Jodi Arias Trial: In Her Own Words.. How I Killed Travis Alexander With HIS Gun and HIS Knife
Photo Courtesy AP Pool
Phoenix, Arizona- In today’s highly anticipated morning testimony, Jodi Arias finally “gets there”.
After weeks of what can only be described as the dog ate my defense testimony led by Kirk Nurmi, Jodi Arias explains the events leading up to and during the murder of Travis Alexander.
Arias describes an irate and menacing Travis who bounds from the shower, causing her to drop his new camera and pouncing on her, knocking her to the wet tile floor.
“ A five year old can hold a camera better than you.” Arias stated Alexander screamed at her among other threatening expletives while she struggled to break free.
She then ran to the master bedroom closet and apparently using the Spiderman techniques she absorbed via osmosis from the alleged Valentines gift, retrieved a gun she claimed Travis owned over two feet out of her reach while he was sprinting behind her.
She pointed the gun at him, did not realize it went off and then Travis, still coming at her, stumbles to his knees on the now bloody tile beneath him. ( Editors Note: As I have always said, I believe the order of this injury is true and is important to the charges against her)
Enter gratuitous memory gap.
“I have no memory of stabbing him.” – Jodi Arias
Although Arias admits to having flash backs, she states she cannot remember any other details with the exception of her crouched in the bathroom covered in blood and drops a knife she believes was upstairs used by Travis to cut ropes he used to tie her up to the bed.
She did however, have the presence of mind to grab the ropes, the gun, apparently removes and loses her shoes and has no idea what happened to the knife she used to stab Alexander 29 times and slit his neck from ear to ear.
Next memory she is driving in the desert with the gun she alleges was Travis’s when she pitches it out the window at a random location, then puts the ropes in a dumpster behind a gas station and washes blood off her hands.
Pause for Arias innocuous driving babble and road scenery.
“Why didn’t you call 911 and tell them what happened?” Kirk Nurmi asks his sniffling but tearless client.
” …He attacked you, why did you feel You messed up pretty badly?”
“This time it was different, he had done it before and nothing happened, it was heightened.” Responded Arias.
While approaching a check point in Utah, she feels like she will be apprehended there.
Arias decided to do a “whole bunch of things” to cover up she was ever there.
So .. “I called his phone to leave a voice mail”. For nearly 16 minutes she says she tried numerous times to leave a cheery voice mail to ask as if she was not present in Alexander’s home.
“I just thought they would be listening to his voice mail, so I just thought it would throw the scent off for a while.”
– Jodi Arias
Yes, she actually said that on the stand. Defense Attorney Kirk Nurmi was observed writing a note to co-counsel Jennifer Wilmott to send an assistant out to Sam’s for an industrial size supply of Tums.
I made that part up. Testimony continues following jury lunch break.
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Oye vey all, thanks for your patience. We had hoped to be doing some upgrades behind the scenes leading into the holiday overall conversions but not so lucky.
B
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I missed you and hope all the gremlins have been captured! LOL… I’m not even going to admit how many times I checked your site yesterday
Well this expert is likable. Not that I believe that Jodi was abused. It was certainly the other way around. Sooo that brings me to my thoughts on this. Jodi and Travis were not a family. Their funds were not co-mingled etc.to where reporting the abuse would have caused a financial strain by fines and what not. They dated for a brief period of time and then continued in a physical relationship. They were not a couple. I understand that it is hard for a woman to leave ie. why women stay. But…once that decision is made to leave (by a true battered woman) does she go back. Fight or flight. Jodi got away so to speak by moving back to Yreka. She travelled the distance to go back to AZ to kill him. Would a true battered woman do this? I think not. She is definately not a battered woman. Travis was the abused one. I hope JM turns her into a prosecutors witness, although IMO it should be more lighthanded than his typical pittbull style.
This witness is absolutely stellar. She has a blemishless record in her field and I hung on her every word.
Bonus- she is likable and she is NECESSARY to both sides of the relationship of abuse equation as she so articulately testified.
To your point, this is critical for JM to soft shoe her. She is never going to go directly to JA and TA because she must stay in the abstract. I don’t think Wilmott could get her there even is she wanted to extend her value to her case- she is just not smoothe enough, if that makes sense.
The key for JM is to very deftly and patiently weave this around to an abuse victim who is leaving a relationship and has the added bonus of having his head nearly sawed off for the pleasure.
That’s what happened and any expert will tell you that phase of leaving the abuser is the single most dangerous time for an asbuse victim there is. She exhibited the very stalker-ish behavior and breaches of TA privacy she knows are signals for danger potentially. He called her sociopath. She showed up and you all know what the outcome was.
Lastly- pay close attention to whether or not the defense goes to behaviors at the scene on June 4. That will surprise me and tell me something about how they are reviewing discovery.
B
Blink, Thank God you’re back up…I was having “withdrawals”!
You know, I keep reading how a lot of you find JM lacking, but what is the best way to handle JA on the stand, who remembers nothing but the tiniest details of a situation years before. Yes maybe a diferent style, but apparently, the state didn’t have that luxury. Any suggestions for how JM could possibly pry information out of JA?
The only issue I had with JM and Jodi is that he let her bait him into minutia arguments. I felt he he had missed opportunities but I will be the first to say that is a very difficult witness to cross and maintain balance.
My issues are that I mentioned specifically.
B
Just checking in with y’all.
I got a little overwhelmed in this case. Then I got bored. to. tears. with Samuels on the stand.
I did step away and actually kindof thinking I’ll wait until deliberations to step back in to this one.
She is a different kind of evil. And, I have to add….as I’ve spoken of my bipolar/bpd/narcissistic/etc sister….a lot of JA behavior hits too close to home for me. It really really got to me.
But wanted to send my <3 to you all.
I'm keeping up, just trying to not involve, if that makes sense.
Blink says:
There is no set of circumstances I buy this girl has anything but my new term I just made up – “Guilt avoidance selective amnesia”.
**********************************************************************
This phrase and “moonbat”. I used both last night when dealing with my own watered down version of JA.
Urinate on your shoes and tell you they forgot they did it.
I really applaud this site and it’s contributors. I think I’ve really honed my own observation skills. I am trained to interview people and watch responses, facial tones, body language and actions. I have to say, with all that training, this site has helped immensely, I think mostly in my critical listening skills. I really appreciate reading what you all write and how you break things down and analyze. For me, even reading here, has really honed those skills. I can more easily spot inconsistencies and I can adjust my behavior and line of questioning. Thanks to Blink and critical minds found here.
Blink, the Categories column to the left on your website is not loading properly…a Viagra/Cialis page keeps popping up.
I agree the challenge for JM is to make sure the jury views LaViolette’s testimony in relationship to TRAVIS ALEXANDER.
LaViolette seems like a nice user friendly witness. But it is clear that in answering Willmott’s questions, she is presenting Arias as the victim, which is totally against LaViolette’s position of ” don’t blame the victim”
La Violette testifies that she is a DV expert whose main focus is family court disputes.
In all the examples LaViolettes gives of victims etc, she has not referred to anyone who shot a man in the face, stabbed 29 times, slit his throat.
So unless she can speak to that specific circumstance, a reasonable person would consider LaViolette’s information to be general education about toxic relationships. Absolutely vital that Martinez gets the jury to use this info when thinking about how Arias victimized Travis. very important to highlight Travis struggle to end the relationship.
I recall someone connected with Travis saying that he had spoken to the Bishop about his situation with Arias. if so, could the Bishop testify?
And as much as we all know that LaViolette can win the Ms. Congeniality award for this trial, if you google her, watch her videos, you can see that even La Violette is seduced by the power and fame that comes with being considered an authority. Her public speaking includes anecdotes too, just like her testimony. If she can’t get specific, it is just another but much more publicized speaking engagement. Don’t think Martinez should attack her for this, but she has referenced enough of her resume that he could cite that she uses these examples all the time, what else is new,,,,
Court cancelled for today….(no reason given) to resume tomorrow.
So will JM be able to bring in or ask about behaviors of Jodi’s that mirror those behaviors mentioned by this witness in describing an abuser?
O/t
At last the site is working again. The Scared Monkeys site is still in limbo or at least it was an hour ago. I was about to use Trace Route to follow all the router links and then I began to get data base not found errors from the browser, all three of them IE-9, Firefox & Google Chrome. I knew everyone was working hard to get it back to normal.
I really do like the current defense witness. She is gently showing the court the types of things affecting an abusive relationship. She did not interview any of the principals in the case so she will not be able to state which one was the abuser. It is my opinion that both behaved in an abusive manner.
Jodi has sociopathic behaviors and is IMO all of the following; a snoop, a stalker, a predator and behaves in the manner of one who is obsessed.
I also believe that Travis and his associates and friends found this behavior in Jodi and were in the process of pushing her out of the relationship. They probably thought it was mostly over and Travis could move on. His mistake was talking to her on the phone. This gave Jodi information about his plans and provided a reason for her trip to Mesa that ended in Travis being killed.
Since there has been nothing found of the weapons used to kill Travis, there is only the fact of the bullet and shell casing used for the shot which identifies it as a 25 caliber. The ME’s findings on the autopsy could not identify the type of knife used in the stabbings because of the time lapse between the death and the time the body was discovered. I don’t think the knife used was from the kitchen collection. I believe Jodi brought both gun and knife with her.
When did Jodi purchase the 9mm pistol hidden in the rented auto? Did the prosecution have any record of where the purchase was made?
@ Cindy: His cross of Arias didn’t bother me. She was slippery as heck. It was when questioning the expert witness that he was overly aggressive and demeaning.
A witness is ‘trapped’ on the stand and no attorney should be viciously attacking them unless they are a lying through their teeth defendant and even then there are boundaries.
@ Christy: Don’t miss the deliberations! They should be good and I hope this is where Martinez will shine.
THANK GOD BLINK IS BACK!!! I don’t think there is any help for this addiction either. Glad to see all are back on board. We probably needed a little downtime.
@ATG. I thot it was a server thing which has experienced issues (the server, not Blink et al) since 9/12. It interrupted my comment on this expert whom I will name pop art or dr tv. my impression was JM should do no more than a 45 min cross & leave it.
trapped on the stand. oh memories. i remember my deer in headlights tesrimony (cpsd). with no prep of course as DAs are too busy and a fine written record works
Afterwards, the very competent Public Def said “You know I could’ve gone a lot harder on you.”
I’ll say going less hard on a well intended expert is the way to a Fact Finder’s heart, Mr JM.
True dat.
B
Reason court cancelled, Jodi had a migraine…I think it’s dawning on her she’s in a sht-pot of trouble. I’m also concerned with JM’s actions outside the courtroom where he’s being treated as a “Star”. It ain’t over till the “fat lady sings”.
Yes, I am. Web is full of keystroke miscreants unfortunately.
B
I find Ms. LaViolette fascinating and it’s almost like being in a therapy session listening to her for me after suffering an emotionally abusive relationship years ago. I can see why she is such a sought after expert witness and I hope Mr. Martinez treats her with respect and dignity and turns her into a witness for the prosecution through his cross-examination as Jodi was the true abuser in this relationship. If Mr. Martinez fails to do this, I am going to have grave concerns. Since Miss Wilmott is talking in hypotheticals, will Mr. Martinez be able to do the same in regards to Jodi’s stalking, slashing of tires, etc..?
Rose
I don’t know where the server is located for BOC. It could be local to her or it could be physically located in a massive data center. I didn’t run the trace route program. When I received the data base error, it told me the browser was reaching the site, but was unable to get a response to the request for data.
I agree about the short cross from JM. He IMO should simply give the lady a complement for her expertise and ask if she actually examined Jodi in regard to determining if she were being abused. If she answers No, then tell the court no further questions and let the jurors submit questions.
A reporter on CNN last night stated that she overheard Jodi’s attorney tell the sheriff’s deputy to make certain that Jodi was getting her medication. What that may be is not known. However, Jodi is such a sneak that she could very well have not taken it and the result is that she was not able to be in court. Every day she can delay the conclusion of the trial extends her time of not being convicted of the charges.
Small picture of Travis as a little boy.
(included in his Mom’s obituary … Photo with his Mom & Dad)
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=104097659
Re: 9mm gun
The testimony concerning Arias buying the gun occurred on March 13. If I recall, Arias claimed that she bought the gun for protection, because she was going on a camping trip with some guys from work. I recall she could not remember their names when asked. She did say” better to have one and not need it than to need it and not have one”
This stood out to me because basically she is saying she was prepared to kill someone if threatened.
Going back to what happened to the gun, after three days of surveillance, in which Jodi was seen packing boxes , the police arrested her in Yreka on the day that a rental car arrived at her house. Jodi had already put some boxes in the car. The boxes were taken out, but the gun was under the seat and not recovered until later, when the car was back at the rental company.
I dont know why the prosecution didn’t ever come back to this with witnesses, gun registration etc etc.
Maybe to the prosecution it just looked like a rabbit hole not worth following Arias into.
But think about it- Arias had killed a man with a gun in the precedeing weeks. As far as ” not wanting to think about the traumatic event” ( Samuels thing)- what would be more connected to a shooting than buying a gun?
And naturally, why would she have gone on a camping trip with men she didn’t know and by whom she was threatened enough that she took a gun for protection…?
She was never going on a camping trip.
Just as a point of interest- there is a 10 day waiting period and criminal background check in CA for a handgun purchase.
So, while she was the primary suspect in a brutal homicide, she acquired a handgun. There are db’s that LE uses that will access current investigative information that will flag further inquiry- it did not here.
Concerning.
B
@A Texas Grandfather
(snipped) “I agree about the short cross from JM. He IMO should simply give the lady a complement for her expertise and ask if she actually examined Jodi in regard to determining if she were being abused. If she answers No, then tell the court no further questions and let the jurors submit questions.”
—————————————————————
I agree also.
I don’t think she was going camping either. I think she was running away. Sounds just like OJ. Where would she have gone I wonder.
Blink says:
Just as a point of interest- there is a 10 day waiting period and criminal background check in CA for a handgun purchase.
So, while she was the primary suspect in a brutal homicide, she acquired a handgun. There are db’s that LE uses that will access current investigative information that will flag further inquiry- it did not here.
Concerning.
———————————
Re: Calif law for aquiring a handgun- I have zero experience or knowledge about buying handguns in Calif., but a quick google search provided info which includes following:
Aside from 10 day waiting period, to buy a handgun ( legally) you have to pass a Handgun Safety Course, (or be exempt from having to pass it, which she was not)
So there is definitely some weirdness going on surrounding the fact that a 9mm gun was subsequently found in the rental car that Arias was loading up when she was arrested in Yreka. She volunteered the information to Flores when he was interviewing her, after she asked him what kind of gun he had ( in one of the zillion videotapes floating around)
When Arias was arrested, Arizona police pointed out at the time that the circumstances ( packing boxes, loading up the car with same) could be interpreted that she was preparing to flee. Hopefully none of this is relevant to Martinez’s case against Arias, would hate to think he missed something.
AND it occurs to me that when it comes down to it, the experts witness , both Samuels and La Violette, are really the equivalent of character witnesses.
All they can really provide is information which the jury can interpret to mean that Arias is not LYING when she says she had amnesia and that Travis abused her. Allthey can do is give the jury something that would plant reasonable doubt in their minds when Martinez says that Arias knew what she was doing every step of the way. So yes, their own credibility is everything. Martinez has to show that their info is not founded on anything that is relevant to Arias claims about her actions.
As far as the theories LaViolette is putting forth, it is worth asking if they have been tested outside of litigation. How can she prove that abused women do not report abuse? How can it be proven that Arias was acting in self defense when she shot stabbed and slit Travis’s throat, by having LaViolette cite examples of women who were abused and who did not shoot, stab,slit throats? All La Violette can do is give testimony that , in her experience, women have been abused by men, and men have been abused by women, and what that has looked like.
She said she works primarily in family court- where abuse is taken into account for custody rulings.When has her expert testimony resulted in getting a woman acquitted of first degree murder who did all the things Arias has done?
At least Samuels could refer to test that he gave Arias , and interviews he had with her. But apparently LaViolette has not met or tested Arias, and certainly has not met or interviewed Travis. Has laViolette ever talked to people who claimed they were abused, but lied about it? Has she ever interviewed stalkers, or is stalking outside of her area of expertise? Has she testified on behalf of women who hacked into emails, facebook, computer, showed up uninvited etc etc.
Does consensual sex trump abuse if both parties are willingly participating? Martinez has already shown the consensual nature of Arias/Alexander relationship.
There is no objective evidence that Arias ever tried to end the sexual relationship and was met with threatening resistance from Travis. But there is ( rather explicit and specific) written proof from Travis texts that he was fed up, and testimony from his friends that he wanted out. Everything laViolette says about ” inability to leave an abusive relationship” applies to Travis.
Arias officilly dated travis for 5 months. For the following year, she pursued a sexual relationship with him, while acknowledging, by her claim, that it was never going ti lead anywhere. LaViolette says that part of the reason women continue a relationship with their abuser is that the abused person “continues to hope” tha things will get better. Well Arias already testified in so many words she did NOT have hope that it would turn into anything, she knew it was just sex.
Arias claimed detachment from Travis, claimed she had already moved on ( to Ryan Burns) so that the jury would not think that she was jealous or upset that Travis didnt want to have an official relationship with her,wasn’t taking her to Can Cun etc.. I hope this lie bites her back.
Two days ago my 11 year old walked in and saw on the tv Juan signing the lady’s cane. Without any prompting from me he was astute enough to see that was inappropriate and said “is he supposed to be giving autographs on tv?”.
… and here we are.
It appears at this time the 9mm pistol may have been purchased off the street if bought or it could be that someone loaned Jodi the gun.
In Texas, if one goes to a gun shop or one of the large sporting goods stores to purchase a gun, there is a background check and verification of the place of residence. This is not done until a particular gun or guns are selected. After that check is completed, the sales person at the big stores writes up a ticket for the purchase that includes the type of gun, the mfg. and serial number. When that is completed, the sales person then walks with the purchaser to the check out counter with the guns still in their possession. The purchaser pays for the merchandise and the sales person escorts the buyer outside of the store before turning over the gun or guns to the buyer. One does not have to present any type of certification for training of any type.
It now appears that LaViolette may have interviewed Jodi. If that is true, then we are going to have an extensive cross examination by JM.
She definitely purchased it legally. (9MM Glock)
Agreed on cross, but remain hopeful.
B
In relation to testimony today regarding Travis being abusive to Jodi as well as others, I’ve heard the words “abuse” “abusive” more times than I can count. Why isn’t LaViolette clarifying the type of abuse issues she’s referring to? Isn’t LaViolett’s testimony hearsay or simply Jodi’s version of what went on (lies)? Did Chris and Sky Hughes personally tell LaViolette Travis was abusive with other women?
today’s synopsis, since I couldn’t get live stream
http://www.hlntv.com/article/2013/03/28/live-blog-will-arias-health-derail-trial
idk why hln chose to make rather than break news, but imo very poor jm judgment.
doubt it rises to misconduct as rule is jury cannot watch media.
expert sounds good today.
yesterday unfortunately my snippets were when she referred to TV content and Wilmott more
than once said “But what research have you READ?” and her hero seemed to be a dr ormand
whom she said many found flawed. And she seemed to be speaking in general about her therapy clients
rather than in specific about an assessed Jody. Today she seems to rectify.
JM needs to treat this expert gently, with respect, and establish men fit the profile too & he was the one leaving the relationship, and she was the sticky glue. Q for her, what materials was she supplied & did she evaluate as to Travis as abusee? His texts emails & so on. If none, why not? Doesnt she consider all aspects of the relationship from both POV’s?
Blink, are you still hopeful after today, and especially hearing what the Hughes’ had to say about Travis and his behavior? I was caught off-guard that LV had interviewed Arias. And sent her books. JW ate that up… she looked like the cat that swallowed the mouse today.
Jden I don’t think you want to know what I think. I was surprised you did not comment that the defense team AND their witness were perfectly coordinated today.
We still have to get this around to the nexus to Travis’s murder, but she was effective for foundation.
B
To Anyone:
Will JM be able to bring in the vidio tapes of JA’s statements to detective Flores at the time she was arrested.
The bloom is off the rose for LaViolette as far as I am concerned. She was testifying about how the media portrays abused women and she cited specific films and actresses . She posited that the portrayal of the women as snow white, and the use of lesser known ( less powerful) male actors as the abuser was indicative of how the media does not present the truth,
Sorry, but she is way off base using these films to support this theory But she said it with such authority that it makes me question her whole thing.
The truth is that The Burning Bed was produced by Farrah Fawcett, to fullfill her desire to tell the story and showcase her dramatic talent. It was based on a best selling book and made for television as ENTERTAINMENT. “Sleeping with the Enemy ” starring Julia Roberts went ahead only when Roberts agreed to do it. In both circumstances, these films were vehicles for the leading ladies and naturally would not be as enticing to big name male leads. In general, major movie stars factor their fan base into their decisions on the type of role they play. It is after all, show BUSINESS, and these movies are not DOCUMENTARIES. How dare she use entertainment as proof of a rule. As far as ” always lesser known men in the abuser role”- every actor considers the value of playing unsympathetic characters- a positive and negative.
My point is that it LaViolette has cited these films as the basis of her opinion on the media’s portrayal of abuse. , and she really doesn’t know what she is talking about. But she said it with such calm convincing authority, it worries me. She cites all these names of people in the domestic violence field, as though that in itself is proof of validity- and honestly, she presents herself so well, you do beleive what she says. Just to drive home the point here, think of all the media coverage on the woman who killed her minister husband and got aquitted as a victim of battered woman syndrome, That happened a lot more recently than the Burning Bed ( tv movie in the 80′s)
The problem remains- what insight does she have into Travis’s mind/lie/relationship with Arias aside from the stories from Arias and the emails she claims are proof that he abused Arias? Is she REALLY trying to say that because of the wooden spoon, Travis position in the Mormon church,these emails and the sex phone call, that Arias had to defend herself with overkill?
How does any of her testimony refute the idea that this same abuse was the basis for Arias PLANNING to kill him?
What clients has she dealt with who murdered their abuser ,if you beleive that Arias was abused in the first place?
How does LaViolette’s testimony show that Travis would have KILLED Arias if she had not killed him first?
And, for those of you interested in math- LaViolette did 44 hours of interviews with Arias (at 300 an hour, plus more time in research and reviewing before taking the stand. Samuels testified that in his judgement, over 30 hours and you are bordering on an inappropriately enmeshed relationship with subject.
Did LaViolette devote equal amount of time in reviewing Alexander?
Sorry, she is not objective. Nice , and probably a great guest at any conference on domestic violence ( check youtube for her performances)but please, don’t pretend you are objective when you are testifying for a proven liar, and your testimony is based on what the proven liar says and presents. even with Emails FROM Travis, it is cherry picking. Yuck.
I am SORRY for ranting, please forgive my blathering. This case means a lot to me. I just wish the bigger lesson will be that if a women chooses to pursue a toxic relationship and kill someone, she should be punished. If Arias gets off, the lesson will be that if you are abused, you are absolved of full responsibility for your actions.
FULL DISCLOSURE: I know first hand what abuse is and what it takes to get out of it. I was younger and dumber, more isolated and with fewer resources than Arias. It happened at a time and place where the idea of a going to a shelter was so stigmatized that the first requirement was that you file charges, and your chances of renting your own place after being there would be totally compromised by that police report that followed you for years. For me to be free, it meant leaving town instead ( but he followed me and befriended my boss) and ultimately, moving to the United States to start life all over again at age 22. Besides trying to explain my ranting today, I am saying this to fortify the validity of my observation that Arias was not abused in any way that justified murder. My position is that the very abuse Arias alledges took place, is the abuse that formed the basis for her intent to kill.
If you were ever in doubt about Jodi shedding even one tear on that stand, here is a link that shows her wiping under her right eye (pretending to cry) but it’s a close up and you can clearly see there isnt one tear to wipe away.
http://www.hlntv.com/article/2013/03/01/day-jodi-arias-cracked-thursday-stand
BLINK!
I posted a WAY too long post at 7:35 that is undergoing moderation- PLEASE omit If I have taken up too much space or personalized too much for this site, honestly I didnt mean to take advantage of the opportunity to post!
so-
This is the only thing that really matters- a link to wikipedia definition of Battered woman Defense:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battered_woman_defense:
wasn’t laviollette supposed to be used during the mitigation phase originally? if so, does this change the type of evaluation she would have done on JA? I hope JM can turn this around
SHE’S NOT A BATTERED WOMAN!!!!! I can say that I haven’t had time to go back and watch the testimony but it doesn’t matter. She is not. She never will be as it relates to this case. Things that I am seeing posted already have my blood pressure boiling. I will try to watch in the morning. I KNOW what battered women go through and how tough it is to get out. She did not. It’s as simple as that. I’m so irritated.
((((hugs to you, whodunnit)))
Objective analysis, too. Thanks
Funny, Blink! I held back today but yes of course I noticed that the defense trio was color coordinated. I object! May we approach?
whodunnit says:
March 28, 2013 at 7:35 pm great points
–
Throwing My 2 + cents in here
I do not think The Domestic violence expert is flawless
Although I agree that she knows alot about the intricacies of the charts etc
But everything she says – all I can think is all this seems to apply more to travis than to Jodi as being avictim… then I wonder whyis this DV expert speaking for the defense in this case?
How can an expert be so wrong about a situation basing her findings on asome emails texts- and a woman who lies and manipulates and can not be trusted.
How can she make such sweeping generalities as to say in essence that every person who was abused in their childhood grows up to be an abuser?
She seems to be someone who may have done alot of good work way back when but is now still moving forward with the same mindset.
She has only worked a handful of cases where the man was the victim of domestic violence or battering
She speaks in almost every situation/case study to a woman being the victim and the man being the abuser
She then says in the next breathe it isnt black and white
She has yet to see a perpetrator who is entirely evil…but then finishes that thought with and I have never seen a woman “who doesnt have flaws”
Ms. LaViolette was accused of having a bias against men it went to court I believe-
I do not know what happened in that instance but I certainly can understand the sentiment just based upon her testimony.
I think she is a very personable and kindhearted but I have to question her ability to see clearly in this case- can she even fathom a man, Travis as the victim and a woman Jodi as the abuser? IDK
Today she spoke of Jodis vulnerability of just ending a 4 year relationship only to go on to say jodi “stayed” in the Travis relationship because that was what she was taught
To give up the things she wants for somebody she loves?
Really what did she ever give up” for anyone she loved? She ranaway from home she left Bobby when she felt like it-twice – she left Victor when she felt like it..she left DB when she felt like it
LV said she learned from her childhood:
You stay in a relationship whether its what you want it to be or not..
then she goes onto to say the lesson that many survivors learn is …you stay through thick and thin even when dont like what is happening…you do everything you can to make it work.
So Jodis childhood must not have “kicked in” with DB that weekend when she met Travis and suddenly decided to end her relationship because “they both wanted different things” and her childhood must not have “kicked in” when she decided to break up with Travis “officially” or when she moved back to Yreka…
I find Miss Laviolettes testimony so far very sad- why would she choose to testify in this case who did she turn down just the otherday to cont to put her experience on the line for Jodi?
I certainly hope it wasnt a man or woman who clearly 100% was in need of some help because they were without a single doubt horribly abused by their partner…
–Some may think I am being too hard on this witness- perhaps but for me, unless there is some other evidence we have not heard or seen- I sincerely with ever fiber of my humanity do not believe Jodi Arias is a victim of domestic violence
AJMO
Peace
Until the latter part of LaViolette’s testimony it was not clear that she had interviewed Jodi. Now IMO she has lost her position of expert and should be treated as just a character witness with some expert information that is based on the lies and story that Jodi has created.
JM should carefully destroy her lack of impartiality. The jurors need to see that this is not an objective response. He needs to also bring out if true, the fact that she has only worked in family courts.
Jodi was a long way away from Travis. Nearly 1,000 miles. All she had to do was stay away. They both treated one another badly. A battered woman who gets away does not plan such a trip as did Jodi. She went there for the purpose of trying one more time to make him her man with the idea of if she failed she would destroy him. He refused her offer and she followed through on her plan.
If I were on the jury…the case has gone on way too long..looking like a worn out soap opera. I hope and pray there is justice for the victim Travis Alexander who’s admitted killer is Jodi Arias. I rest my case.
Well besides describing Jodi as the abuser, a lot of what she talks about seems to me to refer to married couples with years of history and family responsibilities. Yes women would tend to stay if they were financially dependant and had children. I do not see how this applies to 2 people that dated briefly (5 months). They just did not have those ties. Seems to me like she saw Travis as a meal ticket, dumped her current boyfriend and then went in hot pursuit of Travis.
It is also easy to come to a conclusion when things are taken out of context. Much like when the defense took only the words of Travis in the sex tape. (I think this might have been why JM only played the snippet of interview with Samuels regarding Jodi not being able to sleep, but this tactic did not work for him). In any case, even when it comes to the friends of Travis that thought he was abusive, sometimes it CAN look that way if you do not have the whole picture. Especially if Travis was not completely open to his friends about what he was experiencing with her.
This expert knows her stuff, it just does not apply here.
I am hopeful for the rebuttal and closing arguments to make things clear for the jury. There has been a lot of distance between the testimony that actually matters and the never ending defense case.
Agreed, and I hope that the lack of experience in couple situations, and their individual roles in a similar scenario will be his focus as opposed to overall attacking LaViolette.
In this case, I do believe this witness has extended her practice and policy when she openly admitted that part of her process employs strategy to get the person to open up to her and that often victims hold back more than perps.
My last question to her would be if she felt that observation applied in this case- Her answer would be “yes.”
I would follow with Can I ask how you arrived at that conclusion considering the subject of abuse as you put it had his head nearly severed off and would find it difficult to converse, allowing you to weigh his contribution in your findings.
B
B
Jden says:
March 28, 2013 at 9:30 pm
Funny, Blink! I held back today but yes of course I noticed that the defense trio was color coordinated. I object! May we approach?
~~~
and the witness too!
I know I said this before…but I keep having this thought over and over…
This chicka validated herself and her life by having sexual relationships with men. Travis was willing to take advantage of this and have sexual escapades with her. When the time came that he no longer wished to be her partner in these escapades and broke it off with her, she couldn’t handle the rejection.
I am not clear on how harsh he was in breaking off this relationship, but she couldn’t handle the fact that he was moving past her.
Like TGF said, she was miles away and she could have remained where she was, if she was so “abused”. Yet she choose to appear on his doorstep, in a rental car, with her hair dyed, with some extra gas and a knife, some rope and a gun.
He rejected her – again – maybe after a final sexual escapade and so she followed through with her plan B.
B = Murder/Overkill
Cadillac has IMO identified the basic behavior of Jodi from the time she was in her early teens. One sexual encounter after another with some her own age and many that were older. This may have been the basic reason that she could not get along with her mother and father.
I believe Jodi would attack physically her own mother and father. When she was a teen she was afraid to do so,but now probably would not.
I am also not certain if all the things that appear to be off the wall behavior in the interviews with det. Flores were calculated. The point where she has been arrested and handcuffed. She gets up from the chair and sits on the floor against the wall. A female officer then comes in and directs her back to the chair. This tells me she floats into and out of normal behavior.
@Mom3.0
(snipped)”–Some may think I am being too hard on this witness- perhaps but for me, unless there is some other evidence we have not heard or seen- I sincerely with ever fiber of my humanity do not believe Jodi Arias is a victim of domestic violence
AJMO
Peace”
————————————————————–
I’m with you. It will be interesting to see JM’s cross.
here is a link to Alyce LaViolette’s CV. On page 17, there is a list of all her court experience.
Readinmbg through it, you can see that most recently she has been mainly dealing with Family court issues of abuse . But when you go through the whole thing, you can see that she is a consultant and expert witness for ” battered Woman Syndrome”- What stands out to me is that in 1989, she did work on a first degree murder case- in the capacity of consultant who helped with jury selection and in developing questions to support a battered woman defense.
http://www.alycelaviolette.com/Alyce-LaViolette-cv.pdf
Battered Woman syndrome is a new strategy for self defense pleas, and the line of thinking is that the abuse caused PTS, which in turn caused the perp to committ the crime. It is a mitigating factor to counter charges of aggravation.
My questions:
Is LaViolette and expert in women who kill. IF she did not administer any tests to Arias, AND a diagnosis of PTS is needed in order to present ” battered woman syndrome”- does the fact that Samuels methodlogy was flawed trickle down to LaViolette’s perception. ( in addition to Arias being a proven liar)
In assessing danger to Arias that would neccessitate self defense, is LaViolette saying that she has proff that Travis was going to kill Arias?
Is LaVioleete an expert on homicides comitted when ina fugue state?
La Violette states that abused women stay in a relationship, and in Arias’ case, Arias had a template ( her mother) of staying in a relationship regardless of getting needs met. But Arias has testified that not only did she acknowledge there was no relationship except for sex, she had also moved on ( to Ryan Burns)So what is LaViolette talking about?
Is she referring to women who are financially and emotionally dependant on their spouses or partners? Arias was not financially dependant on Travis and lived 100 miles away. The relationship was based on Arias availability. Is LaViolette saying that Alexander was some kind of hypnotist who was demanidng from 1000 miles away that Arias “stay” with him ?
There is evidence that Travis wanted to end the relationship. There is evidence of Travis stating he was single and had been for six years, in a video tape made on May 16 2008. In his blog he says he wants to get married, and in Arias diary she writes she knows he will never marry HER. Even Hughes emails, which LaViolette uses to illustrate abuse- the point is they are telling her to get out of Travis life. Did LaViolette interview the Hughes in order to understand WHY they wrote that email? The purpose of the email wwas to get Arias out of travis life, not to alert her he was an abuser. They have testified they thought Arias was a loose cannon. The best way to handle a loose cannon is to say ” hey, its not you, its him, but whatever you do, get out”.
So again, what was the compulsion to be with Travis unless it was coming from within Arias? Seriously, how can his own death be Travis’s fault? How is this NOT blaming the victim?
Did travis EVER threaten to kill or harm Arias if she ” left” him? NO.
The only threat Arias felt was that her own world would end without Travis.
And by the way- is there ANY proof besides what Arias says that they actually had sex on June 4th? Were there pictures of intercourse or sexual activity or were the photos just poses?
ALAN DERSHOWITZ SAYS IT BEST:
If they [the accused] didn’t have a moral obligation to do right because of their bad circumstances, why do we have a moral obligation to understand their bad circumstances and exercise leniency?
REPEAT:
If they [the accused] didn’t have a moral obligation to do right because of their bad circumstances, why do we have a moral obligation to understand their bad circumstances and exercise leniency?
I find the Jodi who talked to Dt Flores yet another Judi
Even lying to him she seems different in personality
I find his interviews very interesting
Malty- as usual, you are right on the money.
I am re-watching the un-edited interviews and this girl is not just detached.
B
I even wonder if Dt Flores could have got the truth if he had more time and continued