"Oral 'Nick' Henry: New York; Bulletin: After Closing Arguments, Fate of Nick Hillary Now in Judge's Hands: (Reporter Emily Shapiro; ABC News); Defence attorney Earl Ward: Ward said Hillary was the suspect from Day 1, before any evidence had even been gathered, and said his "life was under a microscope" from that moment. He said the prosecution, "without any evidence tying Nick Hillary to the crime ... has cobbled together fabrics of so-called evidence" to give the judge a "torn and tattered quilt" that they call "circumstantial evidence." "Lack of evidence is reasonable doubt," Ward said. "And this case is riddled ... with lack of evidence." He added: "There is absolutely no direct evidence connecting Nick Hillary to this crime," including no fingerprints." Fingerprints found at the crime scene have not yet been identified, including on the window through which the killer is suspected to have escaped. Authorities ran the prints of everyone who had access to the apartment, Ward said, including Hillary. His prints were not a match to those found. "Whose print was on that window?" Ward said. "It wasn't Nick Hillary's." Ward noted that the prosecution argued that Hillary wore gloves during the crime, but Ward said no forensic evidence was recovered from gloves taken from Hillary's home and tested. Ward said New York State Police investigators "went through that apartment looking for clues to solve this crime." "This was not some ... sloppy investigation. This was a serious investigation," he said. "They went there three times." He also said nothing was ever found from searches of Hillary's home, car, phone and office. "They found no hair, no fibers, no trace evidence connecting him to the death of Garrett Phillips," Ward said. "You cannot ignore the lack of evidence in this case."..."Judge Catena said after closing arguments that he expects to have a decision by next Wednesday or Thursday." (September 22, 2016);

   

COUNTDOWN:  13 days to Wrongful Conviction Day: (Thursday October 6, 2016); 

PICK OF THE DAY: Hawaii Innocence Project to hold a program on 'eyewitness Identification' in which audience members will be challenged to see how well they can identify a possible suspect in a mock exercise. http://www.uhm.hawaii.edu/news/article.php?aId=814

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"The prosecution and the defense gave their closing arguments today in the murder trial of Oral "Nick" Hillary -- an upstate New York former soccer coach accused of killing the 12-year-old son of his ex-girlfriend. The young boy's mother looked on during the proceedings. The defense said today that prosecutors are trying to "demonize" Hillary and accused them of weaving a "torn and tattered quilt" and calling it "circumstantial evidence." Meanwhile, the prosecution said the testimony of Hillary's main alibi witness, his daughter Shanna-Kay, was "obviously orchestrated," adding that Hillary has "convicted himself" with his "lies, his car, his hatred and insidiously enough, his daughter." It was Oct. 24, 2011, when Garrett Phillips, a popular and athletic 12-year-old, was found strangled to death in his home in Potsdam, New York. Garrett had just begun the sixth grade when his mysterious murder shocked the small town just south of the Canada border. Hillary had dated Garrett's mother, Tandy Cyrus, for about a year, and the two broke up a few months before Garrett's death. Hillary, who has always insisted he is innocent, was charged with second-degree murder several years after Garrett died. Hillary requested a bench trial and his fate is now in the hands of Judge Felix Catena. Defense Attorney Earl Ward said in closing arguments this morning that he understands the community wants justice and someone to be held accountable, but there is "no direct evidence that Nick Hillary did anything on Oct. 24 of 2011 at 100 Market St." Ward said Hillary was the suspect from Day 1, before any evidence had even been gathered, and said his "life was under a microscope" from that moment. He said the prosecution, "without any evidence tying Nick Hillary to the crime ... has cobbled together fabrics of so-called evidence" to give the judge a "torn and tattered quilt" that they call "circumstantial evidence." "Lack of evidence is reasonable doubt," Ward said. "And this case is riddled ... with lack of evidence." He added: "There is absolutely no direct evidence connecting Nick Hillary to this crime," including no fingerprints." Fingerprints found at the crime scene have not yet been identified, including on the window through which the killer is suspected to have escaped. Authorities ran the prints of everyone who had access to the apartment, Ward said, including Hillary. His prints were not a match to those found. "Whose print was on that window?" Ward said. "It wasn't Nick Hillary's." Ward noted that the prosecution argued that Hillary wore gloves during the crime, but Ward said no forensic evidence was recovered from gloves taken from Hillary's home and tested. Ward said New York State Police investigators "went through that apartment looking for clues to solve this crime." "This was not some ... sloppy investigation. This was a serious investigation," he said. "They went there three times." He also said nothing was ever found from searches of Hillary's home, car, phone and office. "They found no hair, no fibers, no trace evidence connecting him to the death of Garrett Phillips," Ward said. "You cannot ignore the lack of evidence in this case.".........Judge Catena said after closing arguments that he expects to have a decision by next Wednesday or Thursday."

The entire story can be found at:

 http://abcnews.go.com/US/closing-arguments-fate-nick-hillary-now-judges-hands/story?id=42276731

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:  http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html  Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  
Harold Levy. Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.