Arias admits killing boyfriend

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MESA, Ariz., Feb. 4 (UPI) -- An Arizona woman accused of stabbing her ex-boyfriend 27 times, slashing his throat and shooting him, testified Monday she did it in self-defense.

Jodi Arias told a Mesa courtroom Travis Alexander attacked her and answered, "Yes," when defense attorney Kirk Nurmi asked her if she had killed Alexander.

"The simple answer is that he attacked me and I defended myself," Arias said.

She also told the court she had planned to kill herself shortly after a September 2008 interview, three months after the killing, in which she said no jury "would ever convict me," ABC reported.

Arias also testified she had been beaten frequently as a child and that Alexander was controlling and abusive.