Jodi Arias Trial Rebuttal Winds Down: Fog, Fugue, Freed or Fraud- Are The Sex Pics From Months Before Travis Alexander’s Murder? Do They Show Arias Broke In?
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...” Why does most human violence occur between those who are emotionally involved, or more technically, within an attachment paradigm?
Dr. J. Reid Meloy from Violent Attachments
Phoenix, AZ- Arguably the best psychological witness presented at trial, Dr. Janeen DeMarte, clinical psychologist, took the stand last week as the first witness in the State of Arizona’s rebuttal case in the trial of Jodi Arias for the murder of Travis Alexander.
In stark contrast to her previous behavior in court, Jodi Arias refused to look at Dr. DeMarte on the stand, and feverishly took notes or whispered to her attorney Jennifer Wilmott through the State’s direct examination of their witness.
With one exception. When Dr. DeMarte was asked by Prosecutor Juan Martinez if Jodi Arias was a victim of domestic violence resulting in battered woman syndrome, Ms. Arias looked up for DeMarte’s answer. “No.”
After a battery of psychological tests were completed and scored, and approximately 12 hours of clinical interview with defendant Arias- Dr. DeMarte diagnosed Jodi Arias with Borderline Personality Disorder. Dr. DeMarte had the added luxury of having her home vandalized and her laptop stolen following the start of the trial. That information was not shared in open court.
Significant from a psychological evaluation perspective, Jodi Arias’ expert witnesses Alyce LaViolette and Dr. Samuels felt Arias was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the killing of Travis Alexander on June 4, 2008 at his home in Mesa, Arizona. Only Samuels was licensed to test Arias similarly to DeMarte, and it appears the results were very different. Samuels testified that he never re-tested Arias after he learned her accounts of June 4 were fabrications and that was an error on his part in his finding Arias suffered from PTSD.
Cross examination of Dr. DeMarte induced a migraine headache suffered by Arias (her 3rd since trial) although she is taking Imitrex for the condition. Earlier in the day, Wilmott began her cross by repeatedly stating that DeMarte was practicing therapy without a license prior to her licensing exam, to which DeMarte responded “That is not correct, it is permitted under the supervision of a licensed psychologist, which I was.”
Wilmott went on to question DeMarte’s credentials specifically related to expertise in domestic violence and her current knowledge of the practices of Dr. Lenore Walker- largely considered the pioneer of domestic violence research and testing. Walker’s work is novel within the psychological community in the area of the battered woman syndrome diagnosis.
Wilmott unsuccessfully tried to trip up DeMarte by suggesting that Walker no longer uses her own 6 point scale to include the possibility of battered woman syndrome to which DeMarte replied, “I would say that you are being inaccurate.”
DeMarte completed her testimony with very limited juror questions, although it was clear that a juror or two was not sold that Arias’ only disorder is BPD.
While DeMarte represented the State well in my opinion; Jodi Arias remains the round peg in the jello rhomboid to me. Too many unanswered behavioral observations from a criminal profiling perspective to fit into the BPD mold.
Prior to the start of the State’s rebuttal case, defense counsel Kirk Nurmi recalled a witness for the defense who never made it into the witness list for trial, Mr. Bryan Neumiester.
In previous hearings where Neumiester appeared as an expert for the defense in the authentication of the May 10, 2008 phone sex recording made by Arias, the State agreed to a stipulation that it was indeed Travis Alexander’s voice on the tape, and that it was made on May 10.
In earlier testimony Juan Martinez elicited from Jodi Arias, Martinez accused her of recording the tape without Alexander’s permission or knowledge. Arias was forced to admit that at no time is the fact that the conversation is being recorded heard mentioned by either party during the recording. More on that recording in a bit.
Neumiester was able to magnify the very haunting last image of a live Travis Alexander’s face in the shower, specifically his iris, and gain agreement via stipulation that the reflective image contained therein is that of Jodi Arias. She was not holding a gun or knife and the image was time-stamped correctly.
This was the second time Juan Martinez agreed to a stipulation from the same expert witness regarding the recorded media, both digital and audio in this case- outside the presence of the jury.
Mr. Neumiester is an expert witness for colleagues in Mr. Martinez’s own office as well as the Mesa Police Department. Might suggest offsite meetings going forward.
The final witness listed for the State’s rebuttal case is an investigator for the Mesa County Police who specializes in computer forensics, Detective Robert Brown. Detective Brown describes himself as a Computer Forensics Detective:
As a Digital Forensics expert, I possess attention to detail in my forensic capability, as well as the ability to explain complex technical concepts in a non-technical manner.
In the course of my regular duties, I also perform the following:
-Support ongoing internal investigations and litigation matters
-Utilize a variety of forensic tools (Encase, FTK, Helix, Cellebrite, Wireshark, etc.)
-Perform storage forensics (for example, hard drives, phones, USB storage)
-Perform network captures for traffic analysis
-File-system analysis and file carving (for example, to extract email, documents, and other trace evidence)
-Identifying , collection and analyzing electronic information, relevant to a case, incident or event of interest
-Establish timelines and patterns of activity of individuals and electronic devices and software
-Following forensically sound practices, including preserving chain of custody
-Efficiently and effectively report progress, risks and issues associated with assignments to varying levels of management
Following sound practices including preservation of chain of custody is looking like a welcome addition to this case.
In testimony from Detective Michael Melendez where the images allegedly taken by Travis’s camera were recovered from the deleted or unallocated portions of the memory stick via Encase software we learned that the infamous afternoon of highly graphic sex images of both Travis and Jodi that were dated and time-stamped on June 4th took place that afternoon prior to Travis’s murder.
Thus, making Jodi Arias an invited guest.
As an invited guest spending the day indelicato delicto, it certainly makes it difficult to prove the felony murder charge she is facing- and does not help the pre-meditation or murder in the first degree allegation because the basic motive is that Jodi went there to murder Travis because he was not going to take her to Cancun. While certainly a possibility, I would offer that just about every psychological professional who sat across from Arias missed the fact that she literally saw her old boyfriends more than once along her trek that ended up with her last breakup. Weird, yes.
Otherwise known as a raging sign of dependent personality disorder.
…” You are the worst thing that has ever happened to me…”
-Travis Alexander
According to the text messages back and forth between Jodi and Travis the weeks prior to his murder, it was patently clear that Alexander wanted Arias out of his life for good.
Has what the state since learned after having Jodi on the stand under oath and repeated in cross examination opened the door to further investigation of the electronic media in this case in preparation for rebuttal? Looks that way.
Keeping in mind that the phone sex recording was May 10th. About a week later, Arias testified, she thought the phone was stolen. She alleges it was found by her Aunt in 2010 in her grandfather’s car. This would be the same aunt that she pointed out in court, and who has not been seen in court in weeks although she had attended daily.
Arias writes in her journal entry May 22, 2008 that there are several explicit photos on her stolen phone, and 2 recorded sex tapes. In 2010, Arias though her attorneys, deliver this phone into evidence with no chain of custody information in a then 2 year old case. Miraculously, this occurs just as Arias is moving from the “maybe not the ninja’s” defense. From the defense perspective it has some statements from Alexander on it that they feel support’s their defense. From the State’s perspective it proves that Arias was certainly very open to the sexual practices of the couple and never felt abused, nor was she put off by the comments by Alexander.
A win-win for both sides so why not agree to its stipulation, right?
Is this why Juan Martinez was hammering home the journal entry written about the “fruitful imaginations” the two explored, causing Arias to miss Lonnie’s christening?
The infamous sugar fest that takes place just before Arias allegedly walks in on Alexander in masturbatory behavior where some image of a boy lands at her feet on January 21st? I note that one of the pictures allegedly from the June 4th date seems to show Alexander engaged in some self-satisfaction that ended with a surprise photo taken from the point of view of the chair next to him.
You’ll see where I am going with this momentarily.
Zulu Time Sex Chat
I have listened to the recording more times than one should have to, and I note that within that conversation ( which is clearly edited, you can hear the fast forwards or dead time during the recording) the sexual tryst they discuss sounds very much like what was captured on the images as presented previously as occurring on June 4th. If you have no concern about losing your lunch, it can be found here. Because of the nature of the material I am not quoting directly.
Graphic Warning, Sexually Explicit Material
Points in Conversation that Match Images
- Jodi discusses her fresh Brazilian and her being unsure if Travis would like that. She mentions Travis wakes her up after she fell asleep in the chair by preforming a sex act on her. There is no question that Jodi is freshly waxed in those images.
- Travis discusses the point of view shots of her “anatomy”.
- Jodi mentions that her hair was IN BRAIDS. In the police interview Flores refers to them as pigtails and Jodi responds “Are you sure it’s me, pigtails? They are not pigtails, they are braids and it is through this verbiage I believe we see Jodi restate that the pics are from another time. She is adamant on that until unfortunately Flores gives it up he has those 2 pics taken from the scene accidently.
- Jodi asks Travis to check out her new profile pic, he does, tells her how photogenic she is, and at no time says… O, you changed your hair color to brown. We know she took pics from her own camera May 10 and she was a brunette. Arias testified her hair was brown prior to leaving Mesa.
- Travis mentions the introduction of KY into the relationship. It is laying on the bed in the images, however, he says during the call when he is masturbating he is using Vaseline.
- Jodi mentions next time they have a photo session that she would like to have makeup on. She has no makeup on in these images.
- In a very close-up point of view shot, it appears Ms. Arias is using her vaginal canal as a tootsie pop holder. The tootsie pop incident occurs only once and prior to June 4th as it is discussed during the tootsietape.
I am aware that Det. Melendez says that the timestamps are from the image files, however, he never offers any explanation as to why some have it and many do not. Nor is he asked how if Neumiester was able to pull EXIF data identifying the shower image as taken from Travis’s camera from a similarly deleted image, why he was not able to. Likely why Mr. Neumiester was kept off the stand via the State’s agreement to the stipulation that has the legal community scratching its collective head.
My current thought bubble: Why would the prosecution take the murder weapons out of the hands of the suspect and in one fell swoop support her account of events as opposed to allowing Judge Stephens to rule on the Daubert hearing?
My current thought bubble response: Because it opens the door that has a little bottle labeled drink me on the other side.
Exhibit #215 Is Fat
No, not a person. The blue SD card labeled exhibit #215, confirmed by the State by its two witnesses Heather Connor and Det Melendez to be the card where all deleted images were extracted.
There’s just one problem with that. Well, maybe two. Connor stated it was located in the bottom of the washer along with the camera battery cover, which were separate from the camera itself. In fact, one can see the battery pack in the camera from the image taken into the washer.
Melendez stated he found the card or memory stick inside the camera when he opened its cover door.
Duo v SD blue
How did it get there if he was the only one who handled it, and how does he account for the fact that it is definitely not compatible with Travis’s camera a Sony (insert model).
Travis’s camera used a proprietary Sony duopro memory stick which is thinner and rectangular, and included notches for locking the data contained on it. The blue SD card cannot and does not fit inside the camera.
SO….
How does one account for the fact that there is only one card located in exhibit #215 and it is indeed now a Sony duopro, and it is NOT the same card pictured in the envelope presented by Thomas through prosecutor Juan Martinez.
As much as it pains me to say this- Jodi told them that herself and Det. Flores confirmed it during their interview on July 15, 2008.
Excerpted in pertinent part, my actual case bench notes from 4/2/13:
1:57 starts discussion on card- notes for review, upload and feedback
JA: To me pictures are very compelling but I know they can be modified, altered and I don’t know but I think date and time stamps can be tampered with.
Flores: we did not modify anything. Say like a computer, we take a mirror copy of it, and we don’t even touch it…. That’s exactly what we do with the photos. We don’t work with the originals and we make an exact duplicate copy and we work with the copy..And our guys are so good, that every case that I know of, has never been lost in court
(Note b: That sounds dangerously like no jury will ever convict me, ugh.)
8:34
Arias begins to ask Flores if they have her camera from storage.
Flores responds do you remember taking these pictures?
Arias: we took many pictures, vaguely
9:00
Arias in response to Flores saying they both deleted everything off both or all devices (sic) says prior to Travis getting his camera, all those pictures were on her camera.
Flores: All these same pictures?
Arias: I dunno, we took a bunch the week before I left
Arias: What I am asking is it possible that my memory card is in his camera? They are interchangeable.
(Note b: This may be why she needed the software and cord found in office. Ref my observations that the cord image appears to have red staining, but was not marked for testing. Imo, this is why she states they had sex on the desk. She knew her DNA from the cut would be there.)
Flores: How do you know they are interchangeable?
Arias: That’s why I am asking.
Flores: Just a regular ole standard SD card.
Arias: That’s why I am asking, cause I’ve got one that is like, this big (Note b: draws on his pad lefty)
For my professional camera it is like long and think like a cracker. My other one is more like this big (note b: Draws but in context shown to be larger than the first. She is indicating they are 2 different sizes.)
Flores: they are not interchangeable…His camera was here and your camera was there, why would those be on his camera?
Arias: My camera in storage that is broken but it is still there, I had several memory cards for it that I don’t have any more, and I guess what I am saying.
Flores: so are you saying all these pictures are on that camera?
Arias; no, it’s so farfetched but I guess it’s possible my card fits
Flores: So you’re saying maybe somebody took your memory card?
Arias: No, what I am saying is that if I left my memory cards at his house he could have used it in his camera. (Note b: This is prior to the trip to the big house. Please note how incredibly detrimental it is to call your suspect on the phone and tell them about all your subpoenas and warrants coming her way six weeks earlier- tends to lead to destruction of evidence, witness tampering, I could go on.)
Of particular interest, was Flores’s commentary that the experts on the hard drive and imaging testing (Melendez et al) have never lost a case where they presented evidence?
While that may be true, there was more than a few things he got wrong in that exchange.
- While on the stand initially calling the duopro card a SIM card, Melendez stated that SIM cards are smaller and primarily used in phones. This is an incorrect explanation. The storage format Martinez was referring to as a SIM is actually Micro SD. However, no micro SD cards have been admitted into evidence at trial.
- In Flores’s interview, he expressly stated that the analysts DID NOT work with the original card or cards in the case that they only make a copy, a mirror copy and work with that. Again, incorrect as we heard Melendez testify that he could not read the card removed until he placed the card directly into his “forensic machine”. No copy was ever made and the images recovered consisted then of deleted and non-deleted items from the card Melendez testified he removed from Travis’s camera himself.
Is it possible Jodi is correct, and Travis had an SD card from her camera and that was the camera used to shoot the tawdry tryst? Whereby he subsequently loaded the amateur effort himself onto the duopro card via the USB attachment and software loaded on his computer? If indeed Melendez was able to recover the deleted images from the duopro card, this would account for why the romp images were on his camera card although Travis and Jodi had not seen each other since its purchase.
Travis also had a Sony video camera that would also use a Sony duopro card enabling him to use the one he had in both. Travis’s video camera has not been referenced as evidence or an exhibit in the trial to date.
Potentially solving the dilemma of how the images get on Travis’s camera- if in fact they predate June 4th unfortunately does not address either how two of the state’s own witnesses testify differently about the same pieces of evidence that cannot possibly be the same storage device or the problems in chain of custody of same.
If Jodi was not the invited guest she claims she was as evidenced previously by the pictures thought to be taken on June 4th, what was she doing there exactly?
Did Travis Alexander even know she was in the house before he spots her holding something other than a gun or knife as he looks out of the shower for the last time?
Travis’s roommate Enrique’s statement to Flores seems to support the theory that at the very least, he was not aware Jodi was in the home when he spoke to Travis that morning and Travis shared he had not gotten any sleep. During her interview Jodi knew nothing of the new second roommate (until Flores outright told her about him and that he was at work) but she definitely would have if she came in through the garage because his car was parked in it.
Does this lend credence to the screen outside being removed by Jodi to the office window laying on the ground for entrance purposes?
Court resumes tomorrow after a closed hearing today. With the general public consensus after a nearly 4 month trial that most are no closer to the truth about what actually happened at casa de alexander on June 4, 2008 other than the outcome, this jury has its work cut out for them.
Please join me this evening discussing this case on THE DANA PRETZER SHOW- LIVE at 9PM EST.
Contributing Editor: Jacqueline Beaufort
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Thanks so much Blink. Does this mean you’re on the scene in PHO?
Not today WG.
B
First….. Holy moonbats! I don’t know how you do it, but this piece would certainly be a few nails in JA’s coffin. Of course she had time to clean up and complicate the evidence trail, with 6 weeks notice. How could Flores make that mistake?????
Second…I PRAY JM reads here. The state NEEDS to see this and consider just how manipulative and sinister that defendant really is.
This piece is magic, Miss B. You managed to locate ‘misplaced’ or ‘not sequential’ pieces of the puzzle and properly insert them, where they belong. Looking forward to listening in tonight, on Dana’s show. Knock it out of the park, friendLY!
friendLY- I wish I shared your optimism. I definitely share in the hope.
Professionally- I find myself holding back because I am pro-prosecution.
This man died a violent and cruel death- and that descriptor is a gentle one. This woman is a dangerous and violent offender who should never be in general society, imo.
B
The prosecution needs some help with evidence and evidence custody control. The fact that the bits of rope were not sent to forensics as a matter of protocol makes one question what else has been missed.
Sony equipment most of the time will use something that is special to their design and will not work on other electronics. In this case the memory cards or sticks. With that in mind, it forces the buyer to spend money for something that will allow data interchange.
It would appear that a strong possibility exists that Jodi not only deleted some picture information, but she may have downloaded from her memory card via Travis’s computer to the Sony card. This would mean the possibility of a date change from the date actually taken to the date the transfer took place. This would be a deliberate act to hide something and would lead to cover-up or premeditation.
Could it even be a deliberate miss-direction by Jodi or is it just an error on Jodi’s part that her memory card was found?
She could certainly fit the diagnosis of Dependent Personality Disorder since she seems to be unable to make a clean break from any of her associations with people outside her family. However, the decision making does not seem to be a part of her behavior. DPD talks about those with it having problems making decisions and deferring to others to make them.
An interesting article as always B.
Correct ATG, I see several personality traits and behaviors in JA that fit into the rhomboid, lol, A diagnosis (Dx) is not cookie cutter as we all know, but I think like minds prevail on this one. She has strong anti-social cues, imo.
B
Were you in Phoenix covering the trial?
I read today that Arias has a twitter account and someone is making tweets for her. Unbelievable. When you were there, did you see anyone in court who looked like they were making tweets for her on a phone?
yes, her former cellmate. Not tweeting from court that I am aware of, but everyone looks like they are tweeting from court, lol. One cannot miss the glow of an LED screen. In Federal court you would be thrown out.
B
It would appear that there were 2 cards in the washer and that the experts were looking at different cards. How could an “expert” fail to mention this? Trying to bring this information out at this point of the trial could easily discredit the prosecution witness, and bring about yet another motion for a mistrial.
EXIF data, IPTC data, and filesystem time and date stamps can be easily modified. In fact, I do this quite frequently in my own hobby to set the date and time of scanned slides and negatives to approximate the date the photos were originally taken. It is interesting that Jodi talked about this. It makes no sense, however, that she would go to such lengths to change information on these images since it is extremely unlikely that she planned for this images, which place her at the crime scene, to be discovered by the police.
I would really like to see the actual EXIF information.
Totally agree, thus why I feel she was legit in her interview in that regard. Unfortunately, Det. Flores needs some work in his interview skills. I say this constructively, and I mean that for all involved.
This is a hot mess. To your point, I have no idea how this was not addressed before it came to trial. Is Det. Brown going to address this in his testimony?
B
Great piece Blink. I believe JA thought this murder out . To me, this murder was clearly premeditated. Travis had drawn the line with her, not the day of the murder, but prior to her unannounced visit. She planned this. Very well thought out in her criminal mind. Even her alibi, she thought long and hard about it, before she executed her horrific act on Travis. Is it possible, that the pic of her in braids, and the other sexual pics displayed as evidence are from a different day? I do not believe that her and Travis had sex that day. It is possible to take a picture of a picture. Perhaps JA took a picture of a previous sexual encounter prior to the killings to make it look like they did have have sex that day. Calculating that if she added these photos of sex, that it just might help her well thought out defense. I just do not think that he invited her, and nor do I believe that he had sex with her. Those pics fit nicely into her defense, that they had sex, and then of course he abused her afterwards. Blah blah blah. The shower (terror in eyes) pic is the first pic for me on that fateful day. Those sex pics that we see in the timeline may, or are from a different encounter. She could have uploaded those sex photos prior to entering into his home, just prior to killing him.. Just my opinion.
tried to load Pretzer unsuccessfully from 9:10 to 9:45, at which time I thankfully heard Blink from the starting line, while he complained a bit about his computer. I liked best Blink at 14:00+ . Quite right all of JA’s actions are “ego syntonic”– she is a true believer in her own persona.
Very interesting about the sequence of murder process.
Personally, I think the diagnosis is Roger Peele’s “Evil .”
This case reminds me of the prospective Tsarnaev case: Conviction & death (or lwop) is a done deal, so why the trial? Perhaps the process is part of society’s necessary healing.
Rose, If you heard me I fear you loaded an old show, lol. Dana had an on-air feed issue ( if you knew Dana personally you would know such a snafu will have him catatonic- he is the consummate professional) so I apologize to all, we will be doing a recorded version and i will post the podcast.
I was interested in your take of my Meloy quote. Not sure if you have read that work, or studied it at all. The violent attachment should be central to the prosecutions case imo.
B
“This man died a violent and cruel death- and that descriptor is a gentle one. This woman is a dangerous and violent offender who should never be in general society, imo.
B”
—————————————————–
My sentiments exactly!
I find it hard to believe Melendez & Martinez do not kniw the difference between a SIM card & an micro SD card. The lower economically people we’ve hosted temporarily from 3rd world countries know that.
Well, my first responsive comment, before I got sidetracked
with “trying to load”, was that very quote & your choice of same.
Sorry I forgot.
Please don’t apolly- I was interested in your feedback in the violent attachment area with specificity to the whole stalking issue.
I have decided that there is a level of gender bias in this area, no thanks to Glen Close, lol.
But I find Meloy almost prophetic in his work, having studied both he and Dr. Hare.
B
I meant “compliment,” not comment.
very apropo.
more meloy
p9 esp paragr 2&4
http://www.popcenter.org/problems/stalking/PDFs/Meloy_2002.pdf
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/0471264385.wei1125/full
http://books.google.com/books?id=lug4_LN0jJEC&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=meloy+violent+attachments&source=bl&ots=1WBnfSakC3&sig=wiQbHFehcx_lq9UAYuf1M93yjWA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=gPV1UfGjFqHN0gGgj4HYDA&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAzgK
interesting biblio entries are:
predator violence during mass murder (thinking of Boston)
and clinical mgmt of stalking
Glad it’s not me! I thought I missed the show. I never knew you were reporting on location. I’m even more interested to hear your analysis now that I know you were in the courtroom.
Blink GREAT article.
I wish there was a computer program that could isolate all questions and unsolicited statements that Arias made with regards to evdience in chronological order, then contrast that with Flores questions and statements of same. Would we see the evolution of her alibis?
She offered info about the memory ctrd, that time stamps could be manipulated etc., when she was still in her ” I wasn’t there ” position. No mention of memory card switch as soon as the ninja theory emerged.
I just wanna say how grateful I am that you are sharing your knowledge and vast insight in pursuit of justice. Thanks again for a great article.
TY
B
Sometimes we have competing personalities in a group responsible for making something happen. When that occurs, there are opportunities for not sharing information of value to all concerned.
This happens within every profession, not just the criminal justice system. This could very well be the reason that the two different memory cards were found in the washing machine. One loose and the other inside the camera and no mention was made of them as GeorgiaDad pointed out.
I can recall being directed by our division president to go and meet with an accounting group and an IT group that had been meeting for months without any progress. During the meeting it became clear that neither group wanted to appear inferior to the other and they would not explain the necessary steps to reach a solution.
After listening for an hour, I took charge and explained how we were going to proceed. The accounting manger was surprised to learn that I knew his accounting problem and the IT problem as well. I told him that engineers had problem solving skills that would work for most situations and that was how we would get the work done.
This IMO is what has happened in the prosecutions case. They needed a good manager that could look at what was available and build a process to produce the needed evidence and then follow up to see that it was accomplished.
This is where they need the services of someone like Blink. A person that has experience and knowledge of both parts of the prosecution. The evidence collection and processing as well as what could be done in the courtroom at the time of trial.
JM may be an excellent courtroom litigator, but he has left some big holes in the evidence to support the charges he is trying to prove.
The behavior classification of Jodi does not fit neatly into the standard accepted classifications because she is a distinct individual. Any such classification is going to be somewhat of a compromise. The flexible Rhomboid where it can move into parts of several classifications to encompass her general behaviors is as good as one could get.
Maybe Blink will get the attention of some people regarding how the classifications are determined.
o/t: IT and Accounting planning meeting is never going to work out without a facilitator, lol. You need an individual who actually likes people. Teasing.
Not just in this case, but in many others, and especially in potentially high profile (Lisa Irwin) to high profile, there tends to be a disjoint between the investigative process and then the prosecutorial process.
The problem starts with the fact the most DA’s or AG’s are elected officials. You cannot have a dog in the fight when you need an observant public to elect you or to keep your job. It becomes subject to polls, ftlog.
It is clear in this case that the case manager Esteban Flores, dropped several balls. The buck stops with him, but I admit that there could be plenty of blame to go around.
I don’t know any other way to say this without sounding rigid- but I can tell you the holes in this case could be seen by the visually impaired years ago. There is simply no excuse as to this status.
In truth you do know who did the best job initially at identifying this?
Jodi Arias.
And that- should never be.
B
Georgia Dad writes:
It makes no sense, however, that she would go to such lengths to change information on these images since it is extremely unlikely that she planned for this images, which place her at the crime scene, to be discovered by the police.
—————————
Yes, having the photos on the camera that place her at the crime scene doesn’t make sense, but DELETING them in order to erase any connection does, and she deleted them.
She did not plan on the photos ever being seen, and she originally offered many ways in which they could be considered as coming from another camera at another time, in her attempt to show she wasn’t there.
And by the way, when she deleted them, she had to have looked at them. there is a bloody Travis on the floor in the pics she deleted. But she is saying she didnt realize what she had done until much later when she looked down at her hands and saw blood.. hmmm.
The reality is we have no clue what are authenticated pictures here or not if they were subject to moving through devices. It’s just not possible given what the mediums available are per the investigation.
This is basic chain of custody 101. Should never be discussing it nearing month 4.
B
meloy is so hot. ty Blink. http://66.199.228.237/boundary/hematomania/The_Nature_and_dynamics_of_sexual_homicide.pdf
“As Robert Brittain wrote nearly 30 years ago, “we cannot treat, except empirically, what we do not understand and we cannot prevent, except fortuitously, what we do not comprehend” (Brittain, 1970, p. 206).”
yes ma’am.
You have it stuck in your phone that his name is mceloy, I corrected it 2x, lol- just want you to check your auto correct.
B
yes maam.
meloy.
I can’t blame auto incorrect tho.
Thank you for this update Blink. I read daily, but don’t post often. The trial itself wears me out. As far as Ms Arias psychological state I suspect there must have been some agreement behind the scenes not to divulge the full scope of issues she has, as Dr Samuels seemed to have had a bit more info as did Dr D. But whatever the case- she does not need to be loose among the rest of us for sure.
I am hoping Mr Brown can clearly bring home what is needed to the jury- the premeditated acts I believe Jodi participated in such as hacking, the altering and whatever else she did with the camera and pictures- as I don’t believe it is what it seems. We all can’t be wrong-
As an off topic- I see there is new info from the defense camp- ho-hum
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/jodi-arias-trial-update-defense-files-motion-expert-19020950
Right, and to your point, if the collective public sees the hinky in the pictures or images, you can bet the jury will. How will that play out in deliberations?
B
Wow just wow. I tried very hard to understand everything you wrote but my brain keeps saying WTH.
I really need the short easy to understand version…anybody help me out here!
TIA
Lol, I know elizabeth. It is one long piece. However, I could not make the statement I needed to make without the details.
In short- I do not believe that the sex pics occurred June 4th. I believe they occurred the day of the Lonnie Christening. I believe the pic of Travis with his left hand on his junk was taken by Arias, and I believe she made up her “boy pic” story because ultimately it would be determined or at least she feared it would be determined this occurs Jan 18-21st timeframe.
I believe Travis was referencing that romp during the call on May 10. I believe Travis himself loaded the images from a memory card Jodi left there or gave him.
And finally, I believe she was not an invited guest June 4th, and that whatever nefarious deed she was up to may just be the crime she was in the commission of when she ultimately killed him.
LE has not done their finest analyst work in this case whatsoever, I say respectfully.
B
Oh my B. You probably hit a home run with this one!
Many of my ponderings about just what happened that day.
The sex, pictures, shower and then that brutal killing just never made sense to me.
I always questioned what brought on the rage of that brutal murder. Just never “Felt ” a gunshot to the head, 29 stab wounds and a spit neck came “after the loving “!
I am going to go and read once again. Thank you for the short version…least I say more…
YW
B
Is there any evidence (text or phone) suggesting Travis was aware Jodi was coming to see him on June 4th? Or did she show up uninvited?
None. Other than her BS. They had no communication since June 2.
B
@Blink
“And finally, I believe she was not an invited guest June 4th, and that whatever nefarious deed she was up to may just be the crime she was in the commission of when she ultimately killed him.”
——————————————————-
Why hasn’t the prosecution approached this scenario? I think we all were under the assumption she showed up, they were intimate and a fight ensued. So what you’re saying is those pigtail pics etal were taken at a different time not June 4th….PREMEDITATION no doubt in my mind. Bombshell statement Blink one that could turn the tide for the jury.
Yes. I am saying that the sex pics were not taken on June 4th. I have no doubt they may have gone through some form of transfer or download activity on that day resulting in the encase data, but I vehemently believe there is no forensic data to support they were taken either by Travis’s camera, or on June 4th.
Jodi says very succinctly.. “those pictures were on my camera.”
Keep in mind, at the time, she did not know they had the “death pic”, where you see her pant leg. Throughout her interview after arrest and with BOTH detectives, she keeps requesting her camera and images- she says were of a wedding. She could not remember what she had and what she did not.
Ultimately, it benefits her to have all believe she was there having sex on June 4th as the alternative means she was uninvited and committing some stalking act, break in, breach of some kind and the jury would likely have no problem convicting her of felony murder.
With the sex romp, and then the shower pics, it absolutely opens the door for the jury to try and piece this together where it does not make any sense to them how it gets “there.”
I maintain that girl ambushed him for some reason and he had no expectation of her being in his home.
B
thank you for the short form. I gathered your gist about the pic taking timing being in Jan due to matching a sex tape talk and agree with your assessment. What I am struggling to understand is State card exhibit 215.
Is it correct that
–215 was inititially a white envelope containing JA’s SD,
which one Detective said was in the water but Flores said was in his camera (impossibility)
–215 now is the Sony stick (only) that does fit Travis’ camera.
Is that what you point out?
which did the State’s images come off of? You seem to indicate the Sony, & they could’ve been transferred from a USB stick to the Sony as part of pre-med but wouldn’t his computer be an inbetween step?
#215 as shown in court, in that image (blue) is a standard size SD card. The picture next to it, is a Sony Duopro memory stick. You can see the size variance. ONLY a duopro memory stick will fit in the slot of Travis’s camera, period.
Heather Connor verified the blue card on the stand. #215
Michael Melendez did as well. #215
I could not get a good enough shot of the same exhibit in Melendez’s hand, but at first glance, it does appear to have the markings of a duopro, and of that size.
So, the following
1. The blue card and the sonyduopro cannot be the same exhibit. It is possible that the dupro was found in the camera, but the disparity remains, that Connor says the cover was off the camera. Melendez and Martinez say that the cover protected the card, but the cover was not on the camera.
2. The Blue card is a separate exhibit, and right now I have zero clue what was on it, if it was checked, or if any caught the fact that the medium’s are different and not compatable to the camera.
3. The blue card could have been used by Travis to download the pics THROUGH HIS COMPUTER onto the attached camera and would store on the Sony duopro within that camera. There is no way to transfer the SD data onto the duopro outside of using the software or some medium of connectivity. The blue card has to be “read” for it to transfer.
Chain of custody issue, outright evidence integrity issue, and possibly someone flat out missed all the above, but that could not be possible if what is now in that exhibit is a sony duopro.
B
Blink-
So why bring this to light now? At this point in the trial, with a jury that is undoubtedly getting both confused and tired of sitting through court, why bring this up? I think if I were a juror and this was thrown at me this late in the trial, I would declare mistrial. Could the State then begin a brand new case and try and get their ducks in a row? Can the defense use your info here to push for mistrial?
1. Your assuming that neither party knows. While I could not confirm nor deny that, I would put my cash on the fact that they do.
2. Jurors can’t declare a mistrial.
3. Right now, if she is convicted, what you have in this information is potentially what is called reversible error. If you recall the CA case when their was a conflict in the encase computer records? Had she been convicted I can promise you it would have been overturned on Burdick’s statement that chloroform had been searched 81 times.
4. In no way does this information do anything but hurt the defence’s case and in my mind, if I am a juror and I find out there is the strong or verified possibility the romp never occurs that day and nobody can prove she was at that property with permission- I am hunkering down to felony murder just based on the wound progression to murder.
Good questions.
B
Blink, what you’ve outlined for us makes so much more sense of that day. Knowing that Travis may not have even realized Jodi was in his home gives a whole other perspective on those shower shots… he looked very natural, not like he was posing for someone. Then suddenly the facial image of him seeing Jodi, possibly for the first time, and the anger mixed with a tad of fear in his eyes.
He really never wanted to see her again and here she is standing outside his shower taking pictures of him naked and alone.
Thank you for your work and offering it here on your site. Seriously, well done lady.
Wow. Just wow.
whodunnit says:
April 22, 2013 at 10:32 pm
Georgia Dad writes:
It makes no sense, however, that she would go to such lengths to change information on these images since it is extremely unlikely that she planned for this images, which place her at the crime scene, to be discovered by the police.
—————————
Yes, having the photos on the camera that place her at the crime scene doesn’t make sense, but DELETING them in order to erase any connection does, and she deleted them.
She did not plan on the photos ever being seen, and she originally offered many ways in which they could be considered as coming from another camera at another time, in her attempt to show she wasn’t there.
And by the way, when she deleted them, she had to have looked at them. there is a bloody Travis on the floor in the pics she deleted. But she is saying she didnt realize what she had done until much later when she looked down at her hands and saw blood.. hmmm.
The reality is we have no clue what are authenticated pictures here or not if they were subject to moving through devices. It’s just not possible given what the mediums available are per the investigation.
This is basic chain of custody 101. Should never be discussing it nearing month 4.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Very interesting article, Blink. Just one question: are you saying that officers did not follow chain of command for each item once they took items (camera and card) from Travis’ home?
Right now, I could not say with certainty unless I had the property intake reports and the evidence access logs. They are not accessible until the trial conclusion.
So I can only say that at trial, based on testimony alone, there is a breach of chain of custody in that Connor states the cover and blue card were not in/on the camera. Melendez says he was the one that physically took possession of the camera, somehow the cover gets back on, and there is no notation of the 2 cards separately and whether or not there are actually 2 in evidence. Among what I already wrote, it is apparent to me something is breached.
B
Chain of command in my last post should have read chain of *custody.*
Given Mr. Martinez’s keen eye for detail in each and every case he prosecutes, I believe if there were any way to prove Jody or Travis downloaded these pics to his camera card, JM would have introduced this information into evidence. We do have another computer expert coming but not sure what he is planning to address.
Unfortunately Grace, Flores tipped off Arias. In the meantime, she had time to write new journal entries, destroy her computer hard drive and I think 2 external drives and both her cameras. Travis also has a video camera that has not been introduced. For all we know it was not found.
I could not be sure JM even knew about the 2 cards or the possible transfer from Travis’s computer. I am more than hopeful that Det Brown addressess the issue as well. Respectfully submitted, I do not find electronics , storage devices, software or overall forensic analysis is in JM’s wheelhouse and he should have been able to use a 2nd chair prosecutor who might be stronger in that area for this trial.
B
question about the sex romp photos
some of the photos have time marker. the time is around 1.pm- 2 p.m.
All of the photos are in the dark.
Did Travis have total black out shades on every window in his bedroom?
a beautious thing to see Willmot in shell shock.
A Nurmi fine moment = no further Q of Walmart gal.
having returned to Walmart myself w/o receipt, by sku they find the original trans.
Unvelieveable defence is flatfooted on this lie.
Walmart gal could easily have done a PhD at MSU.
Holy shiz! One word… BUFF
GraceintheHills says:
April 23, 2013 at 12:56 pm
Blink says,
“Unfortunately Grace, Flores tipped off Arias. In the meantime, she had time to write new journal entries, destroy her computer hard drive and I think 2 external drives and both her cameras. Travis also has a video camera that has not been introduced. For all we know it was not found.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Agree 100% with you, Blink. It is so obvious that she manufactured evidence in that journal and destroyed other potential evidence.
I have always believed that Arias was an uninvited guest in his home that day and now, after seeing all the evidence presented in court, I believe she premeditated this murder. If there was any way the prosecution could have shown that the provocative photos were not taken that day, they should have done so.
Through the Walmart witness it has been shown Jodi outright lied to the jury. I bet the jury also noticed Jodi’s refusal to look at the Walmart witness and not putting her glasses on when the witness was testifying, exactly like she did with Dr Demarte.
hit out of the ballpark for prosecutor with past relationship woman.
Where was TA’s head to fail to 1) hook up with her as they seem very different,
2) being as she is any mother in law ‘s minimal expectation +,
to progress to marriage with her?
Imo, while with her he perhapsnhad some side sex,
& sexual fantasies/satisfaction could be the reason not to progress.
anyway to me the whole thing about her testimony was JA’ behavior during her questioning.
Frenzied drawing/scribbling like with Dr D, but the couple times she looked up & really focused
on her former rival were very revealing.
It is so revealing that Arias doesn’t understand the importance of being honest in small things! Kudos to Mr Martinez for going to the lengths to show that Arias not only purchased and used the five-gallon can but lied in detail about it twice while under oath. Now we can clearly see her efforts to conceal her presence in Arizona, her premeditation and her consciousness of guilt. It was a pleasure to watch and the defense made… well they made no defense.
Is it possible that these “sex” photos are Jodi’s leverage in blackmailing Travis and that she downloaded them to his camera on a previous date and that he deleted them also on a perivous date? Yet she kept blackmailing him saying she had copies. Maybe I’m not making sense but is there a definate deletion date?
Did Jodi believe she deleted only the murder photos? and then the “deleted sex photos” came into play at her interrogation?
Rose
I know that you probably watched the follow on testimony from Ms. Young from San Antonio regarding the gas receipts at Salt Lake City. She had the information on all of those purchases along with the time and from their security design proved that Jodi had three transactions and all three gas cans were filled along with gas for the car tank, thus proving that Jodi did not return the extra five gallon can she purchased.
By the way, did anyone notice that Ms. Young lifted weights?
One other thing that makes it a possibility that Jodi arrived uninvited and accessed the house, was a window screen removed from a first floor window. If Jodi did this, it would be breaking and entering. I don’t know if this will be brought up during the prosecution rebuttal.
Shame on you Starsky, but boy am I envious. I bet that did not help make Jodi’s day. I took it you were complimenting this witness by the way, I was.
Blink, I understand you don’t think the sex pics were taken on June 4th (which I agree with this) but you had stated before that in the shower photos you could see an outline on Travis arm from the duct tape that was wrapped around it in the sex pics. Now that you don’t think the sex romp/pics took place that day, what do you think were the marks on his arm and why do u think they found duct tape and the rope at the crime scene? Do you think it was plated by Jodi as part of her plan/story?
I saw it wrapped around his arm in an image of him only, and it could be the calorie thing as it was found on the sink.
I still think it possible that Travis did some sort of atonement prayer in the shower, and perhaps this was Jodi’s attempt at filming it to humiliate him by interspersing inappropriate pics – I think she was claiming that someone found her phone and was extorting both of them. Only a guess.
B
I believe she was extorting him in some way and he called her out. I also believe it had to do with pictures but also information or some sort of allegation. I believe Travis himself downloaded the images if they are contained on the sonypro duo.
B
—————————
I agree.
as afr as ” truth within the lies”
On Feb 19th, Arias testified about what they did in June 4th. She said she kleft the house to put her stuff in the car, realized the breif case in her car had cd’s Travis wanted, adding that that she had been carrying around the cd’s in her breif case for months , said she returned into the house with Cd’s which they then tried to load on the computer, he got mad cause theyre scratched, his computer had a virus etc.
Could the truth be that arias did not bring in cd’s but had brought the memory card in to show Travis the sex photos by using his computer, and that was what angered him.
If the time stamps on the photos that were retreived are not accurate, could time of death be moved to allow Arias more time for clean up before the roomate returned, as he said around 6:30.
leaving the camera in the washing machine:
after she deleted the photos from travis camera, could she have figured out that if the camera was missing, it could lead to her. si the best way to ” dispose” of it would be to make it look like it had been put in wash by accident.
If Travis was on a sewer system,did they ever check the street drains or sewer system in front of Travis
for weapons.
Public water and sewer and yes- but keep in mind this is 5 days after the murder. Travis’s phone was off after iirc, 12:15PM- Martinez seems to want to agree the murder occurs at 5:30 PM.
Lastly, this witness should not be called a forensic computer expert, no sir. No disrespect intended, but he lost me at instead of cookie reports he would rather type in the url.
Oye.
B
B
quote:
I do believe she is sketching Ms. Reid. She is cycling.
B
unquote
I concur. I’ve been watching her arm movements. They seem more condusive to someone who’s drawing rather than writing….not to mention a lot of erasing.
Speaking of Jodi’s drawings….and boundaries she’ll cross, take a lookie at this:
http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2013/04/aspiring-artist-jodi-arias-torments-travis-alexander-family-sister-muse/
Side Step: I TOTALLY agree with you about the outcome. I’m not optimistic, as you mentioned in response to my comment. I don’t know what to make of the jury’s questions..except that they are observing the best that they can.
Your piece is one that needs to be read by Martinez. NEEDS!!!!! The card switching; the inconsistent date stamps; showing up @ Travis’, the day he died, UNINVITED…..all make perfect sense when the pieces are put together.
I gotta say….why are you getting this put Martinez is not. You said right from the beginning there were too many holes, and WOW….did you prove yourself to be right, on that detail. Why did the LE NOT dig deeper and consider these possibilities. Everything seems to be taken @ face value, where the investigation is concerned.
My wish is that someone from the state reads here. I’m no camera expert. The date stamping and pictures coming from one camera or another….is just…..CRITICAL and should have been considered, knowing JA is a photographer. The 6 weeks notice to JA…and do her thing, is more disturbing, to me, than an evil horro show.
How could LE and the state miss all of this? It doesn’t make JM the genius attorney everyone makes him out to be. I’m terribly disappointed, in fact.
I missed the Dana show
. I meant for you to knock that interview out of the park, so your research could be heard by Dana’s listeners.
I’m encouraged by your hard work and research efforts. I’m utterly discouraged by the random presentation of evidence, by the state, in this trial. Regardless of her multiple disorders and claims of BWS, it doesn’t change the fact that Travis was butchered…overkilled….slaugthered….by a woman, who managed to escape injury. I don’t count the 2 little boo boos on her finger.
That haunts me and if I were a juror, I’d base on verdict on that alone.
AJMHO
I have a sneaking suspicion that Mr. Martinez prefers the photo ops and hand shakes of strangers than he does constructive criticism, and right now I cannot say I blame him.
I have the distinct feeling that when this case is over that the FOIA requests are going to reveal some other inconsistencies that if JA is convicted, will be grounds for appeal.
It is a very difficult position for me at times as an analyst because I am pro prosecution and I personally believe that what happened there was worse than we think- but it all comes down to the investigative outcome and the evidence laid at the State’s feet.
Lastly- they had 4 years to prepare this case. Seriously.
B
PS….I believe that sketch which resembles Tanisha, should be brought in as evidence (if possible). This is another example of her intrusive, obsessive, behaviour. What a completely inappropriate act, on JA’s part. this is a psychological attack on Travis’ family, imo. Again, her counsel needs to see this stuff before it makes the net.
Who does this?????
The defense attorney Nurmi seems to be mostly a “one trick pony”. He is stuck on sex and he wastes the courts time by asking the same question in every way he can think of. Working the former girl friend of Travis over about every aspect of their relationship IMO produced little and may have affected the jury in a similar manner.
I am not at all impressed with the computer expert. He didn’t even have enough sense to bring his own report. His description of the source of cookies was not correct, only partially so. There are a lot of programs out there for checking the internals of Windows including the Registry and its changes. He needs to get himself some books on computer forensics or take some courses to get to the next level.
Gonna be honest, I lol’d at the software explanation. WS is the OS (operating system) and is not referred to as “software”.
I have found through my private practice work that many LE staff that refer to themselves as computer forensics detectives rely completely on encase or some other product to produce it’s reports for them with very little understanding of the human side of computer and program use. Their is no integration of mediums tools to translate the integrity of the data, or if in fact, some data is missing or uncorroborated.
If Jodi breached Travis’s accounts- why hasn’t any of that evidence been provided?
B
Hi Blink….Amazing article….I too believe that Jodi arrived uninvited and unannounced in June 08…and I also think she is of being Antisocial personality….It seems to be hand in hand with all the other disorders…She is very dangerous and should be removed from Society …FOREVER!
Rose says:
April 23, 2013 at 2:17 pm
Rose says, “anyway to me the whole thing about her testimony was JA’ behavior during her questioning. Frenzied drawing/scribbling like with Dr D, but the couple times she looked up & really focused
on her former rival were very revealing.
~~~~~~~~~~~
I totally agree that the more revealing observations are of Jodi.
I do believe she is sketching Ms. Reid. She is cycling.
B
~~~~~~~~~~~
Definitely, Rose and Blink. Head down with some ferocious scribbling going on! It takes incredible effort to keep so much sheer rage from spewing forth. I think she was extremely jealous of the ongoing relationship that Travis had with Deanna. Did you see how her affect changed when Nurmi got up to question Deanna?
Did. If I did not know better, and I probably do not- this comorbid is also DID (disassociative identity disorder).
B
Pardon a question, but are we looking at a case of sexual sadism? Something that came to my mind when Nurmi was going on ad nauseum with his obnoxios questioning of Ms. Reid.
Nope. Nothing present in this case indicating that.
B
Who is the woman sitting in the Defense back-bar today? I don’t usually watch the whole trial (highlights-girl!) so I haven’t noticed her.
Also, is there anyone noteworthy in the gallery?
Did. If I did not know better, and I probably do not- this comorbid is also DID (disassociative identity disorder).
B
_____
http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/Helpline1/Dissociative_Identity_Disorder_(formerly_Multiple_Personality_Disorder).htm
“… The different identities, referred to as alters, may exhibit differences in speech, mannerisms, attitudes, thoughts, and gender orientation. The alters may even differ in “physical” properties such as allergies, right-or-left handedness, or the need for eyeglass prescriptions. These differences between alters are often quite striking.”
It would be nearly impossible to diagnose this without institutional observation, imo, Just fyi all, the podcast has been added, I did the interview this evening.
http://scaredmonkeysradio.com/audio//20130423sBlink.mp3
Thanks Klaas!!
B