1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,840 Hi everyone, this is Deb from Dying to be Found. Before we get started, I just wanted 2 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:10,920 to say that episodes contain disturbing discussions on harmful acts and crimes against animals 3 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:16,620 and or humankind. Recordings are not intended for young or sensitive audiences due to the 4 00:00:16,620 --> 00:00:32,120 content nature of this podcast. Listener discretion is strongly advised. 5 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:42,600 Oh, we're recording. Oh, we are so excited to be in the same room. I can't stand it. 6 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:49,920 Me neither. I'm so excited. So hi everyone, this is Deb and I'm Shelby. And we are a little 7 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:55,640 indie podcast called Dying to be Found. So if you've been around here for a little while, 8 00:00:55,640 --> 00:01:02,200 you will know that one of my family members will join me. And today, excuse the sound, 9 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:07,040 is a little off. We're a little echoey, but we don't care because we are in the same room 10 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:12,520 together. Same state. Same state because we're going to a concert tonight. Yes. And we're 11 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:19,800 excited about it. We're so excited. We're having a little girls weekend. No kids. No 12 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:27,120 husbands. Just us. Just us. So thanks for joining us today. We are going to go see a 13 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:36,120 little country singer named Jodie Messina. We got our boots ready. Yes, Shelby grew up 14 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:41,520 listening to Jodie in the car with me. So when I knew that she was going to be somewhere 15 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:46,960 in between where we live, I just couldn't pass this up. So here we are. I'm so excited. 16 00:01:46,960 --> 00:01:52,040 And she kept it a surprise for me for like three weeks. Yes. And then guess what? She 17 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:56,920 figured it out yesterday just before we got on the road. But I had to kind of play that 18 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:01,160 off. I think I threw you off for a hot minute. You did a good job. I was like, what are we 19 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:05,320 doing? Are we going to a rodeo? I literally said that to Chris. I was like, why do I need 20 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:11,320 my boots? I told her to bring her cowboy boots because I knew she had some. Oh, good. I'm 21 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:17,240 so good. Okay. So we're on one mic today and we're echoey. So we do apologize for the sound, 22 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:21,680 but we're in the same room together and Shelby, I'm going to go ahead and drop this on everybody. 23 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:29,480 I've not mentioned this on any of our recordings lately, but you know that I am going to be 24 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:35,640 starting a new venture with social detective podcast, Mary Ann McCullough. And that one 25 00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:40,500 is called insinuation podcast, which will be dropping in the spring. So make sure you 26 00:02:40,500 --> 00:02:45,540 listen to that. The trailer is already out there, but do you know what that means for 27 00:02:45,540 --> 00:02:53,560 dying to be found? What does that mean? It means that you're with me on the series finale, 28 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:59,400 the series finale. We've been doing this for like two years. We have. It's so bittersweet. 29 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:06,200 You all, I'm going to try to put out episodes maybe once a month, but we'll just see how 30 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:12,720 that goes because so many things have changed this year and my commute is doubled and I 31 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:16,880 just don't have that time like I used to to sit here and do all the things that you have 32 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:21,900 to do when you're podcasting. I love you all. I appreciate your support as we have gone 33 00:03:21,900 --> 00:03:28,720 on this journey together, but be sure to head on over to insinuation podcast and check that 34 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:36,000 out. In the meantime, I tried to give Shelby another surprise. Didn't work because I didn't 35 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:41,280 put the person's name on the title of our document that we were going to be looking 36 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:45,560 at and as soon as she saw the name, she knew what this story was about, but we've been 37 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:51,600 talking about doing this one for a while and so Shelby today we're going to be talking 38 00:03:51,600 --> 00:04:01,200 about Jodi Arias. Yes is the story that got me into true crime probably almost 15 years 39 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:07,200 ago. Maybe not quite that long. I was about 20. So not quite 15 years, but a little more 40 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:14,320 than 10, a little more, a little more than 10, a little less than 15. So yeah, we're 41 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:20,040 on one mic today and the one thing I like about our platform that I do editing on is 42 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:26,420 that I can separate the files. That's not the case today because just bear with me. 43 00:04:26,420 --> 00:04:31,680 If I talk over you Shelby, my apologies. I will try not to do that. Same. All right. 44 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:37,840 Let's get started. You ready? I'm ready. All right. In September 2006, a man named 45 00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:44,060 Travis Alexander was attending a sales conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Travis was a salesman 46 00:04:44,060 --> 00:04:50,440 by trade and an aspiring motivational speaker. So he appeared to be a rising star in his 47 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:55,320 own right. So he's at that age and everything's just looking good. He's moving up that corporate 48 00:04:55,320 --> 00:05:02,080 ladder. And it was during this trip to Las Vegas that Travis met a cute, spunky, blonde 49 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:09,440 young woman and began a long distance relationship. Travis lived in Arizona and his new girlfriend 50 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:14,400 lived in California. We already know who this is because you figured it out. I was trying 51 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:20,840 to trick you, but yeah, not this time, not this time. You're too smart for me. So one 52 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:26,880 of Travis's work buddies who was present when the couple met in Las Vegas noted that Travis 53 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:34,160 and this girl, Jodi, she sparked an instant energy along with Travis. Travis knew at this 54 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:40,560 very moment in time that this was the girl that he was going to marry. Oh, I know. It's 55 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:47,440 always that moment. Do you remember that moment? No. Well, it seems that just a few months 56 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:53,760 later, unfortunately, the couple already broke up for the first, but not the last time. And 57 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:58,240 Travis tried to move on with his life and not that this is uncommon at this point in 58 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:06,280 time, right? I mean, I just spent most of this past couple months since November watching 59 00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:13,520 the MTV series, The Challenge. And all I see besides the competitions is how quickly people 60 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:17,880 at this age group, you guys go through, I mean, I did the same thing. You go through 61 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:23,560 relationships pretty quickly, right? Right. So over the next two years, Travis continued 62 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:29,240 on with his on again, off again relationship, more so I'm going to say probably friends 63 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:36,040 with benefits. And this would be with Jodi Arias. Well, let's talk about Jodi for a moment 64 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:44,520 because some sources say that she had an uneventful childhood. Jodi was born on July 9th, 1980 65 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:49,600 and grew up in a house of four siblings. Her parents were still married and her grandparents 66 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:54,960 lived right around the corner. Man, that would be amazing if I lived right around the corner. 67 00:06:54,960 --> 00:07:01,400 Yeah, that sounds like a good childhood growing up. Yeah, it does. Very stable. Yes, very 68 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:07,560 stable. Well, according to her mother, Jodi dropped out of high school in grade 11 and 69 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:14,320 began working dead end jobs. Jodi was a photographer and at one point during all of this, she always 70 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:21,440 had a camera on her. Jodi had a LinkedIn profile that said that she was employed with a company 71 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:26,680 called Prepaid Legal Services. Doesn't sound like a photography company, but she was in 72 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:33,040 sales just like Travis. And this is how she ended up at the same convention that Travis 73 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:40,760 was in when they met. Now, Jodi's mother believes that Jodi was undiagnosed bipolar and even 74 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:47,280 Jodi's friends took notice and told her mom that Jodi was in need of help. I would start 75 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:52,920 her looking in. I can kind of see that. I mean, I gauge in my opinion, I gauge people's 76 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:59,040 moods very, very well. So I can kind of see that. Yeah, I can see that as well. Well, 77 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:05,520 Travis and Jodi begin this long distance relationship, like I had said, they started dating in September 78 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:13,520 2006. And they made it official in February of 2007, which I suppose that means that they 79 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:18,280 told everybody they were dating, they probably took a couple months to kind of see if things 80 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:24,040 were going to work and they made it official. But it seems that not everyone was keen on 81 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:30,760 this newly declared relationship. According to Travis's friends, Jodi was very secretive 82 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:37,600 of her past and had little to no social circle. And I get that though, because I like my small 83 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:43,200 social circle, don't you? I also have little to no social circle. It's better that way, 84 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:52,440 less drama. Exactly. She was awkward and a whole lot of possessive towards her new man, 85 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:58,120 Travis. We are the complete opposite. Who? You and her? I should hope so. Do you know 86 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:04,920 where the story goes? I know where the story goes. But in regards to our men, I am more 87 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:13,160 love you, but no. One friend even told Travis that they were afraid he would be fanatic 88 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:20,120 around, chopped up in their freezer. Wow. I mean, what a premonition. That is so unfortunate. 89 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:25,480 Travis, of course, brushed off this comment. And Shelby, I know love is blind. You know 90 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:30,920 love is blind. Outsiders, like I said, always looking in. I mean, what happens when does 91 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:36,240 anybody ever, besides me and my big mouth, I know, but has anybody ever said anything 92 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:40,760 to you as an outsider looking in? And then how do you react? Do you believe them? Do 93 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:46,160 you brush them off? What's your initial reaction? I mean, you just kind of brush them off. But 94 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:52,120 then once, you know, a few months ahead, you're really going to see and be like, oh, I see 95 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:58,060 what you were talking about. Absolutely. I should have listened. Well, one thing I did 96 00:09:58,060 --> 00:10:03,920 not mention is that Travis was of Mormon faith. And we've done a couple episodes on the Mormon 97 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:09,280 religion here. So you realize they really do take that religion very seriously, which 98 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:17,280 I think is very admirable. And one of their belief systems is that having sex outside 99 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:23,560 the marriage is a big no-no. And Travis was pretty devout. So he carried a lot of guilt 100 00:10:23,560 --> 00:10:29,280 because he was in this relationship with Jodi. So Travis faced his moral dilemmas. And what 101 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:34,920 does Jodi do? She converts to Mormonism. I think she's the last person on earth that 102 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:40,120 I would think would do that. She just does not come across as I'm going to follow all 103 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:46,120 the rules. Well, although the couple was not married, I'm not sure how this would change 104 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:53,360 anything just because she changed her religion or declared a new religion. But by this time, 105 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:59,160 Travis and Jodi were in a five month relationship. And even when Travis initially said he knew 106 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:07,320 he would marry Jodi, at this point in time, he was not making any plans. In June 2007, 107 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:13,280 just four months after the couple went public with their relationship, Travis and Jodi officially 108 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:18,560 broke up. So they made it official and then they officially broke up. So I mentioned that 109 00:11:18,560 --> 00:11:23,160 they were on again off again for two years. And how do you think besides the fact that 110 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:28,920 she changed her religion, how do you think Jodi reacted to this breakup nine months after 111 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:34,400 they met? She probably didn't take it very well, although I know how the story goes. 112 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:39,280 She did not take it very well. She did not. I mean, this kind of reminds me of two things. 113 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:43,280 There's a movie, I don't know if you ever saw it. It was probably back in the 80s, Fatal 114 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:47,840 Attraction. Have you ever seen that movie? Maybe. I don't want to give it away, but I 115 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:54,120 feel like yes, but I can't think of it. Yeah, this is totally a Fatal Attraction moment. 116 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:59,240 But then it also reminds me of that Carrie Underwood song before he cheats. I will say 117 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:05,960 after Jodi and Travis broke up, they continued talking. Okay. So they're friends and apparently 118 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:12,320 Jodi no longer liked the distance between herself and her ex boyfriend because right 119 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:18,640 after they called it quits, or at least Travis did, Jodi moved to Arizona for a very brief 120 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:24,600 period of time. She is a psycho. She's 100% a psycho. So she was doing a couple little 121 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:31,520 things on the side. She began hacking into Travis's personal accounts. Through all of 122 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:36,520 her tracking, Jodi discovered that Travis had begun dating other women. I mean, obviously 123 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:42,280 they broke up. It's time to move on. Yes. And Travis had told friends he was relieved 124 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:46,780 that he had ended things and was ready to move on with his life. I wonder how those 125 00:12:46,780 --> 00:12:53,500 conversations went. Like those personal conversations leading up to there had to have been some 126 00:12:53,500 --> 00:13:00,460 kind of texting, just like, I don't know, you see those episodes on say like catfish 127 00:13:00,460 --> 00:13:05,840 or something where it's like this person is just texting you like 100 plus times a day. 128 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:11,240 Oh, yeah. I feel like that. I sense there was a lot of begging. Yeah, I'm just curious 129 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:17,560 about what was occurring leading up to Travis couldn't do it anymore. Yeah, I mean, I'm 130 00:13:17,560 --> 00:13:24,440 sure if she's especially needy and clingy and is right there all the time and expects 131 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:29,720 you to answer those 100 texts in the last two hours. Yeah, he obviously got vibes and 132 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:36,000 it was time for him to move on. Well, she never got the hint because in April of 2008, 133 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:41,240 she moved back to California to live with her grandparents, but it did not stop Jodi 134 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:47,240 and Travis from talking. They were just no longer on good terms. Well, weeks after returning 135 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:52,360 to California, Jodi received a hateful text from Travis. Okay, because he's probably at 136 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:57,820 this point very annoyed. All right, enough's enough. I've told you a million times. It's 137 00:13:57,820 --> 00:14:02,880 time to move on. What don't you see with that? And he actually accused her of being evil. 138 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:10,920 I mean, he's not wrong. No, and I'm not sure that they have blocking on the phones during 139 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:14,880 that time. They had to have. You had a cell phone at this point in time. I'm sure. Yeah, 140 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:22,600 that was 2008. As a parent, I still had to make you aware if I was tracking you or anything 141 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:27,040 like that. So if they had the tracking system, they may have had the blocking system because 142 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:32,680 even on the landline back then you could still block people. Two days after that text where 143 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:40,520 Travis called Jodi evil on May 28th, 2008, Jodi's grandparents reported a 25 caliber 144 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:46,600 gun stolen from their home. On June 2nd, just a couple of days later, Jodi rented a car 145 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:52,860 and made her way back to Arizona with a few stops along the way. She stopped at a former 146 00:14:52,860 --> 00:15:00,140 boyfriend's house in Monterey, California to borrow two five gallon gas cans. And she 147 00:15:00,140 --> 00:15:08,080 later purchased a third gas can in Salinas, California and filled up all three cans in 148 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:15,720 Pasadena. Wow. One, my first question is what the former boyfriend asked and what her reasoning 149 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:21,080 was behind getting the gas cans, because that's kind of random to ask your ex boyfriend, hey, 150 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:30,120 can I borrow some gas cans? That is very random to she had to have been blinding mad to drive 151 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:37,240 all the way from California, make several stops along the way, all the way to Arizona. 152 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:43,620 And all of that time, just no change in her thought like she was dead set on exactly what 153 00:15:43,620 --> 00:15:49,760 she was going to do. Yeah, 100%. So she's definitely got a plan. This is all premeditated. 154 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:53,840 Did you ever hear in the news if she ever used any of that gasoline? Nope. Maybe this 155 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:58,800 is what she wanted to do. If she had a very long drive, she only wanted to stop once and 156 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:03,360 then she would just put the gasoline in her own car. Oh, maybe. So there was no trail. 157 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:07,120 That's possible. That's possible. That's a good thought. Look, we've been doing this 158 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:12,680 for a while. We have we can figure out how even if I don't have a psychology degree. 159 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:20,840 All right. In the early mornings of June 4th, 2008, Jodie arrived unannounced at Travis's 160 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:26,520 house. Travis invited her in and they spent the day together. So you just told this person 161 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:32,480 they're evil and she shows up unexpectedly at the door and you're going to welcome her 162 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:39,320 with open arms and spend the day. Yeah. They took nude photos together in the shower. Now, 163 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:45,360 remember, I told you she always had a camera on her. So she had this camera, had taken 164 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:51,880 pictures, those nude photos and the timestamps from deleted photos off that camera showed 165 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:57,680 that Travis was attacked somewhere around five thirty p.m. that day. Unfortunately, 166 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:04,920 Shelby, this is where a turn of events occurs and Jodie does attack Travis. Let me tell 167 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:10,960 you some of the things leading up to that. The timestamps from that camera, I will say, 168 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:15,760 first of all, she had deleted the photos, but they were able to retrieve those later 169 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:21,960 and the timestamp off of that camera showed that Travis was attacked at around five thirty 170 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:27,120 p.m. Between the digital photos and the crime scene, investigators believe that Jodie had 171 00:17:27,120 --> 00:17:33,240 begun stabbing Travis while he was in the shower. So she's having intimate moments 172 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:40,240 with him and then she takes out a weapon. When he tries to escape, Jodie shoots him 173 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:46,920 with that 25 caliber shotgun that she had allegedly stolen from her grandparents. And 174 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:53,280 Travis did attempt to make a getaway. But unfortunately, Shelby, he fell in the hallway 175 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:59,080 when he was hit by that bullet. So sad gives me goosebumps. Yeah. Jodie ended up dragging 176 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:04,360 him back to the shower and attempted to clean up the crime scene just a little bit before 177 00:18:04,360 --> 00:18:08,920 deleting those photos and leaving the scene of the crime and then heading up to Salt Lake 178 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:15,000 City, Utah, to visit another guy that she used to work with and had begun dating. OK, 179 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:20,400 I'm just going to make a pit stop, but I'll be there when I can to cover her tracks after 180 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:27,800 she left Arizona. Jodie left Travis not only a text message, but a voicemail and an email 181 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:33,140 to sending her regrets that she would not be able to come visit him as they had planned. 182 00:18:33,140 --> 00:18:38,840 She had everything planned out to a T. I don't know. I have no thoughts on this because she 183 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:45,680 is just so manipulating. Yes. And she doesn't give off that vibe. Very beautiful, you know, 184 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:51,200 seems to be intelligent woman who just took a turn for the worse. Yeah. I think that's 185 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:56,960 what attracted Travis to her in the first place is because once they were at that conference, 186 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:04,200 she did appear to come across as bubbly and vibrant and personable. Well, by June 9th, 187 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:11,640 Travis had a great social circle shelves and his friends grew very concerned when he missed 188 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:18,000 a scheduled out of town business meeting and he didn't return calls for five days. I can 189 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:26,520 say that Travis was genuinely liked by everybody. He was a responsible adult. He led his spiritual 190 00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:31,560 life and he had a group of friends who had nothing but wonderful things to say about 191 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:38,560 him. And I really genuinely feel like he was a very good person. I do too. I do too. One 192 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:43,960 of those friends who was concerned about Travis on June 9th showed up at the house to check 193 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:50,960 on him. Travis's roommate answered the door and was taken by surprise because he thought 194 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:55,560 Travis had left to go out of town on that business trip. I forgot there was a roommate. 195 00:19:55,560 --> 00:20:00,880 I did not know there was a roommate. Before we go on, shouts just for the benefit of our 196 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:07,120 listeners. I do want to give a trigger warning that things are going to turn very, very bad 197 00:20:07,120 --> 00:20:12,680 here. If you don't want to hear how Travis was found, you can probably skip ahead, let's 198 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:18,640 say 15 seconds or so. And I'm not going to go into graphic detail, but trigger warnings 199 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:24,640 are here just the same. The roommate and concerned friend both began looking around the house 200 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:30,760 and went to Travis's bedroom where they found a very gruesome discovery. A large amount 201 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:36,400 of blood was found all over the master bedroom, all over the master bathroom walls, floor 202 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:42,040 and sink. Travis's body was found inside the shower. Although they did not know it at the 203 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:49,320 time, Travis had been shot and stabbed 25 times. He also had additional injuries, but 204 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:55,080 I'm just going to leave it at that because I don't know how I came across some photos 205 00:20:55,080 --> 00:21:03,240 here, Shelby, but they're out there. Now Travis's friends immediately called 911 at 1027 PM. 206 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:09,280 When the police arrived, they immediately pointed the finger at Jodi Arias because they 207 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:14,700 saw firsthand how possessive she had been throughout this relationship. Remember outsiders 208 00:21:14,700 --> 00:21:19,400 looking in, right? For sure. I was going to say that that's, I knew they knew it was Jodi 209 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:24,840 Amid. Good for them that they were so close like that and they looked out for each other, 210 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:29,840 probably just young. We'll call them yuppies living their lives in their twenties and they're 211 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:33,280 just a good circle of friends that are always in touch with each other and you just know 212 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:40,040 when something's wrong. So, well, when investigators paid Jodi a visit, she said a couple of things 213 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:45,680 here. One, that she had just learned about Travis's murder from a mutual friend earlier 214 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:52,280 that day. Two, she was nowhere near the area during this crime. She'd been driving to Utah 215 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:59,240 to meet up with the guy that she was dating, but got lost and arrived a day later than 216 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:05,080 expected. Does she realize this is not a clear alibi when you are unaccounted for for 24 217 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:11,240 hours? I'm lost. I don't know where I am. But I have a cell phone. I can call somebody. 218 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:16,060 What gas stations did you stop by? Where'd you get lunch? She didn't. She had three cans 219 00:22:16,060 --> 00:22:20,780 of gasoline in the car. True. But lunch, you're right. Everybody's got to eat. Well, to make 220 00:22:20,780 --> 00:22:28,200 matters worse, Jodi sent flowers to Travis's family during his memorial service. I have 221 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:33,920 no words. Well, let's talk about the investigation for just a little bit. Crime scene investigators 222 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:40,200 found bloody fingerprints in the hallway just outside the bathroom and a bloody handprint 223 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:46,240 just outside Travis's house. After running DNA, the inside fingerprint was matched to 224 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:54,120 Jodi and the outside fingerprint was matched to both Jodi and Travis. Surprise. Investigators 225 00:22:54,120 --> 00:23:00,080 also found a digital camera with sexually graphic images of the couple that were taken 226 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:05,840 when Travis was inside the shower on the day of his murder. The timestamps showed that 227 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:12,960 the photos were taken beginning somewhere around 1 40 p.m. So between 1 40 p.m. and 228 00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:19,120 5 30 p.m. they were just hanging out and doing their thing. Now, several of those photos 229 00:23:19,120 --> 00:23:24,960 I had mentioned had been deleted. But thankfully, forensic scientists were able to recover them 230 00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:31,120 from the memory card. Both Jodi and Travis were seen in the shower taking nude photos 231 00:23:31,120 --> 00:23:35,120 of each other. So obviously she was there. Those were the ones that she deleted. All 232 00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:40,320 right. So she put herself there. She tried to delete it. But even back in 2008, the cool 233 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:46,320 thing is there's forensics that I don't care how deep you think you get rid of stuff on 234 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:50,320 electronic equipment. It's there to stay. It's like the Internet. You know, once you 235 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:55,400 put something out there on the Internet, it's never going to go away. Nope. So clearly the 236 00:23:55,400 --> 00:24:01,960 evidence is stacking up against Jodi Arias because exactly one month after Travis's death 237 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:10,080 on July 9th, 2009, which happened to be Jodi's 29th birthday, Shelby. Wow. She was arrested 238 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:16,680 and indicted on one count of premeditated murder. On July 15th, Jodi was arrested at 239 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:22,520 her grandparents house in northern California and extradited to Arizona to face charges. 240 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:27,400 Now, Shelby, I don't know if you remember this, but Jodi's behavior during the initial 241 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:33,520 interrogations was really scrutinized. And you mentioned that this was one of the top 242 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:38,720 stories you remember that got you into true crime. And I don't know if you recall this. 243 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:43,320 Do you remember seeing her singing and laughing in the interrogation room? She thought she 244 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:46,680 was going to get away with it. I mean, one of her personalities did because it looked 245 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:51,720 like she was having multiple personalities with herself. Yes. And then the one that really 246 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:56,680 got a lot of publicity was when she was standing on her head, like doing a yoga move. Yep. 247 00:24:56,680 --> 00:25:02,160 I remember that. I mean, did she say why she was doing that? Maybe to calm her nerves, 248 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:06,920 just relaxing a little bit, thinking, trying to get out of whatever predicament she was 249 00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:12,560 in. Couldn't see standing on your head doing that, but to each their own. Yeah. We know 250 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:18,800 that Jodi had already told investigators that she was traveling to Utah during that time 251 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:25,060 period when Travis was murdered. Clearly, she knew the jig was up because she immediately 252 00:25:25,060 --> 00:25:30,560 confessed that she was indeed at Travis's house the day that he was murdered. But that 253 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:35,960 two masked men had broken into the home and attacked both of them. Okay, we're grasping 254 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:41,960 at straws here. I mean, if that really happened, wouldn't you call immediately? 100%. 100%. 255 00:25:41,960 --> 00:25:48,360 There should be a 911 call out there. Yeah. So what happened, Shelby, is they did what 256 00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:56,000 they did to Travis and threatened to kill Jodi if she told anyone about this. How convenient. 257 00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:01,720 Another point worth mentioning is that Jodi had a great big smile on her face in her mug 258 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:06,040 shot. And I'm going to explain the reason for that in just a moment. Did you know she 259 00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:12,800 actually had a valid reason? Nope. It's not a good one. Oh, none of her. Nothing that 260 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:17,400 she has said or done has been good. So I could only imagine. I wanted to talk briefly about 261 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:24,560 the interview that Jodi did with the television show 48 Hours. In 2013, while Jodi was on 262 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:31,080 trial for Travis's murder, she agreed to be interviewed on the news show 48 Hours, which 263 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:35,600 I've added to our show notes. So you guys can go look at that when you're done here. 264 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:40,880 It's actually quite interesting. During this interview, Jodi said that the home intrusion 265 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:47,000 she endured with Travis was the scariest moment of her life. And it played out just like a 266 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:53,800 horror movie. Now she's telling this to millions of people on a highly publicized news crime 267 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:59,120 show. Jodi went on to describe how she ran out of the house as quickly as she could and 268 00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:06,040 drove and drove and drove until she reached the desert. Everything else was a blur after 269 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:14,240 that. Really? Everything was a blur. I'm sure it probably was. How was Utah? Right? Okay. 270 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:19,280 So Jodi had this great big smile on her face for her mugshot. I had mentioned she had a 271 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:26,200 great explanation as to why she was smiling or at least a really good imagination here 272 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:32,280 because Shelby, she imagined what Travis would be doing if he were the one getting the mugshot 273 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:37,760 and she believed that he would be smiling. So she wanted to smile like he would. Plus 274 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:43,660 she knew the mugshot would be all over the internet. So why not? You've got to make sure 275 00:27:43,660 --> 00:27:48,560 you look your best when you have a mugshot, right? I think there's a little more to this. 276 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:56,520 What is that where you see certain things? Oh, schizophrenia. Yes. Maybe. That's what 277 00:27:56,520 --> 00:28:00,960 I'm getting. That's the vibe I'm getting. I don't know. I really haven't seen anything 278 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:06,440 about her in the news since this happened, but that's interesting. If any of our listeners 279 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:13,200 know, please DM us. Well, last but not least, Shelby, Jodi maintained her innocence and told 280 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:18,520 48 hours that there was no reason to be sad. She just knew the truth was going to come 281 00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:23,320 out during her trial because she had not gone to trial yet. She was behind bars waiting 282 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:29,200 trial, but it had not happened yet. And she just knew that she was going to come out innocent 283 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:34,780 here. So she might as well smile and say cheese to the camera. Did this happen after Casey 284 00:28:34,780 --> 00:28:42,440 Anthony's case? I almost feel like it did because I think that that's what she was kind of hoping 285 00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:50,840 would happen. Okay. August 9th, 2005 through June 2008. So it was 100% the same time. You 286 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:54,920 might be right. You know, she sees these other things on the news and yeah, you might be 287 00:28:54,920 --> 00:29:01,840 right. That's a good point. Four and a half years later, after Jodi was arrested on December 288 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:08,920 10th, 2012, Jodi's trial began. And due to the degree of violence in Travis's death, 289 00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:14,720 prosecutors fully intended to seek the death penalty here. Before Jodi's trial began, her 290 00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:20,680 defense lawyers petitioned for a sequestered jury and no media coverage. I would probably 291 00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:24,960 do the same thing if I were her lawyer, but you remember this case being all over the 292 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:31,040 news. So obviously those petitions were denied. They were, I was sitting at the restaurant 293 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:36,280 that I worked at behind, it was just a beer bar, so no liquor or anything. And I would 294 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:41,240 work a lot of lunch shifts, you know, wasn't always extremely busy. So that's what I would 295 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:47,280 do was talk to my local customers at that time and watch the broadcast of this case. 296 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:51,840 Well, jury members were simply ordered not to watch the news. Yeah, you can be here, 297 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:55,480 but we're not going to sequester you. You can go home and live your life, but by all 298 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:59,960 means, don't watch the news. Someone tells me not to do something. I'm probably going 299 00:29:59,960 --> 00:30:05,600 to do it. 100%. I'm going to do the opposite of what you ask me not to do. By the way, 300 00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:09,320 I know that about you because you probably did the same thing. Anytime I said not to 301 00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:13,480 do something while you were growing up. And you also can't use reverse psychology on me 302 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:19,840 either. Oh, wow. One juror was removed because she was overheard making statements that clearly 303 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:26,480 showed she did the exact opposite of what she was told. So I wonder, Shelby, how many 304 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:31,600 other jurors did the same thing? They were told not to watch the news. They were just 305 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:35,880 too smart and kept their mouth shut. What do you think? I think there might've been 306 00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:44,240 one juror that listened. Possibly. The trial lasted 64 days, 18 of which Jodie got on the 307 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:51,840 stand and testified in her own defense. That's a lot of days, 18 days, eight hours. That's 308 00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:56,360 a lot of testimony. And I think that this case at the time, Shelby, was compared to 309 00:30:56,360 --> 00:31:02,760 the OJ Simpson trial as far as sensationalism. I mean, that makes sense to me. But the thing 310 00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:10,840 here is OJ's trial lasted 134 days. So of course that was big in the news. I 100% remember 311 00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:17,480 that being in the news. And 64 days to me is still a lot. That's a lot. And during those 312 00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:26,040 18 days of testimony, Jodie told a very different story of Travis's murder. No, she was not 313 00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:32,360 on her way to Utah. No, intruders did not break into Travis's house. Jodie testified 314 00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:39,240 that yes, she did indeed kill Travis. Only Shelby, she testified that it was in self-defense. 315 00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:45,520 All right. So Jodie testified that she killed her ex-boyfriend. And let me emphasize ex 316 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:52,960 here. She killed her ex-boyfriend because they were in an abusive relationship. In fact, 317 00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:57,920 Travis had been the one to attack her. And that's how he ended up dead because he was 318 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:02,560 the one that had the gun, right? The one that was in her grandparents' house. Right. And 319 00:32:02,560 --> 00:32:07,100 I feel like, I don't think we talked about this, but I feel like I remember that Travis 320 00:32:07,100 --> 00:32:13,440 was a very tall and not large, but I mean, you know, like maybe not built, but like a, 321 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:19,040 you know, a decent sized man. He had a big physique, but it was like muscle and it wasn't 322 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:23,520 like he was overweight. If he was, he still had a lot of muscle. He was healthy. While 323 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:28,960 she was, I can't remember how tall she was, but I want to say she was a tiny little petite. 324 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:34,580 Yeah. Maybe petite. I don't, I don't remember exactly her height, but just thinking of, 325 00:32:34,580 --> 00:32:38,400 you know, you can be very determined to ward off an attacker, but you're not going to get 326 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:44,700 away from that attacker with the size variance. So true. With nothing to show on her body. 327 00:32:44,700 --> 00:32:49,020 You are right. I don't think she had any defensive wounds, did she? Not that I remember, at least 328 00:32:49,020 --> 00:32:54,360 not what I found while I was researching this. Yeah. She testifies that she killed her ex-boyfriend 329 00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:59,440 because they were in an abusive relationship. So five years after everything, after their 330 00:32:59,440 --> 00:33:06,560 whole relationship starts five years later, when she is in court, she's still in denial 331 00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:14,060 and will not own up to anything. So this trial goes on for 64 days, but it only took the 332 00:33:14,060 --> 00:33:21,380 jury three days to find Jodie guilty. I'm surprised it took that long. Yeah, for sure. 333 00:33:21,380 --> 00:33:26,320 It was that one juror that did not go home and watch the news. Yes. You're probably right. 334 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:32,520 Somebody holding out. That's good. Yeah. Good thought process there. On May 9th, 2013, Jodie 335 00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:40,260 Arias was convicted of premeditated first degree murder in an aggravated manner. However, 336 00:33:40,260 --> 00:33:45,760 during the penalty phase of sentencing, the jury was hung between giving Jodie the death 337 00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:52,400 penalty or letting her live the rest of her life in prison, either with parole after 25 338 00:33:52,400 --> 00:34:00,000 years or life without parole. The judge declared a retrial of the penalty phase. And on October 339 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:07,800 21st, 2014, six years after Travis's death, Jodie was given a life sentence without the 340 00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:14,400 possibility of parole. She's housed in the Perryville State Women's Prison in Arizona, 341 00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:20,980 where she sits amongst 4,000 inmates. And interestingly enough, Shelby, when I went and looked up Jodie 342 00:34:20,980 --> 00:34:29,220 in prison, there's a lot of information out there. Her inmate number is 281129. And she's 343 00:34:29,220 --> 00:34:34,560 currently listed as a moderate risk to the public and staff. So I want to just kind of 344 00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:39,760 tell you about the natural progression here based on her offense. When she first comes 345 00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:44,740 into the prison, she's going to be a high risk, right? Right. Jodie's profile is assessed 346 00:34:44,740 --> 00:34:50,620 almost annually. And when she did first arrive at Perryville, she was classified as maximum 347 00:34:50,620 --> 00:34:56,560 risk for the first couple of years that she was there. And she has only had one disciplinary 348 00:34:56,560 --> 00:35:03,520 action while in prison. And that's just basically being listed as disrespect to staff back in 349 00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:10,380 2016. I mean, she's laying low here. So she only has one little blemish. Otherwise, as 350 00:35:10,380 --> 00:35:17,680 far as progression goes, she's been downgraded to close or close, I think it's close for 351 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:24,140 several years, which is in between maximum and moderate. But now she's a moderate risk 352 00:35:24,140 --> 00:35:28,440 and is living her life as a library aide. How about that? I just tell you the other 353 00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:32,960 day that I would love to work in a library. We did. We talked about that yesterday. So 354 00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:38,400 I wonder if they're letting her take any pictures since she's a photographer in prison. I don't 355 00:35:38,400 --> 00:35:42,480 know if she's a photographer in prison. I wonder if they let her take pictures in prison, 356 00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:46,720 but they probably don't. She probably doesn't have that camera anymore. Probably not that 357 00:35:46,720 --> 00:35:54,480 one. I doubt it. I don't know. You know, in today's age, I know for a fact inmates can 358 00:35:54,480 --> 00:36:02,040 pretty readily get a hold of cell phones. Yeah. So Shelbs, that's the story of Travis 359 00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:08,640 Alexander and his psycho girlfriend, Jodi Arias. I am so glad that we did this one. 360 00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:14,000 Yeah, I was waiting for this. I figured if we were going to be phasing this wonderful 361 00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:20,440 podcast out and moving over to Insinuation Podcasts, then this was going to be the one 362 00:36:20,440 --> 00:36:25,840 finale that I was going to have for you. Yes. Oh yes. And I still, my heart goes out to 363 00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:31,400 Travis's family. Yeah, 100%. And before we end, I do want to direct your attention to 364 00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:35,840 Travis specifically. So I'm glad you brought that up. And I really wanted to give you more 365 00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:42,440 of the type of person he was, but unfortunately Jodi's name came up. Anytime I did a search 366 00:36:42,440 --> 00:36:49,120 on him, I did find a Facebook page entitled Remembering Travis Alexander, a voice for 367 00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:55,400 victims of crime. It currently has 5,000 members. And I've also added this to our show notes 368 00:36:55,400 --> 00:37:03,240 because he's the one worth remembering here. 100%. Yeah. So there you have it. Well, thank 369 00:37:03,240 --> 00:37:08,880 you. This was, I think a very, very good season ender. Yeah. We don't do a ton of the big 370 00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:13,880 name stories here, but you personally have said, I really want to do this over the years. 371 00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:18,880 So I thought it was kind of appropriate to kind of end things here. It's kind of bittersweet. 372 00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:27,640 Do you have a teachable moment for us today? I do. I say pick up the phone. And by this, 373 00:37:27,640 --> 00:37:34,640 I mean, domestic violence doesn't simply happen to females. Travis clearly picked up on the 374 00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:41,440 signs that something was off with Jodi and maybe he listened to his gut or maybe he listened 375 00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:48,920 to his friends that were outsiders looking in. Regardless, he just got those vibes and 376 00:37:48,920 --> 00:37:54,560 maybe Jodi was just a little bit nuts and never crossed the line when Travis felt that 377 00:37:54,560 --> 00:37:59,840 he needed to make any police reports or get a restraining order. I didn't see anything 378 00:37:59,840 --> 00:38:05,600 in the research that he had to try to do any of that. So I'm here to say, if you feel like 379 00:38:05,600 --> 00:38:11,000 you could be in danger because of the relationship that you are in, regardless on if you're male 380 00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:18,520 or female, pick up the phone, file a police report and get the paper trail started. Hopefully 381 00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:23,960 this will never be the case for any of our listeners, but your life is more important 382 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:31,600 than ignoring signs of domestic violence or simply your gut instincts. Pick up the phone. 383 00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:36,840 Nothing may ever come of it, but it's better to have that paper trail than nothing at all. 384 00:38:36,840 --> 00:38:41,800 So my teachable moment here, Shelby, short and sweet to the point. And you are exactly 385 00:38:41,800 --> 00:38:48,000 right. Well, there we have it. As always, we would love to receive feedback from our 386 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:55,840 listeners on this storyline or any other episodes and be sure to DM us on Instagram or TikTok. 387 00:38:55,840 --> 00:39:03,560 We'll talk to you soon. I didn't know if I needed to say that or not. It's so bittersweet. 388 00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:07,440 I might put something out probably once a month. You know, it's hard to let things go. 389 00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:16,520 It is. It is. All right. There we go. As Aunt Beth says, that's a wrap. That is a wrap. Thanks 390 00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:21,600 for listening to Dying to be Found. Before we go, we would love for you to leave a review 391 00:39:21,600 --> 00:39:27,120 on your favorite podcast platform. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook 392 00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:32,840 and Pinterest at Dying to be Found. You can access our website, email, social media and 393 00:39:32,840 --> 00:39:38,200 storyline request form by clicking on our Linktree account found in our show notes. 394 00:39:38,200 --> 00:39:43,680 If you like our episodes, consider buying us a coffee at BuyMeACoffee.com slash Dying 395 00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:48,880 to be Found, spelled just like you see it on our logo. Feel free to message us on Instagram 396 00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:54,120 and let us know how we're doing. With that, be sure to check us out every Thursday wherever 397 00:39:54,120 --> 00:40:17,040 you get your podcasts.