Dr. Kevin Horn, the Maricopa County Medical Examiner officer, who was among the first witnesses to testify for the prosecution of the Jodi Arias, is expected to stand trial before the closing arguments of the trial are made next week, the Huffington Post reported.
When he stood trial on Day 3, Horn described how Travis Alexander, who was Arias' slain boyfriend, stabbed repeatedly by her, nearly decapitated his throat on June 4, 2008.
During Horn's testimony, jurors were shown photos of the Arizona man several days after he was killed, mummified in his Mesa home.
Prosecutors have depicted Arias as jealous and vindictive killer, while her side claims that she had been routinely abused by Alexander, and that she merely acted in self-defense.
Meanwhile, a juror who spent four months listening to testimony was dismissed on Thursday, just one week before the case goes to its closing arguments, ABC News reported. The man known as Juror 8 was dismissed without comment by Judge Sherry Stephens, and is the third juror to be dismissed from the proceedings since the trial began in January. Fifteen jurors will listen to the remainder of the trial, while 12 will enter deliberations.
The defense is expected to call one additional witness next week, with closing arguments next Thursday and Friday. The case will then go to the jury. If convicted of first-degree murder, Arias faces the possibility of the death penalty.
Arias' team will essentially be allowed to reopen their case and call another expert witness to take the stand to rebut testimony by prosecution witness Dr. Janeen DeMarte, who had already told the jury that Arias suffered from borderline personality disorder and rejected previous defense claims that Arias showed signs of being a victim of domestic abuse.
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