Jury Finds Jodi Arias Guilty

09 May, 2013

An Arizona jury found Jodi Arias guilty on Wednesday of first-degree murder in the death of her ex-boyfriend in a trial that captured national attention for months with graphic sexual evidence and tales of a tumultuous relationship.

Arias, who could face the death penalty, has admitted to shooting 30-year-old Travis Alexander, whose body was found in the shower of his Phoenix valley home in June 2008. He had been shot in the face, stabbed 27 times and his throat had been slashed.

Arias, 32, had tried unsuccessfully to convince the jury that she acted in self-defense after Alexander attacked her because she had dropped his camera while taking photos of him in the shower.

The trial, punctuated by evidence including a sex tape and photographs of the blood-spattered crime scene, became a sensation on cable TV news with its story of an attractive and soft-spoken young woman charged with such a brutal crime.

Arias teared up as the jury’s decision was read while a crowd of hundreds erupted into cheers outside the court. Jurors could have convicted Arias of a lesser crime such as second-degree murder or manslaughter, but instead found her guilty of the most serious charge possible.

Arias, in a television interview after the verdict, indicated that she preferred a death sentence to life in prison, and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said she was subsequently placed on suicide watch.

Reuters

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