The Jodi Arias trial has gone to the jury, which started deliberating late Friday afternoon after a rather unusual closing argument from defense attorney Kirk Nurmi. “Nine out of ten days, I don’t like Jodi Arias,” he said.
“There were gasps in the courtroom,” Jane Velez-Mitchell reported. “That’s such an odd thing for a defense attorney to say on such a crucial day.”
“It’s about the evidence,” not a popularity contest, said Nurmi as he more or less acknowledged that Jodi Arias has replaced Casey Anthony as America’s most hated murder suspect.
Mm-kay. Of course, he’s technically correct, but some observers weren’t so confident that it was a good idea to try to bond with the jury on the topic of Jodi Arias’ difficult personality .
And it was just weird that Arias actually smiled when he said it.
The weak performance from the Arias defense came after a well-received emotional appeal from prosecutor Juan Martinez on Thursday , who called her a liar and a manipulator who wanted to portray herself as the victim.
Martinez argued that the almost 30 stab wounds, including a slit throat, and the gunshot to the head found on slain boyfriend Travis Alexander’s body were evidence that Jodi Arias came determined to commit a premeditated crime.
If convicted of first-degree murder, she could face life in prison or even the death penalty.
However, Nurmi said that the out-of-control nature of the wounds proved only that Arias lost her temper as she fought to defend herself from an attack.
There are eight men and four women on the jury that will now decide on her guilt.
One way or another, the months-long sage of the Jodi Arias trial is coming to an end — but not too soon for one Twitter user.
If I have to hear Jodi Arias’ name one more time I will literally break off my legs
— JeffOleksy (@JeffOleksy) May 4, 2013
[photo by SWEvil via Shutterstock ]
