http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of ... _AlexanderTravis Victor Alexander (born July 28, 1977)[2] was born in Riverside, California, United States. Alexander had three brothers and four sisters. His parents, Gary David Alexander (1948–1997), and Gary's third wife, the late Pamela Elizabeth Morgan (1953–2005), were drug addicts. Gary Alexander died on July 28, 1997, his son Travis' 20th birthday. Alexander and his siblings were taken in by their paternal grandmother, Norma Jean Preston Alexander Sarvey (1932–2012), who eventually introduced them to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She did not live to see the trial open.[3] Following his high school graduation, Alexander served an LDS mission in Denver, Colorado, from the summer of 1996 to September 1998. In 2004, he purchased the home in which he died at 11428 Queensborough Avenue in Mesa, Arizona. He reportedly moved to Mesa due to a strong LDS community.
At the time of his death, Alexander was 30 years old. He was a salesman for the network marketing company Prepaid Legal Services; he also worked as a motivational speaker. His funeral was held on June 21, 2008, in Riverside, California.
Jodi Ann Arias was born on July 9, 1980, in Salinas, California, to William Angelo and Sandra "Sandy" D. (née Allen) Arias. Arias has an older half-sister (from her father's first marriage to the former Veronica Susan VanLeer), two younger brothers, and a younger sister. She has testified that both of her parents began physically abusing her after the age of 7 with a wooden spoon and belt as a form of punishment.[5] Although she attended Yreka Union High School, she did not graduate; she later received her GED in jail while awaiting trial.[6]
Arias and Alexander met in September 2006 at a Prepaid Legal Services conference, located in Las Vegas, Nevada. On November 26, 2006, Arias was baptized into the Latter-day Saint faith by Alexander.[7] As of February 2, 2007, Alexander and Arias were a couple.[2][7] She then relocated to Mesa, Arizona. Arias alleges that the two broke up on June 29, 2007, due to trust issues, but that they continued to maintain a physical relationship after she moved back to Yreka, California, in April 2008.[7] She returned to California after her then roommate in Mesa, Arizona, married. The roommate did not feel it appropriate that Arias live in her marital home and Arias was unsuccessful in finding new housing arrangements. Arias was indicted on a first-degree murder charge on July 9, 2008, (also her 28th birthday), by a grand jury.[8] On July 15, 2008, she was arrested at her grandparents' home in Yreka, California.[9] She was extradited to Arizona on September 5, 2008, where she entered a not guilty plea on September 11, 2008.