No one had heard from Travis Alexander for five days when friends discovered his body on June 9, 2008. Alexander had been violently murdered in his bathroom, and as friends called 911, they already suspect the killer was Alexander's ex-girlfriend, Jodi Arias.
A jury later found Arias guilty of murdering Alexander in a jealous rage following their tumultuous two-year relationship.
A media frenzy exploded around Arias, who is serving a life sentence for Alexander's murder. Despite being behind bars since 2015, Arias appears to enjoy her life and regularly corresponds with fans and admirers.
In the list below, we'll break down the relationship between Alexander and Arias, and how the convicted murderer spends her days in prison.
Travis Alexander And Jodi Arias Met At A Work Convention In Las Vegas
Travis Alexander grew up in Riverside, CA. According to his blog, Alexander's parents were both drug users who abused him. At the age of 10, Alexander ran away to the nearby home of his paternal grandparents and began practicing Mormonism. By age 29, Alexander had become a motivational speaker and was attending a business convention when he met 26-year-old Jodie Arias, an aspiring photographer who worked for the same company as Alexander.
Jodi Arias grew up in Salinas, CA, with her parents and four siblings. The Arias household was reportedly strict, and Jodi had a fairly inactive social life as she was often tasked with babysitting her siblings. Arias later dropped out of high school during her junior year and moved in with her older boyfriend.
Arias was living in Palm Desert, CA, when she met Alexander at their work convention. The two immediately hit it off and stayed in contact, forming a long-distance relationship. Court records later showed the couple exchanged 82,000 emails throughout the time they dated.
The Couple's Relationship Moved Fast, And Arias Converted To Alexander's Religion
Jodi Arias reportedly focused her life around marrying to a successful man, having children, and not having to worry about finances. Arias was allegedly already in a long-term relationship when she met Alexander, but her boyfriend was reportedly uninterested in getting married and didn't want any more children besides the one son he had from a previous marriage.
Alexander and Arias began spending increasing amounts of time together, and after only a few months of dating, Arias converted to Mormonism. Alexander took his religion seriously and didn't allow himself to drink caffeinated beverages like coffee or tea, or to take aspirin when he had a headache. Even so, Alexander and Arias did go against church doctrine by engaging in pre-marital sex, which would become a key aspect of the media frenzy surrounding Arias's murder trial.
Arias Was Reportedly Paranoid And Jealous Throughout The Relationship
Throughout Alexander and Arias's relationship, Arias was reportedly paranoid that Alexander was cheating on her. Arias would even take Alexander’s phone without his knowledge so she could read his texts, check his email accounts, and read his Facebook messages. Arias later insisted she always found evidence of him flirting with other women.
Alexander and Arias eventually broke up in June 2007, but that was not the end of their relationship. Although the two had been in a long-distance relationship for over a year, Arias moved to Mesa, AZ - about 10 minutes from Alexander’s home - just weeks after they broke up.
Alexander And Arias Continued Having A Sexual Relationship After Their Breakup
When Arias moved to Mesa, Alexander was already dating a fellow Mormon, 19-year-old Lisa Andrews. Arias began cleaning Alexander's home for extra cash, although friends later insisted Arias cleaned the home for free so she could spend extra time with Alexander. Regardless of the reason, the two began having a sexual relationship, and Andrews later ended her relationship with Alexander when she discovered he had been cheating.
Alexander and Arias began spending more time together, even vacationing in New Mexico, but Alexander was steadily trying to repair his relationship with Andrews. The two did reportedly get back together, but Alexander and Arias still continued their sexual relationship. Some sources have even alleged that Arias slashed Alexander's tires multiple times when he was at Andrews's home.
When Alexander and Andrews broke up for the final time, he did not get back together with Arias but instead began dating a woman named Marie “Mimi” Hall.
Arias Fatally Stabbed And Shot Alexander In 2008
Arias moved to California to live with her grandparents for a period of time, and on June 2, 2008, she rented a car and claimed she was driving to Utah for a work conference. Her grandparents' home had been burglarized the month before, and a handgun was among the stolen items.
On her way to the conference, Arias stopped in Mesa to see Alexander. On June 4, Arias went to Alexander's home, where they had sex. Arias then took a series of sexual photos of the two of them before Alexander went to take a shower.
While Alexander was showering, Arias stabbed him 29 times, slit his throat ear to ear, and shot him in the head. His body wasn't discovered for five days. In the meantime, Arias continued on her trip, attending the last day of the convention and spending time with a new man, Ryan Burns.
Arias Took Photos Before, During, And After The Murder
After friends discovered Alexander's body, police were called to the home. While investigating, police found Alexander's new digital camera in the washing machine. Although all the photos had been deleted, police were able to recover them and discovered they had all been taken the day Alexander was murdered.
Some of the photos showed both Arias and Alexander nude and in sexually suggestive poses. The next series of photos featured Alexander in the shower. The last few images showed Alexander bleeding on the bathroom floor.
The dated and time-stamped photos on the camera proved without a doubt that Arias was in the home at the time of Alexander's murder. In certain images that show Alexander's body near a puddle of blood, Arias's leg and foot are also visible.
In addition to the photo evidence, police recovered a bloody palm print in the hallway, which included both Arias's and Alexander's DNA. One wall covered in blood also had a strand of Arias's hair stuck to it. Investigators determined Alexander was shot with a .25-caliber automatic Colt pistol, the same type of gun stolen from Arias's grandparents' home in May.
