Jodi Ann Arias was born on July 9, 1980, in Salinas, California. Her parents were William and Sandra Arias. Jodi did not complete high school; she dropped out during 11th grade while attending Yreka Union High School. After leaving school, she worked various odd jobs and later secured a sales position with Pre-Paid Legal Services (PPL).

In September 2006, she met Travis Alexander at a work conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Soon after this meeting, Jodi converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which Travis was a member of. On November 26, 2006, she was baptized in a ceremony led by him in Southern California. Jodi and Travis began dating in February 2007. Shortly after, she moved to Mesa, Arizona, to be closer to him.

However, by April 2008, Jodi moved back to Yreka, California, to live with her grandparents. During their relationship, Jodi and Travis communicated frequently and traveled back and forth between Arizona and California, maintaining a long-distance relationship. Their relationship was marked by ups and downs, and those close to Travis noted that they found Jodi's behavior concerning. There were indications that their relationship was often tumultuous.

On June 4, 2008, Travis Alexander was murdered in his home in Mesa, Arizona. He was found in the shower with 27 stab wounds, a slit throat, and a gunshot wound to the head. The medical examiner determined that his death was a homicide.

After Travis missed an important conference call on that evening, Jodi Arias traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, the following day. There, she met Ryan Burns and attended business meetings. During this time, Burns noticed that Arias had changed her hair color and had cuts on her hands. On June 6, she drove towards California, repeatedly calling Alexander and leaving voicemail messages.

When friends of Alexander were unable to reach him, they went to his house on June 9 and discovered large pools of blood in the hallway. They found his body in the shower. Alexander's friends suggested Arias could be a suspect, recalling that he had mentioned her stalking behavior.

Investigators found a damaged digital camera in Alexander’s home that contained images of the couple taken throughout the day of the murder. The final photograph showing Alexander alive was taken shortly before he was killed. A bloody palm print at the scene revealed DNA from both Arias and Alexander.

On July 9, 2008, a grand jury indicted Arias for first-degree murder. She was arrested a few days later and extradited to Arizona. During police questioning, Arias gave multiple conflicting accounts of the events leading to Alexander's death, including denying she was in Mesa at the time. Later, she claimed two intruders had attacked both her and Alexander. Eventually, she asserted that she killed him in self-defense.

The trial began in January 2013. The prosecution argued that Arias had premeditated the murder, while the defense claimed she was a victim of domestic abuse. After lengthy testimony from both sides, the jury deliberated for 15 hours before finding Arias guilty of first-degree murder on May 8, 2013.

The penalty phase that followed resulted in a hung jury regarding the death penalty. Arias was ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole on April 13, 2015. Over the years, she filed numerous appeals, but her conviction was upheld. As of 2023, she remains incarcerated.