Testimony Continues in Trial of Former Palm Desert Resident Jodi Arias in AZ

Former Palm Desert resident Jodi Arias was continuing to give testimony Monday in a graphic murder trial in Arizona.

Last week on the witness stand in Maricopa County Superior Court, Arias, 32, described how her one-time boyfriend, Travis Alexander, made her submit to sodomy and treated her as if she didn't exist outside the bedroom, according to news reports.

Arias has admitted killing Alexander, according to law enforcement and prosecutors.

Court observers Monday were expecting that a phone-sex recording between Arias and Alexander will be played for a jury, the Desert Sun reported.

"But in a closed hearing Thursday, lawyers for the defense and the prosecution argued over whether Arias, who was in attendance, should be allowed to testify that she walked in on Alexander while he was masturbating to photographs of young boys," the Palm Springs newspaper reported Monday on its website.

Arias has been on trial since Jan. 2, and she is charged with first-degree murder in Alexander's death, according to the Desert Sun.

In June 2008, Alexander, 30, was found dead in the shower of his Mesa, Ariz., home. He had been shot in the head, stabbed 27 times, and his throat was slit, according to law enforcement and prosecutors.

Arias and Alexander met in Las Vegas while Arias was living in Palm Desert, according to news accounts. If convicted of first-degree murder, Arias could face the death penalty, according to prosecutors.

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