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Nancy Grace
The Jodi Arias Cross-Exam
Aired March 01, 2013 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma`am, if you wouldn`t mind, stand up, go to the left, and show me the posture of Mr. Alexander immediately before he rushed you, according to you.
JODI ARIAS, CHARGED WITH MURDER: As he was...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, just show me. That`s what I`m asking to you do, not talk, show me. Show me the linebacker pose.
ARIAS: He got down and...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, show me. Show me the linebacker pose. That`s what I`m asking for you to do.
ARIAS: OK. He went like that, and he turned his head and he grabbed my waist and...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just like that, correct?
ARIAS: Pretty much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he grabbed your waist, right?
ARIAS: I can`t say it`s just like that, but that`s what I remember.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without just -- without talking, just show me the pose.
ARIAS: He got down like that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like that. All right. Go ahead and have a seat, then.
Ma`am, were you crying when you were shooting him?
ARIAS: I don`t remember.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you crying when you were stabbing him?
ARIAS: I don`t remember!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about when you cut his throat? Were you crying then?
ARIAS: I don`t know!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So take a look, then. And you`re the one that did this, right?
ARIAS: Yes!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you`re the same individual that lied about all this, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So then take a look at it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: This week in court, we certainly had an eye opener when Jodi Arias said she was so distraught over Travis Alexander`s death that she tried to take her own life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, when you in the Maricopa County jail, then you tried to kill yourself, right?
ARIAS: No, Siskiyou County jail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Siskiyou County jail. So you do remember that. And that when you tried to do that, you took some Advil. Do you remember telling us about that?
ARIAS: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And she did this with something like a Bic, a disposable razor, and went on to elaborate in front of the jury that when she first started to cut her wrist, it nicked her and it stung, and basically, she said, Whoa, this is not the way for me to go. It hurts too much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... and that what you did then is you took some razor, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... and that you cut yourself, right?
ARIAS: It was a nick.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a nick. And because it stung so much that you said, No, this is not the way for me to go, right?
ARIAS: I didn`t say that. I just...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said it stung and that`s why you stopped. Isn`t that what your direct testimony was?
ARIAS: That night, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you nicked yourself and it hurt, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I think that the word you used was "stung," right?
ARIAS: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That set the prosecutor off on a tirade, as it should have. He asked her very dramatically, So you got nicked by a disposable razor, can you imagine how much it must have hurt Travis Alexander? What did it feel like when you pierced his chest with a knife over his heart, when you shot him in the head, when you stabbed him over and over and over? And you`re complaining about a Bic razor, a razor cut?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To use your standard, ma`am, of how you stopped because it stung, can you imagine how much it must have hurt Mr. Alexander when you stuck that knife right into his chest? That really must have hurt, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Argumentative.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sustained.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: I can only assume that that was not lost on this jury.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This purse, this toy gun purse, could have fit in your purse, right?
ARIAS: I don`t know. I`ve never seen it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you -- how about the gun that you used to kill Mr. Alexander? How big was that gun?
ARIAS: It wasn`t very big.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looked like a toy gun, right?
ARIAS: It looked like a real gun to me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, and it could fit in your purse, couldn`t it.
ARIAS: If I removed some other items, it would fit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the answer is yes, it could fit in your purse, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Arias admits under oath in front of the jury that she actually tailored her previous statements to what she knew about the forensics at the scene. For instance, the detective intimated he thought two people were involved in the killing, hence her two-Ninja-attacker scenario that she gave to "48 Hours."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARIAS: ... two individuals, that one wanted to take my life and one said, you know, That`s not why we came. And at one point, the guy with the gun sort of succame (ph) to her pressure, I think, because he was holding the gun at my forehead. And I was on the ground, on my knees.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your story was that there were two individuals that came in, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And one individual was a male, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And another one was a female, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you knew that the police are going to follow up on that, right?
ARIAS: No, I didn`t know that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think that police don`t investigate crimes, that if somebody provides them a lead, do you think that they don`t go out and try to find out if it`s true or not?
ARIAS: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, because it was all about you, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Objection. Argumentative.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sustained.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Didn`t consider the consequences. But you went even further in saying that it was two people, right? You said other things, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that was totally different than what you had said the day before, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: She tailored both lies -- A, that she wasn`t there, and B, that a man and a woman assassin, assassins came in and killed Travis. She tailored those very specifically to the facts that she knew.
Now, at that time, she didn`t know all of the details that the police knew about the crime scene, but the words still ring true. She didn`t seem ashamed at all that she tailored her story to what she knew of the forensics to exonerate herself. Those words should ring over and over in the ears of the jurors, that she tailors her story to jive with the facts that she knows are in evidence to exonerate herself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you said, Oh, yes, I want (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you like a dirty, horny, little school girl, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the school girl issue here in this conversation is being brought up by you, not by him, right?
ARIAS: That`s right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And in fact, this issue about the school girl that may have been presented as part of the conversation on May 10th of 2008, well, you were enjoying it, too, weren`t you?
ARIAS: I don`t think it said school girl on the tape.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pardon?
ARIAS: I don`t think I said school girl on the tape. But as far as that goes, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You liked dressing up like a horny little school girl, for lack of a better term, right?
ARIAS: Well, I think I said on direct I didn`t have a school girl outfit, but it was kind of -- that was the idea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You did enjoy dressing up for him, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And we see this manipulation of the facts play out in her self-defense story. It came out in the state`s case that the trajectory path of the bullet that went through Travis`s skull went from top to bottom, from right to left.
So in her story, which is a complete crock, to account for that trajectory path, she says that out of the blue Travis, bent down like a linebacker to attack her, and she shot. And that explains away the trajectory path we talked about since she`s obviously shorter than Travis Alexander.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you be more comfortable if I stood here?
ARIAS: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you be more comfortable if I stood back here?
ARIAS: Where you stand won`t make a difference to my comfort.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what you`re saying is that you are hampered in your ability to answer the questions irrespective of where the prosecutor is, correct?
ARIAS: At times, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that`s not how you phrased it initially. You`re saying that you are having problems answering the questions because of the prosecutor`s posture, right?
ARIAS: In that moment, that was correct.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it changes from moment to moment, then.
ARIAS: Sometimes, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So in this case, it changes from moment to moment depending on what the prosecutor is doing, right?
ARIAS: It`s not necessarily just dependent upon the prosecutor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: We see at every turn of the hand, her bending her story to fit with the known facts, the established facts, the forensics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he was asking you these questions and his voice was very quiet, you still lied to him, didn`t you.
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it doesn`t have anything to do with the volume of the question, then, does it, as to whether or not you`ll tell the truth.
ARIAS: I`ll always tell the truth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well -- oh, so you`ll always tell the truth? So you told the truth to Detective Flores back then, right?
ARIAS: I mean here under oath.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, you said, I always will tell the truth, right?
ARIAS: I said, I will always tell the truth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. Did you tell the truth -- isn`t it true you did not tell the truth to Detective Flores?
ARIAS: That`s true.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you demonstrated to Detective Flores that left ring finger, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you told him that this woman, during this attack on June 4th of 2008, cut you right there, didn`t you.
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you showed him -- and the finger -- we look at it there -- had the same aspect or had the same angle to it that your finger does now, doesn`t it.
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma`am, the injury to your finger happened on June 4th, 2008, not January 22nd of 2008, did it.
ARIAS: That`s not correct.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: It`s really amazing that she showed no embarrassment and shame whatsoever that she had made up stories to exonerate herself. The jury should be able to see that that is what she is doing right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: During that time that you were talking to him, part of the purpose was, at that time, again, not only to get information, but the way you put it was to also sort of cast suspicion away from you, right?
ARIAS: Yes, for the time being.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you were doing things that so he wouldn`t see you as a suspect, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So if he didn`t see you as a suspect, that would benefit you, right?
ARIAS: I guess it depends on how you look at it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, no, I`m asking how you would look at it if you don`t want him to think of you as a suspect -- that`s the goal, that`s part of the goal, right?
ARIAS: That was part of the goal for the call.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. That was part of the goal for the call. And so you wouldn`t say anything -- at least in a planned way, you wouldn`t say anything that would make it look like you were a suspect, right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Now, when I would put witnesses on the stand, if they were fuzzy on dates, I would clear it up for the jury. For instance, asking, Well, was the Christmas tree up? Had you gone to Easter services? Was it snowing outside? If they didn`t know the time of the day, Was it light or dark? Was it the afternoon? Had you already had lunch? Was it after dinner -- to establish a timeline or a date.
But to say she memorized dates clearly implies that this is a rehearsed story that she fabricated. And she`s retelling the story very much like we would say, Well, in 1776, and tell the story of our nation`s founding, or, In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. No, I wasn`t there when it happened. I don`t know what happened. I just memorized it. That`s what she did.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You knew (ph) too much during the direct examination, if we`re talking about implications.
ARIAS: Well, then, that would be false.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, isn`t it true that you had a great memory when you were on direct examination with regard to issues involving Travis Alexander`s sexual exploits?
So you do have a good memory, right? You just showed me you have a good memory for events that occurred before July 16th of 2008, right?
ARIAS: I reviewed those things, so they`re -- I memorized them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: At one point, Arias lashed out at the prosecution, blaming him for her faulty memory. She said it was his tone, his anger, his questioning. Even his posture was bothering her. It was, quote, "scrambling" her brain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How is it you are not remembering what you`re saying?
ARIAS: Because you`re making my brain scramble.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m again making your brain scramble. So in this particular case, the problem is not you, it`s the questions being posed by the prosecutor, right?
ARIAS: No, not the questions...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes or no? Yes or no?
ARIAS: I was saying no, and you interrupted me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So in this case, you`re looking to point the finger at somebody else again, right?
ARIAS: No, it`s my fault.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you`re saying it`s the prosecutor that`s asking you the questions, and that`s created a problem for you, right?
ARIAS: That`s not what I said.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you said it`s the way you`re posing the questions. You just said that, right?
ARIAS: I don`t know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don`t know what you just said, ma`am?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: The fact that she`s blaming everybody else for her own faulty memory -- actually, I don`t think she`s got a faulty memory. I think that she has trouble fabricating a story and then remember it.
And this is something I really learned as a prosecutor. During those years that I prosecuted felony cases, I can`t even estimate how many witnesses I prepared, tens of thousands, actually. This is something that I learned.
When a witness is telling the truth, their story doesn`t change. They may add facts as they go, if you ask the right questions. They may go, Oh, oh, yes, I remember the temperature outside. It was freezing cold. I had to borrow a coat. Or, yes, I remember that right after the shooting, it started raining. (INAUDIBLE) You`ll hear the story embellished upon (ph). Facts will be added under the right questioning, but the core facts do not change. And in this case, Arias has to fumble on the stand to remember the last story she told.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Another interesting thing about Arias is she lies about big things and little things, things that are seemingly insignificant, that don`t matter. She just lies to lie for lying`s sake. I sincerely hope the jury is picking up on that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that telephone call that was played during your direct examination, you`re saying you lied?
ARIAS: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so you lied to him at that point, right?
ARIAS: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you fabricated a second text message, didn`t you.
ARIAS: After that point, yes.
I began to tell him things that I thought would comport with what the forensics would show, as well as create -- create, like -- not an excuse, but create a way for me to not have been responsible for it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did your story include the idea that there were two intruders?
ARIAS: Prior to my arrest, there were a lot of rumors flying around, and Flores told me repeatedly that there had to have been more than one person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: It`s like Peter and the wolf. He screamed and screamed and screamed and screamed and everyone ran to his aid. Finally, when the wolf really came, no one saved him.
Arias has argued and argued and argued over nothing. So when there`s legitimately a point for her to be angry over or to take offense at, the effect is lost because she`s been this way from the get-go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARIAS: No.
No.
No.
I think I`m more focused on your posture and your tone and your anger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s, again, the prosecutor`s fault because you perceive him to be angry, right?
ARIAS: I think that was a compound question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just have a problem with the word "confrontation."
(CROSSTALK)
ARIAS: That`s not how I would put it. I would put it a different way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But that`s what you were doing, right?
ARIAS: That`s now how I would put it.
I didn`t know (ph) that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that`s what you`re telling us, right?
ARIAS: That`s not what I said.
Remember what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are we talking about?
ARIAS: We`re talking about the incident. Put up with what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, what is it that we`re talking about here?
ARIAS: Which part put up with?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it a good word or is it not a good word?
ARIAS: It depends on how you used it because you go in circles.
-- circles...
-- circles...
-- circles...
You`ve been focused more on your posture.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you understand that?
ARIAS: I answered yes. That`s the third time you asked me that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We`ve all seen trial lawyers stand stiffly behind a podium, horribly dry. Not so with Martinez. He has moved around. He has kept it rolling. There are times he even just sits down, seemingly out of frustration with Arias. And I think his body language really conveys a lot to the jury. A lot of people have questioned whether he is being too harsh on Jodi Arias. I say he`s not really being harsh enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you lie to the detective, yes or no?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did you also lie to "48 Hours"?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you lie to people in Utah?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you lie to Daniel Freeman (ph)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, everyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: This is not his first time at the rodeo. He`s already put one woman on death row, which is very difficult to do. But we see Jodi Arias on the stand as if she`s at a quilting bee, OK, as if she`s at a bridal shower for her dear cousin.
That`s not what this is. This is a murder one trial, and it is the prosecution`s job to take off the mask that Jodi Arias is wearing in court and to uncover, to reveal to that jury the same Jodi Arias that Travis Alexander saw as he was bleeding out, as he was dying.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma`am, were you crying when you were shooting him?
ARIAS: I don`t remember.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you crying when you were stabbing him?
ARIAS: I don`t remember!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about when you cut his throat? Were you crying then?
ARIAS: I don`t know!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So take a look, then. And you`re the one that did this, right?
ARIAS: Yes!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you`re the same individual that lied about all this, right?
ARIAS: Yes!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: You know, I wish I had started counting when she first said, I don`t remember.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARIAS: I don`t remember that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you`re saying that you`re having trouble remembering everything, or events throughout your life, is that what you`re saying?
ARIAS: Some things. Not everything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: When she is on direct with her own lawyers -- with her lawyers, she remembers everything, minute details dating years back to the first time she ever rode a ferris wheel or some ride with her first little boyfriend as a teen. But about the stabbing, it`s all a big blur on cross- examination.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happens when the camera comes to rest in this position? What happens next?
ARIAS: Travis snapped.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you say Travis snapped, he manifested something. What did he do?
ARIAS: He got very angry. He stood up, stepped out of the shower, all the while calling me an...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Screaming at you, bad stuff, right, cursing at you, right?
ARIAS: I remember the "F" word. I don`t know how much cursing there was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the "F" word being what? You can say it. You`ve said it in text messages. Go ahead.
ARIAS: He said (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said (EXPLETIVE DELETED) what?
ARIAS: That I`m a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) idiot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. He said you were a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) idiot. And he`s standing up when he says this, right?
ARIAS: As he was standing up or whatever. I don`t know the exact position he was in when those words were uttered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So he was either standing or moving up to stand when he started cursing, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he`s within about two feet of you, right?
ARIAS: Somewhere like that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: In fact, her memory is so bad, she can`t remember what she said a few minutes before or even a few days before on the stand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And in this position where his legs are open, potentially, right -- right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re saying that he reaches over with one leg still in the shower and he body-slams you. That`s what you said, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Objection (INAUDIBLE)
ARIAS: No, not what I said.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Objection is noted. Overruled. You may answer the question.
ARIAS: That`s not what I said.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, did he did -- when he body-slammed you, isn`t it true that he was out of the shower?
ARIAS: Well, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, then. Why did you tell us that he was still in the shower? Why did you just a minutes ago say that?
ARIAS: I didn`t say that minutes ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said he had one foot in the shower. Didn`t you say that?
ARIAS: No, I didn`t say he had one foot in the shower. I said I don`t know if he stepped all the way out or if the one foot was still in the shower.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. So it could be that one foot was still in the shower, you`re telling us, when he body-slammed you, right?
ARIAS: It could be or it couldn`t be. I don`t know. All I know is I was getting body-slammed again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Do I believe that? No. I believe she remembers perfectly well, but when those facts don`t suit her or her defense, she chooses to say, I don`t remember.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So he`s standing there and you`re down, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you`re terrified, right?
ARIAS: Yes. I got the wind knocked out of me, and I hit my head, but...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. You hit your head, but you remember everything. Based on what you`re telling us, you still have a good memory of what happened, right?
ARIAS: Up to that point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you got the wind knocked out of you, that means that you were having difficulty breathing, right?
ARIAS: It hurt. I don`t remember not being able to breathe. It just hurt my ribcage and my torso. I`ve had the wind knocked out of me before, only a lot worse than that. So it felt that way, but it just -- more it was painful.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you`ve had the wind knocked out of you before, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know what that feels like, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can`t breathe. That`s why they call it knocking the wind out of you, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you`re telling us then, since you are familiar with having the wind knocked out of you, that you hit your head, you`re down, and you can`t breathe, right?
ARIAS: I`m not saying that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You did say that you had the wind knocked out of you, right?
ARIAS: Worse, worse than this, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no. I`m talking about here. You`re telling us that you had the wind knocked out of you here, right?
ARIAS: I think it was to a degree, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Her trip to Travis Alexander`s home was just like every other trip she took to confront a lover or his new love object.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You turned to your left to get out, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you turned to your left to get out so you can get away, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have absolutely no problem moving to your left and getting out, do you.
ARIAS: I don`t know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you were there.
ARIAS: I just know I did it, and I did it as fast as I could.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he didn`t stop you from doing that, did he?
ARIAS: I perceived that he was trying to get on top of me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you thought that he was trying to get on top of you. You say you perceived, which means that it may or may not be something that actually happened. So did he get on top of you at that point?
ARIAS: I rolled away before that could happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: It`s just the same thing over and over, second verse same as the first. Except this time, she planned to not only confront him but to murder him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: The final day of the prosecution`s cross-examination was the coup de grace in this case. On the final day of cross-exam, the prosecution works the questions to the moment where Arias steps into his trap and ends up being forced by the judge to get down off the witness stand onto the floor and re-enact the murder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma`am, if you wouldn`t mind, stand up, go to the left, and show me the posture of Mr. Alexander immediately before he rushed you, according to you.
JODI ARIAS, CHARGED WITH MURDER: As he was...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, just show me. That`s what I`m asking to you do, not talk, show me. Show me the linebacker pose.
ARIAS: He got down and...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, show me. Show me the linebacker pose. That`s what I`m asking for you to do.
ARIAS: OK. He went like that, and he turned his head and he grabbed my waist and...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just like that, correct?
ARIAS: Pretty much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he grabbed your waist, right?
ARIAS: I can`t say it`s just like that, but that`s what I remember.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without just -- without talking, just show me the pose.
ARIAS: He got down like that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like that. All right. Go ahead and have a seat, then.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: I mean, the only other thing the prosecution could have done was to put a knife in her hand. The mental imagery this is going to conjure up for this jury is overwhelming. On the final day of cross- examination, Jodi Arias breaks down in tears, uncontrollably.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARIAS: I don`t remember!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you crying when you were stabbing him?
ARIAS: I don`t remember!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about when you cut his throat? Were you crying then?
ARIAS: I don`t know!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So take a look, then. And you`re the one that did this, right?
ARIAS: Yes!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: But still, I notice that through those tears, she is managing to articulate very calmly, which makes me wonder about the authenticity of those tears because when you are crying uncontrollably, I find it very difficult to believe that she could continue to speak in such a coherent and calm manner, although she was hiding her face.
It was very dramatic. The prosecution insisted that she come down and demonstrate what happened. The defense objected. The judge cleared the courtroom, cut the cameras, and when the jury was reseated, Arias performed a re-enactment. I believe it was devastating to the defense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Alexander was stabbed. You would acknowledge that, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you would acknowledge that that stabbing was with a knife, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And according to your version of events, you would acknowledge that that stabbing was after the shooting, according to you, right?
ARIAS: I don`t -- yes -- I don`t remember!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m not asking you if you remember, ma`am. I`m asking if you acknowledge that it would be you that did it, correct?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you would acknowledge that a lot of the stab wounds -- and if you want, we can count them together, including the ones to the head -- were to the back of the head and to the back of the torso, correct?
ARIAS: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
ARIAS: Count them. I don`t know. I`ll take your word for it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you like to take a look at the photograph?
ARIAS: No!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So if he is being stabbed in the back, would you acknowledge at that point that he`s no threat to you? Right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Objection. Calls for speculation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Overruled.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, if he`s already been shot, according to you, and he`s facing away from you, how could he possibly be any threat to you?
ARIAS: I could only guess. I don`t know what you`re asking me!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, with regard to the -- you were here when the medical examiner testified about the wound to the throat. Do you remember that?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With regard to that wound, ma`am, you would acknowledge that that was -- in terms of the stab wounds, you would acknowledge that was the last wound in the sequence of events?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Objection. She stated she doesn`t remember.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Overruled. That was...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How can she talk about the sequence of the stabs if she doesn`t know what they -- when she doesn`t have any memory of them?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That wasn`t the question. Overruled. You may answer the question.
ARIAS: Are you talking about his testimony?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
ARIAS: I disagree with the sequence of events.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you agree that you`re the person who actually slit Mr. Alexander`s throat from ear to ear?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you also agree that you`re the individual that stabbed him in the upper torso?
ARIAS: Yes!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you`re doing all of this to him -- to your version of events, you`re doing this to this individual after you have already shot him, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct?
ARIAS: I believe so.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, no. You remember previously talking to us about how he was coming at you and he was this horrible man with this mean face? Do you remember telling me that?
ARIAS: Yes. I didn`t say he was horrible!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Thank you for correcting me, but do you remember telling us that he was a mean man?
ARIAS: Not today!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, previously. You did say that he was mean, correct?
ARIAS: I think I did, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: The cross-examination, after many, many days, is over. But that`s not the end of the story. Now it is the defense`s job, and they`ve got one weekend to prepare to rehabilitate Jodi Arias on redirect.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he get mad when you took a picture of his buttocks?
ARIAS: No, he just deleted it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I`m not asking you anything about deleting it. I`m asking you whether or not he was angry at the time.
ARIAS: Not at that point, he wasn`t angry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was he angry at the time that you took this photograph on June 4th, 2008, at 5:30 and 30 seconds, ma`am?
ARIAS: Not at that point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s the point I`m asking you about. I`m not asking you any other time. Was he angry at that point, yes or not?
ARIAS: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so you then still had the camera in your hand and had not, according to you, dropped it, right?
ARIAS: That`s correct.
My thought was to run through the other door first.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So then you sat around and waited? Is that -- there was a period of time here that you waited, then?
ARIAS: No, it all happened very quickly (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, well, then, I thought you said that you thought or you took some time to think this out.
ARIAS: It was, like, instantaneous. I just thought as soon as I slammed the door, I was going to run through the other door. And then in a split second, I realized where the gun was, and I went to grab it so that I could point it at him and protect myself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you`re inside this closet, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you`re ahead of him, aren`t you. In other words, he`s on the other side of the door, right?
ARIAS: That was my thought. I...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma`am, I`m not asking you what your thinking was. I`m asking you, isn`t it true that he was outside of the door?
ARIAS: Well, I don`t know where he was. I just know that I shut the door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, OK, then he was somewhere in the bedroom, then, right?
ARIAS: I don`t know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And with that head start, which is the length of the closet, by the time he`s opening the door, if you chose to, you could have been out this door, couldn`t you.
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You chose to escalate this, didn`t you, even though you had that 12-foot head start, didn`t you.
ARIAS: No, I didn`t choose to escalate it, I was trying to de- escalate it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you chose to de-escalate the situation by, according to you, getting a handgun, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just like in this situation here, in exhibit 443, you tried to de-escalate the fight by telling him, I`ll whatever you in the nose, Travis, right?
ARIAS: Yes, except that was a joke.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes or no?
ARIAS: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You keep saying like a linebacker. What does that mean?
ARIAS: Because linebackers kind of get down low and crouch, and then they attack or they do whatever they do, and that`s kind of what it reminded me of. He didn`t get down with his hand on the ground, but he got down low and he impacted my torso, like...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no. I`m not asking where he impacted your torso. I want to know how he was standing such that you can define it as a linebacker stance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: But don`t be fooled. Even if they manage to make headway on redirect, there`s always an opportunity for re-cross-examination by the state. This is like a ping-pong match. It goes back and forth and back and forth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you saying that you`re having a hard time remembering things that are happening now that you shot him?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it appears, then, that your memory becomes faulty immediately upon you shooting him.
ARIAS: Yes, things get very foggy from there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That immediately -- the shot takes him down, and it creates a fog for you. Is that what you`re saying?
ARIAS: It begins to create a fog.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So -- but you weren`t struck by the shot, were you.
ARIAS: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In fact, you don`t have really any injuries as a result of killing him, do you, other than the one to your left finger, left ring finger, correct?
ARIAS: That`s the only visible injury.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pardon?
ARIAS: That`s the only visible injury.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m talking about visible injuries, right. That`s the only visible injury that you have, the one to your left ring finger, even though, according to you, he slammed you down, right, when he got out of the shower, and then he slammed you down again when he was coming at you, and you had to pull the gun, according to you, right?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he`s also grabbing at you while you`re down on the ground, and he`s not being gentle about it, right?
ARIAS: That`s correct.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No bruising, no anything other than just the thing to the -- the injury to the left ring finger, right?
ARIAS: I don`t know if my skull was bruised.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pardon?
ARIAS: I don`t know if my skull was bruised.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aside from that -- did you get medical care for that?
ARIAS: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you seek medical care for your finger?
ARIAS: No, I did not. Not professionally.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Well, you do have an injury to that left ring finger, don`t you?
ARIAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so when you arrived out in western Utah and you see Mr. Burns, you did have an injury to your left finger, correct?
ARIAS: We`re talking about two different injuries. No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, ma`am, you just told me, when we were talking about this killing, that, yes, you injured your left ring finger. Do you remember just telling me that just now, no more than two minutes ago?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: I have no doubt in my mind that the state has proven their case way beyond a reasonable doubt. It`s all really up to the jury selection now whether this jury is open and amenable to the prosecution of Jodi Arias.
END
