14 DAY TRIAL // Jodi Arias has taken the stand to defend herself in the Travis Alexander murder trial. This time, Arias admits to taking her boyfriend's life, but adds that she has acted in self-defense.
According to NY Daily News, Arias is accused of stabbing Alexander 27 times, as well as shooting him in the head in his Mesa, Arizona home in June 2008.
Although she has pleaded not guilty before, she has since had a change of heart. If convicted, Arias faces the death penalty, a sentence awarded for capital murder.
“The simple answer is that he attacked me and I defended myself,” Arias says.
Arias has chronicled various violent incidents dating back to her childhood, which was allegedly spanned with beatings from her parents.
“I'm very nervous today. Life was ideal up until I was aged seven. Parents would spank us and around seven-years old it started getting more intense.
“My dad started using a belt. My mom began to carry a wooden spoon on her purse.
“My dad never beat me with his fist - he would just shove me into furniture and the piano, tables, desk, chairs, whatever was around. One time I even passed out,” she told the court.
The defendant used a very soft voice during her testimony, often being asked to speak up, Daily Mail chronicles. The former blonde, now a brunette, wore a black T-shirt and glasses.
“I ask people to please not buy into this sweet innocent personality that she puts on,” Alexander’s brother Steven urges the public, claiming to know “her true side.”
In the past, she told reporters that she could never be convicted. She explains her statement by confessing her intentions to commit suicide.
“I was very confident that no jury would convict me because I was sure I'd be dead. Those are probably the most bitter words I'll ever eat,” she says. The murder trial will continue tomorrow, when Arias will take the stand again.