Retrial for Sentencing of Jodi Arias #4

[Truth Detector]

Gus Searcy is from southern California. Not sure where he was located when he was driving around with the mystery person and talking on the phone with Chris Hughes. I don't think it was Sacramento, but I could be wrong.

Yorba Linda, California

Offices out of his home.

His address is in the public record.

 

[Truth Detector]

Well, Travis's character isn't really relevant in the mitigation phase (because it isn't supposed to be worse to kill good people than bad people, although we all know it is...). But to the extent that by some tortured reasoning his character is maligned by Arias to support one of her mitigating factors (e.g. to provide context for her abuse story), JM will be able to respond with evidence of his own in rebuttal.

I can't remember exactly how JA fit the pedophilia allegation into her story, but I do seem to recall it was somehow of great importance to her explanation of why things ultimately went down the way they did.

Her version on its relevance: He was angry that she had found him out which led to one of a number of physical abuse incidents. Moreover, she had to agree to endure repeated and unwelcome sexual abuse in order to divert his more perverted appetites away from their intended target; i.e., children.

We mockingly refer to this as the 'St. Jodi of Arias Defense'.

 

[Truth Detector]

Who is Victoria Washington?

Victoria Washington and Lawrence Kirk Nurmi were her original court-appointed attorneys.

JSKS allowed VW to withdraw from the case as she requested in December of 2011.

 

[T-4-2]

If she doesn't accept the fact that she murdered Travis and asks God for His forgiveness, she will never face God, IMO. The ultimate sin is not being truly sorry for what you have done.
She needs to realize what she has done- if she does not, she will never see God's face and that will be her Hell. The real Hell is never seeing God face-to-face. Those who don't realize their sin of murder and who do not truly regret what he/she has/have done, will never see His face and that is the real Hell that they will go to. It's very simple to me- remorse- genuine remorse, but I don't think she can attain that. She doesn't know how to humble herself to show any remorse. That's what makes her evil.

All :moo: of course.

I don't believe in a religion but I certainly believe in religion. Although I don't understand religious belief, I do my best to respect and honor the beliefs of others. Having grown up in a predominantly Judeo-Christian culture, having had the good fortune of being exposed to a great deal of art, literature, and music, and having had the benefit of a very broad education, even I have managed to acquire enough familiarity with Christianity to know that Jodi Arias is by no means Christian. In the "We can't subpoena God" clip from the trial, she's smug, flippant, and downright snotty. Reverent? Sincere? Not in the least. She throws in the occasional reference to God, Christianity, Mormon practices in exactly the same way she throws in the occasional "SAT vocabulary word." She's just trying to make other people think she's something that she really, really is not. I was shocked, even though I'm not religious, to hear her tell Detective Flores that the extent of her Christianity was following the Ten Commandments. (I guess none of the LDS teaching had quite sunk in, but never mind.) Of course this was one of her more absurd lies, since she had just committed murder. The reason she brings it up, though, is to excuse her sex life. "It says 'thou shalt not commit adultery,' but it doesn't say 'thou shalt not fornicate.'" Clearly she has no idea what the biblical definition of "adultery" is, and yet again she's being flippant about the religion she claims to practice. Looking for potential scriptural loopholes to exploit seems to miss the whole point of having any scriptures at all. She also said to Det. Flores (not that I've watched the interrogation videos a dozen times or anything...) that she and Travis prayed for God to end their sexual relationship (who knows if that's even true), but that their prayer "didn't work." I'm pretty sure prayer is not intended to "work" the way she apparently thinks it is.

Part of what makes Jodi so fascinating is her complete and utter disregard for the truth, and that she has no problem sticking with flagrant lies that are obviously flagrant lies. She simply does not care. It's useful to her to appear Christian, so boom she's Christian -- even though everything she does makes it abundantly clear that she is not Christian.

 

[T-4-2]

IIRC ~ Bobby didn't even have a job. His family was poor and him and JA were living in squalor at his grandparents home. Sometime after the library snoop, you know how you DON'T NEED A PASSWORD, you just go back to the same computer and keep hitting the back button :crazy: After she confronted him about another girl, he dumped her. So she stalked him by buying groceries for them and putting them on their front porch. I'm sure there was other things she did too, but that's all I can remember about him.

Bobby didn't have anything. Where as Travis had it all. Good looks, MONEY, a good job, FRIENDS, class, owned his own home, ect... She wasn't about to let anyone else EVER be Mrs. Travis Alexander except her. Sadly, she made sure of it.

It was in the course of stalking Bobby that she met Matt (Bobby's housemate), whom she then started a relationship because why not. Of course Jodi's idea of a relationship is pretty vague, which may have had a little something to do with the fact that she's always confronting the men in her life about the women in their lives. It's almost like these guys didn't know they were in a relationship with Jodi. And yes, the guys pre-Travis all survived because she either allowed the relationship to end or she ended it herself. At least in her own mind. Such as it is. Travis died because the decision to completely obliterate their relationship was his and his alone.

 

[daisydomino]

What is this nonsense in the mitigating factors - that Jodi was ONLY 27 when she committed her first crime ! What?! That doesn't even make sense. So she should be spared because she was so young? Am I reading it wrong? And, really, how many people commit murder as a first crime? I'm sure Jodi has a history of criminal acts, but just never got caught. She was a bad seed from the getgo.

Zervakos et al were eager to buy it.[/QUOTE]

This cracks me up, the age mitigator. I bet 27 looks young when you're 118 like Zervakos. JA had already bought a home with Darryl Brewer and defaulted on the mortgage.

 

[TartLemon]

Jodi had all these get rich quick schemes and they ALL centered around the men who did all the work while she reaped the rewards.

Flipping real estate with Darryl..... Prepaid Legal with Travis..... Even the lie about buying the gun to go with the guys in the wilderness to pan for gold.

 

[fifteen89]

It was in the course of stalking Bobby that she met Matt (Bobby's housemate), whom she then started a relationship because why not. Of course Jodi's idea of a relationship is pretty vague, which may have had a little something to do with the fact that she's always confronting the men in her life about the women in their lives. It's almost like these guys didn't know they were in a relationship with Jodi. And yes, the guys pre-Travis all survived because she either allowed the relationship to end or she ended it herself. At least in her own mind. Such as it is. Travis died because the decision to completely obliterate their relationship was his and his alone.

Plus she had never dated anyone so far out of her league as Travis before. She wasn't willing to give him/his status up. Somehow even Ms. Delusional was able to see what an amazing person Travis was and she wouldn't let go.

 

[Becky Sharp]

Jodi had all these get rich quick schemes and they ALL centered around the men who did all the work while she reaped the rewards.

Flipping real estate with Darryl..... Prepaid Legal with Travis..... Even the lie about buying the gun to go with the guys in the wilderness to pan for gold.

You're so right. CMJA (or She-who-must-be-obeyed) is certainly ambitious. I've often wondered why she never channeled her ambition (and Einstein level IQ :laughing into getting an education and actually doing something with her life rather than being a parasite on others. She must use so much mental energy and smarts in all her scheming, yet it seems she never considered using that same energy in a productive way.

 

[Becky Sharp]

Then there was this shining moment of piety:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr88jzA2tvI

(And why is it I want to slap her every time she says heinous?)

eta:
I guess she's not so clear on Pearly Gate protocol or potential furniture.

Well of course the Good Lord would treat her like a lady and offer her a chair! I mean it's so obvious she's superior to mere mortals. Maybe even superior to the Almighty. :gaah:

 

[Tuba]

As the trial wound down last year, the killer opened her mouth too wide once again. She told the courtroom that her attorney said she had no mitigators. His reference would be to the rather short list of mitigators under the law. But her statement is part of the record and she, at least, is talking broadly, generally, in an all encompassing negation of mitigating factors. Then she reaches for it, "I guess my parents didn't beat me hard enough!" What bathos. The law wisely recognizes that the usual sob stories are of negligible relevance & worth. But that's what the jurors will be treated to, & she has drawn attention to how they can be characterized. The prosecution can quote her summary statement as the real view of her defense team on whether anything about her mitigates the hideous murder she committed. Or shall we call it heinous. She did.

 

[rose222]

A 2013 article but worth posting here again for those who may have missed it.

http://lindapariscrimeblog.com/?p=664

" the truth could ever be wrangled from Arias. She would admit that the trial and the last five months were the happiest…the BEST time of her life! Able to tell the world her story her way and relive the time with Travis Alexander and how important she was in his life. Even if the only significant thing she managed in his life, was murdering him."

 

[bznbear]

Opening her hyperactive mouth.______Back in June, 2008 the killer phoned the cops to advise them to look into Thomas Brown, one of the roommates she found suspicious. She said, "You really need to look at him." Now we ask you Miss I Am Innocent, why would you point at someone still grappling with this monstrous crime, if you had blamelessly committed it in self-defense? Horrible gestures like this are one of the reasons Sleuths put nothing past you. The day after the murder, she confided to Leslie Udy that she hoped to watch her children & Travis' children play together. His body had not yet been discovered. Why would you entertain such a fantasy when you claim you did your utmost to keep this "pedophile" away from children, including his friends' children?

Tuba, I hope you will be able to give some insight into this new jury soon.

 

[bznbear]

I wonder if JA is going to testify herself as a witness OR just do the allocution which would prevent Juan from asking her any questions.

I suppose it will depend on how many witnesses JA has managed to connive into testifying for her. If it goes well for her in her mind, she may choose to avoid letting Juan have a go at her.

Im kind of 50/50 on this because we all saw how she seemed to enjoy her time on the stand. So perhaps she has big plans this time around and maybe she is itching for her chance to get on the stand. Perhaps her + Nurmi have a whole list of topics and questions he is going to ask her.

If so, I sure hope that if Juan properly objects, then I hope the judge will properly disallow any questions that are not appropriate for this phase of the trial.

I have a feeling that we are in for a huge volume of objections.

Remember, any witnesses of hers are subject to cross by JM. So, they better bring their A-game, and the truth!

 

[T-4-2]

Jodi had all these get rich quick schemes and they ALL centered around the men who did all the work while she reaped the rewards.

Flipping real estate with Darryl..... Prepaid Legal with Travis..... Even the lie about buying the gun to go with the guys in the wilderness to pan for gold.

Always on the lookout for a new set of coattails. Any chance the "panning for gold with men I don't know" story is true? Or just something she came up with to convince all the idiots in the world that she had a good reason to buy a gun? If these men exist, and if they were seriously considering going off into the wilderness with Jodi, I don't think she's the one who'd need protection. She has some pretty specific nymph/satire fantasies. Or Little Red Riding Hood/Big Bad Wolf. Whatever. Plus she is a murderer.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...agioni_(epoca_romana)_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto.jpg

eta: Oops... you say the camping story is a lie. Maybe I should read the posts I respond to.

 

[T-4-2]

------
Hi Kensie, I know Jen and Beth will be there. They will be able to tweet. I hope JM. mops the floor up with her this time.

I can't even imagine him mopping any harder than he did the first time around. If he goes into a higher gear, I think everyone in court will wet their pants. Everyone in Arizona. Everyone in the twitterverse and blogosphere.

(This is my 232nd post. How is it possible that I'm still trying to edit in the preview window?)

 

[Reagan]

T-4-2,
Thank you so much. I was wondering how Bobby got away. It wasn't just because he had nothing. Her disorder and fear of abandonment wouldn't have allowed him to simply walk away. But that's right... She was fixated on another target (MM). She always has to have another victim lined up before she can move on from her previous relationship. Even then, she still has a need to keep these men in her life.

She was dead set (please excuse the phrasing) on murdering Travis, but she still had Ryan Burns next in line. Not only for an alibi, but because she's incapable of being alone. Fortunately for society, she will now be alone for the rest of her life, minus the whackjob murder groupies.

 

[T-4-2]

T-4-2,
Thank you so much. I was wondering how Bobby got away. It wasn't just because he had nothing. Her disorder and fear of abandonment wouldn't have allowed him to simply walk away. But that's right... She was fixated on another target (MM). She always has to have another victim lined up before she can move on from her previous relationship. Even then, she still has a need to keep these men in her life.

She was dead set (please excuse the phrasing) on murdering Travis, but she still had Ryan Burns next in line. Not only for an alibi, but because she's incapable of being alone. Fortunately for society, she will now be alone for the rest of her life, minus the whackjob murder groupies.

How does it feel to be a liar with pants always on fire?

Maybe the reason she kept taking her pants off was that they kept bursting into flames.

I sometimes feel like a bit of a hypocrite -- in my more charitable moments -- for making an issue out of Jodi's sex life. But she made an issue of it herself. Sex and nudity are not the problem, it's the way she uses them, and talks about them, all the time, in a deliberate attempt to shock, disgust, offend, hurt, embarrass a third of the world's population, arouse another third, and evoke pity/sympathy/protectiveness in the remaining third. In the case of certain jury foremen, she achieved all of the above.

How can Jodi be such an over the top narcissist and have no real identity of her own? If she's all that and a bag of chips, why does she need a "host male" to feed off of? Even when she was actually in a relationship with Travis, I think she was always aware of potential alternatives. PPL guys. LDS guys. Even Travis' friends. (Sort of like Carrie Fisher's character in "When Harry Met Sally," who carries around a little file box of 3x5 cards on which she makes notes on the current relationship status of every even minimally eligible man an in her extended social circle... neighbor's friend's cousin's ex-dog walker, etc.) I think Jodi was always keeping tabs on all the men she knew. Is always keeping tabs. She's still doing it to whatever extent she can.

If she's left with only whackjob murder groupies, she'll just make the necessary adjustments in her goals. Murder groupies are a pretty fickle bunch I'd imagine. As more and more of them abandon Jodi, she will again make the necessary adjustments and look for validation from prison staff and her fellow inmates. IMHO. I think she'll always find a way to make the best of her situation and this really irritates me. Certainly I support the humane treatment of prisoners... but in Jodi's case I'd like her to be treated humanely but still be utterly miserable. "Just" murdering Travis would have been bad enough, but combined with her behavior both before and after, and her obvious efforts to cause as much collateral damage to as many people as possible, just makes me want her to be miserable. (Of course, she didn't treat Travis humanely, but she's a psychopathic murderer whereas society in general has to at least try to behave in a civilized fashion.)

There's only one thing that will make her shut up. Unfortunately she's achieved such a high level of infamy that even after she's gone, she will not be forgotten -- which is something else that really irritates me.

 

[geevee]

Just a reminder of the evidentiary hearing this afternoon at 1:30 AZ time, the high profile list says it's (most likely closed) so I'm not sure what info we'll get during it, but the decision about dismissing the death penalty should be known at some point, I'd think. If for some bizarre reason JSS does dismiss it, will there even be a retrial or just a date set for the judge to decide between Life with or without the possibility of release?

 

[Kensie]

Just a reminder of the evidentiary hearing this afternoon at 1:30 AZ time, the high profile list says it's (most likely closed) so I'm not sure what info we'll get during it, but the decision about dismissing the death penalty should be known at some point, I'd think. If for some bizarre reason JSS does dismiss it, will there even be a retrial or just a date set for the judge to decide between Life with or without the possibility of release?

Thanks geevee for the reminder. I don't know the answer to your question but IMO if the DP is dismissed, why wouldn't the judge just sentence the killer
and quit wasting the taxpayers money on the low life piece of trash?