A Mormon Murder – Jodi Arias and the Killing of Travis Alexander
The trial of the beautiful Jodi Arias captured the imagination and riveted attention of viewers around the world when her trial for the murder of her handsome lover Travis Alexander was televised and beamed internationally. The tragic story that unfolded of this fatally stricken young Mormon union is not something that history will quickly forget. Nor will the cries for her retrial from a chorus of supporters who believe her to be unjustly condemned, be easily stemmed.
Despite the official changing of the name of the Mormon Church to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints way back in 1838, the killing of Travis smacked with reverberation of the murders of atonement committed in those early times. Its similarity of type cannot help but be noticed around the world by those familiar with the historic origins of the Mormon Church.
The similarity between Travis’ killing and an historic, Mormon murder of atonement was never raised or questioned during the Jodi Arias trial by either the prosecution or the defence team. The reason for this omission is left for us to ponder. Perhaps in the eyes of the prosecution, it would leave the way open for the defence to enter a plea of not guilty on the grounds of insanity. They were determined to get a conviction for Murder 1. Premeditated murder, no less, and they wanted the Death Penalty. For the defence, they may have seen any such allusion as counter-productive to their claims of a suddenly emergent, defensive stance taken by Jodi in the moment of Travis’ life-threatening violent abuse.
Yet, if either case holds true, premeditated or otherwise, the likelihood of this murder being imitative of historic murders of atonement cannot be denied. Some would say if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck……….?