Ronald Durham’s bloody checkbook was found in Smith’s truck.

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

Smith is accused of killing Ronald “Huck” Durham on Feb. 11 in Gouverneur and William Freeman on March 2 in Rossi.

Smith is currently facing trial in St. Lawrence County on 14 charges, including two murders.

Investigator of the forensic medical examination department

Investigator Daniel Haley of the New York State Police initially testified on October 30, but with so much evidence to process, he returned to the site again on October 31. Haley was the only witness to testify. was cross-examined by District Attorney Gary Pascua for much of the day.

A member of Troop B’s Forensic Identification Unit (FIU) based in Ray Brook, Haley testified that he began his career as a trooper on January 13, 2014. Two years later, he began his journey to FIU, eventually becoming an assistant investigator. keeper at Ray Brook in October 2021. By January 2023, he became an FIU investigator. Just five weeks later, he was investigating his first murder as an investigator when he received a call from his superior informing the Governor of a suspicious death.

Response to murder

Haley said he received a call around 10:40 a.m. or so and immediately headed to the scene of Ronald Durham’s murder.

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

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

Haley said he began documenting tire tracks underneath Durham’s truck, including a second set of tires separated from Durham’s truck that had a “distinctive U-shaped 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 that a second set of tracks passed under Durham’s feet, proving he was not hit by the second car.

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

Haley said officers eventually called a tow truck to remove Durham’s truck from the scene and eventually transport it back to SP Gouverneur for further inspection.

Blood found in Durham’s truck

Haley said he followed the truck back to SP Gouverneur and began documenting the interior of the vehicle after obtaining a search warrant.

Haley said he repeatedly found “what appeared to be blood” inside the car.

He said he wiped down all areas, including several areas inside the driver’s door, inside the passenger door, glove box and floor mats, among others.

In each case, Haley’s swab tests were introduced into evidence over the objections of defense lawyer Brian Barrett, who argued that the prosecution was without merit and could not prove the chain of custody of the evidence presented.

Search of Wing’s house

Haley said officers 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 is known to have spent time with Durham and was considered very close to him until the time of his death.

During the investigation into Wing’s case, Haley said he was photographed both with and without clothing and a nail cleaning kit was used to remove any possible debris or evidence from under his fingernails.

A search of Wing’s home also turned up several knives, including one folding knife with a train design on it.

Haley said he also received the can of Pepsi that Wing drank from as evidence while he was being questioned by SP Gouverneur.

Soon after, Wing confessed to Durham’s murder and was ultimately held in the St. Lawrence County Correctional Facility for nearly three weeks before evidence emerged linking Smith to the Durham and Freeman murders.

Durham Autopsy

Haley said he attended the autopsy in Durham, which is common practice for State Police investigators. He said they always look at continuity of evidence.

He noted that Dr. Scott Lapointe, who performed the autopsy, used a sexual assault kit to ensure all evidence was collected.

“Was there any reason to believe there was any sexual assault?” asked Pascua.

“No, we had no reason to believe that this was the case. Dr. Lapointe prefers to use them to ensure that all evidence is carefully collected when performing an autopsy,” Haley said.

He noted that Lapointe routinely swabbed most body surfaces as part of the evidence-gathering process.

Cell phone found in Durham

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

On Feb. 15, Haley said his boss called him again and told the governor to take away a cell phone that was believed to be evidence in the Durham case.

Haley said he was responsible for processing the phone, including clearing the phone of fingerprints, but he said the fingerprints could not be identified.

He said he also took a swab of what was believed to be blood between the phone and the case. This smear was also presented to Pascua as evidence.

The phone was later taken to the FIU office in Ray Brook, where Haley said he and other investigators conducted a detailed investigation into the phone’s contents.

Freeman’s investigation gains momentum

On March 3, just one day after William Freeman was allegedly killed, Haley said he went to Freeman’s home in Rossi.

He said he arrived at the scene to help with photography and evidence collection after deputies received a call from the St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office asking for assistance in a homicide investigation.

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

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

Just yesterday, October 30, Ronald Durham’s daughter Marilyn came forward and confirmed that Smith and her uncle Dan were living in the same house in Antwerp, although she said they were “separated by a wall.”

During his testimony, Pascua Haley said he interviewed Dan Durham shortly after the investigation into Freeman’s property was completed.

Described as an “elderly man in poor health,” prosecutors showed photographs of Dan Durham’s possessions, which included more than 10 oxygen tanks.

Haley said Durham was on oxygen at the time she interviewed him about Smith, noting that during their meeting he went “from the couch to the counter” but nothing more.

During Durham’s questioning of Smith, police also discovered Smith’s black Kyocera cell phone, Haley said.

Photos shown in court showed Smith’s birth certificate and other important documents found on property owned by Smith and Dan Durham.

Smith’s truck is located

Haley said he and investigators learned on March 6 of a truck registered to Smith that was in the Cortlandt Police impound lot.

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

On March 7, Haley said he lined up Troop B with a tow truck and driver to pick up the vehicle on March 8.

He said he and a Troop B mechanic then headed to Cortland to take possession of the truck, at which point he began cataloging the contents.

The gas tank, two black plastic bags and a blue plastic bag were placed in additional trash bags and documented before being placed in the back seat of Smith’s 2016 Ford F-150 for transport.

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

Not just trash

On March 9, police were issued a search warrant for Smith’s truck and that’s when Haley said he began investigating.

As shown in several photographs in court, Haley documented several stains in Smith’s truck that he said were blood. All stains were collected and sent to the Albany Crime Lab for testing.

But everything changed when Haley and investigators began opening three trash bags contained in Smith’s truck.

Cortland Trooper Austin Fisk initially thought they were just trash, but the bags remained in the back of Smith’s truck until Haley and state police took possession of the vehicle on March 8.

Haley said that when he and investigators opened the three bags, they found several stains they believed to be blood, as well as seat covers and red and black gloves that also had blood on them.

After opening the second bag, Haley said he found a wallet with a photo, a one-dollar bill and a two-dollar bill.

Marilyn Durham testified that her father used his wallet only for his identification cards, photographs and “just two dollar bills.”

The wallet, which also appeared to have blood on it, contained a photograph with the words “Geku” written on the back.

Haley said $1,000 worth of cash ribbons were also found in the bag.

Another black bag contained more money bands, many of which were worth $1,000, as well as a black bandana that appeared to have blood on it and a bottle of Brisk that also appeared to have blood on it.

As investigators reviewed the contents, Haley said they found a Gerber knife with a black and green handle and a fixed blade.

Photos presented in court showed the knife’s blade was clean, but there was blood on the handle.

Haley said he tried to get a fingerprint from the knife, but it was deemed unidentified.

In addition, Haley said he found two checkbooks in the bag, both of which had Ronald Durham’s name and address on them.

Both were covered in blood, according to photographs shown in court.

Several photographs also showed several bank envelopes, many of which were also covered in blood.

Also found in one black bag was a black-covered notebook with rough sketches of “Fresh Start Construction,” the name of the company Smith was allegedly trying to get started, according to Marilyn Durham’s testimony.

Internal evidence

While searching the inside of Smith’s truck, Haley said he found a knife sharpener and several receipts that directly correlated with the testimony of other witnesses, including receipts for a $798 ring from Walmart, as well as Apple gift cards purchased for $500 at Dollar General.

An additional receipt from a Fast Track location in Cicero was also found showing $400 in cash 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, along with another cash payment made just hours later, he said.

Numerous suspected blood stains were also found throughout the vehicle’s interior, including on the floor mats, prompting Haley to swab those areas and submit them for testing, he said.

Also found in the truck were scratch-off lottery tickets, as well as packaging of Apple gift cards and Steam cards that Smith allegedly purchased at Sandy Creek Dollar General.

When it came to the tires on Smith’s truck, Pascua asked Haley if all four were the same. He confirmed that this was the case.

Pascua then showed a photograph of the tread pattern that was entered into evidence.

“When you looked at the tread pattern on these tires, did it look familiar to you?” – asked Pascua.

“They did,” Haley said.

“Where have you seen this pattern before? A distinct U on the edges and a zigzag pattern in the center,” Pascua asked.

“At Eastside Cemetery while we were investigating the murder of Ronald Durham,” Haley answered.

Haley has been sworn in and will be cross-examined by Barrett tomorrow, November 1, at 9:30 a.m. in St. Lawrence District Court.