a view from the inside: observations from our own court observers #3

[PASA]

Still trying to get the hang of multi-quote.

i just had a little thought the other day. anyone notice how jodi went out of her way to say she doesn't share the mormon church's position on homosexuality? i found it odd because she said it a couple of times. is she sucking up to some guy on this jury she thinks is gay? possibly?

Hmmm, not sure on that one. She will say anything or use anyone if it benefits her agenda. MOO

Thanks for everyone keeping us updated on the insider view of the trial.

Unless you have dealt with a sociopath like JA, it is very hard to accept that someone pretty and feminine can be dead inside.

I had the misfortune to work with one. A long story but a workplace psychologist was engaged to run reconciliation (sociopath was always making formal complaints about coworkers) who said to me "did you see her expression when she was challenged? It is completely blank. This is an individual who does not share ordinary human emotions".

This woman was very scary, very much like JA with a really good front and quite charming when she wanted to be. She was eventually sacked but not before she'd spent 3 years wreaking havoc amongst a previously happy workplace.

She did it because she could...she gained no benefit from her problematic behaviour other than attention and some sort of personal satisfaction.

This woman had also legally changed her name, from something quite unique to "Susan Martin"...a very common, bland name.

She also had a husband who had died very young and to this day I wonder if she had a hand in that too.

She reminds me sooo much of JA. The superficial charm, the blank expressions, the inappropriate giggling, the complete lack of emotion when discussing the nasty things she'd done.

I have never actually dealt with a sociopath like this before, and believe me I've met some crazies over the years.

It is very very hard for ordinary human beings to figure out how they tick, what their motives are. Often it is pure mischief.

I'm so sorry you had to deal with someone like that. Scary, to say the least.
I wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't responsible for her husband's early death.

There is a woman who's attended trial the last two times I've been. I'd not seen her before then.
She's going to be trouble. I thought to myself, she's like ja. Causes a scene, latches on to people she thinks will further her agenda, it's quite creepy.
I don't want to say too much about her in case she discovers this site.

Did any of your "after party" :great: note-sharing include the question about Jodi's fingerprints not being on the shelf we *all wholeheartedly believe* she held onto while grabbing the gun?

Yes, we did mention the fingerprints. The consensus was there were no prints up on that shelf because Travis didn't own a gun.
We also talked about that area being dusted for prints, I don't believe any of us knew for sure.

Pasa, thanks so much...love reading your posts, so easy to follow and I feel like I'm in the courtroom, and know the jurors, I believe there is a mormon in the jury, if not two.

Did you notice Jodi crying over her suicide letters, and how did that play out in the courtroom, if at all?

Seemed to me, that she showed more emotion during this line of questioning than anything involving the murder, I guess caused it was about her! Ugh!

JM was masterful and how lucky you were to be able to witness such a Perry Mason moment in the courtroom, yes I watched Perry Mason, ha...anyways did the jury pick up on how important that was, as it was to all of us?

Do you think the jury is hearing so much about Matt Mcarthy (especially from JM) and has peaked their interest so much that they will ask a question about him? Opening up that whole magazine code mystery?

Thank you so much for your kind words.

At Happy Hour we discussed the possibility of someone on the jury being LDS. It's likely there is, but no way to know for sure.
I don't believe it will matter in terms of casting Travis in a bad light or gaining any sympathy for ja. I think an LDS juror will judge as fairly as anyone else on the jury. MOO

I did not see ja crying over her suicide letters. It is hard to see her expression when she is on the stand. She's quite far from the gallery.
The courtroom is really big. The feed doesn't translate how large it is.

Oh yes, it was a Perry Mason moment.That's exactly what we said outside the courthouse.

When Juan came up to bat the jury sat up and started paying close attention.
The two ladies to my right were literally on the edge of their seats leaning forward.

When I saw ja's bank statement on the jumbo-tron with the 3 gas purchases I thought "ruh roh" she's toast.

When Juan said (paraphrasing) "Would it surprise you to know Walmart has no record of a return of a gas can on that day." The courtroom was electrified. It is hard to explain, but we (KCL, KDDJ, DDJ-guest, and, myself) were shaking when we left the courtroom.

Not sure what the dealio is with Matt, but we discussed it last night and feel there may be more to it. We have no way to know for sure. Juan has brought Matt up a couple of times, so there has to be something to it, at least to my way of thinking.

Oh, and I noticed on your post above about defense lurkers, do they lurk here to get information?

Who knows. Just puttin' it out there keepin' it real in case they are. I don't put anything past them. I in no way want to say anything about the jurors that would be perceived as them not caring about the trial. I truly believe they care very, very much.

Be safe!!!

Thank you! If I power down my computer, it's bad.

Re: Jodi's throwing in (unneccesarily) her acceptance of homosexuality:

Yes, a cover for when her bisexuality becomes known and is questioned.

Good point!

I've always liked BK and her reporting. I've also met people who have interacted with her at court, and they all talk about how gracious she is. She rarely slips into the sensational, and even then it's something like when she reported that the word JA keeps saying, de-edify, is wrong; the word is disedify. I've seen Nancy Grace try to get BK to give an OPINION on whether or not someone was guilty or would be convicted and BK absolutely refused to do so, no matter how much NG egged her on and tried to wheedle it out of her. As you said, she's a class act all the way.

Beth is awesome. She's the one journalist I always see in the courtroom. The others come and go, but BK is there for the entire time court is in session.

I loved it when she said disedify.

I used to do the same with Johnny Cochran. Could not STAND the man! That said, he outclassed JB in EVERY way. At least he was smart.

I wasn't a fan either, but he was smart.

When JM said something like "Would it surprise you that WalMart has absolutely NO RECORD of the return of the gas can?" I replied to the TV with "BOOYAH!"

We had to contain our excitement, until we got outside. Wasn't easy, let me tell ya'.

Ladies to my right (they were quite animated throughout the afternoon) did a thumbs up and whispered "Yessss".

Q. why would you join a church that has opposing views to yourself?

A. because you think it will benefit you somehow.

In JA's case, she thought she was the future Mrs T Alexander...God only knows why she zeroed in on Travis but he was doomed from the get-go.

Now she's busy murdering his memory too.

Makes perfect sense to me.

Before she ever testified that TA supplied the knife AND the gun (!!!??!) I had theorized that the duct tape had secured the gun beneath the bathroom sink.

I thought we had established that the grey thing on TA's arm was that exercise monitor.

Perhaps the tape held the tassel rope to the back of the headboard, and fell off in the rush to retrieve the rope and towels and stuff from the bedroom in her rush to split?

Besides the photo, there has been no mention of the tape during the trial, so I think it is insignificant to the rest of the case.

You're right about the tape. The prosecution must feel it's not important to the case. Or, they can't tie it in, so no need to bring it up.

I've not looked closely at the nude photos of Travis, he's the victim and it's hard for me to look at them(a personal thing). Not judging those who do.

Oh my I see Mesa is getting a bad storm! A huge tree blew over at a mall there! Be safe my Arizona friends!

Thanks! Yep, it kicked up right in the middle of a court notes post I was typing. Blew over a cactus, but everything else looks ok.

So many posts and pm s to reply to- busy work day then dinner plans but wanted to say I'm reading everything and appreciate you all so very much!!!

More later....

Have fun! Your courtroom posts last night were a great read, thank you!

 

[Bada Bing]

Straight Razor? Is this possible?

I wonder if they found a razor strop at the scene with no straight razor? The roomies would know what kind of a razor he used but LIAR said it was a Bic shaver.

 

[AZWatcher]

I'm back. Sorry about that, it was a pretty strong storm.

Neil is attentive to testimony but not looking at ja. Nancy and tricolor taking notes.

Ponytail rubbing forehead and leaning back in her chair, not quite the ja yoga move.

Several male jurors have their hands under their chins like the thinker pose. Thinking they are sick of her lies??
Barb taking notes.

ja talking about after they broke up she calls to say good-night. Good grief, she just can't leave him alone. She be cray-cray.
Poor Travis can't get rid of this beezy.

Jumbo-tron lights up... more journal carp. Jurors looking and most are writing.

Wrestler drinking water several times, as we are in the gallery. It's pretty dry in the courtroom and I find myself drinking more water than usual.

Can't get a look at Church Lady, maybe KCL can see her, and her body language.

During one of the numerous sidebars GW informs me she is sleepy and bored. She's
my new BFF.

I write about drama in the hall. There is a person who's been there the last 2 days. She's very pushy and has been arguing with a couple of the others. She's trouble, and I will avoid her. It's a murder trial and not a place for drama, sad.

When ja says "stop loss" during her testimony several of us look at each other and mouth "stop loss"??? There is some eye rolling and head shaking over that comment.

ja boohooing about looking for a husband, gals to my right laughing at her testimony.
Nurmi says to ja the age is 30 when LDS leave the singles ward, she corrects him with "31". She loves correcting Juan and her own attorneys.

The all access to your body comment makes me think of Disneyland. I write "Disneyland, all access pass".

I'm going to need a margarita after listening to this BS testimony, I write.

While on the stand ja says "pulled out of town" talking about when she was moving back to Yreka. She fails to mention how she drove 2 miles down the road to Sossaman Rd (it's in Mesa). Then calls to tell Travis she's going to sleep in the truck. He has her come back to his house, and she stays for 3 days. IMHO he meant for her to stay the night and leave in the morning.

I catch ja watching Nancy as she takes a nice long drink of her Iced Venti Latte from Starbuck's. Made my day.

It is now 2:50.

More sex talk, this time it's about a possible 3-way. I wrote 3-way no way. I am surprised she's not saying menage a troi, since she likes to use big words.
MOO, if it was true, ja only agreed to entertain the thought to keep Travis interested in her.

Testimony shifts to Cancun and Mimi Hall. I notice a definite change of tone in her voice when the subject is brought up. A sore spot with her, for sure.
Paul leans forward in chair when Cancun trip is discussed.

I look over towards the prosecution table and see Detective Flores taking notes. This is the first time I've noticed him writing notes.

Mimi future wife? ja must have been fuming at that idea. Her eyes probably glowed red at the mention of it.
She said the breakup and his interest in Mimi was bittersweet. I write GMAFB!! Another lie.

Don't have a good view of ja's family today. We can only see them from behind in the gallery, opposite of watching on the feed.

testimony about international travel takes preparation. She came prepared , I bet she bought extra sunscreen on her way to Mesa (my personal thoughts).

More sex, de-stressing, anger talk. Good lawd! It's like a loop, over and over and over.
How many times does she need to go into it for clarification Mr. Nurmi??
Orgasm=relaxation. Now there's a newsflash. I hope Nurmi doesn't get a clue about endorphins or we'll be here 'til Labor Day listening to her on the stand.

Paul has head down rubbing back of neck, during more of the "bending over" testimony. Then looks at Nurmi, and the look isn't a pleasant.

Objection by Juan. Sustained. YAY!!!

Another phone goes off, I think it's one of the ladies next to me. It's buzzing rather than a ring-tone. No one looks or says anything.

During sidebar I hear the security guy tell a woman she can't use her phone. She says "I'm texting my daughter", he made her leave. I swear these people cannot follow instructions. It's a court of law, have some respect. MOO I don't know if she came back after recess, didn't notice.

I see ja looking at Nancy... she's drinking her latte again.

Afternoon Recess. I hear "yay" from several in the gallery, others say "thank God".

More later.

<3 You, Pasa!! Oh and katiecoo... Your hair looked adorable! :rocker:

 

[PASA]

PASA thanks a bunch for your posts! I usually use the thanks button but every time I tried....WS froze up :waitasec:

You, KCL and others keep my faith in the justice system alive! :seeya: I always look forward to courtroom observations!:clap:

Hubby came home and asked what is going on with the trial today and I said they are breaking until Wed. and he said SO you always catch up on reading about it on those days :floorlaugh:

Testing...1..2..3..
do I have them in the correct order?

I don't want to blow the margins!

Large jury pic...
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1695&pictureid=14763

Yep, that's the order. Cracks me up that the CPA is Ted Nugent in your line-up.

I just noticed your new avatar. LOL!!!! Good one!

 

[PASA]

hep, saw 2 different responses...were they accepted as exhibit or not?

thanks if I'm just slow on the uptake!

I don't know. I saw something about her journal. I could have been looking at the jury, taking notes and missed it. Sorry.

 

[PASA]

I can't get to open on iPad. Is it on another thread here?

It's a graphic of what the jury might look like. Some are photos, others are sketches.
It's not the real jury, just a visual aid, so to speak.

 

[gngr~snap]

Yep, that's the order. Cracks me up that the CPA is Ted Nugent in your line-up.

I just noticed your new avatar. LOL!!!! Good one!

I was afraid I might be breaking a rule.... I may remove it. ~ my profile pic...

I tried to use pics people were familiar with.
No other reason other than how I pictured the jurors in my mind. I admit I had trouble with a few.
It sure has helped me keep them straight when reading the insiders notes!!!
God bless them!

Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk 2

 

[PASA]

Where is Beth Karas going?? She's and NG are my favorites.

We don't know where she will go after the trial. InSession no longer exists (as we knew it) and so Beth and Jean were let go.

I can't imagine her not getting hired by someone, she's a great journalist.

 

[Bada Bing]

Not a screen shot - but will a video do?

YES, thanks much! Looks so good on her.

 

[Bada Bing]

Anyone have any tips on how to lose 10 pounds by Tuesday? .

I'm at my fattest too right now. For me, it's the laying on the couch obsessing over this trial. I need to start walking more but by the time court is over JVM, NG and Dr Drew are over, that's it.
I am going to start protein shakes and carrot/beet juices for a week long fast.

 

[PASA]

PASA, So leopard print cougar lady is ProTravis...that's good.
Someone has 'furry guy's pic as their avatar...I will look.

its intriguing how you guys take such great notes during court. It's so helpful.
If I get a chance, I'm attempting to do the same with a local case here, if nothing, to help the family. Hard to remember everything as its going on for them.

I did take shorthand in college, while it was a requirement when I was studying to be a court reporter. I only made it as far as my 3rd semester, and by then only had a couple weeks in an actual class for the court reporting, only to switch majors to legal Secretary...lol.
To this day, I've never used shorthand. I think its a lost art.

Yes, GW aka Leopard Lady *LL* is team TA. She mentioned she comes to court to support the family and Travis.

I didn't see a furry man yesterday, and am curious about him. I did see a furry guy the day before, during the afternoon (Wednesday).

If you can, you should attend the local trial, it's interesting and the families appreciate the support. I miss some of the testimony, but it doesn't concern me so much in this trial. I can go back later and watch on YouTube. I'm more interested in how the jury is responding to ja's BS, er...uh... testimony, and being there to show support for the victim and his family.

I tend to write a sentence or two at a time, rather than trying to transcribe testimony. I found that method worked best for me.
I'm not much of a writer or journaler, obviously. LOL!

I never took shorthand, and wish I had. I don't suppose it's taught in school any more.

??? To KCL or PASA, Is there ever any interaction between JA's family and TA's family? I worked in a felony Court for many years as a bailiff and I know just how much drama can go on behind the scenes and out of sight of the Juror's and that part is fascinating. TY to all of you that are letting us in on that perspective.

I was also lucky enough to get to know Beth Karas when she was in our City and our Court covering a trial. She is all the best! All the good things you say and more. She should have her own show IMHO.

As I am coming into this trial late, what are the names of Travis' family members that sit in the front row? (with so much class and composure)

There is a victim-family room where the family stays most of the time. There is a private bathroom as well. I do see the brother-in-law in the hall, but he's usually with friends of the family. ja's family uses the public facilities and we see them during every break.

I've not seen TA's family interact with ja's family on any level. KatieCooLady sits on the family side and may know more about it.

I can just imagine the drama you dealt with being a bailiff. It is fascinating what goes on when the jurors are out of the room. I've seen ja put her glasses on before the jury enters the courtroom. I've seen her remove them when they leave. I believe they are on to her and her glasses/librarian look.

I love Beth, she is a class act. MOO

KatieCooLady knows the family, and their names better than I. I know the brother-in-law is Harold, his wife is Tanisha. She's the sister with long hair.
Another sister is Samantha. She looks more like Travis than Tanisha. I don't know his brother's name, and there were 2 other sisters (new to me) there this week.

THANKS Pasa!! I LOVE the latte taunt! Wind kicked up here about 2pm blew over one of my metal chairs yikes! I'm north valley blew thru just dreary since!

Glad to hear Paul Rudd had look to give her some reason I was worried about him being younger male but I think Jury tired of her sex talk just like us!

I'd like to hear about dinner/happy hour feedback what's your take? All in agreement? I like Stacy cuz she can give reasonable LDS response.. Everyone acts like LDS is some bizarre religion really it's based on Bible like all the other Christian religions just they have additional text about native Americans being descended from lost tribes of Israel. Yeah they have rules about soda, caffeine & alcohol etc oddly..medical research kind of shows there views are actually healthy not to mention they have great focus on the family which clearly so many today don't hold on high regard anymore..

Anyway good stuff lady!!!

Let me tell you, Nancy enjoying her venti iced-latte was the highlight of the afternoon session until Juan stepped up to the podium. She sits in the front row too.

Hope you're safe up on the north side. We're getting heavy rain now, and thunder. May have to shut down again if it gets worse. I'm glad we're getting rain, and snow in the high-country.

I think Paul sees her for what she is, a killer and doesn't buy the self-defense story. I also think that because he is close in age, he can relate to Travis and his situation with ja's stalking, and obsessive behavior.

I think we're all on the same page (happy hour group). I like Stacey, she is a voice of reason.
I also have family members who are LDS.

Do the families enter the courtroom at the same time? Have they made eye contact? From watching Jodi's mom and aunt I get the feeling they are there because she's a daughter and niece. Their facial expressions do not look like fear or sympathy. Have you gotten any gut feeling about that?

I haven't seen any contact between the families. I explained a bit about it above.
I agree, her mother is there to support her, and the twin is there to support her sister and niece. The niece/daughter (ja) on the other hand never looks at them or in their direction.
The mitigation specialist interacts with the mother occasionally.

The mother seems more approachable outside the courtroom than she appears inside. I don't interact with her, but am civil to her when we cross paths, usually the bathroom.

Thanks watchers for sharing so much with us.
I notice on a lot of your juror observations that you mention most of them don't look at JA. When she looks over at the jury with every single answer, is she basically looking at the tops of their heads or their turned heads? The thought of that kind of makes me happy, like she knows they're not watching her performance.

Best I can tell, she looks towards them, but they don't look at her. Is she trying to make eye contact, I can't say. You can see her face much better on the feed. If she looks straight (not up or down) I believe she looks over the front row of the jury, and maybe level or a little above the back row. She looks robotic at times when she turns to address the jury with answers.

I've not seen the jurors look away when she addresses them, they either look down, take notes, or look in her direction but not at her, if that makes sense.

I wonder if they found a razor strop at the scene with no straight razor? The roomies would know what kind of a razor he used but LIAR said it was a Bic shaver.

I haven't heard anything about a razor strap at the scene. I wonder if ja meant a double edge razor that was popular in the 50's and 60's rather than a straight razor.
The ladies to my right thought she was calling a blade (single edge) razor old fashioned and thought she may think modern is an electric razor.

<3 You, Pasa!! Oh and katiecoo... Your hair looked adorable! :rocker:

I thought it looked cute too.

 

[PASA]

:bump:
Please keep posts limited to questions for the observers and their notes from the courtroom*

What about Happy Hour after court? I don't want to post about it if it's not allowed. Thanks.

 

[katiecoolady]

I have so many posts and messages to reply to but I'm beat and drained from looking through photos to find pics of Cindy and me to send to the Ricki Lake Show tomorrow. That was honestly pretty excruciating. I'll be back, I promise.

 

[PASA]

I was afraid I might be breaking a rule.... I may remove it. ~ my profile pic...

I tried to use pics people were familiar with.
No other reason other than how I pictured the jurors in my mind. I admit I had trouble with a few.
It sure has helped me keep them straight when reading the insiders notes!!!
God bless them!

Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk 2

I love what you did with the visual aid. The artist is pretty accurate.

 

[PASA]

I have so many posts and messages to reply to but I'm beat and drained from looking through photos to find pics of Cindy and me to send to the Ricki Lake Show tomorrow. That was honestly pretty excruciating. I'll be back, I promise.

Take all the time you need.
Cindy would be so proud of you and what you're doing for crime victims and their families.

Good luck at the taping of Ricki Lake. I'll be thinking of you. xx

 

[pferrin]

I may have missed the answer to this question...did Nurmi get a session with Judge on thursday afternoon? This was prior to Mr Martinez doing his re-cross. i guess that maybe I should have said Did Nurmi get a little reprimand...it looked like it from my computer. It is hard to tell when you are not there. In person. Thanks

 

[pferrin]

katiecoolady, we are so proud of you for doing this. Prayers and Blessings.

 

[kaRN]

Thanks for your reports PASA!!! Do you know where JA's buddy Donovan has disappeared to? I haven't seen her in the courtroom since the magazine debacle lol!! TIA!

 

[fran]

What about Happy Hour after court? I don't want to post about it if it's not allowed. Thanks.

Isn't happy hour with OTHER courtoom obersvers, PART of your research?

Yes! Tell us ALL!:great:

Just sayin'
fran


ps... have I told you all of our courtroom obeservers :yourock:

 

[katiecoolady]

Isn't happy hour with OTHER courtoom obersvers, PART of your research?

Yes! Tell us ALL!:great:

Just sayin'
fran


ps... have I told you all of our courtroom obeservers :yourock:

Ohyeah, research indeed. Post gaming. Gossip time. Bonding. Saying cheers to Travis and Juan Martinez. I think all of that qualifies...so thank you!

Go on PASA...i wanna read your HH report. (yes I WAS dancing in the bathroom stall there all by myself..so you can start with that lol).