When court is done for the day, the conversation is only just beginning. Watch "HLN After Dark: The Jodi Arias Trial" nightly at 10 p.m. on HLN.
After 18 days on the witness stand, accused murderer Jodi Arias concluded her testimony this week. Arias claims she stabbed Travis Alexander multiple times, shot him in the face, and slit his throat from ear to ear in self-defense. If convicted, she faces a possible death sentence.
Wednesday, prosecutor Juan Martinez attempted to prove the State’s belief that Jodi Arias stabbed Travis Alexander in the chest first, then slit his throat and shot him after he was already fatally wounded from the neck injury, making his death especially cruel.
Testifying again about the events of June 4, 2008, Arias insisted that the gunshot to Travis’ forehead came first and only after he attacked her in his bathroom when she dropped his camera.
“Did you have the knife in your hand when you shot him?” Martinez asked Arias.
“No I did not,” she stated.
“That means you needed to get if from somewhere if you didn’t have it in your hand?” Martinez asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t know where it was,” Arias said.
Martinez also pressed Arias about the fact that crime scene photos taken of Travis’ closet show it appeared to be neat and orderly, despite her testimony that she frantically ran into the closet and grabbed the gun on one of the top shelves as she was in fear for her life.
The prosecutor also questioned Arias about why she pointed the gun at Travis despite her previous testimony that she believed the gun was not loaded. Arias stated that she thought pointing the gun at Travis would make him stop. However, she then changed her story again, claiming that Travis had loaded the gun once in December 2007
PHOTOS: Arias’ last day on the stand
Before walking off the witness stand after 18 days of testimony, Arias faced several more questions from the jury. The new questions included:
How many times in total did you see Travis’ gun?
Arias: I can remember three specific times. One, when I discovered it. Another time, when I was cleaning that area again, and on June 4th.
If you still felt threatened after having shot Mr. Alexander, why did you use a knife instead of just shooting again?
Arias: Well, I know that I dropped the gun when he hit me and I don’t know where the gun went when we fell. It was no longer in my hands and I don't really remember picking up the knife and I just remembered feeling threatened and he was the immediate threat.
Does being baptized generally require that you follow the doctrine laid out in the book of Mormon?
Arias: Yes, it does.
On Thursday, defense psychologist Dr. Richard Samuels was called to the stand to testify about Jodi Arias’ claims of memory loss issues in connection with the killing.
PHOTOS: The evolution of Jodi Arias
Samuels testified that chemical changes in the brain, which typically occur when a person is faced with a life threatening situation, could have caused Arias’ inability to remember every detail of that fatal day.
While Arias testified she remembers shooting Travis in the face, she claimed she can’t remember stabbing him 29 times or slitting his throat.
Samuels also testified that the many lies Arias told authorities to conceal her involvement in the killing could be linked to symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Samuels conducted 12 visits with Arias over a three-year period. He testified that Arias had even lied to him during their first visit when she told him two intruders had killed Travis.
Arias created that story because she could not deal with what she had done to Travis, Samuels testified.
Samuels also stated he believes that Arias’ Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was brought on by an acute stress disorder she developed as the result of the killing.
The Jodi Arias murder trial will pick back up Monday with nonstop coverage on HLN. Don’t forget, when court is done for the day, the conversation is only just beginning. Watch "HLN After Dark: The Jodi Arias Trial" nightly at 10 p.m. on HLN.
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