Dateline: The Accused - 5 harrowing details about Garrett Phillips' murder, explored

On October 24, 2011, Garrett Phillips' murder shook the quiet town of Potsdam. Aged only 12 years, Garrett was murdered in his apartment after he returned from school. His mother and younger brother, with whom he lived there were not present during the incident. A neighbour called the police upon hearing screams from Garrett’s apartment.

Garrett, after being taken to the hospital, passed away the same night. Nick Hillary, a local Black man in a predominantly white neighbourhood who was also Garrett’s mother’s ex-boyfriend, was quickly targeted as the primary suspect and in 2014 was charged with second-degree murder.

During the trial, it was eventually proven that Nick was not guilty of murdering Garrett. Nick had maintained his innocence right from the time he was charged. While Nick has been acquitted, Garrett's murder remains unsolved. Let us now explore some harrowing details of the case that shook the small town and also the trial that had allegations of racism and misconduct.

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Garrett Phillips was murdered in his own apartment as shown in Dateline

Garrett Phillips was killed in his own house. He came back home from school while skateboarding. Several cameras on the road had captured the child. However, when he got back, a neighbour heard screams coming from Garrett’s house. This happened after about 15 minutes of him passing the building security camera.

The screams made the neighbour go and knock on Garrett’s door. However, no one answered. Instead, she heard the sound of a lock and its click. She then decided it was best to call the police and after they arrived, Garrett was found strangled. He was quickly taken to the hospital but could not survive and passed away that same night.

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Garrett Phillips was alone at home at the time of his murder

Garrett Phillips lived on the second floor of the apartment with his mother and younger brother. However, he was alone at the time of this incident. Because no one was present during the time Garrett was strangled, the murderer was not seen leaving or entering the house by anyone.

None of the security cameras in the neighbourhood also proved to be of much help when it came to identifying the murderer or showing his movement, which further complicated the case.

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Nick Hillary was quickly considered the primary suspect in the case

While no significant proof could be found against Nick Hillary, he was quickly made the prime suspect in the case. Nick repeatedly claimed he was innocent and had nothing to do with Garrett’s killing.

Nick, a father of five children himself, told Dateline,

“I have stated that since day one. I am one hundred percent innocent. I will continue to fight until I don’t have anything left to fight the same way I’m fighting now.”

His DNA or anything that could connect him to the crime was not found at the scene and after a much tedious trial, Nick was finally proved to be innocent.

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Nick had dated Garrett’s mother Tandy Cyrus

Nick shared a history with Garrett’s mother Tandy, which further fueled the allegations against him. Nick and Tandy had dated and were in a live-in relationship, which Nick, eventually ended, a few months before the murder.

As claimed by Tandy, she and Nick had very different parenting styles due to which Garrett and Nick never hit it off. According to Tandy, Nick had once told her,

"If I didn't get Garrett under control or get him on a more strict schedule, then when he got older I wasn't gonna be able to control him.”

She further added,

“He was just all about control."

However, Nick denied these allegations and said he never had any kind of confrontation or fight with Garrett about his homework or other things. However, whatever the reasons were, Tandy took her children and moved out, and things between the couple ended.

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Garrett’s family still considers Nick to be the killer

Even after Nick was proven innocent, Garrett’s family refused to believe that. They were visibly distressed at the results of the trial, which already had allegations of being racist and unfair to Nick.

It was found during the investigation that the murderer had probably escaped out of the second-story window as the window screen was pushed outside. However, no trace of Nick’s DNA was found at the crime scene which seemed a little impossible since there were signs of a physical altercation.

Despite Nick’s acquittal, Garrett’s family continues to hold him accountable. With the case still unsolved, it now remains to be seen if Garrett’s murderer is ever exposed, which will not only clear Nick’s name but also offer Garrett’s family solace.

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