Prosecution paints damning picture of Arias
Could face death penalty for boyfriend’s murder
PHOENIX— Prosecutors seeking to convict Jodi Arias of murder for killing her ex-boyfriend told an Arizona jury in closing arguments of an often lurid trial on Thursday that she meticulously planned the slaying and then lied to cover her tracks.
The California woman could face the death penalty if convicted of murdering Travis Alexander, whose body was found in the shower at his Phoenix valley home in June 2008. He was shot in the face, stabbed 27 times and had his throat slit.
Arias, 32, has admitted killing Alexander, whom she dated for several months and with whom she continued having intimate relations even after their breakup. She said she killed him in self-defence after he attacked her in a rage because she dropped his camera.
Defence attorneys are set to present closing arguments in the high-profile trial on Friday
Prosecutor Juan Martinez said Arias started planning the killing in late May 2008, at the same time a .25 calibre handgun — the same calibre weapon used in the slaying — was stolen along with other items in a robbery at her grandparents’ California home.
Arias said she shot and killed Alexander, 30, with his pistol, and that she only became aware of the theft after it occurred. The weapon used in the killing has not been recovered.
Martinez told the jury that Arias also rented a car in California and bought five-gallon containers and filled them with gasoline to fuel her journey to the Phoenix suburb where she killed Alexander.
“The only reason to keep this whole thing a secret . . . is because she is going to kill him, and she’s making preparations, and she’s very good at making these preparations,” Martinez told the jury at the Maricopa County Superior Court.
Earlier on Thursday, Judge Sherry Stephens told jurors they could consider the charges of first- and second-degree murder or the lesser charge of manslaughter. First-degree murder requires proof of premeditation.
Since the trial began in January, Martinez has portrayed Arias as a jealous lover who set out to kill Alexander because she had been spurned. He told the jury that Alexander had sent an instant message weeks before his death saying he was “extremely afraid.”