After spending the majority of the trial backed up against the ropes, Jodi Arias' defense team may have landed its first genuine punch Thursday: a domestic abuse expert testified that previously undiscussed emails from Travis Alexander's close friends showed he had a history of abuse.
A 32-year-old photographer from California, Arias is charged with the the grisly first-degree murder of her ex-boyfriend, Alexander, in June 2008, when she stabbed the 30-year-old man 27 times, shot him in the face, slit his throat from ear to ear and left his bloodied corpse crumpled over in the bathroom shower of his home. Arias' guilt is not up for debate - but her mental state at the time of the killing is. Arias' fate depends on whether the jury believes she killed Alexander in self-defense, as she contends, or was actually a jilted lover exacting jealous revenge, as the prosecution argues.
Now that psychologist and self-advertised "expert witness" on post traumatic stress disorder, Richard Samuels, is off the stand after six days of progressively deflating testimony, the defense has moved on to focus on domestic abuse with psychotherapist Alyce LaViolette, an expert who has authored books on the topic, has experience as an expert witness for both the prosecution and defense in about 30 criminal trials, and has also delivered speeches about PTSD.
The defense broke its back for LaViolette's first two days on the stand merely trying to prove her professional credentials after prosecutor Juan Martinez destroyed the credibility of its last "expert witness," hammering time and again that for someone claiming to be an expert, Samuels made a surprising amount of admitted errors in his diagnosis of Arias. Following Wednesday's unexpected cancellation of court, Arias' lawyers began Thursday with a renewed focus to show that she was the true victim here, and not Alexander - something the defense has been trying to establish since the beginning of the trial.
Arias lawyers asked LaViollete to discuss a series of previously undisclosed series email exchanges between Arias, Alexander, and his "longtime friends," Chris and Sky Hughes.
"They have basically advised Ms. Arias to move on from the relationship ... that Mr. Alexander has been abusive to women," said LaViolette, according to The Huffington Post.
LaViolette was prohibited from quoting from the emails, and was only allowed to paraphrase and give her personal opinion of the content. The email exchanges were not shown to the jury.
"The question with regard to whether or not the Hugheses thought Mr. Alexander had previously been abusive with women, is that important to you?" defense lawyer Jennifer Willmott asked LaViolette.
"Yes, it is," LaViolette responded.
"Does that help you to formulate an opinion ultimately about the type of relationship this ended up to be?" Willmott asked.
"Yes it does," answered LaViolette.
"And so, in this e-mail, is there information about whether or not Mr. Alexander's closest friends thought he had issues with women?" Willmott asked.
"Yes, there is," said LaViolette.
Arias has testified throughout the trial about the couple's equally violent and volatile relationship, claiming Alexander was often verbally abusive and controlling, and physically abused her on multiple occasions, breaking her finger, and slamming her to the ground. However, none of her accusations have been corroborated by evidence or testimony from anyone other than her. Some of Alexander's other friends have conversely claimed that Arias was stalking him and was "possessive and jealous." The prosecution has alleged that the pair had become distant in the weeks before the killing, and Alexander was trying to get Arias to leave him alone.
During the email exchange, Sky Hughes also wrote that she wouldn't let Alexander date her sister, LaViolette said.
"They [the Hugheses] thought he needed counseling, they also indicated that they thought he was greatly affected by his childhood and he was afraid to look at it because he was afraid it would make him look weak," LaViolette testified.
"There was reference to a particular woman and his manipulation of that woman." LaViolette said. "There was information about Mr. Alexander calling Ms. Arias a skank and then acting like it was a joke. There was information about the way he ignored her in public places and would not allow her to put pictures of them up in places where other people could see them. Just basic ways he treated her, or they felt he mistreated her ... that they indicated were abusive."
Prosecuting attorney Martinez objected to the majority of LaViollete's testimony, arguing her claims were nothing more than hearsay, but it made little difference; the judge overruled most of his objections.
The defense's last "expert witness" wound up looking like little more than a hired-hand-puppet after Martinez ripped through his testimony, but if Thursday is any indication of what the future holds for the trial, the state's attorney may have a more difficult time with LaViolette.
The trial resumes with more testimony from LaViolette Tuesday, April 2 at 12:30 p.m. EST.