She Stabbed Her Ex-Boyfriend Twenty Seven Times and Nearly Decapitated Him
The Notorious Story of Jodi Arias and Travis Alexander
Who Was Travis Alexander?
Travis Alexander was born in Riverside, California, on July 28 of 1977. He had a rough childhood as both of his parents were abusive drug addicts. Throughout his childhood, he was often left with his siblings to fend for themselves with no food. When Alexander was eleven years old, he moved in with his paternal grandmother; things started to turn around for him.
After moving in with his grandmother, Alexander started practicing Mormonism. Mormonism helped Alexander get through this difficult part of his life. The teachings resonated with him, and he loved going to Church. He finally felt like he belonged; he continued to practice Mormonism throughout his adulthood as well.
Alexander eventually landed a job with Pre-Paid Legal Services (PPL) as a salesman and motivational speaker. In 2006, Alexander went to a conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, for PPL. It was here that he met Jodi Arias.
Who Is Jodi Arias?
Jodi Arias was born in Salinas, California, on July 9 of 1980. Arias had a very traditional upbringing and was loved and cared for by both of her parents. During her early teenage years, Arias and her family moved to a more remote part of California due to her dad having some health problems. The move was to be closer to family and have more of a support system.
However, Arias did not like this move at all. It was with this move that her parents started to notice a change in Arias’ behavior and demeanor. She started smoking marijuana and getting into trouble. Her parents began to suspect that she was smoking, so they searched her room. They discovered that not only was she smoking, but she was also growing her own marijuana in her room.
This did not sit well with her parents; to try and scare her straight; they called the sheriff for extra enforcement. After this incident, Arias lost all trust in her parents and stopped confiding in them. By the age of sixteen, Arias had moved out of her parents’ home altogether and was living with her boyfriend at the time.
She continued to be on her own from sixteen into early adulthood. She worked several odd jobs to provide for herself. She eventually started working for Pre-Paid Legal Services (PPL). In 2006, Arias attended a conference for PPL in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she met Travis Alexander.
Instant Chemistry
After meeting in the hotel lobby for the first time, Arias and Alexander hit it off instantly. Alexander asked Arias to be his plus one for one of the events happening that weekend, and they stayed up talking until 4:00 am. Their connection grew stronger and by February- five months after meeting each other- they were officially dating. Shortly after making their relationship official, Arias converted to Mormonism and baptized Alexander himself.
During the early stages of their relationship, they traveled and saw a lot of different sites in the Southwest. They were falling in love quickly; friends could see how much Alexander cared and adored Arias.
Things Start Getting Toxic
As the honeymoon phase started to dwindle, so did their healthy relationship. Alexander was internally struggling with the fact that they were having premarital sex- something that is strongly forbidden in the Mormon religion- and Arias was becoming more infatuated and sexually intrigued with him.
Arias’ infatuation with Alexander soon turned obsessive and toxic. She began to get increasingly possessive of Alexander. She would constantly have to sit right next to him and would even follow him to the bathroom and stand outside the door while he used it.
A few of Alexander’s loyal friends tried to bring up their concerns over Arias’ behavior with him. One night while at home, they sat him down in his room and expressed how obsessive and toxic Arias was becoming. They explained how they were getting worried for his safety. Alexander blew them off and said that he enjoyed spending time with Arias.
The Breakup
After dating for five months, Alexander ended the relationship. Although the relationship was over in Alexander’s eyes, it was very much alive and thriving in the eyes of Jodi Arias. Arias would often show up at Alexander’s house and casually let herself in through his garage door. If she couldn’t get in through the garage door, she wasn’t opposed to crawling through his doggy door and did so on one occasion.
It wasn’t until eight months later- when Arias moved to a different state- that the breakup was “final.” Although they were allegedly broken up, Alexander and Arias still had constant communication with each other. Their communication included phone calls, emails, text messages, and phone sex.
June 9, 2008
In June of 2008, Alexander was supposed to go to Cancun with a few friends. After trying to contact Alexander to plan the trip, his friends started to grow concerned after not hearing from him for five days. They went to his house to make sure he was okay.
When they got to his house, they found his roommate there and asked if he had heard from Alexander. His roommate, however, was under the impression that Alexander had already left for Cancun. It wasn’t until they opened the door to Alexander’s room that they discovered the gruesome scene.
The Crime Scene
The crime scene was very messy. Upon opening the door, there was a large puddle of blood. There was a bloody palm print- which was later identified as a mixture between both Alexander and Arias’- on the wall leading into the bathroom. There was blood all over the sink and floor.
Alexander’s body was discovered in the shower. He was stabbed twenty-seven times, his neck had been cut from ear to ear- nearly decapitating him- and he had been shot in the head.
After discovering Alexander’s body, his friends immediately called 911. Once detectives arrived, they started to dissect the scene, and that’s when they discovered a camera inside the washing machine. After recovering the camera, they were able to get pictures from the memory card.
The pictures detailed Alexander’s last minutes before he was brutally murdered. There were pictures of Arias and Alexander together moments before he was killed, which led detectives to think that Arias was the last person to see Alexander alive.
The Trial
The trial started in January 2013 and concluded in May of the same year. During the trial, Arias took the stand in her defense and was on the stand for eighteen days. Arias tried to claim self-defense and stated that she had dropped the camera in the middle of Alexander attacking her. However, the prosecution rebuttal those claims when the ex-girlfriends of Alexander testified that Alexander had never exemplified any physical or verbal abuse during their relationships.
Jodi Arias was found guilty on one count of first-degree premeditated murder. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. As of 2021, Arias is housed in a medium-level security prison at the Arizona Department of Corrections.
