Jodi Arias testified in court Monday that she awoke to find Travis Alexander having sex with her when she spent the night at his house in 2007.
"Did you want him to penetrate your vagina with his penis while you were sleeping," Defense attorney Kirk Nurmi asked Arias.
"It was nothing I had thought about," Arias replied.
Arias testified the incident happened in the bedroom of Alexander's Mesa, Ariz., home in May 2007. She said she was uncomfortable but did not tell Alexander to stop.
"I felt like I was partially responsible because I went to sleep next to him. I was wearing a T-shirt, cute shorts," Arias said. "I just felt like being in his bed, sleeping there, it wasn't entirely his fault, like maybe it was invited."
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. Arias testified on Monday that Alexander "attacked me and I defended myself." Prosecutors allege she was a jealous and vengeful ex.
In the past few days in court, the defense has been following a line of questioning to show jurors that Arias was sexually exploited and intimidated by the man she admits killing.
Earlier that night, before the alleged sexual encounter took place, Arias said she prayed with Alexander about the Mormon rule of chastity.
"I wanted to [abide] with the law of chastity because I believed that our relationship would be blessed if we did that," Arias testified.
The murder defendant also testified Monday that she took a trip to New York with Alexander in summer 2007. Prior to leaving on the trip Arias said she saw text messages from another girl on Alexander's phone that indicated he was cheating on her.
"When I tried to talk to him about it, he blew up and got very defensive, even though I didn't accuse of him anything. It was kind of a red flag. He assured me that he was only dating me," Arias said.
Asked by Nurmi why she did not immediately break up with Alexander, Arias said she had low self-esteem.
"I was kind of a door mat," she testified.
Court was recessed shortly thereafter until 3:30 p.m. ET.
If convicted, Arias faces the possibility of the death penalty.
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