Who’s the most hated woman in America? If you had asked a
few years ago, you would have heard a resounding Casey Anthony. Today however,
as I’m sure you know from the media circus that’s been commandeering the
various outlets, is whom I call, the Queen of Cool—Jodi Arias.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think this woman is cool at all.
I think she’s the Queen of Deceit who obviously thought her good looks and
cleverly thought out calm demeanor was going to free her from the heinous crime
she’d committed on June 4, 2008 when
she took Travis Alexander’s life.
Let’s take a look at the facts: Ms. Arias is currently a 32
year old wholesome-looking, attractive woman, who appears as though she couldn’t
hurt a fly. But from what we’ve learned through her own admission, and the
evidence presented—is not the sweetheart she pretends to be. And the jury
certainly didn’t think so when they convicted her of pre-meditated 1st
degree murder of her former lover, Travis Alexander. A man she stabbed multiple
times over his entire body, slit his throat right through to his spine, then
ultimately shot him in the head, right above his eyebrow that ended the final
chapter of what would have been a budding career and bright future! Why such a horrific crime? She claims it was
self-defense. But if she really believed that, why did she run off and try to
cover up what happened? Why did she clean his apartment afterward, wash the
bloody towels, and even run his camera through the washing machine? Why did she
run the dishwasher? There was a knife in the basket, but it’s unclear as to
whether it was the actual knife. Why did she lie to the police by saying she
hadn’t been there? And then when they presented evidence to the contrary, why did
she change her story and admit she was there when two masked intruders broke in?
So what happened? What caused this woman to commit such a brutal
crime? The experts say it was a jealous rage when she found out the victim was
ending it with her.
Below is timeline of events.
In September of 2006,
Jodi and Travis met at a work convention in Las Vegas. At the time, he was a
motivational speaker and legal insurance salesman; she was a photographer who
was seeking a position as a salesman.
She was from California, he, from Arizona. Travis Alexander
was a Mormon.
The two had an immediate attraction for one another and
started dating. In November of that same year, Arias was baptized a Mormon,
which was sponsored by Travis in a ceremony in Utah.
The two dated until June
2007 when they broke up, but they continued to see each other for sex. I
guess neither took their vow of celibacy to heart. At the time, Jodi was living
with her grandparents in California but later decided to move to Arizona where
she took a job waiting tables and also cleaned Travis’ apartment for extra
cash. And that’s where she found out that Travis was taking another woman on
vacation with him. And according to one of the expert witnesses; this is what
set her off. She then moved back to her
grandparents’ home in California.
In May of 2008,
Arias’ grandparents reported a .25 caliber gun had been stolen from their home.
Pictures presented during trial show the gun cabinet with a pile of loose
change spread over top that went untouched.
On June 4, 2008,
Arias decided to take a road trip to Utah to see another friend/love interest,
but decided to take a detour to visit Travis. According to testimony, they had
wild sex, took provocative photographs of each other, and afterward, she brutally
murdered him and stuffed him into the shower. After her attempts to cover up
what she’d done, she left and continued her trip to Utah as though nothing had happened.
She even left a voicemail for Travis asking where he was.
On June 9, 2008,
friends of Travis’ became concerned about his unexplained absence and visited
his home only to find his dead body.
They called 911. When questioned by the police, his sister immediately gave
them Jodi’s name. This is when Jodi’s denial began to crumble despite her
insistence otherwise. This is when the camera she laundered in the washing
machine defied her and ultimately produced the photographs from that fateful day
that Travis Alexander was brutally murdered. Illicit photographs of their naked
bodies, Travis’ bloodied body were reproduced off the card showing the date and
time stamp. And interestingly enough, forensics determined the gun that was
used to kill Travis was also a .25 caliber—just like the one stolen from Arias’
grandparents house. Neither the gun nor the knife was ever found. Jodi later
claimed she threw them out into the desert but can’t remember where.
An overly confident Jodi appeared on Inside Edition and told her interviewer on live television, No jury is going to convict me. I
am innocent, and you can mark my words on that. When asked why she smiled and posed for her mug shot, she claims there
was no reason for her to feel bad because she was innocent. While describing
the booking process, she said, her first thought was, ‘Wow,” she repeated, “this is just how they show it on television. She
further commented that since her picture
was going to be all over the Internet, why not smile and say cheese? Jodi’s mug
shot>>)
Here is the link to the evidence presented by the
state.
And then the Walls of Jericho came tumbling down
and Jodi Arias was no longer able to lie. In August of 2010 she changed her
story for the third time. She finally admitted to killing Travis. But now, her
claim is self-defense. She said it all started after she had dropped Travis’
new camera. He yelled at her, which immediately led to his name-calling and
body slamming her against the tile, apparently a frequent occurrence. She
managed to get away and ran to his closet, grabbed a gun he had on the shelf,
and pointed it at him never intending to pull the trigger, but to scare him. Contrary
to this latest claim of brutality, during those eighteen days she testified, Jodi
sang Travis’ praises as to how well he treated her.
In the end, Jodi’s testimony did her no favors
because the jurors got to see the real Jodi, the Jodi who was the manipulative,
conniving and cunning Jodi, who hoped her performance would sway the jurors. During
her testimony, her eyes never wandered away from those twelve people. Not once
did she say she was sorry for killing him. Not once did she show those jurors
she had any remorse for killing him. Nope. Day after day, she sat up on that
stand and acted as calm as cucumber. She answered the questions in a succinct
manner as though she’d rehearsed each and every one—and chances are, she
probably had.
The penal code in the Arizona court system is different
from many other states in that the jurors are allowed to ask the defendant
questions about their testimony. This jury hit her with 150 questions.
May 8, 2013, some five months later, Jodi
Arias was convicted of 1st degree murder, and the jury was released
for the night. They were advised the next day would be the final phase of the
trial when they would get to decide her fate—life or death. The first step in
the two-step phase of sentencing was for the jury to decide if Travis Alexander’s
death was an especially cruel, depraved and heinous death. If so, she’d be
eligible for the death penalty.
A reporter snuck in and interviewed her after the
verdict was read. Jodi said she felt betrayed by the jury. What? She thought
they were her friends? The one thing I noticed when the jury filed out one by
one was Jodi stood and glared at each one as they exited.
The next day arrived and it was now the jury’s task
to decide if Travis’ death was pre-meditated and if it was done in a heinous
act of violence. In other words, was he aware of what was happening; was he in
pain, etc? The experts say, absolutely. He was fighting for his life. They
unanimously agreed. After it was announced, the defense asked for a polling of
the jurors, to which each strongly voiced their affirmative vote.
Before the next phase, the Alexander family was
given the opportunity to give an impact statement of what Travis’ death has
done to them. Their voice weighs heavily on the defendant’s fate. They’ve asked
the jury to come back with the death penalty. Behind closed doors the jury deliberated
once again for many hours to no avail. They could not reach an agreement. Eight
jurors said the death penalty, while four jurors said life in prison. When they
announced it to the judge, she explained what it would mean if she had to
declare a mistrial. She sent them back and told them to try harder. They spent
the next day deliberating and ultimately came back with the same results.
At this point, the judge has no choice but to
declare a mistrial only on the sentencing. It has nothing to do with the
verdict. What this mistrial means is another twelve people will have to be
selected to decide her fate. What else does this mean? It can take months
before they can even decide because they must read over every single detail of
the previous trial, examine the evidence and ask questions.
Plaintiff’s attorney can spare us the costs
involved by taking the death penalty off the table, but I highly doubt the
Alexander family will be satisfied with that. His one sister is a police
officer—not in Arizona, but they have pretty strong beliefs in the judicial
system.
This was to take place in July, but who knows what
happened, but has been rescheduled for September 8, 2014 when another
twelve jurors determine her fate. Let’s hope this has a better outcome than the
last trial. The one thing that’s certain is there won’t be a media circus
because this phase will be behind closed doors.
If this second panel fails to reach a unanimous decision, the death
penalty will be removed from consideration. The judge then would sentence Arias
to spend her entire life behind bars or to be eligible for release after 25
years.
In the meantime, what is the now, 33 year-old Jodi
doing? She’s behind bars, in a tiny cell that only contains a bed, a toilet and
a sink. Her food is delivered through a slot in the door. She remains in
confinement for twenty-three hours a day with one hour to breathe in fresh air.
She sees no other inmates nor is she allowed more than three showers a week.
October, 2015
Another jury is selected for a second sentencing retrial. I won't go into all the gory details, but here's the outcome.
The jurors deliberated for 26.5 hours over a five-day span. Earlier this week, Arias' attorneys said jurors were at an impasse, but the judge denied a mistrial request. A verdict does not rule out the possibility of a hung jury.
Chris Hughes, a friend of Alexander,
told KPHO that a hung jury would be frustrating.
"My personal opinion is that she earned the death penalty," Hughes said. "I would be OK with life in prison, if she never gets out again, but she deserves the life of a death row inmate."
THE VERDICT? In an 11-1 vote, we have another hung jury. which takes the death penalty off the table and gives her 25 years where she can be freed to walk out of prison to pick up her life where she left off. Will she have learned her lesson or will she kill again? I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Now I ask you, what do you think about this verdict?
