Jodi Arias Testifies: "I Felt Like a Prostitute"

There is no testimony today or Friday in the Jodi Arias murder trial.  Today, attorneys on both sides are meeting with the judge, presumably to hash out more evidence to be presented in the defense case. I thought evidenciary hearings were held before the trial begins, but it seems this trial has had so many interruptions and delays - people are not sure what today's meeting is all about.  It could be about the much anticipated audio "phone sex" recordings the defense is expected to submit into evidence any day now.  I'd still like to know WHY Jodi Arias recorded these phone calls - especially in light of how she has been testifying that some of her encounters with Travis Alexander left her feeling "like a prostitute"!

Also making news today, a key prosecution rebuttal witness has reported a break in at her Phoenix home. Dr. Janeen Demarte is a clinical psychologist who evaluated Jodi Arias and is considered to be a "key witness" in the State's rebuttal case.  She reported that her laptop computer was stolen.  Is this just a strange coincidence? The timing of the break in and the item that was stolen seems suspect - although it's unclear what, if anything else was taken from the home.  The defense is expected to call several expert witnesses in the area of sexual and domestic abuse and the prosecution has their expert(s) for rebuttal.  This trial is starting to take on a life of it's own.

Murder defendant Jodi Arias has been on the witness stand for the last 3 days, and has provided background on her life since childhood and has discussed previous relationships, and how those relationships ended. Are they attempting to show that Arias is capable of ending relationships in a non-violent manner? In one of her interviews with Detective Flores, I recall her telling him that all of her previous boyfriends "were still alive"!  Wow - that's good to know.  In yesterday's testimony, the topic of the day seemed to center around Arias and Alexander's sex life - with graphic descriptions of their encounters.  Arias told jurors that some of these encounters left her feeling "like a prostitute", but she explained that she really liked Travis and that's why she kept returning to Mesa and other places as the encounters continued.

Arias described how Travis gave her a nickname:  "Pollyanna", because she had platinum blond hair at the time and simplistic/optimistic views on life. She said he also called her "skank" and "porn star".  They are doing their best to shine a bad light on Travis Alexander and allege he had this control over her. She's been on the stand for 3 days, yet other than admitting she killed him in order to protect herself, no violence has been mentioned and they are still a bit away in the timeline leading up to June of 2008, when Travis was viciously murdered in his own home.  Prosecutor Juan Martinez could be seen taking many many notes during Arias's testimony - objecting whenever Ms. Arias tried to veer away from the question or got off topic. Arias often apologized after the objection held up.

An ironic moment occurred when Arias described a former girlfriend of Travis Alexander named Deanna Reed (spelling?). She was referring to a time when a group of people gathered at Travis's home and Ms. Reed was expected to attend. Arias claims Travis asked her to be cautious when Deanna Reed was around, because she was "emotionally unstable" and would "freak out" if she saw Travis with another woman.  Whether or not that was really said, I don't know.  Talking about another woman being emotionally unstable seemed odd coming out of her mouth! It appears Arias will be on the stand for at least another few days judging by where they are now in the timeline - she will be cross examined by Martinez, which judging by his note taking should take some time. Arias should be followed by the expert defense witnesses and then the States rebuttal.  We are nowhere near the end!

Testimony continues on Monday!