Garbus says she would do a follow-up to her doc if need be, but she admits that after her experience getting to know the Potsdam police for the project, she doesnt think its likely. Garrett, 12, was found strangled in his empty home on October 24, 2011, with no witnesses reporting seeing the killer enter or exit the second-floor apartment. The sentiment in the town echoes Rains idea that the killer got off, so theres not a lot of public pressure to investigate a killer who might be on the loose, Garbus said. Prosecutors have also said they will not reopen the investigation. 1. There is only one door to the apartment. Whatever has come to light or will come in the years ahead Phillips said hes tried to focus on the good. In 2006, Hillary was acquitted of murder after a trial before a judge without a jury, The jury pool came from the same individuals who had elected the district attorney, Hillary, 45, told The News. He was 12. Today, Garrett's mother's ex-boyfriend, Nick Hillary, was found not guilty in the boy's murder. Back at the crime scene, the police realized there was no forced entry, but there was an open window, with the screen cut out. After medics rushed the boy to the hospital two blocks away, Wentworth noticed that one of the window blinds in another bedroom had been damaged. I have so many questions about the ex-boyfriend, John Jones. In regards to the interesting and sad story about Garrett Phillips the 12- year old CHILD murdered victim. On October 26, two days after the murder, Nick was brought into the station. He was 19 at the time of the 2013 arrest, which makes him the same age as the Brandon D. Murphy in question for Garrett's murder. A 'Justice for Garrett' sign is pictured in an undated photo. They're calling for the state Attorney General. He wore a T-shirt and blue-and-white checkered shorts. The people who lived downstairs didn't report hearing or seeing anything, Murray said. 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But their approaches to parenting seemed very different. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. They moved in just months before Garrett died, after Cyrus and Hillary broke up. One DA declined to pursue an indictment and was eventually voted out of office. It suggests that a kid named Brandon who lived next door gave two different statements about his whereabouts. Why would I even want to hurt a child, after having worked with kids for over two decades? Advocates say raise it first, DEC says 2022 tied for the safest hunting season on record, Governor Kathy Hochul Releases New York State Budget, New York redistricting commission to hold final public hearings this week, New York unlikely to have a new chief judge until later this spring, Adirondack Council leader to step down later this year, Stefanik opens district office in Rensselaer County Government building, Budget watchdog says NY should plan for an upcoming "fiscal cliff", Community Advisory Board (NCPR Executive Council). But the verdict came down as not guilty, and Tandy never ended up going on the record with Garbus. We did hear these rumors, and we wanted, as much as we could, to go out and explore them and accompany local journalists, Garbus says, but there really was so little [to go on]. The current district attorney, Gary Pasqua, has given Potsdam Police, now headed by Murray, new information pointing to a different suspect. For years, one of the loudest voices demanding justice for Garrett Phillips belonged to his uncle. When 12-year-old Garrett Phillips was murdered in 2011 . Garrett and his family lived on the second floor, so the police determined that the killer would have had to jump on the landing and then down to the ground. What makes this weirder is that Brandon and his dad both say they saw a white male with dirty blonde hair go in out of 100 Market Street around 3 - 330. On the last day of his life, he went home after school and was home alone where he should have been safe, but apparently wasnt. Phillips was convinced police had the right suspect, but he felt it was time to move on and it became clear that law enforcement wanted to move on, too. At that point "we weren't sure what we had," Murray told "20/20." This button displays the currently selected search type. The police photographed the window, took fingerprints and took the blinds as evidence. Garrett was found unconscious in his home and died that night due to injuries inflicted by a yet unknown perpetrator. Then, at the hospital, she found out he was in cardiac arrest. Garrett had been strangled and suffocated. This case is currently still unsolved after a not guilty verdict. The apartment that Jones helped Cyrus find was the same spot where Phillips was found gravely hurt. Oral Nick Hillary exhales as he leaves the St. Lawrence County Courthouse in Canton Wednesday after being found not guilty of murdering Garrett Phillips. Jennifer Baxtron, organizer of many demonstrations in Potsdam and across St. Lawrence County, has collected 1,650 signatures on a petition calling for an independent investigation. (Courtesy of HBO ). Nick told the police that he was with his assistant coach, a man named Ian at the time of the murder. The two-part HBO documentary Who Killed Garrett Phillips? doesnt solve the mystery but looks at the case through a critical lens. Nick Hillary is the ex-boyfriend of Tandy Cyrus. Tandy said she broke up with Nick because Garrett didnt like him. It's an unlikely setting for what reporter Jesse McKinley of the New York Times would tell us turned out to be a story about "love triangles and fated love." And yet, in that security video of Garrett on his skateboard, wasn't that Nick driving his Honda CRV though the high school parking lot just after Garrett skated by? There was word that several other boys were with Garrett when he died. Nick said he was at the high school to watch a soccer game, went home and talked with his daughter, and then went to his assistant coachs house. Photo: Julie Grant, St. Lawrence County DA Mary Rain at a press conference after the trial in 2016. This case is about a murdered 12 year old and the polices tunnel vision against one suspect. Phillips was the 12-year-old boy who was fatally attacked at his home in Potsdam in 2011. A St. Lawrence County prosecutor says there's a new tip in the Garrett Phillips murder case. The medical examiner also collected DNA from under Garretts nails. Around 5:16pm, the police arrived. "You could see that Garrett had neatly set his sneakers by the closet. A 'Justice for Garrett' sign is pictured in an undated photo. "Mr. Jones went on to say that if I was sleeping with his ex-girlfriend he would have 'kicked in my door,'" Hillary said. Dateline's been covering the case of Garrett Phillips for over a year. Tips come in. Two years after the slaying, Garretts mothers ex-boyfriend, Oral Nick Hillary, was arrested, tried for the murder and acquitted. (Also pictured: Potsdam Village attorney Thomas Mortati.) When a new prosecutor took office, St. Lawrence County district attorney Gary Pasqua, he said the case remains open because no one was convicted. Nick did drive a blue car, however the footage is so blurry that you cant tell who is driving or see the license plate. A few other people who were interviewed in this episode also said they didnt see a limp and it could have been the recording and camera. He was read his rights. There were many similarities in Hillary and Jones: they were both romantically connected to Phillips' mother and they were both allegedly seen in proximity to Phillips before the murder. When Hillary was acquitted this week, the judge said that his case was mostly circumstantial and didnt prove he was guilty without a doubt. "In my mind, that investigation is still out there.". That's a remarkable jump from the window.". After 22 witnesses testified and after a two week trial, Nick was found not guilty. However, Postdam is apparently really small, so if you go a different way it doesnt take long to be back where you started. However, Shanna-Kays phone records show she texted her father at 6:24pm, asking Whats for dinner?. Tandy Cyrus, Garretts mom, was at her other sons basketball practice. Cyrus did not want to participate. premieres on HBO on Tuesday, July 23 at 8/7c. "Everybody that knows me knows what goes through my head and who I believe," Phillips said. On the same courthouse steps in Canton where Hillary walked away a free man after being cleared in Garrett Phillips death almost four years ago, a couple dozen people held a press conference Friday afternoon. Bastuk says now is the time to draw national attention to a murder case thats been unsolved for too long. Garbus and her crew interviewed him many times, filmed him with his kids and in his home, and included footage of his 2016 trial. The night that her son died, she had no idea what had happened. And while the killer of the 12-year-old boy could still be on the loose, Oral Nick Hillary paid the price at the time of the murder, as he was initially named as a key suspect. According to the documentary, that once police focused in on Hillary an Army veteran and respected soccer coach at nearby Clarkson University other investigative avenues were not explored. The new DA made the case her central mission and finally got a grand Jury to indict Nick Hillary. According to Grantland, Officer Mark Wentworth investigated the apartment at 100 Market Street. At the time, lead prosecutors declared the case was closed. Tonight, ABC News and Dateline will both investigate the 2011 murder of Garrett Phillips. When we met Hillary before his trial, we talked about his early years growing up in a large family in Jamaica. I needed someone trained to put their emotions to the side., Oral "Nick" Hillary, center, hugs defense attorney Edward Narrow after being found not guilty in the murder of Garrett Phillips on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016, in Canton, N.Y. (Jason Hunter/AP). Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? And, once I started working on the film, I realized that another major issue was the lack of oversight and the free reign given to the district attorneys.. Related stories:A phone call from inside the investigationSteve Downs, former chief attorney for New Yorks Commission on Judicial Conduct, said Friday that state rulings require avoiding those potential conflicts. At 4:40pm, Shanna-Kay took a shower. He said he had gotten it a week ago from moving furniture. Also the Mom of Brandon's girlfriend also overheard Brandon talking about this unidentified male. His mother's ex-boyfriend, Nick Hillary, was found not guilty of the murder just over two years ago in a. Tandy's 12-year-old, Garrett, bristled at his mom's new boyfriend, said Tandy. 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Garrett was described as always being a happy kid, who always had a smile on his face. Meanwhile Garretts autopsy was done. When they didnt hear back, they called on state Attorney General Tish James to intervene. Just like his father, spitting image of my brother, a heck of a little athlete. Oral Nick Hillary stands outside the St. Lawrence County Courthouse Wednesday in Canton during a press conference after he was found not guilty of murdering Garrett Phillips. In 2011, Garrett Phillips, who was just 12-years-old, was killed in his upstate New York home. But he said Hillarys situation fits in with nationwide protests over racism in policing a Black man associated with a crime even after a not guilty verdict. civil actions filed against DA Rain and Jones, circumstantial evidence against him and Hillary. Forty minutes later, he was found strangled to death in his mother's bedroom. 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