by whas tandy anymore and he told police he hadnt been in her apartment since she moved in two months earlier. The officers didnt stay long. An autopsy was scheduled for the next day, but police didnt wait for the results to reveal their suspicions to tandy. Reporter when was it that you started to get this awful news that there might be foul play . The next morning. Reporter howd that happen . Wed gone down to the police station. And thats when they had made a comment that someone had been in my apartment. Reporter somehow, garretts made it home. And theres somebody there or follows him or something happens and hes attacked. Yes. Reporter is it now a Homicide Investigation . Yes. Reporter a small town in fear. Is there a breakin maniac out there . Someone who is going to kill again . An urgent hunt for suspects begins. Who are the people connected to his life . Tandys partners and husbands . Absolutely. Of a duracell ccell and the tips on how to calm a baby from your motherinlaw that always seem to involve a fair amount of brandy, go with ccell. Thats not just some battery. Thats a duracell battery. Thats a power you can trust. We asked woman to smell two body washes andi prefer b. Favorite. B. What was a. Bath and bodyworks. And their favorite. Suave. Really . I am impressed. Three fragrances preferred over bath and body works. Has anyone seen we sent him on a coffee run. Large coffee with cream. And your favorite, mocha. Oh, where do you guys get your coffee . You gave me way too much money. Hes good. For a limited time, pay just 1 for any size mccafe coffee, freshly brewed every 30 minutes. Or pay 2 for a delicious small mocha, latte or hot chocolate. Wake up and win the day. Reporter october, 2011. Halloween was less than a week away, but the good folks of potsdam young and old were learning that a monster had arrived early. A child killer was in their midst. Can you tell me if it was an adult that hurt him or we dont or children . You dont know . We dont know. Its still under investigation. Reporter news this bad traveled fast in a town where so many people knew the emts, the nurses and docs at the hospital, the cops. Lieutenant mark murray is a lifelong potsdam resident. At the hospital, someone said he looked like he had been beat up. Or he had he had injuries on his body. The boy had a rug burn on his knee. Whats that tell you . The injuries on the knees indicated, along with other injuries, that there was a significant struggle. It was a violent struggle. This boy fought for his life. What do you think it is . Like a choke hold . Or hands fingers around the neck, or what . Its a combination of being sat upon and and smothered and asphyxiated. So it was a long process. It wasnt an instant death. Summed it up boys death is ruled a Homicide Police tell family 12yearold Garrett Phillips was strangled; no suspects listed. From every in indication, this was a very tense scene. This is a crime that does not happen in a place like this. Is there a breakin maniac out there . Yeah. An intruder who kills children . Absolutely. Is there someone who is going to kill again, god forbid . Reporter in the vacuum of hard information, rumor took flight. Is it true about some guy riding around on a bicycle molesting children . That one i havent heard. Hang on though. Reporter but in the fog, a story that was gaining traction earlyon, an unsubstantiated report that garrett had been killed by one or more kids. Attorney for the Potsdam Police, tom mortati who was he with recently . Did he have any, uh, issues with other kids . You know, who was he playing with that afternoon . Reporter calls continued coming into the police hotline, townspeople begging for reassurance. From a School Principal were meeting with our staff right now. Had died last night was possibly beaten to death by another youth. Reporter back at the crime scene, police were beginning to pick up clues that suggested another possibility that the killer had to be an adult. The police kind of descend en masse and one of the things they see is that in a back bedroom, theres a window that ap apparently has been pushed outward. The screen is ajar. So, whoevers in there has to leave. And theres only one way out. And thats the secondstory window. Theres no fire escape. Youre kind of up off the ground. Reporter the developing theory was that when a cop knocked at the door, that window became the killers only exit. Police surmised that only a fit adult not a kid could make such a dangerous leap. Theres kind of a shed structure beneath the window. Yeah, about ten feet down. Not an easy jump. Reporter a cracked tile was a big clue that the killer ricocheted off the shed on his way down to the ground, where police picked up another clue. They find a skid kind of a gash in the in the grass below. And keep in mind it was a little bit muddy down there. So this is describing whoever the intruder was exit from the property. Yeah. What basically what theyre arguing is that he jumped out of the window down to the shed, off the shed into the grass, and ran off. Reporter police wondered if the killer had injured himself on the way down, possibly limping away from the crime scene, but no one reported seeing someone flee. So police combed the area looking for fingerprints, shoeprints, dna. Evidence was collected and sent to the crime lab. Meanwhile, investigators began talking to those who knew garrett best. Who were the people connected to his life. So tandys partners and husbands. Absolutely. Yep. Reporter the list included exhusband Casey Collins, former boyfriend john jones, and her most recent exlover, nick hillary. Collins and jones had been with tandy at the hospital, and they even sat next to her during her interview at the potsdam p. D. The next morning. John jones is to tandys left, holding her hand. Casey collins was quickly eliminated as a suspect, because he had a solid alibi that placed him nowhere near garretts apartment at 5 00 p. M. On october 24th. But john jones, the local sheriffs deputy, got a deeper look. So its early hours, but something might be goin on with john jones. You just dont know what it is, huh . Potentially, yes. Reporter he told police he got home about 5 00, and he lives just two blocks from garretts apartment. Police say this is jones on a very grainy security video, across the street, from where garrett passed on his skateride home. In a Police Interview room, jones was asked to roll up his shirt and pants to check for possible wounds and a leg injury. Meanwhile, tandy was talking to police, and she had some thoughts. Strong thoughts. They asked if there was anybody i could think of that would want to hurt garrett, and there was only one person that came to mind. N my tax refund. 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The name nick was raised almost instantaneously, from from most indications. And whether or not that was justified or not, of course, is at the heart of the case. Reporter the videotape of tandys interview with police is difficult to hear. But when she talked to dateline, she described a different side of the general the nickname adoring teammates gave nick in his glory days. She came to believe it reflected a more controlling nature, and thats what she was telling the cops. He was very regimented. Everything. His day started and ended with his planner. Like 9 30 tomorrow morning im going to be doing thus and such and at 11 00, im going to be doing yes. Very structured. Did he bring that into your life and into the family . He tried. He tried. It wasnt well received. Reporter especially not by garrett, a spontaneous, antsinthepants kid. But, according to tandy, nick was increasingly acting the drill instructor with both the boy and his mother. If i didnt get garrett under control or get him on a more strict schedule, then when he got older i wasnt gonna be able to crow him. He was all about control. Was that too much . Was he asking you too much . Very much so. Thats not how i am. Thats not how my kids were. And he wanted them to change. Reporter tandy said nicks inflexibility brought it all crashing down. She said garrett had told her about one incident with one of nicks children. There was kind of an argument between garrett and his daughter that turned into an argument between the two of us. He took his daughters side and and i chose my son. Reporter as tensions escalated, and with nick out of town, tandy had a hearttoheart with garrett. He didnt hold back. He didnt like being in the same house with nick and his kids. And he just he wasnt happy. Reporter that was it. Tandy told nick she was moving out. Then, according to tandy, it was nicks turn to be unhappy. There was an argument. He told me that i was letting garrett make my decisions for me. And he was standing in front of the doorway blocking me. And he picked me up and carried me away from the door. And wouldnt let me leave. Was that a scary moment . It was. Was that a side of nick you hadnt seen to that point . Yes. He ended up putting me down. And he just he put his hands up and stepped back. And i left. Reporter tandy says soon after that incident occurred, she and her two boys moved into that secondfloor apartment at 100 Market Street, and nick helped them move. Wed ended up having a couple different conversations. You know, trying to make it work. But living in separate and i had talked to garrett. And he said he was okay with it. He just didnt want to live in the same house with him. Reporter but according to tandy, nick wasnt okay with the new living arrangements. He showed up at my apartment in the middle of the night. Middle of the night . Uhhuh. While youre asleep, and then yes. Because he had a key. Where is he . Youre youre youre in the bed i woke up and he was standing in my bedroom. Reporter this was it, the final straw in what tandy saw as nicks scary transformation. I was angry. So i told him that, that made me want my key back. I didnt want him to have a key anymore. When you give a girlfriend a key back, thats really the end of it. Thats right. Reporter over and out. It was september. Garrett had one month to live. The unwelcome dropin, as well as tandys other stories about nick, made police suspicious. But what to make of her account . She tells a story about looking up from her bed in the middle of the night, midnight or later, and theres nick. Thats what she says. That is not a substantiated account. That is her her saying that reporter investigators started knocking on doors all over potsdam to get the lowdown on nick. Tandys side didnt pull any punches. Attorney for the potsdam p. D. , tom mortati family, friends, relatives. They all immediately thought, well, theres only one person that we can think of that might do something to garrett, and that was nick hillary. That he has reason to have a grudge against garrett, what, for breaking up this relationship . Essentially, yeah. Still wants to be with the mom . Yep. Reporter tandys parents gave statements to police. Her mother wrote he kept telling me it was tandys fault they broke up and that garrett was a factor. Nick had gone to her parents to basically lobby them to, help help me get back in tandys good graces. Im good for garrett. Im good for her. You know, help them see the light. Reporter as investigators continued targeting nick, they say they still had the other exboyfriend, fellow cop john jones, on their radar. He provided a d. N. A. Swab, fingerprints, let us photograph his shirt up and his pants up, and pretty much, whatever you need me to do, ill do it. Reporter besides his eagerness to cooperate, police say his timeline with corroborating security video checked out. Hes seen walking his dog around 5 13, about the time the officer arrived at garretts apartment. Im sorry, but nobody goes over to somebodys house to strangle somebody with their dog and then jumps out the window with their dog. Reporter so police dropped jones as a suspect. And even though tandy had had a bad breakup with jones, she told Police Garrett and jones were very close. What about john jones . Absolutely not. Wasnt possible . No. Reporter for tandy, it always was nick, and only nick, in the frame for the crime. Police would continue investigating, but by day two, pressure seemed to be mounting for a quick resolution. Even the next morning, the chief of police there in potsdam indicated to another investigator that they had a pretty hot suspect, and that they were lining up whatever ev make an arrest. Reporter that conversation was recorded by the potsdam p. D. , a routine procedure for calls in an out of the department. We got a 12yearold thats lost his life. We got to lock somebody up. And we have a strong suspect at this point. Um, and uh, were just trying to get all of the ammunition against him at this point we can. Reporter so 24 hours after the murder, lt. Mark murray, working his first homicide as lead investigator, went to observe nick on the sideline at clarksons soccer game against sunypotsdam. Remember, police believed the killer may have sustained a leg injury jumping from that secondfloor window. Would nick be limping . Were you aware the cops had a camera on you as you coached the game . I had no idea. Reporter coach hillary secretly taped and strongly questioned. Am animal and thats not allowed in the united states. The worst thing about toilet germs . They dont stay in the toilet. Disinfect your bathroom with lysol bathroom trigger. Lysol power foamer. And lysol toilet bowl cleaner. They kill 99. 9 of germs including e. Coli. To clean and disinfect in and out of the toilet. Lysol that. Can this much love be cleaned by a little bit of dawn ultra . Oh yeah one bottle has the grease cleaning power of two bottles of this bargain brand. A drop of dawn and grease is gone. Reporter not long after Garrett Phillips had been strangled, his mother told investigators, nick hillary is your killer. And now police were urgently investigating the soccer coach. The night after the murder, a team led by lt. Mark murray aimed a video camera at nick, as he prowled the sidelines while coaching a soccer game. They were looking for a limp, which would match their theory that the killer may have been injured leaping from that second story window. The police had interviewed some other individuals at this point, and hes known to be an active guy on the sidelines. Hes not doing that here. Reporter after videotaping nick throughout the game, police were convinced they saw what they came to see. Did you think you saw a hitch in his gait that night . Definitely. I put it in my search warrant affidavit. I observed the significant limp when he went off at halftime, i observed what i observed to be a limp. Reporter were you aware that the cops were running a camera on you, as you coached the team . I had no idea. Reporter nick said he was focused on beating crosstown rival sunypot guys around town. This is a game that we must win. Reporter he said he had nothing to do with garretts death so he had no reason to think he was a suspect that night, or the next morning, when police asked him to come down to the potsdam pd and help their investigation. For what purpose . To see if i could identify a list of garretts friends. Are any of the kids in his grade monsters compared to him . Or no . Reporter but then the conversation veered away from the list and kids. I mean youre here to help me with something im clueless about. So, im clueless about it as well. Reporter nick seemed surprised by the cops line of questioning. The questions i am being asked right now is not the questions i come down here to answer. What we would like to do is eliminate you as being part of this whole thing. Am i a suspect in this thing . No. We what we would like to do we know youre using the word eliminate. Its a big word. Everybodys a suspect to us. This whole towns a suspect. Reporter nick now realized he was being accused. He shut down. What time was practice on do you remember . I have no comment. No comments on when practice was . Reporter Jesse Mckinley covered the story for the New York Times. I think at that point his argument would be, i was scared. This was a scary situation. I seemed to be being singled out for a crime that i didnt commit. Reporter but lieutenant murray had a different take. He believed nick was not cooperating and for no good reason. He said, no comment. And i remember thinking to myself, you know, everyone else here is givin us any information, whether its relevant or not. If the roles were reversed, i would be doin anything in my power to help figure out what happened to garrett. You have the right to remain silent. Reporter nick was then read his miranda rights. The two officers got up and barred the door, told me that im not allowed to leave. Reporter but you hadnt been arrested . Was never arrested, im being held against my will. Reporter police were zeroing in on nick, and they were asking tough questions to his assistant coach, ian fairlie, at the same time. Fairlie told them he had seen nick shortly after 5 00 p. M. The afternoon of the murder, and he was acting normally. And this was supposedly ten minutes after hed strangled someone to death. Youre not trying to cover for him, right . I mean know you guys are buddies, but no, im trying to be as honest as i can. All right. Im going to be honest with you. It kind of looks like he did it. I dont know if you believe me or not, like, if you believe hes capable of Something Like that. I dont think he would be capable of Something Like that. I mean actually i absolutely dont believe he would be capable of Something Like that. Reporter meanwhile nick had asked for a lawyer. He was detained but still hadnt been arrested. Police took his phone, wallet and car while they were waiting for a judge to sign a search warrant. For a Proud Army Vet and prominent member of the college community, nick said his treatment was humiliating. They took my clothes. Reporter took pictures of you naked . As the day i was born. Reporter looking for what, scratches, cut marks . Only they would know. Reporter how long did this day last . Reporter then, after about nine hours inside, Police Released him. This was from early in the mornings till about after 5 00 when i was released in a hazmat suit. Reporter you didnt get your clothes back . Nothing. Didnt have keys to go into my apartment, didnt have my wallet with any kind of identification if i should get stopped in the street to identify who i am. Its an inhumane way to be treated. Reporter the next day, he felt branded in his own community. And there was a big spread in the newspaper clearly stating that the police had questioned me. Reporter realizing he was the prime suspect and perhaps the only suspect, nick started to fight back with the help of a good friend who happened to be a lawyer, former teammate mani tafari. Yeah, this was tunnel vision. Get mr. Hillary for this always had that intention. Reporter nick told us that he wasnt at garretts apartment that day. And he denied the accusations tandy had made to police. Saying that there was bad blood between you and garrett. Thats very, very shockin and surprisin. Reporter did you ever have a butt head moment with him, nick . No. Reporter an issue of, do the homework, or do the chores . No. No. Reporter october, 2011. How were things with you and tandy . Things were great between tandy and i. Reporter but not boyfriendgirlfriend . But not boyfriend and girlfriend. Reporter did you want to get back with tandy . No. Reporter did you have a key to her house still . No, i didnt. Reporter and, by this point, nick and his lawyer had also seen that sideline video police had shot of nick the night after the murder. To them, it was eyeopening. They said it didnt show what police said it did, a significant limp. That turned out to be untrue. Reporter watch as nick strides off the field at halftime. He doesnt appear to be limping at all. I was myself that night on the sideline with the exception of a heavy heart because of what had happened to garrett. Reporter and like the soccer champions they were, nick and mani were not only playing defense, they went on offense, too, blasting police for what nick says they did to him at the station. A man was treated like an animal, and thats not allowed in the united states. Reporter so they vowed to sue the village of potsdam, and its police department, for violating nicks civil rights. We live in a country where when rights are violated, citizens can stay silent and continue to have those rights violated, or you can stand up. A startling new videotape clue. Garrett on his way home. And whose suv was that seeming to follow him . Is that nick hillary in his car in that parking lot . Cmon in, pop pop happy birthday i survived a heart attack. From having another one. And im taking brilinta. For people whove been hospitalized for a heart attack. I take brilinta with a baby aspirin. No more than one hundred milligrams as it affects how well it works. Brilinta helps keep my platelets from sticking together and forming a clot. Brilinta reduced the chance of another heart attack. Or dying from one. It worked better than plavix. 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Schools emptied out for a Memorial Service for Garrett Phillips, that sixthgrader so exuberant in his 12years of life. Then, later that week, the funeral at this church. For his mother, tandy, it was all a blur. I remember being at the church. I remember being at the funeral home. Its just a lot of people. Reporter garrett was laid to rest in the nearby town where his mother grew up. Hes buried next to the father he barely knew. Reporter is it true you buried him with the ripstick . Yes. Reporter that was moms decision . What do you think that says about who that little boy was . You know, that and his lacrosse stick were his most prized possessions. So i wanted him to have them. Reporter she said goodbye to her boy, but now, as police continued to zero in on nick hillary, she hoped t they had brought nick in for questioning . Yes. Reporter do you think theres gonna be an arrest at that point, tandy . I had thought there was going to be one very quickly. Reporter but nick hillary was just as adamant he was an innocent man, hounded, he claims, by a blinkered rushtojudgement investigation that didnt turn up any evidence. Because he didnt do it. Reporter why did they believe that you were their person of interest . I wish i knew. Reporter police were trying to make a case against him, though in the months that followed, search warrants on nicks home, phone, and car yielded nothing. Forensics came back and did not match nick for hair or fibers. Techs did find fingerprints around that pushedout window, but they matched no one known to the case. And the imprint in the slushy grass below . Useless. Even initial tests on dna scrapings taken beneath the boys fingernail proved inconclusive. And, whats more, two people were vouching for nicks whereabouts around the i was with my my daughter and my assistant coach during this time period. Reporter so they are what they call in criminal investigations, your alibi witnesses . Exactly. Reporter nicks teenaged daughter would say in a deposition that her dad was with her at their apartment here on leroy street from 5 00 to 5 15 p. M. Assistant coach fairlie said nick came to his house here on garden street around 5 21. Their accounts would seem to make it impossible for nick to have been here on Market Street about 5 00 p. M. When garrett was being attacked. There were no arrests. There was no grand jury. Theres no indictments. Theres nothing. They really were kind of at at their wits end in a sense. Reporter police did pull up security video around potsdam, and they noticed a car that looked like nicks honda crv, creeping through the High School Parking lot around the time garrett was to skate by. But the camera shots were too far away to id plates or the driver. Despite the continuing lack of hard physical evidence against him, in the court of public opinion, nick was a marked man. Being out and about in the community, fingers are being pointed. Conversations are being whispered. People will drive past our house and kaw me a murderer. My house has been egged. Thats something he maintains to this day. That he has been made a pariah in that community which he felt a part of. Reporter their black male being singled out in this mos y white part of the world. Absolutely. And i think and to some extent, nicks case fits into that narrative of a black man falsely accused. Reporter but unlike the stalled criminal investigation, nicks lawyer mani tafari was moving ahead with the civil lawsuit against lieutenant murray and the Potsdam Police. A suit filed for detaining nick all day without arresting him, and allegedly degrading him by taking photographs an of him naked. Mr. Hillary couldve held his d he believes in civil rights. He believes in his rights as a man. And hes gonna stand up for those rights. I did not violate his rights in any way, shape, or form. I executed a lawful search warrant of his person while he was at our station. Reporter potsdams Insurance Company hired tom mortati to defend the police in the civil case. Believing that the best defense is a good foorngs mortati decided to turn the tables on nick and his lawyer. Reporter so whats your strategy . To prove that nick killed Garrett Phillips. Reporter and therefore, your clients, the cops, were justified in doing everything they did that he thought was a deprivation of his rights. Bottom line, yes. Reporter a preliminary step in these cases, before the lawsuit is actually filed is a proceeding called a 50h hearing, in which the defense attorney, in this case tom, gets to question the plaintiff, nick hillary. Reporter does he have to answer . No. He can assert his fifth amendment privilege. Reporter april, 2012. Tom purposely picked a nondescript confee potsdams Municipal Building for nicks deposition. He chose not to videotape it. I wanted to keep it lowkey. cause in the event hes talking, i want him to keep talking. Reporter how did it go . Well, mr. Hillary was talking. Reporter toms main goal was to get nick to admit that he was in the car seen on that Security Camera video. Up until then police had suspicions, but no proof. Unlike the movies, you cant zoom in on the license plate or lets lets zoom in on the guys eyeglasses and oh, thats thats soandso behind the wheel. It doesnt work that way. So the number one question at that time was, is that nick hillary in his car in that parking lot . Reporter so tom asked a series of questions and, to his surprise, nick readily answered them. Mr. Hillary, at any point on october 24th of 2011, were you at Potsdam High School . Yes. How did you get there . I drove. Did you drive the honda . Yes. Reporter and why was nick at the high school on thara day . He said it was to watch a soccer game. But notice the Yellow School bus, its blocking his view. His vision of the soccer fields obscured by a giant Yellow School bus, the concession stand and the stands next to the field. You cant see the soccer field. Reporter the honda slowly moves, settling into this parking spot, red tail lights on. But from there, nick still cant see the game. Nor does he try to get a closer look. He never gets out of his car. He never shuts the vehicle off. Reporter so why was he really there . The answer, according to tom, was about to skate in to view. At 4 5 it 2 00 p. M. It, here comes garrett at the bottom of the screen. Cruising down the sidewalk on his ripstik, blissfully unaware that in just a few minutes hell be viciously attacked and left for dead. After about 16seconds on camera, he skates out of frame, turning left on his way home. Nicks brake lights come on within a second of garrett goi and he backs his vehicle out. Reporter but nick did not admit to following garrett. He didnt admit to even seeing garrett. Instead he told tom i went home. I went straight home. I didnt stop anywhere else. Reporter which, nick acknowledged, should be with a right turn out of the parking lot. But when his honda reached the tintersection, a crossroads for this case, nick didnt go right. Instead, he turned left, going in the same direction as garrett. Sixmonths after garretts death, this civil lawyer had breathed new life into a dormant murder investigation, extracting what seemed like powerful new evidence from the prime suspect. But would it be enough for the prosecutor . It was this thing i had prayed for. Make way for a new d. A. She was going to do everything she could to bring justice for garrett. Reporter exactly what would that be . I was alarmed a little bit. I. Liquid foundation. From maybelline new york. Liquid foundation, reinvented complete, luminous coverage in a perfectdose cushion. For freshfaced perfection youll love, hit refresh with just a tap maybellines new dream cushion. Liquid foundation in a compact. Complete coverage for freshfaced perfection. Make it fresh. 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Met with trannedy and told her the same thing. She used like a scale as example and it was one little pebble at a time and they just didnt have enough yet. She couldnt get enough pebbles to tilt it this way. Right. The case went into a deep freeze and it seemed like it might stay there. In that town, this sort of crime is so out of the ordinary, so unheard of, that the fact that they were not able to find someone quickly and make a case quickly and convict them quickly and put this behind them has been enormously frustrating. Tandy, frustration. What is your word about how you feel . I dont know if i can say it just the level of frustration is theres no words really. Reporter out of frustration and sorrow, garretts family, led by his uncle brian, put up justice for garrett signs all over the county. The message from a smiling garrett was both subtle and direct do the right thing. Brian was very close with, with his brother robbie, garretts dad. So we lost robbie and then losing garrett the way that we did, brians never stopped. He wouldnt let this become a cold case. Never. Reporter and then in 2013, mary rain a former cop and public defender decided to run for district attorney. Politics has raised its head here. Absolutely. And her her prime Campaign Theme if you will is theres a murderer running around and nobodys done anything about it. The only thing i would promise isha office. So i spoke with tandy the next day and we talked for about two hours. You didnt promise her results. You promised her your professional interest. Exactly. I promised her i would put a lot of work and energy into it. Reporter tandy took to the stump to campaign for mary. She was interested in your case . Yes. Passionate about it . Very. She was going to do everything she could to bring justice for garrett. Reporter ten days before election day, mary knew she still had ground to make up if she had any hope of becoming the new d. A. And you needed something. You know, help from up above, that never hurts. Reporter she calls it her campaign miracle. I was in church one morning. I sat there and i said, you know god, i need some help. Reporter and help came that same day, when according to tandy, the incumbent d. A. , while out campaigning, unwittingly walked up to her house. She had no idea that she was doorbelling well, she looked the mother of the boy. Yeah, she saw my sign in the, in the yard. And she was trying to change their minds or their opinions to vote for her. And then she realized where she was. And she left. Reporter tandy was incensed because she says the da refused an invitation to speak with her, and instead, just walked away. Tandy took to facebook to vent someone just paid a visit to my house that left me feeling like my family is very unimportant how did it feel to hit send . Good and a little scary. Im not the type to rant on facebook. I generally stay away from the the drama side of it. But i was angry. And once i read that facebook post, i thought, who does that . And i immediately privatemessaged tandy, and i said, this just makes me cry. And she said, there is no crying. But thats hard to get past. Reporter tandy let mary repost the incident to her facebook friends, and from there it went viral. It was the thing i had prayed for. Reporter a big news splash in the county. Kind of a politictu look like she didnt have a handle on things. That if she didnt even know where the victims mother lived, how could she find the victims killer . Reporter on Election Night the voters spoke mary rain came from behind to win the d. A. s job 52 to 48. The two potsdam voters with perhaps the greatest rooting interest in the outcome had opposite reactions. I felt relief. I felt like something was finally going to happen. I was alarmed a little bit, not surprised. Reporter the new d. A. , as promised, immediately plunged into this confounding case, and shed soon get lucky again and come up with something her predecessor never had, the prime suspect under oath; but this time, on video. Nick hillarys hazy memory. I cant recall. I cannot recall. Broke up their their high school girlfriend. You cant remember why this relationship broke up . Investigators wanted to know, did he have something to hide . More doing chores for mom per roll more doing chores for dad per roll more earning something you love per roll bounty is more absorbent, so the roll can last 50 longer than the leading ordinary brand. So you get more life per roll. Bounty, the quicker picker upper whispering dad trust me, we are going viral. Ing to work . kids laughing m lets send in max. kids max max now this, is internet gold going viral . Get scrubbing bubbles clean and disinfect. What . 20,000 views sc johnson. At ikea, we believe everyone should be able to afford a well organized closet. Mama, my throat hurts. And a few extra minutes in the morning. Youve got ten more minutes. Make room for what matters. Yes surprising. Yes whats not surprising . How much money david saved by switching to geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. Whos next . Well organized closet. Mama, my throat hurts. And a few extra minutes in the morning. Youve got ten more minutes. Make room for what matters. Reporter mary rain took office as the countys new da in january, 2014, and the first file she cracked open, as she had promised in the campaign, was the Garrett Phillips case. And im disheartened to see a folder, a lone folder, sitting in the office, which is about this thick. And i realize this is a murder investigation. Its deficient. Reporter but the file was about to get a huge addition. Tom mortati was just weeks away from putting nick hillary under oath again in the civil lawsuit nick brought against police. I prayed, honestly, for for some guidance and to to just to be able to do my job and to help in whatever way that i can. Reporter this time, lieutenant murray and his chief, who both happen to be defendants in the lawsuit, would be sitting in on the deposition, taking notes for their criminal investigation. And nick would be on video. Reporter how are you gonna advance your story . Whats the strategy . Well, i want him to reaffirm all of the things that hes previously told me under oath. Reporter yes, that is my car. Im driving it. Right. I want him to be saying it on camera because the whole purpose of videotaping this had nothing to do with the civil case at all. This is totally about this video is gonna be played in front of a grand jury someday and a criminal jury someday. Reporter acting as defacto prosecutor, tom would be mary rains best chance to get justice for garrett. Good morning, mr. Hillary. Offcamera, asked the questions. Nick hillarys attorney, mani tafari, also offcamera, was raising objections to protect an appeal. Still nick did go on to answer almost everything. At some point, did that relationship that you had with miss cyrus end . Objection. Relevance. Yes. Reporter but when the questions turned personal, nick seemed to get a case of amnesia. Did you approach miss cyrus and discuss with her the possibility of breaking up . I cannot recall. Did miss cyrus ever discuss with you her two boys relationship with you as a basis for ending the relationship . I cannot recall. If she had told you that thats why she wanted to end the the relationship, is that something you think you would have remembered . Objection. I cannot recall. People remember why they broke up with their high school girlfriend. You know, you cant remember why this relationship with a woman you lived with for seven or eight months broke up . Reporter tandy had said she broke up with nick because garrett hated his rules. Reporter and this is the heart ofhe exactly. Reporter that garrett is dead because nick hillary believes that he was an obstacle in the way of him ever being with tandy, that the boy had caused the break. Right. It goes to motive. It goes to, whats his underlying state of mind. Can you describe for me your relationship with garrett up until the point in time where you and miss cyrus broke up . Objection. Relevance. We had a positive relationship. Do you know if garrett liked you . He never said he disliked me. Reporter tom also probed nick about his behavior after tandy moved out. Did you ever show up in miss cyrus apartment in the late evening hours letting yourself in on your own . No. If miss cyrus has provided a sworn deposition to the police indicating that that did, in fact, occur, was she lying when she gave that testimony . Yes. Reporter police had a theory that the killer was injured in the escape leap, and they claimed they had video of nick limping at the soccer game the next night. When tom asked ankle. But said it happened before garrett was killed. Mr. Hillary, at any point prior to october 24th of 2011, did you suffer an injury to either one of your lower legs . Objection. Relevance. Yes. Can you tell me the circumstances under which that occurred . I was moving furniture around in my new apartment. Approximately when did that occur . Objection. Relevance. I cannot recall. What kind of piece of furniture was it . Objection. Relevance. I cannot recall. Did you trip over the piece of furniture, or drop something on you or Something Else . Objection. Relevance, asked and answered. I cannot recall. Reporter mani tafari maintains nicks ankle injury had no connection to the crime or the crime scene. If there were abrasions, we should have some dna thats linking mr. Hillary to this. And we do not. Reporter as in the first deposition, tom asked nick to describe his route home on the day of garretts murder. But this time, nick suggested that if he turned left, it would have been to visit his assistant typically if i make a left out the parking lot, i would be checking in with my assistant coach who lived on garden street, which is what i would normally do. Is that what you did that afternoon . I cannot recall. You dont recall whether or not you stopped into mr. Fairlies apartment on garden street that afternoon . That is correct. And i interrupt him and say, well, wait a minute, youve already told me previously under oath a year and a half ago, you didnt go anywhere else. You didnt make any stops anywhere on your way between leaving Potsdam High School and going to your apartment that afternoon. Do you recall giving that testimony at your 50h examination . Thats what i said, thats what i said. If you turned left out of the parking lot to go home to your apartment, what route did you take . Objection. I cannot recall. Reporter when it was over, tom mortati had a gift for the new d. A. Mary rain, more than six hours of nick on tape, under oath. Everything he said. Everything he couldnt recall. So rare from a prime suspect who was not talking to police. Ive always described this as the o. J. Case backwards. You know, in o. J. , you had a criminal trial, and then there was a civil case. And here, it the exact opposite happened. Reporter you have regrets about going the civil route in the midst of this criminal case . I regret that mr. Hillary was targeted due to his race. And i have no control over that. That is the only regret i have in this entire situation. Reporter d. A. Rain, who had campaigned on getting justice for garrett, now believed she had enough evidence to take to a grand jury. But in a perplexing case that still had gaping holes. No dna, no forensics, no eyewitnesses, this road to indictment would hit an unexpected pothole. Reporter a bold new strategy. You take samples of dna that previously would have been cast aside and attempt to make sense reporter prosecutors wondered, could nicks dna really be at the crime scene after all . Vehicles out here. That has everything to do with the people in here. Their training is developed by the same company who designed, engineered, and built the cars. Theyve got the parts, tools, and knowhow to help keep your ford running strong. 35,000 specialists all across america. No one knows your ford better than ford. And ford service. Right now, get the works a Synthetic Blend Oil change, tire rotation, Brake Inspection and more for 29. 95 or less. Its a mosaic of all the faces before it. Only true match has loreals technology to match your skins unique tone and undertone. 100 guaranteed. Theres only one true match for me. And its perfect. From loreal. We asked woman to smell two body washes andi prefer b. Favorite. B. What was a. Bath and bodyworks. And their favorite. Suave. Really . Works. I have the worst cold i better take something. Dayquil liquid gels dont treat your runny nose. Seriously . Alkaseltzer plus cold and cough liquid gels fights your worst cold symptoms plus your runny nose. Oh, what a relief it is. Reporter may, 2014, two and reporter may, 2014, two and a half years after Garrett Phillips skated home for the last time, d. A. Mary rain was finally putting the case before a grand jury. Her key piece of evidence . If i make a left out the parking lot reporter nick hillarys own words, from his video deposition for his lawsuit against the Potsdam Police. No one can talk about grand jury arguments but the, the civil deposition, safe to say, was very important. Extremely important. We couldnt have put him in the places where he put himself. Reporter on may 15, nick hillary was indicted and arrested. One hundred percent innocent. Reporter charged with Second Degree murder, he was led away in handcuffs by lead investigator, mark murray. Reporter no ruckus . No todo . No ruckus, no todo. Just us walking nick into the station. Reporter nothing, however, has been ordinary in this extraordinary case. Five months later, a judge threw out that indictment on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct. The judge in the case decides that mary rain acted inappropriately. That she injected opinion. That she obviously was not pursuing justice per se but was pursuing nick. Reporter the judge read transcripts of the proceedings and determined that the da bullied nicks daughter, an alibi witness, asking her the same question 13 times. Its crossexamination. There was no bullying. Hes not there. He doesnt know my tone of voice. So hes surmising something that just didnt occur. Reporter mary rain had taken a legal roundhouse blow to the chin, but she got up to fight again. There was no question you were going to refile it . Absolutely no question at all. Reporter using the same evidence, but toning it down, the d. A. Won another indictment, and this one stuck. Tandy felt finally vindicated. You believe nick hillary killed your boy . Yes. Reporter for what reason, tandy . I mean, for whatever reason, he did not like my son. He was a problem for him. He was in his way. Reporter meanwhile, nick hillary was gearing up for his biggest match ever, his very freedom was at stake. I have stated that since day one, im 100 innocent. Reporter nicks old friends and supporters had helped him make bail, although, in potsdam, he faced visible reminders of the strong feelings against him at every turn. Lawn signs are everywhere in your town, justice for garrett. What do you think, theyre everywhere. Theyre everywhere. I mean, for my own sanity, i have told myself justice for garrett sign is a good thing because i need justice for garrett. Reporter but justice of any kind was grinding slowly. And the case was attracting attention. Two legal heavyweights from new york city joined nicks team. Norman siegel, a civil rights lawyer, and earl ward, a celebrated criminal defense attorney. For people like that to be involved in the case shows you that the case is echoing beyond. Reporter is this shaping up as another test of Racial Justice in the criminal Justice System . I think for the defense team, they dont believe that nick did this, and they think hes being railroaded. And they feel that part of that has to do with his race. I think for mary rain and the prosecution team, that is the last thing that they want. They want this to be a murder trial. And they want this to be about a 12yearold boy who lost his life at the hands of a killer. Reporter nicks supporters, including his former teammates, remained adamant that their friend was innocent. Its not possible. I mean hes just hes such a caring and compassionate, loving person. Hes been around kids his entire life. Reporter even on the worst day of his life, something happened, you cant get there, huh . Not a chance. Reporter these teammates are among countless friends and supporters behind the website truth for nick hillary. They dipped into their pockets and helped fund his defense and also paid his everyday bills once he was fired as soccer coach after his arrest. And youre now putting your money where your sentiments are . Uh, yeah, all these guys are. Yeah, weve had hundreds of people on the donation site itself contributor whatever they can. Reporter a trial date was set for december, 2016. Nicks teammates would tand by him in open court. So its the championship season again. This is reporter this is more than a ring now. This is more than a ring. You know, this is, this is, this is life and death. Reporter but first, both sides braced for a summertime fight that could tilt the balance. It was over dna. Did it exist . Was it nicks . And whatever it was, was it even admissible . No hair, tissue or fingerprint belonging to nick was found at the crime scene. And testing on that tiny mix of dna under one of garretts fingernails had been the initial sampling of this, the initial testing of this, showed that it could neither include nor exclude nick hillary. Reporter so with traditional dna chemistry not implicating nick, prosecutors opted for something revolutionary, a new kind of computerdriven dna analysis, from a company in new zealand. Whereby you take samples of dna that previously would have been cast aside because they were too small, they were too difficult to analyze properly. You take those samples and attempt to make sense of them using a computer algorithm. Reporter prosecutors said the new tests came back a match for nick. Not so fast, argued the defense. Too unorthodox. Too unreliable. After every reputable, organization or testing sites told them, look, theres nothing connecting this guy, they went to a different continent, to new zealand to try to get something to stick. And it didnt stick. Reporter in the end, the judge agreed with the defense. Pretrial he ruled that the prosecution could not use the new fangled dna analysis. A major setback. Do you still have a case, absent that science . We still can do it based on the other evidence that we have. Reporter to be determined, as they say, setting the stage for nick hillary to, at last, have his day in court. The trial, finally, was about to get underway. I think that it has taken so long to find justice for garrett, as it were, that this has become one of those stories that people will talk about for a very long time, regardless of how the verdict turns out. I will continue to fight until i dont have anything left. Reporter nick and tandy face to face. Are you ready for that moment . I am. Reporter the showdown begins. Every single fact in this case points to him. You couldve heard a pin drop in that courtroom. Hey ramirez un poquito mas rapido, no . [instrumental music playing throughout] [wheel squeaking] [pumping of bike tire] [pumping of hospital ventilator] [rain falling] [wheel squeaking] Carlos Carlos dr. Brad needs to see you in room 3. [wheel squeaking] [heart monitor beeping] thiswith fries and a pepsiger mis just 9. 99. Mine has bacon seared right in. Mine has gift cards. Mine has game tickets. Get a burger, fries and a pepsi for just 9. 99 at lunch, plus a shot at great prizes. Of a duracell ccell and the tips on how to calm a baby from your motherinlaw that always seem to involve a fair amount of brandy, go with ccell. Thats not just some battery. Thats a duracell battery. Thats a power you can trust. At ikea, we believe everyone should be able to afford a well organized closet. Mama, my throat hurts. And a few extra minutes in the morning. Youve got ten more minutes. Make room for what matters. At ikea, we believe everyone should be able to afford a well organized closet. Mama, my throat hurts. And a few extra minutes in the morning. Youve got ten more minutes. Make room for what matters. I need for your family om you. For this team i said are you guys ready to give me that tonight . Yes coach lets bring it up then pedro. On three. One, two, three pedro go baby, go baby, go baby reporter five long years after Garrett Phillips was killed, the case of new york state v. Nick hillary went to trial. Nick and tandy, former lovers, would be together in the same courtroom. Youre going to be going up to the stand. And inside the rail will be nick hillary. Are you ready for that moment . I am. Reporter as tandy readied to face her exboyfriend in court, nick came face to face with the possibility of a conviction. Then youll be given another jumpsuit, put in a van and taken away. I would fight and i will continue to fight until i dont have anything left inside of me to fight just the same way im fighting right now. Reporter the trial was shaping up as a battle between seasoned, successful attorneys. The Venerable Team of earl ward and Norman Siegel for the defense. For the state, d. A. Mary rain asked bill fitzpatrick, a renowned prosecutor from another county, to take the lead in court. So you bring in fitzpatrick from down in syracuse for what reason . Well, bill fitzpatrick has over 75 homicide prosecutions himself. Hes been a prosecutor for over 24 years, and ive been a prosecutor for over two. Reporter almost immediately, a courtroom bombshell. Ten jurors had been quickly selected, all white, when nick and his defense team made a shocking announcement. They were opting for a bench trial, letting judge felix catena, decide nicks future. New york times reporter, Jesse Mckinley. I think their calculation was, were better off going with a legal mind, someone that knows the law. Reporter so theyre arguing it to the judge . He will be the judge and the jury in this . Absolutely. Good morning, everyone. Please be seated. Mr. Fitzpatrick, your opening statement. Thank you very much, your honor. Reporter bill fitzpatrick laid out the states case, painting a portrait of nick hillary as a scorned lover and a liar. He said nicks own words from his video deposition given under oath, would nail him. The only reason he has to lie is because he was killing garrett. Reporter but longtime civil rights attorney siegel said nick is an innocent man and could prove he was home at the exact time garrett was being attacked. You cant be in two places at the same time. And nick hillary went home. Reporter it was all part of a rush to judgment by police, argued siegel. There is naturally a cry for justice. A cry for someone to be held accountable. But it must be the right person. Nick hillary is not the right person. Reporter after opening arguments, cameras were removed for all testimony. The prosecution called the victims mother to the stand as its leadoff witness. Tandy told the judge what shed told us, that nick was unhappy about her breaking up their relationship. She was absolutely cool as a cucumber. She rarely let emotion get to her. She was a very controlled, very competent witness. Reporter and she testified about the times, she said, nick let himself into her apartment uninvited. I was getting very annoyed with the fact that he wouldnt leave me alone. He obsessed about the reporter next, the prosecution presented evidence that garrett died from a choke hold, a ghastly combination of strangulation and asphyxiation. Rug burns on garretts legs, and red marks on his neck, pointed to a desperate struggle. It was a crime of passion, insisted fitzpatrick, pointing to nick as the only person hostile to garrett. This is somebody that chokes the life with a high degree of hatred of a 12yearold boy. Reporter he talks about an amicable breakup. It was not amicable at that point, because he was not happy. Tandy was amicable, but he was not. He was very, very angry. Reporter prosecutors used video to try to prove their case, a onetwo punch of nick hillary on camera. They played for the judge the security video of nicks honda in the High School Parking lot, as they saw it, stalking garrett. Thats the most important witness in this case. Of a school. Reporter the state also presented that critical video of nick, under oath, from his deposition in his civil case. Something happens, which i will affectionately refer to as the gift that keeps on giving. That person is telling lies, frankly, too numerous to catalogue. Reporter one lie, according to the state, involved nicks damaged ankle. Remember, during his deposition, nick said he hurt it before garretts death. Mr. Hillary, at any point prior to october 24th of 2011, did you suffer an injury to either one of your lower legs . Objection, relevance. Yes. Can you tell me the circumstances under which that occurred . I was moving furniture around in my new apartment. Reporter prosecutors attacked that story when the medical examiner took the stand. He commented on Photos Police took of nicks ankle just two days after garrett was killed. His ankle is swollen. Its got a ver dr. Sikirica, our m. E. , said the cut is 24 to 48 hours old. Reporter a fresh cut, prosecutors theorized, caused by nicks desperate escape leap from garretts second floor apartment. And then what prosecutors called another lie, the big one at the heart of their case when nick talked about where he went after driving out of the School Parking lot just minutes before garrett was choked to death. According to him, at least a dozen times under oath, i went straight home back to my daughter. Straight home. You went straight home after you left the Potsdam High School that afternoon, correct . Yes. Reporter straight home would have meant turning right. But nick turned left just like garrett. Prosecutors laid it out with dramatic flair. Here was nick, under oath, caught in a lie confirmed by the video. Mr. Hillary doesnt turn he turns left because hes hunting Garrett Phillips. Reporter maybe the prosecutions best evidence is this videotape, the journey to the field to look at the soccer team. Yeah. Prosecution says its their most conclusive piece of evidence. Reporter rainy day in potsdam. The last few minutes of garretts life. Yes. And when they were playing that tape, which is about five minutes long in that courtroom, you couldve havhee d ara pin drop. Reporter the state argued that when nick wasnt lying, he had very suspicious lapses in memory about the day garrett was killed, a convenient forgetfulness, said prosecutors, highlighted by three simple words. I cannot recall. I cannot recall. I cannot recall. Watch him as he answers, i cannot recall, without even the slightest reflection or effort to try to recall. If you start to take these things in sum, in total, that you have a guy who is not telling the truth. You have a guy that does not have an iron clad alibi. And the proof is beyond coli certainty. Every single fact in this case points to him. And at some point, coincidences stop being coincidences and they start being proof of guilt. Reporter it was a circumstantial case, but prosecutors were confident. Now the defense would get its turn and they would aggressively make the case in court that nick hillary had been making for himself from day one. Im 100 innocent of the accusations that im facing. You searches this house twice, what did you find . Nothing. You searched his car, what you did you find . Nothing. You searched, what did you find . Nothing. No evidence, no case, the defense comes on strong. Nick hillary is not a murderer. Ymptoms. 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Those two episodes, prosecutors tried to portray as some type of nefarious behavior on nicks part. But tandy made it clear that these episodes were nothing more than an inconvenience. She testified that on one occasion they slept together. Reporter the defenses argument, tandys break up with nick was hardly the drama she made it out to be. They tried to portray it as if nick was this, you know demon, this this this awful person who snuck into this womans bedroom, as i said on my summation, like something out of a horror movie and hovered above her in the dark as if he was about to do something, you know, evil. When during the crossexamination, it came out that that wasnt the case. Reporter and tandy and other family members also conceded that nick had never laid a hand on garrett while they lived there was nothing between the two that could be considered hatred. Nothing between the two that would lead or could lead to murder. They have kind of picked away at the prosecutions witnesses enough, it would seem, for them to try to create reasonable doubt, which is all they want to do. Thats the game. They want reporter reasonable doubt . Reasonable doubt wins their case. Nick hillary is not a murderer. He is not a violent man. Violence is inconsistent with who he is and what he has done in his life. Reporter now the defense started to paint a different picture of nick hillary not the man accused of a heinous crime but the army vet, adored soccer captain, and loving father who could never ever harm a 12yearold, let alone kill him. Hes been around kids his entire life. Ive seen him interact with 12yearolds constantly. Reporter brendan murphy, the goalie on nicks championship soccer team, was one of the character witnesses who testified about the nick he knew. He was always there to pick me up and never blame me. And never, you know, yelled at me or made me feel bad about lettin a goal in. Reporter and his lawyers dismissed the prosecutions suggested motive that he killed for revenge. This theory is simply not credible on its face. There has always been this question as to what this would possibly gain for him. What would be the upside of hurting this kid . Reporter the defenses biggest point was very simple there was no physical evidence none linking nick hillary to the crime. There was no hair. There were no fibers. There was no fingerprints linking nick to this crime. Reporter and there was testimony from investigators about those unknown fingerprints that were found around that pushedout window screen. You have to ask yourself whose print was on that window. Whose print was on the window that that perpetrator climbed out of to escape the building . Again, it wasnt nick hillarys. Reporter in an unusual move, the defense called to the stand mark murray, the lead cop on the case, getting him to admit his nearly fiveyear investigation had failed to turn up any physical evidence against nick in any place. Brought him forward and said, you searched his house twice. What did you find . Nothin. You searched his car, what did you find . Nothin. You searched his office two times. What did you find . Nothin. Reporter which made it clear, the defense argued, that police had tunnel vision, starting with the night of the murder, when lieutenant murray and two state cops came to nicks house. Within hours, as youve heard, i was targeted. Would it be fair to say theres a rush to judgment . Yes. I cannot recall. Reporter the most damning prosecutioev nick had been those videotapes. First, his deposition in the civil suit. I cannot recall. The defense argued that his inability to answer questions then was just a memory lapse, nothing more. The statements he made at that deposition were made 27 months after the death of Garrett Phillips. It is true he often said, i cant recall. But does that make him a murderer . Reporter and as for the the states centerpiece evidence that Security Camera video where nick appeared to follow garrett out of the High School Parking lot, it didnt actually show much of anything, argued the defense. The prosecution wants you to make much of this video. But the prosecution wants you to jump to conclusions. Reporter the camera doesnt record the end of this. Yeah. There is no videotape that exists anywhere that shows nick hillary pulling up to 100 Market Street, getting out of his car and walking up those stairs. Reporter nicks assertion that he went to his home and not garretts was bolstered at trial by two alibi witnesses. The focus was to show that nick was somewhere else from the period of 5 00 to at least 5 23 and have two alibi witnesses that would hold up. Reporter the first was assistant soccer coach ian fairlie. He testified that nick stopped by his house at 5 21 pm. , about 20 minutes after garrett was attacked, according to police estimates. Reporter did fairlie stick to his guns, to his same story hes told over and over . Absolutely. And said, as he said to me and other people, that that afternoon when nick hillary walked in that apartment, he wasnt limping, he wasnt sweating, he didnt seem discombobulated, he didnt seem upset. He just seemed like the same old guy. Reporter but it was shanna kay hillary, nicks daughter, whose testimony would be makeorbreak. She testified he was with her, at their house, in the critical time period of 5 00 to 5 15 p. M. Which is the same time Young Garrett was losing that struggle judge, there is nothing about shanna kays testimony that was false. She is a strong witness and she is reasonable doubt. Crossexamination, prosecutor bill fitzpatrick went after nicks daughter with gusto. And got her to admit she didnt remember very much else about that day except for the time her dad was home. It will all come down to whether or not the judge believes whether nick was where he said he was. Reporter which is the gamble nick had taken when he waived a jury trial. His fate would soon be in the hands of one man, judge catena would decide. Im never gonna have my son back my family and i have been living underneath this cloud. Were talking 25 years to life. The judges verdict, what would it be . Ds biggest stars. And, with his vintageinspired collection at kay jewelers, he designs them for you, too. Its based on an art deco design. Over 50 diamonds, all handset. You know the saying, they dont make em like they used to . I still do. Neil lane bridal. At kay, the numberone Jewelry Store for. Yes. Every kiss begins with kay. And gave one prego traditional and one ragu traditional. This is what happened. 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I am just trying to learn as much as i can about my culture. I put the gele on my head and i looked into the mirror and i was trying not to cry. Because its a hat, but its like the most important hat ive ever owned. Discover the story only your dna can tell. Order your kit now at ancestrydna. Com. Were talking murder two. You know, were talking 25 years to life. This is not shoplifting. This is a very serious charge. Reporter the awful question nick hillary choked the life out of a 12yearold boy . Hes been lying about it ever since. Reporter lead prosecutor bill fitzpatrick had thundered outrage during his closing argument, channeling the emotion of tandy and her family. Garrett phillips wasnt killed by someone passing through town who hates little boys. He was killed by nick hillary. He wanted to be 12 years old and not be dictated to. And that cost him his life. Reporter the defense team had spent threeweeks arguing there was simply no evidence against nick. I know, judge, that youll get it right. I know, judge, that after considering all the evidence in this case you will find mr. Hillary not guilty. Reporter the defense had wagered an unusual high stakes gamble bypassing a jury and asking the judge to decide. Judge and jury in one man, felix catena. Reporter a week went by with no decision, an excruciating wait for both sides. Then the judge called everyone back to the courthouse to hear his verdict. For 42year old nick hillary, and his unwavering legion of truth for nick hillary supporters, its been a fiveyear long slog to clear his name. Weve been here since day one supportin nick. And, you know, stayin in his corner. Were not gonna stop standin by him now. Reporter for tandy cyrus, cocooned in a huddle of supportive friends and family, the agonizing wait with all its fits and starts, was finally over. The moment was at hand. As to the charge of murder in the Second Degree as charged in the indictment, the defendant, oral nicholas hillary, is found not guilty. Reporter not guilty. A quick burst of applause and a cry from nicks side of the room. Thank you, jesus. Reporter garretts uncle shouted out in nicks direction, karma will get you. Nick hugged his attorneys, then dissolved in a flood of tears. Tandy, a bundle of nerves while waiting for the verdict, was inconsolable. Reporter da mary rain said she was devastated, and spoke of tandys pain. I just simply expressed my condolences. And that was about it. And she said, i know you guys tried. Reporter tom mortati, the attorney for the Potsdam Police, addressed the issue of race, which had been hanging over the case from the start. Race had nothing to do with this investigation. And if any of you actually had an opportunity to meet with some of the investigators involved, youd know that. But i can tell you, affirmatively, that race had nothing to do with this from the getgo. Reporter defense attorney earl ward. There is a family that, even after five years, still grieves. So were not oblivious to that. But nick hillary did not kill Garrett Phillips. Nick hillary is an innocent man. Love you, man, all right . Reporter just a few hours after the verdict, nick told us he felt a sense of relief, but would feel the scars of his ordeal for years to come. Im very happy. Dont get me wrong. But for five years my family and i have been livin underneath this cloud. And the focus right now is to start puttin this in the rearview mirror. Reporter maybe the people in potsdam will try, too, to put this case behind them. But it wont be easy. Nicks civil suit against the police is still pending. And small towns dont pivot so easily to normal after an epic drama like this one. This case has had a lot of the great elements of fiction. And at the heart of it, you have this terrible, terrible tragedy, which is the death of a child. Reporter and that raw hurt never goes away. Not to a mother with a broken heart. I have pictures in my head that will never go away. I had to watch as people tried to resuscitate my son and failed. Im never gonna have my son back. Had he lived, had he gotten extra years, hed be 17, finishing up high school. Yes. Who do you think he wouldve been . Still the funloving kid that he was. And joking and teasing. And i think he would be looking to have a very Bright Future somewhere as an athlete. Reporter but the boy is buried now with the artifacts of his brief childhood, including that ripstik. Garrett exits forever frame left. The mystery surrounding his killing still abides. Youre watching piers morgan live. Good evening. Im piers morgan. And what i lack in journalistic integrity. Tonight well talk with several public figures accused of misleading the american people. Joining us first to discuss the ongoing bridgegate scandal thank you, piers. Its great to be here