Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Arguing emotional abuse at murder trial

Occasionally I see a story about some wife killing her husband, and giving the excuse that she had to do it after years of abuse. Someone the woman gets some sympathy, while never having a good answer for why she did not leave if she was so unhappy.

One of the more famous examples was the Scarsdale diet doctor mistress, who died recently. Her 1980 trial was national news, and she was convicted of murder. Feminists all over the country were arguing for an acquittal.

Now this case is much sillier. Reuters reports:
An Arizona woman charged with stabbing and shooting her lover to death - and whose graphic testimony has gripped viewers across the United States - described in court a relationship based around sex that left her feeling "like a prostitute."

Lawyers for Jodi Arias, who could face the death penalty if convicted, argue she acted in self-defense when she killed her lover. He was found in the shower of his Phoenix valley home, shot in the face, stabbed 27 times and with his throat slit.

"I just felt ... a little bit, I hate to put it this way, but I felt a little bit used," Arias, a petite, bespectacled woman with long brown hair, told the court on Wednesday in a calm, measured tone, describing a relationship she said was based around sex.

"He gets a hotel room, I show up, we hang out, we have sex ... He's not really mentally present. I'm getting a lot of attention, but only while we're engaging in sexual activity, and then we check out and he takes off. I kind of felt like a prostitute, sort of," Arias told the court.

Arias, dressed in a dark jacket and wearing glasses, was taking the stand for a third day on Wednesday at the Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix where she is on trial accused of murdering 30-year-old Travis Alexander in 2008.

Her counsel says Arias killed Alexander after years of emotional abuse and mistreatment. In her testimony, she described a sexual relationship with him that was "missing the emotional part, the mental connection, being on the same page."
I don't know how anyone could argue with a straight face that concentrating attention during sexual activity is emotional abuse.

Keep in mind that they were not married, and did not have kids. She was free to go at any time.
Arias, 32, recalled one occasion at a banquet in Oklahoma City, where she hid in a bathroom to cry after she saw Alexander flirting with a woman who was wearing a revealing dress.

"I didn't think the behavior was appropriate ... It hurt my feelings ... I was appalled that he was doing it in front of me." ...

Describing their first kiss in response to questions from defense attorney Kirk Nurmi, she said: "He got right in my face, maybe four inches, five," adding, "He licked his lips and said 'I wish you didn't have a boyfriend.'"

Alexander had been dead for five days when he was found with a slit throat, a bullet wound in his head and 27 stab wounds, the Arizona Republic newspaper reported. His death was connected to Arias after sexually explicit photos were found on the memory card of his camera.
Wow, she kisses him while dating another man, and cries when he flirts with another woman? And that is her defense? She will surely be convicted.

Update: In case you think that no one could take the side of Jodi Arias, the killer, check out JodiAriasIsInnocent.com. SJ has a lot of info about the case, and is predicting a jury acquittal, just like in the Casey Anthony case.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've NEVER seen such horrible abuse heaped on a women than this beast of a man heaped on her! Sure he deserves to die several times over for this abuse!/s

Sadly I have no doubt that the jury will let her go, I have some hope that eventually the family members of these murdered men will take justice into their own hands but I'll not hold my breath about that.

Scope Creep said...

Where exactly is there any evidence proving a single allegation made by this lunatic? This woman is a batty piece of moonfuit. First she claimed she was never in Travis's house, then she admitted she was. She tried to say they were both attacked by unknown assailants, then changed her mind again and claimed self-defense. There is not a shred of evidence that he ever abused her physically or mentally. So desperate is this woman, that she has also tried to claim that this man admitted to her in secret that he was not only gay, but was attracted to little boys to boot. The problem with this story? Not only did his psychological profile not match that of a pedophile - detectives found no evidence of any pornographic material or erased files to suggest he every viewed such material. His web history also showed no such attempt to obtain that material. If Travis was so emotionally unattached to this woman that casual sex was all there was to the relationship, then there was no sign of him holding dominion over her or putting her into a position that constituted a threat to her ability to freely move about her life. Everything that has been demonstrated so far shows that she and him were consensual lovers, and that is it.

George said...

Thanks. She seems guilty as hell to me. I'll wait for the jury verdict.

Scope Creep said...

LOL - it gets even better: Here is a link to pictures of the couple from none other than her own MySpace page:

http://www.myspace.com/jodiarias/photos/24571684#{%22ImageId%22%3A24571684}

Look at those pictures - the horror, the horror! :p

InjurylawyerNYC said...

Regardless of the abuse, she chose to take justice at her own hands and that is an American crime regardless of her excuses. Can't wait for the verdict.

Anonymous said...

I live in Arizona. I watch this bizarre case almost everyday.Jodi Arias is a lunatic and every word that comes out of the psycho's month are lies. Arias, needs the death penalty for what she did To Mr. Alexander. Arais, is not beautiful without her white make-up and bleached blond hair she is ugly.Arias deserves the death sentence. Although I believe this jury will give her life without parole.Jodi Arias was not abused in anyway. Travis Alexander,had nice vehicles, very nice home and he was making money.Arias was used to boyfriends with out much of a future.Arias slaughtered this young man because she was not his choice for a wife. Jealousy and hate is why she killed Travis, she was not going to live in the beautiful home in Mesa. DV was mentioned 2 years after she was arrested.Arias introduced this poor guy to the above the norm sex. It appears he became addicted.Sex does not make a man love a woman.(as she thought)Again there was no abuse done to this lunatic killer. I hope the family will file suit for wrongful death once Arias is convicted to stop her from writing a book and making money for her childish drawings.Please those of you who may think this terrible killing was Travis Alexander fault, rethink and read all the evidence in this very sad case. Look at all the photos of Jodi Arias, laughing, smirking and smiling in court. It appears to be a big joke to her as well as her moronic attorney's