HBO Releases Trailer for True Crime documentary 'Who Killed Garrett Phillips?'

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Liz Garbus delves into murder case and whether prime suspect was target of racial bias

Courtesy HBO

HBO released a trailer Monday for its upcoming two-part true crime documentary Who Killed Garrett Phillips?

Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Liz Garbus (What Happened, Miss Simone?) directed the film, which premieres on the pay cable channel July 23, with the second part premiering July 24.

The film centers on the case of 12-year-old Garrett Phillips of Potsdam, New York who was strangled in October 2011 in the apartment he shared with his mother and a half-brother. Police quickly focused their attention on an ex-boyfriend of Garrett's mother, Oral "Nick" Hillary, a black man who served as soccer coach at Clarkson University in Potsdam.
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The documentary seeks to uncover the truth behind the tragic murder of a young boy that traumatized a town, the vilification of a black man who was swept up in a quest for justice and the mysteries that remain.

--From HBO

No physical evidence linked Hillary to the crime, but he was indicted on a second-degree murder charge nonetheless. The documentary questions whether Hillary's prosecution resulted from racial bias.

"The documentary seeks to uncover the truth behind the tragic murder of a young boy that traumatized a town, the vilification of a black man who was swept up in a quest for justice and the mysteries that remain," HBO notes on its website. "Through in-depth interviews with a variety of people linked to the case, as well as extensive police audio and video recordings and courtroom footage, Who Killed Garrett Phillips? is a gripping, eye-opening look at how justice is delivered or delayed."

​Watch the trailer here: