A Time To Kill

A Mother Disappears The Day After 9/11

(CBS)  On Sept. 12, 2001, the world was focused on the thousands missing in Manhattan.

In Owego, N.Y., 196 miles away, there was another disappearance that might have been overlooked, if it hadn't been for a call to state police investigator Sue Mulvey from Michele's divorce lawyer. "And he said that she hadn't come home, which was totally out of character for her," Mulvey remembers. "And he was concerned for her well-being."

So was Michele's family. Shannon Taylor immediately feared the worst. "I said to the secretary when I walked out of my office, I said, 'I'm going. I don't know when I'll be back. I am pretty sure that my brother-in-law killed my sister-in-law,'" Shannon remembers.

Less than an hour after Michele's divorce lawyer made the call, investigators Mike Myers and Mike Young arrived at Cal's dealership to question him.

"He was very calm, and unemotional," Young remembers.

"He didn't seem to us that he was trying to hide anything or stop us from doing anything," Myers adds.

If Cal had something to hide, he sure didn't act like it. He even took the investigators back to his house so they could look around for themselves.

The investigators say Cal granted them full access to the entire home, and Young says they didn't spot anything unusual as they went through the house.

When Cal returned to his office, he left Young and Myers alone on his property. "He wasn't concerned at all about us being in his house or at the end of his driveway. There was no problem," Myers says.

But to Myers, Cal seemed almost too unconcerned: "He comes across as personable and cooperative. But to me, it seems like there's a little something missing, everything was almost programmed, is what I felt when we were talkin' to him."

Cal denied he had anything to do with Michele's disappearance. Instead, he told investigators to take a closer look at Michele herself.

She was still sharing a house with her husband, but Michele was living the life of a single woman. After Cal cut off much of her allowance, she began to work nights at a restaurant. Suddenly, Michele had freedom, money of her own and new men in her life.

"All these other people keep popping up with things in their backgrounds or relationships they had with Michele that we're going…they could easily be a suspect in this thing, also," Capt. Lester says.

On top of the list: 23-year-old Brian Earley. Not only was Michele dating the much younger man, she was with him the night she disappeared.

"You were one of the last people to see her alive, Brian," Moriarty remarks.

"Last person who is admitting to it," Brian replies.

On the evening of Sept. 11, Brian admits Michele had stopped by his apartment after work. He says she left to drive home just after 11 p.m. "I walked her to her van, closed the door. I leaned in the window. Gave her a kiss goodnight, told her I loved her, see her tomorrow. That was it. She backed out of my parking spot, drove away," Brian remembers.

Brian, a land surveyor living in Philadelphia, started dating Michele after he met her at a local bar in the fall of 2000. "Said she was married. Said she had four children. Said she was not happy with her marriage," Brian recalls.

That Michele was married and still living with her husband didn't worry Brian.

And in June 2001, Brian gave up his job and home to move to Tioga County just to be near Michele. He even gave her money to help buy a house in Owego.

Brian says he gave her a "good chunk" of his money. "But it was alright. I wasn't doing anything with it," he says. "I loved her."

And he hoped to marry Michele as soon as her divorce was final. But, Barb Thayer says Michele didn’t see the relationship in quite the same way. "Michele was certainly not gonna go from what she was just going through and turn right around and get married," she says.

But Brian wasn't the only man Michele was seeing.

[klhudson01]

I think this is really a sad case for our judicial system. Someone''s love one lost her life and our justice system failed her and her family. I wonder if Cal with his errogant attitude may have paid off the local mortitian to burrie her or to have her cremated without anyones knowledge? Just my thoughts!

[dr1321]

i worked for cal. he was a hot headed control freak, and oh by the way he did it and recycled her body at the steel yard and everybody in Owego knows it.

[carolcape]

Cal is Guilty, of course. I heard this case before, but did not know what the outcome was. Sorry to hear that he was released . The man that came forward, this man is probably being paid off. If he is not being paid off, he saw someone who Cal hired to abduct her and murder her and dispose of her body far from his land. My opinion is, She is Not on that Land. Someone took her somewhere else and murdered her and placed her in an unknown location, probably even in another state. A fine tooth comb should be taken to any monies he removed from his accounts previous to this, because he could afford to pay a hit man. Also, the fact that he tried to get rid of her possessions two weeks after she went missing, that proves it in itself. I have things here belonged to my mother who died a year ago of natural causes, I have to go through them and everyday, I put it off and it''s over a year. I know there is things I have to throw out. So give me a break, he is Guilty, Guilty, Guilty. And his new girlfriend indicating he said to her when she went to his home that she was afraid his wife would walk in, his words, "oh, she won''t be coming home". He knew she was dead and that is why she wasn''t coming home. I hope he gets the death penalty.

[newsreader57]

I haven''t read all the comments but a did read quite a few;no one seems to mention the "private lake" that was part of the estate. The police never mentioned any divers searcing the lake for a body or weapon.

[dlucero76]

Well there is alot of Polumbo''s, Revolver P.I.''s, Miami SUV''s, and old ladies who wrote about it on here and some of you are probably right-she''s probably under that slab but they will never be able to go in there and dig it up and the bottom line is this guy will walk eventually- no body, murder weapon, just little spots of blood that a Court of Appeals will through out. The bottom line is, as usual the police dropped the ball, they should have secured the home from the very beginning and brought in the pro''s but they didn''t....Sorry.

[donnaleac]

Not only was a new concrete floor poured the day after she went missing but has anyone thought that Cal may have also used one of the cars on his lot to remove the body from the house, dispose of it under the floor where the new concrete was to be poured, and cleaned the vehicle or disposed of it? I think that floor should be jack hammered up to look for evidence.

[dlucero76]

People need to stop watching so much T.V...What happen to "guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt"? Do I think he did it? YES. Would I have found him guilty?NO. Why? Because the prosecution did not prove their case "Beyond a shadow of a doubt". Come on people, the idea is to let a guilty person walk before putting an innocent guy behind bars. That''s why over and over we are seeing people that were wrongly convicted set free after many years behind bars. And it''s because-Oh I think he did it, or he might have did it, or he could have did it or my gut tells me he did it ..GET REAL!

[compry]

the nieghbor who came forward to state he saw Michele at the end of the driveway had told his wife that thier money toubles had been resolved, hinting that he was paid by Cal Harris. The rumours in Owego is that Cal took the body of Michele in the trunk of a car that was then shreded at a local metal recyclable place owned by a criminal named Wietsman who owed a lot of money in taxes and fines. Th fact that the Judge in the murder trial has alowed the testamony of a person whose own wife calls a liar shows that the trial should be moved to a county where the judges would not be bribed so easily by Cal Harris.

[leslielyn-2009]

WHY HAVE THEY NOT CHECK THE BARN WHERE THE HORSES ARE KEPT, HE COULD HAVE TAKEN HER OUT ON HORSE BACK TO GET RID OF THE BODY, CHECK STABLES, STALLS, AND SADDLES, ETC..... LESLIELYN

[mrsjp-2009]

just a thought.....we have (or did have) Phil Jordan living in Tioga County. He has been featured on Court TV and Discovery Times finding missing people and solving crimes. WHY didn''t anyone consult him?

[nikila40]

OK, you''ll probably think I''m crazy with this post. I do remember while watching 48 Hours that Calvin supposedly said he knew where to hide a body where nobody would find it. He doesn''t seem too concerned about his own land, as it didn''t bother him at all that they searched there. What about a cemetery? A newly dug grave? Any cemeteries nearby that held a burial on 9/11? That''s one place nobody would look - in the grave of another. Yikes...just a thought!

[heisguilty1]

Cal is guilty as sin and I trust that he will be convicted in this next trial and justice will finally be served. Why did he have no emotion? You have to have a heart to have emotion. He was having affairs while they were still married, long before Michele and they were legally separated before she starting seeing anyone. It''s too bad that the courts (or her lawyer?) required that they stay together in the same home during the divorce proceedings. I''m sure that just added fuel to the fire in an already bad marriage. As far as this Tubbs guy, I agree, he is NOT a credible witness and ironically his back taxes were recently paid! I hope they are keeping an eye on his bank account. Something definitely smells rotten in Denmark!

[wegoagain]

Erin Moriarty, my concern is for the children in Tioga County. Please contact The National School Safety and Security Services. "School Safety Post Crisis Consulting Support" This community seems to have done some math. They will pay all expenses. Lets help the community move forward. They seem to be flip flopped.

[calvindidit]

He is the only suspect who wouldn''t take a lie detector test...Wonder why?

[paul_in_va]

I think it is tragic that a panel of 12 jurors can review the evidence, convict a murderer in under 4hrs, and one debt ridden, authority plagued, story teller, can interupt justice and put this man back on the streets for a year. Gee, Maybe OJ didn''t commit murder either!! Justice has not been served here.

[sun4girl]

I HAVE KNOWN MICKELLE SINCE I WAS IN SCHOOL , SHE WAS A GOOD GOOD GIRL FROM A GOOD FAMILY , CAL SHOULD PAY FOR WHAT HE DID, SOMEONE SAID THERE WAS A NEW CONCRETE FLOOR PUT IN THE CAR DEALERSHIP THE DAY AFTER SHE DIED I BELIEVE SHE IS BURIED UNDER THERE AND SOMEONE SHOULD CHECK IT OUT. AS FAR AS THE NEW WITNESS GOES THOSE PEOPLE ARE NOT RELIABLE I KNOW THEM TO THEY ARE PROBABLY GETTING PAID GOOD FOR THE NEW INFO.

[kimynoregon]

can see Cal''''s lack of emotion concerning his wife. Put yourself in his shoes; he''''s just watched the love of his life, the mother of his children, throw everything away. Reject him and start a life of absolute debauchery and narcissistic hedonism. He''''s watched the most precious person in his life has become a two-bit *** having multiple flings with whoever she could run up against. If it were me, I too would have withdrawn emotionally and just prayed that this whole thing would be over and that she''''d take the shame and insult she''''s brought to him and his family away. He undoubtedly knew that her new behavior would be ruinous, and just wanted it over. How doesn''''t matter how so much as she could have decided simply to move away with some other *** and complete her transformation into a real whorish scumbag. Matter of fact we don''''t know that that didn''''t happen!

Terrible jeff82, poor taste on your comment.
I''ll just leave it at that.

[auntblue]

There are plenty of reasons to think he is guilty of murdering his wife. However, proving it a second time won''t be easy. The so called witness was a ridiculous attempt to insure a second tial. More than likely, this one will get him aquitted.

[mommyann1]

For a witness to come forward 6 years after the crime, with a vague at best description, and for that testimony to be deemed worthy enough to grant a new trial is beyond ridiculous. As an area resident familiar with the case, I am disgusted that this man is considered credible. He claims he didn''t hear about the case at first, and then didn''t consider what he says he saw important. (!?!?!?) It''s a true mouth breather moment, folks. Please keep the children in your thoughts and prayers. Imagine their lives for the past 6 years, and it''s only going to continue.

[thespectre24]

Yeah, Owego sure did take the spotlight, wegoagain. Which is why you find out about this roughly three days ago, which if my math tells me right, is roughly 6 YEARS after it happened. No one''s saying that this was more important than 9/11, it merely HAPPENED around that time.