Jodi Arias, the Arizona woman convicted of killing her boyfriend Travis Alexander five years ago, will have her sentencing phase retrial in Phoenix.
A judge denied a second motion from her defense attorneys last week, reported The Associated Press. The attorneys sought to move the trial due to intense media scrutiny.
A pre-trial hearing will take place on Jan. 3 ahead of the trial, which starts in mid-February, Alexander’s brother, Steven, wrote on a Facebook page.
“Letting everybody know, the trial isn’t due to start until mid February. We believe this is a tactic to try and get us to throw in the towel. We will not! I say again it won’t happen. Our family will come together and see it through until it is finished,” he wrote.
He added: “There is a monster that haunts us, but once the correct sentence is given, it’s her who will be haunted until the most the most humane punishment comes to her. Nothing compared to the sentence she gave to a good man. Anyhow, the entire Alexander family thanks all of you. Thank you for having our backs.”
The sentencing trial date has not been specifically set. Prosecutors are trying to seek the death penalty.
In the first sentencing attempt, jurors failed to agree on her sentence, leading to the new trial.
Arias, 33, said she killed Alexander in his suburban home in 2008, but she said it was in self-defense. Alexander was stabbed more than 30 times, his throat was slit, and he was shot in the head.
Prosecutors argued that Arias killed him in a jealous rage.
A month ago, a report said that Cassandra Collins, a woman who shared a cell with Arias, claimed Arias wanted to kill Maricopa County Attorney Juan Martinez if she got the death penalty. Her cellmate also said Arias had an odd infatuation with Martinez.
“She’s dangerous, very dangerous,” Collins told KSAZ-TV in late November. “She’s out of her freaking mind.”
Collins said she was speaking out because she feels Martinez is in danger.
“She asked me questions like, ‘Why doesn’t Juan Martinez love me?’” Collins said. “And I’m like, ‘Love you? He’s your prosecutor. He’s there to prosecute you for a crime.’”
