After seven long days on the witness stand –- speaking graphically about her sex life –- murder suspect Jodi Arias on Tuesday finally began testifying about the hours leading up to the killing of her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander.
Court is expected to begin Wednesday with Arias talking about the final moments of Alexander's life in which he was stabbed 27 times, slashed in the throat from ear to ear, and shot.
Arias spent Tuesday discussing her activities leading up to June 4, 2008, the day Alexander was killed. During direct examination from her defense attorney, Kurt Nurmi, Arias said she had been planning a trip to Utah in June and Alexander had asked her to come see him.
"Travis was being very sweet … He wanted me to come to see him … and I said all right I am going," Arias testified.
The 32-year-old photographer is accused of brutally murdering Alexander in his Mesa, Ariz., apartment. Arias has admitted killing Alexander, but claims she did so in self-defense. Prosecutors contend Arias was an obsessed and jealous ex-girlfriend.
Arias said she left Pasadena, Calif., on June 3, 2008 and drove to Alexander's home, in Mesa, Ariz., arriving there on June 4, 2008, at about 4 a.m.
"It was still dark but it was early morning … I parked it in the same spot I always parked when I went to his house -- which was the center spot in the driveway," Arias said.
Arias said Alexander was watching "really dumb videos" on his laptop when she arrived and then showed her a new punching bag he had recently purchased.
"He was really proud of it, punching it [and] showing off," Arias said.
The two then went to sleep in Alexander's bed, she testified.
It was about 12:30 p.m. on June 4, 2008, when Arias said she awoke. Alexander woke up about 30 minutes later and they engaged in bondage play she said, with Alexander tying her up with a decorative rope. Arias said he cut the rope with a knife he retrieved from the kitchen.
Asked by Nurmi if she wanted to be tied up, Arias said, "It's not my favorite [thing to do] but it is not unbearable."
Arias said she was naked when Alexander tied her up, but he was dressed in his Mormon temple garments.
Alexander performed oral sex on Arias, according to her testimony, but she asked him to stop because it was painful.
"I asked him to stop because he hadn't shaved and it was scratchy," Arias said
After the short bondage session, Arias said the couple had sex and took sexual photos and a video of each other, which they later deleted.
Arias said she took a shower and got dressed to continue her road trip to Utah. Afterward she said she gave Alexander some CDs that contained photos of previous trips the couple had taken together, but the CDs were scratched and would not work.
"He was getting mad [about the CDS] … He opened CD disc, he flung it at the wall [and] it ricocheted off the wall and landed on my head," Arias said.
"I thought I had done something stupid again and he was getting angry," Arias added.
Arias said Alexander looked "pissed off." She said he grabbed her arms, smacked her near her face and spun her around.
"He pressed his groin up against my butt … He had my right arm and bent me over … I could feel he had an erection," Arias said.
Arias said Alexander removed her pants and they had sex again. She said he ejaculated on her back when he was finished and told her to go get washed up.
"I felt a little used when he said go clean yourself up," Arias testified.
After cleaning herself up, Arias said she went back to Alexander's bedroom with him and they took more photos of each other. Arias said Alexander was proud of his body and she offered to take photos of him in his bedroom. It was during this part of Arias' testimony that court was recessed for the day.
Arias testimony will resume at 12:30 p.m. ET., Wednesday. If convicted, Arias faces the death penalty.
The Huffington Post will be live blogging Wednesday's testimony.
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