Arias juror booted after asking about Nancy Grace

PHOENIX -- A second juror in the sentencing re-trial of convicted killer Jodi Arias has been dismissed after reportedly approaching a journalist and asking her if she was HLN television personality Nancy Grace, reports CBS affiliate KPHO.

The first was released Tuesday because of family problems, reports the station.

According to KPHO, the second juror on Wednesday approached legal analyst and freelance journalist Beth Karas, who is covering the trial for her website and asked if she was Grace.

After realizing she was a juror, Karas reported the incident to the judge, who held a hearing before dismissing the juror, reports 12 News.

The 34-year-old Arias was convicted of murder last year in the 2008 death of her lover Travis Alexander, but that jury deadlocked on whether to give her the death penalty or life in prison.

A second jury was seated Tuesday morning - initially 12 jurors and six alternates, whittled down from a pool of 400 - after a selection process that took several weeks, reports CBS affiliate KPHO.

The sentencing retrial began Tuesday with lawyers alternately portraying her as a vicious killer and a hard-luck case deserving a second chance.

As he delivered his opening statement, prosecutor Juan Martinez displayed a photo of the slit throat of Alexander, who also was shot and suffered about 30 stab wounds in his Mesa, Ariz. home more than six years ago.

Prosecutors say Arias killed Alexander in a fit of jealousy and rage after he broke off their relationship and wanted to see other women.

Defense lawyer Kirk Nurmi countered Tuesday by citing Arias' clean criminal record until the killing as one of the reasons she deserves a life sentence, not death. He also said she suffers from mental illness and was a victim of child abuse.

"It's up to you to write the final chapter to this story," Nurmi told the new jurors deciding whether Arias should live or die.

Wednesday, the jury was shown more gruesome photos of Alexander's decomposing body as Martinez questioned Dr. Kevin Horn, the forensic examiner who conducted the autopsy on Alexander.

Horn detailed Alexander's injuries and said that Alexander suffered before he died, reports the station.

The sentencing re-trial was set to begin again Thursday morning in Phoenix.