TRIED A THIRD TIME FOR KILLING HIS WIFE, A NEW YORK BUSINESSMAN VOWS HE'S INNOCENT - WILL A JURY FINALLY BELIEVE HIM?

"48 HOURS PRESENTS: CAL HARRIS: DEADLOCKED"

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Prosecutors in northern New York believe Cal Harris is guilty of killing his estranged wife, Michele, to preserve his fortune. Twice he's been tried and found guilty, and twice those cases have been overturned. Now, after a third jury weighed in on his fate, Erin Moriarty and 48 HOURS reexamine the case in "Cal Harris: Deadlocked" to be rebroadcast Saturday, May 23 (10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

48 HOURS has been covering the Harris case since 2006. It's a story that has made headlines and has been the talk of the Tioga County, N.Y., area since Michele Harris disappeared on the night of Sept. 11, 2001. At the time, Michele and Cal Harris were nearing the end of a bitter divorce when she vanished after leaving a boyfriend's house.

In 2005, without finding a body or a murder weapon, police arrested Cal Harris for his wife's murder. Investigators felt they had a good circumstantial case buoyed by tiny drops of blood found in the Harris' home. Harris was tried in 2007 and convicted of second-degree murder. But then, while awaiting sentencing, a new witness emerged and the conviction was overturned. He was tried again in 2009, and the jury reached the same verdict. That case was overturned on appeal as well. Harris recently went on trial for a third time.

"I feel like I'm being kidnapped in broad daylight in front of my kids, in front of everyone, and no one can do anything about it," Harris told Moriarty before the third trial. "And now we're to a point now where I have to solve this case."

Prosecutors have argued Harris killed his soon-to-be ex-wife to protect his family's wealth, while his defense team maintains police never looked close enough at other potential suspects, including some of the men in Michele's life at the time.

"This has been such a roller coaster," Harris told Moriarty. "I'm getting ripped away, I come home. I get ripped away, I come home. I get ripped away, I come home."

Not everyone believes Harris is innocent, however. "He shouldn't be out on the street," says Greg Taylor, Michele's brother. "He should be in a jail cell someplace and not having an enjoyable life out there."

Harris' defense team was confident a third trial would clear his name. Was the defense team right? Or would Michele Harris' family get the justice they've sought for so many years? 48 HOURS PRESENTS: "Cal Harris: Deadlocked" is produced by Lisa Freed, Ruth Chenetz and Anthony Venditti. Al Briganti is the executive editor. Susan Zirinsky is the senior executive producer.

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