Jodi Arias Admits That She Killed Boyfriend, Says It Was Self Defense

Jodi Arias admitted in court today that she killed her boyfriend Travis Alexander in June of 2008.

Arias, who made a surprise appearance on the witness stand today, said that Alexander attacked her and that she simple defended herself.

After being asked by defense attorney, Kirk Nurmi, if she killed Travis Alexander, Arias responded:

“Yes… The simple answer is that he attacked me and I defended myself.”

According to Sky News, Arias originally denied that she was at the scene of the crime. Arias said today that she initially told police that she was not involved with the murder because she planned on killing herself to avoid the trial.

Arias said:

“At the time, I had plans to commit suicide. So I was extremely confident that no jury would convict me because I didn’t expect any of you to be here… I planned to be dead.”

Fox News reports that Arias and Alexander reportedly dated for about five months after meeting at a conference in Las Vegas. They ended their relationship but continued to see each other for sex.

Prosecutors argue that Arias was a jealous girlfriend who ended up stalking and eventually killing Alexander. The defense argues that Alexander was a liar and cheat and that he attacked Arias the night he was killed.

The trial, which began in jury, has involved several explicit photos. The jurors were shown photos taken on the day of the murder showing Arias and Alexander in the nude. The photos were used to place Arias at the scene, but they’ve also caused a media frenzy around the case.

In addition to the explicit photos, a camera found at the scene also contained images of the dead body. Defense attorneys have not explained why Arias allegedly tried to clean the scene, what happened to the murder weapons, or why she allegedly took pictures of the body.

Are you surprised that Jodi Arias took the stand today to admit killing her boyfriend? Do you think it was in self defense?