How Did Jodi Arias And Travis Alexander Meet?

Even though it's been nearly a decade since Jodi Arias was convicted of murdering her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, the case has continued to fascinate true crime fans again and again. After having sex and taking suggestive photos, Arias allegedly killed Alexander by stabbing him, shooting him in the face, and slashing his throat. He was found dead in the shower.

Following the arrest of Arias in 2008, the story of not only her trial, but of the events that led up to the brutal homicide, were rife with the components for a truly sensationalized story: The figure of Arias herself, whose bizarre antics and confident-but-remorseless appearances in front of the media and in court, the background story of Alexander himself, and the factors of sexuality and religion created a media powder keg. It's a story that might have a conclusion, but not necessarily an ending for those who are compelled back to the case time and time again, as The Wall Street Journal wrote in their review for "If I Can't Have You: The Jodi Arias Story," the latest docuseries about the murder. The two-parter was released in February on Discovery+.

But even fans don't believe there will never truly be an end to the story of Arias and Alexander, given all of the never-seen-before details, there's one thing that it certainly has: a concrete beginning. How did they both meet? And how did it propel them to a violent, final encounter?

In 2020, ABC News spoke with those close to Travis Alexander who witnessed his relationship with Jodi Arias from the very beginning — including the first time they met in Las Vegas, a city where neither lived, in 2006. As ABC News summarized, both were there for professional pursuits, rather than personal: Alexander was a motivational speaker and salesperson for the multi-level marketing company Pre-Paid Legal Services, which Jodi Arias was preparing to break into on the ground level. A photographer and food server who had fallen on financial hard times, Arias decided to attend a company conference in Las Vegas to gain more insight into PPL and how to make it work for her. Alexander, a seasoned and successful company member, regularly attended PPL conferences like this. 

Alexander and Arias became acquainted at the city's famous MGM Grand, and Alexander — who was a member of the LDS church — quickly asked if she would attend a company dinner party event as his date. Arias agreed — despite the fact that she had a long-term, live-in boyfriend back at home in California, per ABC News. In the report, Alexander gushed over Arias in emails. "I went from intrigued by her to interested in her to caring about her deeply to realizing how lucky I would be to have her as part of my life forever," Alexander wrote to his friend Chris Hughes. "She is amazing. It is not hard to see that whoever scores Jodi, whether it be me or someone else, is gonna win the wife lotto."

Travis Alexander's focus on finding a wife was common for Mormon men in their 20s, per ABC News. But they were having premarital sex, which is not allowed in the LDS church, and Alexander felt guilty. Eventually, Alexander converted Arias to Mormonism, but the two were still intimate.

As Alexander's friends Sky Lovingier Hughes and Chris Hughes explained to the outlet, what was once their positive opinion about of Jodi Arias swiftly changed. Both recounted how they observed Arias following Alexander to the bathroom and listening through the door. They claimed she would also scroll through his phone and monitor his emails and social media.

Things came to a head one night at the Hughes home, when the couple decided to speak to Alexander in private, while Arias was also in the house. At the time, Alexander dismissed their concerns during the discussion — until Lovingier Hughes became aware Arias was outside of their door, eavesdropping. "All of a sudden I got this cold feeling over me ... I mouthed to them and pointed at the door and I said, 'She's out there,'" Lovingier remembered. Alexander opened the door, and found Arias staring into the room, with a "rage in her eyes" that frightened the couple so much they banned her from the premises. Hughes even once told Alexander he was worried he was going to find Alexander "chopped up in her freezer."

Arias is currently serving a life sentence in prison after a recent appeal was denied.