My name is Samantha Alexander. I am one of Travis’s
younger sisters. There are 8 siblings, 4 boys, 4 girls, and this tragedy has
forever changed our lives. I’m going to do the best to speak on behalf of my
family, my family that has been tortured by the loss of our beloved brother and
family member. From a family of 8 siblings, we have always been there for each
other through the good times and the bad. We lost our father on Travis’s 28th
birthday and our mother shortly after, and through this trying time in our
lives, Travis was the one that got us through the pain and the hardship, because
he was our strength.
Juan: Exhibit 659.
Samantha:
This is a picture
of my grandmother. She is the one that raised Travis. My grandmother could not
deal with loss, could not handle the reality of what happened. Travis being
taken from us has put her over the edge, and her health eventually went into a
downward spiral she never recovered from. Losing Travis has completely destroyed
the overall health of our family. We lived a blessed life with our grandmother,
and it was with insurmountable pain when our grandmother died shortly before
jury selection of this trial.
Travis was our strength, our
constant beacon of hope, our motivation. His presence has been ripped from our
lives. His giving spirit, his determination for accomplishment, and his endless
strength, as a foundation of our family has been taken from us and never can be
replaced.
Something that we have all missed and will live the rest of
our lives missing, are our times together, especially during the holidays.
Travis always gave us motivational books, books which were about saving the
planet, 1,000 Places to See Before you Die. It is sickening to think that he
motivated us with topics he will never be allowed to live out. It’s not just the
holidays (SA steps away from the podium – gets a tissue), but every day will
never be the same. Our lives will never ever be the same.
Travis worked
hard for everything he had. He never had any handouts. He never took anything
for granted. Travis was not shy. He was full of life. If he were able to walk in
this room you would immediately feel his love and warmth. Travis would cry with
you, he would laugh with you, and he would joke with you, always lifting your
spirits. Travis’s greatest attributes were his ability to make others feel
appreciated, accepted and loved because he genuinely cared about making those
around him feel good about themselves. His mission in Colorado is a testament to
this, as was volunteering to help the homeless by driving around in his Toyota
Prius, with our sister Tanisha, handing out care packages to the less fortunate,
providing essential hygiene products, food items and a personalized message that
he wrote on the brown paper bag that held his life. He wrote, “The difference
between a stumbling clock and a stepping stone is the character of the
individual walking the path.”
You see, Travis wasn’t anything but a
loving brother, son, grandson and friend. He was our strength and our motivation
to make our lives better than the ones we were born into. This is exactly why
Travis was such an accomplished motivational speaker. It saddens and sickens us
all that his potential was cut short, and our family, and the world, will never
receive the full benefit of his goodness.
Towards the end of May 2008,
just a couple weeks before Travis was killed, he came to visit me at my house in
southern California. He was so excited to let me read his intro to the book he
was writing, the motivational book titled, Raising You.
Travis & I
got into a deep conversation about our lives, our crazy childhood, and our
cockroach phobia. We both agreed no matter how miserable our lives were at
times, our childhood is what made us who we are. Our childhood made us strong
and able to conquer anything. This was the last time I saw Travis.
Juan::
Exhibit #660
SA: He talked me into taking this picture even
though I was in PJ’s. It makes me cry every time I look at it. I’m so glad he
talked me into taking this picture. I will cherish it for the rest of my
life.
Recalling the moment that I found out about my brother, my
brother’s death, I think of my ears ringing, my stomach burning and this idea
that this can’t possibly be happening.
On the morning of June
10th, 2008, I was on a river trip in Parker, Arizona. We were getting ready to
take the boat out. I checked my voice mail before we went out for the day. There
was a message from my grandmother. My heart sank into my stomach. She said,
“Samantha, you need to call me back, it’s very important.” I could tell that she
was crying, and I recognized her tone of voice from before. I knew that someone
was dead. I called my grandma’s house and my sister, Tanisha, answered the
phone. She screamed at me. She said, “Samantha, Travis is dead!” I could barely
breathe out the words, “What happened to him?” She told me that no one knew, and
the police didn’t provide any details.
To this day my mind
paints a picture of the night Travis was taken. Even though I try not to let it,
upon standing in the same exact spot where this horrific tragedy happened, when
we had to go to Travis’s house after the investigators were done, I felt the
same sickening feeling, my ears ringing, burning stomach, my eyes were filled
with tears where I could barely see – the thoughts of what Travis must have went
through that day, the pain, the agony, the screams and fear that Travis must
have felt when he was brutally being taken.
We have been at this trial
every day since it started. We have heard every detail about the crime and the
injuries Travis suffered. I am a police officer, and some of these photos are
more gruesome than I’ve ever seen in my 11 years in law enforcement. Our minds
are currently stained with images of our poor brother’s throat slit from ear to
ear. Our minds are stained with the image of Travis’s body slumped dead in the
shower.
Our family has bore the burden of extreme loss and financial
hardship to be here to see that Travis is not forgotten and to ensure that his
life was not lost in vain, from being away from our sons, our daughters, nieces
and nephews, stepping down from opportunities in the workplace, to suffering
from anxiety and severe depression, the crying, like my grandmother, to submit
to anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication. Travis was the only family
member that lived in Arizona, making it very difficult for us to be here. We
have paid the ultimate price losing g Travis. Each and every one of us has
looked to Travis for support and words of guidance during times like this. None
of us ever thought that he wouldn't be here when we needed him the most.
To think some one so loving, so caring, so giving, could be taken from
us, given the already tragic lives we have lived, but to have Travis taken so
barbarically is beyond any words we can find to describe our horrific loss.
I cannot adequately express how much we will miss our brother. We will
miss his contagious laughter, his singing voice mails, his jokes, his funny
dances, his help in hard situations, his guidance when we were lost, his
motivation, his insight, his huge smile,
Juan: Exhibit 661
Samantha: him
being there on the holidays. Travis was the glue in our family. Our family has
not been together since Travis has been gone. It’s simply too hard to think of
that one empty chair. We miss his charisma, his goal to make someone feel good
about themselves and to make someone smile, no matter who they are or what they
look like. Travis had an incredible heart. He had a huge heart. It was this huge
heart and his kindness that will forever be missed. We were robbed of so any
good memories, so many awesome moments with Travis. Our lives will never be the
same. We can never get him back. We are so grateful for our wonderful brother
and we feel so lucky and blessed for the time we had with Travis however short
lived. We would give anything to have him back. Anything! Thank you.
Labels: jodi arias, murder, Steven & Samantha Alexander Impact Statements, travis alexander
