Jodi Arias Trial Update: Penalty Phase Retrial to Begin Next Week, Trial Will Not Be Televised
One year after she was found guilty of murdering her boyfriend Travis Alexander, Jodi Arias will once again have the nation's eye on her as her penalty phase retrial begins next week.
According to CBS 5 Arizona, attorneys in Arias' sentencing retrial are close to picking a jury. Jury selection is expected to end on Oct. 16, and opening statements set to start next week.
The murder of Alexander occurred on June 4, 2008. He was found by his friends five days later—his body had more than two dozen stab wounds, his throat has been slashed from ear to ear, and he was shot once in the head.
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Arias first denied her involvement in the murder and said that she was not there when it happened. Later, she told the police that two intruders had broken into her boyfriend's home and that they attacked her and murdered him. However, incriminating photographs in a camera and her DNA were found in the crime scene, which prompted her to change her story once again.
She claims that she was a victim of domestic abuse and that Alexander was emotionally and physically abusive. But her predilection for changing stories, plus her bizarre accounts of her deviant sex life made it hard for the jury to sympathize with her.
On May 8, 2013, Arias was found guilty of first-degree murder. Following the murder conviction, the prosecution had to convince the jury that the murder was "cruel, heinous or depraved" for Arias to get the death penalty. The same panel of jurors was conflicted whether to spare her life or sentence her to death, and the judge declared a mistrial for the case.
Last year, details of Arias' crime and sexual escapades made headlines, and most of them came from the defendant's admissions when she spent 18 days on the witness stand, which was televised. But this time, things will be different as the judge has ruled that no video is allowed to be shown until after the sentencing retrial is over. As a result, social media will be the primary source of information regarding what happens inside the courtroom, with several media outlets set to liveblog the trial.
