Jody Arias trial update:

A jury has finally reached a verdict Wednesday, May 8 in the trial of Jodi Arias. Arias, 32, is found guilty and convicted of first-degree murder of ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander in his Arizona home in 2008.

Though Arias initially denied involvement, the former waitress has since backtracked and altered her story several times, settling on self-defense as her only motive.

Travis Alexander, a salesman and motivational speaker, was found dead in his shower with thirty knife wounds and a gun wound to his nearly decapitated head. Arias claims Alexander attacked her during an aggressive "romp" session. Having experienced Alexander's violent sexual fury many times before [Arias was allegedly suffocated to the point of unconsciousness on a previous occasion] Jodi grabbed a gun and shot her ex-boyfriend in the forehead, proceeding to stab him over and over.

Arias has since admitted to hiding evidence that could trace back to the murder. She left the gun in the desert and tried to destroy the camera, that stored pornographic photos of the couple minutes before the murder, by running it through the clothes washer. Luckily for authorities the memory chip was preserved, linking Arias to the scene and date of the crime.

Since Arias admitted to Travis Alexander's murder, the eight man, four woman jury had two options. If they believed the murder was premeditated they'd convict Arias of first-degree murder, which is subject to the death penalty. If they decided Arias was, in some capacity, a victim reacting in self-defense she'd escape death, but could still spend a lifetime in prison.

Since the jury decided Arias was in fact guilty of first-degree murder, they now have to decide whether the act was heinous and sinister. If so, she would certainly face penalty of death.