LIVE UPDATES | Day 2: Murder trial for Brad Compher, man accused of killing Nori Jones in 2004
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Day two of the trial for Brad Compher is underway in Bannock County. Compher is charged with one count of murder with a deadly weapon enhancement for the 2004 stabbing death of 25-year-old Nori Jones. EastIdahoNews.com reporter Kalama Hines is in the courtroom and will update this story with the latest developments all afternoon.
UPDATES
4:48 p.m. That is it for the day. We will be back at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Have a great night.
4:46 p.m. Gabiola has asked the state to provide a police report including the info. he plans to testify about. Judge says “time is of the essence.”
INFO: The jury has been dismissed for the day. Gabiola will be calling the trial for the day following this discussion, but he has requested a conference with all media in attendance.
4:36 p.m. Radford says Collins was disclosed as a witness 10 years ago, with all necessary contact information. Suggests that he should not be limited by the defense not exploring potential statements.
4:36 p.m. Radford acknowledges that it is the state’s responsibility to disclose all info as it is obtained. He says he learned of this new info during a phone call with the witness, Pocatello PD Capt. Bill Collins, this week.
4:33 p.m. Andrew says another witness is expected to testify regarding a comment made by Compher. The concern, again, is late disclosure regarding those comments.
4:31 p.m. Rather than calling another witness, Radford proposes state and defense argue over another witness, who is expected to offer a similar testimony to that of Howe.
4:30 p.m. Gabiola says he will allow the questioning, but asks defense if it would like more time to prepare for cross. They ask for that time and Howe is dismissed for now.
WORTH NOTING: Leta Wilde, Jones’ mother-in-law-to be, described Jones as a “strong country girl” who would have fought her attacker with everything she had. Could someone with that much fight have left permanent wounds on her attacker?
4:27 p.m. There is currently a discussion regarding disclosure. Trammell claims he just learned about wounds Howe saw on Compher’s arms. Gabiola says that Howe was disclosed as a potential witness.
4:23 p.m. Trammell asks if there were any visible marks on Compher’s arms. Andrew asks for the jury to be removed — that is granted. Andrew says, outside the presence of the jury, and says this info was not disclosed in discovery. Also says that the marks were seen 10 years after the murder and cannot be connected to the murder.
4:21 p.m. Howe spoke with Compher prior to his arrest.
4:21 p.m. Howe transported fingerprint cards to the state lab in 2014. One set from evidence, the other comparison prints from Compher.
4:20 p.m. Kelly is excused. States next witness is Kirk Howe, a former Pocatello PD detective.
4:18 p.m. Andrew will handle cross.
4:16 p.m. Among the evidence Kelly took to the forensics lab in Meridian was Jones’ ring.
4:13 p.m. Kelly also says a rape — SANE — kit was performed during the autopsy.
4:10 p.m. Kelly was present during Jones’ autopsy. He says he observed ISP forensic analysts remove fingernail clippings.
4:10 p.m. Back from afternoon recess, State calls Pocatello PD detective Cliff Kelly.
3:54 p.m. Following cross, Radford asks during redirect a question Proctor objects to — saying it is outside the scope of cross. Radford says he is done with the witness but asks that he not be allowed to leave the premises. As soon as Sellers leaves the witness stand, Radford says his next witness will be Sellers.
Now, Radford is free to ask anything he would like. Laughter from the entire room.
3:53 p.m. Sellers says he could not determine whether shoeprints found belonged to officers, firefighters, EMTs or a potential suspect.
3:51 p.m. Five or six people at the scene while Sellers was there. This goes to the number of shoeprints that would be found at the scene. Sellers can not determine who was and was not wearing shoe booties.
3:49 p.m. Proctor has a voice that commands the room. He is also very demonstrative with his body language.
3:48 p.m. Proctor on cross asking about shoeprints found at the scene. Radford objects — outside of scope of direct examination. Gabiola overules.
3:44 p.m. Now, a photo of Jones’ left hand — with a massive open wound.
3:43 p.m. Current photo was taken during Jones’ autopsy. Several deep wounds to the throat. VERY graphic.
3:38 p.m. Proctor, who has objected to the display of every graphic photo, asks to speak with Radford before the photo displays continue. He is granted that permission but does not object further.
3:36 p.m. Picture shown now is of Jones’ left hand and wrist. There is a bracelet with bruising on the wrist.
3:32 p.m. Sellers is being shown a series of photos of Jones’ body. Radford asking him to confirm Jones’ body position is as he first saw it. Finally, Radford asks if there is any jewelry on Jones’ left hand — again, back to the ring.
And, again, her ring was not on the finger in the video/pictures. Friends have said she always wore the ring.
3:22 p.m. State’s next witness — Tom Sellers, former ISP detective.
2:57 p.m. We will now go to afternoon recess. back in 15
2:52 p.m. Stone has now been on the stand for four hours — with a lunch recess and a few short recesses. He is now being asked about the weather the day of Jones’ murder.
2:44 p.m. Again, because out followers seem to be interested in this stuff: Compher is wearing a short-sleeve, plaid button-up shirt, similar to the one he wore yesterday, with jeans and black Vans-type shoes. Difference today: he is wearing a tan tie.
2:342 p.m. Andrew asks more questions about how evidence is handled. Not sure what he is setting up with this line of questioning — if he is going to suggest the evidence was mishandled?
2:38 p.m. Andrew asks Stone to further describe the level of disturbance to the dust near the window officers believe to have been the entry point. Stone, for example, says the seat of a bicycle inside the home near the window had a layer of dust with a portion of the dust removed to the seat.
2:31 p.m. Stone says there were blood marks on the door, around the doorknob, but does not remember seeing any blood on the doorknob itself.
2:29 p.m. Andrew asks Stone hif he, himself, found the ring. Stone says another officer found it and brought it to him. Stone acknowledges that the ring was not on Jones’ finger when he first saw her body.
2:28 p.m. Andrew will cross. He starts with a question about the video Stone took inside the home.
FORGOT TO NOTE: below, while describing Jones’ body in the video, I should have noted that the ring was not on her left ring finger, where she was known to wear it.
2:24 p.m. Price asks Stone about the ring that has been a popular topic. Stone says the ring was collected — it was found near Jones’ body.
2:17 p.m. Stone says around 80 pieces of evidence were collected, then taken to the lab in Meridian in October.
2:05 p.m. Price has been asking Stone about his role as custodian of evidence through the first three days of investigation for about 15 minutes. Starting to see some glazed over eyes in the jury box.
1:51 p.m. Prosecutor JaNiece Price has been referring to Det. Stone as “Captain.” Seems intentional, as the title carries a great deal of weight.
1:48 p.m. Stone describes some dust buildups in certain areas being “disturbed” — including the window officers believe was the access point, a microwave and bicycle seat near that window. He also says there were some “finger marks” on the opened window.
1:38 p.m. Stone now describing sections of the inside of jones’ home.
1:35 p.m. Worth noting: not much reaction from anyone — including jurors and Compher — while the video was played. Stone is now describing different parts of the property.
1:29 p.m. “The backdoor had blood transfer marks,” Stone said, on the outer frame of the door.
1:26 p.m. Stone described a window he believed could have been an entry point — on the north side of the home. He says the screen was cut and the window was fully opened.
1:24 p.m. During the search, Stone found a lighter — which was collected as evidence — as well as a red mark on the fence which was collected. Said he believed it could have been blood.
1:23 p.m. Stone says officers performed a “grid search” searching for items of evidentiary value — including area where someone would have gotten access to the property.
1:20 p.m. Several witnesses have been asked to describe the positioning of Jones’ left hand. It is plainly visible in the video. It is awkwardly positioned — as if it was cupped or partially closed, but the ring finger appears to have been forcibly extended from the palm.
1:19 p.m. Significant blood pooling int he bed near Jones’ head.
1:17 p.m. As described by multiple witnesses, there is a significant amount of blood inside Jones’ bedroom — which is lined with a butterfly wallpaper.
1:14 p.m. We return from lunch with a police video taken inside Jones’ home. As described by Jennifer Heinsler yesterday, the home was mostly in order and well-kept. There are things inside the home, however, that appear to be out of place.
11:50 a.m. State just finished showing a 13-minute video of the exterior of Jones’ home — including what appeared to be a bloody fingerprint on an exterior door. Gabiola calls lunch. I will be back at 1. Enjoy your lunch.
11:10 a.m. Prosecuting attorney JaNiece Price is questioning Stone. Seems she is setting up to play the video Stone recorded during the investigation.
11:04 a.m. Stone was doing training but was called to the scene to assist with a homicide investigation. Stone was a narcotics detective. He was tasked with running the 8mm camcorder — something he used a lot in narcotics investigations.
10:57 a.m. State’s next witness — Steven Stone, former Pocatello PD detective.
10:54 a.m. Daniels recalls around six law enforcement officers — including state lab techs — investigating the scene.
10:51 a.m. All 14 jurors remain very engaged. One shoots an occasional glance that I will describe as “firm” toward Compher. Another has her chair turned completely toward Daniels as he testifies.
10:49 a.m. Daniels says he was not wearing protective clothing during either of his first two trips inside the scene.
10:45 a.m. Daniels describes the placement of Jones’ body — ace down, right leg straight out, left leg bent, right arm extended out, left hand curled with ring finger the only one extended out.
10:45 a.m. Andrew asking Daniels about anti-contamination clothing — what Daniels was wearing when he entered the scene. He asked Holmes similar questions earlier this morning.
10:45 a.m. Andrew will cross-examined Detective Daniels.
10:40 a.m. Daniels describes a sex assault — SANE, or sexual assault nurse examination — kit. A sex assault kit was administered during the autopsy.
10:38 a.m. Jones’ autopsy performed Sept. 30, 2004. Again, Daniels was present for that.
10:36 a.m. Daniels says that all evidence, including Jones’ body, was sealed with a type of tape used specifically for these things. He says it is flimsy and will break if anyone tampers with it.
10:33 a.m. Daniels, who was PPD’s newest detective at the time, was responsible for keeping the crime scene log. He was also present for the autopsy.
10:30 a.m. We are back. Radford questioning Daniels about the crime scene log — an entry log that monitors people who enter the crime scene.
10:09 a.m. Morning recess. back in 10
10:09 a.m. Daniels identified as a cut screen and opened window as the “point of entry.”
10:05 a.m. Daniels suggests the positioning of Jones’ body, based on training he received after investigating this crime, suggests a certain type of crime. Radford seems to be waiting to get that information out of Daniels.
10:01 a.m. There was blood “everywhere” — “all over the body,” the wall, headboard. Daniels clearly becoming emotional. He looks up toward the ceiling while taking a moment to breathe.
10 a.m. Daniels describes his arrival at Jones’ home to investigate an unattended death. Upon entering the home, Daniels found an “obviously dead,” naked woman.
9:51 a.m. Daniels testifies to PPD’s standards for securing a crime scene and evidence.
9:49 a.m. “Ballpark” estimation: Daniels investigated around 100 crime scenes in his time as a PPD detective.
9:48 a.m. Daniels had been a PPD detective for four months at the time of Jones’ murder. Johnathan Radford questioning this witness.
9:47 a.m. State’s next witness: Detective Ralph Daniels, retired, from the Pocatello Police Department.
9:43 a.m. Raatz says, the morning Jones’ was found dead, he saw a “transient” man walking with his dog near Jones’ home. Says that was not the norm for their neighborhood.
9:41 a.m. Andrew confirms the man Raatz saw “tampering” with the light was in his 30s. Raatz says 20s or 30s — somewhere in there.
9:34 a.m. Defense attorney Scott Andrew asks if Raatz’s dog had barked the nights prior to Jones’ death. He says, yes.
9:34 a.m. Raatz says Nori always parked behind her house, which had been illuminated by Raatz’s light. After it was tampered with, the area was “pitch black.”
9:33 a.m. Raatz describes the person who tampered with his light as a caucasian, in his 30s — “kinda dirty.”
9:31 a.m. Raatz believes someone “tampered” with his exterior light four or five days before Nori’s murder — in the middle of the day. They were driving “A little truck.”
9:29 a.m. George Raatz, Nori’s neighbor, testifies that his dog barked “uncontrollably” toward Nori’s house from around 2 a.m. until around 6 a.m. Sept. 28, 2004.
9:27 a.m. Due to technical difficulties, I am getting a late start. One witness has testified — Leon Holmes, a Pocatello FD paramedic — providing specifics regarding the condition of Jones’ body when he arrived. He quickly determined she was dead.
