Trial Murder of Travis Alexander

1 trial

1.1 jury selection
1.2 guilt phase
1.3 aggravation phase
1.4 penalty phase
1.5 appeals
1.6 sentencing retrial

trial

jury selection

the trial commenced on december 10, 2012, in maricopa county superior court before judge sherry k. stephens. during jury selection on december 20, arias s defense attorneys argued prosecution systematically excluding women , african-americans; prosecutor juan martinez said race , sex irrelevant decisions strike jurors. judge stephens ruled prosecution had shown no bias in jury selection.

guilt phase

in opening arguments on january 2, 2013, prosecutor juan martinez sought death penalty. arias represented appointed counsel l. kirk nurmi , jennifer willmott, argued alexander s death justifiable homicide committed in self-defense.

ryan burns testified arias visited him in utah on june 5, , , arias had spent several hours hugging , kissing on large bean bag chair. told him had cut hands on broken glass while working @ restaurant called margaritaville. detective testified no restaurant name had ever existed in yreka area. @ time, arias working @ restaurant called casa ramos. later, arias testified after cut finger: had bazillion margaritas make.

the prosecution argued since .25 caliber round found near alexander s body , week before gun of same caliber disappeared during burglary of yreka home arias lived grandparents, arias had staged burglary , used gun kill alexander. martinez claimed arias had stalked alexander , had slashed tires twice. in addition, in final days before death alexander had called sociopath , worst thing ever happened me , , afraid of her.

arias took stand in own defense on february 4, 2013, testifying total of 18 days; sheer length of time arias spent on stand described criminal defense attorney mark geragos in report compiled associated press crimesider staff unprecedented . on first day of 18-day testimony, told of being violently abused parents beginning when approximately 7 years old. arias testified rented car in redding because budget web site gave 2 options, 1 north , 1 south, , brother lived in redding.

on second day on stand, arias said sex life included oral sex , anal sex; said anal sex painful first time experienced , while considered oral sex , anal sex real sex, alexander did not , believed these forms of sexual activity, in contrast vaginal sex, technically not against mormon rules. said had vaginal sex, less often. phone sex tape played, in alexander said wanted zip tie tree , have anal sex while dressed little red riding hood. alexander heard on tape telling arias m excited (inaudible) m going tie tree , put in mormon hole. arias responded debasing! it! , , @ no time showed reluctance participate in sexual topics discussed. testified alexander secretly found young boys , girls sexually attractive , tried him these urges.

arias testified relationship alexander became increasingly physically , emotionally abusive. arias said alexander shook while saying m fucking sick of , began screaming @ me , after body slammed me on floor @ foot of bed , taunted her, saying don t act hurts , before called bitch , kicked in ribs. afterward, arias said went kick me again, , put hand out. arias held left hand in courtroom showing ring finger crooked.

according arias, dysfunction of relationship reached climax when killed alexander in self-defense after became enraged following dropping camera, forcing fight life. third different account of how alexander s death had occurred arias had offered police, both prosecutors , observers felt severely damaged arias s credibility, sentiment later echoed jurors upon completion of guilt phase.

arias addressed comments made in september 2008 television interview had been played earlier in trial. in interview, had said: no jury going convict me ... because innocent. can mark words on that. discussing statement during testimony, arias said, @ time [of interview], had plans commit suicide. extremely confident no jury convict me, because didn t expect of here. @ close of cross-examination of arias, martinez replayed video , prompted arias affirm had said during interview not convicted because innocent.

at end of guilt phase, jury s foreman, william zervakos, expressed opinion common both jury members , courtroom observers when told abc s morning america arias testimony did not good. think 18 days hurt her. think not witness, said.

starting march 14, psychologist richard samuels testified defense 6 days. said arias suffering acute stress @ time of killing, sending body fight or flight mode defend herself, caused brain stop retaining memory. in response juror question asking whether scenario occur if premeditated murder, prosecution contended, responded: possible? yes. probable? no. samuels diagnosed arias post traumatic stress disorder. prosecutor juan martinez attacked samuels credibility, accusing him of forming relationship arias , being biased. samuels had testified had compassion arias. beginning on march 26, alyce laviolette, psychotherapist specializes in domestic violence, testified arias victim of domestic abuse, , victims not tell abuse because feel ashamed , humiliated. laviolette summarised emails alexander s close friends have advised ms. arias move on relationship .. mr. alexander has been abusive women. jury posed 160 questions laviolette, many of them focusing on arias credibility.

clinical psychologist janeen demarte testified prosecution arias did not suffer ptsd or amnesia, , found no evidence alexander had abused arias. instead, demarte said arias suffered borderline personality disorder, showing signs of immaturity , unstable sense of identity. people suffer such disorder have terrified feeling of being abandoned others , demarte told jurors.

on april 24, in response previous testimony given arias buying five-gallon gas can walmart store in salinas, california, on june 3, 2008, returned on same day, prosecution called amanda webb, walmart employee walmart in salinas, stand. employee said according wal-mart s records no 1 returned five-gallon gas can on date, , arias returned gas can week later rather on june 3.

the final defense witness psychologist dr. robert geffner, said demarte s borderline diagnosis not appropriate , tests taken arias since arrest pointed toward anxiety disorder stemming trauma. said tests indicated answered questions honestly, without lying. following geffner s testimony, state recalled dr. horn testified further on gunshot wound, , called dr. jill hayes, forensic neuro-psychologist, disputed geffner s testimony mmpi test not geared toward diagnosing borderline personality disorder, concluding long day in court @ 8:29 pm

in closing arguments on may 4, arias defense argued premeditation theory did not make sense. happened in moment in time? relationship, relationship of chaos, ended in chaos well. there nothing happened on june 4th in bathroom looks planned ... couldn t after went through in relationship, snapped? ... ultimately, if miss arias guilty of crime @ all, crime of manslaughter , nothing more. in rebuttal, prosecutor martinez described extent , variety of alexander s wounds. there no evidence ever laid hand on her, ever. nothing indicates less slaughter. there no way appease woman wouldn t leave him alone, said.

arias 18-day testimony added long defense portion of guilt phase of trial, led problems retention of jury members. on april 3, member of jury dismissed misconduct . defense team asked mistrial, judge denied. on april 12, juror excused health reasons. third juror dismissed on april 25 after being arrested dui offense.

as of april 25, 2013, defense costs had reached $1.7 million, paid taxpayers.

on may 8, 2013, after 15 hours of deliberation, arias found guilty of first-degree murder. out of twelve jurors, 5 jurors found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, , 7 jurors found guilty of both first-degree premeditated murder , felony murder. guilty verdict read, alexander s family smiled , hugged each other. people outside courtroom began cheering , chanting.

aggravation phase

following first-degree murder conviction, prosecution required convince jury murder cruel, heinous, or depraved in order them determine arias eligible death penalty. aggravation phase of trial started on may 15, 2013. witness medical examiner performed autopsy. arias attorneys, had repeatedly asked step down case, gave brief opening statements , closing arguments, in said adrenaline rushing through alexander s body may have prevented him feeling pain during death. prosecutor martinez showed photos of corpse , crime scene jury, paused 2 minutes of silence illustrate how long said took alexander die @ arias hands. after less 3 hours of consideration, jury determined arias eligible death penalty.

penalty phase

the penalty phase began on may 16, 2013, when prosecutors called alexander s family members offer victim impact statements, in effort convince jury arias s crime merited death sentence.

on may 21, 2013, arias offered allocution, during pleaded life sentence. arias acknowledged plea life reversal of remarks made tv reporter shortly after conviction, when said preferred death penalty. each time said that, meant it, lacked perspective, said. until recently, not imagine standing before , asking give me life. said changed mind avoid bringing more pain members of family, in courtroom. @ 1 point, held white t-shirt word survivor written across it, telling jurors sell clothing , donate proceeds victims of domestic abuse. said donate hair locks of love while in prison, , had done 3 times while in jail.

that evening, in joint jailhouse interview arizona republic, 12 news , nbc s today show, arias said did not know whether jury come life or death. whatever come have deal it, have no other choice. regarding verdict said, felt huge sense of unreality, felt betrayed, actually, jury. hoping see things are. felt awful family , thinking.

on may 23, 2013, sentencing phase of arias s trial resulted in hung jury, prompting judge declare mistrial phase. subsequent jury reached 8-4 decision in favor of death penalty.

after mistrial declared , jury discharged, jury foreman stated believed arias mentally abused, had not been enough excuse crime. said, think 18 days hurt her, think not witness. re charged presuming innocence, right? on stand long, there many contradicting stories. said jury found responsibility of weighing death sentence overwhelming, horrified when efforts ended in mistrial. end of it, mentally , emotionally exhausted, said. think horrified when found out had called mistrial, , felt had failed.

on may 30, 2013, maricopa county attorney bill montgomery discussed next steps @ news conference. said confident impartial jury seated, possible lawyers , victim s family agree scrap trial in favor of life sentence no parole. arias had said, don t think there untainted jury pool anywhere in world right now. s feels like. still believe in system degree, ll go through if happens. defense attorneys responded, if diagnosis made state s psychologist correct, maricopa county attorney s office seeking impose death penalty upon mentally ill woman has no prior criminal history. not incumbent upon ms. arias defense counsel resolve case.

appeals

during trial, defense attorneys filed mistrial in january, april , may 2013.

arias lawyers argued in january detective esteban flores, lead mesa police detective on case, perjured himself during 2009 pretrial hearing aimed @ determining whether death penalty should considered option jurors. flores testified @ 2009 hearing based on own review of scene, , discussion medical examiner, apparent alexander had been shot in forehead first. contrary flores testimony @ 2009 hearing, medical examiner told jurors gunshot have incapacitated alexander; given extensive defense wounds, including stab marks , slashes hands, arms , legs, not shot came first. flores denied perjury , said during trial testimony misunderstood medical examiner told him.

in april, defense claimed prosecutor had acted inappropriately , said case resembled modern-day equivalent salem witch trials. in motion defense team contended prosecutorial misconduct has infested these proceedings level of unfairness cannot cured other means. motion stated there circus-like atmosphere inside courtroom , prosecutor juan martinez had yelled @ witnesses, attacked witnesses on personal level, , had thrown evidence. motion alleged martinez chose release evidence , pose pictures fans on steps of courthouse. attorneys claimed arias in position not present complete defense, , constitutional course declare mistrial.

on may 20, 2013, defense attorneys again filed mistrial. motion alleged defense witness had been due testify preceding friday, 17th, began receiving threats, including threats on life if testify on arias behalf. day before filing, witness contacted counsel arias, stating no longer willing testify due these threats. motion continued, should noted these threats follow made alyce laviolette, record of made ex-parte , under seal. motion denied, motion stay in proceedings had been sought give time appeal decisions arizona supreme court.

on may 29, 2013, arizona supreme court declined hear appeal filed 3 months earlier, refused mid-level arizona court of appeals. nurmi had asked high court throw out aggravating factor of cruelty because judge had allowed go forward based on different theory of how murder occurred. lead detective claimed gunshot occurred first, followed stabbing , slitting of throat; based on theory, stephens ruled there probable cause find crime had been committed in cruel manner, aggravating factor under state law. subsequent initial hearing, medical examiner testified gunshot occurred postmortem.

sentencing retrial

on october 20, 2014, arias sentencing retrial began. opening statements given, , hearing on evidence held. prosecution witness amanda webb, called in first trial rebut arias testimony returned gas can walmart on june 3, 2008, admitted did not know if records transferred after store relocated. after holiday break, retrial resumed in january, 2015. mesa police experts admitted alexander s laptop had viruses , pornography, contrary testimony in first trial in 2013. jury deliberations began on february 25, 2015. on march 3, 2015, jury informed judge stephens deadlocked. arias attorneys requested mistrial. stephens denied request, read additional instructions jury, , ordered them resume deliberations. on march 5, 2015, stephens declared mistrial because jurors, deliberated 26 hours on 5 days, deadlocked @ 11-1 vote in favor of death penalty. sentencing scheduled april 13, 2015, stephens having option sentence arias either life imprisonment without possibility of parole, or possibility of parole after 25 years. on april 13, stephens sentenced arias life imprisonment without possibility of parole. until march 5, 2015, arias trials cost estimated $3 million.

in interview on april 14, 2015, arias attorney jennifer willmott discussed social media furor, death threats received, arias statements @ sentencing, holdout juror, , stated believed arias testified truthfully.

in june 2015, following restitution hearing, arias ordered pay more $32,000 alexander s siblings. arias attorney stated 1/3 of amount requested.