June 23, 2009 3:50 PM
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48 Hours: Camera Captures Forbidden Romance And Murder
NEW YORK (CBS) Travis Alexander was a young, successful businessman, who fully embraced his Mormon faith. When he met Jodi Arias, a beautiful, aspiring photographer, the pair quickly became an item. Jodi made Travis' world her own, even adopting his Mormon beliefs.
Their tumultuous relationship was filled with break-ups and other liaisons and complicated by their faith, which dictates no prema rital sex. Giving in to their desires and photographing their exploits, the couple was painfully aware that in the eyes of their spiritual community they were living a lie.
But it was another lie - one that Jodi told about the night Travis was brutally murdered - that would eventually expose their secret and put Jodi at the center of a murder investigation.
On June 4, 2008, Travis was shot in the face and stabbed 27 times, including a fatal stab through the heart. Jodi later told investigators two people broke into the house and attacked them both. Jodi escaped and drove off without telling anyone, she said.
But at the crime scene, investigators found two sets of photos: a series of risqu? shots of Jodi and Travis together and a more disturbing series, of a wounded and dying Travis.
Who took those photos and how did they wind up at the crime scene? Did Jodi Arias kill Travis Alexander out of jealousy? Or was she an innocent victim who lied out of fear?
Correspondent Maureen Maher reports for 48 Hours Mystery on this story including an interview with Jodi Arias, June 23 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
MORE ON 48 HOURS MYSTERY
Maureen Maher's Notebook
Listen to the 911 call as Travis Alexander's friends found his body
Their tumultuous relationship was filled with break-ups and other liaisons and complicated by their faith, which dictates no prema rital sex. Giving in to their desires and photographing their exploits, the couple was painfully aware that in the eyes of their spiritual community they were living a lie.
But it was another lie - one that Jodi told about the night Travis was brutally murdered - that would eventually expose their secret and put Jodi at the center of a murder investigation.
On June 4, 2008, Travis was shot in the face and stabbed 27 times, including a fatal stab through the heart. Jodi later told investigators two people broke into the house and attacked them both. Jodi escaped and drove off without telling anyone, she said.
But at the crime scene, investigators found two sets of photos: a series of risqu? shots of Jodi and Travis together and a more disturbing series, of a wounded and dying Travis.
Who took those photos and how did they wind up at the crime scene? Did Jodi Arias kill Travis Alexander out of jealousy? Or was she an innocent victim who lied out of fear?
Correspondent Maureen Maher reports for 48 Hours Mystery on this story including an interview with Jodi Arias, June 23 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
MORE ON 48 HOURS MYSTERY
Maureen Maher's Notebook
Listen to the 911 call as Travis Alexander's friends found his body
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