Last Updated on February 27, 2026
Jodi Arias was convicted of first-degree murder for the killing of Travis Alexander on 4th June 2008.
He was stabbed more than 20 times, had been shot in the head and had his throat cut.
She claimed in court that she had killed him in self-defence.
Jodi Arias, now, in 2026, is being held at the Perryville prison in Goodyear, Arizona.
Jodi and Travis Relationship
Jodi met Travis Alexander at a conference in Las Vegas in 2006.
He was a Mormon, and Jodi converted to the faith when they began a relationship in January 2007.
Their 5-month relationship was long-distance.
They would often travel between California and Arizona to be together.
Jodi was said to be obsessed with him.
Travis Alexander’s family and friends told Police this during the initial interviews.
They told the police that Jodi had hung around the property.
His friends claim that she had entered his home without his permission.
They believed that she had slashed his tyres, logged into his Facebook account and followed him on dates.
The book Exposed: The Secret Life of Jodi Arias (AD*) features more about her life.
Murder of Travis Alexander
Travis Alexander was violently murdered on 4th June 2008.
He had been stabbed close to 30 times, his throat had been cut, and he had been shot in the head.
The autopsy of Travis Alexander revealed defensive wounds on his hands.
The coroner believed that Travis had died before he was shot.
His friends were worried because Travis had not been seen for 5 days.
Travis had missed an important business phone call on the evening of June 4th.
The Travis Alexander crime scene photos reveal a bloody crime scene.
They found blood in the hallway, entered his room and found Travis Alexander’s body in the shower.
Investigation and Arrest
His friends immediately suspected Jodi of his murder.
A week before the murder, there was a burglary at Jodi’s grandparents and a pistol was stolen that was never found.
This was significant as a bullet casing from the same type of gun was found at the crime scene.
Jodi met a lover the day after the murder, who was surprised that she had dyed her hair.
She had bandaged cuts on her hands.
Her bloody handprint was discovered on a wall in the hallway of Travis Alexander’s house.
Police also found a digital camera in the washing machine.
It contained several of Jodi Arias’ photos found in the camera, taken on the day of them both in sexual poses.
There was a photograph that appeared to show the murder.
Jodi was arrested for First Degree Murder at her home on July 5th 2008, and extradited to Arizona.
She initially told investigators that both she and Travis were attacked by intruders.
Her next account was that she was innocent, as she had an alibi.
It wasn’t until two years later that Jodi Arias’s story changed to killing Travis in self-defence.
Jodi Arias Trial
A jury was selected in December 2012, and Jodi Arias’ trial began on January 2nd 2013.
The prosecution argued cold-blooded murder, and the defence argued that it was self-defence.
During the Jodi argued that the cuts to her hands were from working in a bar that did not exist.
The prosecution argued that the gun used was from a staged robbery at her grandparents’ house to obtain the gun, as she had planned the killing.
More of prosecutor Juan Martinez’s evidence is featured in his book, Conviction: The Untold Story of Putting Jodi Arias Behind Bars (AD*)
Jodi spent a total of 18 days on the stand testifying in her own defence.
She spoke of childhood sexual abuse and about her sex life with Travis.
She alleged that he had forced her to carry out perverted sexual acts.
Jodi testified that the relationship became violent, both physically and emotionally.
She made claims of violent physical and verbal assaults and claimed she had killed him in self-defence.
Jodi claims that she defended herself when he became violent after she accidentally dropped his camera.
This was the third different account that she had given on Travis Alexander’s death.
Both sides argued for and against Jodi suffering from PTSD and amnesia.
They also argued for and against whether the crime was premeditated, with a purchased gas can being the vital evidence to prove this.
The prosecution argued that she filled a gas can to avoid having to fill her car and be caught on CCTV as she travelled to Travis.
On 7th May 2013, after 15 hours of jury deliberation in the Arias trial, she was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder.
Sentence
Sentencing began on May 15th 2003, with the Aggravation phase of sentencing.
The prosecution sought the death penalty for Jodi Arias due to the violent nature of the Travis Alexander crime scene.
The jury decided she was eligible to be sentenced to death.
During the penalty phase in May 2013, Travis’ family gave statements, and Jodi pleaded for a life sentence.
The jury failed to reach a decision with 8 for versus 4 against, and this led to a mistrial.
The sentencing retrial began in October 2014 and resumed in January 2015 after a break.
This once again ended in a mistrial with a hung jury.
They were unable to come to a unanimous decision, with 11 in favour and 1 against the death penalty.
The decision on sentencing fell to the judge, with the choice of life without parole or with parole after 25 years.
Jodi Arias’ sentence was decided to be life without the possibility of parole.
Jodi Arias Appeals
During Jodi’s trials, her lawyers filed for a mistrial on numerous occasions.
They argued perjury of key witnesses, inappropriate behaviour of prosecutors and claims that defence witnesses were harassed.
Juan Martinez was accused of leaking details of the Jodi Arias case to a blogger.
He was placed on administrative leave in February 2020.
An appeal was made to the Arizona Supreme Court who declined to hear the appeal.
The Arizona Court of Appeals also declined to hear the case.
In July 2018, a 300-page appeal was filed with the Arizona Court of Appeals against her murder conviction.
The response to Jodi Arias’ appeal was due early January, but an extension was granted.
Jodi Arias today is awaiting the outcome of her latest appeal.
Media
Jodi has given many interviews, including being interviewed on 48 Hours Mystery and Inside Edition.
Several celebrities, including Trump, commented on the case.
Many cable networks followed the case closely with daily updates.
Jodi Arias’ defence lawyer Kirk Nurmi wrote a book about Jodi Arias called Trapped with Ms Arias (AD*)
In the book, he brands her manipulative and a liar.
She was featured on Murder Made Me Famous and a three-part docuseries, “Jodi Arias: An American Murder Mystery “.
A Lifetime movie, Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret, was released in 2013.
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