Just Da Truth: The Banana Boat
and Much Ado About Knotting
The Jodi Arias Murder Trial: The Other side of the story
Fact based Reporting by
Amanda Chen & Rob Roman
A person who calls himself “Brad Justda” runs a blog and a forum site called Just Da Truth (JDT) where people enthusiastically discuss different aspects of the Jodi Arias case. This is a great thing to do. We all want to know the truth, we want to debate, and we want to find out what we can about different aspects of the case.
Brad Justda makes some very astute points and he is willing to discuss all things great and small about the case and really dig into things, but there’s a problem. He likes to say he is debunking a person’s claims, but when he gets debunked, he remains silent.
Most people relying on JDT’s ideas are prosecution supporters. We respect people who believe Jodi Arias is guilty of 1st degree murder. They are welcome here. We just find fault with the proof offered by people who believe there is no other possibility, like Juan Martinez and Just Da Truth. This is because we keep finding flaws in their arguments and evidence.
There’s another problem, too. Looking at Brad’s arguments, he often builds a logical argument on top of an illogical premise. He builds a logical argument with illogical conclusions, and he makes absolute statements about his conclusions, which is unscientific. He also feels that a person must prove they are innocent of an accusation instead of the accuser having to prove things, which is contrary to law.
Brad tries to debunk the idea that the strands found on Travis’ bathroom floor are from the rope Jodi said Travis used to tie her up with. Actually, that was not really offered up as proof that there was a rope by debaters, but just a possibility.
The Pillow Fringe and the Rope
For example: For Jodi Arias to be be not guilty by reason of self-defense, a knife needs to be in the bathroom, or else it seems Jodi could have run out to the bedroom and out of the home when attacked. Arias testified that the knife was in the bedroom / bathroom area because Travis used a knife to cut the rope they used to tie her up in a sex game. Justda sets out to prove there was no rope and therefore no self-defense. Jodi said the rope was something like decorative drapery cord. She estimated the rope was about 20 feet long. JDT debunks and then even re-debunks this on his blog:
“Jodi Arias: Re-DeBunking the Rope“
“Despite how thorough I thought I was in my previous blog about the rope, it turns out many Jodi Supporters were not convinced, and didn’t think I went far enough in considering decorative drapery tie-backs as a source for the fiber evidence found at the scene.
On my lunch hour, I went in search of a fabric store. I found one place that claimed they were for home decorating, which I guess is different than regular fabric stores. The girls at the counter were very friendly and one girl helped me out a lot in figuring out what was what.”
http://justdatruth2012.blogspot.com/
Then he goes on and gets busy with some mathematical equations and the dimensions of the bedroom and the bed and even the dimensions of Jodi Arias to debunk that darn rope:
“Bear with me a minute while I lay out the factual details: Travis had a king size (or California king, Jodi couldn’t recall) bed. A King size bed is 76″ wide at the headboard (or 6’4″). A California king is 72″ (or 6′).”
“If you take the span of your arms from tip to tip you get your height. The same works in reverse, if you take your height, you get your arm span. Jodi is 5’6, so let’s assume from from fingertips to wrist is 6″. That means for Jodi to extend her arms to be tied, she had about a foot and a half total on the mattress.
Jodi’s wrist would be about 5-6″ in circumference. Let’s give them another 3 feet for wrapping and tying (18″ for each wrist, so about 2 times around and then tie). We’re now up to 9 feet total of necessary rope if it’s a California king and let’s say 9 1/2″ of rope if it’s a King.”
JDT decides that Travis and Jodi would require about ten feet of “necessary rope”.
I caught an error right away. This claim is easily refuted with a few simple memes. Brad’s premise is that the rope was set up like this:
That wouldn’t work too good. JDT can review his math equations and geometry, and go through all his calculations all he wants to. It only took me 5 minutes to come up with a diagram showing a better way to tie a person up on a sleigh headboard which also happens to align with Joid’s story:
It seems that sometimes JDT sees the result he wants and then he works his way backwards to get it. Then he writes that most likely, if Travis cut the rope, he would make more than one cut, and so the knife would be in the bedroom. But you may remember that Travis was a neat-knick, there’s a place for everything and everything in it’s place, kind of thing.
So I imagine, if I were him, and I didn’t want to return to the kitchen right away, I might place the knife in the bathroom.
The Rope and the Strands in the Bathroom
There were some unidentified strands in the bathroom that were photographed. and some Jodi supporters thought this could be possible strands from the rope.
Some Jodi supporters thought this could be strands that were part of a long length of soft, braided curtain tie rope or cord. which is what Jodi said was the type of rope Travis used.
JDT saw some material on a pillow at a store that looked like the strands in the bathroom. He buys the pillow and brings it home and he then demonstrates that the material from the pillow he bought looks like the material in the bathroom. Imagine that. Since his pillow is a new, cheaper pillow, there are loose strands he can easily pull out and then he notes, via calculations, that the length is about the same. Eureka! Or should I say Yreka!
Does he understand that both the pillow fringe and braided strands from the curtain cord could be made out of the same type of material? JDT also saw some sunscreen and this means to him that there must have been a Cancun murder ultimatum. Whoop-De-Doo! You solved the murder case, Brad.
That Thing on the Stairs
Justda also goes after the unidentified material on the stairs to prove there was no rope. That material was a byproduct of photographing the stairs. It was never measured or entered into evidence and it was never intended to be evidence.
The defense merely presented this as a possibility. It’s never been identified.
Yet JDT proves that this material didn’t come from a rope he has never seen or examined. Actually, the material remains as it was before: inconclusive. I guess JDT made all those trips to the fabric / materials store for nothing.
Secondly, the defense does not have to prove there was a rope. The Prosecution has to prove that there wasn’t a rope and that Jodi brought the knife into the bedroom and bathroom with intent. The prosecution would need to prove the knife was either brought into the home by Jodi or that she brought a knife upstairs with the intention of using it on the victim. The Prosecution failed to do so, and so did JDT.
Thirdly, JDT offers up new samples of curtain tie back material he finds at a fabric store in 2014. Without a sample of the actual rope to go on, JDT erroneously reports that no strands from any curtain tie back material can possibly be responsible for the strands in the bathroom because the ones he tested don’t bend the right way.
It’s Curtains For That Rope
Look at all the samples he “tests”.
What woman would allow a guy to tie her up with any of these materials, except maybe the green yarn? None of the samples are like the decorative material in the photo above the pillow photo.
He also decides that the strands in the bathroom must come from the fringe on Travis’ bedroom pillows.
On Facebook, Justda goes so far as to say that the pillow strands were probably tracked into the bathroom by Jodi’s footwear. George Barwood cleverly countered that if the strands were from the pillows, then the strands were probably tracked in by the rope!
The argument then proceeds to the fact that the pillows that were in Travis’ bedroom are now at his sister’s home, in Tanisha Sorenson’s guest room. Calls have gone out to bring the pillows into evidence. This would be evidence of what, exactly?
Wild About Trial was talking about the pillow fringe possibly being the source of the strands on May 4, 2013. The detectives spent three days in that house because “We didn’t want to miss a thing”. You’d think they would have figured out the source of the strands by now if the source was the pillow fringe.
http://forums.wildabouttrial.com/showthread.php?pid=22752
While one can say that the strands appear consistent with the pillow fringe and could have come from there, you can’t say with any confidence that the pillows are the source. It could be any of a number of things. The defense never argued that the strands in the bathroom were from the rope, anyways.
JDT’s entire two articles about ropes and fibers leads us in a giant circle back to where we started from. We already knew the pillow fringe was a possible source of the strands in the bathroom. We already knew the material on the stairs and the strands in the bathroom were only possibilities of fragments from the rope. We knew this at the time of the trial. So, Just Da Truth’s scientific “proof” is really no more than much ado about knotting.
JDT Crushed the Candy Crush Blog?
I Think Knot.
In Crushing the Candy Crush Blog, JDT tries to refute many things Lise LaSalle wrote in her article The infamous Trial of Candy Crush, which points out various problems she saw with the Jodi Arias trial. Really, JDT trying to challenge Lise is like a Yorkshire terrier nipping at the hoof of a wild mustang. He’s just plain out of his league. Lise LaSalle, a writer on the All Things Crime Blog, is a highly educated and very talented writer with an ocean deep, intuitive soul. She’s also a legislative and court interpreter. JDT failed to crush the Candy Crush which was an article, not a blog, for starters. So, even JDT’s title is factually incorrect.
We found too many problems with his article for a short comment, and the comment grew into a full article. The article quickly became too long, as usual, so we had to scale back our discussion to just 20 of the problems we found. I believe we debunked many things this “debunker” wrote, but he never bothered to respond. In Milk and Cookies for the “crusher” of Candy Crush, we replied to Just Da Truth’s contentions. One of his contentions was that electronic devices are not a problem for jurors to access at will.
Electronic Devices Are Not a Problem
“If Jodi was so innocent as supporters would have you believe, then what was it that supporters felt jurors would see that would turn them from believing in her innocence, to believing in guilt? What exactly was out there that was patently false, that the juror’s might have been influenced by?” – Just Da Truth
Just these two sentences alone contain 3 factual errors. Can you spot all three?
In Milk and Cookies, we responded with this:
“It’s just too easy to go on Facebook or Twitter, etc. and see things about the trial without meaning to do so. If these comments and reports are all one-sided, the juror then is aware of overwhelming public sentiment, and may feel compelled to act in support of that sentiment, which is the main argument for sequestration. (Please see New Discarded Juror Questions….)
Your statement “What exactly was out there that was patently false, that the juror’s might have been influenced by?” – You really can’t be serious by asking this, can you? Where would we begin?”
https://spotlightonlaw.wordpress.com/milk-and-cookies-for-the-crusher-of-candy-crush-dec-28/
This from the same guy who states that “Jodi Arias supporters are more depraved than she is.”, calls Jodi Arias a “Ho”, and believes the story that she hid behind a Christmas tree.* Even though we were both on the same page on Facebook for weeks, he never once mentioned our article. C’est dommage!
*(We will explore these claims in a future article)
We saw what JDT had to say. Now let’s see what the American Bar Association has to say about electronic devices:
” Lawyers, witnesses, spectators, and jurors regularly use cell phones, Smart phones, PDAs, laptops, and other electronic devices before, during, and after trial. Jurors’ use of such devices can lead to serious misconduct, which can require extreme remedies such as mistrials. Or even worse if not detected, it can deprive parties
of “their day in court.”
“The problems created by jurors misuse of electronic devices is occurring across the country, for example, as reported by the Associated Press in a March 7, 2010 article New Rules Designed to Keep Jurors Offline.”
“Last year, a San Francisco Superior Court judge dismissed 600 potential jurors after several acknowledged going online to research the criminal case before them.”
“Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon challenged her misdemeanor embezzlement conviction after discovering five jurors ‘friended’ one another on Facebook during the trial.”
“And a federal judge in Florida declared a mistrial after eight jurors admitted Web surfing about a drug case.”
“Jury misconduct regarding the use of technology has become so widespread that a new term ‘Google mistrial’ has resulted.”
http://www.ncsc.org/~/media/Files/PDF/Jury/fairtrialhandbookauthcheckdam.ashx
And none of these were high profile cases with a nation-wide, let alone a world-wide interest.
Justda minute now, JDT said “there’s nothing patently false out there” and that electronic devices are not a problem. Nope, no problems there.
Gas Monkey
In another Just Da Truth article, JDT tries to prove that George Barwood is wrong about Jodi’s gas tank size. 
George Barwood, also called “GeeBee” stated that the size of the gas tank was not entered into evidence and so it could be possible that the tank was a larger size, European tank of about 15.8 gallons.
Forget about the larger gas tank theory, we already know that Jodi appeared to buy more gas than could fit into her gas tank and 2 cans. You only need a good search engine and a few minor calculations to know this.
JDT takes on George Barwood’s theory and tries to prove it wrong because the tank would need to be nearly empty to hold the amount of gas Jodi bought, and thus she would have been running on “E” (low fuel) for miles of her trip through Utah. He also goes on to explain that she would be dangerously low on fuel all the time she was at Ryan Burn’s house in West Jordan.
Let’s take a look at JDT’s calculations:
“There are 16 cups to a gallon, so if we do the math, by GeeBee’s estimation, she has about 12 ounces, or 1 1/4 cups of gas at the Tesoro station, which would give her the equivalent of just over 1.75 miles in the city or just under 2.75 miles on the highway before her tank is bone dry.”
“Most modern passenger cars, mine included, give a low fuel warning when you’re down to about 2 gallons of gas. So at some point in the previous 48-70 miles, Jodi’s fuel warning light went off. Remember, we’re basing this on GeeBee’s hypothesis that she was driving with a bigger tank.”
“So approximately 70 miles from West Jordan, her low fuel light went off. She would also have the fuel gauge to indicate she’s down below 1/8 of a tank and she’d know that her gas cans were empty.” – Just Da Truth
JDT again goes through a lot of mathematical computations. He even estimates that Jodi would have only “about 12 ounces or 1 ¼ cups of gas” by the time she gets to the Tesoro station.
But he’s forgetting something. Even if Jodi had 3 gas cans, those were all empty, too. This means that under the same conditions, with a smaller gas tank, Jodi would have run out of gas long before she got to Ryan’s home. And JDT wonders why we think his “scientific” proofs and “debunkings” are laughable?
(This article is in danger of becoming too long, so we will have even more to say about this next time.)
All Aboard the Banana Boat
Then comes the big scoop. JDT does some research and discovers that Jodi also bought Noxema face cleaning pads and sunscreen at the Walmart when she bought the gas can. The inference is that if Travis agrees to take Jodi to Cancun on Pre-Paid Legal’s annual VIP trip, she will not have to murder him.
JDT looks at the items on the Walmart receipt and finds that Jodi bought small sized tubes of sunscreen. He notes that only small tubes of liquids are allowed on carry-on for commercial aircraft. From there he deduces that Jodi decided that if Travis allows her to go on this trip with him, she is ready with the right size of sunscreen for air travel regulations and the murder is off. So this proves that Travis’ refusal to take Jodi on his trip to Cancun, Mexico is the motive for murder.
Here’s JDT sounding the claxon of good tidings of great joy”
“So, I got to really thinking about some my own niggling questions, and decided to create a new thread to address them. In the midst of researching one element of my question, I stumbled upon what I believe is the truth and the motive behind the killing of Travis Alexander.”
“You guys are going to sh*t your pants. Seriously. I won’t even bother sugar-coating it by saying you’ll poo your pants, nope my friends, you’re going to sh*t your pants.” – Just Da Truth
Let’s think about the implications. What about the gas cans? Will she leave them in Travis’ garage? What about the rental car? Can she drop it off at the Phoenix airport? What about Ryan? What about the gun and knife she supposedly had? What about Jodi’s lack of cash and her need to get busy and start earning some money? Jodi had been in a secret relationship with Travis and hidden away for nearly a year. Now she will go to Cancun and parade around with him in front of Travis’ friends and business partners? Yeah, that would have happened.
And why is it preferable to have poo in you pants, rather than sh*t?
It was an interesting discovery, I’ll admit. I’m not sure who first made this discovery. Maybe matching the small tubes with airline rules for carry on of liquids was JDT’s new twist to an old story. We did our own research months ago when we heard about this from another source. We Googled the SKU numbers. We discovered that, yes, the item on the receipt was sunscreen. Yes, they were 2 small 3 oz. tubes of Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch SPF 85 Sunblock.
JDT’s article promised his readers lots of excrement excitement when they found out that Jodi bought sunscreen in small tubes. Even though she is coming from Yreka in far northern California, to the desert states in the Summer in June (104 degrees or 40 C. in June, 2008). Who knows what Jodi was planning to do if she hadn’t spent so much time at Travis’ home? Brad Justda decides that Jodi really doesn’t need any sunscreen when she’s in the states because she drives mostly at night. Is JDT positive that Jodi didn’t get slightly burned in Southern California earlier or realize she may need some sunscreen and then decided to get some?
Does JDT think that Travis would be so gallant in rushing around to change his tickets and accompany Jodi to Cancun, but refuse to share his sunscreen with her?
Yes, it’s all about Cancun, a perplexing motive for which there is meager evidence. There is not real mention of Cancun in their communications and Travis could not change his tickets. This is set up one year in advance and Jodi didn’t expect to go. Jodi knew he was going with someone else weeks before. This idea infers that Travis, on June 4th, could not tell Jodi, you can’t go, but we can do something special together soon, instead. Would that have stopped Jodi from murdering Travis? Why not?
Jodi was on a tight budget on her trip. Sunscreen is expensive. I would also buy a small quantity instead of having a big bottle to lug around, and I’m not planning on murdering anyone, or going to Mexico. What’s so great about Cancun that I would murder if I can’t go there? It’s just a dumb motive.
Yes, Jodi was on a tight budget and Jodi loves her some beauty products, that’s for sure. Can Just Da Truth agree on that?
Back when people were talking about the sunscreen issue, We researched it a little more than Just Da Truth did. We found that sunscreen is used by many women as an economical and viable substitute for expensive moisturizers and as a make-up primer.
Guess what is by far the most popular and most recommended brand for these uses? It’s Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunblock (with helioplex), the exact sunscreen that Arias purchased.
Here are two different discussions about this:
YAHOO QUESTIONS
Can you use sunscreen as a moisturizer?
- “weedmann asked 6 years ago”
“Are you able to use sunscreen as a moisturizer for the face? I find that lotion can cause break outs, which is mainly the reason my face is dry. I have been using acne cream, and my face is all kinds of DRY!!!
Best Answer Asker’s Choice
- aheart answered 6 years ago
“For me the problem is that I have an oily complexion and I also get those unwanted zits, but since I also have sensitive skin I try not to use harsh treatments. I try to go for the natural stuff. Try looking for the healing garden natural oatmeal soap to wash out your face and use Neutrogena’s Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunblock SPF 45+ with helioplex, that one is really good and won’t add the unnecessary shine, by the way, using a suncreen also prevents early signs of aging.”
Asker’s rating & comment
DarleneH (09-01-2011) Sunscreen as makeup primer?
Millenium Club
Have any of you discovered any sunscreens that function as good primers too, for smoothing out your skin texture? I would think a sunscreen with a lot of silicones would work for that?
Senior Member
Darlene- Try Neutrogena’s Ultra Sheer SPF 30-45 as a primer. It has a dry silky feel and the sunscreen is fabulous!
http://www.icompact.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19331
Why 85 instead of 45? Who knows? Maybe the sun was hot or maybe they were sold out of the SPF 45. This Neutrogena sunblock doesn’t come in a larger size.
Do I want to be like Just Da Truth and say that this proves Jodi is not guilty of M1? No, I wouldn’t say that. That wouldn’t be scientific, logical, or a legally sound argument. I only offer these as possible reasonable explanations. Are there any reasons to buy sunscreen other than a Cancun ultimatum?
In the same way, Justda’s discovery of airplane sized sunscreen is an intersting addition to the Cancun conundrum, but I’m hardly about to take a ride on the banana boat over it. Also, he was a little late to the party.
- Community QVC.com chatters were talking about the Neutorgena sunscreen Cancun connection on March 7, 2013
- People on Facebook and Twitter were discussing the Neutorgena sunscreen Cancun connection on March 7, 2013
- Websleuths.com was discussing the Neutorgena sunscreen Cancun connection on March 9, 2013
- HLNTV.com reported about the Neutrogena sunscreen Cancun connection on March 23, 2013
- JDT reported the Neutrogena sunscreen Cancun connection on August 29, 2013
If she couldn’t take the sunscreen on the plane, why would people on all these other sites even bother discussing it?
This was old news, JDT. My underwear stayed nice and clean.
I think we’re right back where we started. Cancun? – It could be, or then again, maybe not. By the way, Jodi was unanimously found guilty of 1st degree premeditated murder on May 8, 2013, so why do prosecution supporters still insist on trying to prove stuff for the prosecution? It’s an agenda driven thing, not to mention that you can fire up a lot of fans simply by finding some new thing to report about Jodi Arias and / or calling her depraved and a whore.
Brad Justda continues to believe that Jodi has to prove she’s innocent and that her defenders must disprove all elements of any and all allegations against her. Her defenders must prove that Jodi was not running on empty in Utah. They must prove that the sunscreen was not for Cancun and they must prove there was a rope. This can be referred to as the old rope-a-dope.
JDT can start by providing proof of the story that Jodi hid behind a Christmas tree including what day this happened, and provide evidence that Jodi is a “Ho”. What used to be shocking is now only amusing to me. But is this “just the truth”? Knot very likely.
JDT, or Juan Martinez’ mini-me, is a numbers guy, so he knows that there are at least ten times more prosecution supporters than Jodi supporters to populate his websites. These people gather on Just Da Truth forum to cheer on JDT as he makes logical arguments founded on false premises or with illogical conclusions, “proves” things we already know, and uses unscientific methods to “scientifically” prove things which cannot be proven.
Do Just Da Truth and his more avid followers get some things right? They do make interesting points. They take a hard look at the evidence, but it’s only Just Da evidence that they want to take a look at. Some of them certainly enjoy making personal attacks for the fun of it.
Sounds justda great, but it kind of ain’t.
Speaking of comics, we find Just Da Truth Blog to be an endless source of comedy.
Your Comments are warmly welcome!
All Rights reserved
See the article by Lise LaSalle.
http://www.allthingscrimeblog.com/2013/12/18/the-infamous-trial-of-candy-crush/
A good reference site by George Barwood
http://jodi-arias.wikispaces.com/
http://jodi-arias.wikispaces.com/Pasadena+to+SLC+%28Gas+can+theory%29
Spotlight on law 
If Jodi was tied up wrapping the rope around like you had said then why would they need to cut the rope in the first place?
Uhhhh, because it was too long, Jim.
You loop it around once so it’s stable and actually restrains. Justda’s way, you can move all over the place.
3 x 6 = 18, so there’s over 20 feet of rope.
You could say the same thing about not looping it, too, why cut it. They cut it because they did.
You have to account for the extra length for the rope to then reach her arms and tie them up. If I’m not mistaken Jodi said the rope was around 20 ft but I could be wrong
Jim, I’m not quite sure why you’re focusing on the rope. I did say in the article that Jodi estimated the length was approximately 20 feet.
I did take calculus, and I can do math as well as the next guy. If the headboard is 6 feet long, and you loop the rope around, that’s 18 feet. Depending on where Jodi is located on the bed, that’s another 3 feet, give or take on each side = about 24 feet. This is well within her approximation.
If you want to look at the minimum length it needs to be, then it’s even less. An estimate is an estimate. I doubt whether Jodi gave an accurate estimate. The whole point is this: all the calculations from JDT are designed to give the illusion of proof. If you don’t know the details, you cannot give an exact length.
Did Travis want her arms stretched out all the way, or did he want her to have a lot of slack? There’s no way to know that such that a person could estimate a minimum length.
I would have done it using the 2nd method, it’s more stable. Anyway, I’m sure Jodi is better now at estimating lengths, such as 6′ x 6′.
Jodi said she could move around and slip her hands out. She wasn’t restrained. Did you watch her testimony? Besides there was NO rope.
Yes, Heather, you’re right. The wrists were never meant to be restrained, as Jodi testified. but the way JDT sets it up, Jodi can move her arms and her body all over the place, so what would be the point of being tied up?
Besides, maybe there wasn’t a rope, but it’s possible.
Well, Jodi has all the restraint she could dream of now, doesn’t she?
I never thought the Cancun trip was any part of the motive whatsoever. Jodi’s anger and resentment built up within her because she was madly, delusionally in love with Travis, and she was mostly a fuck buddy for him.
The relationship got more and more toxic to the point that Jodi moved away in spring 08 to put distance between them. But she was still emotionally addicted to him, and kept talking to him on the phone.
One thing I disagree with Martinez about was the claim that Travis was ” extremely afraid” of Jodi.
If he was, he’d probably still be alive. He wouldn’t have let her take pictures of him in the shower, not to forget that
he went to sleep with her right next to him.
But if the rope was involved with the sex, why wouldn’t there be a photo of it, as graphic photos were par for the course on that fateful afternoon.
Thanks for you really good comment.
Robbie, I agree with you.about the Cancun trip, I never thought that made any sense. That Jodi’s anger and resentment built up, that’s strong and probably true. Then if Travis broke it off completely, that’s a powerful motive.
It’s probably true that Jodi was madly and delusionally in love with Travis. Would you or I have let this continue for almost a year (June 2008 to June 2008)? I wouldn’t have let it go that far, without worrying about really damaging Jodi, which is why I believe it was an abusive relationship. That could work both ways. Was he leading her on by making her believe there was some kind of future?
I don’t know the answer but she certainly seemed to believe that. I don’t believe Travis was afraid of Jodi at all, even if he did tell another woman that. As for the photos, I believe there were only 4 sex photos. It seems like these were “after” photos. I would also expect them to take photos of the “tie up”, but maybe they were too engrossed in catching up?
Also, maybe Jodi didn’t get the screen to go to Cancun, but it does make a hell of a lot of sense that she got them for Cancun incase she could go and she got the gas can incase she couldn’t. Otherwise why would someone pay more money to by 2 3oz. products instead of 1 in a bigger ounce size since we all know the bigger the bulk the cheaper the price.
Jim, those are all really good questions. It doesn’t seem like she got any special deal on the sunblock.
Neutrogena sunblock only comes in a 3 oz. size. I am almost positive. There may have been a 4 oz. size, but that’s all I could find. If she bought it just for the small size, then you could be right. It seems like she could have gotten a better deal for a different brand in 3 oz.
The Cancun motive is not unreasonable. I wouldn’t bet money on it, though. I would expect to see some communication about Jodi asking about Cancun. We cannot know what else was in her luggage.
She could have told him to break up with Mimi, or else! Jodi didn’t know that Mimi had already decided against getting serious about Travis, or did she? It could have been a rivalry. If so, going to Cancun would be like winning the rivalry.
But there are some problems with that idea, I think.
Jodi Arias has always been a liar and a manipulator and if you look at the facts and not what she says that becomes very evident. Where are the people who supposedly told her that Matt was cheating on her? Where is this “michelle” or “marie” person who told her that Travis was dating Lisa Andrews? Where is this “steve” person whom she was supposedly chatting with on an LDS networking/dating site? (oh, sorry travis that text wasn’t suppose to go to you it was suppose to go to steve) I’ll give you a hint. None of them exist. If they did they would have been called to trial by the defense to back up her story. Jodi would use these make believe people in her games of manipulation. It’s a whole lot easier and less self incriminating to say “so and so told me that you were chatting with so and so, etc” than it is to say “I was snooping through your accts and found this out.” I don’t disagree that Travis wasn’t the greatest guy but the fact is that by the end he was seeing her for the person she truly is. He could see that this wasn’t her first rodeo, you don’t just start lying and manipulating people like this out of the blue at the age of 27. (and her past with Bobby, Matt and Daryl all show she had this invasion of privacy “problem” along with making up people to blame or take focus away from her inappropriate or bad behavior) I also don’t think he was “scared” of her the same way I don’t feel there was any abuse. He was just fed up and just didn’t care anymore. Like he said, it’s “always something” with her. Can you even imagine for one minute how utterly infuriating it would be to deal with someone who would NEVER come clean? Even when you would catch them red handed? Who would always blame other’s or make up fake people to blame instead of just admitting to how they really found out about things? Wouldn’t you start to feel like you’re being played or are part of someone else’s sick agenda? Not to mention how stupid they must think you are to believe that you’ll buy their constant bs? The only difference between Travis and her previous boyfriends is he actually threatened to let anyone willing to listen know what a psycho she was (i.e. everything I just laid out here) and that is what got him killed. Jodi had lived 27 years without being really confronted about her outlandishly orchestrated lies and manipulation mostly because the people in her life just wanted out more than they wanted to expose her and Travis being the Mormon that he was-was the exact opposite.
Katie, thanks for commenting and your comment are excellent! I can tell you know this case well.
I don’t rely on what Jodi Arias says to make my judgments.
I don’t believe the people at the restaurant told Jodi about Matt cheating. I think someone who works with Matt told Jodi and she did not want to reveal her source.
As far as Lisa Andrews, Jodi did admit that she snooped into Travis’ phone. That’s probably how she found that out. Of course she didn’t want to tell Travis how she found out.
As for “Steve Caroll”. I’m pretty sure this was made up and you see this sounds like Steve Carrel, the 40 year-old virgin. So this seems to be a head game. I’m still sure Jodi was looking for real people on the LDS matchmaker site.
All this is fairly normal behavior. Despite leaving Darryl with a foreclosure, they were still on good terms, and Jodi is still on good terms with Matt. I don’t remember any invasion of privacy issues with Bobby, Matt or Darryl. Taking Darryl’s photo in the bathroom? I don’t think he minded that.
Now if that is sinister manipulating, what about Travis seeing Jodi secretly for a year, but not acknowledging her, berating her to his friends, seeing other women and having no thoughts about a future with her? Did Jodi know there was no chance? Isn’t that manipulative and sinister? Isn’t that a sick agenda?
And then “he gets fed up and he just doesn’t care anymore”? It doesn’t seem he cared in the first place. He did care about something, though.
Travis was saying that Jodi was lying to him over a year before June 4th. So, he stays with her for a year?
I agree that it would be infuriating to deal with something a partner did that they won’t admit to but you know they did it.
Also, I agree with you that “no one had ever confronted Jodi about he outlandishly orchestrated lies”.
If the laws of the LDS church were important to Travis, I don’t think he would have drawn this relationship out for a year.
Why did you bring up that JA showed no invasion of privacy with her exes, then when Katie, I believe is her name, tells you how JA did the whole printing of Bobby’s emails and confronted him about it, that you switch it up and say, “what she did as a teenager has nothing to do with a M1 trial?”
I mean YOU bring up how Jodi wasn’t invasive with her exes, but as soon as someone proves you are mistaken, I won’t call you a liar because you clearly didn’t watch most of the trial if you were unaware of what Jodi did to Bobby with the emails, you turn it back on the other person saying her teen years should play no part in the trial. That makes zero sense to me.
Unfortunately, I find a lot of what you say in your response very troubling and I will tell you why. “All this is fairly normal behavior.” I do not know anyone personally nor have I ever literally made up individuals to hide and or lie about behavior that is invasive and inappropriate so that I wouldn’t be the “bad” guy or have to bear any responsibility for my actions. Have you? This is serious psychopathy that you can’t explain away or dismiss as “normal’ behavior. This was a pattern she used throughout all of her relationships over the span of 10 years at least. It also appears you missed the part on cross examination where Jodi Arias admits to going through Bobby’s email in the exact same way she went through Mr. Alexander’s myspace for the first time by using the back space button while they were still logged in but without their permission or knowledge.
“As far as Lisa Andrews, Jodi did admit that she snooped into Travis’ phone. That’s probably how she found that out. Of course she didn’t want to tell Travis how she found out.” –This yet again leads me to believe that you didn’t watch the trial as closely or as many times as you allege or you simply missed this fact during direct. (Day 18 and Day 19) Jodi Arias testifies under oath that a woman named Maria who didn’t sit in her section but who she brought food to (for whatever reason we don’t know-just another weird detail she likes to throw into her lies bc she thinks they are more believable the more detailed they are) recognized her (again, how we don’t know, which is especially weird since she didn’t recognize her) and told her that Travis was or had been dating Lisa. Even though she doesn’t know her at all nor could give her last name or any descriptors. If what you’re saying holds any merit Robert it just further proves that Jodi yet again lied on the stand under oath about how she actually found out Travis had been dating Lisa Andrews which I believe was as you suggested either via his gmail and their gchats or his phone.
If you really can’t admit or see that Jodi Arias has serious mental and social issues then you’re doing your readers who are attempting to locate facts and truth a real disservice by clouting everything in your opinions that seemed based on incomplete knowledge or focus on the small picture instead of the totality of evidence. We can continue to put Travis Alexander on trial here but in the end he wasn’t the person who killed someone in a very horrific and grotesque fashion. He died in what I can only imagine was a truly terrifying way that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Not even Jodi Arias. Yes, he wasn’t a great guy when it came to relationships but so are a lot of other men in the world. Men who didn’t have the kind of awful childhood that Travis did. Yes, he should have just left her alone once they broke up but it takes two people to keep a relationship going and she willfully engaged in everything and would lead with her sexuality because she knew he was weak in that regard. They used and abused each other and when the stakes got too high and the threats got to real about exposing her she did what has been her pattern all along. Confront. So I wish you luck trying to prove the ludicrous idea about self defense against someone who was defenseless in that moment. Let me know how it works out for you.
Katie, your comments are well thought out and you could be right about all of it, but not beyond a reasonable doubt, IMO.
Women and men, who have suspicion they’re being cheated on, look through their partner’s cell phones and computers. I wouldn’t do it and you wouldn’t, but many do. People also hire detectives to follow their partners. This is legal.
I believe that Jodi recounted what happened, which means she did tell Travis how she found out about his dates. But what she told him is not necessarily how she found out, and that’s not a problem to me.
If she was manipulative and aggressive, I can understand that. I just don’t that as having relevance in deciding premeditation.
A 17 year-old sneaks a look at her bf’s e-mails. I just don’t see that as sinister. For comparison, my ex gf stole many photos of me and my family that are irreplaceable without my permission and never explained why she didn’t just ask me, so I could make copies. She also smashed my laptop for no reason that I could find out. So backspace button just seems so trivial to me.
Unfortunately, Travis is on trial here because Jodi claimed self-defense. The major question is this: Is it possible that Travis could have stepped out of that shower and attacked her? We have to look at his behavior to see if it’s possible.
I do admit that Jodi had serious social issues and I believe she has a life-long mental illness. If you check the articles you will see that I admit that. But that can go to murder 1 as well as possibly being something other than M1
Travis died a horrible death. This is just as true no matter what Jodi’s intent was. It’s difficult to imagine his death.
Maybe Jodi did lead with her sexuality. I can believe that. I disagree about the confrontation part, though. I see her being passive and walking away from fights.
If she is like you believe she is, then I agree she could get violent if exposed and if her manipulations weren’t being effective.
I have explained many reasons why I believe it may have happened differently.
‘I believe that Jodi recounted what happened, which means she did tell Travis how she found out about his dates. But what she told him is not necessarily how she found out, and that’s not a problem to me.”
Is it a problem for you that she continued to lie about how she found out even while under oath at trial? She said Steve and Maria were real people and stuck to that story even though it was an outright lie. You agreed with me that these people were most likely made up. It should be a problem if you’re really trying to find the truth here. In fact, it should bother you a great deal in that regard. It’s sort of bizarre to me how you claim to be searching for the truth but don’t seem to care and are quickly dismissive of the fact that Jodi has lied and continued to lie at trial so that finding the truth now is going to be impossible because we’ll never be able to know for certain and that is 100% her fault.
“Maybe Jodi did lead with her sexuality. I can believe that. I disagree about the confrontation part, though. I see her being passive and walking away from fights.”
I hate to break it to you but it doesn’t matter how you “see her”. It’s about the evidence and her own testimony shows that she confronted Bobby within an hour of going through his emails she even called in sick to work so she could go confront him right away and she left work within 15 mins to drive the hour to confront Bianca regarding Matt because she couldn’t wait for Matt to become available so she could talk to him about it and she confronted Travis the very next day after seeing him making out with another woman. Unfortunately, I think sharing your story about your ex speaks to your inability to see and recognize psychosis in people. She obviously had some serious mental problems going on to act the way she did and you most likely were willing to look past them to a point because you loved her. I think you’re applying a lot of that to Jodi now with your choice of words “see, feel, believe” these are not fact finding words but emotional words.
Now, M1. I think your REAL problem is how the law is written in AZ. Maybe Jodi only went to Travis’ with the intention of just threatening or scaring him with the gun. She heard him tell that story while she was laying in his lap about when he was mugged at MiMi’s Café and how freaked he was to look down the barrel of a gun. The fact is the prosecution doesn’t have to prove the exact sequence of events just that she thought and acted deliberately. Maybe it was how she said it happened (sort of) she pointed the gun at him to threaten or scare him and it went off and then he attacked her. The problem is that it didn’t end there and with every stab and ultimately the slitting of the throat she knew she was killing him and most certainly wasn’t in a fog and how the law is written and Martinez highlighted many times the time for reflection doesn’t have to be long.
Jodi Arias sustained no visible injuries that day aside from obvious cuts from the knife slipping which just shows that at no point did Travis Alexander have a weapon or posed a real threat after being shot in the head with no clothes on. She could have just run out but she knew what she did and that if he lived everyone would know and she would most certainly be caught and go to jail. If she finished him off he wouldn’t be around to accuse her and she could maybe get away with it. So whether she decided back in Yreka she was going to kill him or on June 4th it’s still M1.
Okay, Katie, I see your points.
Recounting a story that has lies in it is not a lie. If Jodi stated that she found out about Mimi from “Marie” or whoever, and you know for a fact she found out by snooping on a computer or phone, then that’s a lie. But you don’t know that for sure. Maybe this “Marie told her AND THEN she snooped to confirm it.
Nothing Jodi did in high school has any bearing on a capital murder case unless she shot, stabbed or assaulted someone in high school. Prosecution supporters want to talk about Bobby Juarez all day long, but they remain completely silent about Jodi’s 4 peaceful years with Darryl. That’s Juanipulation.
The idea that she “confronted” Matt or Bobby or Travis about cheating has what to do with June 4th? In all those confrontations, they were civil discussions with no aggression. More Juanipulation.
If Jodi lied on the stand, that’s a problem, of course. This is where we have to get real specific. Contradictory statements or some other kind of proof would be needed to know that it was a lie.
What’s significant are the very few lies that Jodi id accused of after 18 days of testimony.
I think you misunderstand what I’m saying. You have no proof that Steve or Maria were lies. If Juan provided evidence from Jodi’s activities with LDS Link-Up to show she didn’t communicate with a Steve Carrol, then one can conclude it was a lie.
I was just remarking about the similarity between Steve Carrol and Steve Carrel. There’s no way to know if Jodi knew or cared about this actor’s name.
The idea that with all the lying, it makes it difficult to know the truth, I agree with. So, we have to look at the objective evidence and not what Jodi says. The objective evidence does not comport with prosecution’s views on the case, and that’s a fact.
As far as my ex, she was very happy and friendly all the time, then she became suddenly angry and violent for seemingly no reason at times, so it took a while to realize that she had mental problems, and her family confirmed this.
Drawing similarities between a story Travis told about a gun and what happened on June 4th is just speculation and is not evidence. Believing that a passive, non-violent person could attack a person with a knife the way Travis was attacked and remember everything about it goes against our common sense, because that’s a very intense experience, to say the least.
Yes, you are right that M1 only requires seconds of premeditation, but so does the decision to fight back.
The idea of wounds on the person who is defending their life is not required by law and there are few wounds because Jodi never let Travis get his hands on her. If Travis got close enough to Jodi where she had these wounds, she would not have prevailed.
Cuts from the knife could have happened whether it was murder or self-defense. Stating that Alexander had no weapon or was not a real threat is not proven. If he in fact attacked her or threatened to attack her, then his physical strength is weapon enough.
See Rob, you admit here in your story abt your ex GF that she always came across and happy and peaceful but suddenly snapped and became violent. And what made it more difficult ws her family’s impressions had also always been a certain way.
And yet, you say, that despite the fact we KNOW Jodi became extremely violent on June 4th, you want to continue to say her pattern of passivity leads you to believe she was non confrontational. Despite also that she confronted Bianca and drove an hour to see her, kicked her dog so badly as a younger person that it ran away never to return. You seem to acknowledge how people can turn on a dime (like yr ex) but with Jodi you think it’s just not possible or probable. That makes no sense.
People often play a role to the world. They have a mask that they use to present a certain face. It’s obvious to most people this was Jodi Arias. And you keep using this idea of reasonable doubt. That’s the thing, most people hv rejected Jodi’s version of events as NOT being reasonable. Her version might be acceptable if the standard was a SHADOW of a doubt, but it’s not. I’m sorry, but for Arias’ version to be true, it is highly dependent on blaming a myriad of issues on Juan Martinez. It sounds tired. It sounds like the boy/girl who cried wolf, and it’s only ‘reasonable’ to a very small microcosm of those on the internet. If the defense had even one legitimate beef against Juan, we would have heard abt it in the courtroom. Every time this is brought up though the attacks get very aggressive and devolve into name calling Juan and anyone who agrees with his position. That ultimately shows weakness in the theory, not corroboration of the ‘Juanipulation’ allegations.
Robert it’s very sad to me that you would waste so much time on case like this when there are real innocent people sitting behind bars for murders they truly didn’t commit. It’s a waste of your talent and time.
Jodi Arias viciously killed Travis Alexander on June 4, 2008 stabbing him nearly 30 times, shooting him the head and slicing his throat.
You can attempt to wrap it in whatever pretty paper you want but the FACT remains that she took another human beings life and she is where she belongs and will remain there for the rest of her life. (mark my words) It was not self defense by any stretch of the imagination. You obviously have a soft spot women with serious mental defects that like to play the victim like your ex which is your right but you’re exactly the kind of person that Jodi was hoping would be in her jury box.
Katie. My ex was tough as nails and she never played the victim. I did feel sorry for her, but I had to give her the boot. You would never believe the things she did if you met her. Everyone likes her. So I see how people can be fooled.
My intuition is usually correct.
Do you have a good candidate for a wrongful conviction? I was asked to do a piece on Barry Beach.
Wrongful convictions are doubly bad because one person is wrongfully in prison while the real killer is still on the lose.
Wow, what a load of horse manure. Rob, you did not follow the trial and I’m not shocked you have been disbarred. You’re whole jealous rant because you have very little followers are all lies. You lost me when you claimed “George cleverly”..etc. Uh, no. Missed the facts much? George has been debunked on all his lies. He admitted he did not follow the trial. He lied on HLN as well. He is a jobless IT guy. He had no hand in freeing David Camm. He took lies from a fake army medic.