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Jane Velez-Mitchell

Missing Oregon Mom Found Dead; Can Jodi Arias Save Her Own Life?

Aired August 05, 2014 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... put those pieces of pixie glitter together and show that it had been located in all those different areas and it was consistent

amongst each other.

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: Breaking news: shocking new information about the mysterious disappearance of Oregon mom Jennifer Huston. I`m very sad

to have to tell you, cops just found her SUV in a remote wooded area and then just feet away, Jennifer`s dead body. Any moment now, a police news

conference is set to begin. We will take you there live as soon as it happens.

Now, what happened to this beautiful wife and mother of two young sons? That`s what we hope to learn.

Good evening. I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mother of two wouldn`t vanish on her own, that she would never leave her little boys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Friends continue the search.

KALLEN HUSTON, HUSBAND: We`re fighting every angle we can to find you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have the feeling maybe she`s in a ditch somewhere.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nobody`s safe until we find her.

HUSTON: The boys love you, and they miss you. And I miss you. We`re going to find you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The 38-year-old mother of two captured the nation`s attention almost two weeks ago when she left her house and told her

husband, "Hey, I`m going to go run errands." She never returned. It`s a total mystery.

Investigators say Jennifer left home at about 5:30 on July 24, stopped at a bank to pull out less than $100 in cash, then bought some over-the-counter

sleeping pills and topped off her gas tank. We understand now that the news conference is beginning. Let`s listen in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do not suspect foul play at this time, and there`s nothing to suggest that the public should be alarmed. Because this is a

pending death investigation, we are not releasing the apparent cause of death. The Oregon state police crime lab, along with Newberg/Dundee police

detectives, are processing the scene.

Our purpose is not to leave any unanswered questions for our investigation, for the family or for the public. When an investigation is completed,

additional information will be released.

The police department wants to pass on our condolences to the Huston family. They`ve asked for privacy and do not wish to speak to the media.

Additionally, we would like to thank all of our law enforcement agencies that have assisted us, as well as the general public, throughout this

investigation. Thank you.

If you have some questions, this would be a time we`d answer those.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Captain, were there any sort of weapons or bottles of medication or alcohol that were spotted in or around the vehicle or her

body?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I left the scene was still being processed by the Oregon State Police forensic division. So that, I don`t know. I can`t

give you that answer right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much gas was left in her car?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sorry?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much gas was in the tank?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The vehicle is going to be processed. It has not been processed. It`s going to be moved. We`re going to move that to a separate

location where it`s easier processed for the forensic investigators.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Captain, do you know how long she had been there, how long the car had been there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can`t say how long. Today was the first time that we were notified, obviously. But I can`t tell you with any certainty exactly

how long -- the medical examiner may be able to give us a ballpark. But I don`t know at this time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you give us a better time line of just how everything sort of unfolded today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, earlier today detectives and I had met. We do a weekly and sometimes daily briefing on -- certainly on this case. We were

just going over the day`s events, things that maybe we wanted to backtrack, go over again, maybe make some more phone calls.

And we were contacted by the Yamhill County communications center. That was just before 10:30, that a homeowner out in rural Sheridan, Yamhill

County, had found the vehicle. We were certain, because the person read the plate to the dispatcher. That`s the information that was passed along

to us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what happened after that? Your detectives went out to the scene and then confirmed everything and then located her body?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We asked for the Yamhill County deputy sheriffs to go to the scene and to see if we could render any medical. We didn`t have any

other information other than they found the vehicle. But I wanted to make sure that, if she was in need of -- the person was in need of medical

assistance, we got that first.

And once they arrived, we arrived shortly after. We were en route immediately. Once we arrived, we spoke with deputies, and they said that

the car was, in fact, there, confirmed the plate. But they did not locate the person.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Approximately how many miles on that road was the car located?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the police department, it`s about 30 miles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From 18 up to the scene?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That would just be a guess on my part. I`ve been out in the area a lot. I would say six, seven -- five to seven miles, probably

would be a good estimate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Captain, was it anything about the property that the property owner noticed was askew and made him or her look further into it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How is her family doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I haven`t spoken with the family. But obviously, I would imagine they`re -- they`re probably pretty upset.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Along the same lines, you guys have been for the last week and a half, obviously, hoping for the best outcome here. Not only for

the family but for you guys as law enforcement. Can you talk about just how upsetting it was to learn of today`s development?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would say probably the most upsetting is for the family, for the officers. You know, it`s -- it can`t compare to what the

family is going through.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How big of a property are we talking about? That the property owner didn`t realize it was on their land?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t know exactly how big it is. It`s -- the area where the vehicle was found was probably a good eighth of a mile away from

the residence driving distance. It was on a separate driveway. So it was a little bit removed. It wouldn`t give you any kind of appearance that it

was next to a residence or -- that`s quite a distance, and it`s a pretty thick canopy of trees. So it would be difficult to see from the air.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it was off the Valley (ph) Road, then, on another side road?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s -- I would describe it more as a driveway. So it`s not -- it`s not a road. It`s more of a driveway. But it`s not a main

driveway that somebody would drive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her body was also found outside of the car. Can you say how far away it was? Did it seem like she wondered (ph)...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m told that it was -- would probably be about 50 yards, maybe a little bit less.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The search spanned all across Yamhill County, social media, all across the country. This area seems, though, to be a little

ways away from the areas that were concentrated on here in the county. Can you talk about that a little bit?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the whole entire county was checked as best as you can. It was flown. The rivers were checked. You know, we`ve asked

our partners to maybe drive down roads that aren`t normally driven down.

You know, sometimes you get into a routine, as you`re a police officer and maybe you know, you know a road dead ends, so you don`t go down there. You

know, maybe it`s not a routine part of your patrol.

We asked all of the law enforcement agencies to check those extra roads, those sorts of things. We`ve had sightings or tips, I want to say, I think

the farthest away was Michigan and Texas. And then as you know, the Washington. None of those were necessarily any more significant than the

other. I`m not really sure how one became more important than another. But they were basically equally -- we received tips from all around this

half of the nation, really.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So can you say with certainty that you guys actually flew over that area or drove by that area where she was found at some point

over the last week and a half?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m pretty certain we did fly over that area. When I say "we," law enforcement flew over that area. But, again, that was one of

the first things that I noticed, because it`s a very, very heavy canopy. So you know, they`re just -- as you know, a lot of Yamhill County is pretty

rural and wooded areas. So that would make it absolutely difficult to find.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you expecting from the initial information from the medical examiner?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, we may have some -- you know, I`m not really sure. We could have something as early as tomorrow. But you know, that`s

just speculation. It just depends on them. I don`t know, you know, the workload that they have that`s backed up. But I`m sure that this will be a

top priority case for them, as well as us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you say that there`s no indication of foul play, did she collapse away from the car?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, at this time, I don`t really want to get into that. We`ve still got some work to do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was she still wearing the outfit that we had been reporting over the last week and a half?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you reported that (UNINTELLIGIBLE). When you look at the video of the car, does it appear there had been a crash or

anything like that? Do you guys have any insight as to why that happened and how that happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you repeat? I`m not really sure -- can you ask me that again? I`m not really sure what you`re asking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We reported that her cell phone was turned off or you lost her signal from that phone the day that she went missing. And it

appeared that she wasn`t in any sort of car wreck...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I understand your question now. So how do I explain the -- yes. Obviously, it`s very difficult. It would only be speculation

that that was deliberate. I don`t believe that that was a crash at this time.

Again, I have not been inside the tape. But I was out there on scene. And from what I gained from detectives, it doesn`t appear to be a crash that

caused this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was the phone near her or in the car?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t even know that we have recovered the phone yet. We`re hoping to.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you saying that her going missing -- the cell phone, all of this -- was a deliberate act on her part?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m not saying that at all. We`re going to put it all together, and obviously, we need some results from the medical examiners.

We want to make sure that we`re 100 percent on everything before we give it out.

We`re still open-minded. We`re still going to take precautions. That`s why we have the Oregon State Police crime lab, the forensic decision come

in. They`re very slow, methodical and excellent; they do excellent work. So that`s why we decided to have them come in.

And it is a rural -- it is a rural area. And they have mobile teams to come in just for that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you speak a little bit to the condition of the body...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir, I can`t.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If there was an odor?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m not going to release or talk about that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anything else?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The property owner, was she familiar with that property or was the family...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I haven`t spoke with the family. I`m not sure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And just to clarify, you`re not looking for any other suspects or...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re keeping an open mind. But I think we`ve got a pretty good idea of what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. We want to thank you all, too, for your assistance throughout this. The media obviously plays a big role in

assisting the police department in these types of cases. So we appreciate...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So this news conference, to me, anyway, only deepening the mystery of what happened to this wife and mother of two, who vanished after

telling her husband she was going to run errands almost two weeks ago. Authorities saying, "We`ve got a pretty good idea of what happened." But

they`re not revealing what their pretty good idea is. They said they don`t believe that this was a crash.

The vehicle, the SUV, was found in a remote area about a half a mile -- half -- excuse me, half an hour drive from where she vanished. And she was

not in the vehicle, but she was a short distance from the vehicle.

Now, they wouldn`t say that they smelled any odor of decomposition. But the news reports are that the man who called, when he discovered the

vehicle, said he smelled what he thought was a dead deer and called police. So that would indicate decomposition.

They also said it does not appear to be a crash. In other words, it wasn`t just she was driving and crashed somewhere. So they`re -- they`re all

saying they`re not saying that it was deliberate.

So I want to start with Greg Kading, former LAPD detective, author of "Murder Rap." They seem to be dancing around their theory. The only way I

see it, there`s only three possibilities: an accident, a suicide or an abduction. I could be wrong. What -- what`s your takeaway?

GREG KADING, FORMER LAPD DETECTIVE/AUTHOR: I`d say at this point, based on what they`re saying and you`ve got to kind of read between the lines, but

probably an accident or a suicide.

I think that they`re alluding to the fact that, potentially, the medical examiner is going to come back after toxicology and say that potentially

she had either ingested too many sleeping pills or she had some other natural occurrence that led to her death.

But if you read between the lines of what these investigators and these law enforcement officials are saying, I think you can draw the conclusion it`s

going to be an accident or a suicide.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but Holly Hughes, former prosecutor, the police made a big point of saying, even though she said she was going to run some

errands and bought some over-the-counter sleeping pills, even if she had taken that entire bottle, it would not have been enough to kill her.

Her husband said repeatedly, she was potty-training her 2-year-old son; she would never have left her two young sons and gone off like that. So is it

premature, perhaps, to jump to the conclusion that, oh, this was self- inflicted?

HOLLY HUGHES, FORMER PROSECUTOR: No, I don`t think so, Jane. And here`s why. Because they specifically said, no foul play. And the public does

not need to be worried. Meaning, this is an isolated incident. Unfortunately, a very tragic and sad one for her family. But they are

waiting for that M.E.`s report to finalize what the cause of death was.

And bear in mind, just because she bought sleeping pills, that doesn`t mean that`s all she had with her. She may have had something else. And

unfortunately...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But I`m wondering if all of this is premature. Do they have the toxicology report back? They just found her body today. Correct

me if I`m wrong. They found her vehicle at 10:30 in the morning. They found her body a short time later, not in the vehicle but outside the

vehicle. I don`t see you could get a toxicology report back that quickly. So are we jumping to conclusions about what happened?

Stay right there. Phone lines and Facebook, exploding. We`re going to continue to analyze. The mystery remains: What happened to this woman?

How did she end up in a remote field behind a latched gate that said "No trespassing"? We`ll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUSTON: I`m an -- I`m an emotional wreck right now. But it warms my heart to see so many people trying. I can honestly and I can truly tell you

that, even if -- even if there was something that I wasn`t aware about where she was unhappy with me or something in our relationship, she would

never leave our boys. She`s been gone three days now. There`s no way. There`s no way that she would leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Breaking news: a news conference authorities in Oregon just wrapped up where they announced, yes, this missing mother of two has

been found dead. But that was her husband, saying she was in the middle of potty-training their 2-year-old son, that this would be totally out of

character. That he believed that they had a happy marriage.

Loni Coombs, former prosecutor, some on our panel are like, well, case closed, you know; she -- she committed suicide, which would be tragic. But

are we jumping the gun here?

LONI COOMBS, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Absolutely, Jane. Look, this woman went out and bought Gatorade and trail mix. I don`t think that`s the kind of

thing you worry about if you`re about to go commit suicide.

And when the police officer said, "We see some deliberate acts here," as far as the car being parked and everything, that might be being done by

someone else.

Remember, her phone got turned off, somehow stopped working right after she received a text from her mother. Once again, I don`t necessarily see that

as consistent with someone who`s about to commit suicide.

And the place that this car and her body ended up is actually a very interesting place. The police say it was actually well thought out. It

was a hard place for them to find. There`s tree coverage so the air support couldn`t find it. It`s down a dead end; it`s kind of isolated.

How in the world did she find this place or know about this place? We just don`t know enough information yet to say this is a suicide and not

necessarily by the act of someone else.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dr. Tiffanie Davis Henry?

DR. TIFFANIE DAVIS HENRY: I agree with Loni Coombs 110 percent. We do know that she had a headache for several days leading up to this. So that

could be -- maybe she was hit on the head. Maybe she had some sort of amnesiac disorder, some amnesia or something else going on there.

We also know, with people that are suicidal, they tend to feel hopeless, helpless, don`t have much to live for. This is a woman with a 2- and a 6-

year-old. Their birthdays were coming up in September. That`s something to look forward to. She also had a ten-year anniversary that she was

coming up on celebrating with her husband that she was planning. So there was a lot that she had to live for.

So suicide is a big jump right now. I wouldn`t go there so quickly.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And let me say this...

KADING: And I don`t think...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Go ahead.

KADING: I don`t think anybody`s necessarily saying that`s a conclusion of suicide. We`re just saying it`s more likely that what happened was an

accident versus suicide.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But he said it wasn`t a crash. He said it was not a crash.

KADING: It doesn`t -- well, an accident can do -- be other things. You can ingest pills and take too many accidentally. You can have those type

of episodes that you didn`t intend to happen.

And based on what law enforcement is saying and based on what they`re saying about the crime scene, everything is indicating that there was no

nefarious activity; there`s no foul play. Something accidental happened.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Let me jump in here. Pamela on Twitter is saying, "If she committed suicide, wouldn`t she have remained in the

vehicle? This is very puzzling."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not necessarily.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me bring in another aspect from the outside, this family looked like the perfect all-American family. But some reports have

turned up some stress that this family had been coping with.

A friend told us that in about 2009 with the economy tanking, the husband lost his job and later the family lost their home. Two years later, things

got pretty bad. They filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Now, it`s been several years since that bankruptcy.

Beth Karas, former prosecutor, do you think that could have a bearing on this case?

BETH KARAS, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Perhaps. First of all, we don`t know her mental state. There are reports that she was acting erratically before she

went out to do those errands. So we also heard them at the beginning of this press conference call it a death investigation. They`re not calling

it anything but a death investigation. They don`t think there are signs of foul play.

We didn`t hear the condition of the body. She was probably fully clothed. We did hear the car didn`t have a crash. And so they don`t probably see

any signs of foul play. Maybe there`s a note in there.

Something happened. Either she was acting erratically, her mental, you know, state caused her to do something irrational. Maybe it wasn`t a

suicide with -- of sound mind. We just don`t know. But probably it`s not criminal, though.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s go out to the phone lines. Ann, Ohio. Ann, what do you say? Hi.

CALLER: Hi, Jane.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hi.

CALLER: I hear you guys talking about it now. But I was wondering before, you know, if she had some sort of mental illness or was depressed or

something? And for the cops to say they have a pretty good idea of what`s going on, you know, I heard somebody say, maybe there was a note left or

something like that. So I just wonder if there was a lot of stress, maybe mental illness going on.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I spoke to her father last week. And I want to say my heart goes out to him and his wife and this woman`s husband and our

deepest condolences. We didn`t know what was going to be announced at that news conference.

But he said that his daughter suffered from insomnia, and he explained that as the reason why she might have gotten the over-the-counter sleeping

pills, not that she was in any way, shape or form depressed. We knew she was stressed out. She said she wanted to spend some time alone.

Again, I think it`s premature. Let`s wait and see what happens. My heart goes out to the family. We`re going to stay on top of it.

On the other side, convicted murderer, Jodi Arias, you will not believe what is happening this time. She is going to defend herself. That`s

right. She`s going to act as her own attorney, going up against prosecutor Juan Martinez in the retrial that will determine whether she lives or dies.

Prosecutor Juan Martinez is going to go head to head with this woman. Unbelievable development.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JODI ARIAS, CONVICTED OF MURDER: When I finally came to, I saw that there was blood on my hands.

JUAN MARTINEZ, PROSECUTOR: And you enjoyed the Tootsie Pops and the Pop Rocks, correct? You think that the braids are hot, don`t you?

ARIAS: I think cute is more appropriate.

TRAVIS ALEXANDER, MURDER VICTIM (via phone): Well, I love the braids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTINEZ: Jodi Arias, did you have the knife in your hand when you shot him?

ARIAS: No, I did not.

ALEXANDER: I`m using (Ph) the KY. Did you know that?

MARTINEZ: Yes or no. Did you have the knife at that point?

ARIAS: No.

He bent me over the bed. He lifted up my skirt, and he pulled down my underwear.

I guess. I don`t know.

MARTINEZ: No, no. There`s no guessing here now.

(SFX: BELL)

ARIAS: He began to have anal sex to me.

ALEXANDER: I`m going to tie you to a tree and put it in there.

MARTINEZ: You`re the one that did this, didn`t you?

ARIAS (via phone): You`re bad. I just don`t want to hurt people anymore.

(SFX: BELL)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, she`s back with a brand-new jaw-dropping twist. Not only is convicted murderer Jodi Arias headed back to court so a jury

can decide if she lives or dies, but this time Jodi is going to be her own lawyer. What? Yes -- her own attorney. Is this a suicide mission or a

wickedly brilliant move?

Jodi was convicted just over a year ago of murdering her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, stabbing him 29 times, slitting his throat ear to ear and

then shooting him in the head, leaving behind this gruesome, horrific crime scene. But that was just the beginning.

The Jodi Arias case became a spectacle. Remember her headstand? There she goes -- up and over, yes in the interrogation room. And there were the

raunchy sex tapes. Jodi proved to us she loves the spotlight.

And now Jodi Arias is taking center stage again, pulling a fast move and saying, I`m going to act as my own attorney. It`s a jaw-dropping move.

She`s going to be the one choosing and questioning the jurors, the very people who are going to decide her fate. What`s it going to be like when

seductive, manipulative Jodi goes up against fiery prosecutor Juan Martinez?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUAN MARTINEZ, PROSECUTOR: What factors influenced your having a memory problem?

JODI ARIAS, CONVICTED OF KILLING TRAVIS ALEXANDER: Usually when men like you are screaming at me or grilling me or someone like Travis doing the

same.

MARTINEZ: That affects your memory problems?

ARIAS: It does, it makes my brain scramble.

MARTINEZ: He`s just threatened your life, you turn your back on the threat? That`s not my question to you, is it? Why don`t you want to

answer my question?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Could Jodi get the best of a man known for his hot temper? Is she going to basically push Juan Martinez`s buttons so she can play the

victim?

All right. Join the conversation, go to my Facebook page.

"Lion`s Den" fired up. We begin with Jordan Rose. You are an attorney out of Phoenix. You were in court for the entire trial that got her convicted

of murder. What`s happening in Phoenix? What`s the reaction to this explosive new twist -- Jordan?

JORDAN ROSE, PHOENIX ATTORNEY: Jane, people are shocked. And maybe -- maybe we shouldn`t be because you just never know what Jodi Arias will do

next. But this kind of narcissistic behavior where she thinks that she could be the only person, the only person who would defy that Abraham

Lincoln saying of, you know, he who represents himself is an idiot. That she somehow can overcome one of the best prosecutors we`ve ever seen, Juan

Martinez, and attempt to save herself is crazy.

She doesn`t wear well. She doesn`t wear well on a jury. She just thinks she`s so smart. Everyone from the school drop-off to standing in line at

the coffee shop is talking about this move by Jodi Arias here in Phoenix.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. But you think it`s a bad move, yes or no?

ROSE: I think it`s a terrible move. I think -- terrible move. She overestimates herself in every way. She`s so egotistical that she thinks

she can just come in and charm the jury. And it`s not going to happen that way because Juan Martinez is going to outsmart her as he did last time.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Beth Karas, former assistant D.A., former prosecutor, you also in court for this trial. What do you think?

KARAS: I don`t think it`s a bad move for Jodi. I think this is going to save her life. She will never be cross-examined by Juan Martinez because

she doesn`t have to take the stand. She can stand in front of the jury and eloque (ph) give a narrative just the way she did at the first penalty

phase when the jury was hung. The worst of this case is over. She is a convicted murder. She is never going to be free. I don`t care if there is

a life sentence or death. This woman will never walk the earth a free woman again.

She watched the trial. She learned from the trial. This is only about punishment. Now that she`s going to be performing in the courtroom with

two legal advisers helping her every step of the way, she can connect with jurors and all she needs is one juror to connect with. And it will be a

hung jury and she gets life because two hung juries at the penalty phase equals life in Arizona. The judge will decide, though, if it`s life with

release after 25 years or life without parole.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, who better to judge whether this is a terrific idea or a very bad idea than our exclusive guest. We have Juror Number 17 in

the Jodi Arias trial. This juror was an alternate, ultimately but she sat through all the testimony. Let me set up the clip. And then we`re going

to go to Tara Kelley in our exclusive interview -- again, an alternate juror in the Jodi Arias trial where she was ultimately convicted of murder.

Jodi made sure -- of course, we all watched it. I was there. She played the poor, innocent victim who never intended to kill Travis. She cried and

sobbed on the witness stand. You remember.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTINEZ: Ma`am, were you crying when you were shooting him?

ARIAS: I don`t remember.

MARTINEZ: Were you crying when you were stabbing him?

ARIAS: I don`t remember.

MARTINEZ: How about when you cut his throat? Were you crying then?

ARIAS: I don`t know.

MARTINEZ: So take a look then. You`re the one that did this, right?

ARIAS: Yes.

MARTINEZ: And you`re the same individual that lied about all this, right?

ARIAS: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: In my book "Exposed: The secret life of Jodi Arias", a definitive account of this trial, and by the way, the paperback comes out

in a couple of weeks, it`s a great primer on what`s going to happen September 8th in this retrial.

But I go in depth about the jury hung eight to four. Eight people -- four giving her the death penalty, four against. As Beth Karas just mentioned,

all you need is one. All Jodi has to do is connect with one juror.

So I want to go to Tara Kelley, our exclusively guest, Juror Number 17 in the Jodi Arias trial. Do you think Jodi, known for her ability to seduce

men and to try to seduce men -- she even tried to seduce the detective here by doing some sexual backbend that you`ll probably see in a second. Do you

think she`s going to try because she can question the jurors now since she`s her own attorney? She`s going to try to stock the jury with men and

then flirt with them?

TARA KELLEY, JUROR NUMBER 17: Well, I do think that the whole Jodi representing herself is total strategy knowing how manipulating she is,

it`s all strategy. I think one of her main goals is to be able to pick her own jury. So this definitely is going to play highly in her favor as far

as being able to pick her own jury.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: From your experience, did the men on the panel, the jury, react differently to her than the women?

KELLEY: I don`t think so. I mean I do think that there were a couple -- both genders that -- you know, both played roles in the whole trial as far

as maybe some felt that she deserved death. Some of them felt she deserved life. And it went back and forth. So it was definitely both sides. It

wasn`t just the male sides. Although there was one or two specific males that did favor Jodi`s side more highly.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, then, Tiffanie Davis-Henry, psychotherapist, to Beth Karas` point, all you need is one. I mean she could turn on that sexual

charisma that we know she has, for better or for worse, Tiffanie?

DAVIS-HENRY: Yes. All she has to do is submit questions to the jury, right? So she`s going to be asking them questions to see if there`s a way

in. And that`s what manipulative people do. They figure out what your triggers are, what your push points -- what your buttons are. That`s what

she`ll do to figure out who`s the best person to get on that jury. So maybe she can find a way in, find a way to connect with them to manipulate

them into seeing things her way.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know, Holly Hughes, former prosecutor, I have to agree with Beth Karas. I feel very sorry for the family of Travis Alexander

because I think that she is going to hijack this retrial the way she hijacked the first trial. She was on the stand for 18 days the first time

around. Who knows what circus she`s going to turn this into?

On the other side, we`re going to talk exclusively to a friend of Travis Alexander`s who also knew Jodi Arias. So stay right there. And also --

Facebook blowing up, I want to hear from you. Back in a second.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTINEZ: So if you drop the knife, where did you drop it from if not your hand?

ARIAS: Presumably my hand. I just don`t remember gripping it.

MARTINEZ: Did I ask you whether or not you had gripped it?

ARIAS: That`s what I took it as. I was just living in this fog.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIAS: I said years ago I`d rather get death than life and that still is true today. I believe that death is the ultimate freedom. I`d rather just

have my freedom as soon as I can get it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, that was her saying, oh, I want death, that would be freedom from KSAZ. You know, five minutes later, she was begging for her

life.

Let`s go out to another exclusive guest, Julie Christopher, good friend of Travis Alexander, the victim. And you know, we want to show Travis. Let`s

show Travis while we talk about this. This is all about him. He was murdered in 2008. Six years later we are still, still not at the

conclusion of this case. Imagine what his family is going through.

Julie Christopher, this woman is an infuriating person. What`s your reaction to this latest move on her part?

JULIE CHRISTOPHER, FRIEND OF TRAVIS ALEXANDER: You know, the first thing is that I`m absolutely not shocked. I am not shocked because the last time

I remember telling my friends and family and my husband, you know what, she`s got something coming, she is not done. This is somebody who loves to

be famous. This is somebody who`s playing her own role, Jodi, the next role, the next movie. She is now producing her next movie.

And I`m sick in my stomach because Travis, I believe, still hasn`t had peace. His family, the torture that they have to go through again,

reliving this again --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But you know what?

CHRISTOPHER: -- you know. And he`s probably thinking from heaven and watching us and watching her thinking, this woman is evil, she`s pure evil.

And now -- again, she just loves the spotlight. She wants to manipulate who -- you know, she preys on people. Now she`s going to prey on probably

12 persons in a jury, try to manipulate someone else. But, you know, she wants that spotlight.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Look, hold on a second. Loni Coombs, former prosecutor, I have to ask a question. I`m going to ask a provocative question. I`m a

big fan of prosecutor Juan Martinez. But it`s possible he could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory here. He won a conviction and now to

insist on this next phase when you know there are many people who believe it`s much harder to put a woman to death, that there`s a gender bias that

favors women. Is this a big mistake?

COOMBS: Well, Jane, I`ll tell you, it`s very interesting. And to see Juan going head to head with Jodi during this trial, again, when we do this

again, you know, we haven`t talked about this, but Jodi is a smart woman. As manipulative as all the other things she is, she is smart -- you have to

give it to her.

And she does know how to push Juan Martinez`s buttons. You see him getting so frustrated with her when she was on the stand. And now it`s not going

to be just confined to when she`s being cross-examined on the stand. This is going to be throughout the entire trial. They`re going to go battle

head to head every day, every question, they`re going to be going at it.

And she knows how to push his buttons. They do not like each other at all. It`s going to make him less effective, I`m afraid. I hope he really sits

back and takes it into consideration and says am I looking at this objectively? Am I doing this the right way? Should I be proceeding this

way and am I letting my personal feelings get involved here or am I being totally professional?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Beth Karas --

COOMBS: It`s going to be a real struggle for him.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- former prosecutor. Again, you were in court for the whole thing. And you know all the parties involved. Is she going to press

his buttons? Is she going to be able to provoke him with her passive/aggressive, manipulative, infuriating behavior and is he going to

explode and therefore create sympathy for her amongst the jurors?

KARAS: Well, it`s going to be a little different from what we saw the first time around because he`s not going to be examining her on the stand.

So it`s going to be like two lawyers going at it. He`ll object to her questions and she`ll try to rephrase it or something.

So you know, I don`t know that -- she`ll push his buttons. He, I`m sure, will try to push her buttons and rattle her, which is also a challenge and

was a challenge for him.

I just want to say, I agree with Julie Christopher. I think that Jodi is also doing this to stay in the limelight. She wants media at her trial.

And this may get more people there this time. More than we would have otherwise.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Is it possible that Jodi cares more about attention than she does about whether she lives or dies? That that`s really her ultimate

goal? Not to save her life but just to get a little more spotlight? We`re taking your calls on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRAVIS ALEXANDER, VICTIM: I`m going to tie you to a tree and put it in your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) --

ARIAS: Oh, my gosh. That is so debasing. I like it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTINEZ: It thought you said the relationship with Mr. Alexander was very stressful.

ARIAS: Some of the sex wasn`t.

MARTINEZ: Pardon?

ARIAS: Some of the sex wasn`t.

MARTINEZ: So you did enjoy the sex, is that what you`re telling me?

ARIAS: At times, I did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: It was a sex-drenched trial and you remember, of course, these lurid photos that were the key to the case. Remember she threw the

camera in the washing machine and thanks to the detective work of Detective Flores and his team, they managed to take the sim card and extract the

photos of -- these sexual photos prior to the killing and then photos of Travis Alexander in the shower and then the killing in progress --

accidental photos.

I want to go to Holly Hughes, former prosecutor. Everybody`s curious, how is this going to play out? They have to bring this new jury up to speed.

So since she`s representing herself can she try to make this all about sex? Because the forensics, slitting his throat ear to ear, that`s not something

she wants to focus on.

HUGHES: Correct. She`s going to do what she`s always done. She`s going to try and paint herself as the victim. Remember that in addition to

trying to be flirtatious and get the men on the jury to like her, she tried to get the women to feel sorry for her because she claimed her parents

abused her. She claimed Travis abused her. So she is going to continue to make this all about Jodi.

And now she has the opportunity because think about it, Jane, in a trial the lawyers are the ones who get all the face time with the jury. We`re

the ones on our feet. Everybody is watching us question the witnesses, enter exhibits. You get to question the jurors during the voir dire

process. And the defendant just sits back at the table and the jury might still glance at her but they don`t get that one-on-one, they don`t get that

face-to-face. They don`t get to watch her operate. And now she`s going to have that opportunity.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jordan Rose, attorney, you`re there, you know all the players and you`re familiar with the prosecutor`s office.

Suzanne on Facebook says "She`ll need more than a GED to fight with Martinez," in reference to the fact that she`s a high school dropout who

got her GED in jail. But her attorneys -- they despise her, she despises at least Kirk Nurmi. They`re going to be sitting there, right? And then

the judge could likely allow her to ask questions. Anytime she doesn`t know, "Oh my God, what does that mean? What`s that word mean? What does

that mean?" And then get the answer from them and proceed?

ROSE: Certainly she could and she probably will. But what we have known is that she and Nurmi and her attorneys are not getting along in any way.

They`re not being loyal to her in the way that she would like. And so I don`t know that that won`t backfire on her.

Plus you have a very sophisticated prosecutor who you better believe is going to figure out how to push her buttons so that she comes off looking

like the lunatic and insane killer that she really is. So while she may be able to ask these questions, I don`t know that that`s going to help her

much.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Is she going to be able to do that dive? That dive -- right there -- remember? This is what she did when Travis allegedly

purportedly attacked her, which of course, never happened. It`s all a lie. Is she going to be able to do that again? We`re going to get that answer

on the other side. Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We only have a couple of seconds. I want to ask my exclusive guest Tara Kelley. She just hung up. I`ll ask Tiffany Davis-

Henry, psychotherapist. How weird will it be for prospective jurors to sit down and have Jodi Arias asking them questions to see if they can be

jurors?

DAVIS-HENRY: It`s going to be very weird. I don`t know too many people, Jane, who actually fall in love with narcissists. They usually rub people

the wrong way. But here`s the thing with this. This could be an advantage for her in that they find her so sad that she actually thinks that this is

a good idea to represent herself. She has so little insight, poor judgment, and oh, my gosh, she really thinks that this is a good idea. So

this could be the difference for her --

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Between life and death. That`s the play. That oh, I`m pathetic. I`m sick. Spare my life.

Nancy`s next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END