As an "expert witness" for Jodi Arias attempted to explain how her allegedly "foggy" memory was caused by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and dissociative amnesia Monday, prosecuting attorney Juan Martinez got the psychologist to admit he had made a significant "oversight" while examining Arias.
A photographer from California, Arias is charged with the the grisly first-degree murder of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander in June 2008, when she allegedly stabbed the 30-year-old man 27 times, shot him in the face, slit his throat from ear to ear and left his bloodied corpse crumpled over in the bathroom shower of his home. Arias' fate depends on whether the jury believes she killed Alexander in self-defense, as she contends, or was actually a jilted lover exacting jealous revenge, as the prosecution argues.
Arias has tried to explain away many of the inconsistencies and outright lies in her stories by claiming she can hardly remember much from the day Alexander was killed.
A psychologist and self-advertised "expert witness" on PTSD, Richard Samuels said he met with Arias 12 times following her arrest and analyzed her murder case file, her journal entries, and news stories on the case to conclude that she had PTSD and amnesia. He also said he tested Arias for PTSD and acute memory loss with the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory test and another unspecified test for PTSD. He testified that the print out showed Arias "responded in an accurate and honest manner during these tests."
As Martinez cross-examined Samuels Monday, the prosecutor noted that Arias took her PTSD test when she was still lying to everyone about her role in Alexander's death and maintaining that masked intruders had killed him.
"After this testing was done ... the story changed and the defendant told you that this story about the strangers was fiction ... and yet you did not administer another [test] correct?" Martinez asked Samuels, according to The Huffington Post.
"That was an oversight and I should have done that," Samuels responded.
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 DNA evidence proved she was lying, she said masked intruders killed him, and 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.
Martinez also drew attention to contradictions in Arias' stories in Samuels' notes. She told the psychologist that she was tied up with her hands and feet bound behind her back by Alexander the day he died, but she later testified that only her hands were bound.
"Well, that's what I had in my notes ... it is conceivable, in my attempt to write down quickly as she's talking, I may have added that by mistake," Samuels said.
"So are you confessing or saying that you are wrong in writing that down?" prodded Martinez.
"I don't know," said Samuels.
"But isn't [the notes] ... part of the clinical interview?" asked Martinez.
"Yes," said Samuels.
"And isn't that part of what has formed your conclusion that she was afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder?" said Martinez.
"Yes," said Samuels.
"So don't you think it would be important to make sure that you are accurate?" said Martinez.
"The formulation of the post-traumatic stress disorder came about after a careful analysis of the notes, the crime scene material, and her change of story. These tests, which I administered early, did confirm the presence of post-traumatic stress disorder. Although, I was in error by not re-administering the [test]," Samuels admitted.
With Arias finally off the stand, her defense is fighting an uphill battle to convince the jury she's finally telling the truth. Arias has wavered back-and-forth between providing surprisingly acute details surrounding the murder to claiming she has little to no memory of certain pieces of the case, such as the actual act of killing Alexander, saying her memory of the fateful day has "huge gaps," according to The Tri-City Herald.
Martinez has repeatedly noted throughout the trial that for someone who was in such a "foggy" state, Arias seems to have tried to cover up her tracks meticulously after killing Alexander. The prosecutor once again pointed to Arias' behavior in the hours following Alexander's death suggesting she was planning out her alibi "immediately" - trying to clean up Alexander's home, calling Alexander's phone and leaving a message, dumping the alleged murder weapon in the desert, throwing away her bloodied clothing, and then driving to visit a man in Utah for a romantic rendezvous. Arias even played the part of concerned friend days later when police found Alexander's body, calling authorities, friends, and even her Mormon bishop, as she tried to find out what police knew
Samuels testified that PTSD could plausibly explain why she left Alexander a voicemail.
"By creating an alternative reality, it's as if it didn't happen and it reduces the level of stress," he said, according to ABC News.
Samuels testified that Arias suffered acute stress disorder following the harrowing incident. He said that disorder eventually evolved into PTSD.
Prosecutor Martinez will continue cross-examination of Samuels Tuesday when the trial resumes at 1 p.m. EST.
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