Jodi Arias Trial Update News: Judge Delays Arias' Death Penalty Trial After Jurors Return From Holiday Break
Jurors in the Jodi Arias sentencing retrial returned to court Monday morning after a more than two-week holiday only to be told that the trial has been postponed, once again.
Although testimony was scheduled to resume on Monday in the high profile death penalty trial, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens postponed it in order to let lawyers interview an unidentified witness.
According to the Associated Press, the witness' identity has not been revealed, but prosecutor Juan Martinez announced in court papers that he wanted to interview a defense witness who examined a laptop belonging to the murder victim, Travis Alexander.
The defense have petitioned the court to dismiss the case on the grounds that local officals destroyed files of pornographic websites from Alexander's computer that would have helped them prove that he was a sexual deviant and that Arias was a victim of his emotional abuse. Arias' attorneys also argue that Alexander sexually humiliated their client and that the missing computer files deprived Arias of a fair trial.
After the judge conducted a private discussion with the case's lawyers, she sent the jurors home for the day.
Judge Stephens also postponed the trial due to a pending decision from a higher court on the release of a transcript from Jodi Arias' secret testimony on Oct. 30. Her lawyers have asked the Arizona Supreme Court to put the trial on hold while they appeal a lower court's ruling that overturned Stephens' decision to ban the public and media from watching her testify. A hearing over the transcript is set for Thursday.
In addition, the judge announced that the trial will not be in session Tuesday or Wednesday, reports AZ Central.
Although Arias was found guilty of first-degree murder last May in the death of her ex-boyfriend, jurors in her first trial failed to reach a unanimous decision on her sentencing. As a result, the retrial will determine whether she should be sentenced to death, life in prison or life with a chance of release after serving 25 years.
According to medical examiners, Arias stabbed Alexander 27 times, primarily in the back, torso and heart in his Phoenix home. She also slit Alexander's throat from ear to ear, nearly decapitating him and shot him in the face before she dragged his bloodied corpse to the shower and took pictures of him.
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