BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

Editor’s note: This story contains descriptive details of evidence presented in court that some readers may find disturbing.

Story updated Oct. 23 at 10:47 p.m.

CANTON — Four more witnesses testified in the Adam Smith murder trial Wednesday, including a pathologist, two witnesses who discovered the body of Ronald Durham and a State Trooper who responded to the cemetery.  

Smith is alleged to have murdered Freeman on March 2, 2023 in his home in the town of Rossie.

Pathologist testifies to Freeman autopsy results

Dr. Michael Sikirica testified on Oct. 23 regarding the autopsy he performed on Freeman shortly after his death.

A pathologist who has performed “somewhere around 15,000” autopsies over the last 35 years as a medical professional, Dr. Sikirica confirmed in court that Freeman died from a significant knife wound in his back that shattered his tenth rib on the right side of his back, piercing his liver and nicking his eighth rib in the front of his abdomen.

Dr. Sikirica testified that the wound was 15mm wide and 36mm deep when he examined the wound as it was open.

That equates to roughly 0.6 inches in width and 1.42” in depth.

He also commented that there were bruises and abrasions that happened around the same time of the fatal injury, including one around the stab wound that was consistent with the hilt of a sizable knife that was forcefully used to stab Freeman.

When asked by defense attorney Brian Barrett about the possibility that the bruises and abrasions could have occurred at another time, Dr. Sikirica said it was highly unlikely as the bruises and abrasions appeared to be relatively new.

Dr. Sikirica also detailed a number of other injuries to Freeman, including defensive wounds to his hands and multiple cuts to the left, right and center of Freeman’s neck.

Unlike Ronald “Huck” Durham, the wounds to Freeman did not severe any major arteries or veins, Dr. Sikirica testified.

Much like the line of questioning regarding the autopsy of Durham, Dr. Sikirica confirmed to Barrett that he was informed that the body was that of Durham.

One major difference, however, was the rigor mortis that was found when the body was delivered to Dr. Sikiria.

He testified that at the time of the autopsy, Durham’s body was “very stiff” and was indicative of an individual who had not been dead for 24 hours.

“He was in full rigor mortis when we got him,” he said.

Dr. Sikirica testified that it was his professional opinion that Durham had passed away sometime on March 2.

He commented that had it happened on March 1, Durham would have been “more flaccid” as rigor mortis would have worn off as tissue began to decompose at that time.

“He was very difficult to move his joints, so he would not have died on the first. I believe he probably died on the second,” Dr. Sikirica testified.

He also commented that while examining Durham’s body multiple hairs were recovered from Durham’s hands, though he said he did not know to whom the hairs belonged. Testing for DNA such as that falls to law enforcement, he said.

Dr. Sikirica said he also collected a number of samples, including fluids for toxicology test, which were sent to a national forensic laboratory.

"We also, in cases like this, we take tissue samples, small biopsies of each organ, and I later examine them under the microscope," he said.

Finger and palm prints were completed by State Police, he said, however he was unsure if he did a finger nail swab for tissue or DNA.

In total, he said the autopsy took just over two hours to complete.

Tharrett testimony

Later that morning Leroy Tharrett Jr. and his son Jeffrey offered their testimony.

Both Tharretts were the first to find Durham in on Feb. 11, shortly after 8 a.m. that Saturday.

Testifying first, Leroy Tharrett Jr. said he knew the cemetery well as he lived across the street on Van Buren Road.

Tharrett Jr. said he would often see Ronald Durham and his white Dodge Ram pickup truck in the cemetery where Durham's wife was buried.  

A distant relation through marriage, Tharrett Jr. said he knew Durham "almost all my life."

The morning of February 11, Tharrett Jr. said he, his son Jeffrey and two other individuals were expecting to work on the roof of his relative just two doors down.

"Is it normal to work on a roof in the winter?" Barrett asked.

"If the weather allows, sure," Jeffrey Tharrett responded.

Around 7 a.m. they all met at the home before Tharrett Jr. went to White's Hardware across town to pick up supplies for the day.

Jeffrey Tharrett also confirmed the timeline and details during his testimony.

Tharrett Jr. detailed seeing Durham's truck in the cemetery for a long period of time, which prompted his aunt to ask him to check on Durham.

Both Tharrett Jr. and his son said they then walked across the street at around 8:10 or 8:15 to check on Durham, where Jeffrey Tharrett discovered Durham deceased next to the driver side door of his truck.

He said the driver side window was rolled down and the truck was "facing the other way" compared to how it was normally orientated.

Tharrett Jr. said it was common to see Durham enter the first drive into the cemetery, exiting the vehicle and walking to his wife's grave immediately to his left.

But in this case, the vehicle was pointing the opposite direction, he said.

A large scrape could also be seen on the side of the truck, which both Tharretts said they were unsure of seeing prior to the events of February 11.

Both were asked if they touched the body, to which they replied they did not.

They both also called 911 for assistance, detailing the scene. The first call was received by dispatchers around 8:19, with police on scene just minutes later.

At the time of the discovery, Tharrett Jr. said he also saw "bloody boot prints," which he corroborated after reviewing his deposition he gave to State Troopers later that day.

During his cross examination, Barrett questioned Jeffrey Tharrett multiple times about his use of Facebook, asking if he had accounts and had ever commented on posts about the case or made posts about it himself.

Jeffrey Tharrett said he had two Facebook accounts previously, both of which were hacked, forcing him to set up a new account. He denied ever commenting about the case or situation on social media.

"So, you've never commented or posted about this case on Facebook? Never?" Barrett asked.

"No, I never have," Tharrett replied.

"Really?"

"No, never."

"Have you ever been a part of the St. Lawrence County Scanner group or page on Facebook?"

"No, not that I recall."

Barrett offered no further rebuttal or evidence to the contrary during his cross examination.

Trooper testifies

Sergeant Leah Malbeuf of the New York State Police was the second officer on scene, 13 minutes after the 911 call was received.

She detailed the initial call, which went out as a suicide attempt in the East Side Cemetery on Van Burn Road in Governor.

Malbeuf said when she arrived on scene she saw Durham's truck along with a trooper vehicle belonging to Trooper Seymour who was already on scene, along with two other males.

She said she went around the front of the truck to approach Trooper Seymour, at which time she saw Durham on the ground with "a lot of blood on him and underneath him in the snow."

Malbeuf said Durham was "clearly deceased" when she arrived on scene.

"I noticed an injury in his neck, a neck wound. The deceased's body was located on the driver's side of the vehicle, near his driver's side door," she said.

She said she then peered inside the vehicle to look for any weapons but found none.

Shortly after, she helped secure the scene as BCI investigators arrived on scene to conduct an investigation.

Malbeuf said she later took Leroy Tharrett Jr.'s deposition while she was on the scene, remaining there until 3 p.m.

But Malbeuf's involvement in the case extended further, to February 16 when she was contacted to pick up Durham's phone at the residence of Melissa Ryder in the town of Oswegatchie around 1 a.m.

"When I arrived up to her residence, she provided me a phone in a zip lock baggie. It was a black LG smartphone. When she handed me the bag, I left it in the bag because I did not want to contaminate the phone anymore. So, after she gave me the phone in that plastic bag, I then put it in another plastic bag for safekeeping," Malbeuf said.

She said she then secured the phone in a BCI evidence locker.

"Do you contact anybody in the middle of the night or when you went back and secured the phone?" Barrett asked

"No."

"Did you notify anyone?" Barrett asked further.

Malbeuf said she notified Investigator Mike Manor later that morning, at which time he traveled to SP Gouverneur to retrieve the phone.

Malbeuf said she did not see him personally when he arrived but knew the phone had been secured.

As Barrett cross examined Malbeuf, she offered further details of her findings at the scene of the crime.

Notably, she said she tracked footprints, including some that appeared to "be retracing their steps."

"I recall a fist sized mark into the snow or into the snow bank where there was blood splatter next to it," she said.

Barrett showed the jury a photo that showed the "bloody fist" print in the snow, which had a distinct impression of a fist in the snow.

Multiple footprints were found around the scene as well, with one set leading away from the fist mark in the snow.

Malbeuf testified that she did not know who made the fist mark, nor did she track the footprints after they were discovered.

Barrett also pointed out the "large scratch" on the passenger side rear door or Durham's truck, asking Malbeuf if she noticed any damage to a stone pillar at the entrance to the cemetery.

"No, not that I recall," she said.

Shortly thereafter Barrett ceased his cross examination and the trial adjourned for the day.

The trial will continue Oct. 24 at 9:30 a.m.

See earlier stories: 

“Pathologist testifies in Adam Smith murder trial, details autopsy conducted on first victim”

“Murder trial of Adam Smith gets off to contentious start in St. Lawrence County Court”