From an outsider’s perspective, the relationship between Jodi Arias and Travis Alexander began as a passionate romance. However, those closest to Alexander witnessed a darker undercurrent, one that ultimately culminated in his brutal murder in June 2008. Arias was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, but the question remains: Why Did Jodi Arias Kill Her Boyfriend? This article delves into the disturbing details of their relationship, the red flags ignored, and the events that led to Alexander’s tragic death.
A Seemingly Instant Connection and Early Warnings
When Jodi Arias, then 26, and Travis Alexander, 29, first met at a company convention in Las Vegas in September 2006, the attraction was palpable. Arias, a blonde aspiring photographer, and Alexander, a motivational speaker and devout Mormon, seemed like an unlikely match, yet friends described an immediate and intense chemistry.
“She was really excited about the relationship. She loved how funny he was, how much fun they would have together. Travis loved to take adventures and do different things,” recalled Sky Lovingier Hughes, a close friend of Alexander.
Sky Lovingier Hughes, a friend of Travis Alexander, recounts warnings given about Jodi Arias’s dangerous behavior.
Despite living in different states – Alexander in Mesa, Arizona, and Arias in Palm Desert, California – they pursued a long-distance relationship, often meeting at the California home of Lovingier Hughes and her then-husband, Chris Hughes. However, this initial infatuation soon revealed troubling signs that Alexander’s friends couldn’t ignore.
Early in the relationship, Alexander’s friends noticed “red flags” in Arias’s behavior. They confided in “20/20” that they voiced their concerns to Alexander, even fearing for his safety as the relationship became increasingly toxic and volatile.
“I started seeing things that were just disturbing,” Lovingier Hughes explained. “I said, ‘Travis, I’m afraid we’re gonna find you chopped up in her freezer.’ … From very early on, she was completely obsessed with him.”
Escalating Obsession and Disturbing Behavior
The friends’ concerns were rooted in Arias’s increasingly possessive and obsessive actions. Even during casual gatherings, Arias displayed an unsettling fixation on Alexander.
“One night we’re all in the hot tub and there’s four of us. You know, this is a time to chat and hang out. Well, Jodi is, like, climbing on Travis while we’re trying to have this conversation,” Hughes recounted. “She was all over him. I mean, like eighth-graders whose parents are out of town, like, straddling his lap and sucking on his neck. And Travis just kept pushing her off and he’s like, ‘Jodi…get off me. Like, what are you doing?’ And I look at Chris [Hughes] and I’m like, ‘Does she not realize we’re sitting here?'” Lovingier Hughes added, “This is around the time where she became very possessive of him.”
Chris Hughes, a friend of Travis Alexander, shares observations of Jodi Arias’s unsettling actions during their relationship.
This possessiveness extended beyond public displays of affection. Friends described Arias following Alexander to the bathroom, eavesdropping on his conversations, and even going through his phone, emails, and social media accounts. Lovingier Hughes revealed Arias would forward emails between Alexander and other women to herself, highlighting a deep insecurity and need for control.
These behaviors deeply troubled Alexander’s friends. They attempted to warn him about Arias, with Lovingier Hughes even explicitly stating, “Travis, I’m afraid we’re gonna find you chopped up in her freezer.” Despite these stark warnings, Alexander seemed unwilling or unable to recognize the danger, often dismissing their concerns and describing Arias as “good and sweet.”
Religious Conflicts and Premarital Sex
Adding complexity to their volatile relationship was the clash between Alexander’s devout Mormon faith and Arias’s lack of religious affiliation initially. Alexander, deeply committed to his faith, struggled with guilt over engaging in premarital sex with Arias, a significant violation of Mormon tenets.
Colleen McDannell, a professor of religious studies at the University of Utah, explained to “20/20” the importance of chastity in Mormonism: “The law of chastity basically says your body is a sacred space. Your body was given to you by God. It’s not just yours, it’s not just your decisions to do with as you will. God has given this to you and you must respect it,” she stated. “And, Latter-Day Saints believe that because marriage is so important and so intense and sexuality is so much a part of that, that you need to preserve those sexual expressions for your spouse. So before you marry and after you marry, you have to keep yourself sexually pure.”
This religious conflict added strain to their already turbulent dynamic. While Arias eventually converted to Mormonism and was baptized by Alexander, the underlying tensions and Alexander’s guilt persisted, further complicating their relationship.
The Breakup and Relentless Pursuit
After approximately five months, Alexander ended the relationship with Arias. However, this was not the end of their entanglement. Weeks later, Arias moved to Mesa, Arizona, where Alexander resided, much to the bewilderment of his friends.
Arias’s pursuit of Alexander became increasingly intrusive. She would appear at his house uninvited, using the garage code to let herself in. According to Brian Skoloff, co-author of “Killer Girlfriend: The Jodi Arias Story,” Alexander even told friends she had snuck into his house through a doggy door. Despite Alexander’s attempts to distance himself, their physical relationship continued intermittently.
Meanwhile, Alexander began dating another woman named Lisa. Arias’s behavior escalated, with reports of her harassing Lisa by knocking on her doors and windows before fleeing. Adding to the escalating tension, Alexander’s tires were slashed on two separate occasions while he was dating Lisa. Alexander and his friends suspected Arias was responsible, but she denied any involvement.
Jodi Arias at age 26, during the time she was in a relationship with Travis Alexander.
In April 2008, after eight months of living in Mesa, Arias moved back to California, providing Alexander and his friends with a sense of relief. “I was excited and Travis was excited,” Lovingier Hughes recalled. “He said, ‘I’m getting, I’m getting my life back. Like, this is a whole new start. She’s gone.'”
However, unbeknownst to his friends, Arias and Alexander maintained contact through phone calls and text messages, even engaging in phone sex, indicating a continued, albeit complicated, connection. Steven Alexander described Arias as his brother’s “kryptonite,” suggesting a powerful and destructive attraction Travis couldn’t fully escape.
The Final Fight and Disappearance
In May 2008, text messages and Gchat conversations revealed a significant argument between Arias and Alexander. In one message, Alexander wrote, “You don’t know what horror you have caused me,” to which Arias chillingly responded, “It wasn’t really my intention to harm you.” He further labeled her a sociopath and “the lowest of the low,” indicating a deep level of animosity and conflict in their final communications.
In early June 2008, Alexander had plans to travel to Cancun, Mexico, for a company retreat with a Mormon woman he was interested in, named Mimi. When Alexander became unresponsive to calls and messages from the Hugheses, who were already in Cancun, and missed a crucial conference call, they grew deeply concerned. Chris Hughes left a voicemail for Alexander, half-jokingly saying, “T-dogg, you better be dead, bro.” This unsettling premonition would soon become a horrifying reality.
The Gruesome Discovery
On June 9, 2008, after five days without contact, Mimi and two other friends went to Alexander’s home. Upon arrival, they found his roommate, Zach Billings, who claimed Alexander was in Mexico. However, Mimi knew he was not. Billings then opened the door to Alexander’s room and discovered a pool of blood on the carpet, leading them to the gruesome discovery of Alexander’s body in the shower.
Police arrived to a horrific scene. Detective Esteban Flores described blood “everywhere.” Alexander had been brutally murdered, stabbed at least 27 times, his throat slashed from ear to ear, and shot in the head. The sheer violence of the attack led Flores to conclude, “Somebody knew him. Somebody wanted him dead. … Somebody wanted to make sure that he was dead.”
Steven Alexander, Travis Alexander’s brother, reflects on the tragic loss and the impact of Jodi Arias’s actions.
Investigators found a bloody palm print, long brown hairs, and a camera in the washing machine, all pointing towards a likely suspect. Within hours of the body being discovered, Arias herself called the police, inquiring about the case. She initially denied being in Arizona at the time of the murder, claiming she was driving to Utah.
Shifting Stories and Incriminating Evidence
However, forensic analysis of the camera from Alexander’s washing machine revealed shocking evidence: timestamped photos of Arias and Alexander from the day of the murder. Furthermore, the bloody palm print matched both Alexander and Arias. Confronted with this evidence, Arias’s initial denial crumbled.
She then presented a series of shifting and contradictory stories. First, she claimed to have been present at the scene but blamed the murder on masked intruders. Later, during her trial, she changed her story again, claiming self-defense. She testified that she killed Alexander in a fit of rage after he allegedly became violent when she dropped the camera. She also made unsubstantiated claims of past abuse and even accused Alexander of possessing child pornography, allegations that were never substantiated by evidence.
Ultimately, the jury rejected Arias’s self-defense claim and found her guilty of first-degree murder in May 2013. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after juries deadlocked on the death penalty.
Conclusion: Possessiveness, Rage, and Murder
Why did Jodi Arias kill Travis Alexander? While the exact motive may remain complex and debated, the evidence and testimonies point to a culmination of factors. Arias’s extreme possessiveness, obsessive behavior, and inability to accept the end of their relationship appear to be central to the tragedy. When coupled with the volatile dynamic of their relationship, the religious conflicts, and the final argument, it created a toxic environment that tragically exploded in violence.
While Arias claimed self-defense, the brutality of the murder, the overwhelming evidence against her, and her constantly changing stories painted a picture of a calculated act of rage. Friends’ warnings, tragically ignored by Alexander, underscored the dangerous path their relationship was on, ultimately culminating in the devastating loss of Travis Alexander’s life.
Jodi Arias during her sentencing, alongside her attorney Jennifer Willmott.
