The defense team alleged there was "Prosecutorial Misconduct" in that Gus Searcy had left phone messages for Martinez and the State didn't return his calls. There was misconduct alleged for the States handling of two other potential witnesses, Chris & Sky Hughes. I'd have to go back and look at my notes from that day to get more specific, however - I do recall Mr. Searcy being argumentative and non responsive, and Juan Martinez had clearly had enough of him.
What I recall from Searcy's testimony is that he never really said anything that left any impact - instead, what was most memorable from his testimony is the very high opinion he seems to have of himself as he explained what it takes to reach a "Director" level in PPL and what an achievement it is to receive a "ring" and be a ring wearer. He testified briefly about his business relationship(s) with Jodi Arias and Travis Alexander, but there didn't seem to be anything of substance. Yet there was some mystery around some statements he made, such as "I have some information that could either help Jodi Arias or hurt Jodi Arias".
Court was in recess Thursday and Friday, but low and behold Mr. Searcy is taking to the airwaves and gave several interviews on the HLN Network late last week, in which we finally found out what this "information" that he had was. Searcy told Dr. Drew that murder defendant Jodi Arias called him at 3:15AM on the morning of June 5, 2008 and told him that Travis Alexander was dead. He claims she was "hysterical", crying - yet Searcy never called the Mesa police department and asked them to do a welfare check on the Alexander home. Instead, he asked Arias if she was alright and he asked where she was. She told him she was in California - which we know is not true. At 3:15AM on June 5, 2008 - Arias would've either been:
A) On her way to Utah to see Ryan Burns
OR
What Searcy told Dr. Drew didn't make any sense to me. He told Dr. Drew that he didn't call the police department until AFTER Jodi Arias was arrested. She was arrested on July 15, 2008 - if he was told by Arias that Travis Alexander was dead on June 5, 2008, this would've been a full 4 days before friends entered the home and found his body on June 9, 2008. Why didn't Searcy call the police or 911? If somebody told you that an acquaintance was dead, wouldn't you be curious and ask a few questions? Like "what happened", or "how did it happen"? A healthy 30 year old man shouldn't just die. So if YOU found out a mutual acquaintance had died, wouldn't you discuss it with other business acquaintances, family or friends? Why the silence between June 5 and July 15th?
Searcy went on the same company sponsored trip to Cancun that Travis Alexander was supposed to go on June 10, 2008. If Arias told him Travis had died, and 5 days later he goes on the Cancun trip and obviously Alexander isn't there, you mean to tell me the topic wouldn't come up? This was a PPL sponsored trip! This just doesn't ring true. He further claimed that he "wasn't following the news" about Travis Alexander in the weeks that followed - as if somebody telling you about a person's death 4 days before the body is found wouldn't give you reason to pause? Was Gus Searcy protecting Jodi Arias? I wonder when Searcy gave Arias that new phone?
Searcy is now enjoying his 15 minutes of fame. My first impression of him hasn't changed, he wants to get something out of this tragedy. He has used this brutal murder and it's now infamous defendant to further his own personal and business pursuits. I find it very odd that he never thought to check with other PPL people after Arias told him Alexander was dead, and he didn't come forward with any of this information until after Jodi Arias was arrested. He had to have known by then that she was involved. She called him 4 DAYS BEFORE HIS BODY WAS FOUND!!
As Ms. Arias returns to the witness stand on Tuesday, her 7th day of testimony - will we finally get to the date that really matters in this trial - June 4, 2008? The jury has heard enough, the public has heard more than they ever wanted to know about Arias and Alexander's personal intimate life! It's time to put the actual murder defendant on trial now - they have attempted to put Travis Alexander on trial in their attempts to muddy the water, and it's not only distasteful, it's disgusting and I hope it all backfires on them. Does the defense team really believe their client?
The trial resumes on Tuesday morning - Arias will have to answer the really tough questions next week, and I'll bet her attorneys are prepping her for the cross examination. Good luck, you will need it!
