was almost unbelievable. cal harris, convicted of killing his wife, michele, was about to be sent away for 25 to life. and suddenly, it all blew up right in da jerry keene s face. i came into the courtroom thinking that the defendant was going to be sentenced. and it ended up being more of my being on trial. keith morrison (voiceover): who on earth had the power to make this happen? he did, kevin tubbs. i know that she was there, ok? i know she was. keith morrison (voiceover): kevin tubbs, a plainspoken, rough farm worker back then was hauling hay. and why was he so important? because after six years during which tubbs swore he barely registered the fuss over the harris case, he picked up a paper and saw the story of cal s conviction. and i seen that and you know, i started like, recalling, you
and things like that. didn t find anything? no, we didn t. keith morrison (voiceover): not at first, and not outside, but a few days later they did. i entered the residence through the open garage door. keith morrison (voiceover): senior investigator steve anderson. i noticed bloodstains on the floor and on the moldings of the doorway that led out to the garage. keith morrison (voiceover): and there was more blood tiny stains on a kitchen rug. they sent it out for tests. everything on the floor, on the inside walls, and on the carpet came back to being michele s blood. keith morrison (voiceover): and suddenly, the case looked very different. then we knew we had a real problem. keith morrison (voiceover): what in the world had happened to michele harris? [whoosh] craig melvin (voiceover): coming up. [music playing] sue: they had what would appear to be an idyllic life and a beautiful home and beautiful children. we learned more and more. he became the focus. craig melvin (voiceover): a
she vanished, after she left her boyfriend s place, they now knew, they said, that michele did not go home. because one of those witnesses reported seeing her later that night with another man, a local steelworker. attorney, donna aldea. on september 11th, on that night, in a bar, in a dance club, he actually said. and that he was there. but then he left the two of them alone and he went home. keith morrison (voiceover): the steelworker spotted with michele was a regular at her restaurant, said the defense. his name was stacey stewart. the defense said, he told his friends he had a sexual relationship with michele, and said the defense, stacey stewart appeared to be the very man kevin tubbs saw with michele in the early hours of september 12th. there was a blonde woman out there and a young gentleman, you know, in his early 20s. tubbs identified that man from a photograph. his physical appearance, his facial hair, his height, his age, and the type of vehicle he drove.
come out and talk about it. how did it feel to do it? good. we all knew this was kind of our time to come out and give our side and you know, do our part in this. keith morrison (voiceover): cal hired new lawyers. and they condemned the state for an investigation which they said was blind to any suspect but their client. lead defense attorney, bruce barket. they ve pursued this man for 14 years, with scant evidence. evidence that really, no prosecutor should bring a case on. keith morrison (voiceover): the defense went back to witnesses the police had interviewed years before, talked to others, and heard a whole new story of michele s last hours on earth. earlier trials, they said, revealed the mother of four had been hanging with an unsavory crowd, co-workers and customers from her waitressing job. attorney aida leisenring. there were people there that had criminal records. there were people there that were dealing drugs. there were people there that were making sexual advances. keith
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