Prosecutors in Jodi Arias' murder trial finished the rebuttal portion of their case and the judge said closing arguments will begin next week.
Arias entered the courtroom Thursday morning, wearing a black shirt with green sequins. She wore her glasses and had her hair down. Her mother and grandmother were both in the courtroom.
Thursday marked day 53 in Arias' trial. She's accused of killing her 30-year-old ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander.
Prosecutor Juan Martinez began his rebuttal on Thursday with testimony from Dr. Kevin Horn, of the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's office. Horn was among the first witnesses to testify for the prosecution on day three of Arias' murder trial in January.
Horn again testified in graphic detail about the violent death of Alexander and extent of the injuries he suffered when he was killed on June 4, 2008.
Arias, 32, is accused of slaying Alexander inside his Mesa, Ariz., home. The prosecution contends Arias stabbed Alexander nearly 30 times, shot him in the head and slashed his throat in a jealous rage. Arias has testified she killed the intercourseually demanding Alexander in self-defense during an argument.
According to Horn, Alexander was stabbed before he was shot in the head, which is contradictory of Arias' earlier testimony that she shot him before he was stabbed.
"Would he have gone down? Would he have stood there? Would he have crawled? What would have happened?" Martinez asked Horn in regard to the gunshot wound.
"He may have been able to take a step or two [but] probably would have collapsed or lost consciousness within seconds," Horn said.
Because Alexander would have been incapacitated almost immediately after the bullet entered his brain, he would not have been able to attempt to defend himself against a knife attack -- something he had obviously done because of defensive wounds found on his hands at autopsy, Horn said.
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During Horn's testimony, Martinez displayed photos of Alexander's hands with the defensive wounds on a large screen inside the courtroom. Arias and members of Alexander's family cried as the photos were shown.
During cross-examination, Arias' defense attorney, Jennifer Willmott, offered the opinion that because Alexander's body was in a state of advanced decomposition when it was found, it would have been impossible for the medical examiner to retrace the exact path of the bullet.
Horn said he was confident in his findings.
"It had to have gone through the brain. It's simple geometry," Horn said of the bullet.
When Willmott finished her cross-examination, Judge Sherry Stephens asked Horn a few questions on behalf of the jury. Arizona is one of three states that allow jurors to pose questions to witnesses after prosecution and defense lawyers have finished.
The jury wanted to know if Alexander would have bled immediately after he was shot, to which Horn answered yes, and if it was possible the medical examiner could be wrong about Alexander not being able to move after he was shot.
"I don't believe so. No," Horn said in regard to the latter question.
When the prosecution finished its rebuttal, Stephens called a brief recess and then announced Juror 8 had been dismissed. The judge did not elaborate on the man's dismissal. Juror 8 is the third juror to be dismissed from proceedings since the trial began in January.
Stephens also said the trial would be in recess until Wednesday, when the jury will hear from one final defense psychologist before closing arguments begin. The judge has permitted Arias' defense team to call Dr. Robert Geffner to the stand. He will essentially be the defenses rebuttal to the states rebuttal case.
The judge said court will proceed as long as it takes to get through Geffner's testimony. Closing arguments are scheduled to begin the following day.
Arias is charged with first-degree murder and could face the death penalty if convicted.
THURSDAY'S LIVE BLOG:Via: HuffingtonPost