Jodi Arias was found guilty of first-degree murder on Wednesday by a 12-person jury after three days of deliberation. The verdict came after a four-month-long trial in which the jury and attendees saw Arias take the stand, listened to graphic recordings of phone sex calls, and saw grisly crime scene photos.
Arias was on trial for the killing of ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, a motivational speaker and salesman, who was found dead at his home in June 2008.
The 32-year-old was charged with first-degree murder in Alexander’s death and authorities say she planned the attack in a jealous rage after the victim rejected her and pursued other women.
Initially, Jodi Arias denied involvement and even blamed the killing on masked intruders. But two years after she was arrested, Arias admitted she killed Alexander in self-defense. Travis suffered almost 30 knife wounds, was shot in the forehead, and had his throat slit. Then, prosecutors allege that Arias dragged his body into his shower. He was discovered five days later.
Testimony in the Jodi Arias trial started in early January and saw Arias spend 18 days on the witness stand. The trial quickly turned into a made-for-the-tabloids drama and garnered daily coverage from several mainstream media networks.
In her testimony, Arias recalled Travis Alexander attacking her after a day of sex. She claimed her former boyfriend body-slammed her to the tile floor. She was able to wiggle free and ran into his closet to retrieve a gun she knew he kept on a shelf. She claimed she fired the gun in self-defense, but has no memory of stabbing him.
Jodi Arias also admitted to trying to clean the scene after Alexander’s killing by dumping the gun in the desert and working on an alibi to avoid suspicion. She claimed she was too scared and ashamed to tell the truth about what happened to her former boyfriend.
The Arias trial concluded on Friday and jurors spend three days deliberating before reaching the verdict. Now that Jodi Arias has been found guilty of murdering Travis Alexander, the 32-year-old could face the death penalty.
Are you surprised that Jodi Arias was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Travis Alexander?