Crime & Trial Discussion Forums

Lunarscope, that anybody would hire Lavilette is amazing to me. Surely there are honorable people who could teach that particular class. She is a liar and disgusting. I know these things happen all the time, but whoever makes these decisions surely are lacking in intelligence. I feel so sorry for the students who take her class and hope they don't pay a bit of attention to her or use her teachings in their lives. And Observer, I did watch some of that video of her talking to that Long Beach bunch and it was sick. She continued to trash Juan and hold Arias up as a poor little abused waif who should have slaughtered Travis. Disgusting. She thinks she is so smart and the audience was enthralled by her and were as repulsive as her with their cackles of glee when she would talk about how she got the best of Juan. Extremely creepy people. She is the one witness who affects me almost as strongly as Arias herself. I don't know why.

Observer and everybody, what are your thoughts on why Arias went to see Daryl and Matt? Surely she didn't just go that route to borrow gas cans. I have never figured that out. Was she just trying to set up some sort of alibi? How would that be an alibi if so? And there seems to be no doubt that she gave Daryl the stolen DVD player. But what was her point in going to see those two people? And thank the stars that she did go there or we wouldn't have heard about the gas cans and Daryl testifying that Arias said she was going to Mesa.

Observer, I got the feeling that Karas seemed to think Juan should have talked more about the premeditation. And she said that he seems to be burned out. I hope this jury really does their job and figures out from the evidence (not that they got much) that Arias was a stalker and premeditated his murder and drove 1,000 miles to butcher him and that she was not at all abused. We'll just have to wait and see. I of course haven't seen Juan's closing but I find it hard to think of his passion burning out.

(02-28-2015, 03:21 PM)duluth45 Wrote: [ -> ]Lunarscope, that anybody would hire Lavilette is amazing to me.  Surely there are honorable people who could teach that particular class.  She is a liar and disgusting.  I know these things happen all the time, but whoever makes these decisions surely are lacking in intelligence.  She is the one witness who affects me almost as strongly as Arias herself.  I don't know why.

@ Agree and I don't know why either, hopefully she's retired, I do think she worked or was associated with that Long Beach mission (told JII not to name them or send them money)  but I could never find that link a year ago when I was discussing!

© Observer and everybody, what are your thoughts on why Arias went to see Daryl and Matt?  Surely she didn't just go that route to borrow gas cans.  I have never figured that out.  Was she just trying to set up some sort of alibi?  How would that be an alibi if so?  And there seems to be no doubt that she gave Daryl the stolen DVD player.  But what was her point in going to see those two people?  And thank the stars that she did go there or we wouldn't have heard about the gas cans and Daryl testifying that Arias said she was going to Mesa.

@ Jodi lived and worked at Big Sur' it was her neighborhood' (Salinas and Monterey) she did many things in that area from getting a Brazilian to Walmart (just down the highway) to meeting Guy, to borrowing gas cans, to even meeting Matt and his roommate at the Red Room Bar (Note' I've been misstating the Purple Plum Bar) to meeting that Paul person that Martinez interviewed, to finding money for depositing at Bank of America, that was by Walmart!

Lunarscope, I don't remember anything about a Paul who Juan interviewed. What was that about? Was it on her trip down to murder Travis?
And one last comment from me re Lavilette - these types of people should never have control or power over others because they are cruel and love to be able to control if given the chance. I don't see how others haven't seen that in Lavilette before, people who have worked with her.

Duluth and Lunarscope, I appreciate that you want to discuss LaViolette and what Jodi Arias did with her ex boyfriends, but to me that is in the past and has been discussed adnauseum. I am interested in only discussing news about what is happening now and what will happen in the future for Jodi Arias.

Did you watch the video I posted on Verdict Watch? What did you think of what Karas, Wood and Seltzer had to say about the closing arguments, the jurors and the verdict? Because they all three were in the courtroom and saw what we didn't see, it is interesting to me to hear what they have to say.

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Here's some excerpts from a very enlightening article about how the jury was able to unanimously vote for the death penalty for Wendy Andriano, another case Martinez prosecuted.

"In all, 15 jurors in Maricopa County Superior Court in Mesa spent four months hearing the case against Andriano, 34, who was charged with killing her terminally ill husband, Joe, 33. He was poisoned, bludgeoned and stabbed in their apartment Oct. 8, 2000, while their children, then 2 and 3, slept in a bedroom.

Six of the 12 jurors who voted last month to execute Andriano were interviewed, along with two of the three alternates.

"The first couple of weeks, it was kind of interesting," said juror Tanner Catalano, 27, of Gilbert.

"After it started to set in that you had to make a decision like this, it became overwhelmingly stressful."

The jury found Andriano guilty Nov. 18, about 15 minutes after they went into the jury room, said juror Jay Erke, 48, an airline mechanic foreman from Mesa.

Juror Linda Percy, 63, a Realtor from Mesa, said jurors didn't believe Andriano's testimony, given over nine days on the stand, that she poisoned her husband as part of a suicide pact, and that she hit him 23 times in the head with a bar stool in self-defense to stop him from reaching for a knife.

But the decision to execute Andriano was far more difficult, she and the five other jurors all said.


After they reached the guilty verdict, jurors heard a week of testimony on why Andriano should be executed, the aggravating factors that go into a death penalty decision.

They deliberated for four hours before finding the slaying was especially cruel, qualifying her for the death sentence.

They then heard six days of testimony on mitigating factors, reasons her life should be spared.

They gathered in the jury room Dec. 16 to consider whether there were reasons for sparing Andriano's life.

It took four days.

The sometimes-heated deliberations dramatically changed the case's outcome, with a split jury gradually shifting toward the death verdict.

When the deliberations began, the nine women and three men took a vote. Only three supported a death sentence, with four favoring a life sentence and the others undecided, said juror Mary Fobes, 74, of Mesa.

Catalano said he wasn't sure.

"I still hadn't made up my mind. I was giving her the benefit of the doubt," he said.

After one day, the jury went home for a three-day weekend that some called full of soul searching.

When they reconvened, Catalano gave a pivotal speech outlining his reasons for supporting a death sentence, and the vote swung to 11-1 in favor of execution, Fobes said.

"It was very passionate on why he thought she deserved the death penalty," Fobes said. "The more I thought about it, how could she be so brutal? She must have totally flipped her wig. I don't know how anyone could do that."

But the jury was on the verge of a deadlock, with one holdout, a senior citizen from Gilbert, saying he was adamantly against the death penalty.

On the third day of deliberations, jurors took turns discussing each of 23 reasons listed by the defense for sparing Andriano's life, the mitigating factors, weighing whether they were sufficient cause for leniency.

They included that Andriano was a good mother to her children and had signed up at age 19 for missionary work when in Mexicali, Mexico, for the 91st Psalm Church, now the Harvest Family Church in Casa Grande.

Catalano said he gave all the mitigating factors some weight, but in the end, they were not enough.

"Does a good mother brutally murder her husband?" he said.

Percy said she also considered the arguments against execution, but on balance, "we could not find mitigating factors that overwhelmed the cruelty. To me, to everybody there, the knife wound was the crowning blow. She had three chances to back off."

As the third day of deliberations ended, Fobes said she told the holdout juror, a Gilbert senior citizen, "Wendi has manipulated you. He said, 'Yes, I know.' "

The next day, the holdout gave a short speech saying he changed his mind.

http://www.nlada.org/DMS/Documents/1106668066.47/0124deathjurors24.html

Sure, Observer. Maybe you can make a list of what should be discussed and we can go from there.

I did watch that video and I think it was very interesting that all three of them are thinking death sentence. I don't think it will be death but probably hung. I don't think a verdict will come down for several days if not another week. This is just my feeling but of course I can't be in the jury's mind. I would be surprised if it was a quick verdict.

I haven't watched the one of how Travis' friends were afraid, but I think they were smart to be. This tells me that most people who were around Arias got that "off" feeling about her and once Travis was murdered, their feelings were validated and I agree they should have been afraid. I think Arias might have done some more killings if given the chance. Deanna Reid, Mimi, and the Hughes are the ones I think she would have gone for.

Duluth' Paul Stern wasn't called to testify he said he knew Jodi at Big Sur where they would sit side-by-side at a Bar using free internet terminal Ventana computers!   I'm fighting a slow data plan phone and need to take my laptop computer where I can access internet' internets not cable ready where I live!

I'm working on JDT helping a friend redo his animated roadtrip as we speak, so to answer I'll roadtrip!

Jodi drove to Redding renting car and slept at her sisters for 6 hours, her brother was in Redding and the car has 230 to 250 unaccounted miles, a jump back to Yreka or 100 mile away drive makes everything fit, because why would Jodi rent the car 100 miles south then sleep for 6 1/2 hours!

From Redding Sacramento is the route, so Sacramento to fuel stop means Lodi debunked and Martinez debunked Lodi from the roadtrip grid! In short Walmart on I-5 to Pasadena!

Now going from my roadtrip thread posted almost a year ago when mpg and purchase price was being calculated!

States Exhibit #237.004, Valero, 6/02/08 8:41 PM, MC 2015 Arco/Quick Stuff 8:41 PM $30.04
@ (Valero ARCO receipt is Vallego on Charge Card statement' the time is exact) "$4.3 Ca. Fuel at 32.5 mpg"! 6.3 gallons!

San Jose Is the turning (roadtrip grid) decision point' she cut directly towards the Ocean for the Red Room Bar just before San Jose by taking highway 17 directly to Santa Cruz 40 minutes 32 miles away' and some miles can be trimed by diverting from I-680 to I-880, into highway 17, Jodi should arrive just after 10:00!

Gus Searcy lives in San Jose. Jodi delayed her appointment with Gus until the next morning' instead Jodi met friends at the Red Room later' bar-hopping down the coast). San Jose Is the turning decision point' she could turn directly thru Salinas towards coastal Monterey where Darryl has Red gas cans' she's borrowing, or she could turn coastal by taking highway 17 directly to Santa Cruz 40 minutes 32 miles away' and some miles can be trimed by diverting from I-680 to I-880, into highway 17, Jodi should arrive just after 10:00!

Paul Stern lived in Aptos just south of Santa Cruz = Red Room Bar (with his parents), not Big Sur (as he claimed on CNN), Jodi met Matt at the Red Room just after 10:00, then they drive just over 10 miles South on Pacific Coast Highway to Capitola Ca.to at or near Margaritaville bar (Aptos Ca. area) meeting Paul Stern where he loans (people suspect Drug sale relates-all assumption) Jodi money (Matt had to have organized' when Santa Cruz was being decided) then they went to a Karaoke bar' at Capitola Ca. or Aptos Ca. (thats the story), coastal Keraoke bars close-by!with his parents), not Big Sur (as he claimed on CNN = Martinez interviewed him = prior drug dealing conviction), Jodi met Matt and his roomate at the Red Room (all confirmed) just after 10:00, (time wasn't exacted) then they drive just over 10 miles South on Pacific Coast Highway to Capitola Ca.to at or near Margaritaville bar (Aptos Ca. area) meeting Paul Stern where he loans (people suspect Drug sale relates-all assumption) Jodi money = so he said on CNN  (Matt had to have organized' when Santa Cruz was being decided) then they went to a Karaoke bar' at Capitola Ca. or Aptos Ca. (thats the story), other coastal Keraoke bars are close-by' but Margarettaville is there and Jodi insisted the Red Room Bar was Margaretaville Bar!

Duluth, you and Lunarscope can discuss whatever you want but I am only discussing new topics like new articles or videos that pertain to the jury reaching a verdict and what will happen when Arias is sentenced and I hope you will join me.

I think the article on how the jury came to a death verdict for Andriano is telling because it gives us an insight into how juries work. I have never been on a jury so I find it fascinating that they went over the evidence, gave speeches on why they were voting as they were and only three were for death when they started and some were undecided and for life and then after a long weekend of thinking about it, 11 jurors voted for death and only one was a hold out. He was a senior citizen who admitted in the end he was manipulated by Andriano.

According to Foreman Bill Kervakos, the first Arias jury made a pact that they would not try to change each other's minds so they pretty much had their mind made up on whether they would vote for death or life when they started deliberations. So they didn't do much deliberations, unlike the Andriano jury which they did try to change each others minds and it worked.

This jury asked for a list of exhibits so it indicates they are looking at the evidence and according to Karas and Woods show no sign of dissention which means they may be able to come to a unanimous decision. I think this jury will go through the evidence and try to convince other jurors to vote for death. Karas said as I believe she can't see a unanimous decision for life so if there is a verdict she believes it will be for death. I agree.

No one knows what verdict the jury will come up with but I hope they at least deliberate like the Andriano jury did and not just make up their mind like the first Arias jury did in the mitigation phase and refuse to change it.

I said before Martinez had to convince a few jurors' as in DP or hung jury, and a hung jury would require a juror who was Charmed by Jodi or is against a DP for Jodi a girl, or lied / changed their mind about DP qualification, it will be whatever it is, Martinez fulfilled the burden of proof, Jodi never had a defense or any mitigation factors, sorry but I am more interested in everybodys opinion here over any reporters who I cannot actively discuss. I do follow supplied links here' but I comment to commenters!

I ponder both Juries being afraid of Jodi being released (Judge deciding) because I am!

Quote' According to Foreman Bill Kervakos, the first Arias jury made a pact that they would not try to change each other's minds.

@ The first jury also made a pact not reveal how they or anyone voted, so Kervakos was a week link as far as pacts are concerned!

This jury had a 5 month trial doubled in evidence to sort thru, but this jury retains prior knowledge' and that retention is unavoidable human nature to sway decisiveness!

The statistics in this story are fascinating to me:

If they choose death, Arias would become only the third woman in Arizona on death row. Currently there are 117 men awaiting their death sentences.

So does gender play a role in the courtroom?

Since 1976, more than 1,400 people have been executed in the United States--only 15 were women.

"We don't see women in trial facing death very often," said Beth Karas, a former prosecutor in New York City. "Unlike other women who have faced death, Jodi Arias doesn't have a child to come into court begging for mercy - don't take my mother away."

Even if you take away the courtroom drama, Richard Dieter, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center says people would still be interested in Arias.

"I think people are curious about a woman who commits a violent crime because it's out of the ordinary," Dieter said. He says the numbers can back it up.

"The numbers are women are committing about 10 percent of the murders but are two percent of death row and are only one percent of those who are executed."

http://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/does-gender-play-a-role-in-the-courtroom-arias-could-become-one-of-few-women-on-death-row

I completely agree observer, if a female gets the DP verdict or the execution, it is by default male crime deterrent due to notoriety alone!
I'm not saying less street crime' I'm saying criminals in the court system for violent crimes whether convicted or awaiting conviction will sweat bullets if a female gets the DP or execution!