Jodi Arias trial: Accused Valley murderer calls Travis Alexander a 'secret pedophile'

Jodi Arias takes the stand


Photographer: KNXV
Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Posted: 02/11/2013

PHOENIX - Admitted killer Jodi Arias dropped a twisted bombshell on the jury on her fourth day of testimony.

Jodi Arias, 32, is accused of stabbing and slashing her former boyfriend Travis Alexander 27 times, slitting his throat and shooting him in the head in his suburban Phoenix home in June 2008. She initially denied any involvement, and then later blamed it on masked intruders before eventually settling on self-defense.

Arias has been portraying Alexander as a womanizer with a hot temper, and now testified he was also a pedophile.

Before we go into her testimony we should tell you that police have never found images of child pornography on Alexander’s computer and his friends said the claims are not true.

On Monday Arias' defense team started Monday with questions over little boy Spiderman underwear Arias said Alexander sent her for Valentine's Day in 2007.

Arias testified she was confused at first, but in a phone conversation Alexander told her she looked "hot" in them.

"I didn't feel hot. I felt kind of silly," Alexander said. "Sometimes I kept conveniently forgetting them when I went to his house."

Alexander testified months later she caught Alexander sexually gratifying himself with photos of a 5 to 6-year-old little boy wearing only underwear.

"I was frozen there for a minute -- well maybe not a whole minute -- but I didn't know how to react. It seemed like one of those dreams where something is really off but you can't figure it out … I just ran I didn't know how to react, it kind of seemed like one of those dreams where something is really off...but you can't figure it out."  testified Arias.

She then told jurors she ran out of Alexander's home with him calling after her and vomited when she arrived home.

But after noticing several calls from Alexander on her phone, she decided to hear him out.

She cried as she told the jury why she returned to Alexander, “I’ve heard in the past that usually people who have problems like that were hurt when they were children and I kept thinking what if he was hurt when he was a kid. It made me angry to think of him as a kid and somebody violating him."

Arias then told jurors she gave Alexander several pamphlets she found from agencies that provide mental help.

As Arias told her story, one of Alexander's sisters shook her head in disbelief, while the other stared straight at Arias. 

Arias continued to drag their brother deeper into the mud with her scathing testimony.

Arias' testimony jumped back and forth from Alexander being a possible pedophile, to their first time having vaginal sex.

Arias said the night before she and Alexander prayed for chastity according to their Mormon religion.

"We prayed about our actions and tried to be more in line with chastity, less physical," recalled Arias.

But then she awoke to Alexander already penetrating her without her consent.

"It took me a while to orient myself and I realized it was Travis," said Arias.

Arias said all she could think of was that it was violating the chastity they had prayed for, and began to squirm to get out from underneath him.

"Finally I made it out from under him and he rolled over and pulled me on top of him and then began to push my head and shoulder's under the covers," said Arias

Arias then told jurors she finished Alexander off orally.

When the defense asked her why she would do that if she did not want sex, Arias replied she didn't want Alexander to be left sexually frustrated because it could be painful.

Arias also testified on the alleged physical abuse she began to endure.

She cried when she saw a picture of her and Alexander under happier times and told jurors you wouldn't think it would end the way it did.

After assassinating Alexander's character with various sexual allegations Arias finally reached the crux of her defense, testifying that Alexander physically abused her forcing her to kill in self-defense.

Arias held up a crooked finger to the jurors as evidence of Alexander's abuse, testifying that he broke it during one violent episode.

"He went to kick me again, and put my hand out, and to block his foot and it clipped my hand and hit my finger,” Arias said

But Arias admits she never went to the doctor or called police, so there is no evidence that Alexander attacked her.

According to her she didn't want to get Alexander "in trouble."

Arias' younger brother and father were in court for the first time as she tearfully continued to list out instances of alleged physical abuse.

"He pushed me down on the ground in his bedroom, he wanted to stay and he wanted me to stay so I guess he could finish yelling at me," Arias testified

But Arias admits she kept going back, telling jurors she had no "self esteem" back then and even said she contemplated suicide.

Arias is expected to testify Tuesday what happened on the day she stabbed Alexander more than two dozen times, slit his throat nearly decapitating him and shot him in the head.

Follow me on twitter @maryellenabc15 as Arias continues her testimony on Tuesday.

You can also watch LIVE VIDEO of the trial from 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays on abc15.com and ABC15 Mobile.

Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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