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Hi Crime House Community. It's Vanessa Richardson. Exciting news. Conspiracy theories, cults and crimes is leveling up. Starting the week of January 12th, you'll be getting two episodes every week. Wednesdays we unravel the conspiracy or the cult, and on Fridays we look at a corresponding crime. Every week has a theme. Tech, bioterror, power, paranoia, you name it. Follow conspiracy theories, cults and crimes now on your podcast app because you're about to dive deeper, get weirder, and go darker than ever before.
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This is crime house. We all want to put our best foot forward. Whether it's at the office, in class, or a social gathering, we're showing the world the best version of ourselves. But when we're at home and our guards are down, we probably act a bit different. Looser, less buttoned up. That doesn't mean we're pretending when we're out in public. After all, it's impossible to always be on. But for some people, it really is an act. People who came across Jodi Arias at school or at work said she was a sweet, easygoing girl, someone you just wanted to be around. But behind closed doors, she completely transformed. The real Jody was violent and unpredictable. You never knew when she might snap. Her family hoped it was just a phase that she'd grow out of. Instead, she turned into a monster. And by the time anyone realized what she was truly capable of, it was too late to stop her. People's lives are like a story. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end. But you don't always know which part you're on. Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon and we don't always get to know the real ending. I'm Carter Roy and this is True Crime Stories, a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. New episodes come out every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, with Friday's episodes covering the cases that deserve a deeper look. Thank you for being a part of the Crime House community. Please rate, review and follow the show and for early ad free access to every episode. Subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. This is the first of two episodes on the murder of 30 year old Travis Alexander in Mesa, Arizona by his ex girlfriend Jodi Arias. Today I'll introduce you to Jody and the Arias family and As a young girl, Jody struggled to find her place in the world. After several failed relationships, she thought she'd finally found stability when she met Travis Alexander in 2006. But Travis wasn't so sure. And when he decided to end things, 27 year old Jodi decided if she couldn't have him. Neither could anyone else. Next time we'll see just how far Jodi was willing to go to get revenge. After Travis went mia, his friends sounded the alarm, but by then it was too late to save him. What came next was one of the most high profile murder investigations in modern history. All that and more coming up.
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That uses your temperature to find your fertile window.
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Natural Cycles is the only FDA cleared.
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And CE marked birth control app and.
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Has helped millions prevent and plan for pregnancy naturally.
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Save 15% when you sign up today with code RADIO15. Learn more at Natural Cycles.com. Growing up in a big family can be challenging. With so many people around, well, there's bound to be disagreements and chaos, but it also means there's plenty of love to go around. That's the kind of family Jodi Arias had. She was born in Salinas, California on July 9, 1980 to parents Bill and Sandy. The details are murky, but Jodi had an older half sister who most people assume was Bill's daughter from a previous relationship. Once Bill and Sandy got together, they wanted to have more kids and Jodi was their first. After her, they had three more, one girl and two boys. And according to Jodi's parents, she had a happy and stable childhood. Jody was a creative kid and especially loved photography. Her grandparents even lived nearby, which meant she got extra love and attention. But early on, there were also some warning signs. Jodi seemed to struggle with impulse control from a young age. One babysitter reportedly called her an exceptionally aggressive kid. For example, when she was six years old, Jodi hit her younger brother Carl over the head with a baseball bat. And as she got older, that aggression led to outright rebellion. When Jodi was around 12 years old, her family moved from Salinas to Yreka in Northern California near the Oregon border. For a while, it seemed like things might be different. But then When Jodi was 14, her parents caught her growing marijuana on the roof of their house using Tupperware containers and makeshift planters. Not sure what to do, they called the police. Jodi didn't get in any legal trouble, but after that, everything changed. It was obvious to Bill and Sandy that she didn't trust them anymore. Seemingly overnight, she started keeping even more secrets and lying about pretty much everything. Not only that, but she barely even spoke to them. It was difficult for Bill and Sandy to deal with, but her silence was probably better than the alternative. Because when Jodi wasn't ignoring her family, she was abusing them verbally and physically. One time she even punched her mother. It was a stark contrast to the version of Jodi that showed up at school every day. According to Jodi's classmates, she was sweet and soft spoken. One friend described her as a good girl who didn't seem to have any sort of behavioral issues. If anything, she was seen as the quiet and creative type. Her favorite subject was art, where she got to spend hours drawing. So it wasn't exactly a surprise that she was into more unconventional guys too. In 1995, when she was a freshman in high school, she 15 year old Jody went to a local carnival with some friends. While she was there, she met 18 year old Bobby Juarez. It was the dead of summer, but Bobby was wearing a full black suit and a high collared white shirt. Despite his put together appearance, Bobby wasn't exactly the most motivated person. He just graduated high school, but instead of going to college or getting a 9 to 5 he, he spent most of his time playing video games and drifting through life. Jodi didn't seem to care about any of that. Bobby was older, cooler and more interesting than any of the guys she knew. By all accounts, Jodi seemed smitten with him. After they met, they spent the next few months talking on the phone regularly. And on New Year's Day in 1996, Bobby and Jody officially became boyfriend and girlfriend. It was Jody's first real relationship and it was full of ups and downs. In the early stages, Bobby said he wanted to move to San Francisco with her to hunt vampires. Jody wasn't one to take the traditional route in life, but that was a bridge too far even for her. She broke things off with Bobby. It didn't last long though. Soon enough she gave him another chance and this time Jody was determined to make it work. At that point, Bobby was 20 years old. He could do whatever he wanted and Jody was desperate for that same kind of independence. So even though she was only 17 years old and still in 11th grade she decided to drop out of school and move in with him. Her parents were horrified, but Jodi didn't care. The two happily bounced around from place to place before landing in Oregon later that year. In 1998, they found an apartment and a roommate, a man named Matt McCartney. Jodi was thrilled to finally have a place to call her own away from her parents. But being an adult wasn't easy and Jodi was in for a rude awakening. Now that she had bills to pay, Jodi got a full time job at a Denny's restaurant. Neither Bobby nor Matt had steady gigs, so Jody was the primary breadwinner and she worked long hours to make ends meet. When she came home, all she wanted to do was relax. But the apartment she shared with Bobby and Matt was small and pretty soon the tight quarters led to tension and violence. Bobby had a temper and according to Jodi, he abused her multiple times, going as far as choking her and even breaking her finger. Despite the abuse, Jodi stayed in the relationship and kept providing for everyone. At some point though, she started to feel resentful. After all, she was the one working to keep the lights on while Bobby spent his days at home free to do whatever he wanted. And it bothered her that she didn't know what he was doing. The thought gnawed at her and soon she started getting paranoid. She didn't like that she couldn't keep tabs on Bobby every second of the day and convinced herself that he was cheating on her. By August of 1998, 18 year old Jody finally acted on her instincts and logged into Bobby's email account. What she found confirmed her worst fears. Bobby had been exchanging flirty messages with another woman. Heartbroken, Jody ended the relationship. But within a few months, someone else caught Jody's attention. Her roommate, Matt McCartney. But Jody didn't approach him right away. She was strategic, cunning, and knew exactly how to get what she wanted. And she didn't care who she had to manipulate along the way.
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Hey, Sal. Hank. What's going on? We haven't worked a case in years. I just bought my car at Carvana and it was so easy. Too easy. Think something's up? You tell me. They got thousands of options, found a great car at a great price, and it got delivered the next day. It sounds like Carvana just makes it easy to buy your car, Hank. Yeah, you're right. Case closed.
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Buy your car today on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply.
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In August of 1998, 18 year old Jodi Arias broke up with her boyfriend after learning he was messaging other women. But she didn't seem all that upset because before long, she set her sights on Matt McCartney, her roommate. Although Jodi was interested in Matt, she didn't immediately come onto him. Instead, she took a more calculated approach. His family lived in another part of Oregon, and Jody had met them before. To them, she seemed like a sweet, kind young woman. They were upset to learn that she and Bobby had broken up, and they wanted to make sure she landed on her feet. So when they heard that she needed a place to stay, they let Jody move in while she searched for work and tried to rebuild her life. Over the next few months, Jody became deeply involved with the McCartney family. Family. She bonded with Matt's sister and helped take care of her kids. Of course, she also kept hanging out with Matt, and By January of 1999, they were sleeping together. A year later, Jodi and Matt were officially an item. The couple bounced between California, Oregon and Colorado over the next year and a half as they pursued work opportunities. Even with the changing scenery and multiple new jobs, their relationship seemed stable and Jodi was all in. By this point, she'd become interested in some of Matt's spiritual beliefs, which included things like Buddhism and Wicca, which is a modern pagan religion. It also seemed like this was when Jodi started to bleach her hair blonde, which she would do for many years. From the outside looking in, it seemed like Jodi was transforming herself into Matt's ideal partner. But it still wasn't enough. In May 2001, Matt took a seasonal job in Crater Lake, Oregon. That summer, he worked and lived at the national park there, While Jody lived 70 miles away so she could work at an Applebee's. Things were going well until the end of the summer. That was when one of Jodi's co workers told her they'd heard a rumor that Matt was cheating. As soon as she found out, Jodi drove to Crater Lake to confront him. When she arrived, Matt admitted to the affair, but claimed it was purely emotional. He insisted they hadn't slept together. Jody broke up with him anyway. After that, Jody needed a fresh start. She moved around and dated other people, but nothing seemed to stick. Then she met Darryl Brewer in 2002. Jody was working at a spa in Big Sur, California. Darryl was her boss and their relationship felt different from her previous ones. That might have been because Darryl was 42 when they started dating. A full two decades older than 22 year old Jody. Despite the age gap, Jody was the mature, stable presence in the relationship. She even acted as a pseudo parent to Darryl's young son. It was unconventional, but it seemed like the relationship was working. Jody and Darryl spent the next three years building a life together. By 2005, they were ready for a big change. They bought a house in Palm Desert, California in the Coachella Valley. They were looking forward to the future and Jodi was eager for a more stable career. So she was thrilled when she landed a job at a company called Prepaid Legal in 2006. It was a subscription style legal insurance company that offered access to lawyers 24 7. Jody thought it was her chance to finally become financially stable. In reality, it operated like a multi level marketing scheme where getting to the top was much more difficult than advertised. That September, Jody traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada for a prepaid legal services company conference. She was still an independent contractor for the company and wanted to move up. Going to Vegas was a great opportunity to network and learn. While she was there, she met a 29 year old man named Travis Alexander. He was a highly successful, charismatic motivational speaker and recruiter at Prepaid Legal. And when the two struck up a conversation, it was clear to both of them that their chemistry was electric. Travis ended up inviting Jody to accompany dinner that night and after the event they stayed up talking until morning. By the next day, Travis was already telling friends he thought he'd met his future wife. Here's what he wrote about Jodi at the time. I went from intrigued by her to interested in her, to caring about her deeply, to realizing how lucky I would be to have her as part of my life forever. Travis was from Riverside, California and like Jody, he came from a big family. He was one of seven kids. But unlike Jody, Travis was not raised in a good environment. His parents struggled with drug abuse and he often experienced neglect and instability because of it. When Travis was 8 years old, he moved in with his paternal grandparents who were Mormons and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also known as lds. As a result, religion became a central part of his identity and he remained very Active in the LDS Church, Travis used that faith to find some structure in his life and eventually found success in his role with Prepaid Legal. He had no idea that after he met Jody, it was all about to unravel. For the moment, though, they went their separate ways. After the conference, Travis went back to his home in Mesa, Arizona, while Jodi returned to Palm Desert. Darryl had no idea about her connection with Travis or the fact that Jodi had been keeping in touch with him. But he could tell that Jodi was different somehow. She'd suddenly become obsessed with religion, specifically Travis's religion. Just a few weeks after meeting him, Jodi had fully immersed herself in Mormonism. She read church literature, attended LDS meetings, and even abstained from sex, since Mormonism forbids sex before marriage. Within a couple of months, Jodi had officially converted and Travis was the one who baptized her. For Jodi, it was a fresh chapter, a commitment to purity, God and a future that in her mind probably included Travis. But it was also the end of something her relationship with Daryl. Shortly after she converted, Jody left him and her old life behind. By February 2007, 29 year old Travis and 26 year old Jody were officially in a long distance relationship. Travis was still in Mesa and Jodi had moved in with her grandparents in Yreka, California. But the couple met up frequently and spent time traveling the country together on work trips and vacations. On the surface, they seem like a happy and pious couple who were committed to the LDS community. But behind closed doors, they weren't following some of the church's teachings. Despite the religion's restrictions around sexual, Travis and Jodi's relationship turned physical and most of the time, Jody was the one initiating. She'd always been a sexual person and that didn't change once she was converted. She even brought her childhood love of photography into the mix and the two often took photos before and during intercourse. Travis wasn't the perfect Mormon either. He had sex before, but doing it this much was starting to weigh on him. That didn't change how he felt about Jodi, though. They kept getting more serious and eventually he introduced her to his friends. From the start, those friends got a strange feeling about Jodi. They noticed she was always glued to Travis's side and would literally cling to him in public. Sometimes she even straddled him in front of everyone and gave the stink eye to any woman who so much as looked his way. It didn't take long for Travis's inner circle to voice their concerns. His friends sat him down and begged him to take a step back. One of them even told Travis, I'm scared I'm going to find you chopped up in in this girl's freezer. Travis took their advice seriously. As much as he cared about Jody, it was starting to become too much for him. Jodi must have sensed this shift. She could feel Travis slipping away and became progressively more paranoid. She started going through his emails and phone, probably to see if he was thinking about leaving her. Travis caught her doing this on multiple occasions and finally decided he'd had enough. After about five months of dating, he ended things. But Jody wasn't ready to let Travis go. In her mind, she was the right girl for him. She was sexy, spiritual and willing to do anything to make it work. So instead of accepting his decision and getting on with her life, Jody did the opposite. Shortly after being dumped, she packed up her car and moved to Mesa, Arizona, the same city where Travis lived. Usually a move is a fresh start, but for Travis Alexander, it was the beginning of the end.
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The purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference. That's why hands down, you count on Grainger for auto reordering. With on time restocks, your team will have the cut resistant gloves they need at the start of their shift and you can end your day knowing that they've got safety well in hand. Call 1-800-granger. Click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done. When 26 year old Jody Arias met 29 year old Travis Alexander, she thought it was fate. Although she was in a serious relationship at the time, Jody was instantly attracted to Travis and he felt the same way. So after months of getting to know one another. Jodi ended things with her boyfriend, Darryl Brewer, and started dating Travis. The relationship didn't last long, though. Jodi was clingy, possessive and paranoid. After five months, Travis broke up with her. But Jodi wasn't going to let him go so easily. When she told her friends she was moving to Mesa, Arizona in the summer of 2007, they were stunned. They thought things were over between her and Travis and didn't understand why Jody would move to his city. But to the 27 year old, it made perfect sense. After all, she'd completely changed her identity for Travis and molded herself into a devout Mormon. So to Jody, the breakup just meant she needed to try harder. Jody reached out to Travis as soon as she got to Mesa, and despite breaking up with her, Travis responded. They started talking regularly again. For a while, it seemed like maybe they could repair what had been broken. But then Jodi went off the deep end. Jody knew Travis's garage code and would regularly sneak into his house. And if she couldn't get in that way, she'd crawl through the doggy door. Travis was definitely frustrated with her, but he didn't seem overly alarmed by her behavior, probably because he was still attracted to her. If he came home to find Jody had snuck into his house, he would either tell her to leave or sleep with her. And each time they had sex, it reinforced Jody's belief that Travis still had feelings for her. Over the next few months, this toxic cycle didn't just continue, it grew. Jody and Travis kept sleeping together, having phone sex, and meeting up during work trips out of state. But that didn't mean they were back together. Although Travis kept seeing Jodi, he was actively looking for a devout Mormon girl to marry. Jodi wasn't oblivious to this, not because he told her, but because she was keeping close tabs on him. What started with her peeking at his emails quickly became much more concerning. Soon, Jodi was following Travis around and watching his every move. Around this time, she also started recording their phone calls, which were often explicit and highly sexual. It's not clear what Jodi was planning to do with these conversations. Maybe she just liked knowing she had something tangible that Travis didn't want anyone to hear. After all, he was very active in the Mormon community and had publicly claimed he was saving himself from marriage. If his friends or members of the church heard those recordings, his reputation would be ruined. Regardless of why Jodi made these recordings, she wasn't doing anything with them just yet. But now she had ammo in case things went South. And pretty soon, they did. Not long after Travis broke up with Jodi. Earlier that summer, he met a woman named Lisa. They started chatting at a church event and began casually dating, but decided to take things slow. When Jody heard about Lisa, she absolutely freaked out. She was so angry, she reportedly slashed Travis's tires on two separate occasions. She also started stalking Lisa, too. One time, she showed up at Lisa's house and banged on her windows before running away. Despite all of this, Travis just couldn't seem to stay away from Jody. They kept sleeping together even though Travis was dating Lisa. But the situation was a ticking time bomb, and eventually it blew up. Sometime in February 2008, Lisa found out about Travis and Jodi. At that point, she decided she'd had enough of both of them and broke things off with Travis. It seemed like the door was open for Jody and Travis to get back together. Except it turned out Jody wasn't as single as she let on. In January, she'd started a long distance relationship with a guy in Utah named Ryan Burns. It seemed like Jodi was serious about him. She'd even met Ryan's family. But in reality, she was still sleeping with Travis. And it's not clear if Travis knew about Ryan either. It was like Jody and Travis were each other's kryptonite. And since they were both in Mesa, their toxic love affair continued with late night visits, secret hookups, and emotional chaos. But before long, things finally came to a head. Jody and Travis were planning to go on vacation to Cancun, Mexico. They had their reservations lined up and everything. Then suddenly, at some point in April, Travis told Jodi he was going to bring a woman named Mimi instead. Jodi was so upset that she left Mesa and went back to California to live with her grandparents. For the first time in a while, it looked like the toxic cycle was really over. Travis saw Jody's move as a chance to breathe again. He even confessed to a friend that he was ecstatic about it, saying, I'm getting my life back. This is a whole new start. But whatever hold Jodi had over him wasn't so easy to escape. They kept having phone sex and sending each other dirty text messages. Here's an excerpt from one of the less explicit ones Travis sent to Jodi in May of 2008. When I'm all by my lonesome, I have no desire to think of anyone else in my scandalous fantasies. Because from my own experience, nothing is even enjoyable compared to you. Just a few days later, Jody published a cryptic blog post about the law of attraction, saying that it wasn't just about chemistry, it was about destiny too. By then it had been a couple months since she left Mesa and she was desperate to see Travis in person. There was just one problem, she was still dating Ryan. In the end, Jodi planned a whole road trip full of her relationships, past and present. She decided to go see her ex Daryl in California, then Travis in Arizona, and finally Ryan in Utah. On June 2, 2008, Jodi rented a car and headed over to Darrell's in Monterrey, California as planned. After that, she started the 1000 mile drive to Arizona. She arrived at Travis's place at around 4am on June 4, but it was just a short pit stop. After spending the day in bed with Travis, Jody got back on the road and headed for Utah. Nobody knew about Jodi's visit. Travis was also seeing someone else by then and of course Jodi was with Ryan, so the whole thing was very hush hush. But after Jodi left, Travis went completely mia. That evening he missed an important work call, which was extremely unlike him. In the days that followed, Travis didn't answer any text or calls. At some point his friends started to worry. They knew something was wrong, they just didn't know what. Eventually they learned the truth and it was far more horrifying than anyone could imagine. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy and this is True Crime Stories. Come back next time for part two on the murder of Travis Alexander and all the people it affected. True Crime Stories is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media, Rimehouse on TikTok and Instagram. Don't forget to rate, review and follow True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly makes a difference and to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience, subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode early and ad free. We'll be back on Thursday. True Crime Stories is hosted by me, Carter Roy and is a Crime House original. Powered by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by the Murder True Crime Stories team Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benedon, Natalie Pertzofsky, Mark E. Lee, Sarah Camp, and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening. The new year brings new health goals and wealth goals. Protecting your identity is an important step. Your info is in endless places that could expose you to identity theft leading to lost funds. Lifelock monitors millions of data points per second if your identity is stolen, our restoration specialists will fix it, guaranteed, or your money back. Resolve to make identity, health and wealth part of your New year's goals with LifeLock. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit LifeLock.com podcast terms apply.
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Looking for your next listen? Hi, it's Vanessa Richardson and I have exciting news. Conspiracy theories, Cults and crimes is leveling up starting the week of January 12th. You'll be getting two episodes every week. Wednesdays we unravel the conspiracy or the cult, and on Fridays we look at a corresponding crime. Follow Conspiracy Theories, Cults and Crimes now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen.
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Did you know? Tide has been upgraded to provide an even better clean in cold water. Tide is specifically designed to fight any stain you throw at it. Even in cold butter? Yep. Chocolate ice cream? Sure thing, barbecue sauce. Tide's got you covered. You don't need to use warm water. Additionally, Tide pods let you confidently fight tough stains with new coldzyme technology. Just remember, if it's gotta be clean, it's gotta be Tide.