Oregon Public Broadcasting

This week more disturbing details have emerged in the case of five Washington-based soldiers accused of murdering Afghan civilians.

But attorneys for the accused caution that sensational details aside, prosecutors face significant challenges in the weeks and months ahead.

The five soldiers are charged in connection with three murders while deployed to Afghanistan earlier this year. But The Washington Post says there may have been a fourth murder victim.

The paper also reports that a key figure in the case -- Sgt. Calvin Gibbs -- allegedly took a tooth and a finger from one of the victims.

Gibbs, reportedly, also has an ankle tattoo showing pistols and skulls to "keep count of the kills he had."

The Seattle Times reports Gibbs may also have murdered a family while previously deployed to Iraq.

Gibbs' attorney has maintained his client's innocence.

Dan Conway represents another of the accused soldiers. He warns against reading too much into these ghoulish details.

Dan Conway: "You've got soldiers that were heavily medicated, you have a very active rumor mill where some stories take on a life of their own. This is one of those cases where it's going to be exceptionally difficult to separate the fact from the fiction."

Making matters more difficult: Of the dozen soldiers implicated, most have now taken the fifth and are refusing to testify for fear of implicating themselves.