By ANDY GARDNER

CANTON -- Following closing statements scheduled for Thursday morning, Judge Felix Catena is not expected to decide the fate of Oral “Nick” Hillary until at least next week.

After resting their case, the defense for the second time in as many days moved for a trial order of dismissal today. The judge said he would reserve ruling.

Hillary is on trial for the Oct. 24, 2011 murder of 12-year-old Garrett Phillips in Potsdam, facing a second-degree murder charge.

“We’ve been informed there will be a decision sometime next week,” defense attorney Norman Siegel said a press conference following Wednesday’s proceedings.[img_assist|nid=180866|title= Brendan Murphy, left, and Shanna-Kay Hillary leave the courtroom on Wednesday afternoon. Murphy, who played soccer at SLU with Oral ‘Nick’ Hillary, testified for the defense as a character witness. Shanna-Kay Hillary is the defendant’s daughter, who test|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=470|height=471]

Hillary did not take the witness stand in his own defense. Siegel said they feel the state’s case is weak enough that it wasn’t necessary.

“The reason is elementary. We feel the prosecution’s case is extremely weak,” Siegel said, adding that the decision was “in the best interest of the client.

“We decided there was no reason for Nick to take the stand.”

The defense’s case ended with three people from St. Lawrence University, two employees and an alumni, who they put up to speak to Hillary’s “peacefulness,” Siegel said.

Rance Davis, SLU’s associate dean of student life; SLU alumni Brendan Murphy, who also played soccer at the school with Hillary; and SLU Athletic Director Bob Durocher all took the stand and said positive things about the defendant. They each called Hillary a friend with whom they have remained close over the years.

“Mr. Hillary had an excellent reputation for peacefulness, he was always calm,” Murphy said. “Violence at any time was not tolerated from any of the players on the team and that was mostly because of Nick.”

“I had this in my statement five years ago and I think it’s true today. He was very patient with his children, very firm … never raised a hand,” Durocher said. Hillary played soccer under Durocher then years later, returned to SLU as his assistant soccer coach before taking the head coach position on the Clarkson men’s team.

Prosector William Fitzpatrick went after Durocher’s image of Hillary while Durocher was on the witness stand. He asked two questions, each of which the defense objected before he was able to answer.

“Are you aware Mr. Hillary and Mr. Fairlie smoked dope together on regular occasions back in 2000?” Fitzpatrick asked. “Did you know that in 2010 he had a child that was less than 1 year old? You’re aware of the fact Mr. Hillary left (his wife) Stacie Lee and that child at home to cohabitate with Tandy Cyrus?”

He was referring to Ian Fairlie, Hillary’s assistant soccer coach at Clarkson who is also part of his alibi, and Tandy Cyrus Collins, Garrett Phillips’s mother.

At the press conference following the trial, Siegel said those questions were not proper under cross-examination, given the rules of evidence.

“You’re not allowed to just go where you want. You have to deal with the element of the crime of murder and the element is peacefulness,” Siegel said at the conference.

Despite the fact that they see the prosecution’s case as weak, the defense council say they don’t see a not guilty verdict as a given.

“This is the thinnest (homicide) case I’ve ever tried,” defense attorney Earl Ward said. “Hopefully he’ll (Catena) do the right thing.”

He says he’s not surprised that Catena is saying he won’t rule until next week.

“If you follow Judge Catena’s pattern … he is thorough, he goes back, thinks about it, checks legal books, checks with his law clerk,” Ward said. “The pattern is we get a decision in the next day or a couple days later.”

“We want two words, not one word,” defense attorney Peter Dumas said.

Closing arguments will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in St. Lawrence County Court.

View story from trial testimony earlier today.