On September 11, 2001, Michele Harris disappeared from her home in Owego, New York (about 200 miles north of Manhattan). When her estranged husband Cal Harris, a wealthy financier, was charged with her murder, their four children stood by their father’s side and claimed his innocence. But Cal Harris was found guilty in 2005. He received a second trial and was found guilty again. When his lawyers got that conviction overturned, the jury in a third trial couldn’t decide on Harris’s guilt or innocence. On May 24, 2016, after his fourth trial, Harris was found not guilty.
Michele Harris’s brother Greg Taylor believes his brother-in-law Cal Harris is guilty. Taylor tells 48 Hours: “He [Cal Harris] has the financial means to hire law firms to find some technicality. If it was anybody else they wouldn’t be going through this again.” There is a possibility that Michele’s family will now file a wrongful death lawsuit against Harris in civil court. However proving wrongful death without a body would be difficult for any lawyer. 48 Hours airs Saturdays at 9pm on CBS.
