Divots.
Thats what changed my mind about the death penalty. I watched this trial from beginning to end and I missed the divot issue the first go round. I think it was because as all of you, I was on overload or I may have even stopped listening by the time Dr. Horn got to the divots.
Or maybe because at the beginning of the trial when he first testified about them, it was embedded in so much horror that over time, throughout the trial it began to fade into something manageable.
During the penalty phase, I had to go back and find everything. I had to read it all then listen to Dr. Horns testimony again so Id know exactly what disturbed me for so long. I think just after the penalty phase, I took a weekend off to just think about that.
Even the first part of his testimony way back in January or February, there was sadness in the matter-of-fact way that he described how he came to examine Travis Victor Alexander.
Juan Martinez: And drawing your attention back to June of 2008, did you have occasion to conduct a medical examination on the body of Travis Alexander?
Dr. Kevin Horn: Yes.
Juan Martinez: With regard to an examination of an individual such as this, what are the first steps that are taken?
Dr. Kevin Horn: The body is received under seal. Its in a sealed body bag with a number thats unique to that case. That seal is broken in my presence, the bag is opened, and then we examine the outside of the body, collecting evidence, performing photographs, and then we move on to an external examination, documenting injuries, and then an internal examination or an autopsy.
To the first mention of the divots that we all blocked out for sanitys sake:
Juan Martinez: Taking a look at Exhibit 198, what are we looking at there?
Dr. Kevin Horn: What you actually see here are the edges, its only one portion of those incised wounds we saw. There was some force applied that was sufficient to cause a divot in the skull bone. So this is actually after the skull the scalp has been reflected away from the skull, and what youre seeing here is actually a divot in the center of the skull. And then over on the left side you see another one, and theres hemorrhage around those. So the bone was actually sort of chipped away by the end of the implement there.
His penalty phase testimony wasnt anything he hadnt already outlined in his direct. The chilling matter-of-factness was still front and center but he was less clinical this time around, revealing more detail and confirming beyond all doubt that Travis was alive through 98% of it and that he suffered unimaginable pain and terror.
Juan Martinez: What is it on the body that causes it to experience pain?
Dr. Kevin Horn: Well, it would be largely due to nerve endings or severing of nerves in the body.
Juan Martinez: What are we looking at here?
Dr. Kevin Horn: Several stab or incised shallow sharp-force injuries at the torso.
Juan Martinez: Is one of those the one that actually pierced the heart or not?
Dr. Kevin Horn: Yes, as the blood began to leak out of that vessel and the heart began to fail, he probably experienced shortness of breath and also pain to the area, itself. As the heart is starved for oxygen in a heart attack, that pain is similar. It's the same nerve endings stimulated. Multiple stab wounds to Mr. Alexander's upper back. They both go to the level of the skull and actually impact the skull. Triangular portions of the skull gouged out by the end of the knife.
Juan Martinez: What is a defensive wound?
Dr. Kevin Horn: In the setting of the stabbing, it's the individual struggling, attempting to grab the knife or hold the knife or fend off blows with the knife. Several attempts to cut the throat in the same area.
Juan Martinez: What part of the throat did it go through?
Dr. Kevin Horn: It goes through the tissues in the front of the throat, the stap muscles, the airway, and also the major vessels on -- I believe it's the right side of the throat, the jugular vein and the carotid artery.
Juan Martinez: Was he alive when he was stabbed in the heart?
Dr. Kevin Horn: Yes.
Juan Martinez: Was he alive when he was stabbed in the back of the head?
Dr. Kevin Horn: Yes.
Juan Martinez: Was he alive when he was stabbed in the back?
Dr. Kevin Horn: Yes.
Juan Martinez: There are three wounds that were fatal, correct?
Dr. Kevin Horn: Yes.
Juan Martinez: Which three are those?
Dr. Kevin Horn: The stab wound to the heart would have been fatal in and of itself, I believe. The cut to the throat with the vessels severed would have been fatal in and of itself. And the gunshot wound taken in isolation would have been fatal. In seconds, he would collapse and become unresponsive.
I always told myself when there are murders that the victim was instantly knocked out or the adrenaline racing through their bodies knocked any fear or terror out of their systems or it just happened so quickly, the victim never knew what hit him/her, thus feeling no pain. Call me naïve but this is what I always believed. Ok, its what I always wanted to believe because there was nothing to convince me otherwise.
It now makes me wonder if Rachel was awake and aware when the AHMF entered their bedroom with the gun. Did she knew she was about to die? Did she try to convince him to put the gun down? Did she squeeze Lillian tightly to her chest and beg for him to stop? I convinced myself from the beginning that Rachel was asleep, never saw it coming and never knew she was married to an evil diabolical murdering .
After reading these transcripts, I now know better. Ive never read Rachels or Lillians autopsy reports. And I never will.
For CMja to see that what she was doing was causing unbearable agony and torture but continued because it only fueled her rage and satisfaction makes us all dizzy.
The realization that she didnt care about the people who would find his battered, mutilated and broken body exposed in a freaking shower stall sucks the air out of any room Im in and makes my head swim. And CMja thinking somehow that her dumb a$$ tracings and recycling and offensive t-shirts and willingness to teach people to read in any way helps outweigh the carnage she callously left behind in that Mesa bathroom is proof positive she has no value to offer civilized society.
So thanks so much Jodi Ann Arias for removing the last shred of a shield called HOPE that our friends, family members, loved ones never suffered.
Ill be ok with LWOP but
issuing a death warrant
walking her to the death chamber
that is what she deserves. My feelings based only on my own experiences.
