Closing arguments- thread #173

[Hope4More]

JM's subtle points were some of his most powerful. For example, on multiple occasions he was essentially encoraging the jury to see JA as an animal. Exs... she ditched Daryll and sought out a
Mormon because she "wanted to breed;" the bloody footprints where she slit TA's throat, he said, looked like a "pack of wildebeasts had stampeded" through,

Deliberate, especially coupled with his refusal to use her name almost ever, in stark contrast to his mams and sirs for everyone else. JA is that person in a blue shirt, that woman sitting over there, that person who says, etc.

Deliberate, and powerful.

.

 

[raisincharlie]

Hi RC!

Boy that would be icing on the cake for sure. Unfortunately the only one who knows what that txt message was referring to is the lying murderess and she won't be telling us. That will remain one of the unanswered mysteries in this case. :-(

Sadly I agree, we will never know what her evilness did to upset him so. It has to be something really underhanded because no one seems to want to come forward with any information about it.

 

[Hopeful One]

Im not sure why people wont watch??? Ok, yes, Nurmi is annoying as hell and creepier than most people's crazy uncle. However, his closing arguments are a major part of this case. Don't people want to know how the DT will spin this after JM's closing arguments? Don't people want to know what is said that will cause JM to respond in this or that way with his follow-up? If for some [God forbid] twist and the jury goes with a lesser charge, don't you want to hear what the DT said that maybe swayed them?

I find this a very important piece of this saga.....I wouldn't miss it no matter how much I cant stand the DT.

I think we owe it to Travis and his family to watch.

Do they want to sit and listen to that? Highly doubtful. But it's part of the justice system. If they have to be there, I'll be right there with them.

 

[aa9511]

My fantasy of Nurmi's closing arguments...

"This defendant killed Mr. Alexander in self defense...

Please don't give her the DP....

Kthnxbai...."

:hills:

Or "okay okay YES she lied to you. Okay, she lied. There I said it. She lied to your faces. Please please please spare her...look at her...take a look...she's like a little fragile child....I think her emotional level is that of a 5 year old boy...so you see she doesn't really know what she's doing. Just take my word on that one. Stop listening to her...just listen to me, I'm telling you the truth. And the truth is, well, Jodi's pyscho. But I could get the court to declare her insane. So please just work with me here, come on folks...please?"

 

[Nosey Parker]

As it turned out, ALV was an advocate, not an evaluator, which is probably why she didn't turn in a report. JA was her 'client' and the AZ taxpayers paid a bloody fortune for this man-hating 'expert' to denigrate the true 'victim of abuse' and 'edify' her throat-slashing client with her lies. Nothing less than scandalous!

Juan made it clear to the jury that they can disregard any or all testimony if they feel that witness is lying. JA would not have had a defense without ALV and Dr. Samuels, who moulded her battered woman/PTSD testabaloney.

Juan went as far as he could go by repeatedly calling ALV a liar; her testimony should have been thrown out, IMO.

The DT played a game of 'liar's poker' - the jury gets it!



.

or as Juan termed her, 'an apologist.'

 

[Pink Panther]

AAARRRGGGG! I've been searching all morning for the clip of when JA messed up and actually said that she had hurt her finger while murdering TA. I remember being speechless and then she rambled on to cover it up. I can't find that clip. I think JM was questioning her (maybe about a jury question?) because I remember watching Nurmi's reaction in the background. Does anyone remember when this was or have a link to the clip???

 

[raisincharlie]

I agree and wonder if we will ever know.

I tend to think Gus Searcy may have a better idea than most anyone other than Ms. Arias, but he isn't going to speak until someone decides to pay him for it. :moo:

 

[KMouse]

Good morning, all! Just wondering if anybody here has found a way to receive notification for when the verdict comes in? I'd like to receive a text, if possible. I signed up for alerts from one of the local news agencies, and although I received lots of news texts, there wasn't a single one about this trial. I don't want to risk not being notified!. Any suggestions? lease:

I'm hoping we'll have them listed in the verdict watch thread in the first post.

 

[MidwestMama]

Add to your list the license plate/skateboarders...she was shaking her head and smirking then.

I tend to focus on the speaker so I miss a lot of her antics. It's only when the camera is solely on her that I pick up on things.

BBM.
Me too! During this trial I have found myself cursing my mother for teaching me to look into people's eyes when they are speaking! :floorlaugh: I miss all the nuances in the background and only catch them on second review or when someone else points them out!

 

[kaydono]

I do wish during the trial JM would have pushed JA on HOW she knew TA was dead. She said she knew something terrible had happened, and that she had been with TA but HOW did she know he was dead? Did she remember checking his pulse? If she can't answer than JM could have made not calling 911 even bigger if there was a chance after all he could have been helped. She either knew he was dead or she let him die

I know this post was earlier, but it reminded me of this part in the trial.

MARTINEZ: Ma`am, what is hard to explain about a person breathing and not breathing? What is so difficult -- why is that such a difficult concept for you?

ARIAS: Because I never killed anyone before.

MARTINEZ: OK. So, because you never killed anyone before, then you`re having a problem deciding whether or not the person is dead. If you hadn't killed anybody before and you didn't know if he was dead, then why did you just leave him to die?

 

[AZWatcher]

I got the feeling she was "impacted" all right - impacted by the fact that she knew in a short time her friend Jodi would be sitting on Death Row. I saw one point where I THOUGHT I saw a glimpse of tears in her eyes, but I truly truly think those were tears for Jodi. I'm not trying to bash Wilmott, in fact if it was me yes I would want her as my defense attorney I think she did a great job and I think she takes great pride in her work..She didn't give up ever. But I did see on some HLN show they had a defense attorney on had worked on death penalty cases, and she said yes, you do get attached to your client b/c you are working closely with them for months or even years and you are working to save their life. I really think she has an attachment with Jodi, much more than Nurmi does.

I agree with most of what you said here...But I think it's more than probable part of Jenny's job is to APPEAR to be sympathetic to and to believe in her client. I mean that's what they want from the jury so she has to put on that facade. JMO

 

[ricky_ticky]

I'm sad that half of you aren't going to watch Nurmi's closing. I was a crying wreck yesterday. I was shaking, shivering and crying. This trial has me totally spent. I can't wait for the end. All those people who accuse us members of using this trial for entertainment? This trial drains me. Following this case has been a trauma in and of itself. This is anything but entertainment.

The fact that Travis' family and friends will be there is good enough for me. I'll be watching.

 

[HarvestMoon]

Regarding those saying that Wilmott was "disgusted" with Jodi, was pulling away as she was listening to Juan's retelling of the story, etc.

Are you saying that she doesn't know this case - and what in fact happened - forwards and back like Juan does?

That is SCARY to me!!! I mean I know they have to do their job, but to disconnect from the facts seems wrong. If she was just remembering what in fact Jodi had done, while listening to it play out in "real time" from Juan, then that doesn't seem like the right way to defend someone! Do your job, but NEVER forget what they are there for!

I wish I knew the post so I could reference it for you. But a poster here stated it well.

She felt that along with it being, the first time, that Jennifer had, to just sit there and listen, she Jenny had been so caught up in the sex, and other details (the poster explained it well) that she never saw the killing or thought of how it really was.

 

[websurfer]

About what a battered woman SLASHER was...:stormingmad:

I say:
there was NO battering
No sexual deviancy
she is a walking LIE :jail:
and should stay forever in her new home:jail:

 

[rose222]

There is only one thing in my mind that could make JM's closing better and that relates to the 26 May text message Travis sent to Jodi calling her evil and a sociopath. The one thing unanswered for me relates to this text - what set Travis off, what made him so angry to finally come out and tell Ms. Arias off ? I have my own theory about that and that is she threatened him, threatened to take her little recording and pass it around to not only Travis' friends and family but also to Travis' bishop or anyone of authority within the church. I just have a feeling that if we had the answer to what made Travis so angry - there would be zero doubt as to premeditation and that she enjoyed stabbing him, enjoyed slitting his throat and absolutely relished shooting him in the head. There would be zero doubt she absolutely meant to destroy him both physically and spiritually and to lay waste to his reputation forever.

If JM had this answer - the jury would beat her 62 seconds of destruction before even entering the deliberation room.

It must have been worse than the snooping, stalking etc. Maybe she blackmailed him with the sex tape. Maybe she faked a pregnancy/abortion. Something along those lines. As JM would say 'take your pick'.... All lies anyway.

 

[Davia18]

I reached a conclusion last night, that JA is going to be just fine even if she gets death row. I have decided she is just that evil and twisted that she is satisfied with the entire world knowing who she is and fullfilling her ultimate goal that Travis will never marry someone else. She is the worst kind of evil I have ever seen, the only thing that I feel would really get to her, is to see Travis walk into the court room and knowing he was happy and married JMO

 

[MidwestMama]

Wow! Thanks! Any chance we can have a thread where people can add to the list of reactions they caught?

I remember her chuckling to Juan saying "who does that?" about her watching Travis before he knew she was there. Not sure why you'd chuckle over that but then again, she ain't one of us.

ETA: Did she stop doodling or whatever she was doing when Martinez started talking about the truest words spoken in this case - that she's the worst thing that even happened to Travis - I'm kinda remembering curiosity got the best of her and she looked at the screen trying to see the words he was talking about before he said them out loud. Anyone remember that?

I don't but it could have happened. I tend to focus on the speaker and miss a lot of the reactions of others. These are just some I wrote down during my second review, I'm sure there are lots more I missed.

 

[momof7]

I tend to think Gus Searcy may have a better idea than most anyone other than Ms. Arias, but he isn't going to speak until someone decides to pay him for it. :moo:

Maybe. But I don't think I would believe much he has to say. He just seems to throw stuff out there to add to the drama and make himself seem more 'involved' than he really was. That 15 minutes of fame.

K

 

[SusieD]

I loved it when Juan called her an 'ornate liar.' That she has to embellish each lie with many small details and she just goes too far.

It's an easy way to spot when someone is lying.

People remembering events in the past cannot recall insignificant, small details, they just remember the big important stuff -

but a liar will add many little details in hopes it will make them more credible.

One of those ornate lies sunk her with at least one juror

She claimed that on pedophile day she was helping Travis put away Christmas decorations "in the attic," he gave her the angel, she forgot it, the rest, as we know is positively legendary.

One of the jurors asked Flores if there was ever any evidence of anything or anyone being in the attic. He said no.

That question was weeks after Jodi's story, so someone remembers.

And that lie about the attic invalidated the whole damn story.

 

[lisasalinger]

Good morning all,

Here's a little moment of levity for you...

I had a dream last night that I was arrested for some sort of traffic violation and Juan was my attorney. While we were in court (which was outdoors and in the middle of nowhere), he walked away for a few minutes and I read his notebook... he made a note that I only talked about myself and didn't ask anything about him at all.

lol, who knew Juan was so sensitive