Murder in Chubbuck

POCATELLO — Authorities are investigating the possibility of a link between the murder of Pocatello High School student Cassie Stoddart last weekend and the slaying of city resident Nori Jones almost exactly two years beforehand.
Stoddart, 16, was fatally stabbed while house-sitting for relatives on Whispering Cliffs Drive northeast of Chubbuck. Jones was stabbed to death at her Pole Line Road home on Sept. 28, 2004. Two of Stoddart’s classmates, Brian Draper and Torey Adamcik, both 16, were arrested Wednesday night and charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
At the time of Jones’ murder, which remains unsolved, Adamcik lived less than 100 yards away from her on Nixon Road.

“We have not found anything connecting the two cases, but that doesn’t mean we have stopped looking,” Police Chief Ed Guthrie said.
Bannock County Coroner Jim Allen, who performed autopsies on both victims, said there were
commonalties between the wounds, but nothing to suggest a connection.

“Both had fingers partially cut off,” Allen said. “That was because they put their hands up to defend themselves.”

On Friday, Magistrate O. Lynn Brower revoked a $1 million bond for the two Pocatello High School juniors. Bannock County Prosecutor Mark Hiedeman also confirmed the existence of a videotape made by Adamcik and Draper.

Brower’s decision, which officials say follows new and substantial evidence uncovered Friday, means Adamcik and Draper will remain behind bars for the time being. Both boys are charged as adults.

“We filed a motion to revoke the million-dollar bond and impose a no-bond. We were going to have a hearing this afternoon. We discovered some further evidence that we felt the court should know about,” Hiedeman said, but he declined to detail that evidence.

Hiedeman said the attorneys of both suspects agreed to the change, something he acknowledged was unusual.

Meanwhile, Hiedeman said prosecutors have a videotape made by the defendants in their possession and it was not a tape of the killing. He declined to say if the tape is proof of the killing.

While the maximum penalty for first-degree murder is death, prosecutors said since the defendants are minors, life in prison is the harshest sentence the law allows.

Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen said Friday that although the murder investigation remains open and active, he doesn’t anticipate any more arrests.

Nielsen said rumors about the case are running rampant in the community.

He mentioned one of them he wanted to quickly dispel — that Stoddart’s boyfriend was involved in the murder.

“The boyfriend is cooperating fully and right now he is not a prime suspect,” Nielsen said.

Authorities previously said the unidentified teen was at the Whispering Cliff’s Drive home Sept. 22 along with the suspects, but he left with his mother before Draper and Adamcik allegedly killed Stoddart.

Nielsen also pointed out that Draper and Adamcik didn’t take polygraph tests before their arrests Wednesday night despite widespread media reports saying otherwise.

“They came in to take polygraphs, but didn’t actually take them,” Nielsen said. “Most of the important information came out during interviews.”

Nielsen said forensic tests performed on trace evidence, such as

DNA, collected at the crime scene will take months to analyze. However, he

said results of a rape kit conducted at the scene to determine if Stoddart

was sexually assaulted, as well as other pathology tests, will be forwarded

to Hiedeman in the coming weeks.

The sheriff declined to say if authorities have recovered a murder weapon or what the motive was.

“My first obligation is prosecution, which is why we’re not disclosing much,” Nielsen said. “I know people want to know everything now. We understand their frustration. I feel after all the evidence is out, there are some serious issues the community will need to discuss.”