The Man behind Michelle Harris’ Murder Essay Example
The Man behind Michelle Harris’ Murder Essay Example

The Man behind Michelle Harris’ Murder Essay Example

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  • Pages: 5 (1229 words)
  • Published: July 30, 2016
  • Type: Case Analysis
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Along with the terrorism campaign that shook the world in September 11, 2001 and took the lives of thousands of Americans was the reported disappearance of Michele Harris a day after in Owego, New York. Like the individuals who died in the 9/11 attacks, Michele’s disappearance was never resolved and her probable death was never brought to justice until today. Michele Taylor Harris, a 35-year-old, was married to Calvin Harris. Michele met Calvin when she worked as the secretary for Calvin’s father, Dwight Harris, during one of his automotive dealerships. It was during this time when Michele and Calvin have fallen in love and gotten married.

People who have witnessed the years prior to their marriage spoke of them as two beautiful people who were attracted to each other. Their academic and non-academic records, as well as their innate character as obs

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erved by the people close to them, revealed how their individual lives epitomized success, happiness and satisfaction. When Michele and Calvin married in 1991, they became one of the most distinguished residents in Owego, county of Tioga, belonging to the upper class scale of society. Apparently, Calvin was a high-ranking and well-known entrepreneur who was one of three successors of his father’s automotive dealership business.

At the age of 33, Michele has already borne four children with Calvin and has assumed most parental responsibilities. Although most people outside their marriage attested to their having no visible problems at all, Michele’s sister-in-law, Shannon Taylor knew all about Michele’s problems with Calvin’s temperamental behavior and infidelity. Michele eventually filed for divorce after ten years of marriage although initially, Calvin refused. However, this

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did not stop Michele from living the life of an unmarried individual. Although Michele and Calvin still lived in the same house, Michele was known to go out on dates with several men.

Since she was unable to support herself financially as Calvin refused to provide her financial support, Michele took a job. Through court proceedings, Michele and Calvin eventually made a favorably mutual financial set-up. Calvin made an offer to Michele and she thought about it thoroughly until she finally agreed to tale Calvin’s offer as the conclusion of the divorce process. However, on the same day, when her lawyer, Sue Malvey, scheduled Michelle to finalize all the divorce papers, she did not show up. This unusual event alarmed Malvey, which motivated her to inform the authorities on Michele’s disappearance.

Instantly, Calvin was approached for an investigation by Mike Myers and Mike Young. Myers and Young both reported about Calvin’s unruffled and composed behavior. Calvin was cooperative and he volunteered information, but Myers and Young also felt there was something amiss with Michele’s husband. The investigators dug up all information that they can on the life of Michele in order to pinpoint possible suspects with motives to commit the crime. Apparently, Michele dated several men including Brian Earley and Michael Kasper.

The investigators confirmed that Earley and Kasper, and with a coworker, Michael Hakes, were with Michele on the night before she disappeared on different times. However, the investigations on Earley, Kasper, and Hakes were inconclusive due to lack of evidence on their involvement in Michele’s disappearance. However, evidence found by Steve Andersen, a known forensic specialist, has pointed Michele’s disappearance

to her husband, Calvin. Through Andersen’s investigations, he found blood spatter in the Harris household. This immediately built the idea of a crime, as well as how the crime was committed, and where it was committed.

However, although there was blood spatter found inside the Harris house, the evidence was insufficient to point a murder accusation to Calvin. The case was tied down primarily due to the lack of sufficient evidences to back-up the assumption that Calvin was indeed responsible for his wife’s disappearance. Investigators have not found Michele’s body and there was no murder weapon found despite the law enforcement institution’s efforts to conduct a thorough investigation. The investigation took so many years until finally, the police enforcement was able to justify why Calvin should be put to trial for Michele’s disappearance.

Myers and Young initially admitted that the slow pace of the investigation and the inconclusive evidence found were caused by the police department’s incapacity to conduct a thorough investigation immediately right after Michele was reported missing. The 9/11 attacks have caused the department to deploy all majority of their manpower and resources to respond to the increased demand for law enforcement help in New York City. When Calvin was put to trial, the prosecution utilized the evidence found in the Harris household, the blood spatter, supported by the expert knowledge contributed by Andersen and another criminology specialist, Henry Lee.

Lee and Andersen both testified for the prosecution and made well-informed and knowledgeable interpretations of the blood spatter found in some parts of the Harris household. Demonstrations were done in order to recreate the blood spatters and prove that the

blood spatters found in the Harris household were caused by the impact of a solid object, which was used to hit Michele causing the trajectory of her blood to follow the blood spatter found inside the Harris household.

In addition to the prosecution’s physical evidence was the account of Calvin’s behavior following Michele’s disappearance. Calvin was unconcerned and he never tried to look for his wife. Added to this was the testimony of Calvin’s girlfriend who recounted how some of the words spoken by Calvin denoted something eerie which was characteristic to Michele’s disappearance. Despite the attempts of defense to destroy the arguments of the prosecution and render them meaningless, the jury has decided to convict Calvin of Second Degree Murder.

The decision was astonishing for both the defense and prosecution since the former was not expecting that Calvin would be convicted given the lack of physical evidence, and the latter was not expecting that the jury would make its decision despite the insufficiency of evidences against Calvin. Although the decision has been made, the sentencing of Calvin never took place. Apparently, the defense found a witness who would take the heat off from Calvin, and another trial was in place.

The defense presented Kevin Tubbs who testified for Calvin. In the morning of Michele’ disappearance, Tubbs said that he passed by the Harris driveway and saw Michele with another man, not Calvin, who were obviously involved in an argument. The trial was never concluded in agreement to the prosecution, and Calvin was able to work his way out of jail by paying for bail. By and large, the mystery behind Michele’s

disappearance was never resolved due to the lack of conclusive evidence to fully convict an individual for murder.

Although blood spatters were found inside the Harris household and the blood was tested positive to Michele’s, the disappearance of her body and the lack of physical evidence, particularly the murder weapon, rendered the blood spatters meaningless. In addition, even if the prosecution was successful in stressing their arguments, it was muddled by the defense’s presentation of a new witness. Overall, Michele’s disappearance may only be resolved and the latest decision of the court reversed if Michele’s body or a murder weapon is found and new witnesses come out to testify against Calvin. Until then, the case of Michele shall remain unresolved.

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