The penalty phase of the trial became a circus in and of itself. Brief opening statements were given by council and on Thursday, May 16, 2013, the Alexander family had their chance to speak to the jury. Steven Alexander, Travis's kid brother, was first to speak. He spoke of how he always thought of his brother as being 'bulletproof'. He recounted the day he had been told about Travis's death, how his sister,Samantha, had called and told his wife, who tearfully pleaded with her that she could not be the one to tell him. He spoke of the nightmares he had since Travis's death and the emotional strain that it had caused, even resulting in a separation from his wife. He spoke of the time during the trial in which he had to be away from his daughter. He said he never wanted to see the face of his brothers killer again.
Next up was Samantha Alexander. Travis's little sister who is a police officer in CA. Sam brought people to tears with her emotional stories about her beloved brother. She too spoke of the day she heard about her brothers death. She said that she heard the same emotion in her grandmothers voice that she had heard when she had called to tell her about the death of their mother. She spoke of their childhood and the grandmother that had raised them. A photo displayed showed Travis and his beloved grandmother. She tearfully told of how their grandmothers health had quickly spiraled due to Travis's brutal murder. The woman who had raised them had passed away just before jury selection began for the trial, late last year. She called Travis the strength of the family, it's 'beacon of hope' and the glue that held the family together. Photos of Travis with family members flashed on the screens in the courtroom. Through tears she spoke of how much she missed Travis's contagious smile, as a photo of Travis smiling brightly showed on the screen. Samantha said that in all of her years as a police officer, she had never seen such a gruesome murder. The photos of Travis in death were forever burned into the minds of the Alexander family.
After the victim impact statements, Arias's attorneys were to put on mitigation witnesses who would plead with the jury for mercy in spearing her life. They said that they were calling Patricia Womack, Jodi's childhood best friend and Daryl Brewer, the man Jodi dated for four years prior to meeting Travis as their mitigation witnesses. There was yet another delay and court was cancelled until Monday, May 20, 2013.
Speculation about whether Jodi's mom, Sandra, would testify on her behalf. Although Jodi and her attorneys claimed that Jodi had suffered from an abusive and neglected childhood, her mother has sat in the courtroom each and every day and visited her on a nightly basis at the jail. It didn't seem to make sense that she would not take the stand and plead for her daughters life.
Now, the Jodi Arias trial had been full of twists and turns up to this point, but no one was prepared for what happened on Monday when court resumed. After yet another delay of about an hour and a half that left people all over speculating what was going on. Finally, beginning in usual late fashion, Kirk Numi filed a motion for a mistrial in open court in which he stated that it was impossible for Jodi to have a fair trial due to the intense media coverage. He claimed that Patricia Womack would not be testifying due to threats made to her and her 9 year old daughters life. He accused Juan Martinez and the public of intimidating witnesses, citing not only the treats made to Patti but also to Alyce Laviolette and Jennifer Willmott. Juan Martinez claimed that he had tried to interview Patti for her allocation statement and that Patti had pleaded the fifth amendment to two of his questions, thus making it complete speculation as to the real reason of her absence. The judge denied the motion. Nurmi then asked, in front of the world, that he and Jenny be removed from the case citing inability to provide proper council. Judge Stevens, at this point, was notably irritated and automatically denied the motion. Kirk, in what seemed like a temper tantrum of defense attorneys, then stated that they would not be calling any mitigation witnesses. The media went crazy!!!! Did they forget that they were fighting for their clients life? The defense seemed to have given up, with its only hope being an appeal. Judge Stevens asked if Jodi would be giving an allocation, in which she would plead for her life. The defense asked for yet another delay, leaving the media to grasp for any information they could get. Would Jodi ask for death or would she plead for her life? Was Jodi's own mother really not going to speak on her daughter's behalf? What was the defense thinking? They were left wondering for yet another day.
That night Daryl Brewer did his first media interview in which he stated that he had been fully prepared to speak for his once girlfriend. He spoke of the change he saw in Jodi after she joined PPL and started believing in 'magical thinking' (the law of attraction). He spoke of Jodi's relationship with his young son, how she had once been a responsible young woman with her entire life ahead of her. According to him, Jodi became irresponsible after meeting Travis, defaulting on her bills and ultimately losing the home that she and Daryl had once shared. "She went from having $12,000 in the bank to being bankrupt with nothing in a year and a half".
When it came to the Jodi Arias trial, no one knew what to expect. Again it became a waiting game for the Alexander family along with the rest of the world.
The Jodi Arias saga would continue.....
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