Chris Hughes - Our Friend Travis: The Travis Alexander Story

2015 Chris and Sky Hughes

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including but not limited to, photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without prior written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

CSHI Media Productions

P.O. Box 13

Preston, Idaho 83263

(888) 400-6412

ISBN: 9781483553160

Cover design by 2Soph Creative Solution

Contents

Dedication

This book is dedicated to Detective Esteban Flores of the Mesa Police Department and his family. Thank you, Detective Flores, for your dedication and compassion. Thank you for getting justice for Travis Alexander. To the Flores family for the sacrifices you make daily by allowing your husband and father to protect and serve the rest of us.

Acknowledgements

To Traviss family: you guys are amazing! We are so sorry for your loss and what you have been forced to endure ever since. Your support and love for Travis has been a beautiful display of devotion. Travis loves you all so much.

To Deanna for always keeping it classy! We Love you!

To Juan Martinez for your bulldog style and passion for winning.

To all those who showed such amazing love and support to Traviss family and friends.

To Nora and Elna for their countless hours in seeking justice for Travis while supporting his family and friends.

To Michael, thank you for encouraging us to write this book. Thank you for your example of constant giving and helping. Thank you for your love, support, and friendship. We love you!

To our cute kids, who have dealt with all the craziness surrounding this trial. You guys have been amazingly strong. Thanks for being our kids. We love you!

And most importantly, to Travis Victor Alexander. Thank you for being such an amazing example of kindness, love, and service. Thank you for your friendship. You will continue to change lives and help people. We look forward to the day we meet again. We love you!

In Memory of

Travis Victor Alexander

July 28, 1977 - June 4, 2008

and

Antonio Tony Flores

September 9, 1999 - January 24, 2015

Note to the readers: The majority of this book is written in Skys voice, from her perspective, unless otherwise noted.

Introduction

Chris and I didnt write this book for a publisher, to win a literary award, or to become best-selling authors. We wrote this book to tell Traviss story and to defend him against the many despicable falsehoods presented as fact in the ten-month murder trial. Further, we want the world to know who Travis really was. We wrote this book to tell the truth and to defend the good name of our friend Travis.

We considered writing this book for many years until we received a call from Shanna Hogan, a true-crime writer and the author of Dancing with Death. She informed us that she was in the process of writing a book about Travis titled Picture Perfect: The Jodi Arias Story. This came as a great relief to both of us. We wanted to defend Travis, but we didnt want to take on the monumental task of writing a book. We cheered Shanna on in her effort to write her book, and we made ourselves available as often as she needed to give her any additional details.

In the end, Shanna wrote a fantastic book, while the book was favorable to Travis, his full story had not been told, and many of the lies put forward about Travis during the trial were not refuted. What we really hoped was for someone to write a book about the real Travis Alexanderhis life, his light, his triumphs, his mistakes, his death, his trial, and his legacy. As it would turn out, Chris and I were the only ones who could really tell that story. Travis was our best friend. He was our business partner. We were like a big brother and sister to him, perhaps even like a mother and father. We were there the night he met his murderer, and we watched their relationship bloom, wither, and die. Our home became their rendezvous point, a place where they could meet in the middleTravis coming from Arizona, and Jodi coming from Palm Desert. We had a front-row seat to this drama and tragedy as it unfolded, which provides so much insight into what really happened. After serious consideration, we made a decision to write this book.

Initially, we intended this book only to be about Travis. We did not want to mention his murderers name, but there is so much that needs to be put to rest, once and for all, that cannot be accomplished without addressing her and all that she did to him.

Anyone who followed the trial knows that Travis, like the rest of us, was far from perfect. That said, he was a great guy. So great in fact that the defense could not find one man, woman, or child who would take the witness stand and say anything bad about him. Thats pretty impressive. Nonetheless, his private life, his emails, texts, and phone records became a matter of public record. Virtually everyone, if put under this kind of scrutiny, would be embarrassed at best and absolutely mortified at worst. Though not perfect, Travis, more than anyone we know, made a focused effort to become better every day. He was an example to us in so many ways and an amazingly loyal friend. We hope you will be able to get to know Travis Alexander a little better by reading this book. We hope you will be inspired by the amazing person he was and what he had accomplished in his short life. We hope you will realize what a horrible injustice was done, and what a great and powerful spirit was taken from this earth way too soon. We hope you will come to love him, if you havent already. So many people reached out to us during the trial and said things like, I know its weird, but I feel like I knew him. Or, I feel so close to him. People have told us that he has changed their lives. That is Travis. Those that knew him loved him. They also felt an amazing amount of love from him. Its our hope that by reading this book and getting to know Travis better that you will want to be better and do better. Thats what Travis was all about. He was about serving more, forgiving more, being better, being kinder, having more gratitude, loving more, and ultimately fulfilling your divine human potential.

Chris and I have written this book to honor the memory of our friend Travis. Before each chapter, we have included facts about Travis, short stories, or his favorite sayings that we hope will help you get to know Travis a little better.

Prologue

Chris and I hosted a training event for independent associates of Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc., every Tuesday night at the San Bernardino Hilton Hotel. One Tuesday evening in October 2006, me, Chris, Travis, and our friend Jacob were standing in front of our registration table that was situated in the hallway just outside the banquet room where Travis would be training within the hour. Our friend Hollie was sitting in a chair behind the registration table. Travis, ever the entertainer, had us all laughing at something witty hed said. Just as our laughter subsided, an attractive blonde-haired woman turned the corner and was walking toward us. She had attended a couple of our Tuesday night trainings. Jacob and Hollie knew