Free Conviction: The Untold Story of Putting Jodi Arias Behind Bars by Juan Martinez Page B

forty-five minutes without any aid. It was then that Wendi went to another room and finally placed the 911 call.
    Within a few minutes, the sirens could be heard approaching the house. Chris walked outside to meet the fire department, but realized she had left her purse inside. When she tried to reenter the apartment, she found the front door had been locked and instead of letting her in, Wendi threw her purse out into the breezeway.
    When the paramedics knocked on the door, Wendi failed to answer. After approximately five to ten minutes of knocking, one of the paramedics called the dispatcher, who reached Wendi by telephone. The dispatcher convinced Wendi to come out and speak with the paramedics. Rather than coming out the front door, Wendi went out the back, jumped the fence, walked around the apartment building and met the paramedics in the breezeway outside the locked front door. She informed them that Joe had a DNR, (do-not-resuscitate order), and their services weren’t needed. With that information, the medical emergency response unit left the scene without ever seeing the patient, a protocol that would later be changed.
    Several hours passed before Wendi again called 911, this time claiming her husband had attacked her after she complied with his dying wish to know if she had been unfaithful. She confessed to him, and he attacked her, forcing Wendi to kill him in self defense. When paramedics finally got inside, they found a bloody scene. Joe had been beaten with a barstool inexcess of twenty times before ultimately being stabbed in the neck with a knife. At the autopsy, it was discovered he had also been poisoned.
    I prosecuted Wendi Andriano in 2004. After an emotional trial that lasted three and a half months, she was convicted of first-degree murder. The jury imposed the death penalty, finding the killing to be “especially cruel.” She was the first woman to be sentenced to death by a jury in the state of Arizona. She has been on women’s death row ever since, sharing the distinction with only one other woman.
    If sentenced to death, Jodi Arias would be the third woman on death row in the state of Arizona.

CHAPTER 5
    T he period of time between the arraignment and trial can be a lengthy one. Following Arias’ arraignment, roughly four years would pass before the trial would actually get underway. And while that may seem to be “dead time,” with little happening in the courtroom, much work is being completed behind the scenes. This preparation time allows both sides to review documents, interview potential witnesses, and formulate strategies they will employ at trial.
    It has always been my practice to start the case review as soon as I receive a copy of the police report, which was delivered to me shortly after Arias’ arrest. As a prosecutor, I am not a part of the police investigation and rely on periodic updates from the lead detective, in this case Detective Flores, to keep me apprised. While I am alerted to important developments, there are things the investigators do that I am not privy to as they happen. Reading the police reports allows me to see what they have done in their investigation on a day-to-day basis, including the items they have seized, witnesses they have interviewed, and any photographs and other materials they have collected.
    I always try cases alone without the assistance of other lawyers, which are normally referred to as “second chairs.” I favor this single prosecutor approach although it may mean more work. Because of this, it falls on my shoulders to read every document associated with the case from any source, such as those provided by defense counsel. I sit through every interview of any potential witness, whether or not I believe they are goingto be called to testify at trial. I also view every video created at any point of the investigation, including statements made by a defendant to the police.
    Preparing the case for trial without the assistance of another