159. Smells Like A Staged Disappearance - No Justice For Michele Harris

Just The Tip-Sters: True Crime Podcast

Last week’s episode concerning the disappearance of Sneha Philip right on the cusp of the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11/2001 got Melissa to thinking about other cases revolving around major national emergency events. And so this week’s episode is about someone else whose disappearance – this one occurring just the day after 9/11 – is still a mystery and whose killer has never been convicted – although the authorities thought for sure they had identified that person…and arrested him…and tried him…FOUR TIMES… Michele Harris was splitting with her husband, Calvin (“Cal”) Harris, and the split was not going well. Both living together in separate wings of the Harris estate in rural upstate New York pending a drawn out finalization of their divorce, things had gotten nasty between Michele and Cal by the time the summer of 2001 had rolled around. The main issue appeared to be money – how much of a settlement would Michele accept from her multimillionaire soon-to-be-ex husband? If you asked Cal, he’d say way too much. If you asked Michele, she’d say all she wanted was an appraisal of all of Cal’s holdings so that she could walk away with a fair amount. Turns out the issue never had to be resolved. That’s because the morning after the WTC attacks, Michele was nowhere to be found anywhere in the house. Cal, who had to leave for work, called the babysitter to come over to take care of the kids until Michele got home. It’s when the babysitter showed up that things got strange. Driving into the property, she saw Michele’s minivan parked at th end of the long driveway, keys still in the ignition. It was when the police showed up to investigate that Cal Harris began to engage in a series of behaviors that led the authorities to make him the prime suspect. Which got him arrested. Which resulted in one tossed indictment, three mistrials and finally an acquittal – fourteen years after Michele’s disappearance. The problem with Cal, you see – setting aside the question of whether he was responsible for Michele’s ultimate fate or not – is that he can’t seem to stop himself from being a giant jerk. He never seemed concerned about Michele; sold her stuff just weeks after she disappeared, took up with an old flame not long after that and just generally acted like a dee eye see kay, if y’know what we’re saying. So was Cal Harris righteously accused of Michele Harris’ murder? Or is he an innocent man wrongfully brought to trial simply because he was such an unpleasant dude (oh, almost forgot, as soon as he was acquitted he sued the County and every single witness who testified against him – nice!)? Melissa goes over the details – and you can decide for yourselves, Tip-Sters. Plus – if there are any of you out there who might have an alternate theory of what might have happened to Michele Harris, let us know.