JODI ARIAS BY: SARAH JONES

Background: Born July 9th ,1980 Age 32 during her trial. Has two brothers a sister and a half-sister. Parents; Sandy and William Arias. Grew up in Yreka, California Dropped out of Yreka Union High School in the 11th grade. Was an aspiring photographer. Had a great childhood, was considered the “good girl”. Dated Travis Alexander, who was a Mormon motivational speaker. Converted to the Mormon religion after two months of dating Travis. Jodi was living in California, while Travis was in Arizona. Her life revolved around Travis. Been in jail before.

Crimes Accused of Committing: Crimes that were committed prior to the recent act of violence were not specified. She was said to have gotten into a fight with her cellmate when in jail. Jodi also was found hiding pens under the sink when not allowed. She was also caught in possession of unauthorized photos and creams. Recent Crime: Jodi Arias was accused of killing her boyfriend, Travis Alexander, after shooting him in the head, stabbing him 27 times, and slitting his throat from ear to ear. Convicted of first degree murder.

Evidence: Evidence: The police found that there was a gun that had been stolen from Arias' grandmothers house recently before she had shot her boyfriend in the head, which was found at the murder scene later, but was not the gun that was used to shoot Travis. Jodi had rented a car before the crime, and had told the rental shop that the car was just going to be driven locally, but when the car was returned, there was over 2,800 miles put on it. The car also had red stains on the floor and the front of the seats. The car had been cleaned before the police could examine it though. There was a camera that was recovered from the scene that had photos of Jodi and the last photo of Travis alive, as well as a photo of Travis bleeding on the floor, from the same day. There was a bloody handprint that was found on a wall at the scene that contained both DNA from Jodi as well as Travis. Jodi had changed her story to the police many different times, claiming she was never with Travis, and had not seen him, to claiming that there were other people who had broken in while she was there, killing him. Later Jodi confessed to killing Travis, but claimed it was self defense.

Sentencing: Sentence: Quotes: Jodi Arias had yet to be sentenced. Her sentencing is said to be in September. Quotes: “ I couldn’t keep my stories straight, its all the same story just different versions, I couldn’t keep my lies straight.” “I think I believed I was innocent of first degree murder, and planned to kill myself.” “I wish I could turn back the clock and make some different decisions, we would all be in different places right now.”

Theory: The theory that explains why Jodi Arias did what she did is the Labeling Theory. Jodi arias was previously in jail, prior to the crime she committed, where she was in close contact with other criminals. Jodi Arias could have learned her behavior from the other criminals that she was with while in jail. Jodi’s life, was very different after she was in jail for the first time, where she had started to be called a criminal. As a child, Jodi was always seen as the good girl. She was the perfect child, and had the perfect life. After being called a good girl from birth, she was later in life called a bad girl you could say, after going to prison. Jodi was labeled by society as a bad girl, which could have caused her to believe that she was a criminal or bad girl. After Jodi had these thoughts in her head, she could now conform into the label that she was given, therefore, causing her to commit the crime of killing Travis Alexander.

Popular Culture: Movie: Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret. This movie is based on the Jodi Arias trial, where she has killed her boyfriend, and had changed her story a few times, to when she finally said it was self defense.