When Arizona prosecutor Juan Martinez began his closing arguments yesterday morning, he laid out a carefully planned and well orchestrated killing for the jurors who will decide Jodi Arias' fate in the coming days. The prosecutor known for his fiery demeanor and aggressive style began the morning with a sarcastic recap of Jodi Arias, the victim. "She likes to play the victim", he told the jury and a packed court room. He then recapped Arias' relationships with men, and reminded everybody of the similarities in the way Arias happened upon the many e-mails and text messages of ex boyfriend Bobbie Juarez and Travis Alexander that she read. He chastised Arias for pointing the finger at Travis Alexander for being "a bad Mormon" and engaging in sexual activity, telling the jury "she's just as Mormon as he was" (I loved that!). I also loved when he referred to the field of lies that sprouted around Arias as she testified.
His theme throughout the morning session was how Jodi Arias refused to take blame for anything that happened in her failed relationships and her life in general, "this is an individual who hit her mother and called her sister stupid", Martinez said. He then went over the known lies Arias has told the jury on the stand, beginning with the return of the gas can to WalMart. "She looked each and every one of you in the eye and lied to you, under oath". He then began to tell a story of premeditated murder. He believe the plan or thought to kill Alexander began around 5/26/08, after Travis Alexander sent Arias an angry text message in which he told her she was evil, and the worst thing that ever happened to him. Just two days later, a .25 caliber gun was reported as stolen from Arias' grandparents home where she was living. The murder plot was put into motion.
Martinez's description of this trip to Mesa was chilling. Under the State's theory, it's possible that Travis Alexander didn't even know Arias was on her way to his home when he talked to her while she was in Pasadena. Martinez believes Arias just showed up, shortly after 4:00AM and Travis Alexander was awake and on his computer. Having already removed the front license plate from her rental car and dyed her hair dark brown, Arias snuck into the garage and used his security code to gain entry to his house. If it really happened this way, it's even more creepy and heinous than I ever imagined. The only question I have around this theory is that most homes that I've been in that have these types of security systems make some type of "beep" when you enter. Not an alarm, which would go off if you didn't use the code, but a beep. I'm sure there are numerous different systems out there so I may be way off, but I'm surprised that Napoleon didn't begin barking the moment a car pulled up or somebody opened the door?
Martinez's step-by-step description of how he believes Jodi Arias lured Travis Alexander into the shower, posing him in the vulnerable position he was in before she delivered the first stab wound to his chest was spot on. Of the two possible scenarios, the defense's story and the prosecution's story - this is the one that fits. This is the one that makes sense, this is the one that fits the evidence. The way that Jodi Arias followed an injured Travis Alexander from place to place, continuing to attack him as he struggled to get away, and then to live - was just bone chilling. She was relentless. Even though Travis was gravely injured and bleeding from several places, Arias followed him out of the bathroom, down the hall where he collapsed. It was there that she cut his throat. Just cold blooded murder. There was no "provocation", this was not self defense. The prosecutor's closing argument firmly supports premeditated murder.
What will the defense say in their closing argument? Will they continue to try to portray Jodi Arias as a victim on Travis' deviant sexual behavior and physical and mental abuse? Continuing down the path of blaming the victim could be very dangerous for them at this point. If they sense the jury doesn't buy the abuse claims, it could further anger them that they are being played by this defense team and by the defendant. I don't know what Nurmi will say, but I'm guessing they have little choice but to play the hand they have been dealing out to this jury. Good luck with that.
His theme throughout the morning session was how Jodi Arias refused to take blame for anything that happened in her failed relationships and her life in general, "this is an individual who hit her mother and called her sister stupid", Martinez said. He then went over the known lies Arias has told the jury on the stand, beginning with the return of the gas can to WalMart. "She looked each and every one of you in the eye and lied to you, under oath". He then began to tell a story of premeditated murder. He believe the plan or thought to kill Alexander began around 5/26/08, after Travis Alexander sent Arias an angry text message in which he told her she was evil, and the worst thing that ever happened to him. Just two days later, a .25 caliber gun was reported as stolen from Arias' grandparents home where she was living. The murder plot was put into motion.
Martinez's description of this trip to Mesa was chilling. Under the State's theory, it's possible that Travis Alexander didn't even know Arias was on her way to his home when he talked to her while she was in Pasadena. Martinez believes Arias just showed up, shortly after 4:00AM and Travis Alexander was awake and on his computer. Having already removed the front license plate from her rental car and dyed her hair dark brown, Arias snuck into the garage and used his security code to gain entry to his house. If it really happened this way, it's even more creepy and heinous than I ever imagined. The only question I have around this theory is that most homes that I've been in that have these types of security systems make some type of "beep" when you enter. Not an alarm, which would go off if you didn't use the code, but a beep. I'm sure there are numerous different systems out there so I may be way off, but I'm surprised that Napoleon didn't begin barking the moment a car pulled up or somebody opened the door?
Martinez's step-by-step description of how he believes Jodi Arias lured Travis Alexander into the shower, posing him in the vulnerable position he was in before she delivered the first stab wound to his chest was spot on. Of the two possible scenarios, the defense's story and the prosecution's story - this is the one that fits. This is the one that makes sense, this is the one that fits the evidence. The way that Jodi Arias followed an injured Travis Alexander from place to place, continuing to attack him as he struggled to get away, and then to live - was just bone chilling. She was relentless. Even though Travis was gravely injured and bleeding from several places, Arias followed him out of the bathroom, down the hall where he collapsed. It was there that she cut his throat. Just cold blooded murder. There was no "provocation", this was not self defense. The prosecutor's closing argument firmly supports premeditated murder.
What will the defense say in their closing argument? Will they continue to try to portray Jodi Arias as a victim on Travis' deviant sexual behavior and physical and mental abuse? Continuing down the path of blaming the victim could be very dangerous for them at this point. If they sense the jury doesn't buy the abuse claims, it could further anger them that they are being played by this defense team and by the defendant. I don't know what Nurmi will say, but I'm guessing they have little choice but to play the hand they have been dealing out to this jury. Good luck with that.
