During the third day of testimony at her first-degree murder trial, Jodi Arias told a packed courtroom about the evolution of her sexual relationship with ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander –- whom she is accused of killing in cold blood –- and that Alexander construed what was and wasn't "sex" as narrowly as a former U.S. president.
"To me sex is sex, they are just different ways to have sex. And it seemed like Travis was, kind of -- I don't know how to put it, but it seemed like he had the Bill Clinton version, whereas over here it seemed like oral and anal were also sex to me. But not for him," Arias testified during direct examination by her defense attorney, suggesting that Alexander did not consider those activities to be sex.
The testimony arose during a discussion of a September 2006 rendezvous at a hotel in Ehrenberg, Ariz.
Arias, wearing a black blazer and green shirt, said she did not have sexual intercourse with Alexander at the hotel, but did engage in what Alexander called "grinding" and the "Provo push." She said they also engaged in oral sex.
Arias testified she felt like a prostitute after the hotel encounter.
"I felt a little bit used, but I knew I had gone there on my own, willingly," Arias said.
Wednesday is Arias' third day on the stand. Her defense team is apparently trying to portray Alexander as a sex-obsessed abuser who was only interested in Arias for his own sexual gratification.
Arias reference to the 42nd president was apparently focused on Clinton's statements in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky scandal and his admitted extramarital relationship with the then-White House intern.
When the affair was revealed in the late '90s, Clinton initially denied the affair -- "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time." -- but later admitted he had an "improper physical relationship" with Lewinsky that was "not appropriate."
Arias, a 32-year-old photographer, is accused of shooting Alexander in the face, stabbing him 27 times and slitting his throat from ear to ear in the shower of his Mesa, Ariz., apartment on June 4, 2008. She testified on Monday that Alexander "attacked me and I defended myself." Prosecutors allege she was a jealous and vengeful ex.
Arias testified Alexander did not return her calls for several days after the hotel encounter. She said she felt "bummed out" and "stupid." It was not until the following week that he left her a voicemail. Then, on Nov. 11, 2006, Arias said he texted her two photos of an erect penis. Both photos were entered into evidence and shown to the jury.
Alexander baptized Arias into the Mormon faith on Nov. 26, 2006. After the baptism, Arias said she and Alexander went back to her house and began kissing.
"I was in my church clothes. He was in his church clothes. The kissing got more passionate, more intense. Then he spun me around ... he bent me over the bed and he was just on top of me. I thought he was just going to keep kissing me," said Arias, saying that he then started to have anal sex with her.
Arias testified the anal sex was too painful so she repeatedly asked him to stop.
She said, "I probably would have let him continue, but it was too painful."
Arias testified that afterward she felt like "a piece of toilet paper."
Court was recessed for lunch shortly afterward. Arias will resume her testimony at 3:30 p.m. ET.
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