Armchair Psych discussion of Jodi Arias

[roulons]

Jodi said on the stand that Travis wanted to name a daughter Iris and that he also liked the names Hinckley and Reagan.
The movie Taxi Driver: JODIE Foster plays young hooker IRIS. DeNiro plays the taxi driver TRAVIS and John HINCKLEY shot Pres. REAGAN because he was hung up on Jodie Foster. Coincidence?
Of course, the Janet Leigh shower scene poses in Psycho are eerily similar to those of Travis in the shower.
The Spiderman underwear worn by Cameron Diaz in Charlie's Angels has already been noted.
I'm sure there are other examples of Jodi copying pop culture/films, etc.

 

[danzn16]

Has there been anytime in trial where JA has gotten angry? Everytime I watch the trial online she is so calm, collected, sweet. Has there been another side to her?

 

[ShadyLadySleuth]

Has there been anytime in trial where JA has gotten angry? Everytime I watch the trial online she is so calm, collected, sweet. Has there been another side to her?

I have yet to see her get angry. She seems extremely capable of controlling herself except when she cries. But her calm, cool, collected demeanor makes me plenty mad! LOL To me, she comes across as almost hollow, devoid of normal human emotions. Sometimes I get the impression she is holding court, very much the Queen on the stand. I think she could talk for hours about herself and Travis. But I get bored out of my mind! I especially get angry when she and the Prosecutor go at it over minutia, arguing about one word or another! Get to the point already!

 

[zaza]

I have yet to see her get angry. She seems extremely capable of controlling herself except when she cries. But her calm, cool, collected demeanor makes me plenty mad! LOL To me, she comes across as almost hollow, devoid of normal human emotions. Sometimes I get the impression she is holding court, very much the Queen on the stand. I think she could talk for hours about herself and Travis. But I get bored out of my mind! I especially get angry when she and the Prosecutor go at it over minutia, arguing about one word or another! Get to the point already!

I've just about had my fill of JA. Her response affect and tone of her voice particularly during the jury q&a, began to have a visceral effect on me. Sickening.

 

[Cate49]

Never seen Jodi express anger but smiling several times. What are your thoughts on why she murdered Travis. She has had previous relationships that have not ended in violence? So why in this relationship?

 

[nc1960]

I have not read this anywhere; therefore, I do not know if it is new or not. However, while reading through Jodi's Blog, I noticed a change in expression regarding her writing. I did a search and two of her blogs: "If..." and "Why Do Children Climb Up Slides?" were written by Ralph Marston one in 1996 the other in 2003. http://greatday.com/motivate/030501.html http://greatday.com/motivate/960422.html

 

[runningwater]

Jodi said on the stand that Travis wanted to name a daughter Iris and that he also liked the names Hinckley and Reagan.
The movie Taxi Driver: JODIE Foster plays young hooker IRIS. DeNiro plays the taxi driver TRAVIS and John HINCKLEY shot Pres. REAGAN because he was hung up on Jodie Foster. Coincidence?
Of course, the Janet Leigh shower scene poses in Psycho are eerily similar to those of Travis in the shower.
The Spiderman underwear worn by Cameron Diaz in Charlie's Angels has already been noted.
I'm sure there are other examples of Jodi copying pop culture/films, etc.

Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was a religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 12, 1995 until his death. Considered a prophet, seer, and revelator by church members, Hinckley was the oldest person to preside over the church in its history.[1]

This story is getting weirder and weirder...

 

[Nancy_Drew]

Ricochet again much thanks for your personal insight so brave. My question is how does someone know that they are unwell? Do you think Jodi knows that she is messed up in her mind?

Probably not because of the strong narcissistic thread that runs through her sociopath mind! Lol..

The narcissists that I have known think they are perfect and that everyone else is crazy...they would respond just like Jodi did when one of the jurors ask her if she had ever got any help for her mental condition... Jodi looked at them like they were crazy, and like she had no clue what they were referring to...

 

[Nancy_Drew]

JA does fit these catagories, but she seems to have "something" more disturbing inside her. I believe it to be a demonic spirit. She has black lifeless eyes. She had supernatural strength to stab TA 27 times, drag that heavy body up and down the hallway, slit his throat and then dump him back into the shower stall.

Rit Bee.. I totally agree ...on a spiritual level, there is a lot of evil in Humboldt County, where she is from...I have thought that possibly something happened when she was a child that maybe her parents don't even know about ...I also wonder about the guy (bobby) she was involved with in high school...

 

[bsk]

A few thoughts unrelated to each other....

Was this kind of a "perfect storm" in a way? Jodi's background and personality. Travis's background and his ability to remake his life/pull himself up by his bootstraps/however you want to say he got from where he started to where he was. That as Mormons they seemed to do a lot of "group" things and try to help each other as friends maybe moreso than some of us others. That part/much of his PPL work involved mentoring. It's almost like she was a combo of a rescue project and an escape valve for him.

My daughter is getting a music therapy degree and currently interning at a state hospital in another state. Reading here make me SOOOOO appreciate what a difficult job mental health professionals have, and it also makes me fear that these numbers are growing. My wife works at a public school where it seems the kids behaviors are getting worse every year. It seems fairly constant that the parents seem disengaged from their kids except to show up to berate anybody who accused their angel of bad behavior.

Maybe this is my own oddball personality in play, but some of the comments here about Jodi made me think in part of Famke Janssen's character Kamala in the Star Trek:TNG episode The Perfect Mate.

 

[Cate49]

Probably not because of the strong narcissistic thread that runs through her sociopath mind! Lol..

The narcissists that I have known think they are perfect and that everyone else is crazy...they would respond just like Jodi did when one of the jurors ask her if she had ever got any help for her mental condition... Jodi looked at them like they were crazy, and like she had no clue what they were referring to...

The jury question about help for her condition! The look on her face was absolutely astonished it was a great moment for look at her ego. You are so bang on Nancy

 

[Gecko100]

Probably not because of the strong narcissistic thread that runs through her sociopath mind! Lol..

The narcissists that I have known think they are perfect and that everyone else is crazy...they would respond just like Jodi did when one of the jurors ask her if she had ever got any help for her mental condition... Jodi looked at them like they were crazy, and like she had no clue what they were referring to...

Narcissistic rage is a common feature of narcissism, and I remember a case in the UK where a young man went into a rage and killed his parents, he had concocted a whole other life for himself (a la FCA) and it was coming to an end, so he killed them. My recollection is that his 'narcissistic rage' defence was used in his favour, and his sentence was reduced considerably. I will see if I can dig it up.

 

[Gecko100]

O, I am so technologically challenged I don't know how to link things!
If you Google the name Brian Blackwell, you will be able to read about it. The outcome was that his murder charge was reduced to manslaughter because of his narcissistic rage. Interesting or scary?
He still got life, but will probably be released one day.

 

[westies4ever]

I can't help but wonder about JA's upbringing.
Wishing someone would come forward to give a glimpse into the dynamics of this family.
It really makes me ill the way she tries to portray herself as a religious (Morman), etc. I don't think she has any clue what that faith entails...maybe to her it's kind of like the "Easter Bunny".
The interrogation tapes with Flores where she touts her belief in the 10 Commandments is SCARY.

 

[Cate49]

O, I am so technologically challenged I don't know how to link things!
If you Google the name Brian Blackwell, you will be able to read about it. The outcome was that his murder charge was reduced to manslaughter because of his narcissistic rage. Interesting or scary?
He still got life, but will probably be released one day.

Great post and case reference Geko! "Narcissistic rage can occur when the narcissist is perceivable being prevented from accompanying their grandiose fantasies". It is so.....Jodi.

 

[Mrs G Norris]

Narcissistic rage is a common feature of narcissism, and I remember a case in the UK where a young man went into a rage and killed his parents, he had concocted a whole other life for himself (a la FCA) and it was coming to an end, so he killed them. My recollection is that his 'narcissistic rage' defence was used in his favour, and his sentence was reduced considerably. I will see if I can dig it up.

You know what .. I was thinking about that last night and it's a repeat pattern of events... there are numerous murders where the son (usually) has been faking college for years, or is about to flunk out in a major way and kills his entire family just on 'graduation' or some other event where he'll be exposed as a fraud.

Did you mean this one? White House Farm murders - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia there are many others, one I recall where the son had convinced people he was a tennis pro, one from the early 70's where he couldn't take another term of Military School, and had effectively been kicked out, but didn't have the balls to tell his dad, another recent one was Bart Whitaker http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=7461122&page=1

So if exposure is the trigger, then Travis threatened to do just that to Jodi. 'Life in general' wasn't about to expose Jodi for what she was, Travis was.

 

[Frigga]

I have yet to see her get angry. She seems extremely capable of controlling herself except when she cries. But her calm, cool, collected demeanor makes me plenty mad! LOL To me, she comes across as almost hollow, devoid of normal human emotions. Sometimes I get the impression she is holding court, very much the Queen on the stand. I think she could talk for hours about herself and Travis. But I get bored out of my mind! I especially get angry when she and the Prosecutor go at it over minutia, arguing about one word or another! Get to the point already!

I get bored out of my mind listening to her and her attorney drone on and on about fantasy and then go back and discuss nonexistent happenings all over again- 7 ways to Sunday! Funny how we can all see things so differently- I would much rather listen to she and the prosecutor go at it over one word or another when he is actually looking for factual information as opposed to fantastical stuff! JMOO.

 

[ShadyLadySleuth]

You know what .. I was thinking about that last night and it's a repeat pattern of events... there are numerous murders where the son (usually) has been faking college for years, or is about to flunk out in a major way and kills his entire family just on 'graduation' or some other event where he'll be exposed as a fraud.

Did you mean this one? White House Farm murders - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia there are many others, one I recall where the son had convinced people he was a tennis pro, one from the early 70's where he couldn't take another term of Military School, and had effectively been kicked out, but didn't have the balls to tell his dad, another recent one was Bart Whitaker http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=7461122&page=1

So if exposure is the trigger, then Travis threatened to do just that to Jodi. 'Life in general' wasn't about to expose Jodi for what she was, Travis was.

That made me remember "The Preacher's Wife" Mary Winkler. Unknown to her husband, Mary had been kiting checks and had to tell her husband they had to go to their bank for a meeting. He would find out about her check kiting at that meeting. Mary shot him in the back in their bed the day before the meeting was to happen. That was her trigger, her fear of her husband finding out what she had been up to financially. She just couldn't face him. So she killed him. She got off with a very light sentence.

I've seen many of those stories of sons killing parents because they were about to find out what a fraud their son really was.

Somehow, I don't see Jodi afraid to face people because of what she and Travis had done sex wise. And since she then lived back in California, the people she knew in Arizona wouldn't ever see her. So what would she be afraid of from them? Besides, she thinks she's pretty hot stuff.

 

[Gecko100]

You know what .. I was thinking about that last night and it's a repeat pattern of events... there are numerous murders where the son (usually) has been faking college for years, or is about to flunk out in a major way and kills his entire family just on 'graduation' or some other event where he'll be exposed as a fraud.

Did you mean this one? White House Farm murders - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia there are many others, one I recall where the son had convinced people he was a tennis pro, one from the early 70's where he couldn't take another term of Military School, and had effectively been kicked out, but didn't have the balls to tell his dad, another recent one was Bart Whitaker http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=7461122&page=1

So if exposure is the trigger, then Travis threatened to do just that to Jodi. 'Life in general' wasn't about to expose Jodi for what she was, Travis was.

Hi Mrs Norris, yes it's the tennis pro one. I agree, it seems that the NPD's lose their cool when exposure is threatened. (FCA)

I know that something happened (before the 'sociopath' text from Travis), and it tipped her over the edge. Maybe it was she who was interested in exploring the child *advertiser censored*, and he didn't agree with it IDK. I'm still trying to figure out the meaning of the duct tape...:banghead:

 

[Cate49]

Gecko, thanks for the Brian Blackwell reference the similarities to he and Jodi are so interesting. Actually found site called "killer's without conscience". She had children's names picked out, religion and the attention and lifestyle of a charismatic man. This may be the perfect storm another poster commented on. This type of life foreshadowing may be why she never resorted to murder before.