tubbs said the man he saw was standing beside a black truck. stacy stewart owned a black truck, same kind. and it s a new model, and it s a chevy. and you look everything up, and it s all coming together. stacey stewart has denied any involvement in michele s disappearance. he s denied he ever had a relationship with michele, said he was never even alone with her. still, cal s side was convinced that stewart and a friend of his played some role in michele s disappearance. in 2015, trial number three opened in the town of schoharie. a change of venue necessary, said the defense, because the case was too well-known in tioga county. and the defense managed to get some of the prosecution s case thrown out. the state wasn t allowed to suggest, as it had before, that the blood was spilled around the time michele disappeared. to have forensic scientists get up and and speculate and guess at how old blood was based upon
and just it was overwhelming. keith morrison (voiceover): but in the eyes of michele s family, it was finally justice. and then then an extraordinary thing happened. my first reaction was, come on. the judge is not going to accept this guy s claim. keith morrison (voiceover): a new witness with an amazing story. and it turned the harris case on its head. craig melvin: coming up man: as i was going by the harris property, there was a blonde woman out there. looked like she was crying. i know it was her. craig melvin: had someone seen michele? it was the most bizarre story that you could have ever told. craig melvin: get ready for trial number two, when dateline continues. [music playing]
so i think, you know, if things don t go our way, it will definitely turn all of our worlds upside down. but i think we re i know we re tough enough that we ll get through it. but you know, you definitely don t like to think about that kind of thing. we definitely have plans in what we want to do, when it s all said and done and over with, and the good end turns out. want to talk about that at all? vacation. yeah. somewhere cool. keith morrison (voiceover): maybe. maybe not. it s the end of cal harris s third murder trial. his lawyers were determined to show there was reasonable doubt in the case. but would that be enough to persuade the jury? coming up breaking news out of the schoharie county courthouse. craig melvin: would you believe trial number four? shocked i was truly shocked. craig melvin: when dateline continues. [music playing]
the color from a photograph is an outrageously unsupported proposition. keith morrison (voiceover): also out? hearsay testimony from prosecution witnesses who said michele told them that cal threatened her life. we don t think they belonged in the evidence. it was part of the reason the case was unfair the first time and the second time. keith morrison (voiceover): then the defense attempted to present its evidence about that alternate suspect, stacey stewart. and the judge shut them down. the jury would only be allowed to hear stewart s name, that michele knew him, that kevin tubbs had id d him, and that he owned a black truck at the time, no more. why? because stacey stewart wasn t on trial. cal harris was. the wrong man, his attorneys insisted. cal did not deserve to be on trial. and frankly, michele and the her family deserve better. we all want to know what happened to her. it s time to look elsewhere. keith morrison (voiceover): there was a new prosecutor this time, tioga county
third time, deliberations dragged. finally, almost two weeks in, the jurors made it clear they simply could not reach a verdict. breaking news out of the schoharie county courthouse. the third cal harris murder trial has been ruled a mistrial by the judge. keith morrison (voiceover): a mistrial. it was the outcome nobody wanted. we got closer to justice, but we re not there yet. keith morrison (voiceover): michele s family, convinced they knew the truth, that cal murdered michele, left the courthouse without comment. not right now. keith morrison (voiceover): and tioga county prosecutor kirk martin vowed to do it again. there have been two guilty verdicts in this case. and i eagerly await the earliest possible trial date that fits with the court s schedule. keith morrison (voiceover): a fourth trial? really? yes, indeed. in march, 2016, deja vu all over again. same courthouse, same cast of characters, with one notable newcomer. how are you?