PHOENIX, May 20 (UPI) -- The death penalty phase of Jodi Arias' murder trial in Phoenix abruptly adjourned Monday when defense attorneys said they could not continue defending her.
The jury expected to hear character testimony from Arias' friends, in a bid for leniency in sentencing after she was convicted of murdering former boyfriend Travis Alexander, but lead defense attorney Kirk Nurmi asked Judge Sherry Stephens for a mistrial and permission to withdraw from the case on the grounds a witness had been intimidated, ABC News reported.