Details of the crime scene were revealed by two state police investigators who testified in Adam Smith's murder trial

CANTON – Two state police investigators testified on the third day of Adam Smith's murder trial, detailing what they found at the crime scene of Ronald “Huck” Durham's murder.

Smith is accused of murdering Ronald “Huck” Durham on February 11, 2023, and William Freeman on March 2, 2023.

Investigator Turkstra was one of the first on the scene

Investigator Jennifer Turkstra began the afternoon session Oct. 24 by answering questions about her background and training that led to her response to the crime scene of Ronald Durham's murder.

She said she has been with the New York State Police for more than eight years now, the last two as an investigator.

Turkstra said she has received training in many areas, including crime scene technology, computer crime specialist training, lie detector training, search warrant training, ghost gun training and other specific training related to the investigation of various crimes.

On Feb. 11, Turkstra said she was initially brought in to help conduct interviews with witnesses and family members. She also interviewed Smith by telephone and in person, she said.

The first interview took place on February 12, 2023 at 10:26 a.m. when she called Smith from her office at SP Governor.

She said she discussed “Smith's activities on February 11th.”

“He informed me that he had returned from Syracuse early in the morning of February 11th. I think he said he went to Stewart's before 5 a.m. to meet a friend, Ronald Durham,” she said.

Surveillance footage from Stewart's showed that Smith was not actually in the store at the same time that Durham and Eric Fisher were there.

Turkstra said Smith told her he was in Syracuse at the time “to meet a friend.”

After Smith missed Durham at Stewart's, he allegedly told Turkstra that he “went home to help his roommate fix a water line, I think, and some house repair,” she said.

Turkstra later said she interviewed Smith on Feb. 27 at his home, where Dan Durham was also present.

She said the interview was conducted in the kitchen or dining area of ​​the house.

Turkstra described Durham as “an elderly gentleman in poor health.”

“Every time I interviewed him he just sat in the same position. He had a walker and was on oxygen,” she said.

In Turkstra's statement about her interview with Smith, Smith described Ronald Durham as “good friends” and said they “talk daily.”

“Most mornings we drank coffee together at Stewart's in Governor, New York. Most mornings he would call me to ask if I was awake to meet for coffee. “On February 10, 2023, I visited my girlfriend in Syracuse, New York,” the statement said.

Smith claimed that his girlfriend did not have a working phone at the time and was looking for a new apartment on February 10th.

He said he left their home around 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 11 and arrived in Governor a few hours later.

He claims he went to Stewart's “to see Huck and have coffee” but said he was informed that he had already missed Durham

When he returned home, he helped his roommate with chores before leaving at 5:23 a.m. to drive to South Colton for work.

“I worked under the table doing construction work for Brandon Chase. “There was no work on site, so I drove the truck to Cortland for Brandon,” the statement said.

In his statement, Smith claimed that Durham would help him “here and there with cigarettes and gas” while he would help Durham repair his house.

“He would pay for the materials and I would do the work. He wouldn't pay me as an employee. I knew he had cash in his pocket. That's how he paid for my cigarettes and stuff. I didn’t know how much he was carrying,” the statement said.

“That’s the end of the statement,” Turkstra said.

Turkstra confirmed that Smith signed the statement without reading it, saying he “didn't want to do that, so he just trusted that we had written that.”

Investigator Tyler testifies over two days

While Turkstra was on the stand for about 30 minutes, Investigator Mark Tyler of the New York State Police was on the stand for about two and a half hours over the course of October 24th and 25th.

Tyler has been with the State Police for 11 years and has been an investigator for nearly two years.

During cross-examination, Tyler confirmed that Ronald Durham's murder was indeed the first murder he investigated as an investigator.

After receiving a call at 8:24 a.m. from then-officer Leah Malbeuf, now a sergeant, Tyler said he drove to East Riverside Cemetery shortly thereafter in “business casual attire” in a state-issued black Chevy Impala.

When Tyler arrived at the scene, he said he saw two marked State Police vehicles parked in the cemetery near Ronald Durham's pickup truck.

He said he approached the crime scene and found “several bloody boot prints near the body.” He also noticed a significant neck wound and a large pool of blood around Durham's body.

Tyler said he then began documenting the scene while wearing rubber gloves “so as not to contaminate the scene or evidence.”

He noted that he only entered Durham's truck to begin photographing the interior. He actually found some blood in the driver's cab of the truck, including on the glove compartment.

When asked by Barrett if there was a “spray” of blood, Tyler replied that there was not.

Barrett also questioned why Tyler entered the vehicle like that. Tyler responded that he wanted to start documenting the crime scene since he knew the forensic investigation unit was probably two hours away. That unit is based in Ray Brook, Tyler said.

Tyler said while conducting the initial investigation, he spoke with Leroy and Jeffrey Therratt, both of whom were working across the street at a family member's home.

Both Tharretts allowed Tyler to take photos of the soles of their boots so investigators could identify whose footprints were at the crime scene.

After an investigation, Tyler said he then visited a store in Gouverner that sold boots on Feb. 16 and ultimately compared the bloody boot print found on Durham's body to that of a specific model of Georgia boot sold at the store became.

“Have you contacted Georgia Boot Company to see how many pairs they have sold to this store?” Barrett asked.

“No, I didn’t,” Tyler replied.

Tyler also spoke about a “bloody fist print” in the snow next to Durham.

He said the print was located between Durham and a bench near several gravesites and was noticeable from the time he was at the site.

When Pasqua asked if the print could have come from someone “removing a knife or other weapon,” Tyler replied that it was entirely possible.

Tire marks at the crime scene were also questioned by Barrett, who asked Tyler if he had ever checked the tread pattern of the vehicles driven by the Tharretts.

“No, I never have,” Tyler said.

The Tharretts had previously testified that they were walking to the cemetery from their family member's home when they were asked to check on Durham, which ultimately led to the discovery of his body.

Tire tracks were also found under Durham's legs, although no visible injuries were found on his legs.

Upon meeting Pasqua again, Tyler made it clear that it was clear that the tire tracks existed before Durham's murder.

The night before, a light snowfall dusted the area, making it easier to tell which tracks were fresh and which were old, Tyler said.

Barrett also took a moment to question text conversations between Tyler and investigator Michael Manor, with whom Tyler said he was close.

Barrett asked in a text what they meant by “we always figure this shit out.”

“He just said we always get to the bottom of things,” Tyler said.

Barrett continued to question Tyler about his relationship with his fellow officers and what he meant in a text when he referred to “the clan.”

Tyler said that was a term he used in the text to describe FIU at Ray Brook, although he said it was not a term used across the department.

He also noted that the term “thin gray line” referred to fallen officers who came before them when Barrett asked him to do so.

“So you have a pretty tight-knit group in your barracks, don’t you think?” asked Barrett.

“Yeah, I would say that,” Tyler replied.

“You also referred to Investigator Manor as your brother, didn't you?” Barrett said.

Tyler said it's common for them to refer to each other in this way because police officers are “brothers and sisters in law enforcement.”

Barrett took time to question what role Tyler played in the investigation, from the beginning to Smith's arrest.

Tyler said he began taking photos at the scene, conducted interviews and helped collect evidence, including Durham's phone, which was found on a bridge a few days later.

Barrett asked Tyler if he had been involved in Smith's interrogation, to which he replied yes.

“Were you asked to leave the interrogation?” Barrett asked.

“I wasn’t asked to leave, but eventually I did,” Tyler said.

“Is it common for investigators to leave in the middle of an interrogation?” Barrett asked.

“That’s not unusual, no,” Tyler replied.

“You got angry when you questioned him, didn't you?” Barrett said.

Tyler responded that he wasn't angry during the questioning.

“Did you slam your hand on the table?” Barrett asked.

Tyler said he may have hit the table, but indicated it was probably not a heavy “slam” on the table as described.

As for his disciplinary action, Barrett questioned a council letter issued in 2015, when Tyler was still a soldier.

Tyler said that in his first year of service, he was involved in the manhunt that followed the escape of two prisoners from Dannemora State Prison.

Tyler said he essentially wrote a young woman a traffic ticket but failed to submit it in a timely manner.

The young woman then appeared in court as instructed, but the criminal complaint was not properly filed with the court.

Tyler said he received a letter of advice regarding the situation but has not received any further disciplinary action since.

After nearly two and a half hours on the bench over two days, Tyler finished his testimony around 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 25.

Judge Storie then adjourned the hearing for the day after Pasqua informed Storie that he could not complete his cross-examination of the next witness in the remaining 30 minutes of the day.

The trial is scheduled to continue at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Oct. 28, in St. Lawrence County Court.