Another Assist For Cold Justice Team - The Murder of Nori Jones

A murder that has haunted Pocatello, Idaho for 13 years is nearing a conclusion.  In September of 2004, 25 year old Nori Jones was found stabbed to death in her home.  Her body was discovered by worried colleagues the following day when she failed to show up for work and they went to her home to check on her.

Nori Jones

At the time of the murder, police found no real evidence to assist them in finding the perpetrator of this crime.  Only a partial finger print was found.  Fingernail scrapings and rings found on and off Jone's body were also kept in evidence for future comparison against potential suspects.  Ten long years went by before the arrest of 39 year old Brad Scott Compher, aka Ralph Roy Compher. Compher legally changed his name in 2008 to Brad.

Police believe Jones was killed during a botched robbery and may have been sexually assaulted.  Early suspects in the investigation included registered sex offenders Robert Roy Spillet Jr. and Lonnie Lee Haggard.  They were excluded as suspects.  Another early suspect was Torey Adamcik - Adamcik is incarcerated for the 200 6 murder of a Pocatello High School classmate (and friend) Cassie Jo Stoddard.  That case has been profiled on TV being compared to the "Scream" movie because the killers wore similar masks when they killed Stoddard.  That was another incredibly sad murder case, particularly since her two classmates were the killers and they planned the whole thing.R

Brad Compher

A fellow inmate came forward and claimed Adamcik admitted to killing Jones, and at the time of her murder Adamcik reportedly lived within 50 yards of Jone's house.  That seems like a reasonable person of interest, however he was eventually eliminated as a suspect as well.  The Cold Justice team spent 10 days in Pocatello and assisted police as witnesses were re interviewed.  Kelly Siegler and Yolanda McClary were said to be "invaluable" to the investigation into this murder.

Due to a grant by the Cold Justice production company, the DNA evidence was sent to a lab and the results were rushed back to the police department.  Compher became a person of interest when the partial fingerprint came back to him, although the police did not have enough evidence to link him to Jone's murder he remained under surveillance.  When he carelessly tossed a cigarette butt to the ground, that sealed his fate.  The police were watching him and they collected the still warm cigarette and sent it to the lab for comparison to the  DNA evidence and they got an absolute match.

Compher was arrested almost 10 years to the day after the murder of Jones.  He has plead not guilty and has been held without bail since the 2014 arrest.  His trial has been delayed several times and is tentatively scheduled for January of 2018.  Several law enforcement agencies have been credited with working to bring this case to conclusion - including the Pocatello PD, Idaho State Police, State Crime Lab, Bannock County Sheriff's Office, Chubbock PD, and the Cold Justice team.

There are an unprecedented number of murder cases going to trial in this county which has been a factor in delays in the Compher murder trial.  If he does go to trial in 2018, it will have been 14 years after the murder.  Whoever said the wheels of justice turn slowly was spot on!  Happy to hear Yolanda McClary is back on the show - or appearing in some episodes because these two are a great pairing.  Add Johnnie Bonds and you've got a great trio.  Fun to watch and they actually help solve these cold cases.  That's pretty incredible television.  Keep watching - we want a 6th season!  Thank you to Oxygen for picking up this great true crime series.