PHOENIX (CBS5/AP) -
Jodi Arias returned to the witness stand in her own defense, a day after a sex tape between her and the man she's accused of murdering was played in the courtroom.
An evidentiary hearing preceded the opening of testimony before the scheduled 11 a.m. start Wednesday.
Arias, 32, is on trial for stabbing and shooting her ex-lover, Travis Alexander, in his Mesa home in 2008.
Arias took the stand about 11:25 a.m., after Judge Sherry Stephens denied a defense request for a mistrial.
Wednesday was the sixth day Arias has been on the witness stand.
[Watch live streaming video of the trial on cbs5az.com]
Arias faces the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder in the killing of Travis Alexander.
Jurors on Tuesday listened to sexually explicit phone conversations between Arias and Alexander.
The recordings ranged from raunchy talk to discussions on movies of comic book heroes and Alanis Morissette songs.
Arias claims she killed Alexander in self-defense after he attacked her. Prosecutors maintain Arias killed him in a rage, stabbing and slashing him 27 times, slitting his throat and shooting him in the head.
Though she initially denied killing Alexander, she later said she killed him in self-defense.
Copyright 2013 CBS 5 (KPHO Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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