Timeline of events in Jodi Arias murder case
May 23, 2013, 5:26 PM
PHOENIX (AP) – The Jodi Arias murder trial has drawn international attention for its graphic tales of sex and lies. The following is a timeline of some of the key events in the case:
_ September 2006: Arias and Travis Alexander meet at a Las Vegas work convention and quickly enter into a stormy long-distance relationship. Arias, an aspiring saleswoman and photographer, lives in California and visits Alexander in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa. Alexander is a Mormon and works as a salesman and motivational speaker.
_ November 2006: The 26-year-old Arias is baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
_ June 29, 2007: Arias and Alexander break up but continue to see each other for sex. Weeks later, Arias moves to Arizona, where she waits tables and cleans Alexander’s home for extra cash. She moves back to California in spring 2008.
_ May 28, 2008: A .25 caliber gun is reported stolen from the home of Arias’ grandparents, where Arias has been staying.
_ June 4, 2008: On a road trip to Utah to see another co-worker and love interest, Arias takes a detour to Arizona to visit the 30-year-old Alexander. Arias and Alexander have sex at his home, then take provocative photographs of each other. Arias kills Alexander during this visit. Prosecutors say she arrived unannounced, but Arias claims Alexander invited her.
_ June 5, 2008: Arias continues to Utah, where she sees the other man.
_ June 9, 2008: Friends find Alexander’s body in his shower and call 911. He had been shot in the head with a .25 caliber, and stabbed and slashed nearly 30 times. Authorities later find Arias’ hair and bloody palm print at the scene, along with time-stamped photos in a camera discovered inside Alexander’s washing machine.
_ July 9, 2008: On Arias’ 28th birthday, a grand jury indicts her on first-degree murder.
_ July 15, 2008: Arias is arrested at her grandparents’ home. She maintains she wasn’t involved in Alexander’s slaying, telling a detective: “I don’t even hurt spiders.”
_ Sept. 5, 2008: Arias is extradited to Arizona. A public defender is later assigned to represent her.
_ Sept. 11, 2008: Arias pleads not guilty.
_ September 2008: Arias tells various media outlets that two masked intruders attacked her and killed Alexander. In a jailhouse interview with “Inside Edition,” Arias says: “No jury is going to convict me. I am innocent, and you can mark my words on that.”
_ Oct. 31, 2008: Prosecutors file a notice of intent to seek the death penalty. They contend Arias planned the attack and killed Alexander in a jealous rage.
_ August 2010: Arias changes her story about the killing, saying it was self-defense.
_ Dec. 10, 2012: July selection begins. Eighteen potential jurors and alternates eventually are chosen.
_ Jan. 2, 2013: Opening statements start. Artwork purportedly drawn by Arias soon begins selling online.
_ Jan. 8, 2013: Prosecutors show jurors bloody crime-scene photos. Arias appears shaken.
_ Feb. 4, 2013: Arias takes the witness stand. She testifies for 18 days, telling jurors that Alexander was physically and emotionally abusive. She says he turned violent the day of his death, forcing her to fight for her life. She says she lied about it earlier because she planned to commit suicide.
_ March 14, 2013: A defense expert testifies that Arias suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and amnesia, and says that’s why Arias can’t recall much from the day of the killing. Prosecutor Juan Martinez later questions the expert’s evaluation process, saying Arias was still lying at the time about having killed Alexander.
_ March-April 2013: Another defense witness tells jurors Arias was abused by Alexander and suffered from battered woman’s syndrome. A previous paper by the psychotherapist sparks a debate between her and Martinez over whether Snow White was an abused woman. Meanwhile, a prosecution expert maintains Arias has borderline personality disorder.
_ April 2, 2013: A juror is dismissed, reportedly for making statements that showed bias. By this time, the case is a tabloid and cable TV sensation, attracting spectators from around the country. Two more jurors eventually are released.
_ May 2, 2013: Closing arguments begin. Prosecutors maintain Arias is a manipulative liar who meticulously planned the savage attack.
_ May 3, 2013: Closings conclude with Arias’ lawyer imploring jurors to take an impartial view of the case and his client, even if they don’t like her. The final 12 jurors are chosen, and they begin deliberations.
_ May 8, 2013: The jury announces its verdict: Arias is guilty of first-degree murder. She fights back tears as Alexander’s family members weep and hug each other. A crowd outside the courthouse erupts in cheers. Minutes later, Arias tells Fox affiliate KSAZ that she would rather get the death penalty than spend the rest of her days behind bars.
_ May 15, 2013: Martinez argues during the “aggravation” phase of the trial that Alexander died an especially cruel, depraved and heinous death. Jurors agree, making Arias eligible for the death penalty.
_ May 21, 2013: Arias speaks to jurors during the trial’s penalty phase, pleading with them to spare her life. She says she “lacked perspective” when she told KSAZ she preferred execution to a life term. The jury begins deliberations. Hours later, Arias gives a series of media interviews from jail.
_ May 22, 2013: Jurors tell the judge after a total of about two and a half hours of deliberations that they are unable to reach a unanimous verdict on Arias’ sentence. The judge sends them back to the deliberation room to work through their differences.
_ May 23, 2013: Jurors tell the judge they are deadlocked and cannot reach a unanimous verdict on Arias’ sentence. The judge declares a mistrial on the penalty phase and dismisses the jurors. She sets a retrial on the penalty phase for July 18. A new jury will be seated.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
