CANTON — What was originally thought to be three trash bags filled with garbage in the back of accused murder Adam Smith’s impounded truck turned out to be critical evidence in the double murder case. 

Smith stands accused of murdering Ronald “Huck” Durham on Feb. 11 in Gouverneur and William Freeman on March 2 in the town of Rossie. 

Smith is currently on trial in St. Lawrence County Court on a 14-charge indictment that includes two counts of murder. 

Forensic Unit investigator 

Investigator Daniel Haley of the New York State Police originally took the stand to testify on Oct. 30 but with so much evidence to work through, he returned to the stand once again on Oct. 31. Haley was the lone witness to take the stand, largely being cross examined by District Attorney Gary Pasqua for most of the day. 

A member of the Troop B Forensic Identification Unit (FIU) based in Ray Brook, Haley testified that he began his career as a Trooper on Jan. 13, 2014. Two years later, he began on his path to FIU eventually becoming an assistant evidence custodian at Ray Brook in Oct. 2021. By Jan. 2023, he became an investigator with FIU. Just five weeks later he was working his first homicide as an investigator when he received a call from his superior to report to Gouverneur for a suspicious death. 

Responding to murder

Haley said he received the call around 10:40 or so and immediately made his way to the scene of Ronald Durham’s murder.

Originally reported as a suspicious death, Haley said it became apparent quickly that it was in fact a homicide. 

He said he and multiple investigators already on scene began documenting evidence.

Haley said he began to document the tire tracks under Durham’s truck, which included a second set aside from Durham’s that had “a distinctive U pattern on the edges and a zig-zag pattern in the center.” 

He said the tracks ran under Durham’s truck, leading down the entrance and out of the cemetery. 

Haley also confirmed the second set of tracks ran under Durham’s legs, proving he was not run over by the second vehicle. 

At the time he began investigating, Haley said he noticed “what appeared to be consistent with blood” on the base of the driver side front door and running boards. 

Haley said Troopers eventually called for a tow truck to remove Durham’s truck from the scene, eventually taking it back to SP Gouverneur for further inspection. 

Blood found in Durham’s truck 

Haley said he followed the truck in transit back to SP Gouverneur, at which time he began to document the interior of the vehicle after receiving a search warrant to do so. 

In multiple instances, Haley said he found “what appeared to be consistent with blood” on the interior of the vehicle. 

He said he swabbed each location, including multiple spots on the driver’s side door interior, interior of the passenger door, the glove box and floor mats, among others. 

In each case, the swabs conducted by Haley were submitted into evidence despite objections from defense attorney Brian Barrett who claimed the prosecution lacked foundation and could not prove the chain of custody of the evidence submitted. 

Search of Wing’s home 

Haley said Troopers were issued a search warrant for the home of Freddie Wing, who lived on Van Buren Road, the same road where Eastside Cemetery is located. 

Wing was known to have spent time with Durham and was believed to be very close with him up to the time of his death. 

Upon investigating Wing, Haley said photos were taken of him both with and without clothes, along with a fingernail scraping kit to remove any possible debris and evidence from under his fingernails. 

The search of Wing’s home also turned up multiple knives, including one folding knife that had a train motif on it. 

Haley said he also secured a Pepsi can Wing drank from as evidence while he was being questioned at SP Gouverneur. 

Not long after, Wing confessed to murdering Durham and was eventually held in St. Lawrence County Correctional Facility for nearly three weeks before evidence linked Smith to Durham’s and Freeman’s murders. 

Durham autopsy 

Haley said he was present during the Durham autopsy, which is common practice for State Police Investigators. He said they always attend to ensure continuity of evidence. 

He commented that Dr. Scott Lapoint, who conducted the autopsy, use a sexual assault kit to ensure all evidence was collected. 

“Was there any reason to believe there was some sort of sexual assault?” Pasqua asked. 

“No, we had no reason to believe there had. Dr. Lapoint prefers to utilize them to ensure he is thoroughly collecting all evidence when he conducts an autopsy,” Haley said. 

He commented that Lapoint commonly swabbed most surfaces of the body as part of his evidence collecting process. 

Durham cell phone found 

Haley said his work on the Durham case did not finish at the time of his Feb. 12 autopsy. 

On Feb. 15, Haley said he received a call from his superior once again to report to Gouverneur to collect a cell phone that was believed to have been evidence in Durham’s case. 

Haley said he was responsible for processing the phone, including dusting the phone for prints, however no fingerprints were deemed identifiable, he said. 

He said he also took a swab of what was believed to be blood between the phone and the case. That swab was also submitted into evidence by Pasqua. 

The phone was later taken to the FIU team in Ray Brook, where Haley said he and other investigators carried out a detailed investigation of the phone’s contents. 

Freeman investigation picks up

On March 3, just one day after William Freeman is believed to have been murdered, Haley said he responded to Freeman’s residence in the town of Rossie. 

He said he arrived on scene to assist with taking photos and evidence collection after Troopers received a call from the St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office to provide assistance with the murder investigation. 

Haley said he and his unit responded to the scene to collect evidence on March 3, before moving on to other aspects of the investigation. 

He said he later interviewed Dan Durham, brother of Ronald Durham, at his home in Antwerp. 

Just yesterday, Oct. 30, Ronald’s Durham’s daughter Marilyn took the stand and confirmed that Smith and her uncle Dan shared a home in Antwerp, though she said they “were separated by a wall.” 

During his testimony with Pasqua, Haley said he interviewed Dan Durham shortly after completing the investigation of Freeman’s property. 

Described as “an elderly man in poor health,” prosecutors showed photos of Dan Durham’s property that included over 10 oxygen tanks. 

Haley said Durham was on oxygen at the time he interviewed him about Smith, noting he moved “from his couch to the counter” during their encounter but no further than that. 

While interviewing Durham regarding Smith, police also located a black Kyocera cell phone of Smith’s, Haley said. 

In photos shown in court, Smith’s birth certificate and other vital documents could be seen as they were recovered from the property Smith and Dan Durham shared. 

Smith’s truck located

Haley said he and investigators learned on March 6 of a truck registered in Smith’s name was being held in a Cortland City Police impound.

He said he was told the truck had been impounded for an expired registration as of Feb. 11, the day Durham was found murdered. 

On March 7, Haley said he lined up a tow truck in Troop B along with a driver to go retrieve the vehicle on March 8. 

He said he and the Troop B mechanic then made their way to Cortland to take possession of the truck, at which time he began cataloging the contents. 

A gas can, two black plastic bags and a blue plastic bag were all placed into additional garbage bags and documented before being placed on the back seat of Smith’s 2016 Ford F-150 for transport. 

Haley said he followed the truck all the way back to the Troop B barracks in Ray Brook, maintaining possession of the vehicle at all times. 

Not just garbage

Police were issued a search warrant on March 9 to search Smith’s truck, at which time Haley said he began his investigation. 

As was shown in multiple photos in court, Haley documented multiple spots in Smith’s truck that he said he believed to be blood. All spots were swabbed and submitted to the Albany crime lab for testing. 

But things took a turn when Haley and investigators began to open the three garbage bags contained in Smith’s truck. 

Originally thought to just be garbage by Cortland City Patrolman Austin Fisk, the bags had been left in the bed of Smith’s truck until Haley and State Police took possession of the vehicle on March 8. 

Haley said when he and investigators opened the three bags they found multiple spots that they believed to be blood, along with seat covers and red and black gloves that also appeared to have blood on them. 

Upon opening the second bag, Haley said he found a wallet with a photo, one dollar and two dollar bills. 

Marilyn Durham had testified that her father only ever used his wallet for his ID cards, photos and “just two dollar bills.” 

The wallet, which also appeared to have blood on it, contained a photo with writing on the back that said “To Huck.” 

Money bands for $1,000 were also found in the bag as well, Haley said. 

In the other black bag were even more money bands, many of which were for $1,000, along with a black bandana believed to have blood on it, along with a Brisk bottle that also appeared to have blood on it. 

As investigators went through the contents, Haley said they found a black and green handled Gerber fixed blade knife. 

Photos shown in court show the knife blade was clean but the handle had blood on it. 

Haley said he attempted to obtain a fingerprint off the knife, however it was deemed to be unidentifiable. 

As well, Haley said he found two check books in the bag, both of which had Ronald Durham’s name and address on the checks. 

Both were covered in blood based on photos shown in court. 

A handful of bank envelopes were also shown in multiple photos, many of which also appeared to be covered in blood. 

A black covered notebook was also found in one black bag, with rough sketches for “Fresh Start Construction,” the name of a company that Smith was allegedly trying to get off the ground, according to Marilyn Durham’s testimony. 

Interior evidence

While investigating the interior of Smith’s truck, Haley said he found a knife sharpener and multiple receipts that tied directly to the testimony of other witnesses, including receipts for a $798 ring from Walmart, along with Apple gift cards purchased for $500 at a Dollar General. 

An additional receipt from a Fast Track location in Cicero was also found, with a $400 cash payment made at the store on Feb. 11 at 3:32 p.m., Haley said. 

A second receipt for another Fast Track location was also found with another cash payment made just hours later, he said. 

Multiple suspected blood spots on the interior of the vehicle were also identified, including the floor mats, leading Haley to swab the areas and submit them for testing, he said. 

Scratch off lottery tickets were also found in the truck, along with the packaging for the Apple gift cards and Steam cards Smith allegedly purchased at the Sandy Creek Dollar General. 

When it came to the tires on Smith’s truck, Pasqua asked Haley whether all four were the same. He confirmed they were. 

Pasqua then displayed a photo of the tread pattern, which was submitted to evidence. 

“When you looked at the tread pattern of these tires, did you think they looked familiar?” Pasqua asked. 

“They did,” Haley said. 

“And where did you see that pattern before? The distinct U on the edges and the zig zag pattern in the center,” Pasqua asked. 

“At Eastside Cemetery when we investigated Ronald Durham’s murder,” Haley responded. 

Haley remains sworn in and will be cross examined by Barrett tomorrow, Nov. 1, at 9:30 a.m. in St. Lawrence County Court.