Jodi Arias Recounts Relationship History In Travis Alexander Murder Trial

Jodi Arias, on trial for the brutal murder of Travis Alexander, told the jury on Tuesday about the origins of her relationship with Alexander, as well as her history with past boyfriends. Arias is facing conviction for stabbing, shooting, and ultimately killing Alexander in June 2008. She has since confessed, but she claims to have committed the crime out of self defense.

According to Arias, she had been in a serious long-term relationship when she met Alexander. Shortly thereafter she cut ties with her boyfriend and began dating Alexander, which lasted for about five months, but they had sexual encounters even after the fact.

Arias has been going into a detailed account of her life in order to demonstrate her history as a victim of abuse, first from her parents, and then later from boyfriends who lied to her and cheated on her. Arias claimed to have followed boyfriends into different religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism and even witchcraft, ABC News reports. Alexander was an elder in the Mormon church, and Arias converted to Mormonism after their relationship began. This point-by-point recounting of Arias’s life is considered part of a strategy in order to hopefully avoid the first-degree murder charge, which could result in the death sentence. Arias’s team is also trying to paint Alexander as a sexually driven and manipulative figure in the whole scenario.

"What they're doing is trying to elicit sympathy from the jury, to show, look at what this poor person had to go through throughout her life," criminal defense lawyer Michael Cardoza told the New York Daily News.

Arias would become the fourth woman on Arizona's death row if she is convicted of first degree murder.

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