32 year old murder defendant Jodi Arias broke down in tears in court on Thursday - her hands shook as they covered her face. She was at the end of a grueling cross examination by veteran Arizona prosecutor Juan Martinez and has spent several weeks on the witness stand. People are skeptical whether the tears she cried in court were for herself and the possibility of a death sentence or lengthy prison term, or if she is feeling remorse for savagely killing ex boyfriend Travis Alexander.
The trial has been headline grabbing because of the scandalous nature of the testimony heard in the courtroom and the unusual circumstances and evidence uncovered by law enforcement. It's not often that the prosecutor has photographic evidence depicting a crime in progress, time & date stamped to boot. Without the photos, it would have been more difficult to pinpoint when the victim was killed and prove Arias was there. The defendant has also drawn further attention to the case by holding a number of media interviews during her time in the Estrella jail where she has been held since shortly after her arrest on July 15, 2008. In the interviews, Arias appears almost giddy at times, applying makeup and primping her hair before the camera.
Arias has been charged with first degree murder with special circumstances that could get her the death penalty if convicted. Arias and her attorneys claim Arias killed Alexander in self-defense, but this was the third story she has given since the murder. During her time on the stand, her testimony was filled with the intimate details of their sex life and included a "sex tape" - an audio recording between Arias and Alexander where the jury first hears the voice of murder victim Travis Alexander. Arias insists that she recorded the call at the request of Travis, yet it doesn't seem to me that he knew he was being recorded. If he had wanted her to record one of their "phone sex" calls, why would there be several minutes of unrelated chit chat before turning sexual? It sounded more like Arias was the one who turned the tone of the call, and I seriously doubt he would have wanted her to have this recording since he seemed to be keeping their relationship under wraps.
Arias and her attorney attempted to paint Travis Alexander as a controlling and abusive man with an abnormal appetite for kinky sex. They even went as far as to allege he was attracted to very young boys - an allegation that lacks any evidence other than the words of the defendant who has much to gain by lying. Prosecutor Juan Martinez cross examined Arias and discredited nearly every event in which Arias claims she was physically or sexually abused and since she provided specific dates for several of the alleged attacks, Martinez was able to discredit Arias by using her own words against her.
He used Jodi Arias's media and police interviews to show she was a well documented liar - he used her own dated journal entries to suggest these things never happened to Arias. In one entry during a crucial period in January of 2008, Arias wrote "haven't written in a while because there is nothing noteworthy to report". This was written just two days following one of the most outrageous allegations she made about Travis Alexander, telling the jury she walked in on Travis "pleasuring himself" while viewing photos of young boys. Much of her defense is built around this event, which she claims occurred on January 21, 2008. Arias testified that on January 22, 2008 she and Travis had an argument that turned violent. She described being "body slammed" to the floor, being kicked in the ribs and hand - resulting in a broken left ring finger. She would go on to use the body slammed term several times under direct and cross examination - sounded a little too rehearsed in my opinion. As did the "linebacker pose" she described him taking on June 4, 2008 before she killed him.
Next week as the defense case continues, they are expected to bring forth an expert witness in the area of" Battered Woman Syndrome". I'm not sure if this is a psychologist or a psychiatrist but it's expected they will argue Arias suffered from something that caused her to snap. I wanted to review the origin of the "battered woman syndrome" to see how they may try to use this to help Arias.
I was surprised to find that "battered woman's syndrome" was a term coined by a Dr. Lenore Walker in the 1970's and is only based on her own clinical observations to which she wrote and published her hypothesis on. It was never validated based on scientific research or accepted as a bona fide condition. Still, the concept caught on in courtrooms across America as a way to explain and justify the murder of a woman's spouse.
While domestic violence is a real and growing epidemic in this country, unfortunately there is no way to differentiate women who truly are battered from those who just claim they are in order to escape punishment for their criminal acts. Battered woman's syndrome has been used in criminal trials by women for justification or self defense, for temporary insanity claims, for diminished capacity claims and to mitigate circumstances to reduce their punishment if found guilty. While the idea of battered woman's syndrome was originally proposed as a theory sympathetic to women who were battered and only killed to stop the battering, it has been misused by many who simply present false symptoms and false testimony in an attempt to avoid punishment.
In 2003, Susan Wright was arrested and charged with killing her husband Jeff Wright in Houston, Texas. Jeff Wright was stabbed 193 times with two different knives. Susan Wright pleaded "not guilty by reason of self-defense", and claimed she suffered years of abuse at the hands of a violent husband who abused drugs. In 2004, Wright was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Wright won an appeal after a new witness came forward to help substantiate Wright's claims that Jeff was abusive. The witness was a former fiancee of Jeff Wrights, and she testified about the abuse and violence she endured during a 4 year relationship with him.
Based on the new information, Susan Wright's sentence was reduced to 20 years. She will be eligible for parole in February of 2014 when she is 38 years old. Did I tell you she stabbed him 193 times???? I don't know if I'll ever agree that 193 stab wounds = self defense. I have the same problem with Jodi Arias's defense. One look at those crime scene photos makes any type of justification defense seem ludicrous. Had she shot him once, stabbed him once, perhaps she could make a case that she did so to defend herself. Comparing Travis's wounds to Jodi's tells the story of a one-sided fight that he may not have even seen coming. After all, she was telling him how to pose for the shower pictures, even photographing him with his back turned to her and sitting in the shower. That must have left him completely vulnerable and defenseless against her.
It's cases like these that truly damage the real victims of abuse in this country. Reports of abuse against women has been rising at an alarming rate, and that doesn't take into account the many many cases that are never reported because the victim is truly afraid and may have nowhere to go. These women are often times financially dependent on the abuser, may have children with them and for whatever reason they can't seem to break free. The most dangerous time in the life of a battered woman is when they attempt to leave. There are women out there who end up injuring or killing an abusive boyfriend or husband in self defense, it's almost always their last resort after enduring and suffering over a long period of time. At that point, they likely are not concerned with the consequences of their actions, they have just had enough and are afraid they will end up being killed if they fail to act.
Each and every case is unique with it's own set of circumstances. Putting Jodi Arias is a category with these other victims of domestic violence, based only on her word is an injustice to battered women everywhere. I'm afraid that domestic violence and battered women's syndrome and the like are being over used by defense attorneys in an attempt to escape or minimize punishment for criminal behavior. How can we trust the opinion of the expert witnesses, if their opinions are based on deception and lies by a defendant? How does a doctor measure whether or not the person they are examining is being truthful? Science has come a long way in assisting law enforcement in bringing criminals to justice, unfortunately science has not come up with a way to validate abuse allegations.
It will be interesting to see how Kirk Nurmi and Jennifer Willmott attempt to clear the wreckage left behind by Juan Martinez's very effective cross examination of their client. Speaking of expert witnesses, another interesting twist to this case was reported on February 6, 2013 when a key rebuttal witness for the prosecution reported a burglary at her home in which her laptop was stolen! Dr. Janeen Demarte is a clinical psychologist who examined Jodi Arias and is expected to be called as a rebuttal witness for the State.
The laptop contained a psychological profile of Jodi Arias. Demarte has been called a "key witness" for the State, so the theft of her laptop seems untimely and highly suspicious. It was not reported if anything else of value was taken, but it's just another one of those things that have made this case a media circus. Demarte has been reportedly listed as a witness for the State for the last 2 years in "publicly filed documents". Could this be a random burglary, or did somebody target the home for the content of the laptop? Could Demarte's report on Arias give the defense a hand up during their expert's testimony? Only time will tell. Arias has been in jail for nearly 5 years waiting for her day in court. I'm sure she has developed many relationships with people on the outside. Prosecutor Juan Martinez demonstrated the lengths Arias is willing to go to in order to escape or minimize her punishment when he entered the magazines into evidence that contained a coded message that Arias attempted to give to Ann Campbell during a jailhouse visit. The magazines were intercepted by the guards at the jail, but the coded message suggested that Arias was attempting to get somebody to change their testimony to match her own.
So we have seen the deception Jodi Arias is capable of. The trial resumes tomorrow. Stay tuned! Have a great weekend -
MY CRIMETIME BY MY FORTE. A DISCUSSION OF MURDERS IN THE NEWS.
Questions The Jury Should Ponder When Deciding Jodi Arias's Fate
As prosecutor Juan Martinez wraps up his cross examination of murder defendant Jodi Arias, defense attorneys Kirk Nurmi and Jennifer Willmott must be scrambling to try to clear some of the wreckage caused by their client's inconsistent answers and the lack of any real evidence that Jodi Arias was ever in any real danger on June 4, 2008 when she brutally stabbed, shot and slit the throat of Travis Alexander. It will be no easy task. It was obvious Arias was worn down by the end of yesterday's court session - in contrast to her confident and at times defiant answers at the beginning of the cross examination, she hung her head yesterday and was barely audible at times.
She sobbed and her hands shook when shown photos of the carnage she left behind in that Mesa, Arizona shower stall. She seemingly peeked out of the corner of her eye when Juan Martinez asked her to look at the photograph, but she couldn't look at it for long. Is it finally sinking in that she killed Travis? Has she finally come to the realization that there was no need to kill him, there was no real danger that night, other than the danger that she was slowly losing him and the only thing that bound these two together was sex? She had to have known that while Travis Alexander obviously enjoyed their intense physical relationship, he was looking for more in the way of a lifetime companion. I think she knew that while he may have liked the fact that Arias rarely, if ever turned him down for whatever type of sex he wanted - but in fact she knew he respected the women he dated that had the willpower or the faith in their religion to stop when things got too heated.
Jodi Arias was "all in" when it came to Travis Alexander. She wanted to be with him, and despite her telling the jury that she was OK with them both moving on in their lives and the discussion about her desire to have their children play together one day was simply not true. I don't believe for one minute that's what she wanted from him. She wanted it all, and if she couldn't have it, she made sure no other woman would have it either. One of the problems with Arias's testimony (and there are many) is that her words do not match up with her actions and with what friends close to the couple witnessed during their relationship. I heard one of the In Session contributors refer to it as the "because I said so" defense. That's about what we have here. The experts will come in and testify that Jodi Arias perceived she was in danger because of the past traumatic events she experienced with Travis, her mom, her father and previous boyfriends who cheated or otherwise wronged her. Martinez will point out that if their expert opinion is based on lies, than it cannot be an accurate opinion of the defendant.
I was hoping Juan Martinez would demonstrate in court how high the shelf was where Arias claims to have gotten the gun from in that closet. I believe he said she was 5 foot 2 inches tall, and the top shelf of that closet is higher than the top of the door frame - I thought he said it was nearly 9 feet. In this chaotic and panicked moment, where she fears he is just steps behind her would she have the time and the ability to climb onto a shelf and reach back for the gun without disturbing a single article of clothing in the closet? I'd have liked to have seen a demonstration, but then again it could have backfired if it turned out to be less difficult than I think it was! That would have been similar to the OJ Simpson blunder with the gloves.
The trial still has a ways to go - Nurmi and Willmott have their redirect of Jodi Arias, then they have to present the rest of their case and call the remaining witnesses, who will be cross examined by Martinez. I believe Martinez will have rebuttal after that, and then closing arguments will begin. Could be another two weeks before the jury receives their instructions and can begin to deliberate. I hope the jury understands the theory of "reasonable doubt". Some juries mistake reasonable doubt for all doubt - I've heard that Maricopa county has a very conservative jury pool, and we still don't know which jurors will deliberate and which will be alternates. If I were on that jury, I'd want to discuss the following points:
She sobbed and her hands shook when shown photos of the carnage she left behind in that Mesa, Arizona shower stall. She seemingly peeked out of the corner of her eye when Juan Martinez asked her to look at the photograph, but she couldn't look at it for long. Is it finally sinking in that she killed Travis? Has she finally come to the realization that there was no need to kill him, there was no real danger that night, other than the danger that she was slowly losing him and the only thing that bound these two together was sex? She had to have known that while Travis Alexander obviously enjoyed their intense physical relationship, he was looking for more in the way of a lifetime companion. I think she knew that while he may have liked the fact that Arias rarely, if ever turned him down for whatever type of sex he wanted - but in fact she knew he respected the women he dated that had the willpower or the faith in their religion to stop when things got too heated.
Jodi Arias was "all in" when it came to Travis Alexander. She wanted to be with him, and despite her telling the jury that she was OK with them both moving on in their lives and the discussion about her desire to have their children play together one day was simply not true. I don't believe for one minute that's what she wanted from him. She wanted it all, and if she couldn't have it, she made sure no other woman would have it either. One of the problems with Arias's testimony (and there are many) is that her words do not match up with her actions and with what friends close to the couple witnessed during their relationship. I heard one of the In Session contributors refer to it as the "because I said so" defense. That's about what we have here. The experts will come in and testify that Jodi Arias perceived she was in danger because of the past traumatic events she experienced with Travis, her mom, her father and previous boyfriends who cheated or otherwise wronged her. Martinez will point out that if their expert opinion is based on lies, than it cannot be an accurate opinion of the defendant.
I was hoping Juan Martinez would demonstrate in court how high the shelf was where Arias claims to have gotten the gun from in that closet. I believe he said she was 5 foot 2 inches tall, and the top shelf of that closet is higher than the top of the door frame - I thought he said it was nearly 9 feet. In this chaotic and panicked moment, where she fears he is just steps behind her would she have the time and the ability to climb onto a shelf and reach back for the gun without disturbing a single article of clothing in the closet? I'd have liked to have seen a demonstration, but then again it could have backfired if it turned out to be less difficult than I think it was! That would have been similar to the OJ Simpson blunder with the gloves.
The trial still has a ways to go - Nurmi and Willmott have their redirect of Jodi Arias, then they have to present the rest of their case and call the remaining witnesses, who will be cross examined by Martinez. I believe Martinez will have rebuttal after that, and then closing arguments will begin. Could be another two weeks before the jury receives their instructions and can begin to deliberate. I hope the jury understands the theory of "reasonable doubt". Some juries mistake reasonable doubt for all doubt - I've heard that Maricopa county has a very conservative jury pool, and we still don't know which jurors will deliberate and which will be alternates. If I were on that jury, I'd want to discuss the following points:
- Which parts of Jodi Arias's testimony do I believe to be true, if any?
- What evidence do we have to consider that will either back up her version of each event, or is in conflict with her version of each event?
- Considering we know Arias has lied to family, friends and law enforcement, and has admitting doing so to escape punishment for killing Travis Alexander, how can we determine when she is telling the truth now?
- Do we agree that Jodi Arias was a willing and enthusiastic participant in the sexual part of their relationship, or do we believe she did it only to please Travis Alexander as she testified?
These are just a few areas I can think of to establish a baseline on how to decide what can be believed and what can be discarded as fabrication. Moving on to the evidence:
- Reviewing all crime scene photos, is it possible that this killing occurred the way she says it did?
- I believe regardless of what came first - the gunshot or the stabbing, this was an especially cruel and heinous murder. But since it is a factor in this case, do we believe the shell casing could have come to rest in a pool of blood that she testified wasn't there at the time the gun went off? Is this scientifically possible, for the blood to pool itself under a shell casing in this manner?
- How believable is it that there was a .25 caliber gun reported stolen from Arias's grandparents house a week before a .25 caliber gun was used to shoot Travis, and what are the odds it wasn't the same gun, when nobody who knew him said he owned or kept a firearm in his home?
- When you travel using a rented car, do you fill up gas cans to carry in the trunk, so you won't run out of gas or to save money on gas?
- Assuming you have several physical altercations with a person you are in a relationship with, would you tell anybody? Would you write about it in a personal journal or a diary?
- Would you keep returning to the abusive person if you feared them so much?
- Have you ever taped a phone conversation with somebody else, with or without their knowledge? Did Arias direct that conversation in the direction of dirty talk, knowing she was taping it?
- Why did Jodi Arias take a photo of the "Travis Alexander's" t-shirt and underwear a week before being arrested? Where were the "Spideys" she talked at length about?
- Do we believe Jodi walked in on Travis and saw what she claims she saw on January 21, 2008? Is it possible for someone to exhibit this type of behavior and have nothing on their personal computer or in their home such as photos?
- Why didn't Jodi Arias have more or greater injuries herself following this "life and death struggle" she had with Travis Alexander? Compare his injuries to hers. She only required band aids, he went to the morgue.
- Do we believe Travis Alexander broke Jodi Arias's left ring finger? Or did she break it while killing him?
These are just a few questions I hope the jury asks themselves when they finally get to deliberate this case. If they use common sense and review the real evidence in this case, I feel justice will prevail. What are your thoughts? Were Jodi Arias's tears for real yesterday, or were they for herself when she realized her defense was not going to fly?
I think she may be coming to the realization of what she did, and the potential consequences. Does she really believe in her heart that this murder was justified? I don't see how she could.
Martinez Closes In On Jodi Arias
Yesterday was one of Juan Martinez's best days in court, in my opinion. He started strong and made several great points and never let up on Jodi Arias - but not to the extent he went to on previous days where the two challenged each other, Arias corrected his grammar and he allowed her to pull him off course.
He was focused and walked Arias through the events on June 4, 2008 and we finally heard Jodi Arias's account of what happened that day. She claims to have "huge gaps" in her memory around the actual stabbing and told the jury she doesn't remember stabbing Travis, nor does she remember cutting his throat from ear to ear - but oddly enough, she does remember the gun going off but claims she didn't realize the shot had hit Alexander for some time.
Here's how she said it happened, in a nutshell: Arias was taking photos of Travis in the shower, she mentioned aiming for a "Calvin Klein look" for the photo shoot. Martinez argued the point that the shower photo shoot had in fact been Arias's idea, not Alexander's as she previously testified under direct. She was taking photos, directing the poses and at some point she dropped the camera. She recalls it bounced twice on the tile before coming to rest on the bath mat. She claims Travis became "enraged", and began shouting profanities at her, calling her a "fuc*ing idiot". She first said he stepped out of the shower, grabbed and "body slammed" her into the tile floor. He was standing above her, she rolled away from him and got up and ran down the hall.
Although she never looked back to see if he was following her, she believed he was just a few feet behind her. Instead of exiting the master suite, which would have been closer she decided to run into his large walk-in closet where she shut the door behind her. She ran to the opposite end of the closet and was able to reach the top shelf where she claims Travis had a .25 caliber gun hidden. She testified earlier to finding that gun while cleaning his house. Juan Martinez showed the jury a photo of the closet - it was one of the neatest closets I've ever seen, especially for a single male. It was one of the neatest closets I've seen period. Everything hung neatly, shoes lined up on shelves.
Although the top shelf was several feet taller than Arias, she claims she easily reached it by standing on the edge of one of the shelves. Martinez pointed out the items in his closet were completely undisturbed - and asked her how, in this frenzy with Alexander literally just feet behind her, she was able to get to this high shelf and grab the gun without disturbing any of the clothing or shoes with Travis Alexander just steps behind her? She insisted she was able to. There was a long wooden sitting bench in the middle of that closet, which was undisturbed. She exited the opposite closet door, and again - instead of running down the hall and out the door of the master suite, she ended up back in the bathroom where she claims this confrontation began.
She said she stood in the middle of the bathroom, holding the gun out with both arms extended. Travis entered, she claims he took a "linebacker stance" and came towards her when the gun went off. This contradicts her earlier testimony that he had grabbed her by the waist during the confrontation before the gun went off. Martinez asked Arias to demonstrate for the jury the "linebacker stance" she says he took. The judge cleared the courtroom, as they had to remove Arias's shackles so the jury wouldn't see her in them. When the jury returned, Arias stood and crouched down with her arms out and says he lunged at her in this manner. She said he was in the process of coming towards her when the gun went off and he fell on top of her. They both fell to the bathroom floor. He became even more enraged and said "I'm going to kill you bitch".
She again described rolling away from him, fearing he would get on top of her and she would be trapped. She claims he was pulling at her clothes and grabbing at her during the struggle on the floor. She still didn't know he had been hit in the forehead with the .25 caliber gunshot? At this point, her memory fades. She provided no details about stabbing Travis. Martinez displayed several crime scene photos, at which time Arias began sobbing uncontrollably. He asked her "were you crying when you shot Mr. Alexander"? Arias answered "I don't know". "Were you crying when you stabbed Mr. Alexander?" "I don't remember" Arias answered. "Were you crying when you slit his throat from ear to ear?". Arias, still sobbing answered "I don't know".
Martinez then questioned her about the "fog" she describes herself as being in, and points out that through this fog, she knew well enough to:
He was focused and walked Arias through the events on June 4, 2008 and we finally heard Jodi Arias's account of what happened that day. She claims to have "huge gaps" in her memory around the actual stabbing and told the jury she doesn't remember stabbing Travis, nor does she remember cutting his throat from ear to ear - but oddly enough, she does remember the gun going off but claims she didn't realize the shot had hit Alexander for some time.
Here's how she said it happened, in a nutshell: Arias was taking photos of Travis in the shower, she mentioned aiming for a "Calvin Klein look" for the photo shoot. Martinez argued the point that the shower photo shoot had in fact been Arias's idea, not Alexander's as she previously testified under direct. She was taking photos, directing the poses and at some point she dropped the camera. She recalls it bounced twice on the tile before coming to rest on the bath mat. She claims Travis became "enraged", and began shouting profanities at her, calling her a "fuc*ing idiot". She first said he stepped out of the shower, grabbed and "body slammed" her into the tile floor. He was standing above her, she rolled away from him and got up and ran down the hall.
Although she never looked back to see if he was following her, she believed he was just a few feet behind her. Instead of exiting the master suite, which would have been closer she decided to run into his large walk-in closet where she shut the door behind her. She ran to the opposite end of the closet and was able to reach the top shelf where she claims Travis had a .25 caliber gun hidden. She testified earlier to finding that gun while cleaning his house. Juan Martinez showed the jury a photo of the closet - it was one of the neatest closets I've ever seen, especially for a single male. It was one of the neatest closets I've seen period. Everything hung neatly, shoes lined up on shelves.
Although the top shelf was several feet taller than Arias, she claims she easily reached it by standing on the edge of one of the shelves. Martinez pointed out the items in his closet were completely undisturbed - and asked her how, in this frenzy with Alexander literally just feet behind her, she was able to get to this high shelf and grab the gun without disturbing any of the clothing or shoes with Travis Alexander just steps behind her? She insisted she was able to. There was a long wooden sitting bench in the middle of that closet, which was undisturbed. She exited the opposite closet door, and again - instead of running down the hall and out the door of the master suite, she ended up back in the bathroom where she claims this confrontation began.
She said she stood in the middle of the bathroom, holding the gun out with both arms extended. Travis entered, she claims he took a "linebacker stance" and came towards her when the gun went off. This contradicts her earlier testimony that he had grabbed her by the waist during the confrontation before the gun went off. Martinez asked Arias to demonstrate for the jury the "linebacker stance" she says he took. The judge cleared the courtroom, as they had to remove Arias's shackles so the jury wouldn't see her in them. When the jury returned, Arias stood and crouched down with her arms out and says he lunged at her in this manner. She said he was in the process of coming towards her when the gun went off and he fell on top of her. They both fell to the bathroom floor. He became even more enraged and said "I'm going to kill you bitch".
She again described rolling away from him, fearing he would get on top of her and she would be trapped. She claims he was pulling at her clothes and grabbing at her during the struggle on the floor. She still didn't know he had been hit in the forehead with the .25 caliber gunshot? At this point, her memory fades. She provided no details about stabbing Travis. Martinez displayed several crime scene photos, at which time Arias began sobbing uncontrollably. He asked her "were you crying when you shot Mr. Alexander"? Arias answered "I don't know". "Were you crying when you stabbed Mr. Alexander?" "I don't remember" Arias answered. "Were you crying when you slit his throat from ear to ear?". Arias, still sobbing answered "I don't know".
Martinez then questioned her about the "fog" she describes herself as being in, and points out that through this fog, she knew well enough to:
- Delete the incriminating photos from his camera
- Remove her bloody socks before walking out of the master suite
- Put the camera in the washing machine and turn the washer on
- Put the knife in the dishwasher - or take it with her
- Some attempts were made to clean parts of the crime scene
- Remove the gun, rope and dispose of them
- She pulled over before a security check near Niagara Falls and cleaned the blood off her hands, changed her clothes and got rid of bloody clothing
- She called Ryan Burns and made up a lie as to why she was so late
- She disposed of the gun in the middle of the desert where it wouldn't be found
- She left a voice mail for Travis Alexander just hours after killing him
I may have missed some points, but clearly she was able to think these things through, after killing someone - was she really in this "fog" she describes? Martinez continued on to all of the deceptive things she did involving the police, Travis's friends and family to point suspicion away from herself. She admitted to doing these deceptive things. What struck me during yesterday's testimony is this: nothing she described that Travis did that night would be considered threatening enough to take it to the level she took things to. She said that after she shot him and they were on the bathroom floor, she "closed her eyes real tight", she wasn't even looking at him - yet she perceived he was about to kill her?
Even if you believe every single thing Arias said yesterday about 6/4/08, the worst thing he did was yell at her and come towards her with outstretched arms. Would she be justified in killing him simply for Travis tackling her? That's about the extent of the danger she described. I know they will bring in their "experts" to discuss her "perception of danger", and how it may have been distorted by their previous episodes of violence. But if they based their opinion on their interviews with Jodi Arias and what she told them about Travis - and IF she was lying to them, their opinion would not really be relevant because it would be based on false information.
There's a lot more to come - this trial is far from over. By the end of yesterday, Arias looked mentally exhausted and just tired. It must be very difficult mentally to have to think about every single answer - when you fabricate, you have to remember what you previously said where as when you tell the truth, your memory is available. Some of what she said is probably true - most liars weave in a little bit of truth into their lies, and then even they start believing their own stories to be true. That's it for the week - trial resumes on Monday. Will Martinez wrap up his cross examination on Monday? How long will Nurmi & Willmott need for redirect? They have an outright train wreck on their hands, and Nurmi has a painfully slow way of questioning Jodi Arias.
Have a great weekend!
Jodi Arias Convinced Travis Alexander to Take Shower Photos
This morning, prosecutor Juan Martinez began to question murder defendant Jodi Arias about the now infamous shower photos taken on June 4, 2008 of Travis Alexander just minutes before he was killed. Martinez asked Arias if it was her idea to take those photos or if it was Travis's idea. Arias had previously testified that Alexander had been dieting and exercising a lot in the months before his death - in anticipation of the upcoming trip to Cancun. She said he was very proud of the progress he made exercising and alluded that the photo session was his idea and that he wanted the photos to be taken with his new digital photo.
This morning we heard something a little different, and it may end up being quite significant in this case. Today, Juan Martinez played for the jury another part of the 7/15/08 interview between Arias and Detective Esteban Flores where the shower photos were discussed. Arias told him that it took "a lot of convincing" to take photos of him in the shower. She elaborated by saying that while Travis was upstairs shaving, they discussed taking photos and she eventually got him to agree, even though he said he would "feel gay" - those are her words only. There are a few problems with her inconsistencies.
If Jodi Arias is indeed the one who talked him into letting her take photos of him while he was (helpless) in the shower, could that be seen as her luring him into a very vulnerable position? An enclosed shower stall, where it would have been easy for a blitz-style attack to occur? Martinez hammered away at her about who was directing the photo shoot (it was her), telling him when to sit for photos and when to stand. In the last photo of Travis taken while he was alive, he appears to be in a seated position in the shower - how much more vulnerable could he have been at that point? Martinez & Arias sparred again through much of the testimony - she said she didn't understand many of the questions he was asking and claimed it was because Martinez was "jumping around a lot".
Another inconsistency was discovered when Martinez again referred to the 7/16/08 interrogation tape with Detective Flores. In the tape, Arias claimed that while Travis was shaving on 6/4/08 they were discussing taking the shower photos and Jodi Arias said it "took a lot of convincing" for him to allow her to take the photos of him. The key point here is while he was shaving.
Why is this important? Because her earlier testimony during cross, in which she described being tied up with the rope, she said that Travis was performing oral sex on her, but she stopped him because he hadn't shaved and it was scratchy and uncomfortable for her. Today they have gone back and forth over little things, with Arias becoming defiant and not wanting to answer Martinez's questions outright, but rather wanting to give prolonged complex answers when "yes" or "no" answers are expected and demanded.
This brings into question whether or not there ever really was any rope in that room - and if there's no rope, there's no knife! Her story is just falling apart. You can tell she needs more time to think about her answers now, because she takes a long time to answer, isn't answering as confidently and definitively as she had been - and she keeps asking for the question to be restated to give herself more time to think before she responds. It shows. That's what happens when you are not being completely honest. When a person is telling the absolute truth, the answers flow - there's no need to think prior to answering. She needs time to think about what she previously said and you can tell she thinks very carefully before answering. At times she simply says "I don't recall", or "I don't know". Problem is, she's now said so much that Martinez often times pulls out records to refresh her memory on what she said - she continues to change little details in her story.
They argued over who deleted the photos on the camera. Martinez kept asking her if she deleted the "sex photos" or any other photo on that camera prior to the shower photos were taken. She would not answer either way. She testified that she believed Travis was the one who deleted the "sex photos", but when Martinez said "so you hadn't deleted any photo from Mr. Alexander's camera prior to taking the photos of him in the shower". She seemed to sense this could be a dangerous question to answer, so she argued that she may have - or she may not have. She again referred to her memory gaps during this period of time. Ah huh!
Martinez began displaying the deleted/recovered photos from 6/4/08. They discussed where Jodi was standing when she took them. "How far away from Travis were you when this photo was taken", he asked. I don't know, maybe 2 feet? Arias replied. "And isn't it true that you were directing Mr. Alexander during this photo shoot and telling him where to stand and how to pose?". "It was both of us", Arias answered.
Martinez then displayed a diagram of the bathroom and the bedroom area in court. He asked her to point out where she was standing or kneeling when she was taking the photos. She gave an approximate area of where she may have been. Martinez displayed the "inadvertent" photo taken of the ceiling - that's the photo that shows the recessed lighting on the ceiling - it's very blurred and out of focus. He moves on to the last photo taken of Travis alive - it's the photo where he appears to be sitting down in the shower and is looking directly into the camera, water dripping down his face. Martinez asks "was Mr. Alexander still seated when this photo was taken?" "Yes", said Arias.
"What happened next", Martinez asked. Arias claimed that she dropped the camera, and it bounced twice before coming to rest on the floor mat near the bathtub. Martinez asked what happened next. Arias said that Travis snapped, stood up and stepped out of the shower - and called her a fuc*ing idiot. She said he had a mean look on his face, and he picked her up and "body slammed" her onto the tile floor (she likes to use the body slamming descriptor a lot). She said that knocked the wind out of her and her head hit the ground. Martinez asked where he was standing when this happened. She had first said that Travis stepped out of the shower, then body slammed her - but then she changed her story slightly and said he may have had one foot still in the shower when this happened. Martinez challenged her on that, wondering how he would be able to do it.
At this point, Arias claims she was on the floor and Travis was standing over her. She then rolled over and away, and got up and ran down the hallway and into the closet. Martinez asked her how a man in such great physical shape would not have been able to catch her before she got to the closet? She didn't recall - in fact, he got her to admit that she didn't know for sure that he was even chasing her because she didn't look back. She perceived that he was chasing her. Perception ha? Wondering if the use of that word is a coincidence having to do with the self defense laws...
Juan Martinez recapped what Arias said - "so you were fully clothed and he was naked. This is someone in good physical shape, a wrestler, you take off down the hallway and go in the direction to the right and he wasn't able to catch you?" Arias replied "I didn't look behind me". Martinez said "does this mean he wasn't even chasing you?". Arias: "I don't know". Martinez then displays the photo of Travis's lifeless body in the shower. Arias begins sobbing. Martinez to Arias: "were you crying when you stabbed him? Were you crying when you shot him?". Arias: "I don't know", sobbing.
Judge: "We are going to take the lunch break now"......
Jodi Arias was saved by the bell, so to speak. After the jurors were excused, attorney Kirk Nurmi went to Jodi Arias, who was still crying and appeared to be trying to calm or comfort her. I haven't seen this much with the defense team, unlike Casey Anthony's attorneys who could be seen with their arm around her when she was crying during her trial. I could be mistaken, but I could swear I saw Kirk Nurmi throw a nasty look at Juan Martinez before they cut to the Great Seal of the State of Arizona!
We are at that point folks....trying to get to the truth of the details surrounding this slaughter. I don't know how much of the truth will come from anything Jodi Arias testifies to, but I'm hoping Juan Martinez can put it all together and do what he needs to do to get some justice for Travis Alexander and his family and friends. They deserve it. Update to follow.
This morning we heard something a little different, and it may end up being quite significant in this case. Today, Juan Martinez played for the jury another part of the 7/15/08 interview between Arias and Detective Esteban Flores where the shower photos were discussed. Arias told him that it took "a lot of convincing" to take photos of him in the shower. She elaborated by saying that while Travis was upstairs shaving, they discussed taking photos and she eventually got him to agree, even though he said he would "feel gay" - those are her words only. There are a few problems with her inconsistencies.
If Jodi Arias is indeed the one who talked him into letting her take photos of him while he was (helpless) in the shower, could that be seen as her luring him into a very vulnerable position? An enclosed shower stall, where it would have been easy for a blitz-style attack to occur? Martinez hammered away at her about who was directing the photo shoot (it was her), telling him when to sit for photos and when to stand. In the last photo of Travis taken while he was alive, he appears to be in a seated position in the shower - how much more vulnerable could he have been at that point? Martinez & Arias sparred again through much of the testimony - she said she didn't understand many of the questions he was asking and claimed it was because Martinez was "jumping around a lot".
Another inconsistency was discovered when Martinez again referred to the 7/16/08 interrogation tape with Detective Flores. In the tape, Arias claimed that while Travis was shaving on 6/4/08 they were discussing taking the shower photos and Jodi Arias said it "took a lot of convincing" for him to allow her to take the photos of him. The key point here is while he was shaving.
Why is this important? Because her earlier testimony during cross, in which she described being tied up with the rope, she said that Travis was performing oral sex on her, but she stopped him because he hadn't shaved and it was scratchy and uncomfortable for her. Today they have gone back and forth over little things, with Arias becoming defiant and not wanting to answer Martinez's questions outright, but rather wanting to give prolonged complex answers when "yes" or "no" answers are expected and demanded.
This brings into question whether or not there ever really was any rope in that room - and if there's no rope, there's no knife! Her story is just falling apart. You can tell she needs more time to think about her answers now, because she takes a long time to answer, isn't answering as confidently and definitively as she had been - and she keeps asking for the question to be restated to give herself more time to think before she responds. It shows. That's what happens when you are not being completely honest. When a person is telling the absolute truth, the answers flow - there's no need to think prior to answering. She needs time to think about what she previously said and you can tell she thinks very carefully before answering. At times she simply says "I don't recall", or "I don't know". Problem is, she's now said so much that Martinez often times pulls out records to refresh her memory on what she said - she continues to change little details in her story.
They argued over who deleted the photos on the camera. Martinez kept asking her if she deleted the "sex photos" or any other photo on that camera prior to the shower photos were taken. She would not answer either way. She testified that she believed Travis was the one who deleted the "sex photos", but when Martinez said "so you hadn't deleted any photo from Mr. Alexander's camera prior to taking the photos of him in the shower". She seemed to sense this could be a dangerous question to answer, so she argued that she may have - or she may not have. She again referred to her memory gaps during this period of time. Ah huh!
Martinez began displaying the deleted/recovered photos from 6/4/08. They discussed where Jodi was standing when she took them. "How far away from Travis were you when this photo was taken", he asked. I don't know, maybe 2 feet? Arias replied. "And isn't it true that you were directing Mr. Alexander during this photo shoot and telling him where to stand and how to pose?". "It was both of us", Arias answered.
Martinez then displayed a diagram of the bathroom and the bedroom area in court. He asked her to point out where she was standing or kneeling when she was taking the photos. She gave an approximate area of where she may have been. Martinez displayed the "inadvertent" photo taken of the ceiling - that's the photo that shows the recessed lighting on the ceiling - it's very blurred and out of focus. He moves on to the last photo taken of Travis alive - it's the photo where he appears to be sitting down in the shower and is looking directly into the camera, water dripping down his face. Martinez asks "was Mr. Alexander still seated when this photo was taken?" "Yes", said Arias.
"What happened next", Martinez asked. Arias claimed that she dropped the camera, and it bounced twice before coming to rest on the floor mat near the bathtub. Martinez asked what happened next. Arias said that Travis snapped, stood up and stepped out of the shower - and called her a fuc*ing idiot. She said he had a mean look on his face, and he picked her up and "body slammed" her onto the tile floor (she likes to use the body slamming descriptor a lot). She said that knocked the wind out of her and her head hit the ground. Martinez asked where he was standing when this happened. She had first said that Travis stepped out of the shower, then body slammed her - but then she changed her story slightly and said he may have had one foot still in the shower when this happened. Martinez challenged her on that, wondering how he would be able to do it.
At this point, Arias claims she was on the floor and Travis was standing over her. She then rolled over and away, and got up and ran down the hallway and into the closet. Martinez asked her how a man in such great physical shape would not have been able to catch her before she got to the closet? She didn't recall - in fact, he got her to admit that she didn't know for sure that he was even chasing her because she didn't look back. She perceived that he was chasing her. Perception ha? Wondering if the use of that word is a coincidence having to do with the self defense laws...
Juan Martinez recapped what Arias said - "so you were fully clothed and he was naked. This is someone in good physical shape, a wrestler, you take off down the hallway and go in the direction to the right and he wasn't able to catch you?" Arias replied "I didn't look behind me". Martinez said "does this mean he wasn't even chasing you?". Arias: "I don't know". Martinez then displays the photo of Travis's lifeless body in the shower. Arias begins sobbing. Martinez to Arias: "were you crying when you stabbed him? Were you crying when you shot him?". Arias: "I don't know", sobbing.
Judge: "We are going to take the lunch break now"......
Jodi Arias was saved by the bell, so to speak. After the jurors were excused, attorney Kirk Nurmi went to Jodi Arias, who was still crying and appeared to be trying to calm or comfort her. I haven't seen this much with the defense team, unlike Casey Anthony's attorneys who could be seen with their arm around her when she was crying during her trial. I could be mistaken, but I could swear I saw Kirk Nurmi throw a nasty look at Juan Martinez before they cut to the Great Seal of the State of Arizona!
We are at that point folks....trying to get to the truth of the details surrounding this slaughter. I don't know how much of the truth will come from anything Jodi Arias testifies to, but I'm hoping Juan Martinez can put it all together and do what he needs to do to get some justice for Travis Alexander and his family and friends. They deserve it. Update to follow.
Juan Martinez Closes in on June 4, 2008
Arizona state prosecutor Juan Martinez is closing in on the events surrounding Jodi Arias's fatal road trip that began in Redding, CA and ended in the Mesa murder of Travis Alexander on June 4, 2008. Arias has been on the stand for weeks, and had no problem recalling events in her life from 10 years ago or more as her attorney Kirk Nurmi walked the jury through much of Arias's life and loves.
Her memory has faltered during the cross examination, with her answering "I don't know", "I don't remember", "I don't recall" and "I don't understand the question" more times than I could count. Yesterday, Martinez focused on the events leading up to the murder - the rental car, the borrowed gas cans, the license plate, the rope and the weapons used to facilitate this murder.
The rental car: Instead of renting a car near her home in Yreka, Arias drove 90 miles to Redding to rent a car. The rental car agent recalled Arias refused the first car he gave her, which was red. He testified Arias told him she wanted a car that didn't stand out so much. Arias testified that she didn't want a red car because drivers of red cars tend to get pulled over more and get ticketed more frequently. Where did she pull that statistic out of, there in the rental car agency?? She claims she received a better deal renting the car out of Redding, and she wanted to save money.
The gas cans: Jodi Arias stopped to visit former boyfriend Darryl Brewer before proceeding to Mesa. She borrowed two 5 gallon gas cans from Brewer. She testified that she borrowed the gas cans because she didn't want to run out of gas in the Nevada desert. She also claimed that she wanted to save money by purchasing gas in another state, because gas in California was so expensive. Receipts seized from Arias showed that she filled up the tank of her rental car and the two 5 gallon gas cans in Pasadena. Did she bring the gas cans to avoid having to stop for gas in Arizona, or did she have a more sinister plan?
The license plate: Juan Martinez reviewed Arias's testimony around the license plate of her rental car. She testified that she believed the plates had been tampered with by a group of kids who were skateboarding in a Starbucks parking lot - saying that when she came out of the store, they rode off "snickering and laughing". She claims that when she was pulling out of the parking space, she noticed "a flash" of something on the ground and got out to look - she claims there was a license plate "with bugs all over it" on the ground so she picked it up and threw it in the car.
The rope: Jodi Arias testified that on June 4, 2008 Travis Alexander used a rope to tie her hands together and around his sleigh bed. This is important for her, because this event is what she claims put a knife in the vicinity of the crime scene. She stated that they had a long piece of rope, and Travis took one end and she held the other while he stretched it out to measure a length they believed would suit their purposes. She claims he cut the rope with a knife, while he was either in the bathroom or the bedroom. She couldn't say with certainty which it was.
Juan Martinez displayed many of the recovered photos Arias and Alexander had taken during their sexual encounters that day, and there were clear pictures of that bed and the bedroom area - but no rope was visible in any of the photos. Martinez pointed out that Travis Alexander had a sleigh bed - not really a style of headboard that could facilitate this type of activity. The rope would've had to have been wrapped around the length of the headboard, and since Arias testified that she slipped her hands out of the rope when it became uncomfortable, he pointed out that gravity would've caused the rope to fall to the ground. Where was the rope? Not in any crime scene photos or in any of the personal photos recovered by the police. Arias claims she took the rope from the home, along with the gun. She says she has no memory of the knife or of stabbing Travis, but she seems to recall putting a knife in the dishwasher. She clarified that she didn't know if that memory was from June 4 or another time she put a knife in his dishwasher. Apparently she has put one of Travis Alexander's knives in the dishwasher more than one time!
The weapons - the gun: Juan Martinez asked Jodi Arias if she brought a gun with her to Mesa Arizona. She replied "absolutely not!". She had no problem remembering this aspect of her trip. Martinez played one of the earliest recorded conversations between Detective Esteban Flores and Jodi Arias for the jury. Within days of the discovery of Travis's body, Jodi Arias initiated a call to Detective Flores. She left him a message, and when he called her back he recorded the call. Arias admitted on the stand that the purpose of her call was to try and determine what knowledge the police had of her and a potential connection to the crime. She admitted that she tried to divert suspicion away from herself. There was a crucial point in the recording where Detective Flores asked Jodi Arias about weapons. He said "did Travis have any weapons in his home"...Arias said "only his fists". He asked if Travis owned or had any guns in his home, Arias said "no, he didn't own or keep any guns".
At that early point in the investigation, Jodi Arias would have no way of knowing that this would be such an important piece of information. Martinez challenged her, "that was the truth - he didn't have a gun". Arias disagreed. I'm not sure how the defense will argue this point - why would Jodi Arias lie to Detective Flores about Travis keeping a gun at his home? There is no logical reason for her to lie. If he had a gun, why would she say he did not? Martinez did a good job of insinuating that Arias was telling the truth then, because she had not yet came up with her defense, which turned out to be self defense. Arias wouldn't have even known how important this point would be, that it would be an "aggravating factor" that could get her a death sentence. This is the only thing that makes any sense. There is no logical reply the defense could give to why she would say he didn't have a gun if he did. They are stuck on this one!
I was thinking back on how surprised I was when the State rested their case (in chief) several weeks ago - I thought they could have presented a lot more evidence, but now I see exactly why they rested when they did. The cross examination has been much more effective after having seen Jodi Arias's responses and testimony under direct examination by her attorney. She really had to testify in a self defense case, but did her attorneys do her any favors by letting her talk so much for so many days? They gave the prosecution another mountain of testimony and lies to tear apart.
On "self defense": If the jury compares the injuries to Travis Alexander's body to the description of the injuries Arias had upon arriving to Ryan Burn's house in Utah, they are not even in the same category. We don't have photos of injuries Arias may have sustained during the struggle, but we do know that they weren't severe enough to require more than band aids to cover them. The autopsy and crime scene photos of Travis Alexander are truly horrific. In order to have inflicted these injuries to him and have it be considered justified, Arias should have had many more - and more serious injuries! I just don't believe it's possible to claim self defense when the victim's injuries are this severe and include several deep stab wounds to his back. The heartbreaking and graphic crime scene photos are out there and the jury will have access to them. The medical examiners autopsy report show where the injuries to Travis were:
If we do a quick summary at this point in the trial, I feel that Juan Martinez has been able to refute just about every abuse claim where an actual date was provided by Arias, he has shown that this clearly was a consensual relationship and in fact Arias was just as aggressive, if not more than Travis Alexander was. Arias has a pattern of looking at the personal, non public text messages and e-mails of her boyfriends when she suspects they are cheating on her. Arias was no stranger to kinky sex. Arias doesn't appear to have participated in these "antics" (as she called them) simply to please Travis - she claims they made her uncomfortable and made her feel like "a prostitute" or a "piece of used toilet paper". That phone-sex call in May 2008 was more than likely recorded by Arias without the knowledge or consent of Travis Alexander. Although Arias has claimed she wanted to move on with her personal life and remain friends with Travis, it seems clear she was not ready to let him go.
I really and truly believe it was the thought of Travis Alexander spending time in Cancun with Marie "Mimi" Hall that she couldn't bear. She apparently was not aware at that time that Mimi Hall was not romantically interested in Travis but agreed to go on this trip as his friend. Arias has talked about how persuasive and charming he was - can you imagine what must have been going through her head, thinking about the two of them in Cancun together? Whether or not Arias knew that Mimi Hall was only interested in Travis as a friend, she DID know that Travis was interested in becoming more than friends with Hall. She wrote about the two of them going hiking (or rock climbing) in her journal - she even knew it was their third date. This is the same day she "accidentally fell asleep" outside of his bedroom, and she was actually still there when he returned from this date. He told her it went well. Do you believe her when she says it didn't bother her that Travis hadn't asked her to go to Cancun with him??
Travis Alexander had a lot to live for. He had travel plans, upcoming trips, a successful career, many friends, a beautiful home - and Jodi Arias was back in Yreka, working in a restaurant and living with her grandparents. This wasn't where she wanted to be.
If Jodi Arias was so afraid of Travis Alexander, based on the previous allegations of violence against her (body slamming her, kicking her in the ribs, slapping her in the neck/face, breaking her finger) why did she fear for her life this time and not then? Why was this incident where he lunged at her different than the other times? Why did she fear for her life on June 4, 2008 after dropping his digital camera? Why didn't she believe he was going to kill her after he body slammed her and kicked her in the ribs as she alleges he did to her previously? Sounds to me like the June 4, 2008 incident was less of a threat than being body slammed to the ground, then kicked in the ribs while defenseless on the ground.
Why? Because she wasn't afraid of him killing her. I don't believe he ever physically harmed her - no body slamming, no rib kicking, no breaking her finger. I believe the only thing Jodi Arias was afraid of on June 4, 2008 was losing Travis Alexander - possibly to another woman. That is what motivated her to stab and shoot an unarmed, naked and defenseless man while he showered. In his own home.
What do you think? I love to read your comments and hear your theories about this case.
Her memory has faltered during the cross examination, with her answering "I don't know", "I don't remember", "I don't recall" and "I don't understand the question" more times than I could count. Yesterday, Martinez focused on the events leading up to the murder - the rental car, the borrowed gas cans, the license plate, the rope and the weapons used to facilitate this murder.
The rental car: Instead of renting a car near her home in Yreka, Arias drove 90 miles to Redding to rent a car. The rental car agent recalled Arias refused the first car he gave her, which was red. He testified Arias told him she wanted a car that didn't stand out so much. Arias testified that she didn't want a red car because drivers of red cars tend to get pulled over more and get ticketed more frequently. Where did she pull that statistic out of, there in the rental car agency?? She claims she received a better deal renting the car out of Redding, and she wanted to save money.
The gas cans: Jodi Arias stopped to visit former boyfriend Darryl Brewer before proceeding to Mesa. She borrowed two 5 gallon gas cans from Brewer. She testified that she borrowed the gas cans because she didn't want to run out of gas in the Nevada desert. She also claimed that she wanted to save money by purchasing gas in another state, because gas in California was so expensive. Receipts seized from Arias showed that she filled up the tank of her rental car and the two 5 gallon gas cans in Pasadena. Did she bring the gas cans to avoid having to stop for gas in Arizona, or did she have a more sinister plan?
The license plate: Juan Martinez reviewed Arias's testimony around the license plate of her rental car. She testified that she believed the plates had been tampered with by a group of kids who were skateboarding in a Starbucks parking lot - saying that when she came out of the store, they rode off "snickering and laughing". She claims that when she was pulling out of the parking space, she noticed "a flash" of something on the ground and got out to look - she claims there was a license plate "with bugs all over it" on the ground so she picked it up and threw it in the car.
The rope: Jodi Arias testified that on June 4, 2008 Travis Alexander used a rope to tie her hands together and around his sleigh bed. This is important for her, because this event is what she claims put a knife in the vicinity of the crime scene. She stated that they had a long piece of rope, and Travis took one end and she held the other while he stretched it out to measure a length they believed would suit their purposes. She claims he cut the rope with a knife, while he was either in the bathroom or the bedroom. She couldn't say with certainty which it was.
Juan Martinez displayed many of the recovered photos Arias and Alexander had taken during their sexual encounters that day, and there were clear pictures of that bed and the bedroom area - but no rope was visible in any of the photos. Martinez pointed out that Travis Alexander had a sleigh bed - not really a style of headboard that could facilitate this type of activity. The rope would've had to have been wrapped around the length of the headboard, and since Arias testified that she slipped her hands out of the rope when it became uncomfortable, he pointed out that gravity would've caused the rope to fall to the ground. Where was the rope? Not in any crime scene photos or in any of the personal photos recovered by the police. Arias claims she took the rope from the home, along with the gun. She says she has no memory of the knife or of stabbing Travis, but she seems to recall putting a knife in the dishwasher. She clarified that she didn't know if that memory was from June 4 or another time she put a knife in his dishwasher. Apparently she has put one of Travis Alexander's knives in the dishwasher more than one time!
The weapons - the gun: Juan Martinez asked Jodi Arias if she brought a gun with her to Mesa Arizona. She replied "absolutely not!". She had no problem remembering this aspect of her trip. Martinez played one of the earliest recorded conversations between Detective Esteban Flores and Jodi Arias for the jury. Within days of the discovery of Travis's body, Jodi Arias initiated a call to Detective Flores. She left him a message, and when he called her back he recorded the call. Arias admitted on the stand that the purpose of her call was to try and determine what knowledge the police had of her and a potential connection to the crime. She admitted that she tried to divert suspicion away from herself. There was a crucial point in the recording where Detective Flores asked Jodi Arias about weapons. He said "did Travis have any weapons in his home"...Arias said "only his fists". He asked if Travis owned or had any guns in his home, Arias said "no, he didn't own or keep any guns".
At that early point in the investigation, Jodi Arias would have no way of knowing that this would be such an important piece of information. Martinez challenged her, "that was the truth - he didn't have a gun". Arias disagreed. I'm not sure how the defense will argue this point - why would Jodi Arias lie to Detective Flores about Travis keeping a gun at his home? There is no logical reason for her to lie. If he had a gun, why would she say he did not? Martinez did a good job of insinuating that Arias was telling the truth then, because she had not yet came up with her defense, which turned out to be self defense. Arias wouldn't have even known how important this point would be, that it would be an "aggravating factor" that could get her a death sentence. This is the only thing that makes any sense. There is no logical reply the defense could give to why she would say he didn't have a gun if he did. They are stuck on this one!
I was thinking back on how surprised I was when the State rested their case (in chief) several weeks ago - I thought they could have presented a lot more evidence, but now I see exactly why they rested when they did. The cross examination has been much more effective after having seen Jodi Arias's responses and testimony under direct examination by her attorney. She really had to testify in a self defense case, but did her attorneys do her any favors by letting her talk so much for so many days? They gave the prosecution another mountain of testimony and lies to tear apart.
On "self defense": If the jury compares the injuries to Travis Alexander's body to the description of the injuries Arias had upon arriving to Ryan Burn's house in Utah, they are not even in the same category. We don't have photos of injuries Arias may have sustained during the struggle, but we do know that they weren't severe enough to require more than band aids to cover them. The autopsy and crime scene photos of Travis Alexander are truly horrific. In order to have inflicted these injuries to him and have it be considered justified, Arias should have had many more - and more serious injuries! I just don't believe it's possible to claim self defense when the victim's injuries are this severe and include several deep stab wounds to his back. The heartbreaking and graphic crime scene photos are out there and the jury will have access to them. The medical examiners autopsy report show where the injuries to Travis were:
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If we do a quick summary at this point in the trial, I feel that Juan Martinez has been able to refute just about every abuse claim where an actual date was provided by Arias, he has shown that this clearly was a consensual relationship and in fact Arias was just as aggressive, if not more than Travis Alexander was. Arias has a pattern of looking at the personal, non public text messages and e-mails of her boyfriends when she suspects they are cheating on her. Arias was no stranger to kinky sex. Arias doesn't appear to have participated in these "antics" (as she called them) simply to please Travis - she claims they made her uncomfortable and made her feel like "a prostitute" or a "piece of used toilet paper". That phone-sex call in May 2008 was more than likely recorded by Arias without the knowledge or consent of Travis Alexander. Although Arias has claimed she wanted to move on with her personal life and remain friends with Travis, it seems clear she was not ready to let him go.
I really and truly believe it was the thought of Travis Alexander spending time in Cancun with Marie "Mimi" Hall that she couldn't bear. She apparently was not aware at that time that Mimi Hall was not romantically interested in Travis but agreed to go on this trip as his friend. Arias has talked about how persuasive and charming he was - can you imagine what must have been going through her head, thinking about the two of them in Cancun together? Whether or not Arias knew that Mimi Hall was only interested in Travis as a friend, she DID know that Travis was interested in becoming more than friends with Hall. She wrote about the two of them going hiking (or rock climbing) in her journal - she even knew it was their third date. This is the same day she "accidentally fell asleep" outside of his bedroom, and she was actually still there when he returned from this date. He told her it went well. Do you believe her when she says it didn't bother her that Travis hadn't asked her to go to Cancun with him??
Travis Alexander had a lot to live for. He had travel plans, upcoming trips, a successful career, many friends, a beautiful home - and Jodi Arias was back in Yreka, working in a restaurant and living with her grandparents. This wasn't where she wanted to be.
If Jodi Arias was so afraid of Travis Alexander, based on the previous allegations of violence against her (body slamming her, kicking her in the ribs, slapping her in the neck/face, breaking her finger) why did she fear for her life this time and not then? Why was this incident where he lunged at her different than the other times? Why did she fear for her life on June 4, 2008 after dropping his digital camera? Why didn't she believe he was going to kill her after he body slammed her and kicked her in the ribs as she alleges he did to her previously? Sounds to me like the June 4, 2008 incident was less of a threat than being body slammed to the ground, then kicked in the ribs while defenseless on the ground.
Why? Because she wasn't afraid of him killing her. I don't believe he ever physically harmed her - no body slamming, no rib kicking, no breaking her finger. I believe the only thing Jodi Arias was afraid of on June 4, 2008 was losing Travis Alexander - possibly to another woman. That is what motivated her to stab and shoot an unarmed, naked and defenseless man while he showered. In his own home.
What do you think? I love to read your comments and hear your theories about this case.
Arias's Words Continue to Haunt Her
The prosecutor pulled out more of the sexually charged text messages between murder defendant Jodi Arias and victim Travis Alexander, showing a much different portrayal of her role in their sexual exploits. During her direct examination, she testified about feeling like a prostitute during these encounters.
I've never heard such graphic testimony in a courtroom, it has to be making even veteran attorneys blush. Very telling. If you recall, Arias described earlier events in which she fell asleep fully clothed with Travis Alexander, and was awakened to Travis initiated sexual contact with her. Her attorney stopped short of calling it rape, but the implication was clear. Martinez produced a text message conversation between the pair from 2/25/08 that said:
JA: "if your a lucky boy & you promise to give me a well deserved spanking then maybe you can give my ass a good pounding".
After Alexander sent Arias a photo of his private parts, Arias sent him a text that said:
JA: O my Gosh, this is so hot. I want to lick it up and then sit on it...it's so tasty".
TA: I'm glad you like it.
JA: I want to fu*k you like a dirty horny little school girl"
Wow, this is explosive stuff. Didn't Arias's attorneys anticipate these messages would come out? What this shows is that only one side of these events was being told, and in a very different way than Arias and Alexander's own written words tell.
Earlier this morning was more of the same, with Martinez playing clips from Arias's 48 Hours interview in which she describes that trip they took to Ehrenberg that she described as "unromantic" during direct. In the 48 Hours interview, she described how generous Alexander was to total strangers. She said they were driving and saw what appeared to be a homeless woman, and Travis rolled down the window and asked if she was hungry. The woman said she was, so he turned the car around and went to a Wendy's and bought her a triple decker burger and brought it back to this woman he didn't know.
They have discussed and listened to parts of the now infamous "phone sex" tape, and Martinez challenges her that Travis Alexander never knew the call was being recorded. She insisted that he knew, even though it was never mentioned during that call. Martinez is trying to point out that much of Travis Alexander's sexual experience came during his time with Jodi Arias. She denies this. Martinez played parts of the tape, in which Travis tells Jodi "before I met you, I never ja_ked off, since you left I do 2-3 times a day". Arias discounted that claim, telling the jury she believed that wasn't accurate. Martinez played it back again, his words were clear "before I met you, I never ja_ked off"....
The 48 Hours Mystery interview was again played, where Arias first introduces the two armed intruders killed Travis story. She is very detailed, she claims her life was threatened and she was warned that if she told anybody her family would be killed, and she would be killed. The story is ludicrous. Martinez brings up the point that nowhere during that interview does Arias seem to have any type of memory loss or memory issues. He points out that she gave a slightly different version of that story where she is again talking to 48 Hours Mystery, and she said she and Travis were looking at photos they had taken and she was suddenly hit over the head with something. She claimed to have been unconcious and Travis being down on "all fours" with a woman standing over him. She claims she charged this woman and tackled her, then grabbed Travis and tried to pull him to safety. In detail, she describes getting him halfway down the hall before the female intruder came back after them. She gave a very very detailed description of what she claimed happened, but in this version she rushed the woman and tried to help Travis Alexander. Oh brother.
Even if you are against the death penalty, after looking at the crime scene photos of Travis Alexander and the injuries she inflicted on him, you'd have to question whether the death penalty is enough punishment for this crime. I keep picturing Jodi Arias, laughing with Ryan Burns and kissing him - with injuries so minor they only required band-aids, and comparing them to the photos I viewed again this morning taken of Travis Alexander's wounds. The damage to his body was something I can't even describe. There is a slideshow on Huffington Post which has 161 crime scene photos, including close ups of the neck wound, head wounds and the way the body looked when it was found. It was much worse than I imagined. He had a large, deep cut to the back of his neck or the very top of his shoulders. He had deep cuts all over his fingers, hands and his palms - clearly, these were defensive wounds.
I understand the death penalty doesn't bring a person back and some studies suggest it doesn't deter crime. But there are some crimes so heinous that the they scream out for the ultimate punishment. This is one of those crimes.
Juan Martinez seems to be getting to the events around the fatal roadtrip now. I'll update this page later!
I've never heard such graphic testimony in a courtroom, it has to be making even veteran attorneys blush. Very telling. If you recall, Arias described earlier events in which she fell asleep fully clothed with Travis Alexander, and was awakened to Travis initiated sexual contact with her. Her attorney stopped short of calling it rape, but the implication was clear. Martinez produced a text message conversation between the pair from 2/25/08 that said:
JA: "if your a lucky boy & you promise to give me a well deserved spanking then maybe you can give my ass a good pounding".
After Alexander sent Arias a photo of his private parts, Arias sent him a text that said:
JA: O my Gosh, this is so hot. I want to lick it up and then sit on it...it's so tasty".
TA: I'm glad you like it.
JA: I want to fu*k you like a dirty horny little school girl"
Wow, this is explosive stuff. Didn't Arias's attorneys anticipate these messages would come out? What this shows is that only one side of these events was being told, and in a very different way than Arias and Alexander's own written words tell.
Earlier this morning was more of the same, with Martinez playing clips from Arias's 48 Hours interview in which she describes that trip they took to Ehrenberg that she described as "unromantic" during direct. In the 48 Hours interview, she described how generous Alexander was to total strangers. She said they were driving and saw what appeared to be a homeless woman, and Travis rolled down the window and asked if she was hungry. The woman said she was, so he turned the car around and went to a Wendy's and bought her a triple decker burger and brought it back to this woman he didn't know.
They have discussed and listened to parts of the now infamous "phone sex" tape, and Martinez challenges her that Travis Alexander never knew the call was being recorded. She insisted that he knew, even though it was never mentioned during that call. Martinez is trying to point out that much of Travis Alexander's sexual experience came during his time with Jodi Arias. She denies this. Martinez played parts of the tape, in which Travis tells Jodi "before I met you, I never ja_ked off, since you left I do 2-3 times a day". Arias discounted that claim, telling the jury she believed that wasn't accurate. Martinez played it back again, his words were clear "before I met you, I never ja_ked off"....
The 48 Hours Mystery interview was again played, where Arias first introduces the two armed intruders killed Travis story. She is very detailed, she claims her life was threatened and she was warned that if she told anybody her family would be killed, and she would be killed. The story is ludicrous. Martinez brings up the point that nowhere during that interview does Arias seem to have any type of memory loss or memory issues. He points out that she gave a slightly different version of that story where she is again talking to 48 Hours Mystery, and she said she and Travis were looking at photos they had taken and she was suddenly hit over the head with something. She claimed to have been unconcious and Travis being down on "all fours" with a woman standing over him. She claims she charged this woman and tackled her, then grabbed Travis and tried to pull him to safety. In detail, she describes getting him halfway down the hall before the female intruder came back after them. She gave a very very detailed description of what she claimed happened, but in this version she rushed the woman and tried to help Travis Alexander. Oh brother.
Even if you are against the death penalty, after looking at the crime scene photos of Travis Alexander and the injuries she inflicted on him, you'd have to question whether the death penalty is enough punishment for this crime. I keep picturing Jodi Arias, laughing with Ryan Burns and kissing him - with injuries so minor they only required band-aids, and comparing them to the photos I viewed again this morning taken of Travis Alexander's wounds. The damage to his body was something I can't even describe. There is a slideshow on Huffington Post which has 161 crime scene photos, including close ups of the neck wound, head wounds and the way the body looked when it was found. It was much worse than I imagined. He had a large, deep cut to the back of his neck or the very top of his shoulders. He had deep cuts all over his fingers, hands and his palms - clearly, these were defensive wounds.
I understand the death penalty doesn't bring a person back and some studies suggest it doesn't deter crime. But there are some crimes so heinous that the they scream out for the ultimate punishment. This is one of those crimes.
Juan Martinez seems to be getting to the events around the fatal roadtrip now. I'll update this page later!
Juan Martinez vs. Jodi Arias - The Battle Continues
The sparring between 32 year old murder defendant Jodi Arias and Arizona State Prosecutor Juan Martinez continued for the third full day today as Martinez chipped away at Arias's memory issues and her truthfulness to law enforcement, family, friends and even Travis Alexander. Today's testimony has gone fairly uninterrupted with not as many sidebars and the reviewing of documents as we've seen the past 2 days.
Martinez bounced around a bit, but he wasn't hard to follow. He went back in time to one of Arias's earliest relationships with "Bobby", someone she talked about a lot during direct. That relationship ended after Arias found out he had or was cheating on her. Martinez focused on the fact that even at that point in her life, Arias was reading Bobby's e-mail without his permission and that's how she found out about the infidelity. The point: this wasn't new behavior when she began looking through Travis Alexander's text messages or reading the e-mails in his MySpace page. Arias actually has a pattern of this type of distrustful behavior. This was another important point.
Martinez again questioned Arias about her problems remembering things that may hurt her case and having a great recall for things that could help her. Arias responded by saying that Martinez's tone and "posture" was effecting her and "making her brain scramble". That's the second time she's used that phrase about the prosecutor. Martinez pressed on despite the verbal sparring. He played clips from the 48 Hours Mystery interview Arias gave back in 2008, where Arias said of Travis Alexander "he was a bright light, he brightened the room when he entered it, the laughter got louder...". In the interview, she tells the interviewer how generous Travis was to her, and how she would have no motive to harm him. She said Travis was generous, opened up his home to her and others, and even opened his refrigerator to her when she couldn't afford food.
Juan Martinez pointed out that Jodi Arias has given two distinctly different portrayals of Travis Alexander. She replied that "Travis flourished on compliments", implying that was the reason she wrote such flattering text messages to him. She really has no way to explain these text messages and journal entries, since none of them are argumentative, discuss any fighting or arguing and certainly don't discuss any alleged problem Travis had with inappropriate attractions to young boys or girls!
Martinez discussed how their sexual relationship was completely mutual and consensual, despite Arias stating on direct examination that she felt "like a piece of used toilet paper", or "I kinda felt like a prostitute". He entered a text message into evidence from Jodi Arias to Travis Alexander from 1/8/08 that said: "I want to give you a bj and you give me a generous facial in return". Wow, this seems to really contradict how Arias portrayed these acts and the effect they had on her during direct examination - many times she testified that Travis's aggressive sexual behavior made her uncomfortable and she complied to please him. Martinez really did a great job using Jodi Arias's own words to contradict many things she said previously! This shows she was not quite as innocent as she would have us believe and paints a completely different portrait of her participation in these acts.
Earlier today Martinez entered into evidence a message Arias wrote to Travis on something that was put together for his memorial service in Mesa. I thought they said it was photo, with a letter or message from Jodi to Travis but I'm not positive. The message to Travis included "Travis, you are beautiful inside and out" - Juan Martinez asked her "so you think somebody who masturbates to photos of young boys is beautiful on the inside and out"? Arias replied "no, that part of him was sickening". The letter goes on to say "you always told me that I never stopped believing in you, and you never stopped believing in me. Thank you for sharing so much with me and thank you for all of your generosity".
I think the general consensus is "how could you show up to a memorial service for a person you killed"? Arias insists that she was there because she and Travis had discussed giving eulogies for each other. I doubt this is what Travis Alexander had in mind - having his killer sitting among his family and friends. I believe Jodi Arias was more concerned how it would look (to law enforcement) if she wasn't at the memorial service. They would figure she had a guilty conscious. Arias actually spoke to Marie "Mimi" Hall at that memorial service, and Arias claims that she didn't know for sure that Hall was supposed to go to Cancun with Alexander until that day. Until then, she claims to have believed Travis was taking the "babysitter" of one of his friends. She also testified today that it didn't bother her that Travis wasn't taking her, nor had he asked her to go. That was never the plan.
They are taking the afternoon break now, but again - another good day for the prosecution. Martinez continues to break down some of the tales Arias told during her direct examination where she portrayed herself as someone who couldn't say no to Travis Alexander, who submitted to his deviant sexual desires and never told a soul because she didn't want to hurt Travis's reputation - even at her own expense. Nothing has been presented, aside from Arias's word that comes close to showing prior abuse at the hands of Travis Alexander. I do realize that victims of domestic violence often times don't report the abuse to law enforcement out of fear - but they usually tell somebody. A friend, a hotline - a Bishop? Certainly they would be free to write about it in their journal or diary. She didn't. Rather, on the dates she claims these events occurred, her journal entries and text messages show just the opposite. No confrontation or talk of confrontation, no apologies from either side - just regular conversation between two people.
I'd be concerned if I were Jennifer Willmott and Kirk Nurmi. You can see how much Nurmi dislikes Juan Martinez by the way he looks at him. Update to follow after court concludes for the day! Stay tuned......
**UPDATE**
Court was recessed early today - testimony will resume tomorrow morning. After the jury was excused, defense attorney Kirk Nurmi told the judge that the Sheriff's office had not been providing Jodi Arias with a lunch and asked that they make arrangements to be sure she had food provided to her. He also asked that the court day end as scheduled at 4:30PM (I thought it did....), apparently Ms. Arias suffers from migraine headaches, and I'm not sure if that's the reason for the early day today. My questions would then be:
1) Is today the first day Jodi Arias didn't have lunch provided to her? She's been in court since January 2. If this was an issue, why didn't they address it at the very beginning?
2) If Jennifer Willmott & Kirk Nurmi were aware Arias wasn't being provided a lunch during this trial, wouldn't they have simply bought her a sandwich or lunch? I'm assuming they both have lunch each day.....
3) Will the "food factor" become a motion for mistrial? The defense has tried several other tactics to delay or throw out this case - and to have the death penalty taken off the table. Is a lack of food effecting Jodi Arias's memory, or her ability to tell the truth??
Odd, but that's par for the course for this trial! See you tomorrow....enjoy your evening!
Martinez bounced around a bit, but he wasn't hard to follow. He went back in time to one of Arias's earliest relationships with "Bobby", someone she talked about a lot during direct. That relationship ended after Arias found out he had or was cheating on her. Martinez focused on the fact that even at that point in her life, Arias was reading Bobby's e-mail without his permission and that's how she found out about the infidelity. The point: this wasn't new behavior when she began looking through Travis Alexander's text messages or reading the e-mails in his MySpace page. Arias actually has a pattern of this type of distrustful behavior. This was another important point.
Martinez again questioned Arias about her problems remembering things that may hurt her case and having a great recall for things that could help her. Arias responded by saying that Martinez's tone and "posture" was effecting her and "making her brain scramble". That's the second time she's used that phrase about the prosecutor. Martinez pressed on despite the verbal sparring. He played clips from the 48 Hours Mystery interview Arias gave back in 2008, where Arias said of Travis Alexander "he was a bright light, he brightened the room when he entered it, the laughter got louder...". In the interview, she tells the interviewer how generous Travis was to her, and how she would have no motive to harm him. She said Travis was generous, opened up his home to her and others, and even opened his refrigerator to her when she couldn't afford food.
Juan Martinez pointed out that Jodi Arias has given two distinctly different portrayals of Travis Alexander. She replied that "Travis flourished on compliments", implying that was the reason she wrote such flattering text messages to him. She really has no way to explain these text messages and journal entries, since none of them are argumentative, discuss any fighting or arguing and certainly don't discuss any alleged problem Travis had with inappropriate attractions to young boys or girls!
Martinez discussed how their sexual relationship was completely mutual and consensual, despite Arias stating on direct examination that she felt "like a piece of used toilet paper", or "I kinda felt like a prostitute". He entered a text message into evidence from Jodi Arias to Travis Alexander from 1/8/08 that said: "I want to give you a bj and you give me a generous facial in return". Wow, this seems to really contradict how Arias portrayed these acts and the effect they had on her during direct examination - many times she testified that Travis's aggressive sexual behavior made her uncomfortable and she complied to please him. Martinez really did a great job using Jodi Arias's own words to contradict many things she said previously! This shows she was not quite as innocent as she would have us believe and paints a completely different portrait of her participation in these acts.
Earlier today Martinez entered into evidence a message Arias wrote to Travis on something that was put together for his memorial service in Mesa. I thought they said it was photo, with a letter or message from Jodi to Travis but I'm not positive. The message to Travis included "Travis, you are beautiful inside and out" - Juan Martinez asked her "so you think somebody who masturbates to photos of young boys is beautiful on the inside and out"? Arias replied "no, that part of him was sickening". The letter goes on to say "you always told me that I never stopped believing in you, and you never stopped believing in me. Thank you for sharing so much with me and thank you for all of your generosity".
I think the general consensus is "how could you show up to a memorial service for a person you killed"? Arias insists that she was there because she and Travis had discussed giving eulogies for each other. I doubt this is what Travis Alexander had in mind - having his killer sitting among his family and friends. I believe Jodi Arias was more concerned how it would look (to law enforcement) if she wasn't at the memorial service. They would figure she had a guilty conscious. Arias actually spoke to Marie "Mimi" Hall at that memorial service, and Arias claims that she didn't know for sure that Hall was supposed to go to Cancun with Alexander until that day. Until then, she claims to have believed Travis was taking the "babysitter" of one of his friends. She also testified today that it didn't bother her that Travis wasn't taking her, nor had he asked her to go. That was never the plan.
They are taking the afternoon break now, but again - another good day for the prosecution. Martinez continues to break down some of the tales Arias told during her direct examination where she portrayed herself as someone who couldn't say no to Travis Alexander, who submitted to his deviant sexual desires and never told a soul because she didn't want to hurt Travis's reputation - even at her own expense. Nothing has been presented, aside from Arias's word that comes close to showing prior abuse at the hands of Travis Alexander. I do realize that victims of domestic violence often times don't report the abuse to law enforcement out of fear - but they usually tell somebody. A friend, a hotline - a Bishop? Certainly they would be free to write about it in their journal or diary. She didn't. Rather, on the dates she claims these events occurred, her journal entries and text messages show just the opposite. No confrontation or talk of confrontation, no apologies from either side - just regular conversation between two people.
I'd be concerned if I were Jennifer Willmott and Kirk Nurmi. You can see how much Nurmi dislikes Juan Martinez by the way he looks at him. Update to follow after court concludes for the day! Stay tuned......
**UPDATE**
Court was recessed early today - testimony will resume tomorrow morning. After the jury was excused, defense attorney Kirk Nurmi told the judge that the Sheriff's office had not been providing Jodi Arias with a lunch and asked that they make arrangements to be sure she had food provided to her. He also asked that the court day end as scheduled at 4:30PM (I thought it did....), apparently Ms. Arias suffers from migraine headaches, and I'm not sure if that's the reason for the early day today. My questions would then be:
1) Is today the first day Jodi Arias didn't have lunch provided to her? She's been in court since January 2. If this was an issue, why didn't they address it at the very beginning?
2) If Jennifer Willmott & Kirk Nurmi were aware Arias wasn't being provided a lunch during this trial, wouldn't they have simply bought her a sandwich or lunch? I'm assuming they both have lunch each day.....
3) Will the "food factor" become a motion for mistrial? The defense has tried several other tactics to delay or throw out this case - and to have the death penalty taken off the table. Is a lack of food effecting Jodi Arias's memory, or her ability to tell the truth??
Odd, but that's par for the course for this trial! See you tomorrow....enjoy your evening!
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