FBI agent testifies in Graham murder trial

CATSKILL — Internet searches of murder suspect Carlos Graham’s Google account revealed someone used his account to look up information about “shotgun suicide” and “price of gold” about the time of Brandyn Dayne Foster’s death in February 2017, an FBI expert in cell-phone tracking said Monday.

Special agent Michael Sabric testified as an expert witness in historic cell site analysis. Sabric was able to track the areas where Graham’s cell phone was on specific dates using the nearest cell site and data and call records provided from AT&T.

Graham’s phone could be traced to areas of 8 Hotel Lane, Stuyvesant; Walmart in Catskill; and Mohegan Sun in Massachussets between Jan. 26 and 28, 2017, Sabric said.

Graham’s Google account also showed he had searched on Jan. 26, 2017, for directions to 8 Hotel Lane in Stuyvesant, where prosecutors allege Graham picked up one of the weapons he used to shoot Foster.

The gun allegedly belonged to Bryce Hallback, 33, of Hudson, who is facing a life sentence on federal charges for conspiracy to distribute cocaine in Hudson. Hallback testified Friday she supplied the gun to Graham sometime in January 2017.

On Feb. 2, 2017, someone using Graham’s Google account searched for the price for an ounce of gold, Sabric said.

On Feb. 6, 2017 at 4 p.m., someone searched for “shotgun suicide” using Graham’s Google account. Foster was also allegedly shot with a sawed-off shotgun that prosecutors say belonged to Graham.

On Feb. 11, 2017 at 3:24 p.m., someone searched the internet for the “current price of gold” using Graham’s Google account.

“These are not all the searches, but some of the searches,” Sabric said.

Defense attorney Shane Zoni of Albany said that doesn’t mean Graham was the person using the phone.

“You are tracing a device, not an individual person, correct,” Zoni asked Sabric. Sabric agreed.

The prosecution rested its case Monday on day four of testimony.

Graham, 31, of Catskill, was charged Feb. 15, 2018, with second-degree murder, a class A-I felony. He pleaded not guilty.

At an indictment hearing in May, he was additionally charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a class C felony; third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and third-degree grand larceny, both class D felonies; concealment of a corpse and two counts of tampering with physical evidence, both class E felonies.

The prosecution contends Graham shot Foster out of jealousy. Sade Knox, Foster’s girlfriend, was allegedly having an affair with Graham, who prosecutors say also stole items from Foster’s house at 126 Tool House Road after Foster’s death.

Brandyn Foster, an aspiring rapper, was the son of renowned jazz drummer Al Foster. Brandyn was the father of a 10-year-old son, Jazzon. Bonnie Steinberg of Woodstock, Foster’s mother, reported her son missing four days after she was unable to make contact with her son in January 2017.

Graham, with Knox’s help, buried Foster in 9 inches of concrete in a crawl space below a large aquarium in Knox’s bedroom at 124 Tool House Road, prosecutors allege.

Prosecutors allege Graham took items from Foster’s house next door at 126 Tool House Road, including jewelry and a mattress. Foster’s body was discovered by state police after a search of 124 Tool House Road on Feb. 6, 2018.

On Friday, Dr. Bernard Ng, a pathologist at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, testified Graham died from a massive hemorrhage in his chest area after he was shot. The exact time of death could not be determined because of the condition the body was found, Ng said.

The trial continues Wednesday at 10 a.m. with the start of the defense’s case. There are no proceeding Tuesday due to the national holiday.

To reach reporter Amanda Purcell, call 518-828-1616 ext. 2500, or send an email to apurcell@thedailymail.net, or tweet to @amandajpurcell.