Unsolved case

Perhaps nothing is so disturbing to a community as an unsolved murder, particularly the murder of a child.

It has been nearly two months since Garrett John Phillips, 12, was killed in his Potsdam apartment on Oct. 24.

Potsdam police called the death a homicide Oct. 28 after receiving autopsy reports. Evidence was submitted to the New York State Police Crime Lab in Albany.

Police have named no suspects and have released little to the public.

In a Nov. 19 Times article, St. Lawrence County Coroner June H. Wood said the final autopsy report from the lab would not be back for nearly two months.

“It’s hard to figure out how he died because no one witnessed it,” she said, adding:“It was not a random act.”

To honor the slain sixth-grader, the Potsdam Central School District recently created the Garrett John Phillips Memorial Fund designed to help students or programs needing financial support.

Investigation of the crime continues. Earlier this month, Potsdam police said an arrest in the case was several weeks away.

The community looks forward to a break in the case and will breathe easier when a suspect is apprehended and brought to justice.