News
Michele Harris' Brother Testifies in Cal Harris Murder Trial

Testimony continued in the trial of Cal Harris, the Owego businessman accused of second degree murder for the disappearance of his estranged wife Michele in September of 2001.
Friday, the prosecution called four witnesses to the stand, including Michele's brother Greg Taylor and another key witness, Michael Myers. He was the first officer to speak with Cal Harris the morning his wife was reported missing.
During cross-examination Friday, Greg Taylor was firm when he told the court that there is no doubt in his mind that Cal Harris had something to do with his sister's disappearance.
Taylor testified that his sister, Michele, was the one who initiated divorce proceedings, but prior to that, his family and the Harris' spent vacations together, and Greg and Cal even went on the occasional golfing trip. But when things went sour, Taylor testified to two meetings that he, Shannon Taylor, Cal Harris, and Gary Taylor, (Michele and Greg's father) had over the course of late 2000 and early spring of 2001.
The first meeting was before thanksgiving in 2000, when Taylor says they wanted to tell Cal they were excluding him from Thanksgiving that year.
The second meeting was in the spring of 2001, when Taylor says that Cal wanted them to persuade Michele not to go through with the divorce.
During cross-examination, Barket asked Taylor if anyone mentioned to Cal that Michele had a boyfriend at the time of the second meeting. Taylor replied that no, they did not inform Cal.
Also on the stand Friday was Lisa Feuer, Michele's close friend. Feuer testified that Michele was supposed to come downstate to visit her at her home in new city in Rockland County on September 13, 2001. Feuer testified that Cal never called her to see if Michele had gone to visit her when she went missing. On cross-examination, Barket asked Feuer if she and Cal had a personal relationship, and she testified that no, they did not.
One of the first officers to speak with Cal Harris the morning Michele Harris was reported missing was state trooper Michael Myers. Myers testified during direct that when he responded to Harris' workplace at the royal ford dealership in Owego around 9:40 the morning of September 12th, Cal told him that is was out of character for Michele not to come home at night. Myers testified that in a conversation that he and other investigators had, they told him that upon a more in depth search of the Harris household, they had found blood in the garage, on both sides of the door coming in from the garage, and in the foyer leading into the kitchen.
Myers testified that when he told Cal troopers found blood, Cal initially said he didn't know why there would be blood in those areas. Upon further thought, Myers said Cal told police that his son Taylor had cut his finger in the garage once, and that could be a possible reason for the blood.
During cross-examination, Myers also testified that Cal had told him that Michele had a stalker -- someone who worked at his brother's dealership, and someone Cal had heard that Michele may have previously had an affair with.
Cross-examination of Myers continues Tuesday morning.