With months of testimony from dozens of witnesses, the Cal Harris trial took a toll on everyone involved. The case ultimately ended in a mistrial Friday. But as Cara Thomas reports, the disappearance of Michele Harris and allegations against Cal have weighed on these two families for more than a decade.
SCHOHARIE, N.Y. -- After three month of testimony, 12 days of deliberations and four notes from the jury stating they were deadlocked, a Schoharie County judge ruled a mistrial in the murder trial for Calvin Harris.
"It has been nearly 14 years since this nightmare began. I'd hoped that my children and I would finally be free to live our lives without these false allegations hanging over our heads," Harris said outside court Friday afternoon. "We got closer to justice, but we're not there yet."
Harris was eventually charged with second-degree murder after his wife, Michele, disappeared. The couple were in the midst of getting a divorce, and family members of Michele have said in previous interviews with TWC News that domestic violence was a key factor, saying Michele slept on the couch with her car keys handy, ready to make a quick escape if need be, but a lot of evidence was not revealed during this trial.
"She kept a journal of everything that happened and my parents can't talk about what she had said to them or anything like that," said Kelsey Taylor, Michele's niece.
Now with three trials behind him and possibly a fourth in the future, Harris still maintains his innocence and encourages police to look elsewhere for answers.
"I want to urge Michele's family and the law enforcement community to please consider that you're wrong, you have been punishing the wrong person," Harris said. "My children and I are begging you to look at someone else and find out what happened to Michele."
"Obviously you don't want to put an innocent man in jail and I get that. It would be horrible, but I don't see how, with all the evidence, how you can say it isn't him," Taylor said.