02-01-2015, 03:42 PM
Defense Rests (finally)
The retrial testimony has focused almost solely on painting Travis Alexander as an abusive pervert.
After the court order banning secret testimony, Arias refused to testify further in public and Martinez never got a chance to cross-examine her. Her testimony segued into that of two psychologists who chronicled Alexander's sexual appetites and described him as capable only of sexual intimacy.
Defense attorneys Kirk Nurmi and Jennifer Willmott also brought in computer experts to allege that Alexander's personal computer was rife with viruses from viewing pornography, something Mesa police had denied under oath.
Willmott also presented an affidavit from an Alexander acquaintance who claimed that he had seen Alexander holding down and swearing at his ex-girlfriend, Deanna Reid, during a period when Alexander was a boarder in a house owned by a Mormon bishop. The acquaintance, who was not identified, also claimed he confronted Alexander about a folder of online child pornography that he said Alexander accessed on the bishop's computer.
![[Image: 1017672_183341461841150_709665547_n.jpg?...6ddab85337]](https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/1017672_183341461841150_709665547_n.jpg?oh=974e25fa7aad3774c55bbc091b52726c&oe=555A8CA4&__gda__=1431792935_452b64bbd66d6e80cf56146ddab85337)
But, now it's prosecutor Martinez's turn to take the floor. The defense rested its case Thursday morning, and Martinez began his counterattack.
Deanna Reid took the stand and denied that Alexander ever manhandled her. She said she was not even in the country when the secret witness said the abuse took place.
Then Martinez produced the bishop, who denied Alexander was living in his house during the time the abuse allegedly took place. And though the bishop, Vernon Parker — who brought his own attorney to court — said the computer in question had problems with pop-up ads showing scantily-clad women, he avowed that it occurred after Alexander had moved out of the house. Parker thought the virus that caused the pop-ups was the fault of another, later house guest. He also said that he had never seen Alexander use the computer.
And another expert witness, psychologist Janine DeMarte, is set to counter defense claims about Arias' mental illnesses.
The trial is expected to continue well into February.
Ref: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/natio.../22625159/
The retrial testimony has focused almost solely on painting Travis Alexander as an abusive pervert.
After the court order banning secret testimony, Arias refused to testify further in public and Martinez never got a chance to cross-examine her. Her testimony segued into that of two psychologists who chronicled Alexander's sexual appetites and described him as capable only of sexual intimacy.
Defense attorneys Kirk Nurmi and Jennifer Willmott also brought in computer experts to allege that Alexander's personal computer was rife with viruses from viewing pornography, something Mesa police had denied under oath.
Willmott also presented an affidavit from an Alexander acquaintance who claimed that he had seen Alexander holding down and swearing at his ex-girlfriend, Deanna Reid, during a period when Alexander was a boarder in a house owned by a Mormon bishop. The acquaintance, who was not identified, also claimed he confronted Alexander about a folder of online child pornography that he said Alexander accessed on the bishop's computer.
But, now it's prosecutor Martinez's turn to take the floor. The defense rested its case Thursday morning, and Martinez began his counterattack.
Deanna Reid took the stand and denied that Alexander ever manhandled her. She said she was not even in the country when the secret witness said the abuse took place.
Then Martinez produced the bishop, who denied Alexander was living in his house during the time the abuse allegedly took place. And though the bishop, Vernon Parker — who brought his own attorney to court — said the computer in question had problems with pop-up ads showing scantily-clad women, he avowed that it occurred after Alexander had moved out of the house. Parker thought the virus that caused the pop-ups was the fault of another, later house guest. He also said that he had never seen Alexander use the computer.
And another expert witness, psychologist Janine DeMarte, is set to counter defense claims about Arias' mental illnesses.
The trial is expected to continue well into February.
Ref: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/natio.../22625159/