The camera also contained pictures of Arias posing naked on Alexander's bed at 1. On June 9, his friends went to his upscale home after he had failed to return their calls. They found him dead in his shower and his body was 'well into the decomposition process'. Wounds show that Alexander attempted to fight back, court records show.
An autopsy found he sustained 27 puncture wounds and one gunshot wound, with the bullet found in his left cheek. Investigators also found a bloody left palm print with Arias' DNA on the bathroom wall. After initially claiming that she had not been at his home that day, Arias changed her story to admit she had been there - but had not killed her ex-boyfriend. I don't know. I couldn't pick them up in a police lineup. She later changed her story once again, telling the court that she killed Alexander in self defense after he became angry when she dropped his camera.
She claims he had been sexually and physically abusive throughout their relationship. As well as the inconsistencies in her story, Arias' case has been plagued with difficulties with her legal representation.
She asked to represent herself but when she submitted letters to the court that she claimed Alexander had written - saying he was a pedophile - they were found to be forgeries, and she told a judge she was in 'over her head'. Her defense team was reinstated but in December , her attorney, Victoria Washington, was granted a motion to withdraw from the case.
Jennifer Willmott, a death penalty-qualified defense attorney, had now been assigned to represent Arias. In January , a judge denied a motion asking for the death penalty to be rejected. Convicted of murder, "48 Hours" interviews were used as evidence in her trial. Will Arias get the death penalty for killing Travis Alexander? Since then, she has become a national sensation, the focus of newspaper and magazine profiles and the subject of hour cable news coverage.
During the three-hour interview, Arias told Maher a tale of secret intimacy, the drama of masked intruders and, ultimately, a desperate escape. It was an incredible story. As it turned out, that incredible story was an incredible lie. At her trial, Jodi Arias told the world a new story, weaving a tale of fear and abuse. Like Casey Anthony and O. Simpson before her, Jodi Arias captured the attention of the country. Now, looking back at these interviews, it would appear that Arias thought she could fool everyone.
But in the end, Jodi Arias could not have been more wrong. And that's when I really begin to try and remember and relive that day. And-- and then, it just gets so horrible that I shut it out and I don't want to think about it," Arias told "48 Hours".
It all started in When Travis Alexander was found dead in his bathroom, the first question homicide investigator Estaban Flores had was "who? Now, four-and-a-half years after Jodi Arias was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, the question that needed to be answered was "why? Well she knocked the blessings out of him by putting a bullet in his head," prosecutor Juan Martinez addressed the court in his opening statement. Martinez wasted no time exposing the jury to the brutal reality of this homicide.
I noticed large amounts of blood pooling and smears," Officer Sterling Williams testified. When Maher first walked through the crime scene in , she was struck by the echoes of the extraordinary struggle that had taken place there. And it was the evidence of that struggle collected at the scene that spoke volumes to the jury:. Baden has seen more than her share of murders, but few like this. It was the ultimate control over him.
When he wasn't going to say anything bad to her ever again. To me, that was just vicious. Since her arrest in Yreka, Calif. But her details of how he died have changed repeatedly:. Juan Martinez: "Ma'am, there's -- a number of stories that you gave in this particular case -- involving the killing. There was one that you gave to Detective Flores, right? Arias' "48 Hours" interview [shown in court]: "He was, like, on his knees like this doing something like this or something like -- I don't know.
What's going on? And I turned around, there were two people there, one was a guy and one was a girl. Juan Martinez: But then you still gave another view of what happened to "48 Hours", right? Jodi Arias: I think I was inconsistent in my lies. Juan Martinez: So let's take a look at -- what you may have said to "48 Hours.
In the 25 years that it's been on the air, this is the first time a "48 Hours" interview has been used as evidence in a death penalty trial:.
Arias' "48 Hours" interview [shown in court]: "I was hit on the back of the head. I don't think I was out very long, but when I came to Travis was on all fours on the tile -- and well, I say all fours, but one of his hands was actually holding his head. Juan Martinez: And that's -- another version of the events that occurred on June fourth of , correct?
Jodi Arias: Neither -- of them. Well, it's all the same thing. It's just different versions. Couldn't keep my lies straight. But Baden says that her experience with other defendants suggests that the story Arias told "48 Hours" may contain elements of the truth. She gave us an insight right into what she is thinking," she explained.
Arias' "48 Hours" interview [shown in court]: "She was in the bathroom standing over Travis and I charged her. And she describes the woman who attacked Travis as being, you know, about her height and Caucasian. That's her," said Baden. Arias' "48 Hours" interview [shown in court]: "I ran down that hall and I pushed her as-- as hard as I could and she fell over him. Arias' "48 Hours" interview [shown in court]: "They just kept arguing back and forth-- whether or not, you know, to kill me.
Arias' "48 Hours" interview [shown in court]: "It's like everything just stops. When you -- when someone else is sitting there with a gun pointed to your head deciding your fate.
Jodi's various stories aside, the prosecution says there are critical pieces of evidence that speak for themselves. These are photographs that the killer did not want taken," Martinez told jurors. She at one point says she likes to document everything," Baden pointed out. Arias' "48 Hours" interview [shown in court]: "I've always had my camera. It goes everywhere I go. You see Mr. Alexander's head, you see his arm, you see him bleeding profusely," told the court, referring one of Arias' photos from the crime scene.
After nine days and 20 witnesses, Martinez believed his case against Jodi Arias was ironclad. Now, despite all the lies and deceitful behavior that the court has heard, the defense would have to convince the jury that on the day Travis died, it was actually Jodi Arias who was the victim. Even in jail awaiting trial, Jodi Arias had little trouble keeping herself in the spotlight and caught the attention of the media, when she won a jailhouse Christmas singing competition. And when the defense finally presented its case, Arias took the spotlight again, taking the stand to tell her unbelievable story of self-defense.
Among those listening were her mother, her aunt and Travis's family:. Jodi Arias: The simple answer is that he attacked me and -- I defended myself. But according to trial lawyer Linda Kenney Baden, putting a defendant like Jodi Arias on the stand can be extremely problematic. And that jury is always going to go back to what Jodi said.
Jodi Arias I'm taking pictures of him. We were trying out different poses. And when I went to delete the photos -- as I moved the -- the camera, it slipped out of my hand.
Kirk Nurmi Jodi Arias: Travis flipped out And he stepped out of the shower And he body slammed me again -- on the tile. Jodi Arias: I remembered where he kept a gun, so I grabbed it. He was chasing me. I turned around we were in the middle of the bathroom I pointed it at him with both of my hands. I thought that would stop him, but he just kept running I didn't even think I was holding the trigger I was just pointing it at him I didn't even know that I shot him.
It just went off and after I broke away from him Arias' memory of how Travis allegedly attacked her was striking. And yet, she was at a loss for words when asked to explain her actions:. Kirk Nurmi: Once you broke away from him, what do you remember? Kirk Nurmi: Do you remember stabbing Travis Alexander? Jodi Arias: [Crying] I have no memory of stabbing him. Kirk Nurmi: Do you remember Jodi Arias: No. I just remember screaming. I don't remember anything after that. There are many people that never remember the actual events," Dr.
Richard Samuels testified. To help the jury understand why Arias had trouble remembering, the defense called Samuels, a clinical psychologist, who tested Jodi for PTSD. Samuels concluded that Arias suffered amnesia from the trauma of the attack:. Richard Samuels And its clear from the research a large percentage of individuals who are in such settings do not remember or have cloudy and foggy memories of what has transpired. Juan Martinez: How many hours did you spend with her?
But the prosecution insisted that Samuels' diagnosis was flawed, because when he examined Arias three years ago, she still maintained the intruder story:. Juan Martinez: You Richard Samuels: Perhaps I should have re-administered that test. Stuart Kleinman, a forensic psychiatrist and consultant for "48 Hours", explained.
Jodi Arias claims she not only has no memory of stabbing Travis more than two dozen times and slitting his throat, but she also has no memory of altering the scene. It wasn't until after driving hundreds of miles into the desert that her mental fog apparently lifted and she suddenly realized she had done something horribly wrong:. Jodi Arias crying : I didn't know but I didn't think he was.
I was scared. And I couldn't imagine calling and telling them what I had just done. If someone after a crime engages in behavior which Juan Martinez: You did grant interviews to people from "48 Hours", didn't you? Juan Martinez: There were two interviews right? Martinez hoped that by exposing Arias as a liar, he would discredit her with the jury and once again presented clips from her "48 Hours" interviews:. Arias' "48 Hours" interview [shown in court: "Travis' family deserves to know what happened.
And because I may be the only person that will ever be able to say what happened that day. I wrote them a letter. Juan Martinez: In that letter, you actually tell the family that the people that did it were this male and this female, right? Juan Martinez: So you lied to them, didn't you? Arias' "48 Hours" interview [shown in court: "When you asked me if I was angry and outraged. I'm more angry and outraged that his life was taken and that he had so much potential.
I almost lost my life as well. Juan Martinez: Nowhere -- in that recitation or in any of the interviews that you gave with "48 Hours" did you ever indicate that you had memory loss, correct? It takes a certain kind of And Arias displayed that same tenacity during her 18 days on the witness stand.
Juan Martinez: You say that you have memory problems but it depends on the circumstance, right? Juan Martinez: What factors influence you're having a memory problem? Jodi Arias: Usually when men like you are screaming at me or grilling me or someone like Travis doing the same. Throughout the heated cross examination, Martinez vigorously attacked Arias' story:. Juan Martinez: Ma'am were you crying when you were shooting him? Juan Martinez Were you crying when you were stabbing him?
How 'bout when you cut his throat? Were you crying then? But to save their client's life, the defense tried to destroy the only thing left of Travis Alexander: his reputation. The instances of violence were becoming more frequent and more severe," defense attorney Kirk Nurmi told the court. Fear, love, sex, lies and dirty little secrets will help you understand I think what happened in those three minutes. For the entire time that Jodi Arias' fate hung in the balance in court, her defense was on a mission to save her life by proving Travis Alexander left Jodi no choice but to defend herself.
She would either live or she would die," defense attorney Jennifer Willmott told the jury. And on June fourth of , it had reached a point of no return," said Willmott.
Jodi Arias now claimed there was a dark side to Travis and that she lied to cover up the truth about domestic abuse in their relationship. It was a challenging defense -- one that, in addition to her story of intruders, Arias may have been considering when she spoke with "48 Hours" just after her arrest. Maher asked. But Arias testified to several incidents of alleged abuse:. He went to kick me again and I put my hand out And it clipped my hand and hit my finger.
Defense attorney Kirk Nurmi even had Arias display her injuries to the jury:. Kirk Nurmi: Could you hold up your hand for us so we could see? Jodi Arias: [Jodi displays a crooked finger to jury]. Jodi Arias: I would've never called the police on Travis. There is no record of Arias reporting this abuse, and his friends, Chris and Sky Hughes, say that is not the Travis they knew.
They couldn't find one person -- that had a story of being abused by Travis. Jodi Arias: I walked in and Travis She testified that Alexander had frequently abused her and that she killed him after he came at her in a fit of rage when she dropped his camera.
She also claimed to have suffered memory loss as the result of emotional trauma experienced during the incident, with a psychological expert corroborating that she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. On May 8, , Arias was found guilty of first-degree murder. Five jurors found her guilty of premeditated murder and seven found her guilty of both premeditated and felony murder, a verdict that sparked elation among Alexander's family members.
However, the judge declared a mistrial in the penalty phase after the jury deadlocked on whether Arias deserved the death penalty. The penalty retrial began in October , with a new jury revisiting the same evidence presented the first time around.
This time, the focus was on the psychological makeup of both parties, with the defense attempting to portray their client as a vulnerable woman and Alexander as emotionally and physically abusive. In March , the second jury was unable to agree on Arias's sentence as well, removing the option of the death penalty and leaving punishment terms to Judge Sherry Stephens.
On April 13, after expressing remorse for her actions in a statement, Arias received a life sentence without the possibility of parole after 25 years, and she began serving her term at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Perryville. Although Arias appealed her conviction and sentencing, the process was bogged down by transcript errors and omissions. The court record was finally declared complete in April , nearly two years after the appeals process began, and that summer a deadline was established for the defense and prosecution to file their legal briefs.
Additional complications surfaced in October , when Arias alleged in a civil suit that the head of her legal team broke attorney-client privilege by disclosing confidential information for the "expressed purpose of financial gain and his own public redemption'" in a tell-all book about the case. Arias: Jodi Arias PT9. Arias: Jodi Arias PT Arias: Jury Questions. Arias: Jury Questions PT2. Arias: Jury Questions PT3. Arias: Dr. Richard Samuels. Richard Samuels PT2. Richard Samuels PT3. Richard Samuels PT4.
Richard Samuels PT5. Richard Samuels PT6. Arias: Alyce Laviolette. Arias: Alyce Laviolette PT2. Arias: Alyce Laviolette PT3. Gasps and sighs pierced the silence in Courtroom 5C when it was announced that the jurors had found Jodi Arias guilty of premeditated murder. The jury could not reach a unanimous decision about whether to sentence Arias to death.
Instead, they split in favor of death. Jodi Arias announced she would represent herself in her upcoming retrial to determine whether she deserves the death penalty. Judge Sherry Stephens granted Arias' motion to act as her own attorney, as is her right. However, Arias gave up her intent to defend herself in September.
Three hundred potential jurors were called to Maricopa County Superior Court to begin screening for the second Jodi Arias trial, this time to determine whether she should be sentenced to death or to life in prison. Many said they were unable to be fair in their assessment and that they knew too much about the case. It took a month to finalize the selection. The retrial began in earnest, with prosecutor Juan Martinez leading the newly empanelled jury through the horrors of the case, revisiting the gory crime scene and autopsy photographs, extolling them with the details of gas cans and a stolen weapon, as if to convince them of her premeditation.
A week later, attorney Kirk Nurmi was playing the x-rated recorded phone call between Arias and Travis Alexander, and then it was time for Nurmi and co-counsel Jennifer Willmott to bring on their mitigation witnesses.
As the first of the mitigation witnesses took the stand, Judge Sherry Stephens ordered that the press and the public leave the courtroom because the witness would not testify unless the courtroom was sealed. The Arizona Court of Appeals sided with the media and ruled that Judge Sherry Stephens could not conduct witness testimony in secret. Furthermore, she had to release transcripts of the secret witness who spent two days on the stand, a witness who turned out to be Jodi Arias herself.
Defense attorneys Kirk Nurmi and Jennifer Willmott filed a motion to dismiss charges against Jodi Arias, alleging that police or prosecutors had deleted pornography files from Travis Alexander's computer hard drive, and that police testified in both trials that there were no viruses or pornography on the computer in the first place. Defense computer experts found copious quantities of both, which were discussed over four hearings.
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