Seven years after the murder of her lover and two years after she was first convicted, Jodi Arias was sentenced to life in prison without parole by an Arizona judge on Monday.
Sherry Stephens, a Maricopa County (Ariz.) Superior Court judge, chose to give Arias life in prison over a 25-year sentence that would have allowed a slight chance at her one day seeing freedom. Two prior juries were not able to come to a decision, therefore Stephens did not have the option to give Arias the death penalty.
Arias, who is now 34, was convicted of first-degree murder in 2013 for killing Travis Alexander. He was found dead in his Arizona home with 30 stab wounds, including a gash across his throat, and a gunshot wound to the head. Police found a camera in Alexander's washing machine that was full of incriminating photos, including one of his bloody body in his bathtub, according to USA Today.
Jodi Arias' lawyer, Jennifer Willmott, asked Stephens to give a life sentence with the possibility of parole, based on the sentences in similar cases. She added that Arias had no prior arrest history but mentioned her client does have a mental illness. Arias will receive a restitution hearing in June, which she has already waived her right to be present at.
"If I died today I would be free and I would be at peace. For years that's exactly what I wanted," Jodi Arias said on Monday. "I did not drag Travis through the mud. I kept his skeletons in the closet to my own detriment for years. When I was on the stand, I told the truth.
"I do remember the moment the knife went into Travis' throat and he was conscious. He was still trying to attack me. It was I who was trying to get away, not Travis. I never thought I would cause so many people pain... to this day I can't believe I was capable of doing something that terrible. I'm horrified because of what I did and I was that I could take it back."
Alexander's aunt, Heather Schaeffer, spoke at the final hearing on Monday, saying "I have suffered pain and sorrow." She was the first person that the prosecutors called on Travis' behalf at the beginning of the trial. Hillary Wilcox, one of Alexander's younger sister, also spoke to the court on Monday.
An emotional Wilcox told the story of her dancing with her brother at her wedding because their father was not present. She pleaded Stephens to "give her (Arias) the max sentence the she can possible give her." All of Alexander's other siblings also read statements at the final hearing.
Samantha Alexander was the only one who described the moment she heard that Travis Alexander had been found dead and noted that Arias was his "stalker" ex-girlfriend.
"I knew in my heart within hours of finding he was dead, that Jodi Arias was the one who murdered my brother" she said. "He was there for five days... decomposing in the shower. I'm sure his soul was screaming for someone to find him."
Jodi Arias' mother, Sandy Arias, was her only family member present at the hearing on Monday. Sandy Arias' final statements to Stephens were that Jodi Arias was "unfairly incarcerated" and that she killed Travis Alexander in order to get out of an abusive relationship.
"Jodi always sees the good in people... I know the beautiful soul she is and that she is not the monster she has been laid out to be," Sandy Arias said.
Arias' defense lawyers are expected to file an appeal of the ruling, as the case has been a very public one since it first started.
The jury in her original trial convicted her of first-degree murder but was deadlocked on whether to sentence her to life in prison or the death penalty. A different jury in 2014 also could not decide, even though that trial was not televised or streamed on the Internet like the first one was.
There was also controversy surrounding one of the jurors, who was accused by other members of the jury as "having an agenda" and was publicly shamed by many, according to USA Today. That juror, who voted against the ruling of capital punishment, was the deciding vote on the final opportunity to give her the death penalty.
