POCATELLO — The first witnesses took the stand Wednesday to testify in the case of the man accused of murdering Nori Jones in 2004.
Pocatello man Brad Scott Compher, who turned 49 on Wednesday, has been charged with felony-first degree murder after allegedly stabbing Jones, 25, to death inside of her home on the 3600 block of Pole Line Road on Sept. 28, 2004.
A jury was seated in Compher’s case around noon Wednesday and included nine men and five women. The 12 person jury also includes two alternates.
Jury selection was held at Idaho State University’s ICCU Alumni Center Tuesday and Wednesday morning before the trial moved back to the Bannock County Courthouse in Pocatello.
During his opening statement, Bannock County Chief Civil Deputy Brian Trammell laid out the case for the jury, describing in detail some of the evidence and testimony that jurors could expect to see and hear.
Trammell said that co-workers of Jones at the Idaho Department of Labor would become concerned that she hadn’t reported to work or called to notify her superiors the day her body was discovered.
Jones was found with numerous stab wounds, cuts, scrapes and contusions all throughout her body, including her head, neck, trunk, extremities, heart, lungs and major vessels of the neck, said Trammell, adding that some of the wounds indicated that she fought back against her attacker.
Additionally, Trammell said there was physical evidence located at the crime scene that would place Compher there at the time of the murder, including his fingerprints and DNA that was found both at the home and in at least three places on Jones’ body.
Trammell said Pocatello police officers were able to obtain Compher’s DNA after he discarded a cigarette and they retrieved it. He said the odds that the DNA located at the home belong to anyone other than Compher was less than 1 in 93 trillion.
Chief Deputy John Scott Andrew of the Bannock County Public Defender’s Office during his opening statement described Jones’ death as very brutal and explained that the jury would hear a lot about the cuts and the stab wounds that she endured.
But he asked jurors to constantly remind themselves of the “Why” in this case. What was the motive behind the crime, he asked. He asked the jury to listen to all of the evidence to see if there is any reasonable doubt that Compher committed the crime.
He described the state’s case as being one that includes cherry picked facts to meet a cherry picked theory and that he planned to present forensic evidence that is very different from the information about DNA evidence that prosecutors will present.
Andrew spoke about how he plans to present evidence that shows that Jones was being harassed by people at her work that did not include Compher and that it was serious enough that she purchased a ring to wear on her wedding finger to deter the advances.
The first witness to testify Wednesday was Jones’ boyfriend at the time of her death, Rio Wilde.
He described Jones as a “positive, bubbly and outgoing” person who was a pretty modest girl.
Wilde testified that he was aware of other men harassing her at work but that she never provided any particular names.
It was during Wilde’s testimony that a photograph of a ring located at the crime scene was the first exhibit entered into evidence. Wilde said that Jones was incredibly proud to have purchased the ring with her own money and that she was so afraid of losing it that she never took it off.
Wilde also spoke about the grueling process of being one of the police’s main suspects during the initial investigation. He testified that he was fully cooperative from the very beginning, volunteering a DNA sample and allowing police to photograph him both clothed and unclothed.
Jennifer Heisler, Jones’ co-worker at the Idaho Department of Labor at the time of her death and one of her closest friends, was the next to take the stand.
She provided additional context for the ring, saying that Jones purchased it from Samuels Jewelers for about $1,000 and that it was not only a deterrent from the men that were harassing her at work but also that Jones saw it as a promise to one day marry Wilde.
It was Heisler, along with her supervisor at work and the third witness to testify, Mark Mayfield, who would discover Jones’ body.
Heisler described the crime scene as having blood everywhere. Jones’ typically blonde hair was red because of all the blood she said, adding that Jones’ hands were fixed in an awkward position.
Both Heisler and Mayfield testified that they had never heard Jones mention Compher’s name when it came to the men that were harassing her at work, nor were they familiar at all with Compher in any way.
They both testified that they were aware of a man named Robert Spillett, whom Mayfield said also had the nickname “Cowboy.” Heisler said she was aware of at least one occasion where Jones showed Spillett her ring and told her that she was recently engaged in an attempt to stop him from constantly coming into her work and requesting to only speak with Jones.
The last witness to testify Wednesday was Kevin Coffin, Jones’ landlord who let both Heisler and Mayfield into her home when they arrived to check on her and were observed peering through her windows.
Coffin described Jones as a great tenant. He said he was unsure if he had to go retrieve the spare key to Jones’ home from his home located nearby or if he located a hideaway key on her property when he let Heisler and Mayfield in.
Coffin testified that when he opened the door for the pair he observed what he believed to be fresh blood on the inside door handle.
Additional witnesses are expected to testify Thursday and for the remainder of the week. About three weeks have been set aside for Compher’s trial.
If convicted of the felony first-degree murder charge filed against him, Compher faces up to life in prison.