Jodi Arias Trial Update: Gruesome Crime Scene Details, Juror Kicked Out

Graphic crime scene details took center stage in court Thursday as prosecutor Juan Martinez focussed on numerous conflicting statements in Jodi Arias' testimony describing the death of her ex-boyfriend.

Martinez capped off the state's rebuttal phase by calling Dr. Kevin Horn from the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's office to the stand. The prosecution's first witness in the trial, Horn once again testified about the gruesome death of Arias' ex, Travis Alexander, as well as the injuries he sustained, in lurid detail.

A 32-year-old photographer from California, Arias is charged with the grisly first-degree murder of her ex-boyfriend Alexander in June 2008. Arias has admitted to killing her former lover, so her guilt isn't up for debate - but her mental state at the time of the killing is. Arias' future depends on whether the jury believes she killed Alexander in self-defense, or was actually a jilted lover exacting jealous revenge.

Martinez first asked Horn to recount the wounds found on Alexander by investigators. Horn testified that Alexander had been stabbed prior to being shot in the head, a statement that contradicts Arias' earlier claim that she shot him in the head and then stabbed him as he continued to fight her.

Medical examiners found that Arias stabbed Alexander 27 times, primarily in the back, shot him in the head, slit his throat from ear to ear with so much force it almost decapitated him, and left his bloodied corpse crumpled over in the bathroom shower of his home - all in the course of 106 seconds.

Martinez questioned Horn on the specifics of Alexander's gunshot wound.

"Would he have gone down? Would he have stood there? Would he have crawled? What would have happened?" Martinez asked Horn.

"He may have been able to take a step or two [but] probably would have collapsed or lost consciousness within seconds," Horn said.

Horn testified that Alexander would have been debilitated almost instantaneously after the gunshot to the head because the bullet went into his brain. He said that Alexander would not have been able to protect himself against someone wielding a knife, which was "obvious," he said, due to various defensive wounds discovered on Alexander's hands during an autopsy.

As Horn depicted Alexander's injuries, Martinez showed the court room images of Alexander's hands with clearly visible defensive wounds, bringing Arias and some of Alexander's relatives to tears.

When one of Arias' defense attorneys, Jennifer Willmott, scrutinized Horn's analysis of Alexander's wounds under cross examination, the doctor firmly stood his ground. Willmott argued that because Alexander's body was "in a state of advanced decomposition" when authorities found it, it was "impossible" for him for accurately map the bullet's trajectory.

Horn testified that he was positive in his examination of Alexander's body.

"It had to have gone through the brain. It's simple geometry," Horn said regarding the bullet.

Following Willmott's feeble cross-examination, Judge Sherry Stephens opened up Horn to questioning from the jury. Arizona is one of three states that allow jurors to ask witnesses questions once prosecuting and defense attorneys have completed their questioning. The questions were brief, but clearly showed there was lingering skepticism among some jurors concerning Arias' version of events.

"If Alexander was shot in the middle of bathroom, as Arias claims, wouldn't blood have been found there?" asked one juror.

"I would expect that, yes," Horn replied.

"Is it possible you could be wrong about Alexander not being able to move after he was shot?" asked another member of the jury.

"I don't believe so, no," Horn testified.

Arias has already admitted to lying about Alexander's death to just about everyone. She first claimed she was never at Alexander's home the day he was killed. Then, when a bloody handprint on the wall confirmed she was there through DNA evidence, she admitted she was there, but said masked intruders killed him. Finally, years later she backtracked to admit she killed the victim, but now claims it was in self-defense, saying he attacked her in the shower, forcing her to fight for her life. She claims she lied so often because she was "ashamed" she killed Alexander in self-defense and because she was afraid of revealing the details of their sexual relationship.

Before court closed for the day, Judge Stephens also announced the defense would be allowed one last expert witness prior to closing arguments next week. This is a huge win for Arias' lawyers whose entire case was effectively dismantled by the state's last expert, psychologist Janeen DeMarte. The prosecution's expert easily poked holes in the credibility of the defense's experts, psychotherapist Alyce LaViolette, and psychologist Richard Samuels; based on her review of the psychotherapist's notes, DeMarte said she did not believe LaViolette had conducted a thorough evaluation. DeMarte also said that she believed Arias was afflicted withBorderline Personality Disorder (BPD), not Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), or memory problems, and said she showed no signs of domestic abuse, all arguments the defense has repeatedly hammered as an explanation for the numerous discrepancies in Arias' testimony.

The defense will call Dr.Robert Geffner in an attempt to refute DeMarte's testimony. Judge Stephens said court will go on as long as Geffner needs to provide testimony.

Judge Stephens also announced that a third juror, Juror 8, had been dismissed from the jury, but failed to elaborate any further, or provide a reason.

Arias faces the death penalty if convicted. The trial resumes May 1 when the jury will hear from Dr. Geffner.