premeditation

[cosmos]

Where was the strap that presumably came with the camera? Was it found in the original box still unused? Had it been on the camera at one time and removed?

The reason why I ask is that I never walk around with a camera that doesn't have a strap around my neck or wrist because I'm afraid of accidentally dropping. If I failed to put the strap on, let another person use it that way, and they dropped it, I would tend to blame myself for not putting the strap on.

This is yet another reason for Jodi's story not to be believed.

So where was the strap? I'm not saying it makes a big difference, but I'm curious.

 

[cosmos]

... could the pictures (or some of the pictures) on the memory stick have been taken with another camera and then inserted into TA's camera?

The metadata generally records the camera brand, model, and serial number with each picture.

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

Where was the strap that presumably came with the camera? Was it found in the original box still unused? Had it been on the camera at one time and removed?

The reason why I ask is that I never walk around with a camera that doesn't have a strap around my neck or wrist because I'm afraid of accidentally dropping. If I failed to put the strap on, let another person use it that way, and they dropped it, I would tend to blame myself for not putting the strap on.

This is yet another reason for Jodi's story not to be believed.

So where was the strap? I'm not saying it makes a big difference, but I'm curious.

The strap was found in the house unwrapped.

 

[deedee21]

She took the gun and knife but left the camera behind. But not before taking her own crime scene photos. She has got to be kicking herself over that.

 

[suzyq211]

She took the gun and knife but left the camera behind. But not before taking her own crime scene photos. She has got to be kicking herself over that.

IMO thats the reason she was crying on the stand, that and the bloody palm print.

 

[Midnight Meddler]

This is an excellent post. It deals not just with the gun, but all the steps Jodi took to hide the fact she was headed somewhere she didn't want others to know.

I can add another tatic. It's possible there is evidence that she even changed her hair color. Going from her well-recognized blonde to a brown is evidence she was trying to disguise herself.

As for the extra gasoline stored in her trunk. Please. I live in AZ and on trips we make to Pasadena, never once have we set in a supply of gasoline. There are call phones alongside the steep roads and flat deserts from here to there. And, having driven it day and night, there is enough traffic in case you break down or run out of fuel. Sure, it's risky to have someone stop and not know who they are and if they can be trusted. But that is all part of traveling by car in this country.

Common sense causes us to ask "Is this stockpiling of gas a usual travel method for her?"

For safety sake it is better to tell friends or family of your travel plans, routes and destinations in case they do need to search for you should something happen. She ignored this ritual. But yet tells of her concern of being stuck without gas.

I'm sure the jury panel will use their common sense to see that she was up to something with all the precautions she took to keep her trip a secret.

jmO

BBM - and azwriter was replying to another post that was 'excellent'. I don't know how to add them both? :doorhide:

GREAT explanation - perfect! :applause:

 

[justinia]

I have been wondering if she had told anyone about her trip to see Travis, but in reading above posts I see she did not. But here is a question? At what point did she tell Travis of her visit? How much contact was there between them the previous days? Have we the content of any text messages?
At first I believed that she was giving Travis a final choice . . . to have her be the "one" but now I believe that she intended to murder him no matter what happened that day.

 

[jbaxter68]

What about her strategically placing KY in each photo? What do you think KY stands for K..l. You? or K.l...ng You? Just a thought.:what:

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

I have been wondering if she had told anyone about her trip to see Travis, but in reading above posts I see she did not.

Her friend Paul Stern from Monterey said on HLN that she visited him during the trip on 6/2 and told him she was going to Mesa. He has not testified though.

But here is a question? At what point did she tell Travis of her visit? How much contact was there between them the previous days? Have we the content of any text messages?

I haven't seen any texts from those final days. She was in daily contact with him though, she had multiple phone calls with him during the trip. She says she first told him when leaving Pasadena. I doubt we will ever know when. One thing I think we can know for sure is she is lying when she says that he convinced her to go there.

At first I believed that she was giving Travis a final choice . . . to have her be the "one" but now I believe that she intended to murder him no matter what happened that day.

Hm, I still think she went there to give him a final chance or test, and she decided he did not pass. If he had said, "come with me to Cancun" he would have survived, for that day at least.

 

[Sherazhad]

I may be wrong about this, but didn't Jodi give a cheque to Travis that last day? Perhaps the promise by her to return money she owed him is the reason why he initially agreed to see her. What I don't understand is she basically said she had very little money, that she was trying to save which is why she didn't get a gps car & used gas cans. If Travis & her were friendly enough to keep sleeping together, couldn't she have asked for a few extra months until she got herself back up on her feet before paying him back?
Was the cheque used as a lure to get Travis to agree to see her & she knew that he wouldn't get the opportunity to cash it?
Also seems strange for someone with very little money travel so much, cheaper to stay home

 

[Sherazhad]

I also believe she used meeting Ryan as part of a her premeditated plan to explain why she needed a hire car & her absence from home

 

[Cricket99]

Don't forget she died her hair and one lic. plate was not on her car, the other was upside down. The list is endless.

Ah, yes, picking up the gas cans prior to the murder is key. You just "got me there". Looking at the totality of the circumstances and facts, we've got the gas cans, lack of cell phone service during the operative window of time, a magically appearing gun, prior reports of jealousy, an upcoming trip with another woman, failure to tell friends/loved ones where she was heading, white rental car with no GPS (she previously reported she relied heavily on GPS, and would've therefore requested that in the rental), all which tend to demonstrate elements of a preconceived plan and intent to murder.

Once we get there, mentally, those facts breathe new meaning and purpose into her actions/cover up, after the fact. Scienter is key here. The only thing the jury has to bring themselves to swallow is the fact that she was able to relish her victim for 12 hours prior to doing what she went there to do. The overkill of the vic works well with this black widow theory.

Thanks so much. You've helped me "get there" with regard to premditation, and mentally exclude some potential arguments for the defense. The actions after the crime now appear more part and parcel of the overal design and scheme, rather than simply fear of being caught after a horrible unintended incident. You guys are pretty smart. Thanks again!

 

[azwriter]

question guys....

Jodi said she parked the rented car at the house in the middle space like she usually does....well...than wouldn't the roomate that came home that day see it if it was in the driveway? He would have told the detective he saw her that day, and she would have been busted immediately.

Or, seems like he would have seen it leaving for work that morning or when he left; if it was in the garage....

Where was her car parked when she went to see Travis on June 4? That goes to premeditation if nobody saw it at the house?

One thing to remember is that because it was a rented car, no one would know Jodi had driven it there. No one would recognize it as her car.

I do know that often rental places register the cars in states with cheaper license tag costs. Here in AZ, most of the cars we lease from rental services have Florida licenses on them even though we're renting them in AZ. Don't know about CA car rentals though.

Besides, if Jodi said she parked in the driveway, she probably lied about that too. I think we can count on Jodi lying about everything in order to protect herself.

 

[KarmicLaw]

I'm sure it's been covered here early on, but it wasn't something I read or connected until someone posted on Twitter today. The individual said " IF JA wasn't planning on seeing TA, why did she bring the CD's with their trip pictures? ". Hmmmmmm, just another aspect I hadn't thought about considering all of the other overwhelming bits of evidence that scream Pre-meditation. I am convinced that the people who truly don't believe the Pre-med, just don't know enough of the facts. But then again, that is what worries me. We always know more about the case than the jurors, so I need to narrow my focus to that which they are hearing and seeing. ugh...that is so hard to do!

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

She said she carried them around in her brief case for months. I think she was lying though about the whole thing, of course. She blamed a virus for why they couldn't see them (to explain why they weren't found on his computer).

 

[wasnt_me]

Common sense causes us to ask "Is this stockpiling of gas a usual travel method for her?"

jmO

I think that other evidence proves it isn't. If it was, she'd have her OWN gas cans, and she wouldn't have to borrow. She wouldn't have needed to buy one from Walmart and "return it" because it wouldn't be money-saving in the long run. Instead, she'd keep the gas can because she knew for a fact that it would be money-saving for her NEXT road trip.

 

[geevee]

I may be wrong about this, but didn't Jodi give a cheque to Travis that last day? Perhaps the promise by her to return money she owed him is the reason why he initially agreed to see her. What I don't understand is she basically said she had very little money, that she was trying to save which is why she didn't get a gps car & used gas cans. If Travis & her were friendly enough to keep sleeping together, couldn't she have asked for a few extra months until she got herself back up on her feet before paying him back?
Was the cheque used as a lure to get Travis to agree to see her & she knew that he wouldn't get the opportunity to cash it?
Also seems strange for someone with very little money travel so much, cheaper to stay home

Did she put enough money in the bank account to cover her trip expenses plus the check written to Travis on 5-25? One account was overdrawn when she was depositing in Monterrey, wasn't it? Maybe she never intended for that check to be cashed, premeditation #?

 

[wasnt_me]

I really do not know why she was depositing this money. Maybe she was because she was looking to prove her trail with her debit card. But I might not have been listening closely, but I don't understand the reason for the deposits.

 

[Katie-L]

I have to be the odd one out here...

I'm not convinced that the state did prove premeditation - except if, and only if, the gun used on TA was the same one taken from JA's grandparent's home.

Otherwise, they did prove that the trip was well planned. They did show convincing evidence that Jodi intended to visit Travis during the road trip.

I see a few very major gaps though in the premeditation theory:
1) The murder itself was very chaotic and violent, with way too much evidence left behind. Nothing planned about it.
2) If she came with a gun for the purpose of killing him, why the love-making, the shower pics, the posing, the usual (the same behaviour they always engaged in)? First?
3) If she came with a gun - why use a knife? There were defensive wounds, so he was fighting back. If the "shot at the end" scenario was true - why bother with the rest?

So far, for me, neither scenario (defense or prosecution) truly reflects the crime scene - and premeditation doesn't strike me as terribly plausible.

 

[wasnt_me]

Katie-L,

Hi. How is there a gun and a knife both in the bathroom and put to use on Travis within 62 seconds? Is that not any premeditation to have both weapons available within 62 seconds to inflict damage on him in the bathroom?

You can't get into a killer's head to find out why they chose their weapons and methods. But why are a gun and a knife both in the bathroom ready for use within 62 seconds?