As the trial of alleged murderer Jodi Arias resumes Wednesday, the defense is expected to soon launch its last stand effort in the case, introducing at least two "expert witnesses" to the court.
A photographer from California, Arias is charged with the the grisly first-degree murder of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander in June 2008, when she allegedly stabbed the then 27-year-old man 27 times, shot him in the face twice, slit his throat and left his bloodied corpse crumpled over in the bathroom shower of his apartment. 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.
Once Arias finally leaves the stand, her defense team will attempt to repair the damage questions from the prosecution and the jury have done to her image. Defense lawyer Kirk Nurmi may first call on Alyce LaViolette, an expert on domestic abuse who has experience as an expert witness in criminal trials, according to HLNTV. Starting in 1984, LaViolette has appeared as an expert witness in about 30 trials.
LaViolette has authored books on domestic violence, and delivered a speech about post-traumatic stress disorder at a 2011 conference for military families called, "Why Do People Hurt the Ones They Love?", Fox News reported.
PTSD will reportedly play an integral role in the defense's next phase of the trial. LaViolette may be used to explain the nature of Arias' purported "memory condition" that's caused her to blackout key elements of the case, such as most of the act of killing Alexander, and why she was acting so suspiciously afterwards if she knew she'd acted in self-defense.
Arias has tried to explain away many of the inconsistencies in her stories by claiming her memory was foggy the day Alexander died. Arias has wavered back-and-forth between providing surprisingly acute details surrounding the murder to claiming she has little to no memory of certain pieces of the case, such as the actual act of killing Alexander, saying her memory of the fateful day has "huge gaps," according to The Tri-City Herald. Prosecuting attorney Juan Martinez has pounced repeatedly on Arias' seemingly convenient memory loss of the most important aspect of the trial, sniping that it was interesting her memory of killing Alexander was so spotty, yet you "can tell us what kind of coffee you bought at Starbucks sometime back in 2008."
The defense will also likely call expert witness Richard Samuels, a psychologist and self-advertised "expert witness", and another expert on PTSD. He wrote in an article, "Mind Maze," that PTSD "may possibly be caused by the emotional impact of an accident, medical malpractice, sexual assault, or other traumatic event," according to Fox News. He's also written at length about how personality disorders can cause "functional impairment or subjective distress."
"Many individuals with personality disorders do not see their characteristics as being problematic," Samuels wrote.
Arias has testified in court that she remembers shooting Alexander, but not stabbing him almost 30 times or slitting his throat. However, she's also said she doesn't normally have memory problems - something that was clearly a sticking point for many jurors based on their questions. Samuels and LaViolette will likely be used to help explain how - due to PTSD - Arias' memory could be foggy the day she killed Alexander yet still retain some brief scenes from the day such as dropping the knife, putting it in the dishwasher, driving into the desert, etc.
The "expert witnesses" will also be tasked with explaining how someone in such a foggy state was able to remain conscious enough of their behavior to clean up a crime scene, and begin taking steps to evade police just hours after the killing.
Prosecuting attorney Juan Martinez has noted that during the day Arias claims she was lost in a fog, she was still thinking clearly enough to methodically and "meticulously cover her tracks" and dispose of evidence. Martinez said Arias wasted no time in trying evade authorities after Alexander's killing. He drew attention to her behavior in the hours following his death suggesting she was planning out her alibi "immediately" - trying to clean up Alexander's home, calling Alexander's phone and leaving a message, dumping the alleged murder weapon in the desert, throwing away her bloodied clothing, and then driving to visit a man in Utah for a romantic rendezvous. Arias even played the part of concerned friend days later when police found Alexander's body, calling authorities, friends, and even her Mormon bishop, as she tried to find out what police knew and whether "anybody was onto you," Martinez contended
Arias has already admitted to lying about Alexander's death to just about everyone. She first claimed she was never at Alexander's home the day he was killed, then when DNA evidence proved she was lying she said masked intruders killed him, and finally, years later she backtracked to admit she killed the victim, but claimed it was in self-defense, saying he attacked her in the shower, forcing her to fight for her life. She claims she lied so often because she was "ashamed" she killed Alexander in self-defense and because she was afraid of revealing the details of their sexual relationship.
The defense will likely use these expert witnesses to explain that Arias' many repeated, and often changing lies were a result of PTSD, and how she could have been so controlled by Alexander that she would coerce herself into protecting a man she claims routinely abused her physically and mentally.
Arias' lawyers have portrayed her as an innocent, naive, devout Mormon who was sexually exploited by an often sadistic and violent Alexander. Much of the defense's case rests on this portrait of Alexander. Arias has testified throughout the trial about her lover's supposed double life: a devout Mormon virgin on the surface, but a "sexually deviant" abusive control freak underneath. Alexander's friends contend the version of him presented in court by the defense is nothing like the man they knew, but Arias has consistently claimed the couple had a volatile relationship, and that Alexander was possibly a pedophile who was "emotionally detached."
Arias has testified throughout the trial about the couple's equally violent and volatile relationship, claiming Alexander abused her and was "emotionally detached." But the man she's described is nothing like the Alexander his friends knew, according to the Associated Press. Alexander's friends claim 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.
Arias faces the death penalty if convicted. Martinez will begin further cross examination of Arias Wednesday at noon EST.
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