Trial day 53: REBUTTAL; #162

[kaydono]

Just to clarify, me mentioning Jodi's ridiculous letter to the family, was not said to minimize the obligation of the Arias family to reach out to the Alexander's,, not today, necessarily, but at some point, and recognize their pain, and take responsibility that their daughter caused it.

 

[ElleElle]

No one does. Only Jodi knows.

But, now i'm thinking after she left Utah she burned everything, including the gas cans upon entering CA...

I never heard what happened to the 3 gas cans.

 

[scmom]

Susan Smith, if I remember correctly, was found guilty of first degree murder. I cannot, off hand, recall why she was not sentenced to DP. Was is due to her state not having the DP? I forget.

South Carolina does have the death penalty and IMO she should have received that sentence. When she first appeared on TV begging for her sons to be returned she was really unbelievable.
Here's a link that will tell you briefly about her.
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/smith/index_1.html

 

[wasnt_me]

No one does. Only Jodi knows.

But, now i'm thinking after she left Utah she burned everything, including the gas cans upon entering CA... Crater Lake maybe?

I thought they recovered 2 gas cans, which was why the information about Darryl came out? I don't know what happened to the third can, but something obviously did or else they wouldn't have spent so much time in court proving its existence.

 

[kaydono]

lol, I'm not that close! I just noticed the city and you are closer to me than other Hoosiers on WS so I said neighbor.

And I agree about Ft. Wayne not being a great vacation spot...but it does have a nice zoo and mall!

It is BoringVille, just ask either of my kids.

 

[Dr. Nick]

The more I think about the gun, the less it bothers me that she used the knife first. Jodi put a lot of thought into this crime. FWIW, I'm one of the people who believes that she went there to give him one last chance to remember the good times. I think she apologized for whatever it was that Travis was angry about in his email to her, she promised she wouldn't do anything to embarrass him, had sex any way he wanted and then she asked for one last chance to make things work. He refused and she followed through with her plan.

Guns can be traced. She probably knew it would look suspicious that a .25 caliber weapon was taken from her grandparents and then the same size gun was used to kill Travis. Her first choice was to get him in a vulnerable position and then strike while blinded by a flash directly in his face. A gun that small would be easy to conceal in the waistband of her pants and she could get to it if the stab wound wasn't enough to incapacitate him. What she didn't count on was how messy it is when your victim is dying but still capable moving around. Stumbling to the sink and coughing up blood, crawling and leaving a trail, and possibly still capable of getting to a phone in the other room. So she stomped and stabbed him until was weak enough for her to deliver the fatal cut across the throat. That, however, made things worse. A huge amount of blood, he's still moving, and she has to get him back into the shower. In that horrific moment I think she panicked and used the gun as a last resort to finish him so that everything would stop.

Jodi is an evil person, but I don't think anyone can be prepared for that kind of carnage. It saddens me to think that line she attributed to Travis when she told the intruder story ("I can't feel my legs") was probably a detail from the actual crime. In the movies, the victim of a stabbing usually says something pithy (Et tu Brute?) and then collapses to the floor. Her victim didn't die quickly, and he was spreading evidence everywhere. The gunshot wasn't merciful, and it wasn't a symbolic coup de grace, it was just expedient.

 

[Lorelilly]

I highly recommend the sidebar thread for the next five days. Silly stuff and off topic stuff. Let's not cause any additional grief to the mods!

Plus, it is way more fun over there!

SIDEBAR- Arias/Alexander forum - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

I'll be going back to the JonBenet case, the Rebecca Z case and the McStay case. I've been a lurker for years and was quite content to just read what everyone else had to say. I had never even heard of this case until I stumbled upon JA on the stand and I sat there almost frozen and asking myself WTF???

So here I am. I've gotten 2 Time Outs because I don't play well with others and my heart is so invested in justice for Travis that it scares me sometimes. I can say with near certainty many of us are going to remember this case for years to come and that it HAS to end well. God help us if it doesn't.

 

[Sleuth13]

lol, I'm not that close! I just noticed the city and you are closer to me than other Hoosiers on WS so I said neighbor.

And I agree about Ft. Wayne not being a great vacation spot...but it does have a nice zoo and mall!

Not to be a "buttinski" but I went to college @ Indiana Wesleyan and we used to sneak up to FW on Friday nights to go dancing!! Footloose style Your post brought me a few fun memories!!! (I'm originally from LaPorte)

 

[Hatfield]

This is terrible, but I actually asked my mom the other day what she would do and how she would react if I were in a position such as JA (hypothetically!!). I was telling her how JA's mom was reacting in court and such. She said she would be there to support me, she wouldn't turn her back, but she would feel intense shame, and intense sympathy for the family of the victim. This isn't something I'm seeing from JA's supporters in the courtroom. Of course, I have no way of knowing if she/they have reached out to TA's family, but I'm assuming they haven't.

Even if they wanted to, I am sure JAs lawyers have told them never to do that until the trial is over and maybe never due to appeals. The reason is because it gives the appearance that they are recognizing guilt of JA.

But based on their behavior in the courtroom I am of the opinion I dont think they would even if they had a choice.

 

[borndem]

I felt sorry for Grandma. She looks like she gets it entirely.

Grandma actually may know JA best... I wonder if she thinks that the .25-cal that belonged to her husband put a bullet in TA's head... Ummm. What a burden to carry...

And I have all-along wondered how JA's mother actually feels about JA -- in general and with regard to this situation in the courtroom.... Will she visit JA in prison and/or fund her canteen account? Who will fund it? (DB?) If someone doesn't fund it, JA is doomed to baloney, koolaid, powdered eggs & fake cheese until she breathes her last.

And it's getting closer & closer to Verdict Time (please let that be sometime in 2013). How does JA really feel? Does she care? You need more than lies and a stolen ballpoint pen to escape from jail...

One more thang:

Can anyone remember where the info on JA's jail violations was mentioned? I heard about it but did not see it on here or on the telly. Many thanks if someone could answer!

 

[AuburnSchnauzer]

I balled crying when I listened to the young lady on NG tonite talking about Travis and what a kind, loving, gentleman he was. And when I cry, my face breaks up and tears FLOW - I have real emotions. JA does not have the capability of feeling real emotion. In fact, I heard BAGPIPES on the radio tonite and I immediately started crying - Something about those bagpipes - Must be deep in my old Hippacampus, eh?

 

[hilldeccaside]

Mine too!!! At the ripe old age of 11...no tv except three regular channels made a reader outta me! And Vincent B made a crime junkie outta me!:seeya:

That book scared the beejesus out of me!

I have been emotionally and physically sick since looking at the autopsy photos earlier today. RIP Travis, justice is coming soon.[/QUOTE
I have too, I wish I had chosen not to look at those!

Has anyone read either Ashton or Baez book? I read them both. I never paid a dime for either. Check out from the library.

I read Ashton's book, it was good. I would not spend a minute reading Baez book. He makes me ill.

No, premeditation does not have to be a step by step plan, although it could be. Premediation can occur within seconds, when you make the decision to kill someone.

Andrea Yates was found guilty, but insane at her second trial (which was necessitated when the State's psychiatrist, Park Dietz, was found to have made up his testimony out of whole cloth). Andrea Yates was psychotic and was found not to have had the mental capacity to determine right from wrong. She is in a secure psychiatrist hospital and will never get out. She also had a husband who kept impregnating her even though her doctors had warned him that this could result in disaster.

I never understood why he kept impregnating Andrea.

The ME has years of experience and has done thousands of autopsies so I'll go with whatever he says. Plus, everything he said makes sense to me.

Since I am not a ME and the DT did not bring one on to rebut, I am going to go with what he said as fact.

Yupp, exactly. My instinct, as a parent, if I saw behavior that concerned me with my son or daughter, would be to seek outside help. The Arias's skipped that part.

I have a friend who reacts to stress with inappropriate laughter all the time. It is maddening to be around. I wonder if this is how her mom handles things.

The pain and anguish that is expressed, every single day of this trial, is so obvious in the entire Alexander Family. I cannot imagine not being overcome with guilt, witnessing that every day, knowing my child caused it.[/QUOTE
Though I would feel tremendous guilt if my child did what JA did, I would still beg for her life to be spared. It is the mother in me.

 

[m1279]

The pain and anguish that is expressed, every single day of this trial, is so obvious in the entire Alexander Family. I cannot imagine not being overcome with guilt, witnessing that every day, knowing my child caused it.

Precisely.

 

[IBsleuthin]

If Justice was reduced to that - anyone accused would be automatically sentenced.

Rocco's response was directed at a singular issue and I don't believe it was meant to be a broad based, umbrella answer. Just that at some point someone needs to make a decision about what happened medically and in this case, this ME has a lot of experience.

So, on the issue of what the victim would be capable of mobility wise, this ME is testifying that in the greatest percentage of his recollection this is what would happen.

Also, logical explanations which make sense are of course more easily believed.

 

[legalmania]

I was just going thru the menu on the TV and I found so many shows that could be about Jodi: Look who's Stalking, Unusual Suspect, I killed my BFF, Sins and Secrets, Scorned, Twisted, Deadly Women, Most Evil, Wicked Attraction, Cuff me if you can, Cold Blood. If you have any to add feel free.

 

[Rocco]

Yes, at the end of the hallway where the carpet meets to the bedroom.

The drag pic was originally taken upside down. I think he his throat was already slit at that point because of the amount of blood running down his shoulder.

This sounds gross, but I still can't picture her dragging him with the deep laceration and his head not falling off. *sorry :blushing:

That visual has crossed my mind too. Sickening to think about.

 

[ElleElle]

Because Gus had the hots for Jodi imo. -or- Jodi told Gus she wanted to blackmail Travis with a recorded sex tape -or- both.

While we are on the subject of helio phones....

Did Gus give her that phone?

If so, WHY?

 

[kaydono]

Not to be a "buttinski" but I went to college @ Indiana Wesleyan and we used to sneak up to FW on Friday nights to go dancing!! Footloose style Your post brought me a few fun memories!!! (I'm originally from LaPorte)

I graduated from IPFW, but technically, my diploma says Indiana University. IPFW is the local campus for IU and Purdue. I googled myself one day, and it showed that I was on the honor roll at IPFW. That was the one and only google result.

 

[MrsProsecutor]

Did anyone post a link to the new picture posted in court today of the gunshot wound?

 

[Rocco]

I was just going thru the menu on the TV and I found so many shows that could be about Jodi: Look who's Stalking, Unusual Suspect, I killed my BFF, Sins and Secrets, Scorned, Twisted, Deadly Women, Most Evil, Wicked Attraction, Cuff me if you can, Cold Blood. If you have any to add feel free.

Snapped