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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I do feel under a competent murder defense team, and one with a real forensic expert, Dr D– despite her testing–could have easily been impeached, not just on credentials & experience, but on her conclusions. But defense attorney would have to know how to pick apart those tests & conclusions.
If the defense was expert forensic based, it would never have gotten this far, imo. She would have a murder 2 deal.
OR
The State would have at least attempted to up their game in that area.
I continue to stress- and I sat in a workshop this morning with over 30 criminal investigators of all agency status who would back me up- there was more forensic evidence in this case of a quantifiable and conclusory nature than most homicides ever see.
B
On the laptop…
Can’t decide between someone in the media, or a crazy fan.
Your take is always so fascinating and informed, do you agree with the borderline diagnosis? and what would you add that Dr. D is missing? For a layperson like me, she was effective, but I gather you are saying she is not fully disclosing all there is. Does that speak for or against JA’s defense? and do you think lay-jurors can or will pick up on it?
Rose says:
April 16, 2013 at 6:35 pm
Blink
I can’t take eyes off Jodi she does not look at the witness
Acts like she does not exist
Very strange behavior
She is Jodi’s obstacle in her mind. Except I think it reminds me a lot of what I think sent Jodi reeling in her other relationships- when she was confronted with her mental issues.
She knows what she is, and she went to great lengths all her life to either hide it, avoid it or both.
B
Georgia Dad says: When I look at the photos, all I see are three blobs of white. There appears to be a large blob centrally which I suspect is a camera flash, another smaller blob above it which I think is an overhead light, and another blob to the side which I suspect was a bathroom vanity light.
Silly me, I thought all that was The Fog.
Quoting Blink:
As effective as she was, and she definitely was, I think Jodi’s behavior in front of this direct was not lost on jurors.
=============================================================
It wasn’t lost on me….and if the jurors weren’t getting what the pros expert witness wsa laying down, they surely had to have noticed how visibly aloof and tuned out she was. If it isn’t an ego booster….like the Einstein comment and her big flashy smile, it’s insignificant.
Despite being potentially borderline, it doesn’t bode well for her to show enthusiasm during her favourite parts and retreat, when it’s unstimulating to JA. Her counsel needs to keep her focused.
I’m personally appreciative of Dr. D.’s testimony. She appeared direct, knowledgeable, and impartial. I also like her ability to talk about symptoms and draw examples from Jodi’s behaviour (as she drew from JA’s journal, emails, texts and jail house videos. Dr. D. did point out that JA’s mother mentioned her rapid moods swings (I can’t remember the clinical name for that symptom) went back as far as early childhood’ish, IIRC). <—– That appeared, to me, to be the first example of when Jodi exhibited mental and psychological instability. It's a great reference point, especially relating her behaviour to Travis and their relationship. It wasn't a new side of Jodi, imho. It was typical.
I wonder had her family intervened when they noticed these signs, how different she could have been today. It almost breaks my heart.
AJMO
I think DeMarte didn’t discuss all subtest scores of the WAIS because Martinez didn’t ask her about them. All of her expertise aside, she’s a terrific witness, knowing not to offer anything not asked, not elaborating ad nauseam to bolster her self-importance. I don’t think Martinez was highlighting Jodi’s IQ for any other purpose than to answer her boast of being as intelligent as Einstein and to highlight portions of her abilities that would illuminate the criminal skills she has displayed. I also think she handled Willmott’s cross very well and did not resort to being snarky.
“Dr Demarte seems like exactly the type of person Jodi would be unable to ‘enchant’ or mislead. A strong steady attractive female.”
———————————————————————
I missed the proceedings today and am watching a clip on youtube. Dr. Demarte has a strong resemblance to Jodi particularly hairstyle…interesting.
I could not decide if JA did not put her glasses on today because she did not want to see the witness or if she wanted to look better than the witness. I am sure the jury picked up on the change in her appearance without glasses and refusing to look at the witness. It was so strange. It sort of reminded me of the “if I do not see you,then you are not there”.
@erose. I threw Borderline out here when I first came to this thread. Of course I agree.
But imo most Borderlines don’t murder & are out there in society (esp by pre-med as we think here).
There’s something more.
People can carry more than one diagnosis. I would have preferred a long term admission (a few months anyway)
to a skilled forensic psych unit for assessment & testing.
My critique relates to her pro-theory-of-prosecution selectivity in test reporting on the stand.
The WAIS domain NOT discussed probably clues to one aspect. And if there’s the internal variation between domains
I infer there is, she can’t score a fullscale IQ. She also didn’t discuss internal validity (lying) measure on
the MMPI. And in diagnosing BPD, it is suspect to me she found every factor but absolutely & quickly said she did not find impulsivity. Or paranoid thinking under stress. Didnt even say “I lack enough data to reach a conclusion.” Just ruled it out.
She does it all:
http://m.therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/name/Janeen_DeMarte_PhD_Phoenix_Arizona_136525?name=Janeen_DeMarte_PhD_Phoenix_Arizona_136525
Her treatment modalities (CBT & MCBT) probably are that MSU legacy.
And imo she lacks the supervised training to call herself a forensic psychologist expert imo.
She seems to be a testing expert.
I doubt she’s experienced enough to recognize
subtle delusional types like the young adult
schizoaffective Hinkley types.
I defer to GraceintheHills tho on tests & diagnostics.
Well now Jodi is looking at DrD but it is still very strange
What is she thinking I wonder
A tad O/T….
Anyone familiar with the trend, ‘fry voice’. I read about this a few months ago, and noticed Dr. D. has a very pronounced fry voice.
-snipped
“The researchers in the Journal of Voice study observed that women were much more likely to exhibit fry than men. Earlier studies showed that this vocal creak was associated, in women, with being educated, urban-oriented and upwardly mobile. There’s a theory that because the rumbling, deep male voice is perceived as being authoritative, perhaps that is why women are emulating it. It may even be subconscious.”
http://www.ohniww.org/katy-perry-voice-vocal-fry/
Thought this to be interesting and perhaps a bit relative to Dr. D.’s accentuating her education and credibilty on the witness stand, via use of fry voice. DEFINITELY JUST MY HUMBLE OPINION AND OBSERVATION.
@Blink. Naw on DSM V. But wish I’d stayed at work rather than marrying & retiring,
so I could have followed Roger Peele into his second career job after reading his
recent newsletter.. Now he does have V memorized I’m sure. It was easy to follow JM’s overhead
listing of DSM criteria for BPD because she listed all of them but ruled out only 2. He
wrote those but drew lines through them.
re: “.. couldn’t she just be smart enough to try and skew the impulsivity ?”
The impulsivity “rule out” discussion did not come from any of the testing but arose
during giving her clinical diagnosis of BPD based on the DSM factors. There was nothing
for Jody to skew. Her clinical judgement was based on patterns of behavior she ascertained
via clinical interviews of Jody & others and by wriiten documents such
as Jody’s ims. When she ruled out impulsivity, she did not refer to testing.
(Actually impulsivity & focus during the test setting/taking would be an important part of the wais
and should have been mentioned in the written report). She really hammered she diagnoses by patterns of behavior.
DeMarte’s responses during cross were bested by the way she looked at Wilmont: “I could crush you like a dung beetle if I so desired, mere mortal.”
I lerrrrrve DeMarte.
GraceintheHills says:
April 16, 2013 at 3:52 pm
@Rose, she used the WAIS. Far more relevant and interesting than that, imo, are the MMPI results.
B O R D E R L I N E
Saw that coming, didn’t we? Excellent witness today, and I am floored by Jodi’s behavior during this. Won’t look at her, does not don her glasses, and is scribbling like a child – respectfully, this is a product of inexperienced counsel or poor lawyering.
B
——————————————————————–
Missed the entire trial today and just now catching up here. Did I just read the above correctly? Was there a prosecution psychologist on the stand today that said Jodi was “Borderline Personality?” (happy dance). So I WAS right on something, lol! Maybe there’s hope for me in the psych field after all! {:)
On another note, I just have to say that pic the media keeps showing of Travis in the shower looking thru the shower door haunts me to my core. I just can’t stop feeling as if that look says it all. There are so many emotions from TA I get from that photo it gives me chills. The horror on his face … that look in his eyes. It’s indescribable and heartbreaking. I believe this had to have been one of his last moments before JA killed him. There really are no words.
fwiw, found this interesting
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3342993/
Not only that justice23,
JM has it all on neat succinct overheads,
& I bet copies go to jury room.
Just a thought…it has been mentioned here more than once about how JA’s lawyers are inexperienced/poor lawyering skills. Is there a fear that this will be used in appeal (only if convicted, of course) to overturn verdict/get new trial?
If she is convicted it definitely will.
B
Dr. DeMarte diagnoses Borderline Personality Disorder and identifies an above average IQ but she adds the observation that Arias functions as an adolescent. I wonder, do we execute adolescents?
If they shoot, stab and mutilate another person without provocation and are found guilty at age 32, I hope so.
B
Rose, I love your posts and your ‘shortcuts.’ You and Malty are haiku poets–with you being the fuller-figured one. lol I understand a lot of the abbreviations and I expect most Blinkers do, too. Many of have read/heard of the DSM 5 updates (coming out in May, right?); besides, there is always Google. Thank you, Blink, for wanting to make this blog teachable.
I am interested to know what sentient practice is and how that would help this practitioner evaluate Arias. Is this BF Skinner stuff? (old school! and I’m old!) It sounds a little foggy to me. DeMarte does seem to know her MMPI and that dismisses those Defense claims handily.
http://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/name/Janeen_DeMarte_PhD_Phoenix_Arizona_136525
Hoo, JA was just like CA when she didn’t like the testimony of the good Doctor. lalalalalalalala if I don’t hear it, it doesn’t exist!
As far as the stolen laptop?
Remember the old jump rope song, “Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?”?
Seems like you could insert almost any name, like “Matt” for instance, and he gets to say “who me?” Not me! “Jodi” stole the cookies from the cookie jar, and so it goes in its infinite loop motif.
How long after DeMarte’s interviews/testing with JA did the laptop get stolen?
Rose says: April 16, 2013 at 4:56 pm
“Yes, the MMOI is highly relevant in this case.
For once JM can relax & act normal. Dr D will have a
distingished career as a prosecution witness due to
her competence & demeanor. Did you notice, Grace,
under the Borderline check offs, the only 2 Dr D denied she had–altogether– impulsivity and paranoid ideation under severe stress–were the very two apt to undercut pre-med (impulsivity) or mitigate (paranoid reading of the conflict at the moment of physical altercation).
@Rose, yes, I did notice.
I also noted that Dr. Demarte was almost gleeful when she was going over the Borderline P.D. criteria for the jury. I really appreciated how she was able to keep her responses concise. I did hear that the jurors were taking lots of notes during her testimony.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rose says:
April 16, 2013 at 7:45 pm
@erose. I threw Borderline out here when I first came to this thread. Of course I agree. But imo most Borderlines don’t murder & are out there in society (esp by pre-med as we think here).
There’s something more. People can carry more than one diagnosis. I would have preferred a long term admission (a few months anyway)
to a skilled forensic psych unit for assessment & testing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@Rose, yes, I think there is much more to this woman than meets the eye. A 4-8 week stay at a State Forensic hospital would have been optimal, imo. Unfortunately, I have found that there are few attorneys who want that kind of scrutiny for their clients.
Agreed. One of the things I am struggling with is that to my knowledge, Jodi has no history of self-mutilation. None. As you know that is a major hallmark of BPD. Is it possible that the component of hurting oneself can be sort of a transference to a different sort of intentional self-harmful behavior manifestation?
B
Word girl says at 11:18 pm.
how long after Demarte’s interviews/testing with JA did the laptop get stolen?
——————————————————————-
As posted on this site a while ago, the laptop was stolen in fall of 2012.
After the intial articles, there were no follow ups as to if it had been found. Blink posited that certainly DeMarte would have had back up files.
So who ever took it had something to gain. Could just have been an easy target for a random break in, grab a laptop and sell it.
BUT, context context context….
Ann Campbell and Donovan bering were jailhouse firends of Arias. Donovan now does the twitter account for Arias. Campbell was named by Martinez as the intended recipient of the messages scrawled in the magazines. ( see link below for magazine reference on Feb 25)
http://abcnews.go.com/US/jodi-arias-coded-message-potential-witness-prosecutor-claims/story?id=18582341#.UW4sX79c_8s
The theif could have been a friend- there is a lot of fervancy in Arias following who are convinced of her innocence. But it cant be someone who is too bright, because they should have realized that any professional would have back up. But I can see the zealousness of Arias supporters, and can conceive of her followers being involved in some way with a break in , in the name of Arias’ innocence, much like the huge deal made about the false claims of Travis previous record ( where his identity was stolen by his brother)
Judging from the initial cross by Willmot, it doesn’t look like the defense had access to whatever was on Demarte’s computer…. which would be the only thing that really truly matters as far as the crime of theft goes.
Re: Demarte as expert witness:
It would be ironic to say the least if all the expert witness testimony is reduced to meaniglessness by the various cross exams… perhaps leaving the jury to just cancel ALL of them out and focus on the facts, forensic evidence, and Arias actions in her journey from Yreka to jail.
If the goal was to compromise the data to prohibit it’s use, a backup would not matter- but there would need to be a demonstrated nexus. ie: a leak to a source. It is probably low key in the first place because then you have the HIPPA issue depending on what was on her laptop. This is highly regulated and the security of electronic records are subject to specific safety protocols. So was the goal to impose some sort of sanction? If so, they likely did not find anything and LE stated her test results were on there just to force out the suspect through a leak? Or stave off a leak, lol.
B
Rose, I totally agree with the ‘impulsivity’ negated by Dr D. Looking through a garbage can, standing on her head, leaving home at a young age, kicking the family dog, the constant long distance road trips, etc… all seem fairly impulsive to me.
From my experience untreated Borderlines are vampires. They suck the life out of others to give themselves more power. This diagnosis, left untreated, is scary. The one I know likely murdered my sister though it has never been proven. He refused to take his medication and he’s so weird I can’t even tell you, total paranoid freak. In spite of this diagnosis and his refusal to take meds he was still given custody of my precious niece and nephew, which is a whole other sad sad story.
I’m not trying to slander all Borderlines. I assume there are highly functioning people out there with this diagnosis.
I will say this, Demarte was able to outline many of Jodi’s behaviors in a format that was easy for the jury to visualize and link to her mental issues. It was interesting to hear Jodi tell us how she has broken windows, kicked in doors, etc… because of her issues with anger. Nicely done bringing that in, Juan.
Also, the memory loss. Demarte educated us on why the loss of memory is not likely and probably impossible in the way Jodi states it happened after the murder.
So, no domestic violence and no memory loss, plus a personality disorder… Juan only needs to focus on forensics now.
Hurts me heart, thank you for your continued advocacy in the face of such tragedy.
B
I like Dr D…to the point, question asked answer given, done. She comes across as knowledgeable and confident with out needing to substantiate her answers with additional useless drivel.
Jodi definitely acted as though she was completely oblivious to her surroundings today, it was like she wasn’t even in the court room……until after the jury left and she put on her glasses…then she had the most hateful evil glare directed at the witness for a minute…creepy!! She looked like she was mentally murdering Dr D….
Yep, 2x glared at her directly prior to her leaving the stand.
I won’t repeat what I told a BOC editor what I believe Jodi’s first thoughts were when she saw her in court.
B
What futureman said!!!! Wilmott and Nurmi came off looking like Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum when faced with DeMarte. She’s got it all – smart, attractive, strong, unpretentious, concise, current, and knowledgeable. And the way Jodi is acting is not doing herself any favors.Done deal, I think!
I absolutely can’t wait to hear the jurors questions for DeMarte to see how they contrast from the questions posed to the Defense witnesses.
CORRECTION:
Lap top reported stolen in Feb 2013
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/story/21010530/2013/02/06/expert-witness-in-arias-trial-has-home-burglarized
Sorry to say, but that rebuttal expert today rubbed me the wrong way. Too text book black and white, not enough expertise to even exercise independent thought or explore concepts in shades of gray.
I liked Alice much better. While both of them are obviously hired to be one sided from the get go, Alice just seemed to fit her profession. I liked listening to her, I learnt things I didn’t know about domestic violence — even though she didn’t do much for this case.
Regardless, if i were sitting in jail dealing with my life in dire straits I would be much more comforted and willing to open up to Alice than someone like the chick from today walking in with her ‘check list’, knowing full well what she’s going to do with her ‘assesmnent’ once she walks out the cell door. how does anyone really expect any half intelligent defendent to unveil themselves in high stakes circumstances with the state’s psychologist?
Betty Broderick was borderline..Jodi Arias doesn’t show the range of emotions to even come close. Only a sociopath could of held it together as cool as ice like Jodi was on the stand. Borderlines cant control their emotions,no matter where they are.
OMG – wait – did the fact that defense got to question her immediataly for cross means that there were NO jury questions? If so, even more telling and selling!!!
Apologies for the digression back To ALV for a moment- but here is something to consider:
The fundamental source for ALV’s claim that Travis was abusing Arias was the texts and im’s from Travis to Arias. ALV repeatedly referred to the texts and im’s from Travis as evidence and proof of abuse, and she used these electronic communications as a type of corroboration to show domestic violence.
But I just realized a FUNDAMENTAL difference between being subjected to verbal abuse by text and Im’s and being subjected to verbal abuse in person.
There are many options for protecting oneself from electronic communcation that is unwanted. If you share a home, or even a space with someone, the option to avoid verbal abuse are limited or non existent.
In order for Arias to experience this alledged abuse, she had allow access to her phone, and choose to read the texts, and in general , engage in that communication.Importantly, this kind of communication posed no immediate physical threat in any way shape or form- and specifically never contained any threat to do physical harm. The only threat he made to Arias was to expose her lies to people she knew.
And all of this was done with a thousand miles between them.
But ALV has apparently given the texts the same weight in assessing domestic violence that would be to a situation where someone was verbally abusing a person face to face
ALV does have SOME awareness of the difference between electronic and in person communication, the reality of any threats and the ability the recipient has to block or respond.
ALV has just posted on her twitter account ” learned how to protect my account. Goodbye negativity. Thanks to the supporters” https://twitter.com/AlyceLaViolette
There are laws in Arizona that address harrasment by phone text email,but they are all predicated on the recipient not wanting contact.
http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/02921.htm
note this in the definition of harassment:
” E. For the purposes of this section, “harassment” means conduct that is directed at a specific person and that would cause a reasonable person to be seriously alarmed, annoyed or harassed and the conduct in fact seriously alarms, annoys or harasses the person.”
But clearly Arias was not alrmed enough to keep from driving a thousand miles to see Travis, AFYTER she received ” abusive texts.
ALV could argue that Arias is not a reasonable person, but she would have to cite OTHER sources as previous abuse, ( that would be the basis for Arias responding to the the texts as a person who had already been abused, if you follow) and she has only Arias uncorroborated claim of the finger and chocking.
And using this standard, it could also apply to Travis being harrassed by Arias in situations she has admitted to, of breaking into his facebook, email and cell phone, looking through windows, showing up unannounced.
okay, as I said this was a digression, but I wanted to throw it into the pot.
I have attempted to formulate this question for a long time and it kept me up for hours last night thinking about it. Bear with me…
Whether JA’s “issues” originate as inherited, environmental (still believe that she suffered some type of childhood abuse) or a combination of both, how effective would intervention and therapy have been? Specifically related to dissociation for example, would treatment for environmental impacts (if they exist) have been effective at all with underlying inherited disorder(s) and/or would it have helped underlying disorders?
I will let those more qualified than I field this is they choose, except to say that until her Dx is complete, imo, I am not sure how anyone can answer that outside of the Dx at the time and assigned treatment value.
B
Who is the other Dr. that diagnosed Jodi with PTSD? There was Dr. Samuels that testified and another one that is mentioned in the questioning of Dr. Demarte. Was Dr. Samuels the better of the 2? (snark)
Agreed. One of the things I am struggling with is that to my knowledge, Jodi has no history of self-mutilation. None. As you know that is a major hallmark of BPD. Is it possible that the component of hurting oneself can be sort of a transference to a different sort of intentional self-harmful behavior manifestation?
B
———————————————————————-
Blink I found this in researching the borderline disorder. Jodi has the recurring suicidal thoughts instead of the self mutilation.
(from physch central)
Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior.
http://psychcentral.com/lib/2007/symptoms-of-borderline-personality-disorder/
Yes, thank you, I am aware, but outside of an oblique reference to suicide of her feelings, there is absolutely no history in Arias of suicidal ideation either. I am certain ( and I am only trained to analyze how suspected or verified pathology and/or disorders might contribute to suspect/offender interaction in a crime or profile setting, not to diagnose or test) I see
Specifically, that is quite the high IQ, and is quite the non-verbal comprehension we are not discussing to match.
I have studied Hare, so we know based on her testing she is not a psycopath, and nobody I know in the psych community ever thought she was. But yet she has these “elevations” that are not really indicative of anti-social behavior and to my, Rose and Grace’s points, she is absent self mutilation and impulsivity (according to DeMarte).
She has no delusions or hallucinations ( ok, not to sound freaky but I was literally in a class on this yesterday morning prior to trial) in her testing, however, after watching 9 hours of her interview and non-verbal cues, she has some serious interruptive incidents where I could observe abrupt thought pattern or auditory/body language behavior.
As an example- is the singing brought on by some sort of auditory cue in her thoughts? She is writing the note, picks up the sandwich, and then sobs for a second, sits back up, resumes.
I can say for certain I saw some OCD, or some spectral autistic cues, but then I look at her room in the grandparents house, and outside of the ever present water bottle and hand lotion, I see nothing like that left behind.
This why I asked if anyone heard if Dr. D used the interviews as part of her observational input- I really think we have some incongruencies albeit minor in scheme, but I have to believe if everyone with a background in the field is still saying.. close, but not the whole cigar, it might be rounded out by collaterals?
Again, this is why observation in a clinical setting is going to likely pick this up, not gonna happen.
Lastly, this did not answer for me anything I did not already know, what I want answered is how her dx ends in Travis’s massacre. Because it doesn’t. Not clinically, anyway.
B
Oh and imo she is too much of a narcissist to self mutilate.
Here we are trying to find something that matches a diagnostic pattern matching the characteristics of a recognized manual and we don’t have all the data. To me Jodi, with what we know or think we know, fits into two areas at the present time. They are Antisocial and Borderline. This probably began with Conduct disorder as a child.
The voice thing with Demarte is important when dealing with men. Men do not respond well to women who place their voices high when speaking. Most men are disturbed when a woman’s voice is above G4 or A4 on the musical scale of the piano. C4 is middle C on the piano. The other thing is not opening the mouth to separate the teeth and pushing the sound with proper air.
Listen to most of the women who anchor TV or radio shows sound like or those who have listened to Blink’s appearance on Dana Pretzer’s show. Other than some local Jersey sounds, Blink’s voice is the type of voice that will sound proper to men.
LOL LOL
This I have to hear from a Texan. Heart u ATG.
B
@Blink. so is impulsivity.
—–
@Word Girl. imo Sentience has no treatment modality meaning but is this proprietor’s lyrical description of a state of well-being, for marketing purposes. Since the aspiration is high flown, it may miss the marketing mark.
Dr D moves to higher levels of practice so rapidly, between 2 months to two years, she may redefine her practice & rename within a couple years.
re cognitive behavioral therapy, a description in wikipedia is as good as anything else. my ancient memory is it is brief & problem-focused. It came into vogue decades ago–insurance driven as well.
https://www.google.com/search?q=cognitive+behavioral+therapy&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#itp=open0
I don’t have Dr D’s profound gift for slicing entire subjects quickly into simple speech. Skinner was the operant conditioning guru who introduced much to our vocab: positive reinforcers (& negative & intermittant), shaping behaviors, token economies, etc. When I was in grad school up the street from msu, figuratively, msu was seen as having a faculty that was onesidely operant conditioning based. we all had 1-2 courses in it, but in the “mainstream”, behaviorism was not seen as the primary way to treat mental illness.
CBT is behaviorally oriented but focuses on change in thoughts to change behaviors. Dr D also lists a “psychodynamic” treatment specialty (what ins. doesnt want to pay for). In my ancient past there was a great divide between those two treatment world views. Those who wanted to do psychodynamic work generally joined local groups to continue to obtain supervision & training well after the degree.
I think the quality that most distinguishes Dr D professionally is “Director” – of that Clinic for 2 years. She is a born Director, able to inspire, & fish/cut bait.
I looked up mcbt:
http://www.mbct.com/
personally, as a lay opinion, I think it’s crap. very interesting it’s marketed to Borderlines: “Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is designed to help people who … –Marsha M. Linehan, PhD, founder of Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder …”
Imo you gotta find (diagnose) a Borderline to have one to treat. So in part imo it’s in an mbct practitioner’s interest to diagnose. (not that it wasn’t justified with Jodi.) I looked up these practitioners in my area. Personally I wouldn’t send a neighbor.
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I looked to see if there are credentialing norms for forensic psychologists since this is my first vicarious trial. I was startled to see the high level of these credentialed advertisors: http://www.jurispro.com/category/forensic-psychology-s-636/
I understand the defense not hiring credentials like these because they were not trying a mental illness defense (just ptsd & DV). But, if JM was gonna do what he did today, why not an expert with experience & competence beyond testing, and many of these are probably just as verbally gifted.
Anyway, if JW brings in all the wais scores, & there’s statistically significant variations between performance & verbal iqs, JW’ followup has to be: isn’t it against wais protocol to give a full scale iq then? Just to establish Dr D’s weaknesses in following test protocols herself (if true). And imo if the nonverbal is significantly depressed compared to that 136 verbal, well Nonverbal ld can look imo like the “as if” personality of Borderline & other Borderline features.
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re NLD:
fwiw say p 12 on
http://www.vasponline.org/NLD%20in%20Vermont%20Schools.pdf
(note use of the word immaturity)
Bryan Rourke is the major nonverbal ld writer; his books are a good read.
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imo there is something between Dr D & Jodi. Dr D said 12 hours was well over her norm
of 1-4 hours in clinical interview. as she was prosecution, perhaps Jodi was oppositional (especially if she’s NLD) & a hell of an interview. probably resentment, reasonably, on both sides. It troubles me Dr D doesn’t acknowledge a clash, but grandstands on being “bias free.” Also Dr D seemed at times to label Jodi’s behavior out of anger, ie saying she’s a “liar” very baldly rather than “I found the Defendant untruthful when” x, y, or z with specific examples.
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In JW’s shoes, I’d ask her as few questions as possible & have a really credentialed person from the list above ready to render an opinion on her credentials, work product, & conclusions on the next round
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@Elizabeth. Yes, JM chose the questions for Dr D, but I have no doubt if the nonverbal domain score was not mentioned at all, & all others were, she alerted him it was a potential minefield.
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my own vote would be ok with death penalty, tho I’m usually against it. imo Judge Sherry is ready to be a hanging judge.
NLD:
http://www.ldonline.org/article/6114/ (note: comment about 10 pt or more discrepancy between verbal & performance iq on the wais test)
http://www.nldline.com/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0898621550/ref=redir_mdp_mobile
On the 12 hours note- I suspect that had to do with whatever note JA attorney gave to Dr. D. It likely had to do with blocks of time, eating and medications as they related to her testing and interviews. JM glossed right over it as appropriate.
I do agree that there is residual issue if there is any merit to the break in and stealing of her laptop from her home- not her office, having something to do with this trial. However, with that amount of overall patients and caseload, who,knows?
Lastly, again, if the State wanted to bolster this witness as it relates to Jodi Dx and the actual perpetration of this crime, it needed to do it’s diligence in the processing at the scene and then in that regard if she is qualified, this would have been out of the park.
B
Does anyone know what happened with Ms. LaViolett. It was my understanding the judge ordered her to be back in court yesterday, but I did not see or hear anything about her.
@GraceintheHills. Thank you for your insights.
I was so focused on those 1-3 word notes JM was putting on the overhead (that will be tagged as
Exhibit & will be relied on by jurors imo), I was inattentive to her affect, but you are right, it was gleeful, or
exhuberant. Imo it goes back to whatever clashes occurred in interviewing. I don’t call it bias, but
there is some kind of anger there. I bet she blames Jody for the laptop theft & has residual
feelings.
“Just a thought…it has been mentioned here more than once about how JA’s lawyers are inexperienced/poor lawyering skills. Is there a fear that this will be used in appeal (only if convicted, of course) to overturn verdict/get new trial?
ineffectiveness of counsel is grounds for appeal, and probably the number 1 “for cause” reason given.
B
If she is convicted it definitely will.
B”
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Me no understand…lol! Who would file the appeal based on defense’s poor lawyering skills?
Agreed. One of the things I am struggling with is that to my knowledge, Jodi has no history of self-mutilation. None. As you know that is a major hallmark of BPD. Is it possible that the component of hurting oneself can be sort of a transference to a different sort of intentional self-harmful behavior manifestation?
B
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Incidentally, the Borderline I know did not self harm either.
Did anyone see Ms. LaViolett yesterday? Does anyone know why she was told to come back? I have not seen anything about her anywhere. Any information about this would be MOST appreciated. Thanks
Just talking off the top of my head as usual Haven’t seen enough of this witness to say much of anything She seems extremely bright but I found myself feeling sorry for her Was that the first time she testified? or was in front of a crowd? One thing really really annoyed(angered) me- the way she and at least 1 other TV shrink project negative attributes on their patients and don’t talk about them as human beings Wouldn’t you(defendant) be hostile if being interviewed by someone who was working for the person who wanted to kill you? From much personal experience as ‘the other’(not the ordinary meaning)(alternate reading frame time) I know that 99 per cent of people jump to conclusions about me It’s the 1 that doesn’t that makes life bearable. Could that reflection in the middle of the screen be a ring or something-or not enough sparkle. On a ‘psychic’ note, my sister and brother-in-law live in Boston and he went out for a jog on Monday afternoon- headed over to the finish line at the Marathon-about 3 miles when a strong chill came over him and he went back to his apartment near Mass General Hospital I’ll bet it was my mother on the other side He’s never cold-even in the middle of New England winters. He doesn’t think I’m so crazy this time
Busy and just catching up from yesterday.
JD is an effective witness. Poised, succinct, believable and intelligent… all wrapped up in Heather Locklear beauty. I did also note JA’s unwillingness to pay attention to this witness until such time in the afternoon when she put her glasses on, pursed her lips and stared JD down. From that point, she became somewhat “involved”. I would imagine that JD is threatening to JA on many levels, some that are clearly indicated in her attorney’s non-poker face. JW seems crossed between being mesmerized by JD and looking quite anxious.
I am encouraged by what the jury is hearing here and most especially the information regarding PTSD.
Is JA doodling? Otherwise, how much writing could one person need do?
Dismantling the PTSD assessment, JA once again elicits the stare-down of JD. Here you can see what many have described as an emptiness. It is alarming.
1. Word Girl says:
April 16, 2013 at 11:18 pm
Blink says, “Agreed. One of the things I am struggling with is that to my knowledge, Jodi has no history of self-mutilation. None. As you know that is a major hallmark of BPD. Is it possible that the component of hurting oneself can be sort of a transference to a different sort of intentional self-harmful behavior manifestation?”
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Hi Blink,
Yes, it can. For that particular qualifier, the behavior can be suicidal ideation, gestures, threats, repeated attempts OR self mutilation. In some who suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder you never see the cutting; in others you can see both behaviors. There are many changes coming for the diagnosis in the DSM V, and I think these are good changes.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/here-there-and-everywhere/201112/borderline-personality-disorder-big-changes-in-the-dsm-5
At the start of this trial one of Travis’ close male friends was interviewed and said that Arias would threaten suicide each time Travis would try to break it off with her. Yesterday, Demarte testified that Arias wrote a lot about her suicidal feelings and impulses in her journals.
Re: Arias’s affective instability and anger, remember how Arias said that she would have sex with Travis to calm HIS anger? I have always believed that she was projecting her anger/rage onto Travis and that it was actually Travis who (at times) used sex to calm HER.
I hear you Grace, and I heard that testimony, but why can’t I reconcile my feeling that there was never, ever a time where JA would consider harming a hair on her own head, let alone actually attempting it- as she has no history of anything in any relationship of the sort as well. How do we address the difference in her saying it to manipulate the situation over having the actual ideation. Could her participation in what she considered demeaning sexual practices be similar to self-harm?
Yes, I know, she sounded like she was having a ball, but if the end game was to snare Travis ultimately into some sort of committed relationship I could see that behavior as masochistic.
B
anyone else with live feed out for the last hour?
imo JW is in so far over her ahead she might as well sit down.
She opens fine holes and then doesn’t go through them.
Imo delightful Dr D’s expert qualification lies only in the area of
the “contract” she described with the State for herself & two others to
do disability testing. I assume that’s for Vocational Rehab (not SSD) Dept.
I did not like her saying JA “fabricated” a
traumatic incident. the response sheet
of Dr S did not say “stranger” as Dr D keeps claiming.
We’ve established JW knows sqat about the WAIS & it’s diagnotic value. She threw out
“it’s just an iq test” and harped on “why test her iq.” Dr D opened the door to more
a mile wide by saying she gave it due to features of “immaturity.” Now the lit on NLD refers
explicitly to “immaturity” as a characteristic. Yet JW knew not to go into variation between the
Performance & Verbal IQs to diagnose, nor the importance of various subtests. She didn’t pull
out anything about the WAIS at all–didn’t even know it was likely a full scale IQ couldn’t be assessed at all.
Barf.
I wonder if the Arizona taxpayers have to pay for Jodi’s manicures. Since I’ve been watching the trial I notice her fingernails are always perfectly manicured which is had to do when one is incarcerated, isn’t it?
It might speak to today’s questioning that I’m more interested in Jodi’s fingernails than the cross of Demarte by Willmott.
Guilty of fry in speaking voice but classically trained vocal. Very interesting notations about vocal quality, especially in this case where the pitches run the gamut from pleasing to unnerving.
@Jden
(snipped) “I am encouraged by what the jury is hearing here and most especially the information regarding PTSD.
Is JA doodling? Otherwise, how much writing could one person need do?
Dismantling the PTSD assessment, JA once again elicits the stare-down of JD. Here you can see what many have described as an emptiness. It is alarming.”
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I think she may be drawing/sketching..possibly Dr. D. maybe for future sale? What might the jurors be thinking at this point? I hope they give Jodi gets what she so richly deserves..the DP.
Phyllis says:
April 17, 2013 at 9:22 am
Does anyone know what happened with Ms. LaViolett. It was my understanding the judge ordered her to be back in court yesterday, but I did not see or hear anything about her.
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Hi Phyllis, I am pretty sure this hearing was sealed. Anyone else know?
Grace is correct in that the hearing re ALV or at least where she was present, is sealed following a hearing from local media asking for it’s public document request. I recall Nurmi requesting it be sealed as well in the event of a guilty verdict.
B