By james art CANTON, N.Y. (WWNY) – Taking the stand in the Adam Smith murder trial in St. Lawrence County Circuit Court: one of the victims’ daughters. Smith is accused of killing two men last year.
Court resumed Wednesday with the cross-examination of a tearful Marilyn Durham. The defense questioned Durham about the morning of Feb. 11, 2023, the day her father, Ronald “Huck” Durham, is believed to have been killed.
Durham remembers waking up to find her father gone. She later received a phone call that his body had been found in the local cemetery.
Defense attorney Brian Barrett pressed Durham about earlier testimony in which she said her father typically carried about $8,000 to $16,000 in his wallet each day. On the day her father was found, she told police she was carrying $6,000.
Durham said the discrepancy was due to emotional stress because “her father had just been killed.”
Durham was also asked about the relationship between her uncle Daniel, who lost his life to cancer late last year, and murder suspect Adam Smith, as the two lived as roommates in the city of Antwerp around the time of the murder.
Durham also stated that Smith occasionally worked at his father’s home and kept some items in a black trailer, including tools, knives and a change of clothes. She didn’t know why.
As we left the courtroom, State Police Coroner Daniel Haley was on the bench. Haley answered questions about several crime scene photos taken at the cemetery where Durham was killed. Emphasis is placed on visible tire and boot marks on the victim’s body. The case will continue throughout the week.
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