This was perhaps the hardest phase of the trial for the Alexander family. While the guilt phase had lasted four months, the aggravation phase was done in just one day. It began with opening statements in which Juan Martinez went into graphic details about how Travis Alexander had been killed, He was trying to prove that Travis had been killed in "an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner". The Alexander family had to listen to details of how Travis had suffered a great deal of physical and mental anguish in the hands of Jodi Arias. They heard about the pain he likely felt, about the things that he may have thought about as he tried to get away from Arias while she brutally stabbed him and slit his throat. Juan, as always, painted a picture in the minds of those listening and it did not look good for Jodi. The defense had an impossible task ahead of them and it seemed that Jodi was working against them. Kurt Nurmi and Jennifer Willmott's only argument was that Travis had died quickly and that the jurors should think with their heads and not their hearts. That emotions should not factor into the ultimate decision of whether or not extreme cruelty was proven. They argued that the adrenaline had made Travis's heart beat faster, therefore making him 'bleed out' and die faster. They seemed, at this point, defeated. Even Jodi's defense team apparently realized that this was an impossible task. Thier demenors had changed, especially in Jennifer Willmott. There was only one witness, Dr. Horn, the medical examiner. The family sobbed and hung their heads in an attempt to avoid the movie theatre sized screen that showed the gruesome photos of the crime scene and autopsy photos. Some of which had not been seen during the guilt phase of the trial. Juan Martinez's closing argument (where he had two minutes of complete silence to show how long Travis had suffered) was heart wrenching and filled with emotion. Below is a photo of the Alexander family.
Jodi seemed to become emotional during the aggravation phase. Hiding behind her veil of dark hair, which she often used to cover her emotions, or lack thereof, from the jury, she sobbed quietly as Juan talked about Travis's intense pain and suffering. She refused to look at the photos that showed the bloody crime screen and of Travis left dead, naked and bleeding on the shower.
Although most of the population saw Jodi as a heartless murderer, she did have thousands of followers who started support pages on the web asking for donations. News reports announced that Jodi's commissary account at the jail held over $2000 at one point. It was unclear how the Arias family was financially able to pick up and move from CA to AZ through the duration of the trial. Some reports stated that the Dr. Phil show was funding their stay. He, however, was quick to issue a statement denying any rumors of such. The jodiariasisinnocent.com page showed the image below. Any rude or unflattering comments left on the page were promptly removed with the poster being banned from posting again. In addition to this page, quite a few pro Jodi Facebook pages continued to pop up. There were some out there that believed her abuse claims.
Countless donation sites popped up for the Alexander family and millions were quick to donate. Even this, however, became subject to suspicion when contradicting reports surfaced as to where the money was actually going. The Travis Alexander Legacy Fund was started by Travis's friends and family to support the causes that Travis had been passionate about including education for underprivileged youth, animal rescue and environment programs. It was clear people wanted to continue to donate even after donating to the family directly. The Alexander siblings expressed their gratitude with class and poise. Below is a link to the Travis Alexander Legacy Page.
Jodi decided that she wanted to "find a way to donate and help victims of domestic violence". She designed a tee shirt with the word 'Survivor' across the front. She claimed that all of the proceeds were to be donated to a women's shelter in Long Beach, CA. The shelter later issued a statement that it had no affiliation with Jodi Arias and that the organization agreed with the justice system and its ultimate decision. This caused an uproar amongst real domestic violence victims. It was obvious that Jodi wasn't going to change her story, which the jury had already rejected. She continued to push the tee shirts, however, for $15 a piece.
It took the jury only about an hour and a half of deliberating with an hour in between for lunch, to return a verdict. While Arias has seemed emotional, with puffy eyes and a red nose during the course of the proceedings, she seemed to regain her composure in the time the jury deliberated. She watched stoically as the verdict was read.
Jodi Arias now had to face the reality of what she had done. The jury had found that the state had proven, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Jodi had not only murdered Travis Alexander, but had done so in an especially cruel and heinous manner. She now faced the possibility of death.
An investigation was opened regarding Donovan Bering, who had been tweeting for Arias. Under the rules of Berings probation, she was prohibited from being in contact with a convicted felon. This seemed to put a halt to Jodi's pubic voicing of her opinion, for the time being.
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