SCHOHARIE — Once again, there’s a twist in the murder case of Cal Harris, the Tioga County man set to go on trial next week for a fourth time in connection with the disappearance of his wife, Michele, in 2001.
Harris’ fourth murder trial is set to take place in Schoharie County. Two previous convictions against Harris were overturned, and a third trial last year ended in a mistrial.
The attorney for Cal Harris now claims they have new evidence that raises suspicions about two men, Stacey Stewart and Christopher Thomason, as the defense says Stewart was with Michele Harris on the night she disappeared.
“Part of the evidence we want to bring out is what Thomason told us and frankly told a number of other people, that he saw Stewart out that night, and depending on which account you want to credit, either with Michelle or with a woman,” said Bruce Barket in a conversation with WENY-TV.
New court documents have been filed by Barket, mentioning the discoveries inside a burn pit at Stewart’s former home in Tioga County.
“We decided to actually dig up the pit and we found that clothing was in fact burned in it,” Barket said. “And it so happens that it matched the color scheme of what Michele was supposedly wearing that night.”
Prosecutors haven’t formally commented on the new defense claims, but WENY reports that they are expected to do so this week.
