On Potsdam News Today

will never go away. im never going to have my son back. i dont get to go to his high school graduation. or see him go to college. i had no idea what had happened! >> it was like a meteor hitting. >> potsdam rescue, need an ambulance. >> a 12-year-old kid. loved to ride his scooter everywhere. lost his life at the hands of a killer. >> hes a soccer coach! >> great person on and off the field, a great role model. >> there is absolutely nothing connecting him to this case. >> they dont ha...

Her saying that this happened. >> investigators started knocking on doors all over potsdam to get the lowdown on nick. tandys side didnt pull any punches. attorney for the potsdam p.d., tom mortati -- >> family, friends, relatives. they all immediately thought, well, theres only one person that we can think of that might do something to garrett, and that was nick hillary. >> that he has reason to have a grudge against garrett, what, for breaking up this relationship? >> essentially, yeah. >> sti...

His shirt up and his pants up, and -- pretty much, whatever you need me to do, ill do it. >> besides his eagerness to cooperate, police say his timeline -- with corroborating security video -- checked out. hes seen walking his dog around 5:13, about the time the officer arrived at garretts apartment. >> im sorry, but nobody goes over to somebodys house to strangle somebody with their dog and then jumps out the window with their dog. >> so police dropped jones as a suspect. and even though tandy ...

The murder. >> i was with my -- my daughter and my assistant coach during this time period. >> so they are what they call in criminal investigations your alibi witnesses? >> exactly. >> nicks teenaged daughter would say in a deposition that her dad was with her at their apartment here on leroy street from 5:00 to 5:15 p.m. assistant coach fairlie said nick came to his house here on garden street around 5:21. their accounts would seem to make it impossible for nick to have been here on market str...

Hillary could have held his head down and ran away. he believes in civil rights. he believes in his rights as a man. and hes going to stand up for those rights. >> i did not violate his rights in any way, shape, or form. i executed a lawful search warrant of his person while he was at our station. >> lieutenant murray and the potsdam police department deny the allegations in the civil suit. and potsdams insurance company hired tom mortati to defend the police. believing that the best defense is ...

>> they had asked if there was anybody i could think of that would want to hurt garrett, and there was only one person that came to mind. >> the chief of police there in potsdam indicated to another investigator that they had a pretty hot suspect and that they were lining up whatever evidence they could to try to make an arrest. >> when "dateline" continues. advantage plans that can provide broad coverage and still may save you money on monthly premiums and prescription drugs. with original medi...

Across the street from where garrett passed on his skate ride home. in a police interview room, jones was asked to roll up his shirt and pants to check for possible wounds and a leg injury. meanwhile, tandy was talking to police, and she had some thoughts. strong thoughts. coming up -- >> they had asked if there was anybody i could think of that would want to hurt garrett, and there was only one person that came to mind. >> the chief of police there in potsdam indicated to another investigator t...

>> absolutely not. >> wasnt possible? >> no. >> for tandy, it always was nick, and only nick, in the frame for the crime. police would continue investigating, but by day two pressure seemed to be mounting for a quick resolution. >> even the next morning, the chief of police there in potsdam indicated to another investigator that they had a pretty hot suspect, and that they were lining up whatever evidence they could to try to make an arrest. >> that conversation was recorded by the potsdam p.d.,...

Halloween was less than a week away, but the good folks of potsdam, young and old, were learning that a monster had arrived early. a child killer was in their midst. >> can you tell me if it was an adult that hurt him or -- >> we dont -- >> or children? you dont know? >> we dont know. its still under investigation. >> news this bad traveled fast in a town where so many people knew the emts, the nurses and docs at the hospital, the cops. lieutenant mark murray is a life-long potsdam resident. >> ...

Potsdam police department deny the allegations in the civil suit. and potsdams insurance company hired tom mortati to defend the police. believing that the best defense is a good offense, mortati decided to turn the tables on nick and his lawyer. >> so whats your strategy? >> to prove that nick killed garrett phillips. >> and therefore, your clients, the cops, were justified in doing everything they did that he thought was a deprivation of his rights. >> bottom line, yes. >> a preliminary step i...