One thing that's really troubled me about this testimony is that anything can be misconstrued to be abusive because abuse in and of itself is so subjective.
But abusive relationships aren't. They almost always follow a fixed pattern - it's almost rote, really - that is totally lacking in regards to Travis. Things like moving to be close to an ex after you break up, going through their text messages and emails to snoop on them, destroying property and warning off prospective females are serious warning signs of controlling behavior. Control is what abuse is all about.
It's very difficult to establish control in a relationship spanning a distance of a thousand miles which is why most abusers would either move closer to their intended victim, move their victim into their home, or at least preclude their moving back quite so easily.
Jodi testified that Travis was physically abusive almost from day one. I remember because it's so atypical. Most abusers are charming for many months, sometimes even years, until the victim is dependent on the abuser in some capacity. So LaViolette is correct when she's testifying to a gradual escalation - only, according to Jodi, there wasn't any.