Jodi Ann Arias shot and stabbed her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander to death

[ladybug20]

ITA. It was obvious that Travis' roommates were not really that close. Thank goodness that one of the girlfriends noticed Napoleon and fed him. Guess they were lucky that they didnt happen to come home while Jodi was doing laundry... Yikes!

[I doubt it]

I thought that was the case.

I still can't get my head around the fact that the housemates had no idea.

I know this has been gone over a few times but surely they would question why napoleon was on his own with no arrangements made for anyone to take care of him?

The housemates were in and out on their own schedules. Not really spending much time in the house, and when they were there they stayed in their rooms. They knew Travis was planning the trip to Cancun and thought he had left. Perhaps plans for the dog were made in advance, or it was just usual with Travis going on trips. I guess the police were satisfied. Jodi confessed 2 years later.

[acertaingirl]

You're right but that also makes it so bizarre. Why didn't she leave ALL the evidence there or why didn't she clean EVERYTHING up. I don't get it.... Trying to clean part of it up and leaving all that blood, handprint, hair etc...

Exactly. If it was truly self defense (aside from the "overkill"), she would have been curled up on the floor shaking like a chihuahua. Then she would have called 911. That's what normal people do.

[Shahoolie11]

Fucking hate Wilmott's face when Martinez cross-examines defense witnesses. I don't know why she can't get her little disapproving head shakes and glaring expressions under control in a trial as huge as this. She seriously acts like an annoyed teenager who doesn't like what dad is saying. LOL! Fucking shit. At this point, I'd prefer Nurmi again.

[Justice11]

ITA. It was obvious that Travis' roommates were not really that close. Thank goodness that one of the girlfriends noticed Napoleon and fed him. Guess they were lucky that they didnt happen to come home while Jodi was doing laundry... Yikes!

Welcome ladybug20!

[queenaevadamthng]

IMO self defense went out the window when she slit his throat. Who slits someone's throat the way she did in self defense? Haven't finished my coffee yet so correct me if I'm wrong. How is that even physically possible? You have to go up behind someone to do that.

[NCBlonde]

The KY Jelly cameo in the photo(s) makes me think that they did something. However, I don't believe the whole "office sex" scenario.

I think that she probably tried to initiate office sex. One last try to get him to "dump" Mimi and maybe take her to Cancun. It's possible he said yes, but it's possible he said no. He had things to do at that point. He was cleaning up a little; he had thrown the bedding in the washer, then the dryer; he was on his computer for a while; and he had to get a shower before his conference call. So, I could see him pushing her out the door, and her coming back to surprise him in the shower.

If you click on 'see original listing", you can scroll over the photos and read the backs of the two cards; there is a note from jodi to Gayla Lynch in Yreka; she thanks her for standing up for her on Dr. Drew, link to that below. They worked together back in 2000, and Gayla mentions in the interviews something about jodi dating the cook.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jodi-Arias-H...p2047675.l2557

http://www.hlntv.com/video/2013/02/0...was-very-sweet

I didn't look at the postcards at all, but yeah, I know exactly who this woman is. She worked with Jodi at a restaurant, in something like, the year 2000? And it was made a big by one of Dr. Drew's callers that how could this Gayle woman be backing up Jodi's character when she hadn't known or seen her for 8 years by the time of the murder. She just kept saying that wasn't the Jodi she knew, and the caller (or Dr. Drew) was saying well maybe you didn't know her that well, and people do change, etc.

So now this woman is helping Jodi profit behind bars? I don't understand these scumbag people. What spurs a person to be pals with a cold-blooded killer, to defend them, and then to try and help them make money? Blood money, pure and simple. What a disgusting excuse for a human being.

that was a total joke, imo! why did Baez keep saying there was no blood in the hall until it met the carpet? he kept saying all that matters is the physical evidence, so prove it all happened in 62 seconds then!

also, i though she ran in the nearest closet door and claims Travis was entering the other door so she ran back out the door she had entered and back to the shower area. because she couldn't say she shot him there in the closet where it would make more sense, because she was fitting her story to the forensics, ie. no blood in the closet.


IF her claim it was Travis' gun was true, it would not be near the edge, she would surely have to feel around for it for a few seconds, not just put her hand right on it. for all she knew, he could have moved it. so not plausible.


so you DO think it was premeditated?

Sadly, that seems to be all HLN cares about is ratings!


type in jodi arias in the search window, then go to 'sold items'. you have to be logged in to see sold items.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw...arias&_sacat=0

I know, I didn't get hat Baez stuff about "there was no blood in the middle" or just the handprint on the wall. Okay, it was HLN's screw-up to not make the "scene" true to life, but still, hasn't Baez seen the pictures? Who hasn't at this point? There was blood all over that hallway, up and down, center and sides, all over the damn wall.

All I could think of was, this is it? This is the big thing they've been pimping the last week, and not only is it NOT a true and accurate recreation of the crime scene, but that they hyped the 62 seconds, then never did anything to actually act that out and time it.

Yeah but what i don't get is then why would the defense come up with a shoot first theory if this evidence was so conclusive. All you'd have to do is go, "bam this proves he was shot last and it's conclusive"


What i am asking is, is it possible he was shot first?

It's very unlikely, as someone else said, the blood had already been drained sufficiently from the head/face, meaning it very likely came after the gaping neck wound. I personally would not be 100% sure, because the wounds was from a small caliber gun and it's possible it just did not do that much damage, BUT I am not a medical examiner. He says the gun shot was last -- probably while Travis was in his death throes -- and I'm going to have to defer to him. A medical expert knows far more than I do about these sorts of things.

[queenaevadamthng]

The gun shot could not have been because it was standing smack dab in the middle of a puddle of blood like a sprinkle on top of a cookie. If it came first where did the puddle come from for it to land in?

[queenaevadamthng]

Ewww I hate my phone.. Bullet 1st disappeared out of what just typed

[Freethinker]

The housemates were in and out on their own schedules. Not really spending much time in the house, and when they were there they stayed in their rooms. They knew Travis was planning the trip to Cancun and thought he had left. Perhaps plans for the dog were made in advance, or it was just usual with Travis going on trips. I guess the police were satisfied. Jodi confessed 2 years later.

It just occured to me, the roomie saw the gate up. During the next few days, was it kept there? There are stories that dogs sometimes gave alerts to people that something was wrong with their owners. There is no mention that the dog acted any different than normal. The dog was in the house during the killing, didn't he react in any way to alert someone about anything?

[NCBlonde]

Yeah but what i don't get is then why would the defense come up with a shoot first theory if this evidence was so conclusive. All you'd have to do is go, "bam this proves he was shot last and it's conclusive"


What i am asking is, is it possible he was shot first?

I realize I forgot to reply to this part of your post. Well, we don't know for 100% why they opted to claim the gunshot was first, but you could theorize it would be a lot harder to say it was self-defense if the gunshot came last.

Notice how her story is now -- she shot him, but that didn't stop him, so she HAD to keep going and stab and stab and stab until he was dead, out of fear for her own safety. She says she wasn't trying to kill him, just stop him. (Yeah right).

The problem for Jodi is, no one in their right mind believes that 29 stab wounds and slit throat are self-defense. That's a rage-killing. All that stabbing PLUS a gunshot, that's overkill.

It would be very hard for anyone to look at what she did and agree with self-defense. It's just too brutal and too many wounds. But, the only way to sell it at all is to claim that the shot came first, and everything that happened after that, Jodi HAD to do, for her own protection.

enriqe said in the report he last saw Travis on wednesday morning before work.It could not have been Thursday sorry Travis was unavailable.When he got home everthing was normal .When he got up for work everything was normal it was on Thursday night is when he came home to a locked door and the dog fence moved in front of the stairs which he felt was odd.Doors were always unlocked and the dog fence was in the wrong ploace.For this to happen she must have left Thursday morning after Enrique went to work.Who else would have moved the fence and locked the door? Jodi was....she didn't leave until the following morning.She was late to Ryan's house.......

Your theory would work and be believable, except she made some phone calls on the road that night after the killing. I believe she called Matt McCartney for one. I want to say around 10pm or so?

If not for that, yeah it would make sense that Enrique didn't notice the dog gate if it wasn't there until he got home late the next day. It seems he did notice it and while he thought it was strange, he just waved it off as Travis had already left town.

IMO self defense went out the window when she slit his throat. Who slits someone's throat the way she did in self defense? Haven't finished my coffee yet so correct me if I'm wrong. How is that even physically possible? You have to go up behind someone to do that.

Yep. While he was laying face down in the hall, trying to get away from her homicidal ass.

[snowfallsoon]

Fucking hate Wilmott's face when Martinez cross-examines defense witnesses. I don't know why she can't get her little disapproving head shakes and glaring expressions under control in a trial as huge as this. She seriously acts like an annoyed teenager who doesn't like what dad is saying. LOL! Fucking shit. At this point, I'd prefer Nurmi again.

Her hair pisses me off.

[Wishmich]

I did gain a couple of things out of HLN's recreation. The biggest one is when she had a choice to go right into the closet or left down the steps and out of the house. Nobody would have gone into the closet, a small enclosed place, to be trapped if they are in danger. Running in and out of doors to the closet made it look like the Two Stooges doing a routine. Not likely in a run-for-your-life scenario. The second thing that was ridiculous was the linebacker stance. If he was out to get her, he would make himself larger, not smaller. He did not need his wrestling pose to get her since she was smaller and supposedly trying to get away. He would have made himself as large as he could and just pile on her. The recreation made it obvious to me that she thought all this shit up in her head and it sounded plausible to match the evidence. Or shall I say comport. Ugh.

[queenaevadamthng]

I think Super Juan has this case wrapped up. They just have to make sure it's appeal proof however long it might take and whatever bullshit the defense is going to throw out. I kinda think the longer the defense takes its going to piss the jurors off. Strategist Nurmi is not.

[snowfallsoon]

I think she stabbed him to death, then may have seen some twitching or Agonal breathing. She may have thought he was still alive so she shot him. I think the shot came last.

[NCBlonde]

The gun shot could not have been because it was standing smack dab in the middle of a puddle of blood like a sprinkle on top of a cookie. If it came first where did the puddle come from for it to land in?

Baez -- among others -- theorized that it got kicked around and landed in the puddle during his imagined struggle. That doesn't wash though, because the bullet only had blood on one side, the underneath side. If there was blood all over the floor and the bullet got kicked through the blood, it's very unlikely that the bullet got no blood at all on it, until it landed in the puddle.

It just occured to me, the roomie saw the gate up. During the next few days, was it kept there? There are stories that dogs sometimes gave alerts to people that something was wrong with their owners. There is no mention that the dog acted any different than normal. The dog was in the house during the killing, didn't he react in any way to alert someone about anything?

The roommates said it was unusual, but they had figured Travis was already out of town, in Cancun, so they probably just figured he had a reason for putting it up. The dog normally had the run of the house, but if Travis was not home, it's not unusual to imagine that there was no purpose to the pup running around up in his room.

There is the matter too that the roommates had not lived there very long, so they wouldn't necessarily know what his habits were, with regards to the pup, when he left town for days. Apparently, he had already spoken to Enrique about he and his girlfriend taking care of the pup while he was gone. Enrique probably figured he just got his dates wrong and Travis had already left, and since the pup's care was arranged, he just went with the idea that the pup would be downstairs and/or with him and his girlfriend wherever they were in the house.

My roommate has 3 pups. They have the run of the house as well. But, when she leaves town, she closes her bedroom door and the pups can go anywhere but there while she is gone, because she doesn't want them tearing up the room while she's gone, and I can't be home and watching them 24/7.

[DenverClipper]

The gun shot could not have been because it was standing smack dab in the middle of a puddle of blood like a sprinkle on top of a cookie. If it came first where did the puddle come from for it to land in?

We've debated what occurred first and unless stabby tells us what happened we'll never know.

I personally think the shot came first while he was sitting in the shower. If that happened, the bullet casing could have been moved (ending up in the pubble of blood) during te ensuing struggle or when she dragged him back to the shower.

And, IIRC the ME said he believes the shot came last but he could not say for certain due to the condition of the brain at the time of autopsy.

[Justice11]

Here is some Nurmi math for everyone:

The state of Arizona is paying him $225 per hour. Lets say he only claims 40 per week.
That's $9,000 per week, $36,000 per month. His yearly take is: $468,000.

This is unbelievable to me. How can the state see fit to overpay him by so much?
Any wonder why he wastes so much time and talks so slow?

ETA: some of the JAII whackadoos were complaining that the poor defense couldn't afford a better expert witness. Not true. But, lets pretend it is true: why wouldn't Nurmi sacrifice a few grand of his $468,000/year to hire a better one?

[DenverClipper]

Here is some Nurmi math for everyone:

The state of Arizona is paying him $225 per hour. Lets say he only claims 40 per week.
That's $9,000 per week, $36,000 per month. His yearly take is: $468,000.

This is unbelievable to me. How can the state see fit to overpay him by so much?
Any wonder why he wastes so much time and talks so slow?

And how many years now has he been working on this case? You would think he has enough disposal income to join a gym.

[Justice11]

And how many years now has he been working on this case? You would think he has enough disposal income to join a gym.

Well, to be fair, he has spent a lot of that money on flashy shirts and ties and even socks.

[Lana G]

Actually, that's not a lot for an attorney to make. I know it sounds outrageous, but it's a cold, hard fact. The attorney I used to work with made at least that amount and usually more.

[snowfallsoon]

He should invest in some speech therapy.

[Justice11]

Here is some Nurmi math for everyone:

The state of Arizona is paying him $225 per hour. Lets say he only claims 40 per week.
That's $9,000 per week, $36,000 per month. His yearly take is: $468,000.

This is unbelievable to me. How can the state see fit to overpay him by so much?
Any wonder why he wastes so much time and talks so slow?

ETA: some of the JAII whackadoos were complaining that the poor defense couldn't afford a better expert witness. Not true. But, lets pretend it is true: why wouldn't Nurmi sacrifice a few grand of his $468,000/year to hire a better one?

Actually, that's not a lot for an attorney to make. I know it sounds outrageous, but it's a cold, hard fact. The attorney I used to work with made at least that amount and usually more.

Nurmi was working for the public defenders office. The average salary there is $47,000-$67,000 per year.

That's quite a big difference. He JUST opened his own office in the middle of defending Jodi, wanted to quit so he could pursue it (not very ethical or professional.) If I recall correctly, he was offered a lower hourly rate to stay on the case and he turned it down and demanded more. Jodi had already lost one attorney so the state gave into Nurmi to keep him on the case.

(I think he KNEW he could do this and that was his plan all along. He is now getting paid almost 10 times what he was getting paid to do the same exact job. This is ludicrous.)

His new law firm defends people being accused of sexual crimes. There is no way he would gross nearly half a million dollars a year the first year in a new practice (and most likely would never gross that much.) He is taking the state for a ride and laughing all the way to he bank.

ETA: http://www.indeed.com/salary/q-Attor...ounty,-AZ.html
Average attorney salary for Maricopa county is $59,000 per year.
According to this site the average deputy district attorney salary is only $66,000 per year.

I know some attorneys make much more. But, those are usually not those practicing criminal law...and most definitely not those working for the state.

ETA (again): I did some more searching. The highest salary I could find for a district attorney was $148,843. HUGE difference from what Nurmi is raking in. Poor Martinez. This has got to be so insulting knowing Nurmi is making 10 times what he should be making to defend the likes of Jodi.

[Twinmutha]

What's up ya'll!!!! I have my coffe, my laptop and three kids, three and under in my house right now. Should I slip some Bailey's in there????? I kid!!!! lol

[NCBlonde]

I did gain a couple of things out of HLN's recreation. The biggest one is when she had a choice to go right into the closet or left down the steps and out of the house. Nobody would have gone into the closet, a small enclosed place, to be trapped if they are in danger. Running in and out of doors to the closet made it look like the Two Stooges doing a routine. Not likely in a run-for-your-life scenario. The second thing that was ridiculous was the linebacker stance. If he was out to get her, he would make himself larger, not smaller. He did not need his wrestling pose to get her since she was smaller and supposedly trying to get away. He would have made himself as large as he could and just pile on her. The recreation made it obvious to me that she thought all this shit up in her head and it sounded plausible to match the evidence. Or shall I say comport. Ugh.

Absolutely. She had a clear route to the stairs. All she would've had to do is turn left and run down the stairs and out the front door. Naked Travis would not be following her outside, and even if he did for some reason, all she had to do was scream and holler until she got the neighbor's attention.

The supposed running around was ridiculous. Wasn't the hallway only 8 or 10 feet long? How long would it take the average person to run that distance, much less if they were "scared for their life"? 2 seconds? Jodi was allegedly on the floor. Was Travis supposedly prone too? If he was standing, she would've never gotten past him, but if for some reason she did, he's right on her heels. To cover that short a distance? There wouldn't be time to run in the closet, jump up, grab the gun and run back into the bathroom. Travis would've caught her.

The "linebacker pose" got me too. Watching the woman lawyer on HLN re-enact it was ridiculous. She had "Travis" in his linebacker pose, where he must have waited until Jodi chambered a round and cocked the gun before pulled the trigger. There was just no time, for him to be feet away.

Of course, we know none of it happened as Jodi claims, so moot point, but I think HLN could've gotten a male and female stunt person to do the actual re-enactment. Hell, place a "wrestling mat" in the bathroom for the bodyslam part. Show the woman jumping up the shelves. Do it in that 62 seconds. That's what I thought they were going to do.

I think she stabbed him to death, then may have seen some twitching or Agonal breathing. She may have thought he was still alive so she shot him. I think the shot came last.

Yep.

We've debated what occurred first and unless stabby tells us what happened we'll never know.

I personally think the shot came first while he was sitting in the shower. If that happened, the bullet casing could have been moved (ending up in the pubble of blood) during te ensuing struggle or when she dragged him back to the shower.

And, IIRC the ME said he believes the shot came last but he could not say for certain due to the condition of the brain at the time of autopsy.

It's a reasonable thought and one that I believed possible, were it not for the ME's testimony about the bleeding or lack thereof from the wound. It's not hard at all to imagine Travis had tired of the "photo shoot" and sat down in the shower when Jodi pulled a gun, or that she pulled the gun and force him to sit down. It's not hard to imagine that it would be like shooting fish in a barrel to pull the trigger on him while he was sitting in the shower. But, the gun is a small caliber and it doesn't kill him or even completely incapacitate him. That is all very very believable.

The casing in the puddle of blood is tricky, but it could've been dropped. Perhaps Jodi picked up the casing along with the other evidence and intended to dispose of it, but dropped it and it landed in the puddle. I will agree though that the location of the casing is supportive of the idea that he was shot in the shower.

Although, it could have been that Jodi dragged Travis back into the shower to wash off the evidence, and he was still alive, making noises, and she pulled out the gun to end it; that would also account for the location of the bullet and the idea of being shot in/around the shower area.

Anyways, I can't say that you are wrong. The ME is not 100%, but he's pretty sure the bullet came last. Were it not for the 5 days before Travis was found, I think it might've been more clear. I am still leaning towards the shot coming last at this point, but I can see why you could/would think it might've come first.