Jodi Arias sentenced to life in prison for murder

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32292847

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A woman who shot and stabbed her boyfriend in his Arizona home in 2008 has been sentenced to life in prison, in a long and highly publicised case.

Jodi Arias had faced the death penalty but that was removed as an option in March, when a jury failed to reach agreement on prison or execution.

She was convicted of premeditated murder in 2013.

The case's salacious testimony of sex and violence gained huge media attention in the US.

Arias, 34, initially blamed the killing of boyfriend Travis Alexander, 30, on intruders, and later said she had killed him in self-defence.

She shot Alexander and stabbed him nearly 30 times in his suburban Phoenix home.

Four family members of Alexander spoke ahead of the sentence, criticising Arias as they broke down in tears.

"Stop murdering my brother again and again by smearing his name," sister Tanisha Sorenson said, referring to Arias as "this evil that sits behind me".

Arias also gave a statement in which stood by her testimony of self-defence and accused police and prosecutors of changing their story during the investigation.

"The most important thing I want to say is that I'm very sorry for the enormous pain I caused to the people who loved Travis," she said.

"I'm truly disgusted and I'm repulsed with myself."