Defense attorney Kurt Nurmi spent considerable time questioning defendant Jodi Arias concerning the tawdry details of her sexual encounters with ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander.
The defense has been trying to prove that Arias was humiliated and bullied by Alexander, whom she is accused of murdering. Her lawyers say she acted in self-defense. Monday's testimony dealt with the different "sexcapades" in their relationship - however perverse -with Arias and Alexander, involving different sex acts, and props, according to the Huffington Post.
Arias, 32 is accused of the June 4, 2008 slaying of Alexander in his Mesa, Arizona apartment, and faces the death penalty if convicted. He was stabbed 27 times, shot twice in the face and his throat was slashed. According to reporter David Lohr, "there was, much to the chagrin of court watchers, more recesses and sidebars than actual testimony in the case Monday."
One of the few highlights of the day was a demonstration defense attorney Nurmi had his co-council, Jennifer Willmott, participate in with Arias. Nurmi had Willmott and Arias stand side-by-side and instructed Arias to place her arm around Willmott's neck. Nurmi was recreating a pose seen in a photo that was previously submitted by the prosecution, in which Arias had her arm around her sister's neck.
Prosecutor Juan Martinez showed the jury the photo of Arias and her sister during cross-examination, pointing out that Arias finger did not appear injured at the time. Martinez was attempting to show Arias finger was actually injured on June 4, 2008, the day Alexander was killed.
The Arias trial is scheduled to resume Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. EST.
Last week, Arias also was questioned repeatedly during cross-examination last week about the steps she took after she killed Alexander. She admitted that she tried to create an alibi. She dumped the gun in the desert, got rid of her bloody clothes, tried to clean the scene at Alexander's home and even left the victim a voicemail on his mobile phone within hours of killing him and dragging his body into the shower. She said she was too scared and ashamed to tell the truth.
