Jodi Arias found GUILTY of stabbing and shooting dead her ex-boyfriend in sex-driven murder that gripped America



Verdict marks the end of sensational four-month trial in Phoenix, Arizona in which the jury heard tales of sex, lies and jealousy

Arias, 32, stabbed her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander nearly 30 times, shot him in the head and slit his throat, nearly decapitating him

She had claimed she had killed him in self-defense after months of abuse

Arias now faces life in prison or the death penalty



Jodi Arias has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the brutal stabbing and shooting of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, who was found dead in a pool of blood in his shower in 2008.

In what marks the end of a sensational case wrought with sex, lies and jealousy, a jury in Phoenix, Arizona delivered the verdict on Wednesday afternoon, four months after the trial began.

Arias, 32, became emotional as the jury announced the first-degree murder charge.

The jury, which took two days to reach the verdict, will convene for the next stage in the case tomorrow to decide on Arias' sentence. She could face life in prison or the death penalty.



The bloodied body of Travis Alexander, a Mormon motivational speaker and salesman, was found by friends in the shower of his Mesa, Arizona home five days after he was killed in June 2008.

Guilty! Jody Arias, 32, has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of her ex, Travis Alexander

Insistence: Arias, 32, had claimed that she killed Alexander in self defense after she attacked him

Shock: Arias struggles to keep her emotions in check as the guilty verdict is read on Wednesday afternoon

In grisly scenes that were photographed and shown in court, he suffered nearly 30 knife wounds to his body, was shot in the head and had his throat slit so deeply he was almost decapitated.



Arias then dragged his body into his shower before dumping it for his friends to find.



Testimony in the trial began in early January, with Arias later spending 18 days on the witness stand.

The trial quickly snowballed into a made-for-the-tabloids drama, garnering daily coverage from cable news networks, and spawning a virtual cottage industry for talk shows, legal experts and even Arias, who used her notoriety to sell artwork she made in jail.

Arias and Alexander had dated for only several months after meeting at a conference in Las Vegas in 2007, but they continued a sexual relationship after their breakup.



Killed: Arias said she killed Alexander, left, in self defense but prosecutors said the attack was planned Justice: Family and friends of Travis Alexander react after Jodi Arias was found of guilty of murder

Reaction: Spectators outside the court react with excitement after the verdict was announced

Invested: Spectators who have followed the case closely become emotional outside the court

WHAT'S THE NEXT PHASE? JURY MUST DECIDE ON DEATH PENALTY In the next phase of the Jodi Arias murder case, prosecutors will have a chance to present extra evidence and jurors will have to decide whether Travis Alexander's death was caused in a cruel manner.

The prosecution and defense will now start arguing over aggravating and mitigating factors that could lead to the sentence.

First of all, prosecutor Juan Martinez will need to prove an aggravating factor - that the murder was cruel, heinous or depraved - in order to reach the death penalty phase.

If such a factor is found, the jurors will then decide on whether there are any mitigating factors, i.e. any evidence regarding the defendant's character or the circumstances of the crime (such as mental illness, age etc) which would lead to the punishment. This phase is also more about Jodi's character.

If they believe there are such factors, the death penalty hearing will begin in front of the jury.

During the death penalty phase, the defense and prosecution will both give opening statements, and then the jury will hear victim impact statements, typically given by relatives of the victim.

Prosecutors claimed that Arias had planned the brutal attack in a jealous rage after being rejected by Alexander as he planned to head on a trip to Mexico with another woman.

Arias initially any denied involvement - even calling Alexander in the days after the killing and leaving friendly messages on his voicemail - and later blamed the killing on masked intruders.

But two years after her arrest, she eventually admitted to killing him - but said it was in self-defense. She said she recalled Alexander attacking her in fury for dropping his camera after a day of sex at his home.



She said Alexander came at her 'like a linebacker', body-slamming her to the tile floor. She said she managed to wriggle free and ran into his closet to retrieve a gun he kept on a shelf.

She said she fired in self-defense but had no memory of stabbing him.

But throughout the trial, prosecutor Juan Martinez attempted to paint Arias as a manipulative liar and said her account did simply not line up with the facts and how she had appeared to plot the killing.

'It's like a field of lies that has sprouted up around her as she sat on the witness stand,' Martinez said of Arias. 'Every time she spat something out, another lie.'

Martinez sought to show how Arias had planned out her attack weeks in advance, explaining how she stole the .25 -caliber gun used in the attack from her grandparents' home where she was staying in Yreka, California, two days after a heated text-message exchange between Arias and Alexander.



During the text exchange, Alexander described her as a 'sociopath' and 'evil.'

'How absolutely prophetic,' Martinez had said to the court.

She rented a car at an airport in Northern California to drive to Alexander's home, but refused a red car as she thought it might attract tickets, Martinez said.

Tears: Arias, who became emotional, now faces a hearing to see if she will receive the death penalty Shock: Sandra Arias, center, reacts after her daughter was found of guilty of first-degree murder She then filled up three gas cans in Pasadena and turned off her cellphone before she reached Arizona, Martinez said, suggesting these decisions were so that there was no proof she was in Arizona at the time she killed Alexander.

He said such actions are those of someone committing first-degree, premeditated murder. Throughout the trial, the prosecution repeatedly showed grisly crime scene photographs of Travis Alexander, including blood-splattered walls and images of his deep knife wounds. The images were too much for Arias and Alexander's relatives, who buried their faces in their hands or otherwise looked away as the photos were displayed on a giant screen. In a bizarre twist, a camera, which she apparently dropped, also snapped photographs of her dragging his body. It was later found in a washing machine and water-logged but authorities were able to retrieve the images. Others showed Arias and Alexander on the day before his death.

Arias acknowledged trying to clean the scene of the killing, dumping the gun in the desert and working on an alibi to avoid suspicion.

Dramatic: Prosecutor Juan Martinez sought to paint Arias as a manipulative liar who planned the killing

Defense: But Kirk Nurmi said that Alexander was a sexual deviant who emotionally abused Arias Decision: Judge Sherry Stephens is handed the decision after the jury deliberated for two days She said she was too scared and ashamed to tell the truth, and didn't want to sully Alexander's name by revealing their raunchy sex and his violent episodes. After her arrest in June 2008, she displayed bizarre behavior, such as singing, laughing, talking to herself and doing a 20-minute headstand while alone in the interrogation room. Footage of the strange behavior was deemed too prejudicial to show the jury. Arias and her defense team had argued that Alexander had grown physically abusive in the months before she killed him, once even choking her into unconsciousness, yet she loved him. The defense sought to portrayed Alexander as a cheating womanizer who used Arias for sex and abused her physically, sexually and emotionally while keeping her hidden from his friends. Arias testified for 18 days and described her abusive childhood, cheating boyfriends, dead-end jobs, a shocking sexual relationship with Alexander, and her contention that he had grown physically abusive in the months leading to his death, once even choking her into unconsciousness.

Moments before: Photographs on Alexander's camera showed him in the shower moments before his death

Crime scene: The jury was shown numerous photographs of the bathroom where his body was found

Grisly: Images inside his home showed where Arias had dragged his body after repeatedly stabbing him

She claimed she felt ashamed following sex with Alexander - even though prosecutors played voicemails where she told of how much she enjoyed their dalliances and named her favorite types of lubricants.

As a way to absolve she and Alexander - both of whom were Mormon - from their activities, she has testified that she felt anal sex was considered a ‘grey area’ as opposed to vaginal sex, though she did admit that they had vaginal sex on more than one occasion as well.

'I acted like I liked it,' she said of the first time she had oral sex with Alexander, but she went on to say that she did not enjoy it 'internally'.

In a bid to portray Alexander as controlling, the defense also showed images of Arias wearing a shirt reading: 'Travis Alexander's.'

Together: The couple only dated for several months but continued a sexual relationship after they broke up

Death: Alexander was found dead his shower by his friends five days after he was killed by Arias

Among the shocking testimony that threw doubt on Arias' claims that she was sexually victimized, a tape of Arias and Alexander having phone sex was played for the court.



On the recording from May 2008, Arias was heard breathing deeply, moaning and discussing how she loves that Alexander is 'hairless and smooth all over'.

The couple discussed previous times they had sex and graphic activities where they would experiment sexually with Pop Rocks and Tootsie Rolls.

During the 30-minute conversation, the pair also encouraged each other to pleasure themselves, discussed oral sex and talked about having sex in bubble baths.

On the tape, Alexander said that Arias introduced him to lubricants and talks about her bikini waxes.

At one point, he said he wanted to 'zip tie her to a tree' before performing anal sex and videotaping the experience.

Captivated: Spectators wait outside Superior Court in Phoenix before Arias appeared to hear the verdict

Following: Several of the dozens of spectators enjoyed pizza as they waited for the verdict in the case Waiting for news: People gather outside Superior Court in downtown Phoenix ahead of the verdict

Trial: The murder case was held at Maricopa County Superior Court for more than four months

She responded: 'It is so debasing... I like it.'

Arias later told the court that he wanted her to dress up like Little Red Riding Hood while she was tied to the tree, which she said she connected to his desire for young boys and girls. Prosecutors said there was no evidence for these claims.



Alongside the scandal of the murder trial, the case was wrought with problems. Three members of the jury were dismissed within a month.

A 52-year-old man, Daniel Gibb, was released from the case after being arrested on a DUI charge and was allegedly so drunk, he told arresting officers he was a juror on the case.

Juror No. 11 - another man - was excused because of health reasons on April 12, and a woman who was Juror No. 5, later identified as Meliha Omanovic, was dismissed on April 2, reportedly for making statements that showed a bias.

It left the jury with 15 people - nine men and six women.