State Police Investigator Testifies for Third Day in a Row

CANTON — State Police Investigator Daniel Haley testified for the third day in a row at the murder trial of Adam Smith, detailing key evidence in the case.

Smith is accused of killing Ronald “Huck” Durham on Feb. 11, 2023, in Eastside Cemetery, Gouverneur, and William Freeman on March 2, 2023, in Rossi.

On October 30 and 31, Haley was cross-examined by District Attorney Gary Pascua for nearly six hours, and defense attorney Brian Barrett took the opportunity to question State Police practices and the policies of the medical examiner’s office during cross-examination.

History of response to murders

Asked by Barrett about his experience investigating homicides, Haley said he had answered “at least three” before responding to the Feb. 11 killing of Ronald Durham.

After joining the BCI team on Jan. 5, 2023, Haley said he only worked as an investigator for “a few weeks” before he got the call to go to the governor.

He had previously worked as a crime scene technician as a trooper starting in 2016, and Haley said he had experience working on numerous cases over the years, dozens of which required him and investigators to work numerous crime scenes.

As part of his duties in the Durham murder case, Haley said he tried to use a latent fingerprint test to lift fingerprints from a knife found in a trash bag in Smith’s truck, as well as from a cell phone he later I found out it belonged to Ronald Durham.

“But you have no training as a latent print expert, do you?” Barrett asked.

Haley explained that there are two levels of preparation for latent print examination: the first level is how to take a print, and the second is how to read and compare prints.

“So, I have the right to be fingerprinted, yes, sir,” Haley said.

Search warrants questioned

Regarding the search of the homes of Freddie Wing, who previously admitted to killing Durham, and Smith and Ronald Durham’s brother Dan, Barrett questioned who applied for the search warrant.

Haley said he was not sure who applied for the search warrant because he did not prepare any search warrant applications.

“Why did you get a search warrant for Ronald Durham’s car? Is it typical for the state police to obtain a search warrant for the victim’s vehicle?” Barrett asked.

Haley said it is actually common practice for State Police to ensure that all legal grounds are followed when possessing and investigating property belonging to a person involved in a crime, regardless of what capacity they may have been involved in.

He testified that after a preliminary investigation of Durham’s vehicle, which revealed numerous stains of potential blood spatter, the supervisor ordered Haley to take Durham’s truck to FIU headquarters in Ray Brook for further investigation.

Haley confirmed that the vehicle was securely stored in a garage in Ray Brook, to which only members of the FIU team and the senior investigator had access, ensuring the safety of evidence.

When asked by Barrett about the tread pattern of the tires on Smith’s truck and whether Haley was an expert in identifying tire treads, Haley said he was not.

According to Haley, no expert was called to select the tread pattern and no cast was made.

Search of Wing’s house

Shortly after the death of Ronald Durham on February 11, police investigated Freddie Wing’s involvement in the murder.

Haley said he was told on Feb. 12 that Wing had confessed to the murder, after which investigators obtained a search warrant to investigate Wing’s home on Van Buren Road, which happened to be just a few hundred yards down the road from the crime scene. .

“What were you looking for at Freddy Wing’s house?” Barrett asked.

“We were told to specifically look for knives,” Haley said.

During the course of the investigation, Haley reported that several knives were found in the home and were taken back to SP Gouverneur for latent fingerprint testing.

There is no conclusive evidence that Wing used any knives in the house at the time of the murder.

Haley also confirmed that he took a water bottle from SP Gouverneur’s bathroom as evidence after another investigator told him that Freddie Wing had used the bottle.

“But you never saw Freddie Wing drink from that bottle, did you?” Barrett asked.

“No, they told me he did it,” Haley said.

He noted that the bottle was supposed to be used for DNA analysis in this case.

Durham Autopsy

After completing his work at Freddie Wing’s home around 12:30 p.m. or so, Haley said he headed to Canton-Potsdam Hospital, where Ronal Durham’s autopsy was being performed.

Haley said the autopsy took “several hours,” which Dr. Scott Lapointe also testified on the first day of the trial on Oct. 22.

– Who was there during the autopsy? Barrett asked.

Haley identified several state police investigators present and brought a camera to document the proceedings.

“Who helped pull the body out of the body bag?” Barrett asked.

“I helped lift the body, it was a team effort,” Haley said.

Barrett asked what precautions Haley used, to which he replied that he wore gloves to avoid contaminating the evidence.

After the autopsy was completed, Haley said he took several items of clothing, shoes, knives and other personal items into the custody of SP Massenet before they could be transported to Ray Brook for further testing.

He said several swabs were also used and a vial of blood was drawn.

“Why did you take the vial of blood?” Barrett asked.

“It is standard practice to draw blood from at least two vials for testing after a suspicious death,” Haley said.

“So why did you only have one bottle then?” Barrett asked.

“Because there was significant blood loss. There’s not a lot of blood left,” Haley said.

Haley said he collected Durham’s belongings and eventually took them to Ray Brooke for further inspection.

He said he used a SEPS unit, which thoroughly dries clothing that may be covered in blood, water or other liquids while preserving evidence.

Once the work was completed, the items were swabbed and tested or sent for further laboratory testing, Haley said.

Freeman’s investigation begins

Although Haley’s work on the Durham case was largely completed before March, the murder of William Freeman on March 2 reopened the previous investigation. He said he began working on the Durham case again on March 6.

Haley said he called Freeman’s home in Russia shortly after the murder was reported.

According to his testimony, Haley was called to the St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office to be briefed on the situation before being sent to the scene.

As with the Durham investigation, Haley said he was on the scene to document evidence, take photographs and pursue any potential leads.

He said the house was “less than 100 yards” from the highway and the entrance was at the rear of the building.

Barrett asked whether Haley documented the contents around the property, including a snowplow and other property that was openly visible during the inspection of the area.

“I didn’t do it, sir,” Haley replied.

Barrett then asked if Haley performed a latent fingerprint test on the doorknob to enter Freeman’s home.

Haley responded by asking Barrett if he believed Haley was the lead investigator on the case or was responsible for all forensic work at the scene.

Haley said that was not the case, and in fact he was at the scene to document through photographs and other investigative techniques to gather evidence of the crime.

He also noted that numerous investigators were at the scene and that he was not involved in the search warrant application for Freeman’s home.

Search Smith’s home, truck

Continuing his October 31 testimony, Haley detailed his work searching Smith’s Antwerp residence following his work at the Freeman residence.

A search warrant was issued at Smith’s Antwerp home, which state police executed on March 3.

Haley said luggage and documents were found at the scene, but noted, according to Barrett, that it appeared not all of Smith’s property was at the scene.

Marilyn Durham, Ronald Durham’s daughter, confirmed in a deposition earlier this week that Smith stored some of her belongings in the home she previously shared with her father, Ronald.

After receiving a number of items that were considered evidence, Haley said he delivered the evidence to S.P. Massena and hid them in a locker in the barracks.

Haley also once again detailed the security and transport of Smith’s truck back to JV Governor and ultimately Ray Brooke, stating that the truck was always in the possession of the State Police and that he followed the truck on both trips.

“I always kept an eye on the car,” he said.

A detailed search of the vehicle was conducted on March 9 in Ray Brook, at which time Haley said he collected several swabs that “appeared to be blood.”

Those samples were sent to the Albany crime lab for testing, he said.

Barrett asked Haley if swabs were taken from any of the knives found, including the one found in a trash bag in Smith’s truck.

Haley said no.

– Why don’t you clean the knife? Barrett asked.

Haley responded that there is usually evidence that can be taken to a crime lab for testing, while larger items such as vehicle doors require swabs. In the case of the seat, Haley said he used a precision knife to cut the tissue and send it for testing rather than using a swab.

Hayley will return to the cottage on Monday, November 4 at 10am to continue her testimony.