Direct Exam by Ashton:
George Anthony is the first witness called by the state. Ashton walks Anthony through some background information about his meeting Cindy when they lived in OH, their marriage, the move to Florida with their two young children.
George said he was present for the birth of his two children and was also present for Caylee's birth. He said he was so excited to be a grandfather and that there was never any question that Casey and Caylee would be welcome to live with the Anthonys.
At some point, the subject of Caylee's father's identity was brought up with Casey. She said it could have been someone with last name of Baker (he doesn't recall first name), but she was also seeing Jesse Grund. George said Grund didn't make a good first impression with him (he met him for first time at Caylee's birth). Jesse took a paternity test and he is not Caylee's father.
On June 16 2008, George ate breakfast with and played with Caylee. He saw Caylee and Casey out to her car, blew a kiss goodbye to Caylee...and never saw her again (he choked up a bit with that).
Ashton asks if he ever molested Casey or performed any sort of improper sexual act with or in front of her. George says no.
Ashton asks if he was present when Caylee died. George says no, and that the first time he heard of his being there was today, and it hurt really badly to hear that.
Ashton asks if he would have tried to save Caylee. George says he would have done everything humanly possible to save her.
Ashton asks if he disposed of Caylee's body. George says no, he did not.
Ashton asks if he took duct tape from his garage and put it over Caylee's mouth. George says no.
Ashton asks when he first knew something had happened to Caylee. George says he didn't know anything until July 15 and when Caylee was ultimately found in Dec 2008.
Cross-exam by Baez:
Baez asks about a wedding the family attended in May 2008 (Cindy's brother). Baez says everyone wanted to know who the pregnant girl was. He asks if George knew then that Casey was pregnant. George said he didn't know for sure but had a feeling she could be. Baez asks if he thought his daughter had a beer belly. George said he thought it might be water retention. "Do you have trouble with your vision?" George says no.
Baez attempts to impeach George on his statements regarding whether he believed Casey was working. In direct exam, he had said he believed she was working at Universal, but apparently in a statement to LE said he did not believe she was working. Baez wants to know which statement is the truth.
Next, Baez asks about the nanny. George said he had no reason to disbelieve that Casey was taking Caylee to stay with "Zanny" (the imaginary nanny). Baez points out that in all the time Caylee was supposed to have been staying with the Nanny, George never saw her, never had a phone call with her, never saw a photo of her.
Then Baez asks about George moving out of the house. He said he moved out sometime late Nov/early Dec 2008. Baez stated that it was because Casey didn't want him there. George replied no, it was because of marital issues between him and Cindy. He had fallen for the Nigerian email bank scam and had some problems with gambling.
Baez mentions that George remembers everything Caylee was wearing that day. He asks him what Cindy was wearing. George doesn't recall. Baez finds it odd that George remembered the details of her attire since he wasn't asked about what she was wearing til a month later.
Baez makes several attempts to question George about the gas cans and the duct tape on them. Objection after objection by the state, all of them sustained by the judge.
He moves on and asks George if he'd previously heard the theory that Caylee drowned in the pool. George says yes. Baez asks if he'd heard it from more than one source? George says no, just one source. Baez asks if he'd heard from the prosecution that that's how Caylee died. (Objection/Sidebar)
Baez asks George if he met with the prosecution prior to testimony. Yes, George said. Baez suggests the state prepped his testimony by telling him what questions they'd ask. George says no, they just discussed the process, what would happen, not specifics.
Judge Perry says it's entirely proper for witnesses to meet with their attorneys prior to testifying and they shouldn't be discredited for that.
Baez asks if George retained an atty within 24 hrs of learning Caylee was missing. George said his friend of 20 yrs, an attorney who'd handled some workers' comp for George, came to the house. He was there firstly as a friend but also to provide some legal guidance.
He also questioned George about the tow yard and his having said to the tow yard guy that he hoped that odor wasn't his daughter or granddaughter since they'd been missing. Multiple objections when asking about decomp odor.
The state does a brief re-direct asking George what his emotional state was at the time. George says he was tired, running on fumes, very edgy, nothing to eat or drink, going in many directions trying to find Caylee.
And that's it for today. Court is in recess til 9:00 a.m. Wednesday morning.
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