Breaking news: Jodi Arias has been found guilty of first-degree murder. She now faces the death penalty or life in prison.
Jodi Arias is ready to break. As jurors continue deliberation for a fourth day Wednesday, the accused murderer has admitted she's contemplating suicide and would have gladly accepted a plea bargain "years ago."
A 32-year-old waitress and aspiring photographer from California, Arias is accused of the grisly first-degree murder of her ex, Travis Alexander, in June 2008. Arias has admitted to killing her former lover, so her guilt isn't up for debate - but her intent is. Arias' future depends on whether the jury believes she killed Alexander in self-defense because she feared for her life due to his alleged habitual domestic abuse, or that she was actually a jilted lover exacting gruesome, jealous revenge.
After years in jail, and more than four months of testimony, Arias appears as though she's finally hit her nadir this week as a jury of 15 determines her fate. Donovan Bering, a friend of the defendant who reportedly speaks to her daily over the phone, revealed in a tweet Monday that Arias wishes the case had never gone to trial and is currently so desperate that she's suicidal. Bering has sat in court next to Arias' mother since the trial began in January, and has served as Arias' de facto mouthpiece throughout the proceedings via Twitter posts.
"I would have signed a plea years ago to avoid this disaster, but I was refused a plea as the State and the family refused to settle ... I wanted so much to avoid trial but the State forced it. My only other option was suicide and,well..." tweeted Bering on behalf of Arias.
Arias also described her living conditions in jail, took shots at HLNTV personality Nancy Grace and continued her advocacy for the rights of domestic violence victims.
"Re: commissary,many of the items I didn't receive were for indigent girls less fortunate than me. I,thankfully,have a mini surplus of food... N. DisGrace has set back the cause of all women who have survived domestic violence. Her circus makes a mockery of something very serious."
The defense has effectively rested Arias' fate on the argument that Alexander fractured Arias' mental state so badly that's she's suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and memory loss, and is a victim of domestic abuse. The defense's claim that Arias is the real victim here is the crux of its case; an assertion defense attorney Kirk Nurmi emphasized one last time in his closing argument.
Arias' lawyers have portrayed her throughout the trial as an innocent, naive, devout convert of Mormonism who was sexually exploited by an often sadistic and abusive Alexander. The defense's case is essentially built around this version of Alexander. Arias has testified throughout proceedings about her lover's supposed double life: a pious virgin on the surface, but a "sexually deviant" violent control freak underneath. Alexander's friends contend the defense's portrait of him is nothing like the man they knew, and have said Arias was stalking him and was "possessive and jealous." However, Arias has consistently claimed the couple had a volatile relationship, and that Alexander was possibly a pedophile who was "emotionally detached."
With closing arguments finished, a jury of eight men and four women, all of which are predominantly over 40-years-old, are currently deciding if Arias is guilty of the brutal premeditated first-degree murder of her ex-boyfriend and could return a verdict at any moment. While many legal experts believe a guilty verdict for Arias is a foregone conclusion, just how the jury will rule is anyone's guess at this point.
Based on a poll conducted Tuesday by Latinos Post, the vast majority of readers are certain the jury will return a guilty verdict. Out of 988 respondents, 74 percent think the jury will decide Arias is guilty of murder in the first-degree, and 19 percent believe jurors will determine she is guilty of a lesser murder charge, such as manslaughter, or second-degree murder. Few are convinced the jury could vote any other way after viewing a trial made for tabloid headlines: Just 3.64 percent think the trial will be thrown out with a hung jury; only 1.62 percent believe jurors will buy Arias' claim of self-defense; and a mere .81 percent think the jury will rule Arias is not guilty.
If the jury doesn't believe Arias premeditated killing Alexander, they could find her guilty of second-degree murder, which would carry a sentence of anywhere between 10 to 22 years or 15 to 25 years, according to various legal experts. Were the jury to consider the manslaughter charge or not guilty by reason of self-defense, they would have to determine if "a reasonable person in a similar situation would believe that physical force was necessary against the use or threatened use of deadly force," according to court documents.
Medical examiners found that Arias stabbed Alexander 27 times, primarily in the back, as well as the torso and the heart, slit Alexander's throat from ear to ear with so much force it almost decapitated him, shot him in the head, and left his bloodied corpse crumpled over in the bathroom shower of his home - all in the course of 106 seconds. The prosecution has argued that Arias stabbed Alexander before she shot him, which is significant to the prosecution's case that Arias was not acting in self-defense, and didn't commit a crime of passion, but was rather "posed to strike."
After a few days of deliberation, jurors have seemingly indicated that determining a verdict could be just as complex and confounding as the trial itself. Jurors have hardly left chambers during 13 plus hours of deliberation and have reportedly looked "beat" upon exiting at the end of the day. Deliberations will continue every weekday from noon until 7:30 p.m. EST.
The trial's jury deliberation phase will resume Wednesday at 1 p.m. EST. Judge Sherry Stephens provided no explanation for the delay.
Update: The jury has reportedly reached a verdict. The ruling is expected to be announced at 4:30 p.m. EST.