Jodi Arias Takes Stand in Her Defense; Gunman Killed, Boy Rescued from Bunker
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: An astounding day in court. Jodi Arias suddenly takes the stand in her own defense. Was this a brilliant move by the defense or will it back fire? And did Jodi`s testimony reveal any secrets from her past that would explain why she lashed out and slaughtered Travis Alexander? Will the jury buy her claims of self-defense?</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL (voice-over): Tonight, a stunned packed courtroom watches in disbelief as Jodi Arias suddenly takes the stand in her own defense. Jodi reveals the astounding secret as to why she didn`t think any jury would ever convict her. Did she have plans to commit suicide? Plus, shades of Casey Anthony. Arias says she was beaten on a regular basis by her mother and father as a child. Is she laying out a battered woman defense? And then, breaking news out of Alabama. We will tell you what happened to that 5-year-old boy, kidnapped and held underground for a week.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ms. Arias, you may come forward and take a seat, please.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you solemnly swear the testimony you are about to give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?</s>JODI ARIAS, ON TRIAL FOR MURDER: Yes.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you kill Travis Alexander on June 4, 2008?</s>ARIAS: Yes, I did.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?</s>ARIAS: The simple answer is that he attacked me and I defended myself. Until about age 7 it was a fairly ideal childhood. That is when my dad started using the belt. He didn`t leave welts</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Physically or emotionally?</s>ARIAS: Both. My dad would get rougher and rougher. He would just shove me into furniture. It would just really make me mad. No jury is going to convict me. I was extremely confident that no jury would convict me, because I didn`t expect any of you to be here. I didn`t expect to be here. At the time, I had plans to commit suicide.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight it`s the day we`ve all been waiting for. An unbelievable moment in court as Jodi Arias takes the stand kind of suddenly in her own defense. Will her soft-spoken bombshell-after-bombshell claims of being beaten by her parents and thoughts of suicide convince the jury that she killed her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in self-defense and not in cold blood? Good evening. Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live tonight. The beautiful 32-year-old photographer admits she stabbed Travis Alexander 29 times, slit his throat from ear to ear, all the way back to his spine, and shot him in the face. But late this afternoon, she suddenly took the stand herself and claimed self-defense. Listen to this.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you kill Travis Alexander on June 4, 2008?</s>ARIAS: Yes, I did.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?</s>ARIAS: The simple answer is that he attacked me and I defended myself.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: But that was only the warm up. Jodi`s defense wasted no time confronting her about her comment to "Inside Edition" that, quote, "no jury will ever convict" her. Listen to her shocking answer.</s>ARIAS: I had plans to commit suicide. So I was extremely confident that no jury would convict me, because I didn`t expect any of you to be here. I didn`t expect to be here. I was very confident that no jury would convict me, because I planned to be dead, probably the most bitter words I`ll ever eat.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: A plea for sympathy, perhaps? Jodi then told her entire life story on the stand, claiming an abusive childhood when her mother beat her with a wooden spoon and claiming an ex-boyfriend once tried to strangle her. Did Jodi`s tale of woe make her seem more sympathetic, instead of just a murdering monster? I want to hear from you. Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1- 877-586-7297. Straight out to our own senior producer, Selin Darkalstanian. Selin, you were inside the courtroom for this incredibly dramatic moment that Jodi really caught us all by surprise. Suddenly she takes the stand. What was it like? Take us inside that courtroom.</s>SELIN DARKALSTANIAN, HLN SENIOR PRODUCER: Jane, we didn`t really know she was going to take the stand. The jury was on a break. The attorneys were at side bar, and all of a sudden, Jodi started walking up to the stand, and the entire courtroom was stunned she was up there. So she took the stand. It was a big question: Would she or wouldn`t she? She took the stand. And I have to tell you that when the jury was there -- they took -- they were in -- they took a break at one point, and they were walking back in. This is the closest she`s ever sat to the jury. This is the closest they`ve been able to hear her and look at her directly. And two of the women even smiled at her. And at one point, the jury was on a break, and she was -- Jodi was sitting on the stand looking straight ahead at her -- at Travis Alexander`s family. They were looking right back at her, and they were just waiting for testimony to resume. And they were staring right at her. It was a very awkward moment in court. But it was definitely the bombshell of the day, was that Jodi took the stand.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Absolutely. And when she first started out, she said she was nervous. But she hit her stride, and soon it was like she was in command of the courtroom. As Jodi`s mother sits dutifully in the courtroom right there, Jodi takes the stand and spills dark family secrets, alleging childhood abuse she claims she suffered at the hands of both her mother and her father. Listen to this.</s>ARIAS: He didn`t leave welts as much as my mom. She also used a belt. Her blows felt a lot worse.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did your mom beat you with a wooden spoon? Did it continue in high school, as well?</s>ARIAS: They continued for a short time, but I think as I turned 16 and 17, she -- I did not recall her carrying the wooden spoon around. She would just start grabbing whatever was available like a hair brush. Or she had acrylic nails, so sometimes she would grab me and dig her nails into my skin.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Let`s debate it. Was bringing Jodi to the stand a brilliant defense move or a total catastrophe for Jodi Arias? Jayne Weintraub, criminal defense attorney; Jon Lieberman, investigative reporter; Susan Constantine, body language expert. We begin with Jayne Weintraub.</s>JAYNE WEINTRAUB, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think that, using self- defense as her defense, she almost had to take the witness stand, because who else was going to say what was in her mind, that she needed to defend herself? So at one point, either now or later, she was going to have to take the stand. I think that she appears rather flat in her demeanor and a little off. After two hours we`re not even close to getting started yet. But that`s another issue.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you say she had to take the stand. They said that about Casey Anthony. She didn`t take the stand, and she got off. But my question is, was it a catastrophe or is it a brilliant move? And that`s what I`m going to throw at Jon Lieberman.</s>JON LIEBERMAN, HLN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think it`s a little bit of both. I mean, I agree she had to take the stand. But look, prosecutors are just biting their chops waiting to sink their teeth into her. However, I believe this is simply a ploy to save her life. It feels like we`re already in sentencing, and they`re trying to mitigate. You know, these are all mitigating factors. She had a bad childhood. She was abused. She was in some bad relationships. This is all a way to try and save her life so that they can look at the jury and say, "You can`t possibly put this woman to death."</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Susan Constantine, body language expert, is it working? Is she mesmerizing the jurors, just like she has so many men?</s>SUSAN CONSTANTINE, BODY LANGUAGE EXPERT: You know, when you look at her demeanor and the other investigative tapes and it`s very similar. OK? So they`re going to be looking at that. When she was lying she had the same demeanor. She`s on the stand, she has the same demeanor. It doesn`t change. But here`s the thing. She doesn`t really show any real reliable signs of distress and pain. She talks about it. You don`t see it. So the question is whether the jury really believes it. And when they see those tears, they`re going to be wondering if they`re authentic or are they not. The black outfit, that`s the other thing, it`s tying right into the depression, the suicidal look because of that dark color and the light skin. And you know what? It`s actually going to work for the defense on that one. But all and all, her demeanor doesn`t appear authentic.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And to me this is just a plea. One of our panelists may have said it: "Don`t kill me. I have established a relationship with you. I`m going to talk to you until you`re -- I`m blue in the face, and you`re going to feel like you`re my friend on some level, and then you won`t put me to death." Jodi revealed to jurors today that her mother and father repeatedly abused her growing up. That`s her claim, anyway. Remember, she`s a pathological liar. Listen as she describes how her dad`s beatings became increasingly more violent.</s>ARIAS: He would just shove me into furniture, sometimes into the piano and things like that, into tables, chairs, desks. Whatever was around he would just push me really hard and I would go flying into that. One time I hit a door post. The side of my head hit the door post, and it knocked me out momentarily. I just remember waking up on the ground. My mom was there. We were all arguing. I was arguing with my mom and he got involved. And so I remember waking up, and she was telling him to be careful.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Do you believe her? I don`t know if I believe her, but I will say that I think she`s believable, at least on the jurors` part. They don`t know everything we know. We`re going to analyze so much more of this in just a second. You`re going to hear all of her key testimony. But first, we`ve got big breaking news in that standoff the entire nation has watched so anxiously. That 5-year-old boy, held for six days in a bunker. The very latest -- the story is breaking. CNN`s Martin Savidge live in Alabama. What happened?</s>MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jane, it all went down at around 3:12 local time when authorities said they had to move in on that bunker in which Jamie Lee -- Jimmy Lee Dikes, that is, and the 5-year-old boy had been for the past six days. There was an explosion that was heard, then gunfire, and authorities say that Dikes was killed. But the 5-year-old little boy was rescued. He`s been taken to a hospital. Physically he is said to be in good shape. Of course, many wonder mentally how he`s going to be after this ordeal. What brought them to this point, authorities say that they have been negotiating with Dikes. There hadn`t been a problem. But in the last 24 hours, his demeanor seemed to deteriorate. He was seen with a weapon in a way that appeared could be threatening to the little boy. That`s when they moved. Again, an explosion, gunfire. The gunman is dead. The little boy is now reunited with his family. Not a perfect ending but a happy one for many in this community. He is saved -- Jane.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank God that innocent little boy is safe. We still don`t know all the whys as to why this man described as a survivalist storms onto a school bus and grabs this child. But the good news is that the child is finally OK. Thank you so much, Martin Savidge, for that excellent report. So much more explosive sound from defendant Jodi Arias on the stand today. And we`re taking your calls on the other side.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you kill Travis Alexander on June 4, 2008?</s>ARIAS: Yes, I did.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?</s>ARIAS: The simple answer is that he attacked me. And I defended myself.