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Travis Victor Alexander (July 28, 1977 – June 4, 2008) was an American salesman who was murdered by his ex-girlfriend, Jodi Ann Arias (born July 9, 1980), in his house in Mesa, Arizona. Arias was convicted of first-degree murder on May 8, 2013, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on April 13, 2015.
At the time of the murder, Alexander sustained multiple knife wounds and a gunshot to the head. Arias testified that she killed him in self-defense, but she did not convince a jury. The murder and trial received widespread media attention in the United States.
Background
Travis Victor Alexander was born on July 28, 1977, in Riverside, California to Gary David Alexander (1948–1997) and Pamela Elizabeth Morgan Alexander (1953–2005). At the age of 11, Travis moved in with his paternal grandparents. After his father's death in July 1997, his seven siblings were also taken in by their paternal grandmother. Alexander was a salesman and motivational speaker for Pre-Paid Legal Services (PPL).
Jodi Ann Arias was born on July 9, 1980, in Salinas, California to William and Sandra (née Allen) Arias. Her father is of Mexican ancestry and her mother is of German and English ancestry. She and Alexander met in September 2006 at a PPL conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Arias converted to Alexander's Mormon faith and, on November 26, 2006, were baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in a ceremony in southern California. Alexander and Arias began dating in February 2007. Arias moved to Mesa to live closer to Alexander. In March 2007, she moved to Yreka, California, and lived there with her grandparents.
Alexander and Arias dated intermittently for a year and a half, often in a long-distance relationship, taking turns traveling between their respective Arizona and California homes. Alexander's friends who knew Arias and observed them together tended to have a negative opinion of her, stating that the relationship was unusually tumultuous and that Arias' behavior was worrying.
Murder
Alexander was murdered on Wednesday, June 4, 2008. He sustained 27 to 29 stab wounds, a slit throat, and a gunshot wound to the head. Medical examiner Kevin Horn testified that Alexander's jugular vein, common carotid artery, and trachea had been slashed and that Alexander had defensive wounds on his hands. Horn further testified that Alexander "may have" been dead at the time the gunshot was inflicted and that the back wounds were shallow. Alexander's death was ruled a homicide. He was buried at Riverside's Olivewood Cemetery.
Discovery and investigation
In early 2008, Alexander told people that Arias would join him for a work-related trip to Cancún, Mexico, scheduled for June 15. In April, Alexander asked to change his travel companion to another female friend. On May 28, a burglary occurred at the residence of Arias' grandparents, with whom Arias was living. Among the missing objects was a .25-caliber automatic Colt pistol which was never recovered. This later became significant as a shell case from a spent .25 caliber round was found near Alexander's body at the murder scene.
