Killer Girlfriend: The Jodi Arias Story by Josh Hoffner Brian Skoloff Page A
Authors: Josh Hoffner Brian Skoloff
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couldn’t afford a private lawyer,
so Arizona taxpayers would pick up the tab.
The longer the trial went on, the more the public outrage grew as the price tag to
taxpayers ballooned. It is a right afforded to all citizens, but it is does not come
cheaply when you are dealing with a trial that lasts more than four months and requires
years of pretrial motions and arguments. By the end of the trial, the cost of Jodi’s
defense exceeded $1.7 million. In addition, the case essentially consumed half of
Martinez’s year — time he could have spent on other cases. Martinez makes about $110,000
a year. And he had Detective Flores at his side the entire trial, again time the officer
could have spent on other casework. There are also jail and court costs associated
with housing Arias and putting on a trial of this magnitude.
The defense costs included all sorts of billable hours. Their expert witnesses weren’t
cheap, either. Alyce LaViolette made up to $300 per hour to tell jurors that Jodi
was a battered woman. The other main defense expert made $250 an hour.
Chapter 19 The Prosecution
Chapter 19
The Prosecution
“I did not kill Travis” — Jodi Arias
The state called Detective Flores to the stand.
Flores, the lead investigator, ambled to the witness stand and took jurors through
the bizarre beginning, not just the discovery of Alexander’s body, but the telephone
calls he received from Jodi.
Jodi wanted to help. Anything the detective needed. Jodi was there for him. Who could
have done this? she pondered. It was unimaginable. The detective, too, found it unimaginable.
And after a while, unbelievable.
It was June 10, 2008, a day after Travis’ body was found.
Jodi called Flores and explains how she hadn’t seen her one-time boyfriend in about
two months.
“I heard that he passed away, and that, I don’t know, I heard all kinds of rumors,”
she said on the recorded call played for jurors in court.
Jurors heard Jodi tell Flores she moved back to California in April, and that was
the last time she saw Travis after their relationship ended.
“You haven’t come back in town since then?” Flores asked.
“No, I haven’t,” Jodi replied on the call.
She then explained how she knew of no enemies Travis had, and no weapons he kept
in the home.
Flores knew something wasn’t right. After all, Travis’ friends immediately fingered
Jodi as the possible culprit. The odds were clearly stacked against her.
As in so many criminal cases, the lies always come back to haunt the suspect. Jodi’s
challenges would be formidable as the prosecution made quick work of its case in less
than two weeks. The case seemed clear, the evidence irrefutable.
Martinez pointed out how Jodi’s palm print was found in blood at the scene, along
with the nude photos of her and Travis time-stamped on the day he died.
Then there was the gun. Jodi’s grandparents had reported a .25 caliber pistol stolen
from their home just about a week before the killing — the same caliber used to shoot
Travis in the forehead.
Her insistence at the start — and for two years after her arrest — that she had nothing
to do with his death and wasn’t even there. Then later came the outlandish story of
the masked intruders. She finally settled on self-defense, and her changing version
of events would be played out again and again throughout the trial.
All of this, combined with the sheer brutality of the attack, the rage with which
it was carried out, not just a single gunshot or a few stab wounds, but a virtual
butchering of his body, would prove formidable obstacles for Jodi’s defense.
“Her changing stories, the confession, the forensic evidence, it’s just a very difficult
case to defend, “ California criminal defense lawyer Mark Geragos told The Associated
Press at the time.
The defense’s only hope was to spare Jodi the death penalty using expert witness
after expert
so Arizona taxpayers would pick up the tab.
The longer the trial went on, the more the public outrage grew as the price tag to
taxpayers ballooned. It is a right afforded to all citizens, but it is does not come
cheaply when you are dealing with a trial that lasts more than four months and requires
years of pretrial motions and arguments. By the end of the trial, the cost of Jodi’s
defense exceeded $1.7 million. In addition, the case essentially consumed half of
Martinez’s year — time he could have spent on other cases. Martinez makes about $110,000
a year. And he had Detective Flores at his side the entire trial, again time the officer
could have spent on other casework. There are also jail and court costs associated
with housing Arias and putting on a trial of this magnitude.
The defense costs included all sorts of billable hours. Their expert witnesses weren’t
cheap, either. Alyce LaViolette made up to $300 per hour to tell jurors that Jodi
was a battered woman. The other main defense expert made $250 an hour.
Chapter 19 The Prosecution
Chapter 19
The Prosecution
“I did not kill Travis” — Jodi Arias
The state called Detective Flores to the stand.
Flores, the lead investigator, ambled to the witness stand and took jurors through
the bizarre beginning, not just the discovery of Alexander’s body, but the telephone
calls he received from Jodi.
Jodi wanted to help. Anything the detective needed. Jodi was there for him. Who could
have done this? she pondered. It was unimaginable. The detective, too, found it unimaginable.
And after a while, unbelievable.
It was June 10, 2008, a day after Travis’ body was found.
Jodi called Flores and explains how she hadn’t seen her one-time boyfriend in about
two months.
“I heard that he passed away, and that, I don’t know, I heard all kinds of rumors,”
she said on the recorded call played for jurors in court.
Jurors heard Jodi tell Flores she moved back to California in April, and that was
the last time she saw Travis after their relationship ended.
“You haven’t come back in town since then?” Flores asked.
“No, I haven’t,” Jodi replied on the call.
She then explained how she knew of no enemies Travis had, and no weapons he kept
in the home.
Flores knew something wasn’t right. After all, Travis’ friends immediately fingered
Jodi as the possible culprit. The odds were clearly stacked against her.
As in so many criminal cases, the lies always come back to haunt the suspect. Jodi’s
challenges would be formidable as the prosecution made quick work of its case in less
than two weeks. The case seemed clear, the evidence irrefutable.
Martinez pointed out how Jodi’s palm print was found in blood at the scene, along
with the nude photos of her and Travis time-stamped on the day he died.
Then there was the gun. Jodi’s grandparents had reported a .25 caliber pistol stolen
from their home just about a week before the killing — the same caliber used to shoot
Travis in the forehead.
Her insistence at the start — and for two years after her arrest — that she had nothing
to do with his death and wasn’t even there. Then later came the outlandish story of
the masked intruders. She finally settled on self-defense, and her changing version
of events would be played out again and again throughout the trial.
All of this, combined with the sheer brutality of the attack, the rage with which
it was carried out, not just a single gunshot or a few stab wounds, but a virtual
butchering of his body, would prove formidable obstacles for Jodi’s defense.
“Her changing stories, the confession, the forensic evidence, it’s just a very difficult
case to defend, “ California criminal defense lawyer Mark Geragos told The Associated
Press at the time.
The defense’s only hope was to spare Jodi the death penalty using expert witness
after expert
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