Arizona jury in Jodi Arias case to keep deliberating Thursday

PHOENIX (Reuters) - The jury in Phoenix deciding whether convicted killer Jodi Arias should be executed for murdering her ex-boyfriend ended a fifth day of deliberations on Wednesday without reaching a verdict in the closely watched retrial, court officials said. The eight women and four men will meet again on Thursday, the officials said. On Tuesday, the jurors were told by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens to try harder to come to a decision after apparently deadlocking. [ID:nL1N0W52TN] Arias, a 34-year-old former waitress from Salinas, California, was found guilty of murdering Travis Alexander in 2008 following a trial in 2013 that was broadcast live and drew a large audience with its graphic content. That jury deadlocked on whether Arias should be executed, and a new jury began hearing a penalty phase retrial in October. If they cannot decide, the judge will sentence Arias to life in prison, or life with the possibility of parole after 25 years. Arias says she acted in self-defense, but prosecutors accuse her of carrying out the murder in a jealous rage. Alexander, 30, was found dead in a shower at his Phoenix-area home. He had been stabbed multiple times, his throat was cut almost from ear to ear, and he had been shot in the face. (Reporting by David Schwartz; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Eric Beech)