What did Jodi Arias do? Her crime, explained

In the history of true crime, Jodi Arias’ case is a quintessential example of the horrifying consequences of adopting a “if I can’t have you, no one can” mentality.

Even the most casual viewers of real crime cases have likely heard of the case against Jodi Arias. It was one of the biggest criminal trial spectacles in the U.S. in the decade of the 2000s. But in case you haven’t — or the details have become blurred in your mind with time — here’s a rundown of the brutal homicide committed by Arias.

Arias became obsessed with Alexander

In 2004, Jodi Arias moved to California with her boyfriend at the time, Daryl, and Travis Alexander was working for Pre-paid Legal Services, a multi-level marketing company. Jodi became employed as a saleswoman for that same company. At some point during his career, Travis moved to Mesa, Arizona, home to a large faith community of Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS, known colloquially as Mormons), of which he was a member.

In September 2006, the company hosted a convention in Las Vegas, and the two were set up by friends as a sort of blind date. Those who were around at the time of their meeting said there was a noticeable instant spark between Jodi and Travis. At this point, Jodi was still romantically involved with Daryl. Travis, on the other hand, had been single for a while, and his friends were rooting for him to find the one. Unfortunately, Jodi wouldn’t be “the one” in the right sense.

After returning to their respective states, Jodi and Travis kept what can be considered as a long-distance relationship. Travis introduced his new paramour to his faith, which she ostensibly embraced. In November 2006, Jodi broke up with Daryl – yes, they were technically still dating – and was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But it wasn’t until February 2007 that the two made their relationship official.

The couple traveled together often, making it easy for the two, who lived miles apart, to meet. Their relationship had a strong sexual foundation, despite the fact that Travis’ faith frowned upon this kind of intimacy before marriage, but he was too entangled in Jodi’s web. Jodi, who enjoyed photography, would often bring her camera into the bedroom on the nights she would go to Mesa to be with Travis.

Jodi, as Travis’ friends noted, was his shadow at all times. At the end of the day though, Travis wasn’t as invested in the relationship as Jodi. She would be the one to break off the relationship in June of 2007, once she found out he was talking to other women. Jodi likely expected Travis to come crawling back to her and stay with her, which did not play out as she anticipated.

They continued to see each other even after their break-up. Jodi would sneak into his house — often through the dog door — and wait for him to find her in his bed, if that’s what it took. As retaliation for seeing other women, she would slash his car tires. She truly became the overly-attached stalker ex-girlfriend.

Even as he tried to move forward with his life, Travis still struggled to say “no” to Jodi. But there was a last straw, an enormous fight no one really knows the content of, only that Travis had seen through a number of Jodi’s lies and was ready to finally put his foot down.

What went down on June 4, 2008

In April 2008, Jodi started living with her grandparents in California. A month later, the elderly couple called the authorities to report some stolen items like, of particular interest to this case, a handgun. Less than a week thereafter, she rented a car, passed by her ex-partner Daryl’s house to grab two gas cans so she wouldn’t have to make any stops and leave a traceable trail, and drove all the way to Mesa. However, she made it appear as if she was going to Utah to meet with a new lover she had. Well, she did go to Utah, but she would not arrive until June 5.

On the night of June 4, Jodi stabbed Travis over 25 times, used the handgun she stole to shoot him in the head, and when he stopped fighting and fell over, she slit his throat. On June 10, Travis was supposed to be going on a trip to Mexico with a romantic interest, but she did not hear from him for a suspicious number of days before the date of departure and became worried. Travis’ already decomposing body was found by her and some common friends on the night of June 9. Despite the smell and not having seen him for a couple of days, Travis’ two housemates had not realized he had been murdered until this moment.

When authorities began questioning Travis’ acquaintances about whether there was anyone who’d want to harm him, Jodi’s name came up right away.

Trial and escaping a death sentence

Jodi went to great lengths to plan, carry out, and hide her crime. However, she did not avoid making some crucial mistakes. Besides the handgun’s caliber, DNA evidence, fingertips, hair, and bloody handprint, one of the most damning pieces of evidence was the camera Jodi had put in the washer along with the bedsheets. Although she’d done her best to erase the pictures they’d taken that night, these were recovered from the memory card, and the timestamps told a pretty clear story.

Jodi’s story went from having nothing to do with Travis’ murder, to having witnessed it but not partaken, to denigrating his image and claiming self-defense.

Jodi was found guilty and outside the court, a crowd cheered. During the sentencing phase, Jodi did her utmost to portray herself as someone deserving of a chance. That might’ve worked because her first two sentencing trials ended in a hung jury, and she effectively evaded the death penalty when the judge, as dictated by Arizona law, finally handed down a sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole. Her appeals failed, and Jodi remains incarcerated to this day.