…” Something happens to ordinary citizens when they get into the jury box.  All of them become defenders of the Constitution. Every single time.  Very difficult…”

-Roy Hazelwood, Former FBI Behavior Analysis Unit Section Chief R current co-founder The Academy Group.

Hanged v Hung 

The death by hanging option is not a consideration in the event that the Jury in the Jodi Arias trial finds her guilty of murder in the first degree, or felony murder.   The jury cannot “hang” Jodi Arias.

However, they can hang themselves.  I am not referring to what they must have felt like to sit through four months of testimony in the heinous butchering trial in the murder of Travis Alexander.  No doubt 18 days on the stand – the poster child of the girl your mom told you about that guys will f*ck but not marry, Arias’s own words and convenient selective “fugue” state should be considered cruel and unusual for regular folk doing their civic duty.

I could not end my pre-verdict coverage without an editorial that lapses into first and third person.

Hung can be a good word.  Some examples:

1. Relating to a portion of male anatomy for those not buying of the indifference to size
2. He hung my new Mom’s Day necklace around my neck and it is super-sparkly.
3. I hung my child’s first abstract-impressionist masterpiece on the wall in my office.
4. We hung the ribbons for first place on the mantle.
5. When the jurors in the Aries trial could not reach a unanimous decision on the first degree premeditated-murder and felony charges Judge Sherry Stephens announced the jury had hung and declared a mistrial.

Consider the alternatives before hurling the maters my way, if you will.

The fact that the judge ordered a manslaughter or “heat of passion” instruction at the last minute should be telling that there is great concern that the state has not offered the slam dunk serve-up for these triers of fact.

The trial started with the State disputing its own theory of the sequence of events between the Medical Examiner and the lead detective.  It is followed by evidence that disputes the contention the victim was immediately incapacitated by having him standing over the sink after injury.   Waa?

Hell, let’s just say it. There are 2 separate and distinct areas of a clear and unambiguous attack closely resembling a slaughter house with a substantial absence of blood in others.

Not to mention a picture of a severely wounded but not yet with a fatal neck slit injury of Travis one minute and two seconds later.

One minute and two seconds.   Two hundred pound prime-fitness Travis and 115 lb. Jodi in a battle for life and limb and the State says she stabs him FATALLY first in the chest.    Again, this contradicts the ME testimony.   Travis Alexander was shot first, period.  Whether or not that will make a difference to this jury I have no idea.

Considering this fatal wound was to his chest and NONE of the wounds to his back were even life threatening and clearly inflicted upon an individual who was not in motion- this makes zero sense.  The whole macabre mess goes down in one minute and two seconds if the pictures are to be believed.

One minute and two seconds.

Whether someone believes Arias is guilty or not, as the state presented their alleged version of events, it is unlikely that all jurors are going to be able to conclude that the timestamps on the pictures and the state’s versions of events can both be true.

As an example- to my knowledge, socks do not leave what is called a footwear impression.  There is clearly a “footwear impression on the bathroom floor in blood.  There was a pair of Travis’s gray socks in the washer.  They are the same color as the ones seen what appears to be over a shoe in one of the pictures in evidence.   Doesn’t that mean she was there long enough to do 2 loads of wash?  Possibly.

There are more unexplained incongruences in the State’s case than there are journal entries of this defendant.   It gives me great pause.  Juan Martinez’s closing argument stated theory that is medically unsupported in this case and overall.  Pause layering.

In a murder case with more forensic evidence than any one of the eight seasons of Criminal Minds has featured in a one hour episode, it is unsettling to see how much of it presumably not tested nor introduced as evidence was.

I have never seen juror questions in a capital case following re-direct before but I paid very close attention.  There were many prospective deliberating jurors asking what I would consider questions indicative of folks with forensic knowledge.

… “How Do I love thee, let me count the lies…”  Juan Martinez

Juan Martinez alleged that Arias deleted only pictures that implicated her, however, Michael Melendez testified there were roughly 90 pictures remaining on the camera that WERE NEVER introduced into evidence.   It was a juror who asked that question among others regarding the highly prejudicial and for my taste, unverified camera card evidence.   This jury is paying attention to the details.

Which means they are paying attention to the painfully few details offered as well.

Add in the very embarrassing and contradictory testimony of Dr. Horn who while he “sees dead people” apparently is not so big on the reporting of same.   We now we have a prosecution relying almost entirely on the testimony of the medical examiner to support its theory and he shows up in rebuttal with a 3^rd version of errors he calls a typo.   Not helpful when the “immediately incapacitated “and non-ambulatory terms were used to discount a struggle between Travis and Jodi.

Dr. Horn may not know it yet but his testimony was downloaded to viral status by every reputable law school or criminal justice professor following the trial.   Not in a good way when the syllabus header is “What Your Witness Can Never do.” (more…)

*BLINK DISCUSSES THE JODI ARIAS TRIAL TONIGHT LIVE AT 9PM ON THE DANA PRETZER SHOW

PODCAST ADDED CLICK HERE*

Phoenix, AZ-  In a terse exchange prior to the hiatus in the Arias trial, the defense repeated their contention that they want The Honorable Sherry Stephens to order a directed verdict or a mistrial in the State’s case against Jodi Arias.

As reported exclusively by BOC it does seem the prosecution missed quite a bit of potential evidence including a possible motive- the duct tape around Travis’s right arm.  Was it the final straw that made Jodi Arias snap as she was allegedly taking photos of Travis in the shower without his knowledge?

There was also an exparte hearing held in Judge Stephen’s chambers, however, the contents of those minutes have not yet been filed- although the docket suggests they have.  The defense is now testing Jodi Arias’s canon camera for some undisclosed reason.

With the defense preparing to start its case next week in spite of the outstanding motions before the court- have the prosecution’s actions harmed their case?

The issue at the forefront seems to hinge on something that the prosecution never introduced- On Purpose, says Prosecutor Juan Martinez.

The prosecution’s very first witness, Maria Hall, who was the female friend attending the Cancun trip with Alexander  on June 10^th,  told the court that Travis told her he had been stalked while on a date with another girl and had his tires slashed.   The intimation before the court was clear regardless of the defense attempts to point out that Travis never said it was Jodi who was responsible.

Nancy Grace and Jane Velez Mitchell lit up their HLN evening roster discussing Arias’s stalker behavior with several associates of Alexander.  Dr. Karl  Hiatt said one Sunday he was told that he had his tires slashed and that it was possible that something might escalate and he may not show up for dinner as a result.

Outside the presence of the jury Juan Martinez argued that they did not call the witness who Travis was on that particular date with because he did not want to create “an inflammatory” situation for the jury causing an appellate issue.

However,  Martinez also lets it slip that Lisa Andrews Daidone does not want to testify and the defense tells the judge the prosecution has withheld her contact information from them and THEY intend to call her.  Daidone recently deleted her FB profile and other social media sites in her name.

Does it make any sense to anyone why a prosecutor would not call a witness who could place a dangerous weapon in the hands of a person committing a destructive and openly violent act who they allege is guilty of doing exactly that for exactly the same reasons in the instant case?

From Daidone’s bog entry in 2008:

 ”…So because Heavenly Father allowed this to happen, I have grown in such a way that I couldn’t have otherwise, or at least not as quickly. While if you asked me a few months from now if I could go back would I change it, I would say “Absolutely,” I’m not sure how much I would actually change about it. Of course I wouldn’t want Travis to be taken. I might even opt for Jodi to be popped instead. But who am I to decide the fate of the hundreds of people that have been effected by this? It’s hard

to say which way is better. Travis always talked about Opportunity Cost. He spoke of how his time could be used best, to benefit the maximum amount of people. I’m sure he wishes he could have done more while he was here, but I don’t think he regrets leaving. He is doing something amazing up in the Spirit World. I know it. I can feel it. He is continuing to learn and progress. He’s helping others to do the same. He is the same wonderful, creative, spontaneous, caring, gentle, driven, foe- paint-loving, show-tune-singing man that I fell in love with…”

Is it because in the 48 Hours Mystery program so frequently noted by the defense Detective Flores openly states there was no evidence whatsoever that Jodi was involved in that incident  after he repeats his theory that Travis was shot first?  Both these statements made by the lead detective in the case on national television  directly conflict with the prosecution’s case as testified by Esteban Flores.

NO.

Is it because they already know who was responsible for the multiple tire slashing incidents and presenting that information might corroborate a story told to them by Arias in the past?

In her own words, Lisa Andrews Daidone began dating Travis Alexander in July 2007.  According to the minutes filed from trial January 16^th,  the tire slashing incident was in December 2007, both Alexander and Andrew’s tires were slashed and the individual came to the front door .  Martinez states Andrews will testify to these facts.   Prior to dating Alexander,  Daidone was dating a common friend and member of their Mormon ward- Steve Bell.  Arias claims she and Travis began dating  February 2,  2007.

Daidone will not go into how she and Travis began dating, or why, but there is a  Steve Bell connected to this group that has had some serious troubles with the law immediately preceding the break up, and many following.

Could the mystery stalker have been on her end and NOT Arias?  If so, you can bet the defense will be bringing that issue into court next week and providing the jury with this eye opening gem- expected to cause further problems with the State’s theory.

That’s not all, unfortunately.

Thomas Brown, a former roommate of Travis Alexander in the home of his murder, was interviewed up to three times by Detective Flores whereby he told them that Jodi had open access to the home when he was around and the Arias he knew was completely shy and somewhat awkwardly withdrawn.  He was having a hard time picturing her do this without help and he told cops that.

He also told them something about Travis being shocked to get the call that Jodi Arias was standing outside the home the early morning hours of June 4, 2008 and that he had been up all night performing some sort of protection rite.   Brown’s information was not included in any information given to the defense and he was not even aware his name came up in the investigation by Jodi Arias herself.  I would expect that issue to surface promptly as well.

Gus Searcy,  $100K ring earner for Prepaid Legal Services and now Legal Shield was noticed to be available this week for interview.  Travis was scheduled to be on the conference call with Searcy at 6:45PM the evening of his murder.

Artful  Dodging

While the trial is in hiatus, one are of Jodi Arias’s life is quite active and well, pecuniary.

Arias, through her family, has taken to EBay to sell her personally rendered offerings the macabre set is snatching up for a few hundred clams a piece during the trial.

It is believed to be managed by Arias’s mother Sandy,  who uploaded images to Arias’s MySpace after her incarceration to include one of Gary Alexander- Travis’s older brother.

The defense portion of the Jodi Arias trial for the murder of Travis Alexander led by Kirk Nurmi and Jennifer Willmott will begin its case January 29^th.

Check back to blinkoncrime.com for updates.

Jacqueline Beaufort, contributing editor