Jodi Arias' Fate Sealed by Breakdown on the Stand?
Jodi Arias may have sealed her fate Thursday when she broke down during an intense cross-examination from the prosecution. Arias has had moments of tears and uncertainty over the course of the trial, but she suffered a full-on breakdown when shown a photo of Travis Alexander's dead body, and prosecutor Juan Martinez jumped on the opportunity to drive home his case.
Martinez spent the day questioning Arias about her actions the day that Alexander was killed. She has maintained that she only killed her boyfriend in self-defense, after he became enraged and lunged at her. Yesterday, though, Martinez was able to poke holes in her explanation of what happened in June 2008.
"Where you crying while you were shooting him?" Martinez asked after showing a photo of Alexander's dead body in the shower. He had to specifically ask her to look at the photo, as she attempted to shield her eyes and look away.
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"I don't remember," Arias replied.
"Were you crying when you were stabbing him?" Martinez questioned.
"I don't remember," Arias replied, starting to fall apart.
"How about when you cut his throat, were you crying then?" Martinez asked.
"I don't know," Arias sobbed.
"But you did this?" Martinez finally asked.
"Yes…" Arias squeaked out.
As she sat on the witness stand, crying, the judge then called for an early afternoon break before allowing Martinez to resume his line of questioning. The cameras were then turned off in the courtroom.
Throughout the case, Arias has remained stoic, and at times hostile with the prosecution. However, she has also cried and wept openly during her examination by the defense. Some commentators have speculated that Arias is working the jury in order to gain sympathy and hopefully spare her life.
She said a few years ago, during an interview with "Inside Edition" that "no jury is going to convict me. Why not? Because I'm innocent. You can mark my words on that."
However, as prosecutor Martinez has gotten Arias to admit, she lied to police, the TV cameras, and everyone about her participation in the crime. If convicted she could face the death penalty.
