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Nancy Grace

Plea Deal for Jodi Arias?

Aired June 04, 2013 - 20:00   ET

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

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight. To Mesa, Arizona. They meet on a work trip in Vegas and fall hard. But when the flame burns out, they break up. But it`s only then she moves 300 miles to chase him, even converting to Mormonism to get her man.

But then her lover, 30-year-old Travis Alexander, found slumped over dead in the shower of his own home, shot, stabbed 29 times. And just hours after she admittedly stabs him to death, she`s literally hopping on top of a brand-new boyfriend.

Twenty-seven-year-old Arias has wild sex with Travis all day, even photographing the sex, but just minutes after sex, slashes his throat from ear to ear.

Bombshell tonight. After a jury convicts Jodi Arias of murder one, that same jury deadlocks on the death penalty. But at this hour, is a secret plea deal in the works for Arias to avoid death row, to get simple life behind bars and walk in just 20 short years?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: State of Arizona versus Jodi Ann Arias, sentencing verdict. We the jury, duly empaneled and sworn in the above- entitled action, upon our oaths unanimously find, having considered all of the facts and circumstances, that the defendant should be sentenced -- no unanimous agreement. Signed, foreperson.

JODI ARIAS, CONVICTED OF MURDER: They were the best of times. They were the worst of times.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they came back and said she`s willing to go away for life, are you open to that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they were to make an offer for resolution, I believe I have an ethical obligation to consider that.

ARIAS: I would beg for the death penalty!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you mentally, emotionally ready to meet your maker, if that`s their decision?

ARIAS: Well, I`m ready to meet my maker, but...

Life in prison was the most unappealing outcome I could possibly think of. I thought I`d rather die. But as I stand here now, I can`t in good conscience ask you to sentence me to death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: And tonight, how does a TV veteran, former co-host on ABC`s "The View," Star Jones, factor into a murder investigation?

Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.

Bombshell tonight. After a jury convicts Jodi Arias of murder one, the jury deadlocks on death penalty, at this hour, is a secret plea deal in the works for Arias to avoid death row, to get simple life behind bars and then walk in 20 short years? You just heard the county attorney saying that he has an ethical duty to consider an offer of life behind bars.

Straight out to Alexis Weed, on the story. Alexis, what`s going on? I thought no way, no deal, no how.

ALEXIS WEED, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Yes, we don`t know the answer to that right now, Nancy. It could be -- could there be a plea deal in the works for Jodi Arias? We are now sitting here today just about two weeks away from when the preliminary hearing is scheduled for that -- another trial that is supposed to go on, to see if Jodi Arias will get the death penalty, and that`s scheduled for June 20th. So we`re coming up right on it, And we`re all waiting to see what is going to happen.

Will these attorneys be prepared on June 20th to go forward, and will the county attorney say, Yes, we are going forward with another trial?

GRACE: Well, it`s my understanding -- out to you, Matt Zarrell -- that Willmott has already begged off that day. It`s not going forward then.

MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Yes, apparently, from our research, Jennifer Willmott does have a conflict on the trial date of July 18th. But as Alexis mentioned, there is a status conference on June 20th. So that is when they may talk about a new date. But as of now, the state plans to go forward unless the defense presents a reasonable plea deal.

GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Joining me tonight, Jason Oshins, defense attorney out of New York, Harold (sic) Rodriguez, defense attorney -- attorney, former fed with the FBI out of Miami.

So Rodriguez, everybody`s denying that the deal is in the works. But is it? We`re getting reports that there is a deal on the table for simple life, that she could walk in 20 short years. Is it possible?

HUGO RODRIGUEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Very possible. I mean, the state has until June 20th to decide if they`re going to reconvene another jury, go through the entire process, not knowing if it`s going to hang again, and spending millions of dollars. This is something that is very reasonable and is ordinary in the course of business. I wouldn`t be surprised if it`s not accepted by both parties.

GRACE: Let me ask you a question, Hugo.

RODRIGUEZ: Yes?

GRACE: Hugo, how many death penalty cases have you tried?

RODRIGUEZ: I have tried none...

GRACE: OK.

RODRIGUEZ: ... but I`ve been involved in several where we were able to negotiate a life and spare the person`s death.

GRACE: OK. So I firmly believe that when you announce, as a prosecutor, that this is a death penalty case, you know, you don`t just wake up one morning, and when you`re brushing your teeth, you look in the mirror and go, Hey, you know that murder case I was going to try? I think it should be a death penalty.

That`s not the way it goes down, Jason Oshins. A lot of thought and usually committees involved to determine if a case is going to be a death penalty prosecution. So why would you, just because of one jury, take it off the table, Oshins?

JASON OSHINS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Listen, Nancy, the reality is, is that this was already tried as a death penalty case, as you said. They committeed it. They worked it through. The jury got deadlocked on the aggravation phase. And now you`re faced, as Hugo says, with the decision of going back in and expending public monies to try and, you know, satisfy the pound of flesh and get her death.

GRACE: You know, I don`t know what you mean by "satisfy the pound of" -- what did you say, pound of flesh? What did you say?

OSHINS: Pound of flesh? I mean, listen, when...

GRACE: What are you talking about, a pound of flesh?

OSHINS: Nancy, the death penalty is the flesh...

GRACE: No, answer my question!

OSHINS: I`m answering your question.

GRACE: What are you talking about?

OSHINS: I`m talking about taking her life versus being able to work it out.

GRACE: Pound of flesh?

OSHINS: That`s what it is when you take someone`s life.

GRACE: Work it out. Really? Work it out?

OSHINS: That`s what it is, Nancy.

GRACE: Work it out.

OSHINS: I`ve worked it out.

GRACE: You`re like you`re sitting around a bridge table, a bunch of little old ladies sitting around a bridge table. They`re going to work through...

OSHINS: Nancy, I`m not saying it`s that way.

GRACE: BS! You can`t work it out! He was stabbed 29 times and shot in the head!

(CROSSTALK)

OSHINS: But they hung on that 8-4 decision of the penalty, Nancy, and now they have to look at trying it again.

GRACE: So?

OSHINS: Well, that`s a decision...

GRACE: So what? In the Menendez case, the first time, they had a mistrial.

OSHINS: Nancy, deals are...

GRACE: So what? The next time, they convicted.

OSHINS: Nancy, deals are cut all the time. You know that. And this is another deal.

GRACE: Have you ever had a mistrial? Have you ever had a mistrial, ever?

OSHINS: Sure. Absolutely.

GRACE: Hugo, have you ever had a mistrial?

RODRIGUEZ: Yes. Yes.

GRACE: Me, too. I`ve had one mistrial.

RODRIGUEZ: And some victories sometimes.

GRACE: I`ve had a mistrial. I immediately retried the case and got a conviction. I got...

RODRIGUEZ: This is a different set of circumstances.

GRACE: ... a mistrial because I called the defendant -- I called the defendant a pimp in opening statements, and he wasn`t charged with pimping. So I had it reindicted to include a misdemeanor charge of pimping, and went forward and called him a pimp in the next opening statement.

RODRIGUEZ: Nancy, here you have a conviction!

GRACE: So what? They mistried on death penalty. Wa-wa! Wa-wa! Wa- wa! Hold on. Bring it down. Let`s find out what`s really happening.

Back out to you. Alexis Weed, we heard the -- whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait! Wait! Put the lawyers back up, Oshins and Rodriguez. Put them up! Do you know what today is, Rodriguez?

RODRIGUEZ: Today is the fifth anniversary of the death.

OSHINS: Right.

GRACE: Today is the fifth anniversary of the murder, of Travis Alexander`s slaughter, all right? That`s what today is.

Back to you, Alexis Weed. Liz, I want to play back what the county attorney said about a possible deal. In the meantime, Alexis Weed, we`ve long known that the defense begged to plead to murder two. If they had pled to murder two, what would her sentence have been?

WEED: If that were the case, she would have been looking at about 25 years, Nancy. That would have been the max.

GRACE: So it`s my belief, Alexis Tereszcuk, senior reporter, Radaronline.com, that the defense is floating this plea deal. What, if anything, do you know?

ALEXIS TERESZCUK, RADARONLINE.COM: What I do know is what the prosecutor has to consider is what the defense offers. But they also have to consider what the family wants, and Travis Alexander`s family wants death for Jodi. They want her -- in fact, her brother -- I`m sorry -- his brother actually said, "I want her to get the needle" just today.

GRACE: With me is Dave Hall, a close friend of Travis Alexander. Dave, what is your response to a possible life sentence, where Arias would walk after 20 short years? Do you think that`s what the Alexander family wants?

DAVE HALL, FRIEND OF TRAVIS ALEXANDER (via telephone): Absolutely not. There`s no way the Alexander family is going to go with that. If there was some way we could guarantee life without parole, that`s a little bit easier to swallow. But 20 years from now, for her to be out terrorizing the Alexander grandchildren, hell, no.

GRACE: When you say out terrorizing the grandchildren, what do you mean by that, Dave Hall?

HALL: I mean...

GRACE: You know, I could just see her stalking them...

HALL: I mean...

GRACE: ... in some weird, perverse way of trying to get close to Travis`s family. Can`t you just see her on the edge of the playground when the children were playing -- when the grandchildren were out there playing? I can see it.

HALL: Absolutely. Jodi has done everything she can to get in front of the camera, to smudge Travis`s name and mock the family. And you know that 20 years from now, if she`s walking the street, she`s going to be trying to do book deals, movie deals, interviews on TV, everything, and she will bring this up all over again and mock the family. We want her locked up for life, if not six feet under.

GRACE: Well, what do you think about the family deciding between life without parole and the death penalty?

HALL: If we got a hung jury the second time around, I think that`s something that we could handle, is life without parole. But life with the possibility of parole in 20 years, just -- there`s no way. There`s absolutely no way the family...

GRACE: I heard what you just said, Dave Hall -- everybody, we are live and taking your calls -- Dave Hall, a close friend of Travis Alexander`s. You said if it hangs the second time around, the family would consider a plea?

HALL: You know, I don`t think they want to go through it a third time. They didn`t want to go through it a second time. There`s only so much you can keep taking. These poor people have had to spend literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel expenses and everything else like that going to the point that they`ve gone to so far.

So how far can you keep pushing this? There might be a point after two times around that we have to say, Hey, look, we`re willing to settle for life without parole.

GRACE: Everyone, we are live and taking your calls. As we go to air tonight, it`s bubbling up, word spreading that a plea deal is in the works for Jodi Arias for a simple life sentence. With that, she will walk in about 20 short years. It`s very difficult for me to believe that prosecutor Martinez is behind this.

Tomorrow night, a special event, a two-night special. I go "Behind Bars," face to face with the most dangerous women in the Arizona penal system, to Estrella jail, the same jail of convicted killer Jodi Arias. I learned a lot. I learned a lot "Behind Bars." "Behind Bars" Wednesday and Thursday night. I hope you join me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn`t really care for her. I don`t know her, so...

GRACE: That`s interesting that you said that you didn`t really care for her. Why do you say that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, I don`t know her, so I don`t really care.

GRACE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A woman does not go to the man you love and just totally do some crazy, outrageous stuff.

GRACE: Well, he was going to take another woman to Cancun.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, that`s nothing. I mean, who knows what really happened, though?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did she have to stab him in the back nine times?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nobody knows the real story, though. Nobody does. Only God and her and that man that`s dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was there jealousy?

ARIAS: On my end, not so much jealousy. Maybe a sense of insecurity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why would they start pointing fingers in your direction right away?

ARIAS: I don`t know. Maybe I`m -- maybe because I`m the ex- girlfriend. We`ve had lots of fights.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Travis was one of the nicest and kindest men I`ve ever met. He was the type of guy that you just wanted to be around.

JUAN MARTINEZ, PROSECUTOR: She slit his throat as a reward for being a good man.

Would you agree that you`re the person who actually slit Mr. Alexander`s throat from ear to ear?

ARIAS: Yes!

SANDY ARIAS, JODI`S MOTHER: How could she come back here and (INAUDIBLE) and then when her friends called her and told her that he died, she totally freaked out, like she knew nothing about it? I mean, how could somebody do that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because she`s Jodi Arias, and that`s what happens in the world of Jodi Arias.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Welcome back. As we go to air tonight, we learn that a possible plea deal is in the works, a plea deal for simple life behind bars. Hard to believe.

Straight out to Brian Skoloff, author of "Killer Girlfriend: The Jodi Arias Story." Brian, what are you hearing?

BRIAN SKOLOFF, AUTHOR, "KILLER GIRLFRIEND" (via telephone) Well, I mean, we`re hearing the same things, Nancy. But I think we should make a few things clear here. I mean, I -- regardless whether there`s a plea deal in the works, I think just it`s out of the realm of possibility that the prosecutor`s office here would accept any deal but natural life in prison, which would largely be, in my mind, based on the family not wanting to go through this again, if they so choose to do that.

But another thing to make clear I guess here is this possibility for release after a certain amount of time in prison here in Arizona. There is no such thing as parole in Arizona. So even if she were to get the lower end with the possibility for release after 20, 25 years, it`s very, very unlikely she`d ever see the light of day.

GRACE: Well, then, if there is no parole, why is there life without parole and life with parole?

SKOLOFF: Well, there`s natural life in Arizona, and then there`s this life with the possibility of release after 25 years. So there`s no mechanism for parole, but...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: So you`re saying release...

SKOLOFF: ... after the 25 years to attempt to get released.

GRACE: So you call it release. Well, everybody else calls it parole.

SKOLOFF: It`s very similar.

GRACE: So you know, it`s like Shakespeare says, a rose by any other name still smells as sweet. Bottom line, she gets out in 20 years. So Brian, we lived through the trial together. I find it very difficult to believe Martinez would go along with letting her out.

SKOLOFF: Well, I agree with you, Nancy, 100 percent. And I think if it were up to Juan Martinez, he would do this again and again until he got a jury that agreed on death. It`s not up to Juan. His boss, Montgomery (ph), who runs the office here, obviously (INAUDIBLE) obligated to consider any plea deals. They take into account what the family`s wishes are, as I`m sure you`ve dealt with on many trials that you handled yourself.

But at the end of the day here, again, I want to go back to this point that I just don`t see it as in the realm of possibility that the prosecutor`s office would take any deal but natural life, meaning her entire life behind bars with no chance for release.

GRACE: I just don`t understand why there`s even a consideration. I believe that they should and will go forward seeking the death penalty. And also, in the Arizona jurisdiction, if another -- a second jury deadlocks, then the judge sentences to life or life without parole, one of those two. So the death penalty is off the table if -- in the event that the next jury deadlocks at sentencing.

The lines are stacking. Let`s go to Mary in Georgia. Hi, Mary. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, Nancy.

GRACE: Hi, love.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love your show. I just wanted to ask you, is the state allowed to ask the judge now for (INAUDIBLE) for life without parole so that they can avoid another penalty phase, and also make sure that she does not get parole?

GRACE: Well, they -- nobody can plea. A plea is a negotiation. Nobody can plea unless both parties agree to it. So the state cannot propose life without parole to the judge unless Arias agrees to it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIAS: I designed a T-shirt. This is the T-shirt. Some people may not believe that I am a survivor of domestic violence. They`re entitled to their opinion. I`m supporting this cause because it`s very, very important to me.

My agenda at this point is to bring awareness to domestic violence because I feel like -- I mean, I`m here for my own bad choices, but in part, I`m also here because of that. And I just really want people to document what they go through because if I had documented what I went through, there would be proof of it. And that`s one of the big issues in my case is that there is no physical proof.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: There`s more of that Arias interview at ABC15.com.

Welcome back, everybody. As we go to air, we learn, is a secret plea deal in the works by which Arias will walk free in 20 years after the ruthless slaughter of her lover, Travis Alexander?

We`re taking your calls. But Matt Zarrell, we also learned in the last hours that Arias appeals the death penalty consideration all the way up to the Arizona supreme court. And literally in the last minutes, they respond. What happened?

ZARRELL: Yes, Nancy, the appeals court flatly rejected Jodi Arias`s appeal to take the death penalty off the table. It is still in the hands of a new jury.

GRACE: OK. Explain to me what she was arguing to an appellate court.

ZARRELL: She was arguing that the aggravating factor was not met. Unfortunately, the jury disagreed with her and ruled that Travis Alexander`s murder was cruel and depraved.

GRACE: So she takes it up to the Arizona appellate court on one ground only, claiming that the state did not prove cruelty? That was her only complaint?

ZARRELL: It was a special action that was turned down initially, and then Nurmi refiled to postpone the penalty stage at the trial. And then after the trial was -- the jury was hung, then the appeals court decided to take it up and rejected the motion.

GRACE: Unleash the lawyers, Jason Oshins, Hugo Rodriguez. Jason Oshins, that`s not going to work. That`s like claiming there was insufficient evidence at trial. That`s a typical one that`s always thrown into the pot on appeal. They didn`t prove their case. Well, you know what? The jury said they did. So that`s always a hands-down loser on appeal.

OSHINS: Nancy, you`re right to the extent that there are things by rote that, as a defense attorney, you have to do, just like making a motion at the end of a trial. You have to do all those things. It`s very basic to what we do.

GRACE: In my mind, Hugo, this was a lame attempt at getting the DP consideration back off the table, trying to get the appellate court to reverse what the jury said about cruelty.

RODRIGUEZ: Possibly. And the game, if anything, some possible consideration or leverage in order to discuss a possible plea deal.

GRACE: Well, that didn`t work, did it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIAS: No arguments, no anger issues, not that I can remember.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stab wound to the heart. His throat was slit. His body was dragged to the shower, and he was shot in the head along the way.

ARIAS: As far as making comparison of physical injuries, him versus mine...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His neck wound from ear to ear. His face was dark purple, almost black. The rest of his body was a very pale white. And he was kind of crammed in the bottom of the shower stall.

ARIAS: I don`t even hurt spiders.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Do you agree that you came away rather unscathed?"

ARIAS: Yes, I would have to say that`s a relatively accurate assessment.

I`m all for the Ten Commandments, thou shalt not kill.

MARTINEZ: The first hit, if you will, was to the heart area. And he was walking around. He was grabbing the knife. He was trying to defend himself.

ARIAS: (inaudible) if I had to answer to god for such a heinous crime.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRACE: Bombshell tonight. In the last hours, we learned a plea deal, a secret plea deal, may be in the works, where Arias walks after 20 short years. And who would know the case better than Beth Karas, who has covered the case from the beginning? Beth Karas, have you caught up on your beauty sleep, No. 1?

KARAS: Well, I have caught up on my sleep, yes. I`ve been wrapping things up. Yes.

GRACE: I bet this was a rude awakening. What about it, Beth? Tell me the truth. Do you really think Martinez would go for this, or is this just something that the defense is floating out there to irritate everyone?

KARAS: I really don`t think this is something that Juan Martinez would accept. But ultimately, it won`t be his decision. It will be his boss`s, Bill Montgomery`s, decision. But as far as I know, Juan Martinez intends to retry this case.

GRACE: OK, Beth, you were in court every single day before the judge hit the gavel. When you say from what you know, what do you mean by that? Did you talk to Martinez about it? Or is it what you observed? Because -- or is it his record? What did you observe, or what do you know that makes you believe this is total BS, that this is possibly something the defense is putting out there?

KARAS: Well, you know, I don`t know about these rumors. I would not be surprised if there are some discussions behind the scenes. But again, I don`t really have anything on the record that I can, you know, talk to you about.

GRACE: Uh-oh, Beth Karas, I`ve known you since way back on Court TV. And when you say there`s nothing that I can put on the record, that, everybody, let me just tell you what that means. When Beth Karas says that, that means she knows something, but she`s not going to tell you. She knows, but she`s not going to tell you. All right. Rephrase that again for me, Beth Karas. Tell me the thing about not on the record.

KARAS: Well, all I can say, Nancy, is if it`s Juan Martinez`s decision, this case goes forward. And I don`t have any reason to believe the family of Travis Alexander wants anything different except a retrial. However, Bill Montgomery, we know he issued the statement last week saying that they intend to retry it. However, they will invite an offer from the defense. And that`s kind of the way it works in Arizona, like Arias, a couple years ago offered to plead guilty to second-degree murder. But they would have nothing of it, the state, and Martinez was never going to accept that, or Montgomery.

I don`t know if the defense is offering to take a -- not a natural life, but a parolable -- I apologize, I`m outside -- a parolable life sentence. That would be, I`m sure, unacceptable to the state. A parolable life sentence, forget it. If they were to take death off the table, I would think it would be natural life, which is without parole, and waive appeals. But that`s not even an option as far as I`m concerned that is being considered right now.

GRACE: You know, Beth, you and I and Jean Casarez and Alexis Weed sat in that courtroom day in, day out. And the family had such resolve. But there`s also to be considered what they went through. They all work -- a lot of them worked and lived in California. Describe to the viewers what this family went through, and we`re showing them right now, Beth. I wish you could see it. We`re showing them, Travis`s family, when the jury deadlocked. This is something I will never forget. Please tell the viewers what this family went through to be in that courtroom every day.

KARAS: You know, Nancy, they left their lives behind Monday through Friday and returned to California on weekends. They had -- some of them had businesses and jobs. They were away from them for five months. They had financial problems as a result. Not just traveling and having to pay for housing and food and transportation, but their lives back in California, children they were leaving behind. And so it was a terrible strain on them. And there were wonderful benefactors who came through and helped them. People raised money to help them defray their costs. However, it took a financial and emotional toll on them. So at the end, when they didn`t have final resolution, there were a lot of tears.

The idea that they had to go through this again is something they`re willing to do for Travis. But it is not going to be a few weeks long, Nancy, because Jodi Arias put her mitigation evidence in during the guilt phase. A retrial is going to be, I believe, more than six weeks long. I would expect it to be two months or so, because a lot of the guilt phase evidence is going to have to be presented again.

GRACE: Yes. A whole new jury has to learn the case and all of its gory detail. Oh, do we -- are we going to have to listen to her sex tape again, Beth?

KARAS: You know, I don`t know about that. Maybe. The defense put it in. And it`s part of that complicated relationship between Jodi and Travis. And they may want to put it in. They`re going to want to put her on the stand again. Who else could talk about her, what she says is her history of child abuse and abuse as an adult? That was one of her mitigators, and she testified about that ad nauseum on the stand. So that has to come in as well, by her, on the stand.

GRACE: With us, everybody, is Beth Karas. Out to the lines. Linda in California. Hi, Linda, what`s your question?

CALLER: Hi, Nancy. We love you here in California. And your kids are so beautiful.

GRACE: I`m blessed.

CALLER: But I just want to say, do you think that the little demon seed wants to ask for a plea deal because if they get a new jury in there, the outcome is going to be what we all thought it was going to be, which is the death penalty?

GRACE: Yes, I really do. I think that`s a good point. Let me go back to you, Beth Karas. Do you believe that is what they are trying to maneuver, to get a plea deal before they go in front of a fresh jury?

KARAS: Yes, I think that`s quite possible, and it is true, as you know, Nancy, that a retrial often favors the state. So maybe she would get death the next time around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: I go behind bars into the Jodi Arias maximum security jailhouse armed with nothing but this. With me, the deadliest women in the state of Arizona, one day I`ll never forget. Come with me, Nancy Grace, behind bars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIAS: If Travis were here today, he would tell you it wasn`t me. I witnessed Travis being attacked by two other individuals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you at Travis`s house?

ARIAS: Absolutely not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Bombshell tonight. Is a plea deal in the works on which Arias will walk? Stunning revelation, or is it something floated by the defense? Mark Harold, former officer, Atlanta PD and author. Beth is right, a retrial very often favors the state. Is that what Arias is trying to escape with a plea deal?

HAROLD: Yes, absolutely, that`s what she`s trying to escape with a plea deal. Look, there`s only one reason not to go forward, and it`s not going to happen here. It`s not money, it`s not office politics. Only if the family said they didn`t want to go through this again, and they do want to go through with it, this needs to go forward.

GRACE: To Greg Cason, psychologist joining me out of L.A. Greg, at what point is the family just absolutely exhausted? You heard what Beth said they endured to be there for the trial every single day.

CASON: Yes, and if this family`s that dedicated to be there every single day and to be also aware of this five-year anniversary of Travis Alexander`s death, they are very much in it for the long haul. So it`s going to take a while. This grief is complicated by the egregious and terrible murder of Travis Alexander.

GRACE: You know, back to you, Beth Karas. The fact that this revelation of a possible plea deal in the works bubbles up on the fifth anniversary of Travis`s murder. How ironic is that, Beth? I mean, you know, I always think that we`re given signs and messages along life`s path if we can see them. And the fact that this is occurring on the day of the fifth year of his murder, it`s just twisting me up inside. I think the only thing standing between the family and a sweetheart plea deal is Martinez. I just don`t think he`s going to let it happen, Beth. Maybe I`m wrong.

KARAS: Well, to the extent he can prevent it, I think he will. But again, it`s not his decision. It`s Bill Montgomery`s. So I really don`t see any deal which would be a parolable life deal at all. It`s just not possible. And the fact this is happening on the fifth anniversary of Travis`s death really emphasizes that the system has moved so slowly in this case. I know it`s a capital case, and everything is done a little bit differently, maybe more slowly in capital cases, but Jodi Arias went through a lot of lawyers throughout the course of this case. And she had a lot of time to prepare. I mean, this case didn`t go to trial for four and a half years. Enough already.

GRACE: Everyone, a homicide investigation. A dead body, half clothed, of a mother of three, floating, found dead in the water of a residential lake. Now, how does TV celebrity Star Jones factor into that murder investigation?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We must find out who committed this heinous crime against my sister. We`re concerned with justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Rhonda is the mother of three, Rosaline Ransom Lee. And joining me now is Star Jones. We all know Star from "The View," from "Apprentice." I know her in a different way, from our days together at Court TV and before.

Star, thank you for being with us. You know, the other day, when your e-mail popped up on my Blackberry, I thought, what is Star going to say? I opened it up. And I found out about Rosaline. I wouldn`t have even known about the case if you hadn`t told me. Star, tell me what you know about the case, and how did you get involved?

STAR JONES: Nancy, first of all, thank you so very much for one, opening that e-mail and two, responding. I want everybody to know that you responded literally within an hour of me sending you an e-mail over the weekend.

When I sadly had to tell you that I brought really sad news, that a dear friend of mine, Richelle Ransom, my sorority sister, my girlfriend, had lost her baby sister. As you said, Rosaline Rhonda Ransom Lee, everybody called her Rhonda in their family, was killed brutally on May 26th, and they found her body just inside of Pontiac, Michigan, by a lake. And when I was told this, of course, emotionally, I wanted to scream and cry like anybody else who wanted to comfort their friend. But I had to put on my prosecutor`s hat, and I had to put on the public eye hat. And I said to my girlfriend, we`re going to find out what happened. And I`m going to use every public platform that I have to get my friends in the media to pay attention to your sister and your sister`s murder. Not her death, her murder. And we`re going to find out who did it.

GRACE: Oh, Star, it was a murder. And what concerns me is that very often, when you find a woman dead, immediately people think domestic homicide, and they tend to scrutinize it less carefully.

JONES: Mm-hmm.

GRACE: And especially when it is a minority female or child. Then somehow that becomes less important.

JONES: 100 percent.

GRACE: It does.

JONES: But Nancy, this is one thing that I love about--

GRACE: We can`t let that happen here.

JONES: Absolutely not. And to be honest with you, you`ve never let that happen. And I just need to say that as a colleague and a friend, and that`s why I came to you, because I knew, quite frankly, you would be a dog with a bone when it`s a woman who has been a victim, who has been brutally murdered, who leaves three babies -- three babies -- under a year.

GRACE: And one is 9 months old.

JONES: Thank you. And a 12-year-old, without anybody to care for them, there is no way in the world --

GRACE: And Star, just to top it off, this is what I know. I know she was found partially clothed, clothed only from the waist up. That says sex attack. No. 2, the body, I think, was moved from where the murder was. She was manually strangled. That means not a ligature. Someone strangled her by hand.

This all says to me it was somebody that knew her.

JONES: Absolutely.

GRACE: The only question is who.

JONES: Nancy, a strangulation murder that is not with a ligature, you know, is an up-close and personal murder. And from what I have learned from Rhonda`s family, Rhonda was not the type of young woman that would allow somebody in her personal space that she didn`t know. She would not go off to an area with a stranger. And so the manner of death and the place that she was found is more indicative of her being with someone that she knew or that she trusted or she thought she could trust. And that will be, of course, an assistance to the investigators who are really looking into this crime.

I want to let you know that I spoke with the sheriff in charge of Oakland County, which is the Pontiac, Michigan, area today. Sheriff Broussard (ph). And he wanted me to let you and your viewers know that he, too, and his team are, quote, dogging this case. He said he has the best people working, that he will use every single thing at his fingertips, and he, quote, "intends to solve this murder" and, quote, "hold the person accountable."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: How does TV veteran and celebrity Star Jones factor into a homicide investigation? Clark Goldband, give it to me in a nutshell, what happened?

GOLDBAND: Well, Nancy, the victim was last seen at 3 am in the morning leaving her mom`s house, and then it gets murky. The man she was supposed to meet -- claims to see her at about 3:20, leaving the location she was going to meet him, but we don`t have independent corroboration of that. Also, that same man, according to the family, continued to call the victim`s mother throughout the morning asking where she was.

GRACE: I want to clarify something, Clark, and I`m not at liberty to say what I know, but she was not going out to some club or some bar. She was going out of the home at that odd hour for a legitimate reason that I cannot divulge right now, but I would have done the very same thing that she did when she left that home. With me right now, her sister, with me is Richelle Ransom. Richelle, thank you for being with us.

RICHELLE RANSOM, SISTER OF VICTIM: Thank you for having me, Nancy.

GRACE: Richelle, I want you to tell our viewers about your sister. I want to know what kind of mother she was. That`s what I`m interested in.

RANSOM: Well, my sister, it`s my younger sister. And she`s always been a very quiet person, who smiled all the time. Amongst the brother and sister, our relationships, we were a laughy kind of group. We always laughed and cracked jokes. Just that night, she was with her sons, and her oldest son, the 12 year old, showing him some Youtube videos. I had sent her one about the Fresh Prince. So they`re up at night watching old Fresh Prince videos on Youtube. That was basically what she did with her kids. She spent time with them. She wasn`t a night person. She didn`t go out. She didn`t have a big group of friends around her. My mother describes her as the quiet one of the four children. She was just quiet, kind of in the background.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: We remember American hero, Army Private First Class, Jordan Byrd. Just 19, Grantsville, Utah. Bronze Star, Silver Star, Purple Heart, Combat Medic Badge. Parents Roberta and Justin. Stepfather Scott. Widow Savannah. Son Aiden (ph). Jordan Byrd, American hero.

And now to the investigation, the homicide investigation revolving around a young mother of three, Rosaline Ransom Lee. I want to go back to Star Jones. How does a TV celebrity that we see, glamorous, beautiful, always dressed in haute couture, perfectly made up, how does somebody like you -- you`re not a little jail rat like me, Star -- how does somebody like you get involved in a murder investigation, and what is your hope for this case?

JONES: Well, Nancy, all of that aside, I am a black woman who loves her girlfriend. And that girl that you just talked to is one of my good girlfriends. She`s my sorority sister. And we have this saying in our sorority. We help each other because we know there`s no other like our sisterhood. So when Richelle told me she lost her sister, it was as if I lost a member of my family. And you and I both know how difficult it is to get the media to pay attention to an African-American woman`s disappearance or murder. And so I decided to just use as much platform as I could, public platform that I have, in order to bring attention to this case in hopes of solving it.

What I want --

GRACE: You know what? Go ahead, dear.

JONES: What I want the public to know is, that surrounding this case, you may know something. People in the Pontiac, Michigan area. You may have been in and around Lake Terry, which is where she was found during Memorial Day weekend. If you were, if you saw a white van -- the sheriff and I discussed this today -- what you want to do is take those pictures to the sheriff`s office. We want this death to have meant something to other women.

GRACE: And I want her children to grow up knowing that someone cared. There is a reward, a substantial reward, 1-800-SPEAKUP. Tonight, our prayers with the family of Rosaline Ransom Lee. As we go to break, a special good night to friend Kylie (ph). Isn`t she beautiful? And everyone, the court date is over in Seacat. We`ll stay on top of the possible Arias plea deal, but right now, Dr. Drew up next. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.

END