Response to katydid123:
JJ cold not have injured NH's ankle, nor made him lie to LE about it.
*NH has always attributed the scrape to moving furniture, although his times varied. An abrasion would leave tissue and blood evidence at the scene. Of course it's possible it was never found. The injury is not consistent with simply jumping to the ground; more likely to have occurred inside. It was never contested that he was in fact moving furniture into his new apartment.
JJ could not have set up that video in the parking lot, showing NH's car following Garrett...
*GP was supposed to be home right after school. Before 3:00, I believe. How could NH have known? Do you think he went to the apartment first, saw he wasn't there, and then went to the school parking lot? Without anyone witnessing this. If he was in the school lot around dismissal time, surely the cameras would have captured him, but there is no evidence of that. Also, I find it very hard to believe a premeditative-killer would not realize there are security cameras at the school. An educated man, who was skilled at strategic and defensive thinking as a coach, would park there, and then pullout immediately after his target rolls by? And then where did he park? Not in the apartment lot. The next street over, or nearby? And yet again, not one person sees his vehicle parked or him sneaking through back yards? Potsdam is extremely tiny. Aside from the interim college students, everyone knows everyone. All of the key locations are within a few small blocks. Someone would have seen NH at one of the busiest times of day.
...then turning the wrong way and lying about it.
*Yes, initially he claimed to haven taken a right, and went straight home. He later claimed he was going to his office, but changed his mind and went home instead. Still going directly home and not stopping anywhere else. If you believe his daughter, this is corroborated by her testimony. He was questioned again for his civil suit, knowing that the police had footage. Either he genuinely did not recall the left turn, since he knew he did go right home...OR he lied to police hoping to disprove the video later? Why not say he went left and make up a reason? It's a strange lie, because no matter what, left or right, the police could still say he went to park and then go kill. The apartment is across the way the way from the school. Going left is not any closer than turning right.
He could not have made NH's daughter send those texts, messing up his dinner alibi.
* His daughter recounted having dinner at 6:00, but was found to have texted her father at 6:24 asking what's for dinner. The murder was between 4:54 and 5:25ish. This discrepancy doesn't help her father in any way. It's meaningless to the alibi.
No hairs is not a surprise because NH is pretty much bald, has a shaved head. If he wore gloves on a cold rainy day, no one would notice it as odd--so no fingerprints.
* Thicker gloves would eliminate the possibility of leaving fingerprints. Although they can leave behind their own unique 'glove prints'. Remember, there were abrasions/scratches on the child's face and neck. It was discussed at trial that those markings were not consistent with being caused by someone wearing gloves. Possibly latex/medical gloves but those kind allow your fingerprints to still pass through.
Anyone could have left prints on that window.
* Garrett and his family had only lived there for about a month. They checked 40 possible sources with no luck. Anyone that visited or had access. Even if the landlord did not clean the windows after the previous tenants moved out, any latent prints left that long ago would have been long gone. It's logical to conclude the killer left them behind.
And what would there be tissue or blood if the boy was quickly strangled?
* On the contrary it would be very difficult to pull this off without leaving a shred of forensic evidence. The notorious fingernail scrapings, with the inconclusive results, were a main focus for the prosecution. The judge did not allow this testimony in court, in fact he did not allow any DNA testimony. The fact is there were over 140 forensic samples taken from the scene and victim. None of them matched NH. They are still unidentified.
And would park in a lot to watch a game and not park where he could see the game. He spent only 6 minutes there? How is that scouting a game?
* He addressed this in the 20/20 interview. He was waiting to see if it was half-time, and hoping the rain would let up...he decided to leave instead of continue to wait.
And he said the rain did not let up---but in the video we see Garrett scoot by and it is barely raining, if at all.
* It was dreary and rainy all evening. Maybe not clear from the video, but all accounts state it was rainy, sometimes heavier than others.
The final thing that bothers me, is the quickness of his lawsuit over 'emotional distress' and wrongful arrest. FGS, his young 'stepson' had just been brutally murdered. And he makes it all about himself by whining and brooding over being strip searched and interrogated. EVERY EX Boyfriend is going to be searched and stripped and looked at and questioned harshly. But he made it a civil rights issue immediately. And I don't think that is what it really was. I think they thought he was the most likely suspect. Maybe they were wrong, but they had good reasons to believe so, given his car being right there minutes before the murder.
* Of course ALL ex-boyfriends should have been investigated. No one else was even considered since day one. If you were falsely accused of a crime by the same department that ignored your complaint about one of their members, I'm not sure you would want to be questioned without your lawyer present. He requested an attorney, and was refused. His body, home, cell phone and car were searched without a warrant and he was blocked from exiting the room, AFTER being told he was not under arrest. When he was finally released, he had had to walk home wearing a hazmat suit, with no phone, no car and no keys to his residence. Clearly his rights were violated. Clearly he recognized he was the number one/only suspect.
Filing the civil suit would be the last thing a guilty person would want to do. It demands a deeper and further investigation into the situation.
