BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI
North Country This Week

CANTON — A Lake Placid man has been charged in the March 2 murder of William M. Freeman and faces another potential murder charge in the death of Ronald Durham.

According to St. Lawrence County Sheriff Brooks Bigwarfe, Adam W. Smith, 46, was charged with second-degree murder on March 7.

During a press conference held on the afternoon of March 7, Bigwarfe said he would not go into specifics about the case due to the sensitive nature of the ongoing investigation.

He did confirm Smith was charged with Freeman’s homicide on March 2, saying Smith allegedly stabbed Freeman to death.

Following the subsequent struggle, Smith stole Freeman’s 2018 Chevy Silverado and fled to Jefferson County in the vehicle before being apprehended by Jefferson County Sheriff Deputies.

Bigwarfe said Smith was then transferred back to St. Lawrence County, where the Sheriff’s Office charged him with fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property as well.

Throughout the course of the investigation, numerous interviews have been conducted by multiple departments, with numerous leads followed up on that led to the arrest, Bigwarfe said.

Bigwarfe also confirmed numerous search warrants have been executed in recent days on many properties, vehicles and locations relevant to the investigation.

Bigwarfe also confirmed Smith does have a residence in the town of Gouverneur as well but would not elaborate further on how he got to the area on March 1.

Assisting in the investigation were New York State Police, Department of Homeland Security, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Watertown City Police, North Country Crime Analysis Center and the St. Lawrence County District Attorney’s Office.

Though he has not been charged with the murder of Robert Durham, 72, of Gouverneur, on Feb. 11, District Attorney Gary Pasqua did confirm he expects Smith to also be charged in relation to that murder.

Prior to Smith being a suspect, police had charged Frederick Wing, 22, with the murder of Durham. Wing was released from county jail on Friday, March 3 at the request of Pasqua and law enforcement after evidence came to light during the Freeman murder investigation that implicated Smith in the case.

Wing is out on probationary supervision currently.

“His charges remain pending at this time. While I have said we ultimately do not believe Mr. Wing is the person who took Mr. Durham’s life, we are continuing to investigate,” Pasqua said.

In the case of Wing, Pasqua said officials are unsure what role he may have specifically played in the murder, if any, but did say he has been seemingly honest and forthcoming with law enforcement during the course of their investigations. Wing also appeared to have intimate knowledge of Durham’s murder on Feb. 11, leading law enforcement to make the initial arrest.

According to Pasqua, the arrest was “not made on a whim” and was only made after physical evidence at the scene gave law enforcement probable cause to arrest Wing.

It is unclear at this time what motivation Smith had for committing either crime, however both Bigwarfe and Pasqua confirmed the victims and Smith did have connections and these were not random acts of violence.

Evidence gathered at the Freeman murder quickly led law enforcement to Smith, Bigwarfe said. “That’s how we knew there was no immediate danger to the public,” he said.

Pasqua said the New York State Police will continue to investigate Smith’s connections to Durham’s homicide.

According to Pasqua, there are no other suspects in either investigation at this time.

Officials did confirm that Smith and Wing had no known connection, nor did the victims know each other.

“All individuals in the Durham case were known, there were no random coincidences in the case,” Pasqua said.

When asked if a murder weapon had been found yet, Pasqua offered no comment.

When asked about Smith’s criminal record, Bigwarfe and Undersheriff Sean O’Brien confirmed Smith had a criminal history and was on probation at the time of his arrest.

Pasqua elaborated further, saying Smith had also recently violated his parole stemming from a previous burglary conviction.

“I just want to say this, that this individual that has been arrested for this crime, pretty heinous crime, appears to be a very dangerous individual,” Bigwarfe said.

Bigwarfe continued, praising the quick efforts of law enforcement to get Smith off the streets.

“It was a quick turnaround with a lot to do. Getting him off the streets is super important to keep every citizen as safe as possible in the county,” he said.