CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- The medical examiner who did the autopsy on the body of an Iraqi solder allegedly killed by a Marine reservist conceded Friday that some of the man's wounds could have been inflicted up to an hour after his death.

Air Force Maj. Edward Mazuchowski testified in the court-martial of Lance Cpl. Delano Holmes, who is accused of fatally stabbing Pvt. Munther Jasem Muhammed Hassin with a bayonet during a New Year's Eve argument while the two were on guard duty in Fallujah.

Holmes' defense team has suggested that someone may have tampered with Hassin's body, breaking the forensic chain of custody.

Mazuchowski said there was no evidence that anyone had tampered with the body prior to his performing the five-hour autopsy Jan. 8.

Civilian defense attorney Steve Cook has also argued that the major was inexperienced in the analysis of wounds and that "the autopsy was an abomination -- botched from start to finish."

Mazuchowski said he has been with the Armed Forces Medical Examiner's Office since July 2006 and has performed about 300 autopsies, including autopsies on Iraqis.

The major testified that he found "defensive-type" wounds on one of Hassin's lower legs.

Cook questioned Mazuchowski at length about whether a bayonet could inflict some of the narrower wounds on Hassin's body.

The major said that the skin could stretch during a struggle, then return to its original tightness, giving the impression of a narrower wound.

"The bayonet couldn't be ruled out," said Mazuchowski.

Holmes, who is charged with unpremeditated murder, could be sentenced to life in prison without parole if convicted.

Prosecutors contend Holmes killed Hassin inside the tiny guard post "One Alpha" after the Iraqi illuminated their position with the glow of a cell phone and a cigarette in the early morning of last Dec. 31.

Government attorneys also contend that Holmes falsely told investigators that Hassin fired his AK-47 during a struggle.

Holmes claims he acted in self-defense, fearing for his life amid concerns that he and Hassin could be targeted by snipers when the Iraqi soldier refused to put out the cigarette and close the cell phone.

This afternoon, Army forensic DNA examiner Lisa Hobgood testified about a bayonet and its sheath belonging to Holmes that were displayed on a table in the courtroom.

Hobgood said DNA from blood on the bayonet handle and blade matched Hassin's.

The prosecution rested its case Friday and the defense is set to begin presenting its case Monday morning.

Holmes, who was a college student in Indiana until he volunteered to deploy to Iraq in the fall of 2006 as a machine gunner, is also charged with making a false official statement, which carries a maximum punishment of five years confinement.

The lance corporal is a member of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, a reserve unit based in Lansing, Mich., which deployed to Iraq with the Camp Pendleton-based 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.