BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

CANTON — The murder trial of Adam Smith began with a contentious start on Tuesday, Oct. 22.

Smith is accused of murdering both Ronald “Huck” Durham and William Freeman last year in separate instances.

An opening statement from defense attorney Brian Barrett was called into question multiple times by District Attorney Gary Pasqua. 

As he sought to address the 12 jurors and four alternates, Barrett said Pasqua and his associates were going to “piece together this puzzle of a million pieces by presenting grisly evidence of two horrific crimes. 

Barrett said Smith “thought highly” of the two men and has continually denied in open court “each and every accusation that has been lodged against him.” 

“He is innocent and presumed innocent by law. Since March 2, 2023, Adam has been living a nightmare, falsely accused of two murders and other associated offenses that he did not commit,” Barrett said. 

He said the charges stem from “a relentless, haphazard police investigation” through which Smith was a “soft target by relentless investigators who were laser focused on him.” 

In his statement, Barrett denied the claims of investigators who accused Smith of stealing Freeman’s truck shortly after his death. He said Freeman allowed Smith to borrow the vehicle, at which time Smith was arrested by police “in the process of returning it to him.” 

“The police didn’t pay any attention to a word Adam said, but they should have because in this very complex case, the facts don’t add up to Adam committing any crimes that he is accused of,” Barrett said. 

Barrett went on further, detailing Smith’s arrest before giving a brief history of Smith’s life. 

He called Smith “the quiet kid” at school who was not an outcast but also not in the inner circle of a friend group. 

“He got you your first pack of cigarettes in middle school. He got you your first 12 pack of beer in high school. And when he went to that field party and you got sick from those first beers, Adam got you into his car and gave you a ride home and would never ask for a thing later on,” Barrett said. 

But post graduation, Barrett said Smith would sell marijuana and cocaine to make ends meeting. 

“But an individual who sells drugs does not equate to a violent person who is capable of homicide,” Barrett commented. 

Barrett then attempted to call into question the history of many individuals who knew Smith, attempting to detail drug overdoses, drug use and other questionable actions by potential witnesses. 

On eight separate occasions Pasqua objected to Barrett’s statements, forcing the attorneys and Smith to approach the bench. Each time, Judge Greg Storie sustained Pasqua’s objections, forcing Barrett to revise his opening statement. 

While Barrett portrayed the case as a “complex puzzle of evidence,” Pasqua said the case was in fact very simple. 

He commented that both Freeman and Durham had similar lives, with both being born in the 1950’s, both living in the southern portion of the county, both driving pickups “like many people do in the North Country” and both having known Smith prior to their deaths. 

“What they didn’t know is that the defendant is an opportunist who exploits the circumstances of people around him for his own needs, wants and desires, and doesn’t care about the damage and destruction he leaves in his wake. 

Pasqua said it was due to this that Smith eventually got the better of both, eventually murdering them before stealing their trucks, cash, valuables, credit cards, debit cards and even rifles.

He said the evidence of the two cases “is nearly identical in each case,” with both men eventually succumbing to wounds inflicted by Smith as he attempted to rob each of them. 

Pasqua said both had their throats cut before their valuables were stolen. Smith then went on to steal both of their vehicles before driving south to Syracuse “and going on shopping sprees.” 

He detailed how Cortland Police seized Durham’s truck with Smith at the wheel after it was found to have an expired registration. 

It wasn’t until a month later that police eventually searched the vehicle and found Durham’s checkbook, blood and the knife used to kill Durham, Pasqua said. 

He went on further, saying the knife not only had Durham’s blood on it, but also Smith’s DNA. 

Pasqua said it took a month for police to search the truck because another individual had wrongly confessed to the murder of Durham previously. 

“What you won’t hear, what you won’t see, what you can’t hear and what you can’t see is any evidence, any shred of evidence, physical or forensic, that links that person who made that confession to the death of Ronald Durham,” Pasqua said. 

It was due to that wrongful confession that allowed Smith to be free for another month, leading to the death of Freeman on March 1, he said. 

Pasqua detailed that murder as well, saying Freeman was killed in a similar fashion with his throat cut. 

“Sound familiar?” Pasqua asked. 

He said Freeman put up a better fight, sustaining defensive wounds to his hand before being “stabbed in the back, through his liver, touching his ribs in the front so hard that you will see it bent that knife.” 

Pasqua then detailed what he claimed were Smith’s attempts to cover up the murders before being caught by law enforcement shortly after Freeman’s murder. 

At the time he was arrested, blood from both Durham and Freeman were found on Smith’s boots at the time of his arrest, he said. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, this really isn’t a complicated case. Yes, there are going to be hundreds of exhibits, there is going to be scientific evidence, there is going to be some very technical evidence. But the nature of it does not make this complex because if you follow the evidence, it all aligns and leads to only one conclusion. If you pay attention to the evidence, it all aligns that this defendant is guilty beyond any reasonable doubt in the murders of both Ronald Durham and William Freeman,” Pasqua said. 

Court continues Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 9:30 a.m.