Jodi Arias Trial: Day 20

Trial will start in about an hour, 10:30 MST. Testimony left off at the point where Travis was about to have his pictures taken by Jodi in order to show his friends about how good his body looked after going on an exercise/weight loss regime. He was planning on going to Cancun shortly, and he wanted to look his best.

Presumably the murder itself will be described today in detail. I hope Jodi Arias can keep it together. More to the point, I hope her attorney makes sure any potential holes for Martinez to poke through don't exist in the first place.

The license plate will have to be explained, for example, although it kind of has already. I am not sure I buy the prosecution's insinuation that she removed the license plate before she went to Travis's house so as the rental car not be identified yet put the thing upside down when she was leaving town in haste. (She did explain it. She said either the license plate was that way when she rented it or else it happened with that group of kids when she was in southern California. She said they had removed the front license plate as some part of a prank.)

I haven't seen any proof at all this murder was premeditated. I haven't changed my mind that this is NOT a murder one or death penalty-eligible case.

Just as many feared, Jodi said she couldn't recall the details of the stabbing, but she remembers having shot him (apparently he kept a gun in the house). Martinez will jump on this like a fly to shit, but on the other hand, if she suffers from PTSD, it's very possible she doesn't remember stabbing him and slitting his throat. In any case, this isn't murder one, but she won't be going free for a long time.

HLN will say she is lying, but I am not sure that is the case. Even in her early interviews with the media, she came across as detached, like this was some way to cope with what she did.

She said she dumped the gun into a dumpster somewhere around St. George, Utah, while she remembered putting a knife in the dishwasher.

Later she explained why she told lies to Detective Flores and the media. She also explained about shooting off her mouth to the detective instead of exercising her Miranda rights. She said that she had talked to an attorney who said to not admit to anything. She didn't realize she didn't have to talk at all.

I have mentioned that this decision to talk to anybody without a lawyer present has cost her dearly and could cost her her life, although I truly believe the prosecution is FAR from proving premeditation.

Jodi's direct examination ended at 3 p.m. MST. I can safely assume prosecutor Martinez will begin cross-examination tomorrow. It will be difficult, as he will look for every inconsistency, every perceived hole in her account to throw her off and make it look like premeditation. He will show those autopsy pictures and crime pictures to throw her even more off and try to get a Perry Mason-style confession out of her. He pretty much has to as the burden of proof is on the prosecution. However, there simply isn't any evidence as yet of premeditation.

At the very least this is manslaughter or at the most second-degree murder. Jodi Arias won't walk free for a long time regardless.




Trial can be viewed at the Arizona Republic website, among live streams or can be viewed here on the blog: