POCATELLO — Five of the more than 20 stab wounds and cuts that 25-year-old Nori Jones endured when she was killed in September 2004 could have been fatal, according to testimony delivered during the fourth day of the murder trial for Brad Scott Compher.

Friday marked the close of the first week of the first-degree murder trial for Compher, which is being held at the Bannock County Courthouse in Pocatello.

Compher is accused of fatally stabbing Jones inside her Pole Line Road home and was arrested for the crime in September 2014. He has been incarcerated at the Bannock County Jail in Pocatello since his arrest.

Of the six witnesses to take the stand Friday, the testimony of Steve Skoumal, the former forensic pathologist who conducted her autopsy, was the most impactful.

Skoumal testified that during the autopsy of Jones, he observed numerous stab wounds and cuts, including five that he found could have been the ones that resulted in her death as well as 17 cuts or stabs to her trunk and several wounds on her arms and hands that to him indicated that she fought back against her attacker.

Skoumal first described two cuts to Jones’ neck that he believed could have been fatal. The first was a 4.5-inch long cut at the base of her neck on the left side and another was a 7-inch cut on the right of her neck under the jawline that stretched from her ear to her chin, he said.

Skoumal said that he documented 17 stab wounds on Jones’ trunk, of which found that three could have been fatal.

One of the potentially fatal stab wounds to her trunk was located to the left and midline of the mid-chest that penetrated the left chest cavity, pericardial sack, and left ventricle of the heart, he said, adding that he located four cups of blood in the left chest cavity.

Another stab wound on Jones’ trunk was located on the right midline of the mid-chest that penetrated the right lung cavity and into the right middle lobe of the lung, Skoumal said, adding that there was another approximately four cups of blood located in her left lung.

The last potentially fatal stab wound, Skoumal said, was located in the right lower chest area that penetrated into the right chest cavity and also into the right lung where another four cups of blood were located.

“In my opinion, each of these had the potential to be fatal,” Skoumal said.

For context, an average adult between 150 to 180 pounds should have about 1.2 to 1.5 gallons, or about 20 to 24 cups, of blood in their body.

Skoumal also spoke about several cuts or stab wounds to Jones’ arms and hands that to him were indicative of defensive wounds, or that Jones fought back against her attacker.

Skoumal explained that he was present during the autopsy when members of law enforcement clipped Jones’ fingernails and packaged them, of which all nails from one particular hand were all stored together in one of two bags.

It could have been possible that any potential DNA or evidence located on one fingernail of one hand could have transferred to other fingernails while being transported to the Pocatello police evidence lockup and the Idaho State Police forensic lab in Meridian where they were sent for testing, Skoumal said.

Skoumal also confirmed that a sexual assault kit was conducted at the autopsy and that there were no apparent signs of trauma to Jones’ genitals or anus, adding that it was possible for a person to be sexually assaulted without there being any signs of physical trauma.

Several other witnesses testified briefly Friday, including former Bannock County Coroner Kim Quick, who was the deputy coroner at the time of Jones’ death. It was during Quick’s testimony that Jones’ death certificate was entered into evidence. Quick testified that had he been asked to make a determination in Jones’ death he would have ruled it as a homicide.

Two Bannock County Sheriff’s Office deputies, Lloyd Welch and Edward Robbins, also testified briefly, of which both spoke about different times they obtained Compher’s fingerprints using what they described as a digital scanner.

The prints were taken at the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, though there was no testimony about why Compher’s prints were being taken and one of Compher’s attorneys interjected at one point outside the presence of the jury to ensure that both Welch and Robbins would not mention the nature behind Compher being fingerprinted during their testimony as to not prejudice his client.

Robbins testified that he fingerprinted Compher on Jan. 30, 2007, and Welch testified that he fingerprinted Compher on Dec. 4, 2009.

During the morning recess Friday, the 6th District Judge handling the case, Javier Gabiola admonished both the prosecution — which includes Bannock County Assistant Chief Deputy Prosecutor Jonathan Radford, Chief Civil Deputy Brian Trammell, and JaNiece Price, the homicide and narcotics specialist for the prosecutor’s office — as well as Compher’s defense team — which includes Chief Deputy John Scott Andrew of the Bannock County Public Defender’s Office, contracted attorney Gary Edward Proctor of Baltimore and Bannock County Deputy Public Defender Rilie Fry.

Gabiola asked that attorneys be more punctual with preparing exhibits following an extended morning recess in which the prosecution team needed additional time readying a video that was ultimately never played Friday. Some attorneys could have also arrived at the courthouse later than the 8:30 a.m. time Gabiola requested because he also mentioned that point when admonishing the attorneys.

Pocatello police detective at the time of Jones’ death, Anthony Busch, also testified Friday. He became emotional when describing the process of trying to place Jones’ body in a body bag at the scene, at one point recounting that another detective had to leave the room to avoid vomiting and contaminating the scene, which resulted in Jones’ partially bagged body falling on top of him.

It was Busch who located a ring at the crime scene that previous witnesses have said Jones purchased as a means of deterring constant unwanted advances she received while working at the Idaho Department of Labor offices in Pocatello.

“I heard a clinking noise and saw a wedding or engagement ring on the floor,” Busch said. “I assume that it fell for her body or that it was transferred from the bedroom to the kitchen.”

The jury was released for the weekend around 3 p.m. Friday as the state’s next witness could only travel from Boise to Pocatello on Monday afternoon to testify. That witness is Maria Eguren, a long-time latent fingerprint technician of the Idaho State Police who has since retired.

The prosecution team still has several witnesses left to testify but is expected to wrap up its case-in-chief sometime next week.

The trial is expected to last three weeks.

If Compher is convicted of the felony first-degree murder charge, he faces up to life in prison.