Jodi Arias: An American Murder Mystery (2018): Season 1, Episode 2 - A Lover Scorned - full transcript
Jodi Arias becomes a media sensation as her murder trial begins; as the proceedings unfold, her story changes dramatically, and nothing is as it once seemed.
There's a lot of forensics
suggesting that I was, um,
you know, in his house. Um...
Of the evidence that
they presented to me, um,
I was asked the question,
- "if you were presented
- this evidence
and you were a third party,
what would you think?"
And, you know,
I need to be honest,
and the evidence
is very compelling.
But none of it proves
that I committed a murder.
- Narrator: It's one of the most
- scandalous crimes
in American history.
- Got to get your makeup straight
- before you're asked questions
about your lover's murder!
A chilling, cold-blooded,
vicious, brutal slaying...
Narrator: In the second
of our 3-part investigation,
Jodi arias steps
into the public eye.
She said, "god knows, Travis
knows, I know I'm innocent."
- Narrator:
- Explore the evidence
of the prosecution's case
against her.
She knew at the start of this
that she was going to kill him.
All of US were like, "whoa.
Yeah, this is a big deal."
Narrator: As the highly
anticipated trial unfolds,
the defense makes
shocking allegations.
- Woman:
- He was pushing and pushing her
- to have a sexual relationship
- with him.
Oh, my god. They're gonna put
the victim on trial.
All hell broke loose.
Narrator: And later,
the defendant herself
takes the stand.
Were you crying
when you were stabbing him?
How about when you cut his
throat, were you crying then?
An amazingly vicious
and crazy trial...
Narrator: As her darkest secrets
take center stage...
♪♪
Velez-Mitchell:
Who in Travis Alexander's life
wants to kill him
in such a brutal way?
I remember dropping the knife,
and it clanged to the tile.
It made a big noise.
Woman: It was so brutal
and so disgusting.
Dave hall:
This girl just butchered
one of my best friends.
Karas: How can you live
in a house with a dead body
and not know something's amiss?
Man: Travis lured Jodi in
to all of this kinky sex.
Man #2: The amount of evidence
became mind-boggling.
- Woman: She had planned killing
- Travis Alexander
before she actually killed him.
Velez-Mitchell: Jodi was
Travis' dirty little secret.
Travis:
Start touching yourself.
Jodi:You're bad.
You make me feel so dirty.
Captions paid for by
discovery communications
- narrator:
- A month has passed
- since 30-year-old
- Travis Alexander
was found dead in his home.
Velez-Mitchell:
He's got 27 stab wounds.
He was almost decapitated,
and for good measure,
he was shot in the head.
Narrator: Travis' ex-girlfriend,
Jodi arias,
denies responsibility
for the murder,
but detective Esteban flores
has discovered evidence
that places her
at the scene of the crime.
- Karas:
- There are photos of Jodi arias
taken on the day
he was murdered.
These were some of
the most pornographic,
triple-x-rated photos
that I've ever seen.
And then there's another photo,
and it's a photo of
Travis Alexander bloodied,
on the ground.
You see a mystery pants leg
right next to him, with a foot.
That is the smoking gun.
Narrator: On July 15th,
police place her under arrest
in yreka, California.
At the time
that she was arrested,
the detective also
spoke to her parents,
her mother and her father.
Karas: Jodi arias grew up
in a stable home.
She had a number of siblings.
She was the oldest.
Her father owned a restaurant.
So they were very middle-class.
Jodi was raised Christian.
From what we know, Jodi's
relationship with her siblings
was a good one,
but she had a very tumultuous
relationship with her parents.
Narrator: Through her tears,
Jodi's mother, Sandy arias,
gives insight into
her relationship with Jodi.
She is, she is.
Karas: According to her parents,
as a teenager,
her grades in school
started going down,
and she became rebellious.
- Narrator: Her father,
- bill arias, recalls an incident
that put them at odds
with their daughter.
And after that,
things just went downhill.
She moved out after
her junior year of high school
because her parents
had put a curfew on her,
- and she felt that they were
- just too strict with her.
And she just wanted her freedom,
and she was gone,
living with her boyfriend.
So these were parents
at the end of their wits.
Narrator: For over a decade,
the relationship with Jodi
remained strained.
In 2008, they're blindsided
by her behavior
in the days after Travis' death.
Narrator: The next day,
flores resumes questioning
his prime suspect.
Karas: Detective flores is gonna
take another shot at Jodi arias.
He's going to try
a new strategy.
Maybe something else
will make her talk.
Narrator: Finally,
after two days of questioning,
Jodi is ready to tell her story.
Jodi told detective flores
that she was taking
photographs of Travis
as he was showering,
and all of a sudden,
they were interrupted.
Narrator: Jodi explains that
the intruders attacked Travis,
and she feared that
she'd be their next victim.
- Narrator:
- According to Jodi,
her assailant
eventually relents.
Um...
Narrator: Jodi contends that
the struggle left her wounded.
Narrator: Jodi then details
how she managed to escape.
Karas: Jodi says the intruders
let her go.
She ran out of the house,
got in her car
and just started driving as fast
as she could to salt like city.
Narrator: After listening
to Jodi's account,
flores pushes back.
Karas: Detective flores
tells Jodi arias
that she's been charged
with first-degree murder
for the death
of Travis Alexander.
- Narrator:
- With the suspect behind bars,
a veteran prosecutor
takes over the case.
I am Juan Martinez.
I am a deputy county attorney
with the maricopa county
attorney's office.
Back in 2008, I'd been
in the homicide bureau
for approximately 12 years.
In stature,
Juan is a small gentleman,
but when it comes
to questioning witnesses,
he is a giant.
Velez-Mitchell: He is all about
making killers face justice,
- and locking them up
- and throwing away the key.
He does not accept
plea bargains.
Like, hell to the no.
Narrator: But for all
of Martinez's doggedness,
convicting Jodi of
first-degree murder
won't be easy.
- Karas: Juan Martinez has a lot
- of work ahead of him.
To experienced detectives
and prosecutors,
it looked very personal.
There's such carnage
in the bathroom,
but he's got to show
premeditated murder.
Now, premeditation could be
weeks and months of planning,
but it could also be
just a couple of minutes.
So, was this premeditated or
was it, like, a heat of passion,
spur-of-the-moment fight?
Narrator: Martinez digs
into the case file,
and while examining evidence
of Jodi's journey from yreka
to Travis Alexander's house,
he makes
an intriguing discovery.
- We found something
- important to the case
that I wanted to use at trial,
so, um, I decided not
to share it with anyone.
It seemed that she thought
of almost every little detail.
It was clear that
this was premeditated.
- Narrator:
- With his confidence building,
Martinez makes
a fateful decision.
Velez-Mitchell: Juan Martinez
made no bones about it.
He wanted to see Jodi arias die
for what she did
to Travis Alexander.
♪♪
Narrator: In preparing
for the murder trial
of accused killer Jodi arias,
prosecutor Juan Martinez
is struck by the savagery
of the crime.
Karas: Juan Martinez knew
that Travis Alexander
suffered horribly in
the last minutes of his life,
and he wanted Jodi arias
to pay the ultimate price.
We had decided that
the death penalty
would be something
that the office would seek.
Narrator: As the prosecution
prepares for trial,
the case begins
to gain notoriety.
It was the arrest of Jodi arias
that really made this
a national story.
Arias' mug shot is one
for the history books.
It's a glamour shot almost.
Anytime a beautiful woman
is facing the death penalty,
it seems to capture
the nation's attention.
Narrator: With interest
in her fate rising,
Jodi seizes the opportunity
to tell her story
on "inside edition."
What really happened
in there?
In a nutshell, two people
took Travis' life, two monsters.
You did not shoot Travis?
No. I've never even shot
a real gun.
You did not stab him
27 times.
- I've never... that's heinous.
- I've never...
- Or slit his throat
- from ear to ear?
I can't imagine slitting
anyone's throat.
No jury
is going to convict me.
Why not?
- Because I'm innocent, and you
- can Mark my words on that one.
No jury will convict me.
She said, "god knows,
Travis knows, I know...
I'm innocent."
Martinez: That struck me
immediately when I heard it.
It appeared that she was
laying down the gauntlet.
Karas: Jodi arias is a defense
lawyer's worst nightmare
because she couldn't
stay away from the media.
She was basically holding
press conferences in the jail.
You know, I need to be honest,
and the evidence
is very compelling.
But none of it proves
that I committed a murder.
None of it proves
that I committed a crime.
Um...
What it does substantiate
is what I did tell detectives.
Skoloff: She came across as this
soft-spoken, sweet young girl
who couldn't possibly
have done this.
We didn't date, per se.
We just hung out.
I do believe she felt
she could flirt her way
through this trial.
Every time that she is asked
a question, she's got this...
- Oh, there she is
- putting on makeup.
I'm so glad I saw that.
- Got to get your makeup straight
- before you're asked questions
about your lover's murder!
Narrator: In 2009,
a court-appointed attorney
named kirk nurmi
is assigned to the case.
In 2009, I had probably been
at the maricopa county
public defender's office
approximately nine years.
He is the polar opposite
of Juan Martinez.
He's tall, and he's huge,
and he's very soft-spoken.
Lindstrom: Kirk nurmi is
a very intelligent attorney.
He is very methodical.
When I first got the file,
apart from knowing the name,
I was made aware the fact
that she had appeared on TV.
- There was kind of of
- the standard advisement
- not talk to anyone
- about your case,
but this was a woman
that was going to make
her own choices in that regard.
Narrator: Nurmi soon meets
with his infamous client
for the first time.
- Nurmi:
- During that initial meeting,
the demeanor was more casual
than what a typical meeting
might be.
The best description I can give
is that it was like talking
to someone at Starbucks.
I knew that I wasn't going in
talking to a hardened criminal,
- but it was certainly
- more light-hearted
than would be expected when
somebody's life is on the line.
- Narrator:
- But as the relationship grows,
the eccentric client
becomes more challenging.
Nurmi: The phone calls with
Ms. Arias were almost every day.
Everyday phone calls is highly,
highly unusual.
Karas: She even asked him
to look after her cat.
Kind of a bizarre request to ask
a court-appointed attorney.
- Nurmi: It's fair to say that
- the demands of the arias trial
were overwhelming.
I must have canceled three
or four weekends in Vegas
because of having
to work on the trial.
Narrator: As nurmi continues
studying the case,
he identifies a problem.
Karas: It seems pretty clear
that kirk nurmi
knew the intruder story
didn't make much sense.
So in order to figure
out a new strategy,
kirk nurmi needs to sit down
with Jodi arias,
learn everything he can
about her relationship
with Travis Alexander to figure
out what direction to go in now.
Narrator: But soon, Jodi reveals
stunning allegations
that cast the victim
in a harsh new light.
Velez-Mitchell: She was accusing
him of the most vile things.
He's violent, was abusive,
was sexually degrading,
and for good measure,
was a pedophile, too.
♪♪
- Narrator: Jodi arias is facing
- the death penalty
in the pending trial for
the murder of Travis Alexander.
Velez-Mitchell: She says
that a man and a woman,
dressed mostly in black,
wearing ski masks,
killed Travis Alexander.
- Narrator: But after consulting
- with her defense attorney,
kirk nurmi, Jodi's version
of events evolves.
Velez-Mitchell:
In June of 2010, Jodi arias
abandons the whole story
of the masked intruders...
Never happened.
Now she admits that she was
at Travis Alexander's,
and not only that,
she did kill him.
But she says it was all done
in self-defense.
- Nurmi:
- She was claiming self-defense,
and there was a plethora
of evidence
that came to light as well,
that was consistent
with that claim.
Narrator:
In early January of 2013,
the public is clamoring
for the impending
courtroom showdown.
Karas: I'm Beth karas.
I'm a former prosecutor
and a legal analyst,
and I covered
the Jodi arias trial.
On the Eve of the trial,
the TV trucks are there.
People are setting up
their live shots.
There are crowds lining up
for the coveted
public seats in the courtroom,
and people couldn't
get enough of it...
The sex, the religion,
this beautiful couple.
It was like nothing
I had ever covered before.
- Velez-Mitchell:
- People literally coordinated
their vacations
to be at the trial,
to go in and see
the testimony for themselves.
Man: Including Gregory carr,
who flew in last night
from south bend, Indiana,
- for a chance
- to sit in the courtroom.
It is so fascinating,
every aspect of the trial.
To see her one-on-one,
it's... it's chilling.
It's really chilling.
Karas: People were really ready
for this trial,
and let me tell ya,
it didn't disappoint.
Narrator: On January 2, 2013,
almost 5 years
after Travis' death,
the trial commences.
I am bill zervakos.
I sat on the Jodi arias trial
as the jury foreman.
- As far as knowing
- about the trial,
I knew nothing,
hadn't heard of anything.
So from that perspective,
I was one of the perfect jurors.
My name is Diane Schwartz.
I was juror in the trial
of Jodi arias.
I remember my first impression
of walking in there
and seeing Jodi.
I thought, "how could
someone so young
and so tiny be involved
in such a murder?"
All right. This is
the year 2008, 031021.
State of Arizona
versus Jodi Ann arias.
- This is the time set
- for trial to begin.
Is the state ready?
In opening statement, really,
my only goal was to have them
appreciate the violence that
the defendant had inflicted
upon Travis Alexander.
This is not a case of whodunit.
The person who done it,
the person who committed
this killing
sits in the court today.
It's the defendant,
Jodi Ann arias,
and the person
that she done it to
is an individual by the name
of Travis Victor Alexander.
- And, you know, he was a good man
- according to her,
- and with regard
- to being a good man,
well, she slit his throat as
a reward for being a good man.
I spoke about the facts
that I was going to present
and how those facts showed
that she had planned
- or thought about
- killing Travis Alexander
before she actually killed him.
Narrator: Martinez then
pinpoints a motive
for the murder... revenge.
- The other thing that police
- were able to find
was that on may 28th of 2008,
at 9:25 P.M., the defendant sent
an email to Travis Alexander.
And she mentioned
that he's going to cancún.
In our business,
our company will take US
on all-expense-paid vacations,
and that year it was cancún.
Martinez: He was scheduled to go
to cancún with Mimi hall.
And he hadn't asked her to go
with him, and she knew about it.
That's the first mention
there is in any other
correspondence of cancún.
It's clear now that
he's going to cancún,
and she ain't going with him.
So, perhaps this was something
that she was punishing him for.
On June 4th of 2008,
he's in the shower.
His defenses are down.
He's very comfortable.
We also know, then,
that as he sat there,
she had stuck the knife
in his chest.
He struggled.
He grabbed the knife,
and when he grabbed the knife,
of course that resulted
in more blood.
He was, more likely than not,
dead at that point.
But she got that gun.
She put that bullet
right in his temple.
She says this killing
was done in self-defense.
The idea that you're going
to continue to stab
over and over and over again,
- to the point that
- you finally use the knife
to slash the throat,
speaks against the indication
that you are just
defending yourself.
Juan Martinez came out swinging.
- He's getting to the heart
- of the case,
which is the violence that she
committed on Travis Alexander
and the inconsistencies
and lies in her stories.
Narrator:
Now it's the defense's turn.
And co-counsel Jennifer willmott
takes the floor.
Jennifer willmott had to get up
and try to convince the jury
than what they had just heard.
She had to come from
an emotional point of view,
in that Jodi arias did this,
but here's why.
Narrator: With anticipation
for Jodi's story rising,
willmott's remarks take
the gallery by surprise.
Willmott: Certainly,
on the outside, looking in,
it really appeared like
they were involved
in a very loving
and healthy relationship,
but nothing could be
further from the truth.
There was a whole nother reality
for Jodi...
A reality that Travis created.
Because in reality, Jodi was
Travis' dirty little secret.
All of a sudden, I remember
very clearly, "oh, my god.
They're going to put
the victim on trial."
- Willmott:
- Despite projecting himself
as a good and virginal
mormon man,
from the moment he met Jodi,
he was pushing and pushing her
to have a sexual relationship
with him.
In Jodi, he found somebody,
someone who would provide him
with that secretive,
sexual relationship
that he needed,
while on the outside,
he can still pursue
the appropriate mormon woman.
You'll actually hear
a recorded phone call
between Travis and Jodi
that's very explicit.
Karas: These details
about the sex between them
were so off the radar
of what people in a mormon
community in mesa, Arizona,
knew about Travis Alexander.
People were shocked.
Narrator: Willmott reveals
Jodi's account of the events
that led to Travis' death.
Willmott:
So, what would have forced Jodi?
It was Travis' continual abuse,
and on June 4th of 2008,
it had reached
a point of no return,
and sadly, Travis left Jodi
no other option
but to defend herself.
Skoloff: Her story was that
as she's taking pictures of him
in the shower on the day
he was killed,
she accidentally
drops his camera,
and he flies into a rage
and attacks her,
and she thinks she's gonna die.
She's in fear for her life,
and has to kill him
in self-defense.
- Willmott:
- He threatened to kill her,
and given her experience
with him,
she had no reason
to not believe him.
It's always a risk
to attack a victim,
especially in a murder case,
but for their defense,
necessary.
Jennifer willmott did
say something
that really resonated with me.
She said, "this was a woman who
had an absolutely normal life
- "until she met
- Travis Alexander,
and that changed
the trajectory of her life."
Narrator: The state then begins
to make their case.
To recast the reputation
of the victim,
they call Mimi hall
to the stand.
- Velez-Mitchell: Mimi and Travis
- know each other
from the mormon church,
and they went on a couple
of dates and after that,
- she said,
- "hey, let's just be friends."
During that date,
did Mr. Alexander say
anything sexually
inappropriate to you at all?
No.
- At any time during that date,
- did he kiss you?
No.
- At any time,
- did he reach out,
- hold your hand or do
- anything like that?
No. At the most,
he gave me a hug.
I felt very safe with Travis.
He was, you know,
very respectful.
There was never
anything like that.
- Narrator: Martinez then pivots
- to a problem
Travis confronted in the final
months of his life...
A stalker.
You indicated that part
of what he told you
was that this stalker
was a female, right?
Yes.
And what had this female done
that he was warning you about?
She had slashed his tires
several times.
She had broken into his email
accounts, his bank accounts.
She would sneak into his house
through the doggy door
and sleep on his couch at night
without him knowing
that she was there, so...
Mimi hall told jurors that
Travis Alexander had a stalker,
but he never told her
the name of the stalker.
- Dave: We knew...
- When his tires were slashed,
we knew it was Jodi.
But looking at Jodi, it's, like,
this 110, 120-pound girl.
We never feared for his life.
Narrator: The prosecution
is on the attack,
and they're taking aim
at Jodi's claim of self-defense.
Karas: Stabbing and slicing and
nearly decapitating someone...
That sounds like a massacre.
♪♪
Narrator: It's January 2013,
and the Jodi arias murder trial
is in full swing.
- Martinez: Going to show you
- some photographs.
-You recognize those?
-I do.
Kevin horn is a medical examiner
in maricopa county, Arizona.
At the time he performed
the autopsy on Travis Alexander,
he had performed
thousands of autopsies,
so he was
a very experienced m.E.
- Skoloff: The medical examiner
- testified at the trial
that he had been
stabbed 27 times,
stabbed in the back
and the head,
pretty much all over his body.
In addition, his throat was cut
from literally ear to ear.
He also had a gunshot wound
just above his right eyebrow.
- Martinez:
- And are these photographs
that were taken as part
of your medical examination
of Travis Alexander?
Horn: Yes.
This guy was really chopped up.
Trying to look at the photo
analytically
without getting wrapped up
in that's a human,
it was a little strange.
It was hard.
- Karas: Jodi really couldn't look
- at the photos.
She glanced, and then,
kept her head down.
Her hair was hiding her face.
- Occasionally she would
- dab her eyes,
but was impossible to see
if there were tears.
And for Travis' family,
I mean, they,
of course, had to look away.
- Some of them leave
- the courtroom.
They were in tears.
I mean, these were
horrendous photos.
Narrator: Then, to undermine
Jodi's story of self-defense,
he focuses on
a particular type of wound.
- Are you familiar with the term
- "defensive wounds"?
Yes. If you have injuries
to the backs of the forearms,
- or to the palms
- or backs of the hands,
it's consistent with someone
trying to either grab the knife
or fend off injury.
And the way you described it,
by necessity,
the person would have
to be conscious
and alive, correct?
-Yes.
- And is this that
- we're looking at,
the right, is that
a defensive wound?
Could be.
Yes, consistent with that.
Narrator: Then, Martinez shifts
to another devastating injury.
Exhibit 207.
What is this right here?
That's a gunshot entrance wound.
- Karas:
- Just before the trial started,
Jodi arias said she shot
Travis Alexander,
but he didn't die,
"and when he kept struggling,
and I took a knife,
and I stabbed him."
Prosecution says, "no.
That doesn't make sense."
This bullet, did it strike
the brain or not?
The brain was decomposed,
so I was not able to see
a track through the brain.
But just because the bullet
- passes through
- the front part of the skull
where the brain
normally would be,
I have to conclude that
the brain was perforated.
- And if the brain
- is perforated,
what would happen to this
individual once he was shot?
He'd be incapacitated.
- -Went down?
- -Yes.
-Immediately?
-Rapidly, yes.
- Narrator: Horn then lays out
- the sequence
of the devastating attack.
The gunshot wounds
and the wounds to neck
would've had to have come
after the defensive wounds
of the hands.
Karas: Stabbing and slicing
and nearly decapitating someone,
and then a shot to the head?
That certainly doesn't
sound like self-defense.
That sounds like a massacre.
- Narrator:
- But the defense believes
that horn's conclusion
is flawed.
- Well, just so we're clear,
- you don't actually have
any medical evidence of it
- passing through
- the brain, right?
- It had to have passed
- through the brain.
- You don't have any medical
- evidence of that, do you?
It would've passed through
the right frontal lobe.
Uh-huh.
- I just don't have any evidence
- of hemorrhage now
because of decomposition.
But you didn't see any damage,
even in your slices, right?
- Right. I could not document
- the damage
because of the decomposition.
- Karas: This was a problem
- for the prosecution,
because it's challenging
the credibility of Dr. Horn.
I mean, it's something that gave
the defense fodder to work with.
- Zervakos: The thing
- that drives you batty is,
instead of feeling like
you're getting analytical,
- true information, it feels like
- everybody's trying to sell you
- something as they're
- doing the forensics.
We're not forensic people,
so it's a little tough.
- Narrator:
- Next, Martinez attempts
to account for the weapon
that delivered
the hotly debated wound.
He calls yreka police officer
Kevin Friedman to the stand.
How long have you been
a police officer
with the yreka
police department?
About 6 1/2 years.
So, a very strange thing
happened in yreka, California,
on may 28, 2008.
The home of Caroline Allen
was burglarized.
- Officer Friedman was actually
- the police officer
that responded
to the burglary call.
- Velez-Mitchell: There were just
- a couple of things stolen...
A DVD player, a cd player,
a little bit of cash,
and a gun... a .25-caliber gun.
So as police are
interviewing the allens,
they hear something outside.
A car has pulled up.
And the allens say,
"oh, that's our granddaughter."
And that person that arrived,
what was his or her name?
It was Jodi arias.
Mendes: Jodi had recently
moved in with her grandparents.
Prior to that,
she'd been living in Arizona.
Karas: This burglary happened
on may 28, 2008.
That's one week before
Travis Alexander was murdered,
and her grandfather's gun
happens to be
the same caliber bullet
that was found
in Travis Alexander's bathroom,
the same kind of gun
used to shoot him.
Police in mesa
never recovered the gun
that was used to
shoot Travis Alexander.
This is good evidence that it
was probably the same gun,
but we'll never know for sure.
♪♪
- Narrator:
- On the ninth day of the trial,
the prosecution rests its case.
One is always concerned
with every single move
that one makes during the trial,
so what I tried to do
was to be as thorough
as I possibly could with each
element of the offense.
- Karas: By the end of
- the prosecution's evidence,
I was convinced that
Juan Martinez had put on
a strong and compelling case,
but of course, the question is,
did Martinez do enough
to prove premeditation?
Narrator: Now, kirk nurmi takes
over the proceedings.
To redefine
his client's character,
he calls Darryl brewer
to the stand.
Darryl brewer was this handsome,
chiseled guy who was about
two decades older than Jodi.
Brewer had requested
that his face not be shown
in any televised coverage,
and that request was granted.
So Americans didn't get a chance
to see what
a ruggedly handsome guy he was.
Nurmi: Tell US about who Jodi
was at that point in time.
Karas: Jodi arias dated
Darryl brewer
between 2002 and 2006.
She actually broke up with him
after meeting Travis Alexander.
But she remained
very friendly with him.
Jodi was a very responsible,
caring, loving person.
And she knew of your son?
- She did know of my son,
- yes.
And how was Jodi's
relationship with your son?
-It was outstanding.
-Were they close?
They were close.
- I thought that he did
- a very good job
of humanizing her to the jury.
They felt bad for her because,
at one point in her life,
she seemed to be
a normal, caring person.
Karas: Darryl brewer was
important for the defense,
but Juan Martinez had
something up his sleeve
to make him useful
to the prosecution, too,
because he still is working
on evidence of premeditation.
Martinez: In reading
Darryl brewer's summary,
- one of the things
- that I came across
was this indication
that in may of 2008,
- before she actually
- took the trip,
she actually called him
and asked something
that I thought
was a little bit... strange.
Narrator: Then, Martinez finally
unveils his secret weapon.
Sir, she did come by your house
on June 3rd of 2008,
right before her trip, right?
Yes.
And before she left, though,
you gave her two gas cans,
didn't you?
-I did.
And that... that seems strange,
because why would she want
to take gas cans on a trip?
Last time anybody
was in California,
- the place was dotted
- with gas stations,
and you could stop and fill up
anytime that you wanted.
Narrator: But after digging
into his case files,
Martinez believes
he's uncovered the reason
why Jodi borrowed the cans.
One of the things that
the detectives found
when they were in yreka
was a shoebox,
and in this shoebox were
the receipts that she had kept.
Those receipts showed Jodi's
travels through California
and in Nevada and Utah.
There were no receipts from
any stops anywhere in Arizona.
- Karas:
- The prosecution believed
that Jodi borrowed
the two gas cans
and filled them with gas
so that she could get into
the state of Arizona and out
without having to stop for gas,
where there would be a financial
transaction on record,
maybe a security video
at a gas station capturing her.
Martinez: And the reason she
didn't want anybody to know
that she had traveled
through Arizona
was because she knew
at the start of this trip
that she was going to kill him.
- Karas: Well,
- all of US were like,
"whoa. This is a big deal.
Wow.
This was, you know...
Great point."
- Velez-Mitchell:
- That's premeditation.
She's plotting the murder
of Travis Alexander.
It's the penultimate example
of premeditation.
Narrator: The defense then
attempts to rally,
by calling a witness
who can jump-start their assault
on Travis' character.
- Willmott:
- And once he had an erection,
he didn't stop, did he?
-No.
♪♪
- Narrator: In the murder trial
- of Jodi arias,
the defense calls
Travis' ex-girlfriend,
Lisa Andrews-didone,
to the stand.
Lisa Andrews was a young woman,
a mormon woman who had
dated Travis Alexander
in late 2007, early 2008.
- When Lisa Andrews
- was dating Travis,
she was a teenager,
very inexperienced, a virgin.
- Willmott:
- Did you believe that Travis
was dating anyone else?
I-I believed it was exclusive
between the two of US.
- -Okay.
- -It was monogamous.
The defense called Lisa Andrews
to corroborate
some of Jodi's defense,
that Travis was, you know,
a little bit sexually aggressive
and not respectful.
- Velez-Mitchell: She had written
- an email to Travis,
complaining about his behavior.
Did you talk to him
about that you knew
that sex was on his mind
from the very beginning?
Yes.
Did you ask him not to talk
about sex so much?
-Yes.
-He did anyway, right?
Yes.
- Did you talk to him about
- that sometimes you felt
that he wanted you
just for your body...
Um,
I did say that in the email.
And that your kisses
didn't mean anything to him?
I did say that in the email.
- That you felt it was
- a way for him
to let out some
sexual tension...
I did say that in the email.
That he had so much of?
Again, I said that.
- Velez-Mitchell:
- It was clear that Lisa Andrews
did not want to be there
and talk about
any of this stuff.
- Narrator:
- The defense then questions Lisa
about the end
of the relationship.
- Let's talk about the first time
- that you broke up.
What was the reason for that?
Um, I came to the understanding
that he was cheating on me.
- Do you know who
- he was cheating with?
- -Yes.
- -Who is that?
Jodi arias.
And how did you learn that?
A former roommate of his
had told my sister,
who then told me.
Okay, so Mr. Alexander
didn't tell you that.
No.
- Velez-Mitchell:
- When Juan Martinez
starts talking to her,
he basically tries to make
the point with Lisa Andrews
- that she, at the time
- of writing the email,
was very naive, sexually.
- And during the time
- that he was kissing,
and again, not to get
too much into this,
he achieved an erection, right?
-Yes.
- You did not massage
- his erection, right?
Correct.
- He did not massage
- his own erection, correct?
Correct.
- It was a biological response
- to your lips, wasn't it?
Correct.
And that, at that time,
because of your inexperience,
you thought that he should
have controlled his penis
from becoming tumescent,
or getting big,
- just because
- he was kissing you.
You thought that's what
the problem was, right?
Yes. Yes.
And in retrospect,
you think that perhaps,
- some of the comments
- that you made
were a little unfair to him?
-Yes.
Narrator: Then, the tone
of Martinez's questioning
takes a sharp turn.
Do you think, in your mind,
it is appropriate
to take a knife
and slash somebody's throat?
Velez-Mitchell:
And then he whips out the photo
of Travis Alexander's neck,
pretty much decapitated.
And it was a shocker.
Do you...
Judge: Counsel approach.
Counsel approach.
♪♪
- Velez-Mitchell: One of
- Travis Alexander's sisters
jumps up and runs out
of the courtroom, sobbing.
Her brother's chasing her.
All hell broke loose.
- I have to believe
- that Juan Martinez
did that for shock factor
because there was just really
no other reason to do that.
Narrator: Order is restored,
and as the defense continues
to argue their case,
intrigue begins to mount.
- Velez-Mitchell:
- One of the big questions
that the reporters
were asking themselves was,
would Jodi arias take the stand?
And who knew?
And I remember that day,
when she walked out
and I saw her walking,
she was walking toward
the witness stand.
The courtroom was electrified.
The courthouse was electrified.
Everybody was like, "oh, my god.
It's happening."
Nurmi: Hi, Jodi.
-Hi.
Narrator: Next time,
on the final episode
of "Jodi arias:
An American murder mystery"...
- Once she got on the stand,
- people were like, "oh, my god.
Jodi's going to
tell US the story."
Narrator: The dark secrets
of a toxic relationship emerge.
[ Jodi giggles, squeals,
[ and moans ]
I cannot believe I am sitting
here listening to this raunchy,
triple-x-rated, kinky sex.
He tells me I'm worthless,
and he tells me i'm.
Emotional abuse, mental abuse,
yeah, absolutely.
Narrator: And the incident
that drove her to kill.
I remember dropping the knife,
and I just remember screaming.
Narrator: On cross-examination,
sparks fly.
We're talking about
your memory problem, right?
I don't know if I'd even
call it a problem.
Concludes with a bang.
Clerk will read
and record the verdict.
Juries are going to come back.
suggesting that I was, um,
you know, in his house. Um...
Of the evidence that
they presented to me, um,
I was asked the question,
- "if you were presented
- this evidence
and you were a third party,
what would you think?"
And, you know,
I need to be honest,
and the evidence
is very compelling.
But none of it proves
that I committed a murder.
- Narrator: It's one of the most
- scandalous crimes
in American history.
- Got to get your makeup straight
- before you're asked questions
about your lover's murder!
A chilling, cold-blooded,
vicious, brutal slaying...
Narrator: In the second
of our 3-part investigation,
Jodi arias steps
into the public eye.
She said, "god knows, Travis
knows, I know I'm innocent."
- Narrator:
- Explore the evidence
of the prosecution's case
against her.
She knew at the start of this
that she was going to kill him.
All of US were like, "whoa.
Yeah, this is a big deal."
Narrator: As the highly
anticipated trial unfolds,
the defense makes
shocking allegations.
- Woman:
- He was pushing and pushing her
- to have a sexual relationship
- with him.
Oh, my god. They're gonna put
the victim on trial.
All hell broke loose.
Narrator: And later,
the defendant herself
takes the stand.
Were you crying
when you were stabbing him?
How about when you cut his
throat, were you crying then?
An amazingly vicious
and crazy trial...
Narrator: As her darkest secrets
take center stage...
♪♪
Velez-Mitchell:
Who in Travis Alexander's life
wants to kill him
in such a brutal way?
I remember dropping the knife,
and it clanged to the tile.
It made a big noise.
Woman: It was so brutal
and so disgusting.
Dave hall:
This girl just butchered
one of my best friends.
Karas: How can you live
in a house with a dead body
and not know something's amiss?
Man: Travis lured Jodi in
to all of this kinky sex.
Man #2: The amount of evidence
became mind-boggling.
- Woman: She had planned killing
- Travis Alexander
before she actually killed him.
Velez-Mitchell: Jodi was
Travis' dirty little secret.
Travis:
Start touching yourself.
Jodi:You're bad.
You make me feel so dirty.
Captions paid for by
discovery communications
- narrator:
- A month has passed
- since 30-year-old
- Travis Alexander
was found dead in his home.
Velez-Mitchell:
He's got 27 stab wounds.
He was almost decapitated,
and for good measure,
he was shot in the head.
Narrator: Travis' ex-girlfriend,
Jodi arias,
denies responsibility
for the murder,
but detective Esteban flores
has discovered evidence
that places her
at the scene of the crime.
- Karas:
- There are photos of Jodi arias
taken on the day
he was murdered.
These were some of
the most pornographic,
triple-x-rated photos
that I've ever seen.
And then there's another photo,
and it's a photo of
Travis Alexander bloodied,
on the ground.
You see a mystery pants leg
right next to him, with a foot.
That is the smoking gun.
Narrator: On July 15th,
police place her under arrest
in yreka, California.
At the time
that she was arrested,
the detective also
spoke to her parents,
her mother and her father.
Karas: Jodi arias grew up
in a stable home.
She had a number of siblings.
She was the oldest.
Her father owned a restaurant.
So they were very middle-class.
Jodi was raised Christian.
From what we know, Jodi's
relationship with her siblings
was a good one,
but she had a very tumultuous
relationship with her parents.
Narrator: Through her tears,
Jodi's mother, Sandy arias,
gives insight into
her relationship with Jodi.
She is, she is.
Karas: According to her parents,
as a teenager,
her grades in school
started going down,
and she became rebellious.
- Narrator: Her father,
- bill arias, recalls an incident
that put them at odds
with their daughter.
And after that,
things just went downhill.
She moved out after
her junior year of high school
because her parents
had put a curfew on her,
- and she felt that they were
- just too strict with her.
And she just wanted her freedom,
and she was gone,
living with her boyfriend.
So these were parents
at the end of their wits.
Narrator: For over a decade,
the relationship with Jodi
remained strained.
In 2008, they're blindsided
by her behavior
in the days after Travis' death.
Narrator: The next day,
flores resumes questioning
his prime suspect.
Karas: Detective flores is gonna
take another shot at Jodi arias.
He's going to try
a new strategy.
Maybe something else
will make her talk.
Narrator: Finally,
after two days of questioning,
Jodi is ready to tell her story.
Jodi told detective flores
that she was taking
photographs of Travis
as he was showering,
and all of a sudden,
they were interrupted.
Narrator: Jodi explains that
the intruders attacked Travis,
and she feared that
she'd be their next victim.
- Narrator:
- According to Jodi,
her assailant
eventually relents.
Um...
Narrator: Jodi contends that
the struggle left her wounded.
Narrator: Jodi then details
how she managed to escape.
Karas: Jodi says the intruders
let her go.
She ran out of the house,
got in her car
and just started driving as fast
as she could to salt like city.
Narrator: After listening
to Jodi's account,
flores pushes back.
Karas: Detective flores
tells Jodi arias
that she's been charged
with first-degree murder
for the death
of Travis Alexander.
- Narrator:
- With the suspect behind bars,
a veteran prosecutor
takes over the case.
I am Juan Martinez.
I am a deputy county attorney
with the maricopa county
attorney's office.
Back in 2008, I'd been
in the homicide bureau
for approximately 12 years.
In stature,
Juan is a small gentleman,
but when it comes
to questioning witnesses,
he is a giant.
Velez-Mitchell: He is all about
making killers face justice,
- and locking them up
- and throwing away the key.
He does not accept
plea bargains.
Like, hell to the no.
Narrator: But for all
of Martinez's doggedness,
convicting Jodi of
first-degree murder
won't be easy.
- Karas: Juan Martinez has a lot
- of work ahead of him.
To experienced detectives
and prosecutors,
it looked very personal.
There's such carnage
in the bathroom,
but he's got to show
premeditated murder.
Now, premeditation could be
weeks and months of planning,
but it could also be
just a couple of minutes.
So, was this premeditated or
was it, like, a heat of passion,
spur-of-the-moment fight?
Narrator: Martinez digs
into the case file,
and while examining evidence
of Jodi's journey from yreka
to Travis Alexander's house,
he makes
an intriguing discovery.
- We found something
- important to the case
that I wanted to use at trial,
so, um, I decided not
to share it with anyone.
It seemed that she thought
of almost every little detail.
It was clear that
this was premeditated.
- Narrator:
- With his confidence building,
Martinez makes
a fateful decision.
Velez-Mitchell: Juan Martinez
made no bones about it.
He wanted to see Jodi arias die
for what she did
to Travis Alexander.
♪♪
Narrator: In preparing
for the murder trial
of accused killer Jodi arias,
prosecutor Juan Martinez
is struck by the savagery
of the crime.
Karas: Juan Martinez knew
that Travis Alexander
suffered horribly in
the last minutes of his life,
and he wanted Jodi arias
to pay the ultimate price.
We had decided that
the death penalty
would be something
that the office would seek.
Narrator: As the prosecution
prepares for trial,
the case begins
to gain notoriety.
It was the arrest of Jodi arias
that really made this
a national story.
Arias' mug shot is one
for the history books.
It's a glamour shot almost.
Anytime a beautiful woman
is facing the death penalty,
it seems to capture
the nation's attention.
Narrator: With interest
in her fate rising,
Jodi seizes the opportunity
to tell her story
on "inside edition."
What really happened
in there?
In a nutshell, two people
took Travis' life, two monsters.
You did not shoot Travis?
No. I've never even shot
a real gun.
You did not stab him
27 times.
- I've never... that's heinous.
- I've never...
- Or slit his throat
- from ear to ear?
I can't imagine slitting
anyone's throat.
No jury
is going to convict me.
Why not?
- Because I'm innocent, and you
- can Mark my words on that one.
No jury will convict me.
She said, "god knows,
Travis knows, I know...
I'm innocent."
Martinez: That struck me
immediately when I heard it.
It appeared that she was
laying down the gauntlet.
Karas: Jodi arias is a defense
lawyer's worst nightmare
because she couldn't
stay away from the media.
She was basically holding
press conferences in the jail.
You know, I need to be honest,
and the evidence
is very compelling.
But none of it proves
that I committed a murder.
None of it proves
that I committed a crime.
Um...
What it does substantiate
is what I did tell detectives.
Skoloff: She came across as this
soft-spoken, sweet young girl
who couldn't possibly
have done this.
We didn't date, per se.
We just hung out.
I do believe she felt
she could flirt her way
through this trial.
Every time that she is asked
a question, she's got this...
- Oh, there she is
- putting on makeup.
I'm so glad I saw that.
- Got to get your makeup straight
- before you're asked questions
about your lover's murder!
Narrator: In 2009,
a court-appointed attorney
named kirk nurmi
is assigned to the case.
In 2009, I had probably been
at the maricopa county
public defender's office
approximately nine years.
He is the polar opposite
of Juan Martinez.
He's tall, and he's huge,
and he's very soft-spoken.
Lindstrom: Kirk nurmi is
a very intelligent attorney.
He is very methodical.
When I first got the file,
apart from knowing the name,
I was made aware the fact
that she had appeared on TV.
- There was kind of of
- the standard advisement
- not talk to anyone
- about your case,
but this was a woman
that was going to make
her own choices in that regard.
Narrator: Nurmi soon meets
with his infamous client
for the first time.
- Nurmi:
- During that initial meeting,
the demeanor was more casual
than what a typical meeting
might be.
The best description I can give
is that it was like talking
to someone at Starbucks.
I knew that I wasn't going in
talking to a hardened criminal,
- but it was certainly
- more light-hearted
than would be expected when
somebody's life is on the line.
- Narrator:
- But as the relationship grows,
the eccentric client
becomes more challenging.
Nurmi: The phone calls with
Ms. Arias were almost every day.
Everyday phone calls is highly,
highly unusual.
Karas: She even asked him
to look after her cat.
Kind of a bizarre request to ask
a court-appointed attorney.
- Nurmi: It's fair to say that
- the demands of the arias trial
were overwhelming.
I must have canceled three
or four weekends in Vegas
because of having
to work on the trial.
Narrator: As nurmi continues
studying the case,
he identifies a problem.
Karas: It seems pretty clear
that kirk nurmi
knew the intruder story
didn't make much sense.
So in order to figure
out a new strategy,
kirk nurmi needs to sit down
with Jodi arias,
learn everything he can
about her relationship
with Travis Alexander to figure
out what direction to go in now.
Narrator: But soon, Jodi reveals
stunning allegations
that cast the victim
in a harsh new light.
Velez-Mitchell: She was accusing
him of the most vile things.
He's violent, was abusive,
was sexually degrading,
and for good measure,
was a pedophile, too.
♪♪
- Narrator: Jodi arias is facing
- the death penalty
in the pending trial for
the murder of Travis Alexander.
Velez-Mitchell: She says
that a man and a woman,
dressed mostly in black,
wearing ski masks,
killed Travis Alexander.
- Narrator: But after consulting
- with her defense attorney,
kirk nurmi, Jodi's version
of events evolves.
Velez-Mitchell:
In June of 2010, Jodi arias
abandons the whole story
of the masked intruders...
Never happened.
Now she admits that she was
at Travis Alexander's,
and not only that,
she did kill him.
But she says it was all done
in self-defense.
- Nurmi:
- She was claiming self-defense,
and there was a plethora
of evidence
that came to light as well,
that was consistent
with that claim.
Narrator:
In early January of 2013,
the public is clamoring
for the impending
courtroom showdown.
Karas: I'm Beth karas.
I'm a former prosecutor
and a legal analyst,
and I covered
the Jodi arias trial.
On the Eve of the trial,
the TV trucks are there.
People are setting up
their live shots.
There are crowds lining up
for the coveted
public seats in the courtroom,
and people couldn't
get enough of it...
The sex, the religion,
this beautiful couple.
It was like nothing
I had ever covered before.
- Velez-Mitchell:
- People literally coordinated
their vacations
to be at the trial,
to go in and see
the testimony for themselves.
Man: Including Gregory carr,
who flew in last night
from south bend, Indiana,
- for a chance
- to sit in the courtroom.
It is so fascinating,
every aspect of the trial.
To see her one-on-one,
it's... it's chilling.
It's really chilling.
Karas: People were really ready
for this trial,
and let me tell ya,
it didn't disappoint.
Narrator: On January 2, 2013,
almost 5 years
after Travis' death,
the trial commences.
I am bill zervakos.
I sat on the Jodi arias trial
as the jury foreman.
- As far as knowing
- about the trial,
I knew nothing,
hadn't heard of anything.
So from that perspective,
I was one of the perfect jurors.
My name is Diane Schwartz.
I was juror in the trial
of Jodi arias.
I remember my first impression
of walking in there
and seeing Jodi.
I thought, "how could
someone so young
and so tiny be involved
in such a murder?"
All right. This is
the year 2008, 031021.
State of Arizona
versus Jodi Ann arias.
- This is the time set
- for trial to begin.
Is the state ready?
In opening statement, really,
my only goal was to have them
appreciate the violence that
the defendant had inflicted
upon Travis Alexander.
This is not a case of whodunit.
The person who done it,
the person who committed
this killing
sits in the court today.
It's the defendant,
Jodi Ann arias,
and the person
that she done it to
is an individual by the name
of Travis Victor Alexander.
- And, you know, he was a good man
- according to her,
- and with regard
- to being a good man,
well, she slit his throat as
a reward for being a good man.
I spoke about the facts
that I was going to present
and how those facts showed
that she had planned
- or thought about
- killing Travis Alexander
before she actually killed him.
Narrator: Martinez then
pinpoints a motive
for the murder... revenge.
- The other thing that police
- were able to find
was that on may 28th of 2008,
at 9:25 P.M., the defendant sent
an email to Travis Alexander.
And she mentioned
that he's going to cancún.
In our business,
our company will take US
on all-expense-paid vacations,
and that year it was cancún.
Martinez: He was scheduled to go
to cancún with Mimi hall.
And he hadn't asked her to go
with him, and she knew about it.
That's the first mention
there is in any other
correspondence of cancún.
It's clear now that
he's going to cancún,
and she ain't going with him.
So, perhaps this was something
that she was punishing him for.
On June 4th of 2008,
he's in the shower.
His defenses are down.
He's very comfortable.
We also know, then,
that as he sat there,
she had stuck the knife
in his chest.
He struggled.
He grabbed the knife,
and when he grabbed the knife,
of course that resulted
in more blood.
He was, more likely than not,
dead at that point.
But she got that gun.
She put that bullet
right in his temple.
She says this killing
was done in self-defense.
The idea that you're going
to continue to stab
over and over and over again,
- to the point that
- you finally use the knife
to slash the throat,
speaks against the indication
that you are just
defending yourself.
Juan Martinez came out swinging.
- He's getting to the heart
- of the case,
which is the violence that she
committed on Travis Alexander
and the inconsistencies
and lies in her stories.
Narrator:
Now it's the defense's turn.
And co-counsel Jennifer willmott
takes the floor.
Jennifer willmott had to get up
and try to convince the jury
than what they had just heard.
She had to come from
an emotional point of view,
in that Jodi arias did this,
but here's why.
Narrator: With anticipation
for Jodi's story rising,
willmott's remarks take
the gallery by surprise.
Willmott: Certainly,
on the outside, looking in,
it really appeared like
they were involved
in a very loving
and healthy relationship,
but nothing could be
further from the truth.
There was a whole nother reality
for Jodi...
A reality that Travis created.
Because in reality, Jodi was
Travis' dirty little secret.
All of a sudden, I remember
very clearly, "oh, my god.
They're going to put
the victim on trial."
- Willmott:
- Despite projecting himself
as a good and virginal
mormon man,
from the moment he met Jodi,
he was pushing and pushing her
to have a sexual relationship
with him.
In Jodi, he found somebody,
someone who would provide him
with that secretive,
sexual relationship
that he needed,
while on the outside,
he can still pursue
the appropriate mormon woman.
You'll actually hear
a recorded phone call
between Travis and Jodi
that's very explicit.
Karas: These details
about the sex between them
were so off the radar
of what people in a mormon
community in mesa, Arizona,
knew about Travis Alexander.
People were shocked.
Narrator: Willmott reveals
Jodi's account of the events
that led to Travis' death.
Willmott:
So, what would have forced Jodi?
It was Travis' continual abuse,
and on June 4th of 2008,
it had reached
a point of no return,
and sadly, Travis left Jodi
no other option
but to defend herself.
Skoloff: Her story was that
as she's taking pictures of him
in the shower on the day
he was killed,
she accidentally
drops his camera,
and he flies into a rage
and attacks her,
and she thinks she's gonna die.
She's in fear for her life,
and has to kill him
in self-defense.
- Willmott:
- He threatened to kill her,
and given her experience
with him,
she had no reason
to not believe him.
It's always a risk
to attack a victim,
especially in a murder case,
but for their defense,
necessary.
Jennifer willmott did
say something
that really resonated with me.
She said, "this was a woman who
had an absolutely normal life
- "until she met
- Travis Alexander,
and that changed
the trajectory of her life."
Narrator: The state then begins
to make their case.
To recast the reputation
of the victim,
they call Mimi hall
to the stand.
- Velez-Mitchell: Mimi and Travis
- know each other
from the mormon church,
and they went on a couple
of dates and after that,
- she said,
- "hey, let's just be friends."
During that date,
did Mr. Alexander say
anything sexually
inappropriate to you at all?
No.
- At any time during that date,
- did he kiss you?
No.
- At any time,
- did he reach out,
- hold your hand or do
- anything like that?
No. At the most,
he gave me a hug.
I felt very safe with Travis.
He was, you know,
very respectful.
There was never
anything like that.
- Narrator: Martinez then pivots
- to a problem
Travis confronted in the final
months of his life...
A stalker.
You indicated that part
of what he told you
was that this stalker
was a female, right?
Yes.
And what had this female done
that he was warning you about?
She had slashed his tires
several times.
She had broken into his email
accounts, his bank accounts.
She would sneak into his house
through the doggy door
and sleep on his couch at night
without him knowing
that she was there, so...
Mimi hall told jurors that
Travis Alexander had a stalker,
but he never told her
the name of the stalker.
- Dave: We knew...
- When his tires were slashed,
we knew it was Jodi.
But looking at Jodi, it's, like,
this 110, 120-pound girl.
We never feared for his life.
Narrator: The prosecution
is on the attack,
and they're taking aim
at Jodi's claim of self-defense.
Karas: Stabbing and slicing and
nearly decapitating someone...
That sounds like a massacre.
♪♪
Narrator: It's January 2013,
and the Jodi arias murder trial
is in full swing.
- Martinez: Going to show you
- some photographs.
-You recognize those?
-I do.
Kevin horn is a medical examiner
in maricopa county, Arizona.
At the time he performed
the autopsy on Travis Alexander,
he had performed
thousands of autopsies,
so he was
a very experienced m.E.
- Skoloff: The medical examiner
- testified at the trial
that he had been
stabbed 27 times,
stabbed in the back
and the head,
pretty much all over his body.
In addition, his throat was cut
from literally ear to ear.
He also had a gunshot wound
just above his right eyebrow.
- Martinez:
- And are these photographs
that were taken as part
of your medical examination
of Travis Alexander?
Horn: Yes.
This guy was really chopped up.
Trying to look at the photo
analytically
without getting wrapped up
in that's a human,
it was a little strange.
It was hard.
- Karas: Jodi really couldn't look
- at the photos.
She glanced, and then,
kept her head down.
Her hair was hiding her face.
- Occasionally she would
- dab her eyes,
but was impossible to see
if there were tears.
And for Travis' family,
I mean, they,
of course, had to look away.
- Some of them leave
- the courtroom.
They were in tears.
I mean, these were
horrendous photos.
Narrator: Then, to undermine
Jodi's story of self-defense,
he focuses on
a particular type of wound.
- Are you familiar with the term
- "defensive wounds"?
Yes. If you have injuries
to the backs of the forearms,
- or to the palms
- or backs of the hands,
it's consistent with someone
trying to either grab the knife
or fend off injury.
And the way you described it,
by necessity,
the person would have
to be conscious
and alive, correct?
-Yes.
- And is this that
- we're looking at,
the right, is that
a defensive wound?
Could be.
Yes, consistent with that.
Narrator: Then, Martinez shifts
to another devastating injury.
Exhibit 207.
What is this right here?
That's a gunshot entrance wound.
- Karas:
- Just before the trial started,
Jodi arias said she shot
Travis Alexander,
but he didn't die,
"and when he kept struggling,
and I took a knife,
and I stabbed him."
Prosecution says, "no.
That doesn't make sense."
This bullet, did it strike
the brain or not?
The brain was decomposed,
so I was not able to see
a track through the brain.
But just because the bullet
- passes through
- the front part of the skull
where the brain
normally would be,
I have to conclude that
the brain was perforated.
- And if the brain
- is perforated,
what would happen to this
individual once he was shot?
He'd be incapacitated.
- -Went down?
- -Yes.
-Immediately?
-Rapidly, yes.
- Narrator: Horn then lays out
- the sequence
of the devastating attack.
The gunshot wounds
and the wounds to neck
would've had to have come
after the defensive wounds
of the hands.
Karas: Stabbing and slicing
and nearly decapitating someone,
and then a shot to the head?
That certainly doesn't
sound like self-defense.
That sounds like a massacre.
- Narrator:
- But the defense believes
that horn's conclusion
is flawed.
- Well, just so we're clear,
- you don't actually have
any medical evidence of it
- passing through
- the brain, right?
- It had to have passed
- through the brain.
- You don't have any medical
- evidence of that, do you?
It would've passed through
the right frontal lobe.
Uh-huh.
- I just don't have any evidence
- of hemorrhage now
because of decomposition.
But you didn't see any damage,
even in your slices, right?
- Right. I could not document
- the damage
because of the decomposition.
- Karas: This was a problem
- for the prosecution,
because it's challenging
the credibility of Dr. Horn.
I mean, it's something that gave
the defense fodder to work with.
- Zervakos: The thing
- that drives you batty is,
instead of feeling like
you're getting analytical,
- true information, it feels like
- everybody's trying to sell you
- something as they're
- doing the forensics.
We're not forensic people,
so it's a little tough.
- Narrator:
- Next, Martinez attempts
to account for the weapon
that delivered
the hotly debated wound.
He calls yreka police officer
Kevin Friedman to the stand.
How long have you been
a police officer
with the yreka
police department?
About 6 1/2 years.
So, a very strange thing
happened in yreka, California,
on may 28, 2008.
The home of Caroline Allen
was burglarized.
- Officer Friedman was actually
- the police officer
that responded
to the burglary call.
- Velez-Mitchell: There were just
- a couple of things stolen...
A DVD player, a cd player,
a little bit of cash,
and a gun... a .25-caliber gun.
So as police are
interviewing the allens,
they hear something outside.
A car has pulled up.
And the allens say,
"oh, that's our granddaughter."
And that person that arrived,
what was his or her name?
It was Jodi arias.
Mendes: Jodi had recently
moved in with her grandparents.
Prior to that,
she'd been living in Arizona.
Karas: This burglary happened
on may 28, 2008.
That's one week before
Travis Alexander was murdered,
and her grandfather's gun
happens to be
the same caliber bullet
that was found
in Travis Alexander's bathroom,
the same kind of gun
used to shoot him.
Police in mesa
never recovered the gun
that was used to
shoot Travis Alexander.
This is good evidence that it
was probably the same gun,
but we'll never know for sure.
♪♪
- Narrator:
- On the ninth day of the trial,
the prosecution rests its case.
One is always concerned
with every single move
that one makes during the trial,
so what I tried to do
was to be as thorough
as I possibly could with each
element of the offense.
- Karas: By the end of
- the prosecution's evidence,
I was convinced that
Juan Martinez had put on
a strong and compelling case,
but of course, the question is,
did Martinez do enough
to prove premeditation?
Narrator: Now, kirk nurmi takes
over the proceedings.
To redefine
his client's character,
he calls Darryl brewer
to the stand.
Darryl brewer was this handsome,
chiseled guy who was about
two decades older than Jodi.
Brewer had requested
that his face not be shown
in any televised coverage,
and that request was granted.
So Americans didn't get a chance
to see what
a ruggedly handsome guy he was.
Nurmi: Tell US about who Jodi
was at that point in time.
Karas: Jodi arias dated
Darryl brewer
between 2002 and 2006.
She actually broke up with him
after meeting Travis Alexander.
But she remained
very friendly with him.
Jodi was a very responsible,
caring, loving person.
And she knew of your son?
- She did know of my son,
- yes.
And how was Jodi's
relationship with your son?
-It was outstanding.
-Were they close?
They were close.
- I thought that he did
- a very good job
of humanizing her to the jury.
They felt bad for her because,
at one point in her life,
she seemed to be
a normal, caring person.
Karas: Darryl brewer was
important for the defense,
but Juan Martinez had
something up his sleeve
to make him useful
to the prosecution, too,
because he still is working
on evidence of premeditation.
Martinez: In reading
Darryl brewer's summary,
- one of the things
- that I came across
was this indication
that in may of 2008,
- before she actually
- took the trip,
she actually called him
and asked something
that I thought
was a little bit... strange.
Narrator: Then, Martinez finally
unveils his secret weapon.
Sir, she did come by your house
on June 3rd of 2008,
right before her trip, right?
Yes.
And before she left, though,
you gave her two gas cans,
didn't you?
-I did.
And that... that seems strange,
because why would she want
to take gas cans on a trip?
Last time anybody
was in California,
- the place was dotted
- with gas stations,
and you could stop and fill up
anytime that you wanted.
Narrator: But after digging
into his case files,
Martinez believes
he's uncovered the reason
why Jodi borrowed the cans.
One of the things that
the detectives found
when they were in yreka
was a shoebox,
and in this shoebox were
the receipts that she had kept.
Those receipts showed Jodi's
travels through California
and in Nevada and Utah.
There were no receipts from
any stops anywhere in Arizona.
- Karas:
- The prosecution believed
that Jodi borrowed
the two gas cans
and filled them with gas
so that she could get into
the state of Arizona and out
without having to stop for gas,
where there would be a financial
transaction on record,
maybe a security video
at a gas station capturing her.
Martinez: And the reason she
didn't want anybody to know
that she had traveled
through Arizona
was because she knew
at the start of this trip
that she was going to kill him.
- Karas: Well,
- all of US were like,
"whoa. This is a big deal.
Wow.
This was, you know...
Great point."
- Velez-Mitchell:
- That's premeditation.
She's plotting the murder
of Travis Alexander.
It's the penultimate example
of premeditation.
Narrator: The defense then
attempts to rally,
by calling a witness
who can jump-start their assault
on Travis' character.
- Willmott:
- And once he had an erection,
he didn't stop, did he?
-No.
♪♪
- Narrator: In the murder trial
- of Jodi arias,
the defense calls
Travis' ex-girlfriend,
Lisa Andrews-didone,
to the stand.
Lisa Andrews was a young woman,
a mormon woman who had
dated Travis Alexander
in late 2007, early 2008.
- When Lisa Andrews
- was dating Travis,
she was a teenager,
very inexperienced, a virgin.
- Willmott:
- Did you believe that Travis
was dating anyone else?
I-I believed it was exclusive
between the two of US.
- -Okay.
- -It was monogamous.
The defense called Lisa Andrews
to corroborate
some of Jodi's defense,
that Travis was, you know,
a little bit sexually aggressive
and not respectful.
- Velez-Mitchell: She had written
- an email to Travis,
complaining about his behavior.
Did you talk to him
about that you knew
that sex was on his mind
from the very beginning?
Yes.
Did you ask him not to talk
about sex so much?
-Yes.
-He did anyway, right?
Yes.
- Did you talk to him about
- that sometimes you felt
that he wanted you
just for your body...
Um,
I did say that in the email.
And that your kisses
didn't mean anything to him?
I did say that in the email.
- That you felt it was
- a way for him
to let out some
sexual tension...
I did say that in the email.
That he had so much of?
Again, I said that.
- Velez-Mitchell:
- It was clear that Lisa Andrews
did not want to be there
and talk about
any of this stuff.
- Narrator:
- The defense then questions Lisa
about the end
of the relationship.
- Let's talk about the first time
- that you broke up.
What was the reason for that?
Um, I came to the understanding
that he was cheating on me.
- Do you know who
- he was cheating with?
- -Yes.
- -Who is that?
Jodi arias.
And how did you learn that?
A former roommate of his
had told my sister,
who then told me.
Okay, so Mr. Alexander
didn't tell you that.
No.
- Velez-Mitchell:
- When Juan Martinez
starts talking to her,
he basically tries to make
the point with Lisa Andrews
- that she, at the time
- of writing the email,
was very naive, sexually.
- And during the time
- that he was kissing,
and again, not to get
too much into this,
he achieved an erection, right?
-Yes.
- You did not massage
- his erection, right?
Correct.
- He did not massage
- his own erection, correct?
Correct.
- It was a biological response
- to your lips, wasn't it?
Correct.
And that, at that time,
because of your inexperience,
you thought that he should
have controlled his penis
from becoming tumescent,
or getting big,
- just because
- he was kissing you.
You thought that's what
the problem was, right?
Yes. Yes.
And in retrospect,
you think that perhaps,
- some of the comments
- that you made
were a little unfair to him?
-Yes.
Narrator: Then, the tone
of Martinez's questioning
takes a sharp turn.
Do you think, in your mind,
it is appropriate
to take a knife
and slash somebody's throat?
Velez-Mitchell:
And then he whips out the photo
of Travis Alexander's neck,
pretty much decapitated.
And it was a shocker.
Do you...
Judge: Counsel approach.
Counsel approach.
♪♪
- Velez-Mitchell: One of
- Travis Alexander's sisters
jumps up and runs out
of the courtroom, sobbing.
Her brother's chasing her.
All hell broke loose.
- I have to believe
- that Juan Martinez
did that for shock factor
because there was just really
no other reason to do that.
Narrator: Order is restored,
and as the defense continues
to argue their case,
intrigue begins to mount.
- Velez-Mitchell:
- One of the big questions
that the reporters
were asking themselves was,
would Jodi arias take the stand?
And who knew?
And I remember that day,
when she walked out
and I saw her walking,
she was walking toward
the witness stand.
The courtroom was electrified.
The courthouse was electrified.
Everybody was like, "oh, my god.
It's happening."
Nurmi: Hi, Jodi.
-Hi.
Narrator: Next time,
on the final episode
of "Jodi arias:
An American murder mystery"...
- Once she got on the stand,
- people were like, "oh, my god.
Jodi's going to
tell US the story."
Narrator: The dark secrets
of a toxic relationship emerge.
[ Jodi giggles, squeals,
[ and moans ]
I cannot believe I am sitting
here listening to this raunchy,
triple-x-rated, kinky sex.
He tells me I'm worthless,
and he tells me i'm.
Emotional abuse, mental abuse,
yeah, absolutely.
Narrator: And the incident
that drove her to kill.
I remember dropping the knife,
and I just remember screaming.
Narrator: On cross-examination,
sparks fly.
We're talking about
your memory problem, right?
I don't know if I'd even
call it a problem.
Concludes with a bang.
Clerk will read
and record the verdict.
Juries are going to come back.