Jodi Arias Trial Update 2014: New Court Date Set For Man Who Threatened News Anchors Over Arias Coverage; Next Trial Date For Jodi Slated To Take Place Friday April 11
A new trial date has been set for a man infatuated with Jodi Arias who threatened the lives of two news anchors who covered the infamous Arias murder trial in 2013. On a related note, the next trial date involving Arias's own case will take place on Friday, April 11.
David Lee Simpson, 48, of Bath, N.Y. stands accused of threatening two newswomen with murder and torture via Twitter. Simpson's original trial date was set for April 1 but has since been postponed until May 8, according to a report from the Associated Press.
The threats made by Simpson were directed at Nancy Grace and Jane Velez-Mitchell -- both of whom are hosts on Turner Broadcasting's HLN network -- after the man became infuriated with comments the women made while covering the Arias trial in 2013, according to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Maricopa County is in Arizona and is the location where Arias faced her own murder trial and where Simpson will stand trial in May.
Among Simpson's tweets were threats to strap the two women to a "tree naked and leave them to suffer all night" and then "slit their throats."
"He [also] told an employee where he worked previously that he wanted to hang the commentator by her feet and gut her like a deer," Arpaio said during a press conference.
According to Latinos Post, Simpson was in New York State when he sent the tweets, but Arizona officials claimed jurisdiction for the case because the threats were made against the women during their coverage of a trial that occurred in Maricopa County and because both women were in Arizona at the time when they were threatened.
Simpson faces five felony counts with regards to the Twitter-based threats. They include three counts of computer tampering -- class five felonies -- and two counts of stalking -- class three felonies.
Simpson has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
In May of 2013, after a highly-publicized, five-month trial, Arias, 32, was found guilty of the brutal 2008 murder of her former boyfriend Travis Alexander.
Although the jury in that trial agreed upon the fact that Arias was guilty of the grisly murder, they were unable to unanimously agree on an appropriate sentence.
As such, a retrial for the sentencing phase for Arias is slated to begin on Sept. 8 of this year. A new jury will be selected and held responsible for determining whether the woman should receive the death penalty or serve life in prison for Alexander's murder.
Should this new jury also fail to agree on an appropriate punishment for Arias, the death penalty option will be taken off the table entirely, according to Arizona law.
The next move would be that the presiding judge - Sherry Stephens - of the Maricopa County Superior Court would be held solely responsible for opting either to send Arias to jail for a life term or to sentence her to prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
The next hearing scheduled in the Arias murder trial is slated to take place on April 11 at 11:00 a.m. and will be a closed proceeding.
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For the latest news & updates, follow reporter Bary Alyssa Johnson on Twitter: @MissBary
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