The Jodi Arias Trial--Fatal Attraction – The Murder of Travis Alexander

[HairOfTheDog]

After Horn, Martinez called Clinical, Forensic, and Neuropsychologist
PhD Dr. Jill Hayes to rebut Geffner's testimony regarding Demarte's testing and evaluation of Arias.



HAYES RECAP:
-Hayes rebutted Geffner's claims that Demarte used invalid tests and was wrong not to consider PTSD when evaluating Arias.
-Hayes essentially supported Demarte's testing method, interpretations, and Demarte's rationale for discounting defense test results that indicated PTSD (because Arias had lied about the event that had supposedly traumatized her).
-Hayes did testify that she personally wouldn't count time before she was licensed when calculating her years in practice (though Demarte did so, IIRC) - minor point.

Testimony Over! On to closing arguments tomorrow.

[thekid65]

Damn,,I'm glad I didnt miss closing arguments! Didnt the State rest on Thursday last week? I thought they were going to start closing yesterday, and I completely forgot about it.

[JsMom]

It's about time. I will definitely be tuning in tomorrow for the Closing Arguments.

[BlueTiki]

Testimony Over! On to closing arguments tomorrow.

Thanks for the superb recap of the State's witnesses, HotD!

I wish I had more faith in Martinez, as a closer.

[username]

Damn. I missed those last 2 witnesses. Thanks HotD. How late did they go last night?

[HairOfTheDog]

Damn. I missed those last 2 witnesses. Thanks HotD. How late did they go last night?

Hayes's testimony ended at about 8:30 p.m. PST and there were no juror questions for her.

Of course, HLN time is about 3 hours later. It was after 11:30 PM when the televised "live" version ended.

[Duchess]

I just saw the defense final witness referred to as a "hail Mary".

[HairOfTheDog]

I wish I had more faith in Martinez, as a closer.

I'm a little nervous about two points that I believe the state has failed to address adequately and could really benefit Arias.

1. The Hughes's email painting Travis as an abuser:
This was pounded by LaViolette. The fact that Travis's supposed best friends called him abusive and cited examples of that using women other than Jodi is very damning.

I know that Martinez asked Mimi, Lisa and Deanna if they were abused in any way and all firmly said, "no". That helps minimize the email's importance. But, they were only 3 of many women in Travis's life and Martinez never offered any context around the damning email and he never called one of the Hughes's to explain/rebut.

I think the Hughes's were just self-righteous gossipy buttinskies (JMO) and they didn't really mean what they wrote literally, but I could see it being an area of focus for some on the jury.

2. What came first: the shot or the stabbing?:
Horn was not a good witness for the state, imo. The apparent misunderstanding between what he communicated to Flores and what Flores subsequently misstated (that the shot came first) needed to be neatly and definitely cleaned up and Horn needed to be very affirmative on the stand. He was not.

Last night, he seemed liked a very hostile witness. He seemed extremely pissed to be called to the stand again. It was palpable. He was the same way with Martinez and Willmott.

-On cross, he said that he'd never heard of anyone with a gunshot to the frontal lobe of the brain not being incapacitated.
-Willmott asked him if he was sure he'd never read any stories about people getting shot in the brain without it immediately ending motor functions or if he'd done any research on the subject. Horn said he sometimes reads articles, but he's never seen it happen in his experience and he only goes by what's in front of him and his colleagues in the ME office.
-He argued with Willmott about having used the word "liquid" to describe Travis's decomposed brain in the past, and then he used that adjective to describe Travis's brain about 5 minutes later.
-A juror is the one who caught the inconsistency in the testimony about the membrane around Travis's brain and Horn's report/exhibit. Horn said it was a typo in the report that he was just now being made aware of and that the outer membrane "must have been damaged". Of course, Willmott scored an easy point by suggesting that the report was correct and Horn was tailoring his testimony to fit the prosecution's sequence of events.

I personally believe that the shot came last, but I could see more than one or two jurors being unsure about that. I was not impressed or convinced by Horn. Apparently, neither was the jury. Aside from the report typo/error question, there was only one other juror inquiry for him:

Juror question:
"Would you agree that 100% of the people you have seen with frontal lobe trauma are deceased at the time of your examination?"

Dr. Horn:
"I hope so."

Burn.

Any specific points of concern or areas that you think Martinez really has to hammer home in his Closing today?

[heartbreaker6713]

i also missed the last two witnesses because i didn't realize that the state was going to get to go again. I think had i known they were going to get to go again i would have watched but i am also coming down with a cold so i am glad i got to sleep. I am waiting patiently for these closing arguments to start.

I do have a few questions do the jury get read the jury instructions actually out loud by the judge? or are they written only and they read them as a jury back in the room? i am sure they have already been agreed upon by the state and defense and approved by the judge ahead of time right? If the jury instructions are read out loud do they come after closing arguments? When will we find out what charges all together would be included (including lesser charges that the jury could select)that she could be charged with? Is that only known at the time that verdict is in? Sorry i am a bit medicine head...

[BlueTiki]

Any specific points of concern or areas that you think Martinez really has to hammer home in his Closing today?

I find Martinez abrasive and smug. Jury alienation is my biggest concern.

Focus on the real case: 1^st Degree Murder NOT Self-Defense.

Premeditation is the key . . . emphasize all events before, during and after the murder.

Hammer the fact that Arias is a habitual liar.

All of God’s children know that the defense will portray Arias as a victim and Alexander as the abuser.

Therefore, reiterate the fact there is no evidence supporting physical abuse, pedophilia, gun ownership, being the instigator of all or most sexual activity and fear of her life . . . ONLY the word of the accused!

Keep the focus on Arias as a murder rather than defending Alexander’s character by reminding the jury of the aforementioned lack of evidence.

IMO - If she doesn't get the needle, it will be on Martinez.

[HairOfTheDog]

Heartbreaker:

1. Jury instructions will be read first in open court any minute now.
Judge Stephens WILL advise the jury of the lesser charges (heat of passion) requested by the defense. That's a big win for the defense. According to Beth Karras on HLN, that charge carries a sentence of 7 - 21 years.

2. Martinez will begin the state's closing arguments after jury instructions.

3. Nurmi is expected to deliver closing arguments for the defense; those are expected to begin tomorrow.

If all goes as scheduled, the jury deliberations should begin tomorrow afternoon (more likely Monday, imo).

[heartbreaker6713]

Hotd from your posting here are some things i pulled.

I am wondering if martinez didn't call the hues because of the letter or whatever it is that the defense had that they had a hearing on a while ago where chris hues was called to the stand outside of the jury presence. They discussed the pedo accusations and chris was laying it on thick that the letters were faked but in the first letter or email chris first addressed concerns about the pedo actions and what "ages" were his preferences. So i'm wondering if he were to call the hues to the stand would that open the door to be questioned about those letters or emails? If he leaves them off the stand then does that keep them out?

I think to call every single woman that travis was with would be repetitive and overbearing. I don't know that it is necessary, i think he called some of the important woman that he had interactions in his life or maybe who were the marked players/mile markers in his life.

I didn't see the Horn for the third time, i would probably have been annoyed too but i also would have been more clear if i were an expert i would think as well, but i am not an expert. There were several things i noticed he slipped up on when he was testifying the second time, some that have been caught and some that haven't (i don't remember the specifics now).
I really hope that jurors don't get stuck on this point.

To me the bottom line is that travis is dead and it doesn't matter that he the shot came last or first because all of it is cruel and horrible because i don't believe her story. I think maybe one of the things that needs to be hammered home by martinez is that if you don't believe her story then it won't matter which came first, the shot, the stabbing or the cutting of his throat because each one of them is a killing and putting them all together makes them cruel and covering it up makes it that much worse. Another aspect is that it was premeditation and not a spur of the moment or heat of the moment killing.

[HairOfTheDog]

Premeditation is the key . . . emphasize all events before, during and after the murder.

Hammer the fact that Arias is a habitual liar.

Keep the focus on Arias as a murder rather than defending Alexander’s character by reminding the jury of the aforementioned lack of evidence.

This is the focus that I wish the state's case had kept throughout the trial! I hope Martinez's plan is consistent with what you've highlighted here.

Now that so much focus has been placed on Arias herself and minutia that is irrelevant to the killing, there's a boatload of extraneous information for the jury to shovel through.

Crossing my fingers that the jury has a good idea of what issues/testimony can be kicked to the curb (as irrelevant) early in the deliberation process.

[BlueTiki]

Another aspect is that it was premeditation and not a spur of the moment or heat of the moment killing.

But this is the rub in Arizona's Self Defense law.

It is the responsiblity of the State to disprove self defense rather than the defense proving it was necessary.

As long as she claims she was in fear of her life, she has the right to use deadly force.

[FAHQTOO]

What the fuck is wrong with HLN? I came home early to watch the closing arguments and the channel is gone...gone, gone gone. I'm ready to blow a gasket here, better I should just go smoke some weed and calm myself down...and call the cable co I guess, one of my least favorite things to do.

[BlueTiki]

What the fuck is wrong with HLN? I came home early to watch the closing arguments and the channel is gone...gone, gone gone. I'm ready to blow a gasket here, better I should just go smoke some weed and calm myself down...and call the cable co I guess, one of my least favorite things to do.

You're gonna hate this . . .

elizabetherwin My friend @CoreyABC15 tells me @HLNTV is blasting the #JodiArias closing arguments over a loudspeaker outside the courthouse. 43 seconds ago · reply · retweet · favorite

Martinez bores me.

His closing is not tight . . . more like a rambling impromptu timeline.

However, he just blasted LaViolette's truthfulness.

[HairOfTheDog]

I think Martinez did a really good job in the last hour before the lunch recess.

He's been effective and actually made me laugh a couple of times when highlighting the absurdity of some of Arias's cover-her-ass lies.

So far, he is focusing on the fact that Arias is an unabashed liar (on and off the witness stand) and that there was a lot of premeditation leading up to her killing of Travis Alexander.

[username]

FQ, maybe you need to rescan for channels?

I'm watching it here and glory be!!! They're not hitting the pause button every 2 minutes.

I think Juan started out weak but I think he's doing well on the premeditation part now.

[BlueTiki]

I wanna see huge visual aids with the words "LIAR", "KILLER" and "BLAMER" displayed while Martinez closes.

Helvetica works for me.

[username]

I wonder when he'll throw her " I will never be convicted" words against her.