Thirty-two year-old Jodi Arias could soon become the fourth woman on Arizona's death row if she's convicted of killing her boyfriend in 2008. According to the NY Daily News, Arias is accused of killing 30-year-old Travis Alexander in his suburban Phoenix home.
A devout Mormon and businessman, Alexander was brutally shot in the head, stabbed 27 times, and had his throat slit open by Arias, prosecutors allege. They add that Arias killed her ex-boyfriend in a fit of jealousy after Alexander attempted to break up with her. But Arias tells a different story, saying that her boyfriend was abusive and that she acted in self-defense.
However, it is not the same story she originally told about the incident. Arias first reported that she and Alexander had been attacked by two masked men and that she had managed to escape. Although she didn't report the attack-for fear for her life-Arias said she believed Alexander had lived.
In an interview with CBS show "48 Hours," Arias maintained that she is innocent of the horrific crime.
"If a conviction happens, I know I won't be the first person to be wrongly convicted," Arias told CBS reporter Maureen Maher. "If it was my choice, I would choose the death penalty because I don't want to spend a life in prison."
Despite maintaining her innocence, authorities said that they discovered sexual photographs of the two the day of the murder. According to the NY Daily News, Mesa police said the photos, which are time stamped, show Arias and Alexander naked and then Alexander dead in the bathroom. Arias' bloody palm print and hair was also discovered at the scene.
Prosecutors contend that the California woman killed Alexander after he attempted to break up with her. However, Arias said that she was the one to break the relationship off after about five months of dating. The two maintained a sexual relationship, she added.
According to the Daily Mail, Alexander was killed around June 4, 2008, and was discovered dead in his shower by his roommates five days later. Arias' trial is scheduled to resume on Jan. 29, with both the prosecution and the defense expected to play parts of the "48 Hours" interview for the jurors. The trail is expected to last through at least April.
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