Who’s Who in the Jodisphere: An Alphabettery

A1
Who is A1?

A1 is a witness who requested not to be identified. A1 is the spouse of Travis’s friend A2. A1 witnessed Travis grab his ex-girlfriend Deanna Reid by the wrists and push her backwards onto a couch and pin her there while yelling at Deanna, “Get it through your fucking head — I’m not going to marry you!” Travis’s violent outburst was interrupted by A1 and A2, who had both come back to Bishop Parker’s house in Riverside, California, where Travis and A2 were staying. Travis left in his car when he noticed the couple had arrived. A1 wrapped Deanna’s wrists in cold washcloths and stayed with her for a while.

A2
Who is A2?

A2 is a witness who requested not to be identified. A2 is a friend of Travis’s who lived with him in Riverside, California, at their bishop’s house. A2 and A1 arrived home and interrupted a violent confrontation between Travis and his ex-girlfriend Deanna Reid. A2 witnessed Travis grabbing Deanna by her wrists and shoving her backwards onto the couch where he pinned her there and screamed at her, “Get it through your fucking head — I’m not going to marry you!” When Travis realized he had an audience, he left the house in his car. A2 was with Travis when Travis bought a handgun. A2 also discovered that Travis had downloaded child pornography on the living room desktop computer, which Travis admitted to when A2 confronted him.

Allison Stavris
Who is Allison Stavris?

This attorney is presently on Jodi’s legal team and is married to Chris Stavris, Jodi’s attorney of record for post-conviction relief (PCR).

Aaron Dewey
Who is Aaron Dewey?

Former friend of Travis’s and Jodi’s. He was also Travis’s roommate in 2006 and 2007.

Andrew Thomas
Who is Andrew Thomas?

This was the elected Maricopa County Attorney at the the time of Jodi’s indictment in the summer 2008 and when the State filed its notice to seek the death penalty against Jodi in the fall 2008. (In some states, this position is called the District Attorney, or D.A.). Basically, he was the boss of all the prosecutors. He left office in 2010 to run for Attorney General of the state of Arizona. He lost his bid in part because of allegations of corruption and racketeering with his colleague-in-crime, Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Angela Arias
Who is Angela Arias?

This is Jodi’s younger sister who was out of town with Jodi at a Buddhist temple near Hilt, California, on the day their grandparent’s house was burglarized in the city of Yreka — the same burglary in which a small .25 handgun and several other items were stolen. Even though Jodi had access to more powerful, unregistered handguns at her parents’ house, the State fixated on this unrelated burglary.

Bill (William) Arias
Who is Bill (William) Arias?

Jodi’s dad. Bill had several unregistered handguns stashed throughout the house, some with mounted silencers, to which Jodi had access. Had there been any premeditation, she could have quietly grabbed one of these.

Bill (William) Montgomery
Who is Bill (William) Montgomery?

Elected Maricopa County Attorney during a special election held in November 2010 to replace the vacancy left earlier that year by Andrew Thomas. He had the authority to take death penalty off the table but Juan Martínez convinced him that he could get a jury to kill Jodi. In a comment to the media, he called the mob that gathered outside the courthouse during Jodi’s trial “sickening.”

Carlton Allen
Who is Carlton Allen?

Jodi’s grandfather who passed away in 2014. Jodi moved to her grandparents’ house in Yreka, California, in April 2008, to get away from Travis, whose physical abuse had grown increasingly violent.

Caroline Allen
Who is Caroline Allen?

Jodi’s grandmother who passed away in 2016.

Chad Perkins
Who is Chad Perkins?

This person was a friend of Travis’s primarily on MySpace who teased Travis about “cruising the neighborhood for underage boys.” Although Chad did not know Jodi, he reached out to her on MySpace after Travis died, and appeared on the show Doctor Oz to join the chorus of attention seekers with whom Travis typically associated.

Chaitanya Lay
Who is Chaitanya Lay?

This is another one of the many women Travis Alexander slept with. He pressured Jodi to have a threesome with her and when that didn’t happen, he told Jodi he would hook up with Chaitanya with or without Jodi, which he did after Jodi moved to California in early April 2008. Chaitanya lied to Jodi’s defense team when she flatout denied her tryst with Travis, but who can blame the woman? What business was her sex life of theirs? Chaitanya’s lies were revealed in graphic detail when Verizon disclosed thousands of Travis’s text messages, among them their sexting foreplay that led up to her staying the night with Travis in late April 2008. Also among his text messages was his post-coital routine of soliciting compliments from the woman he slept with — in this case Chaitanya — about how good he was in bed.

Christopher Shay Hughes
Who is Christopher Shay Hughes?

Travis’s self-professed “good friend” who knew little to nothing about Travis’s secret life of promiscuity and pedophilia.

Chris Stavris
Who is Chris Stavris?

Jodi’s current attorney of record for post-conviction relief (PCR). His wife is Allison Stavris, another attorney at the Stavris Law Firm assisting with Jodi’s petition for post-conviction relief.

Clancy Talbot
Who is Clancy Talbot?

Just another married woman whom Travis overtly flirted with. Clancy threw herself at Travis while she was drunk in the lobby of the Sheridan Hotel in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in March 2007. Of course, her husband was not present, but a lot of gawking onlookers were.

Clark Wood
Who is Clark Wood?

This is Jen Wood’s ex-husband. He divorced Jen Wood, a blogger seeking inside information about Jodi’s case, after learning about her affair with disgraced ex-prosecutor Juan Martínez, which was ongoing during Jodi’s second trial in 2014-2015.

Cory Engle
Who is Cory Engle?

Maricopa County Public defender assigned to Jodi’s case from 2015-2021 during Jodi’s direct appeal. She argued on Jodi’s behalf before a three-judge panel at the Arizona Court of Appeals, after which the panel made scathing remarks about Juan Martínez’s prosecutorial misconduct throughout Jodi’s case.

Daniel Freeman
Who is Daniel Freeman?

Former friend of Jodi and Travis. He lived with his parents in the neighboring city of Gilbert, Arizona, during Travis and Jodi’s tumultuous relationship and on the day Travis attacked Jodi in his Mesa home on June 4, 2008.

Daniel Raynak
Who is Daniel Raynak?

A seasoned attorney who prevailed at trial against Juan Martínez and was familiar with the Juan’s unethical tactics. Jodi tried to retain Mr. Raynak in February 2011 when first chair Kirk Nurmi was trying to leave the case. Unfortunately, Jodi’s family could not raise the money to do so. Judge Sally Duncan then ordered Kirk Nurmi to remain on the case, granting Mr. Nurmi an additional $100 increase in the standard $125 hourly contract rate, raising it to $225 an hour.

Deanna Reid
Who is Deanna Reid?

Travis’s ex-girlfriend from Riverside, California. Travis moved to Mesa, Arizona, in part to distance himself from her, but Deanna followed him, resettling in the same county as Travis to stay living close to him.

Desiree Freeman
Who is Desiree Freeman?

Daniel Freeman’s younger sister and former friend of Jodi and Travis. She witnessed occasional glimpses of Travis’s temper directed at Jodi during a trip to Havasupai in The Grand Canyon.

Donavan Bering
Who is Donavan Bering?

An opportunistic leech and drug addict who has glommed onto Jodi’s public status for personal gain. Donavan has multiple felony convictions and a history of befriending high-profile defendants. She also attempted to align herself with California inmate Betty Broderick, whom Donavan claims to have met while they were both incarcerated in San Diego County Jail. While Donavan has no personal connection to Jodi, her family, or the case, she attempted to insert herself into Jodi’s life and family, and gain their trust under false pretences. Considering her felony for arson for the purposes of defrauding an insurance company, her repeated attempts to benefit from her own bad deeds at the expense of others is not surprising.

Dorian Bond
Who is Dorian Bond?

This private investigator worked predominantly with attorney Daniel Raynak and mitigation specialist Maria De La Rosa. Of his own accord, he publicly voiced his negative opinions about defense attorney Kirk Nurmi to the media — opinions shared by both Mr. Raynak and Ms. De La Rosa. Nurmi blamed Jodi for this because, of course, when it comes to this case, the easy move is always to just blame Jodi.

Estéban Flores
Who is Estéban Flores?

This was the lead detective, or “case agent,” employed by the Mesa Police Department. In an evidentiary hearing, he lied under oath about accessing Travis’s text messages and emails, which were helpful to Jodi’s case but unhelpful to the State’s. His perjury was suborned by disgraced ex-prosecutor Juan Martínez.

Esther
Who is Esther?

One of the many women with whom Travis had a sexual relationship and the only woman to flip the script and cheat on Travis. (It was usually Travis who had multiple sexual partners at one time.) Travis confronted them both when he broke up with her, telling the other guy in front of Esther, “Just so you know, my dick was in her butt last night.” Before their relationship ended, Esther gifted Travis a black pug puppy, whom Travis kept and named Napoleon.

Gary Alexander (Sr.)
Who is Gary Alexander (Sr.)?

Travis’s father. He passed away in a motorcycle accident circa 1997 while Travis was serving a mission in Denver, Colorado. Travis had Jodi paint his father’s portrait in 2007.

Gary Alexander
Who is Gary Alexander?

Travis’s older brother.

Greg Parzych
Who is Greg Parzych?

This defense attorney was appointed to Jodi’s case as second-chair counsel in the fall 2008 and withdrew in the summer 2009. In a 2009 evidentiary hearing to get the death penalty removed, Mr. Parzych cross-examined Detective Estéban Flores, who testified that Travis was first shot, but not incapacitated.

Gus Searcy
Who is Gus Searcy?

Gus Searcy was a friend and business associate of Jodi’s through Legal Shield (then Pre-Paid Legal). He was called as a defense witness.

Gwyn Fehnel
Who is Gwyn Fehnel?

This was a shoddy mitigation specialist appointed to Jodi’s case between 2008-2009. She interviewed many of Jodi’s family members then grossly twisted and misrepresented their words in typed, summarized reports.

Heather N.
Who is Heather N.?

This woman wrote a coded message to her codefendant inside two magazines belonging to Jodi. Heather’s codefendant signed a plea, nullifying the message she was attempting to get to him via his mom. She unknowingly used Jodi’s magazines which were circulating in the pod where they both resided. Jodi eventually retrieved them, not knowing Heather’s handwritten message was in them. The State went to dramatic lengths to try making Heather’s message look like something Jodi allegedly wrote, even though the message itself refers to Heather’s case and codefendant. Heather testified about what she did in a 2011 evidentiary hearing before Judge Sherri Stephens. Unfortunately, Judge Stephens allowed her bias against Jodi to taint her judgment by allowing Juan Martínez to introduce Heather’s message to the jury.

Heather Schaffer
Who is Heather Schaffer?

A non-immediate family member of Travis’s who requested to be added as a victim.

Hillary Wilcox (née Hilary Alexander)
Who is Hillary Wilcox (née Hilary Alexander)?

Travis’s sister and one of his few siblings that does not have a criminal record. She began a Facebook campaign instructing Travis’s friends not to talk to Jodi’s defense team, fearing his friends might reveal something about Travis’s character that would help Jodi’s case.

Janeen DeMarte (Dr. Janeen DeMarte)
Who is Janeen DeMarte (Dr. Janeen DeMarte)?

This newly-minted psychologist had been licensed for a mere year at the time she was hired by the State to evaluate Jodi. Because she testified in the vain of trying to convince jurors to vote for death, she earned the dual monikers of Dr. Death and Dr. DeathMarte.

Jean Casares
Who is Jean Casares?

A member of the media who was called as a defense witness in 2013 after she saw Juan Martínez signing autographs like a wannabe celebrity on the courthouse steps. Ms. Casares testified about what she saw at an evidentiary hearing without the jury present.

Jen Wood
Who is Jen Wood?

This was a married woman who slept with now-disbarred prosecutor Juan Martínez so that he would continue leaking information sealed by court order to her for her blog, social media platforms, and journalistic aspirations. Her husband filed for divorce after learning of the affair.

Jennifer Willmott
Who is Jennifer Willmott?

This attorney was appointed second-chair counsel in 2011 and remained on the case through two trials. She was awarded Contract Attorney of the Year in 2015 and given the Presidential Honor for the Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice in 2016 for her indispensable work in saving Jodi’s life.

Jodi Arias
Who is Jodi Arias?

Domestic Violence survivor of her abusive ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander. Jodi prevailed over his last and most terrifying attack on June 4, 2008, which culminated in his death.

Joseph M. Arpaio
Who is Joseph M. Arpaio?

Maricopa County Sheriff during Jodi’s 6.5-year stint in county jail. He told the media Jodi was a “model inmate” and voted first place for her during a singing contest in which he sat on the judge’s panel. Later, caving to pressure from his Facebook followers, he tasked his underlings to comb through Jodi’s inmate file and look for reasons to suspend visits with her family members and friends.

Kareem Williams (Lefty)
Who is Kareem Williams (Lefty)?

This Philadelphia rap artist wrote and produced a song and music video in support of Jodi.

Kirk Nurmi (Laurence Kirk Nurmi)
Who is Kirk Nurmi (Laurence Kirk Nurmi)?

This quack was appointed to defend Jodi Arias, but he developed an unhealthy fixation with her that included using nude photos of her as his desktop screensaver. In an effort to have him dismissed from her case, Jodi filed several motions to change counsel. He objected to all of them except one on which he refused to take a position.

Sally Duncan (Honorable Sally Duncan)
Who is Judge Sally Duncan?

This judge presided over Jodi’s case from September 2008 until she was rotated to the family court circuit in July 2011. Judge Duncan denied the defense’s motion to dismiss the case or at least dismiss the death penalty. Her ruling followed an evidentiary hearing in which ex-prosecutor Juan Martínez suborned perjury from Detective Estéban Flores. Flores lied under oath to Judge Duncan about hiding exculpatory evidence from the defense, and Judge Duncan based her ruling in part on Flores’s perjured testimony.

Samantha Alexander (née Samantha Turbeville)
Who is Samantha Alexander?

Travis’s sister who was a beat cop in Carlsbad, California, in the summer 2008 when Travis attacked Jodi the final time.

Sandy (Sandra) Arias
Who is Sandy Arias?

This is Jodi’s mom.

Shari Ruíz
Who is Shari Ruíz?

One of the “Trial Divas” bloggers and a confidant of Jen Wood’s.

Sherri Stephens (Honorable Sherri Stephens)
Who is Judge Sherri Stephens?

Jodi’s trial judge, who betrayed her own partiality when she opined to court staffers during recess that she felt Jodi deserved the death penalty.

Sky Hughes (Skylar Hughes)
Who is Sky Hughes?

Ex-wife of Christopher Shay Hughes and mother to Ryell Hughes.

Steven Alexander
Who is Steven Alexander?

Travis’s brother.

Tanisha Sorenson
Who is Tanisha Sorenson?

Travis’s sister who has a meth-fueled violent criminal record. In accordance with her violent nature, she expressed to the media her hope to watch Jodi die.

Taylor Searle
Who is Taylor Searle?

This was Travis’s friend in Mesa. He told the media that when he met Jodi he had no idea Travis had a girlfriend, which speaks to the intentional compartmentalization by which Travis lived his various lives.

Victoria Washington
Who is Victoria Washington?

Former public defender appointed as second-chair attorney on Jodi’s defense team from 2009-2011. She is now in private practice with a focus in other areas of law.