“What is your understanding of the word ‘skank’?” Thanks to an uncommon state law, the “Killer Romance” jury directly asked Arias nearly 150 questions on Wednesday.
Background:
Travis Alexander was shot and stabbed to death in Mesa, Arizona, on June 4, 2008.
In January 2012, the trial of Alexander’s girlfriend Jodi Arias began. Arias says she killed Alexander in self-defense; she’s pleading not guilty to murder.
So far, the trial has uncovered a slew of bizarre details about Alexander and Arias’ relationship. There are allegations of domestic abuse and child pornography (Alexander), pathological lying (Arias), and incredibly kinky sex (both of them).
On Wednesday, questioning was opened up to the jurors, who gave the court more than 100 anonymous submissions — a unique process that only some states allow. After nearly two hours, more about the jury’s state of mind was revealed than actual case details.
1. “What is your understanding of the word ‘skank’?”
“I don’t know an official definition, but it’s a very negative and pejorative, derogative term against women.”
2. “Do you feel the guys in your life cheated on you because you were controlling?”
“I feel it was just the opposite. I feel they cheated on me because I was too tolerant. I was very trusting, implicitly trusting, and very naive. I gave them the freedom to do what they wanted when they wanted, and I think they took advantage of that.”
3. “Were you mad at Travis while you were stabbing him?”
“I don’t remember being angry that way, I remember being terrified.”
4. “Did you ever seek medical help for your mental condition?”
“I`m not sure what mental condition that refers to.”
Also asked: “Did you ever see a doctor for your memory issues?”
5. “Why would you continue to sleep with Travis after you learned of his child-porn issues?”
“When he was able to sleep with a woman as opposed to fantasizing about a child, he felt more normal as a man.”
6. “Do you feel the Mormon Church encourages burying the truth about issues that may be considered embarrassing?”
“I felt there was an unspoken undercurrent in the church which puts pressure on members to present a squeaky-clean image; however, I know that’s not church policy, even though you feel that pressure when you’re in the church, my understanding of official church policy is if you have transgressed in any way, no matter how embarrassing, and if it’s a serious transgression, it’s dealt internally, within the church…”
7. “How is it that you remember so many of your sexual encounters, including your ex-boyfriends, but you don’t remember stabbing Travis or dragging his body?”
“I think actually that I have a very good memory. I can remember tons of things, but when I’m under a stressful situation, it’s like my mind, if you can imagine a computer that freezes, it’s turned on but it’s not functioning; you can hit the keys, nothing’s happenings. Just like the sound waves are hitting my ears but the brain is not computing, it’s kind of like that. So I don’t black out during those times, but my mind is not processing the English words that are being said to me, or screamed at me, or whichever.”
8. “Why did you feel so uncomfortable about anal sex with Travis when you had previously tried it?”
“In previous relationships, it was something we tried once or twice. With Travis, that was his preference and that is why I got the KY; it made it less uncomfortable.”
9. “If you didn’t want to be tied up to a tree, why would you go up and look for a place to do that?”
“It wasn’t being tied to the tree that I was looking for, we were looking for a place, out in the woods, nature, to somehow carry out this Little Red Riding Hood fantasy, and my understanding of that is that it would involve sex, but he had many other ideas, as you heard on the tape. It didn’t necessarily mean that I was going to go for all those. I was kind of pushing my own limits anyway by going out to the woods to find a spot, and that was the focus for that fantasy, but not necessarily getting tied to a tree.”
10. “Travis stated on the phone sex conversation he did not like Spiderman. Why did he buy you Spiderman underwear if he didn’t like that character?”
“The year prior, there’s a child he was close with who really liked Spiderman…”
11. “You told us you weren’t able to make out the license plate leaning up against the curb because you are nearsighted. What is your prescription in each eye?”
“My understanding is that my prescription is 2.5 — negative 2.5 and negative 2.25.”
12. “If you are so nearsighted, how were you able to drive?”
“I never had a problem driving. I could see where I was going on the freeway, but had to get closer to see signs.”
13. “You said you bought a gun to commit suicide but never ended up doing so. What stopped you from doing so?”
“I was going to wait until I left Yreka and got to Salinas or Monterey area so that it didn’t happen right in my family’s own backyard, so to speak, and I was leaving for that area the morning I was arrested, actually.”
14. “How is it that you are so calm on the television interviews?”
“I tried very hard to present the best image I could, and I had had a lot of prior experiences of pretending that everything was OK when it wasn’t. That everything on the surface was OK, when really it wasn’t. I was accustomed to that, and also I wanted to portray that, that I’m confident and I’m OK, I can do this. No worries. That’s what I really wanted to get across at that time. And then I wanted to kill myself so that I would never have to own up to it.”
15. “Did you call any men you did not have romantic interest in ‘hottie biscotti’?”
“Yes.”
Watch Arias’ full question-and-answer session:
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