The passionate love story that escalated to murder is making headlines once again. But this time, Arias’ defense attorney Jennifer Willmott is involved and telling her side of the story through the lens of Arias’ many diary entries. And now that the iconic case is relevant once again, it’s dredging up questions many people have about what happened to Arias once the trial of the century was over. So, what happened to Jodi Arias and where is she today? Here’s what we know of Arias’ life post-conviction.
What happened to Jodi Arias?
Though Arias’ defense claimed that she had killed her former boyfriend, Alexander, in self-defense, a jury convicted Arias of first-degree murder. Arias was up for the death penalty, but after two mistrials, a judge sentenced Arias to life in prison without the possibility of parole. “To this day, I can’t believe that I was capable of doing something that terrible,” Arias said at the time. “I’m truly disgusted and repulsed with myself. I’m horrified because of what I did, and I wish there was some way I could take it back.” Arias was transported to the Arizona State Prison Complex, but has reportedly moved prisons several times. She apparently served time at both Estrella Jail and Maricopa County Jail. It was in prison that she met cellmates Tracy Brown and Donovan Bering, who revealed details of living in prison with Arias in Jodi Arias: Cellmate Secrets on Lifetime. In recent years, Arias has not made headlines because of the 2008 crime she was convicted of, but rather for being in a public war of sorts with several of the lawyers involved in her case. In October 2017, Arias filed an appeal of her conviction, but it was delayed due to systematical errors. Then in October 2019, Arias tried to appeal again, this time citing “cumulative misconduct” by prosecutor Juan Martinez. Ultimately, the appeal was denied. “Arias was convicted based upon the overwhelming evidence of her guilt, not as a result of prosecutorial misconduct,” Judge Jennifer Campbell wrote of the appeal. Martinez was disbarred in July 2020 in light of allegations that he had leaked information to a member of the media he was having an affair with, communicated with a dismissed juror and engaged in sexual misconduct. Not to be deterred, Arias also filed suit against her lawyer, Kirk Nurmi. In 2015, Nurmi authored a book about his experience working Arias’ case, called Trapped With Ms. Arias. Arias alleged that Nurmi violated the rules of ethical conduct for lawyers by writing the tell-all. “Standing up to the abuse Ms. Arias imparted upon me over the years was an important part of my personal transformation and I will continue to fight this battle with vigor as I defend against this lawsuit which is best viewed as a continuation of Ms. Arias’ pattern of attacking men whom she feels have wronged her,” Nurmi wrote in a statement. He added, “Of course, no one person has suffered at the hands of Ms. Arias (more) than Mr. Alexander and I look forward to clearing the air on all the derogatory assertions that Ms. Arias made about him as I defend against the outrageous claims made in this lawsuit.” Nurmi surrendered his ability to practice law. Publicly, Nurmi has claimed that he chose to be disbarred in order to be done with Arias entirely and put it behind him.
Where is Jodi Arias now?
Despite moving facilities several times since her sentencing in 2013, The Cinemaholic reports that, as of January 2020, Arias is doing time in the Perryville Prison located in Goodyear, Arizona. Goodyear is less than an hour from Travis Alexander’s hometown of Mesa, AZ. In 2016, a recording of Arias detailing her daily life in prison was released by Radar Online. “It’s all good. If this is what it is like to be hated, then keep hating!” Arias says in the recording. “I’ve had so much love coming in my direction I can’t even respond to it now.” Arias added that the food wasn’t great, but she did recently enjoy a dinner of chicken fajitas. She says, “We had chicken fajitas here tonight. Really good. A big old pile of caramelized onions, some bell peppers, like, all the works.” Arias has also been reportedly creating and selling artwork from prison and inmates say that Arias is not very well-liked because she flirts with the guards to get special treatment.
Does Jodi Arias have a boyfriend? Who is Jodi married to?
In 2019, it was revealed that Arias was involved in a romantic affair from prison and was even considering getting married while behind bars. “So, here’s what he needs to do,” Arias wrote of her boyfriend, Benjamin Ernst in a letter to her mitigation specialist Maria De La Rosa. “If we marry, then he can petition a court to grant us visitation.” The couple never did marry, however. Surely their relationship is complicated to maintain; after all, Arias apparently lost contact privileges in 2016. She received a “disciplinary violation,” Radar Onlinereports, for calling a guard " a c–k blocker" while detained.
How old is Jodi Arias?
Arias is now 39 years old. At the time she was convicted of killing Alexander, she was 26 years old. Alexander was 29 at the time of his death.
What was Jodi Arias diagnosed with?
During her 2013 trial, Arias did not plead guilty by reason of insanity. Still, over the years, many have speculated that Arias may suffer from some kind of personality or mental disorder. According to a 2013 article published on Psychology Today, several mental health professionals—who have not treated Arias directly—publicly claimed that Arias might be narcissistic, a pathological liar, a sociopath, and even went as far as to “diagnose” her as bipolar and/or with borderline personality disorder (BPD). To public knowledge, Arias has never been clinically diagnosed with any illnesses of any kind.
How to watch If I Can’t Have You: The Jodi Arias Story
If I Can’t Have You: The Jodi Arias Story premieres on discovery+ for streaming Friday, February 12. Next up, take a listen to any one of these 32 bingeable true crime podcasts.
