Jodi Arias, who is being charged with first-degree murder in the killing of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, has spent two weeks on the witness stand answering detailed questions from attorneys about practically every aspect of her life including the day she killed Alexander.
Arias claimed she acted in self-defense when Alexander attacked her after a day of vulgar sex. However, authorities and prosecutors believe she planned it out of jealousy and rage.
Arias has had 3 stories since the incident: she initially told authorities she had nothing to do with Alexander’s death, she then changed her story and blamed it on masked intruders, and she is now settled on a self-defense argument. Arias argues she remembers very little from the incident and she acted violently because she feared for her life.
Arias shot Alexander in the head, stabbed him nearly 30 times and slit his throat from ear to ear.
On Wednesday, jurors will pose their own questions to the defendant, a procedure allowed under Arizona law in criminal cases. The prosecutor and her attorneys will meet Wednesday morning to review questions and submit any objections.
Throughout her testimony, Arias has described an abusive childhood blaming her parents, a past of cheating boyfriends, dead-end jobs, etc. She has also detailed for jurors how Alexander grew physically abusive in the months leading up to his death, once choking her into unconsciousness, and how he had sexual desires for young boys.
However, none of her allegations have been corroborated by witnesses or evidence during the trial, and she has admitted to lying repeatedly prior to and after her arrest, but Arias insists she is telling the truth now.
Arias has acknowledged she left the gun behind in the desert, got rid of her bloody clothes, tried to clean the scene at Alexander’s home, and even left the victim a voicemail on his mobile phone within hours of killing him and dragging his body into the shower. She admitted she was too scared and ashamed to tell the truth.
Arias’ grandparents had reported a .25 caliber handgun stolen from their Northern California home about a week before the killing which was the same caliber used to shoot Alexander.