Casey Anthony Trial - Defense To Rest/Casey To Testify?

Way overdue for a blog update. Sorry about that, guys. I had to make a choice between Tweeting pretty much non-stop during testimony and updating my blog daily. I've had so many people say the Tweeting is helpful to them, so I chose to keep up with that and just get to the blog whenever I could get to it.

At the close of trial Wednesday, the defense informed Judge Perry they will likely rest their case in chief Thursday. If this is all they've got, they're in worse trouble than I imagined they could be. And that's before the state puts on its rebuttal case.

George: Mastermind Criminal/Abuser/Suicide Faker

Today was disastrous for the defense. George Anthony was credible in his testimony and, thanks to Baez, was able to respond that he "put 1 and 1 together" when he realized Caylee was missing and that Casey was the last to see her. In addition, he testified he didn't think "at that time" that his daughter could've killed Caylee, clearly leaving the impression that he thereafter did come to believe her capable of it.

Jose Baez questioned George about his "alleged" suicide attempt. George corrected him, saying that it wasn't alleged, but that he fully intended on going through with it and would have if not for LE having found him. Baez asserted to the judge (out of the jury's presence) that George shouldn't get a pass and be allowed to act all innocent since "all" he had were some blood pressure pills and beer. Baez totally minimized the issue and said it could've been faked for sympathy or attention.

Apparently, he's unaware how dangerous taking too much BP medication can be. Having sufficient blood pressure is kind of a big deal. But hey, George was just putting on a show because he knew "the walls were closing in" on him and that LE was about to find him out for all his monstrous sexual abuse and his disposal of Caylee, as well as for trying to frame his poor sweet daughter.

This didn't pan out too well for the defense since George held his own and refused to lend credence to the defense's accusations against him. It also allowed Jeff Ashton to storm right through the door Baez opened and question George about the suicide attempt. In fact, the door opened so wide, Ashton will likely be allowed to introduce the suicide note itself in rebuttal.

George was so sympathetic in talking about how he felt it was time to just leave all the madness behind and be with Caylee. He missed her so much, felt guilty because he felt he didn't protect her, just didn't feel he could take this world anymore.

If I were a juror asked to consider that the attempt might have been insincere, I'd figure if that were the case, George was simply trying to get his daughter to FEEL something in hopes she'd END this nightmare for all of them, not because he knew the coppers were hot on his sexually-molesting, body-dumping, daughter-framing trail.

I have some issues with parts of George's other testimony (especially with regard to "River Cruz," his alleged mistress), but he seemed very sincere in speaking of his overwhelming grief. It was extremely powerful testimony.

Can you imagine being in his shoes? Your granddaughter's missing; your own daughter is obviously involved and won't cooperate; your wife runs her mouth in public, covering, lying, making things worse for everyone involved; you have mobs on your lawn, the media breathing down your neck constantly. And then your granddaughter's remains are found and what you suspected all along, but didn't want to believe, is realized -- your granddaughter is never coming back. The only way to see her again is to go be with her.

It's no wonder he felt overwhelmed to the point of wanting to just get away from it all any way he could. When I think of how his daughter pushed him to the brink of suicide, then (after he does all he can to help her) turns around and accuses him of sexual abuse and of framing her for his criminal acts...truly, TRULY despicable and sickening. Maybe she was hoping he wouldn't be able to take it and would check out for good so that her defense team could say his guilty conscience caused his suicide.

Which brings me to this: If the jury doesn't buy the accusations against George, it not only discounts all the defense theories, it leaves the jury wondering WHY Casey Anthony and her defense team concocted such a cruel and bizarre scenario...unless it's all she could come up with to try to overcome the fact that she's guilty. And if they think that, they will absolutely detest not only what she did to Caylee but how she nearly caused her father's death and humiliated him beyond belief for her own hateful, selfish gain.

Of course, the jury still has to find the state proved its case, regardless all that. But if they do, you better believe all those things will be in their heads, maybe subconsciously pushing some of them toward a guilty verdict when they might not have been as quick to go that route otherwise. They are human, after all, and try as we might to consider only what we're supposed to, if the information is there, it's there. And on some level or another, it's always a factor.

Magical Thinking - Good GRIEF!

As for the "grief expert" allowed to testify today, I'm sure she's a wonderful, caring person and capable grief counselor and teacher, but she proved to have no expertise in making a distinction between which behaviors are grief related and which aren't. She offered absolutely nothing for the defense beyond the obvious - that different people grieve differently and can do some odd things. Well, thanks for that. I had no idea. Now I know that anyone I encounter might be suffering from grief...or not.

On cross exam, she in fact bolstered the state's case by agreeing that she really can't say anything is inconsistent with grieving because, to her, everything is consistent with it. She even agreed that in Ashton's "hypothetical" Casey scenario, all the things he ticked off would be indicative of something different than grief and said that would indicate that the "hypothetical" person would need help of the not-grief-counseling kind.

This witness was intended to testify in Casey's stead, basically. Here was someone who could explain the "why" behind the 31 days (which would've been "infinity" days had Cindy not intervened), all the lying ("magical thinking") and the carefree, happy "bella vita" existence Casey led after Caylee died. But it fell so far short that there isn't a unit of measurement tiny enough to quantify how little it helped. It actually went well into the negative for the defense - just the opposite of what they needed.

Will Casey Take The Stand?

I've mentioned before that she can't get on that stand because she'd not be believed even on direct and would be absolutely decimated on cross. But the defense has done such a poor job showing their theories are plausible enough to raise reasonable doubt that they're now up Shit Creek without a paddle.

Again, we all know the defense doesn't have to prove a thing. But when you throw these salacious, severe accusations out in opening and you don't offer a damn thing to back ANY of it up, it looks bad. Really, really BAD. It looks like the defendant and her team are heartless liars who don't give a damn who they hurt, whose lives they ruin -- everyone and everything is fair game so long as it gives the princess a shot at avoiding the consequences for her actions.

So do you risk leaving the jury with that impression, with contempt and disdain (even if subconscious) for your client for having put so many people through so much to save her own hide (not the least of whom, the jurors themselves!)? Is that what you want them to carry back into deliberations with them?

All you can do in closing argument is regurgitate the same accusations about drowning, George Anthony and Roy Kronk. But you got practically nowhere with any of it during trial. So what do you do? Delude yourself that you can pull it off? Hope the jurors will employ "magical thinking" and buy what you weren't able to sell?

Showing that the family are willing to lie for each other and claiming Cindy lives in denial (I knew there was an underlying, deceptive reason she claimed Caylee was still alive at pretrial hearing) may demonstrate some family dysfunction, but it hardly excuses or even mitigates Casey Anthony's actions. There are plenty of families far, far more dysfunctional who don't end up with dead babies and moms who lie their asses off about where their babies are/what happened to them while they go on to live "the good life" or "beautiful life."

So what do you do if you're the defense attorney in this situation? The only way in the world for there to be even a scintilla of a chance that a juror - just one - buys any of part of your theory is to put someone on the stand who can testify to at least some part of it. Remember, though, you're up Shit Creek -- and your only paddle is Casey herself. Do you try to use that paddle or let the current carry you downstream and hope for the best?

I still feel they're better off going with their unproven (and I mean "NO-proof" unproven) accusations. They can't hope Casey would ever be able to explain herself on direct, much less withstand cross. The most they could hope for is that a juror would think she's nuts and maybe feel a little sympathy for her, but that's its own can of worms.

We've already seen this defense is incapable of controlling what happens with even fairly benign witnesses on the stand. They are completely outmatched in examining them, especially on cross. Just imagine all that could go wrong with Casey testifying. At least an attorney can control what happens during his/her closing.

I think it's best to do what they can without risking putting Casey on the stand. Focus on the penalty phase and appellate issues instead. If she's convicted, and if she can successfully argue for reversal/new trial, I'm sure the next defense team would appreciate Casey's not having locked herself into testimony in the first trial.

But... Casey has the right to testify if she wants to, regardless how stupid a decision her attorneys advise her it may be. She was all smiles Saturday morning after learning she'd been deemed competent by 3 psych evaluators to continue assisting with her defense. Could that motion for incompetence have been made as a CYA by her defense because she is insisting on taking the stand?

As we've seen over and over, there's just no way to predict what will happen in this trial. So stay tuned...let's see where it goes.

Casey Anthony Trial - Another One Under The Bus

Wednesday, the defense filed paperwork for disclosure of a "newly discovered" witness, Vasco Thompson. The defense claims there were phone communications between Thompson and George Anthony just before Caylee went missing and that Thompson is a convicted kidnapper who could be connected to this case. They want to depose Thompson to see if he has any relevant information.

Well, here's the skinny: At multiple sites (especially here - great work by AZLawyer), I've read that Thompson's phone number was incorrectly entered into a public database as the same phone number belonging to George Anthony's (at-the-time) new employer. So when the defense looked over George's phone records and searched out the other party, they found an entry for Thompson as holder of the number and investigated his criminal record.

In fact, that information is incorrect. The number belonged to George's employer in July 2008. Obviously, the defense knows this. This information has been available to them for years. Interestingly, when the defense tried to question Thompson, he actually called law enforcement to complain about it. Does that sound like someone involved in kidnap/cover-up/disposal in this case?

Why try to add Thompson as a witness at this late stage, knowing that even if the judge would allow a depo to determine relevancy, the ultimate result would be that Thompson is completely irrelevant to this case?

I don't believe the defense actually wants to call Thompson as a witness since it would take half a second for him to say that was not his phone number and for the state to clear up on cross that his number was incorrectly entered into a database as the one in question.

I believe *that* is the reason for the late disclosure -- the defense purposely held this until after the state's case so the state couldn't depose Thompson before trial. If they had, the matter would've been cleared up and the defense would've missed out on the opportunity to further implicate George by publicly insinuating a connection to a convicted kidnapper.

So why, then? Because if the defense can get it out into the public arena that they were denied the opportunity to call a convicted KIDNAPPER (imagine that word in huge blinking neon letters) who, according to them, made contact with George a day or two before Caylee went missing...well...you get the idea:

Family of juror hears that a kidnapper was in cahoots with George but the defense wasn't allowed to put him on the stand. Family member visits the juror. Even though they're not supposed to talk about the case, family member drops that little tidbit. Juror wonders if there might really be something to the defense's claim that George is an evil monster capable of unspeakable acts.  It takes only one juror with reasonable doubt to hang the jury in deliberations.

It's my belief that the defense doesn't expect to be allowed to call Thompson at trial. They may want to depose him as a fishing expedition to see if he says anything they can twist and try to use; however, I think what the defense really wants is to be denied the opportunity to call Thompson as a witness while at the same time getting that info out in the public in hopes that it might influence a juror via a family member/loved one.

What I can't fathom is that this is a genuine request. First of all, it would come out in deposition that the phone number wasn't even Thompson's actual number and he has no relevance to the case. Secondly, if the defense somehow managed to convince the judge to allow them to call Thompson, the ruse would be evident by the time the state finished cross-exam. The defense has to know all this...they've had years to work on it. This isn't a "new" find.

Despite all that, I say Judge Perry ought to allow them the depo. Let all the info come out via that process. Then the defense can't turn around and have their chief shill screeching on any media outlet that will have her that the defense was denied the right to question George's potential cohort in crime (A CONVICTED KIDNAPPER!!!).

I have a feeling this is all designed to try to create an air of mystery and to further point the finger at George Anthony's involvement. Better to let the defense depose Thompson, let the state destroy this red herring, and put it to rest vs. allowing defense the ability to have their shills declaring on TV that there is a Thompson-George Anthony involvement and they've been unfairly precluded from deposing him.

If the information I've read is correct, and I believe it to be, then it is despicable for the defense to drag Thompson into this for no reason other than to throw another victim under the Casey-bus.

Casey Anthony Trial - "Imaginary" Defense Strategy?

Yes, it's technically true that the defense isn't required to prove a single thing -- they don't even have to put on a case at all if they choose not to do so.

But like I said from the start, if the defense puts forth such a specific alternate theory, they better be able to sell it like hell to the jury and to BACK IT UP with evidence.

A huge problem is that the defense have painted themselves into a corner with the molestation claims. Unless a third party witnessed this molestation (or unless George suddenly recants his prior testimony and admits it), then Casey Anthony herself is the ONLY person who can testify about it in an attempt to prove it.

Casey Anthony's testifying about anything is an insurmountable problem. She will never be believed. Never. Not a single word.

This is where that grief counselor the defense wants to call comes in. I believe the defense wants this woman to basically testify in place of Anthony. This is how they would get in much of what Casey would testify to. Asking questions an attorney knows will draw objections doesn't stop an attorney when they really, reeeeally need to get a point across to the jury. By the time the question is out of their mouths and objection made, oops...too late to unring that bell.

The defense has done a lot of that already...expect more.

The defense has to prove not only that Casey's nonchalant, happy-go-lucky behavior after Caylee's death was a result of having suffered molestation and grief over Caylee's loss; they must prove the molestation happened. That's not going to happen.

In opening statements, Baez said George came around the corner of the house with a drowned Caylee. And Baez just left it at that. He didn't say, "And then George used the laundry bag, the Pooh blanket and duct tape from the home to dispose of Caylee." No, they just made insinuations. That's fine -- again, they don't have to prove anything. But if they want to be believed enough to raise reasonable doubt, they have to bring it. I don't see how they can.

There are a myriad of issues with blaming George. One is the contradiction between George as a savvy, conniving ex-detective who knew all the tricks to remove himself from suspicion and clean or otherwise tamper with evidence to avoid detection of his nefarious deeds vs. the George who is alleged to have covered up the crime for Casey? You can't have it both ways. Why would George go to all that trouble and then turn around and frame his daughter? Makes NO sense.

Next under the bus in defense's scenario would have to be Roy Kronk, the meter reader who discovered Caylee's remains. Did the guy want the reward? Yes, and that's kind of unseemly unless you're gonna donate to charity, but it in no way means he took Caylee's remains and secreted them until the time was right to cash in on his "jackpot." This is so far-fetched and ludicrous. Between cross-exam by the state when the defense calls Kronk and Kronk's own denials, it will never fly.

Defense has to raise only reasonable doubt -- and in only one juror -- to avoid conviction. But these jurors are not dummies and are not going to buy that load of bull, especially once they decide the molestation accusations were false. They know what a liar Anthony is...why would they believe her instead of Kronk (or anyone else, for that matter).

If Casey avoids conviction, it will be because a juror felt some element of the state's case was not proven, not because they buy these ridiculous "imaginary" defense stories. If we're to believe Baez that Casey lives in an alternate reality, a world separate from the real world, we know right away not to accept her defense scenarios since her alternate reality is lie upon lie upon lie. Why would her defense scenarios be any more truthful?

Casey Anthony Trial - After State Rests: Cross-Exam, Rebuttal/Surrebuttal

You may think that once the state rests its case, it's done all it can. But that's not true at all. Remember, the state will be cross-examining all of the defense's witnesses and may be able to elicit things they never could have by calling a witness for direct exam.

Also, once the defense finishes, the state will be allowed a rebuttal case wherein they can put on their own witnesses to rebut the defense's case in chief. By the same token, the defense will be allowed surrebuttal, or rebuttal of the state's rebuttal. Got that? ;-)

Though it may seem the state is done, we will see more from the state in the form of cross-exam of defense witnesses and the state's rebuttal case.

And, of course, both sides will present closing arguments. This is when a good attorney ties together all the bits and pieces of circumstantial evidence (large and small) into a cohesive overall picture. These people have been looking at this evidence for 3 yrs. They know far more than we do -- we may even be surprised at the way in which some evidence ties in or realize that something we thought not to be a big deal really is a huge deal.

Casey Anthony Trial - Evidence: Tying It All Together

Something I often read or hear is, "They've got nothing but circumstantial evidence." Well, the vast majority of cases are built on circumstantial evidence, not direct evidence, so let's talk about that a bit.

Direct Evidence is provided by those who actually witnessed a crime. For example, a witness who sees a defendant snatch a purse can testify that she saw the crime committed. You get the idea -- it is direct, firsthand observance of a crime.

Circumstantial Evidence is evidence from which a jury must draw inferences -- fingerprints, ballistics, hair, fiber, all the CSI stuff; but also testimony about what a witness may have seen or heard, even though they didn't witness the actual commission of the crime. For example, someone may testify that while pumping gas, he heard a gunshot in a convenience store and saw the defendant running from the scene. He didn't actually witness the crime itself, but he can tell the jury about circumstances surrounding the crime and they can draw inferences from that testimony.

As you can imagine, many times there isn't any direct evidence -- most criminals don't perform in front of an audience or videotape their exploits. Most cases are built on circumstantial evidence instead. For some reason, a lot of people think circumstantial cases are weak by their very nature.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Circumstantial evidence can be extremely powerful. It is what allows the dots to be connected when evidence is reliable and believable. If we required direct evidence of every crime, our prisons would be extremely underpopulated. We have to use common sense in deciding whether the totality of evidence presented is sufficient to relieve any reasonable doubt that a defendant committed a crime.

And speaking of reasonable doubt, the word "reasonable" is very important. Jurors are instructed not to consider imagined or fanciful scenarios (or scenarios that haven't been presented) as a "moral out" in order not to convict. They are to evaluate the evidence presented by both sides and convict if they're sure beyond a reasonable doubt and acquit if they're not.

In the realm of "what ifs" in the universe, virtually nothing is impossible. But is it plausible and - using our common sense - reasonable? If not, it's not reasonable doubt. Reasonable doubt does not equal no doubt whatsoever. I think some want to hold the state to a higher standard than the law requires in that regard.

Yes, of course, you want to be sure someone committed the crime before convicting them. And it would be nice if criminals left videos and eyewitnesses for every crime, but they seldom do. So we have to connect the dots and see if our common sense says the reasonable conclusion is that a defendant committed a crime. It's a heavy burden to find someone guilty of a serious crime, especially one that carries the ultimate penalty. But we can't use or create unreasonable scenarios as an excuse to acquit.

Connecting The Dots

The state has done a good job presenting its evidence. I believe they have shown without a doubt that Caylee was in the trunk of that car. That's a huge piece of circumstantial evidence pointing toward Anthony's guilt.

I believe the state has shown that Casey didn't have a "flat affect" as the defense wishes us to believe (a result of abuse and trauma over Caylee's accidental death), but instead had no problem showing emotion, being a bubbly fun "party girl," getting angry with her mom, giggling in jailhouse videos, etc. She showed no concern for the welfare of her child whatsoever.

Casey didn't report Caylee missing for 31 days -- in fact, she didn't report her missing AT ALL. If not for Cindy's calling 911, who knows when Caylee's "disappearance" might have ever been discovered.

I think Dr. Jan Garavaglia gave the jury all they need to be convinced Caylee's death was not an accident, but homicide: In cases of TRUE accidents where children die, it's reported 100% of the time. Every. Single. Time. Just as she said, in cases of drowning, for example, you've no idea how long they were in the water and whether they're clinically dead and unable to be revived. You call 911 and get help there ASAP for even the most desperate situations in hopes your little one might be miraculously revived.

You don't not report a child missing; you don't toss an accident victim into garbage bags and discard her like trash in the swampy woods; you don't duct tape a live child's face, and there's no reason to ever duct tape a dead child's face. Garavaglia convinced me that there is no way Caylee's death was an accident. She was killed. Working from that, it's then left to figure out who killed her.

Decomp was in the trunk of Casey's car. There is no escaping that. Between the stains, air and postmortem root banding on the hair, the state has proved a dead Caylee was in the trunk. So now I know (1) Caylee was killed and (2) She was in Casey's trunk.

Up until the day she discarded her car at Amscot, Casey seems to have been the only one driving her car between June 16 2008 and the date she dumped the car. She complained to her friend about the smell in the car, told her an animal was plastered under the frame. So now I know (1) Caylee killed (2) Caylee was in trunk of Casey's car (3) Stench was not squirrel under frame but Caylee in trunk.

The insect activity from trunk/trash bag has shown a couple of things: There were very few blowflies, which indicates they'd gotten what they wanted and moved on (in other words, the body was in the trunk for a few days, and the "mama" blowfly decided they'd fed all they could and took her clan away to find a new food source). The phorid flies, which were abundant in the paper towel, come along a bit later in the decomp process.

There were no organic substances in the trash (just empty food containers and such). There would need to be a pretty good pile of raw meat/organic substances to have attracted the flies. Even if you think there were organic materials in that garbage, why weren't the phorid flies attracted to it? What the phorid flies were attracted to in the garbage was that toweling, the toweling with a stain -- a stain believed to be decomp fluid that was wiped up (or otherwise came in contact) with the paper towels.

So now I know (1) Caylee killed (2) Caylee in trunk (3) Stench was from decomp (4) Fly evidence points to decomp in trunk/on towels and even to stage of decomp.

We also heard estimates of how long Caylee's decomposing body had been at the remains location site -- about 6 months. This was determined by the stage of decomp, the environmental conditions, the fact that parts of her little remains were practically buried or embedded in the soil and/or covered with a heavy layer of leaf and litter debris.

So now I know (1) Caylee killed (2) Caylee in trunk (3) Stench was from decomp (4) Fly evidence points to decomp/stage of decomp (5) Caylee's body was at remains site for many months, likely from soon after she died in June.

The "Whitney Design" laundry bag with the remains was a match to another in the Anthony home, as were the black plastic trash bags and Caylee's Winnie The Pooh bedding.

So now I know (1) Caylee killed (2) Caylee in trunk (3) Stench was from decomp (4) Fly evidence points to decomp/stage of decomp (5) Caylee's body was at remains site for many months, likely from soon after she died in June (6) Items from Anthony home found at remains site.

Abuse excuse -- Baez didn't ask George Anthony on cross whether he molested his daughter. Dorothy Clay Sims didn't ask Lee about it, either. Ashton clearly asked George about molesting his daughter on direct, so the door was WIDE open for Baez to go after him on that point in cross. But not a peep about it. In fact, there's been no evidence whatsoever that George or Lee ever molested or attempted to molest Casey.


I realize Baez can call him during the defense's case, but how much more effective would it have been to crucify him with a molestation inquisition during the state's case. If Baez could make it all believable, it would have tainted all the rest of the state's presentation.

You can see from the jailhouse tapes and testimony that Casey Anthony was NOT afraid of her father in the least. She played him, just like everyone else. She left Caylee alone with her "molester" all the time? I don't think so. Just another batch of lies from Anthony. Perhaps she is exacting revenge on George for having testified against her before the Grand Jury? Or perhaps he is the only scapegoat they could find.

So now I know (1) Caylee killed (2) Caylee in trunk (3) Stench was from decomp (4) Fly evidence points to decomp/stage of decomp (5) Caylee's body was at remains site for many months (6) Items from Anthony home found at remains site (7) Trauma and reaction from "molestation" by George is not proven and almost surely false.

The chloroform levels of the AIR samples in Casey's trunk were off the chart. Many keep saying this was contradicted by FBI analyst who found just a "small" amount. But they were testing DIFFERENT THINGS. Now I don't know if the chloroform was a byproduct of decomp or whether Casey used it on Caylee. But it was there and in a hugely enormous quantity. Together with all the computer searches for chloroform, it points to a not-unreasonable conclusion that the substance was used somehow either on Caylee or in the trunk itself.

The duct tape matches Henkel brand that Anthonys had used. Obviously, duct tape is not wrapped around a child's face for any innocent reason when they're alive, nor even after death. I think this more than likely killed Caylee, that she suffocated from her air passages being taped up. Perhaps she was chloroformed and taped as an extra measure.

***************

Now let's look at Casey's behavior. It's true that everyone grieves differently, but I've never heard of or seen a parent of an accidental drowning victim who:

• Does not call 911 in a desperate attempt to revive the child, regardless the consequences to herself if she's been neglectful.
• Has fun hanging with her boyfriend and others, renting movies, shopping, cooking, going dancing immediately after her child's death.
• Lies to LE over and over and over again. In fact, every word out of her mouth was a lie designed to cover her own tracks rather than to assist in finding her daughter. She gave absolutely no -- I mean ZERO -- useful information to LE to assist in finding Caylee. NONE.
• Never shows one iota of concern while in jail about her "missing" daughter. She was concerned only with her own situation (perhaps because she knew there was nothing that could be done for Caylee at that point).
• Continues with her lies, never saying a word about an accident til time for her trial when the abuse excuse was concocted. If this were an accident, she would have said so in the three years since Caylee died. She wouldn't have sat in jail awaiting a trial and subject herself to lethal injection over a true "accident." Baez has claimed from the beginning that there was an explanation, that the truth made sense. If he knew of this "accident" and molestation all along, what does that say about his advocacy for his client?

So now I know:

1. Caylee was killed (she did not suffer an accident).
2. Caylee was in that trunk.
3. The car stench was from decomp.
4. Fly evidence points to decomp/stage of decomp.
5. Caylee's body was at remains site for many months (negating "Kronk hid/discovered her for money" scenario).
6. Items from Anthony home found at remains site.
7. Duct tape was wrapped around Caylee's face/head. Perhaps chloroform was used as a weapon as well. Computer searches point to a desire to harm someone.
8. Trauma and reaction from "molestation" by George is not proven and almost surely false. She would not allow herself to sit for years in jail and face the death penalty out of "fear" of George Anthony.
9. Casey's behavior - some think it doesn't matter, but it surely does. Not EVER reporting Caylee missing (or "accidental" death); partying and carrying on with her boyfriend, carefree and happy as can be; never showing concern or asking about progress in finding Caylee while in jail; her bizarre attitude/demeanor on jailhouse tapes.
10. All the lies to family and LE about what happened. Every single thing she said distracted from finding her daughter. Every single word out of her mouth a lie.

I didn't cover everything, just hit a few high points. There is much, much more. But taking just the points I covered and looking at them in their totality, I think it's enough for a jury to convict on First Degree Murder. It is "reasonable" to draw inferences from this mountain of circumstantial evidence that Casey Anthony killed her daughter, kept her in her trunk for a few days, then dumped her close to home. There is nothing "reasonable" to suggest anyone else had anything whatsoever to do with Caylee's death/disposal.

All that said, it must be pointed out that the defense has yet to present their case. It's possible they might knock down some of the state's evidence. But if they don't, I believe the jury will have all it needs to convict of First Degree Murder. A huge problem for the defense is that they committed themselves 100% to that ridiculous scenario of George finding Caylee in the pool, being hateful to Casey about it, Casey never saying a word due to having been molested and using "ugly coping" defense mechanisms to deal with it.

The problem, as I said from the beginning, is that if the jury doesn't believe this defense, then they're left with "It's just another pack of lies by Casey Anthony, and look what she did to her poor father." That is not going to bode well for Anthony during deliberations and sentencing (if convicted).

To be fair, I guess the defense didn't have much to work with and had to come up with something to explain Casey not reporting Caylee missing and refusing to cooperate with LE. But the risk is that if the jury doesn't buy it, they quite possibly will resent the defendant and defense. They might not consciously bring that into deliberations, but somewhere in those noggins will be the thought of how the defense tried to dupe them and what a cold-hearted person Casey is for making up such a wicked story. In other words, they will think even more poorly of her and think her even more likely to be so cold as to have killed her daughter.

Let's see what the defense brings before we declare a conviction is a done deal...but for now, it's sure looking that way.

Share your thoughts in the comments section. As always, I respect all views, including those that might disagree with mine. Everyone is welcome here!

Casey Anthony Trial - The State's Case: Is It Enough?

The State of Florida is nearing the end of its case in chief. Have they proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Casey Anthony is guilty of first degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child, and providing false statements to law enforcement?

The easiest first: No doubt the case has been made for Anthony's having provided false information to LE. She admits it via her defense team. Guilty as charged on those counts.

Here are Florida's statutory definitions for the other charges:

First Degree Murder

The premeditated design to effect the death of the person killed...or...the killing of a person during the perpetration (or attempted perpetration) of a number of offenses, including aggravated child abuse.

Aggravated Child Abuse

The abuse of a child rises to the level of "aggravated" when a person commits aggravated battery on a child; willfully tortures, maliciously punishes or willfully and unlawfully cages a child; or knowingly and willfully abuses a child and in so doing causes great bodily harm or permanent disability/disfigurement of the child (this is the "aggravated battery" part).

Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child

This occurs when someone causes the death of a child under 18 yrs due to culpable negligence. Neglect is defined as a caregiver's failure to provide a child with the care, supervision and services necessary to maintain physical and mental health and/or the failure to make a reasonable effort to protect a child from abuse, neglect or exploitation by another person.

Neglect can be repeated conduct or a single instance of neglect or omission that results in, or could reasonably be expected to result in, serious injury or a substantial risk of the death of the child.

"Culpable negligence" is defined as exposing another person to personal injury or, through neglect, actually causing physical injury to another.

********************

Now that we have definitions of the charges, let's see how they might apply:

Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child: At the very least, the case has been made for that charge. Even if Caylee died in the pool as defense claims, then Casey obviously failed to provide Caylee with the care, supervision and services necessary to maintain her health and/or failed to protect Caylee from abuse or neglect by another person.

Let's say the defense scenario is true -- if Casey left Caylee unsupervised in a home with doors unlocked to the patio and a ladder in the pool (the pool she knew Caylee loved so much), she is culpably negligent for having exposed Caylee to a potentially deadly situation.

I would also argue that she's culpably negligent for not having called 911 to try to have a professional medical person revive Caylee. I think an Aggravated Manslaughter conviction is the best the defense can hope for.

Aggravated Child Abuse: If the jury believes Casey Anthony either chloroformed or duct taped Caylee, then she is guilty of Aggravated Child Abuse since it is (at the least) a willful and knowing act that resulted in great bodily harm.

First Degree Murder: It must be proven that Anthony either premeditated the killing OR that Caylee died in the perpetration of Aggravated Child Abuse. That "or" is very important -- while it's to the state's advantage to prove premeditation, it's not necessary if they can prove death occurred during the commission of Aggravated Child Abuse., since that also qualifies as First Degree Murder.

Therefore, if the jury believes Caylee died as a result of Aggravated Child Abuse by Casey, then (regardless whether premeditated) it follows that she should be found guilty of First Degree Murder.

We'll look at supporting (or not) evidence in the next post.

Casey Anthony Trial - Days 8 through 14 (June 2 - 9)

Casey Anthony became "ill" during the afternoon session of court yesterday. I guess hearing Linda Drane Burdick walk the CSI photographer step-by-step into the woods -- inching closer and closer with each photo to Caylee's remains -- must have caused Anthony some anxiety. Although she didn't actually look at any of the remains photos, hearing subsequent witnesses describe them (and evidence items linking Anthony to them) must have been a real bummer for her.

It's unknown at this point whether Anthony will be recovered sufficiently to attend court this morning.

I have several bits and pieces of blog posts I've tried to work on the past week, but I'm finding no time to complete them after Tweeting the trial and taking care of what I need to at home. If Anthony is still sick today and there is no court, I'll use that opportunity to get the blog up-to-date. If not, will try to get caught up this weekend.

In the meantime, here is the blow-by-blow Tweetbook for June 2nd - 9th (time is 1 hr behind FL time; you can adjust text size at bottom of the document):


TrialNotesJune2-9

Casey Anthony Trial - Day 7 (1 June) - Lee Anthony / Law Enforcement

On Day 6, the state asked the judge to be allowed to introduce Casey Anthony's six prior felony convictions. The state contended that the defense elicited statements that Anthony made to witnesses for the purpose of showing her statements were credible; as a result, the state was entitled to rebut her credibility with her prior convictions.

There was to be a hearing Wed. morning regarding the matter, but the state told the court if the defense was trying to show Anthony was lying (vs. trying to show her statements as credible), then the state would drop the matter (for now, anyway).

Judge Perry cautioned the defense that they were walking a very, very fine line that if crossed could be devastating for the defense. When a defendant's statements to others are elicited by defense for the purpose of showing defendant to be credible, it opens the door for the state to use anything they'd use against any other witness to prove them not credible, including convictions.

Cross exam of Amy Huizenga by Jose Baez.

Baez established that Casey and Amy were really good friends only from February til July and that the majority of their communication was via either text message or phone call; that they "lived by their phones," as he put it, "like most young people.

Baez asks if Amy actually knows Casey's motivation for turning down invitations to go out with Amy. She agrees she can't know that (I guess she could only go by what Casey told her).

Baez asked if she received only one text from Casey about the smell in the car and she says yes. (I guess other conversation about it was via phone call). Baez then asked if it were fair to say that her memory during that time period was "fogged from drinking quite heavily." Amy says she wouldn't call it heavy drinking, same as most others her age.

Baez asked if she'd been drinking when she wrecked her car. She said she'd had drinks earlier, but the last one was about 3 hrs before she drove home. She claimed she was just tired and nodded off on a boring stretch of road. Baez then has her read a text message she'd sent: "I hit a guardrail. I'm okay. Thank God I didn't get a DU--" Objection by state was sustained. (Pretty sure the jury could fill in the letter "I" without further help, though.)

She totaled her car and the airbag deployed. Baez asked if she sustained a head injury. She said just her nose, and it wasn't much of anything just a little "crusty" blood. She'd never been hit with an airbag and didn't know what to expect, she said, so she asked people to call her every few mins til she knew she was okay.

Baez tried to run with that and imply she'd suffered a head injury (I guess so he could claim anything she testified about that occurred after that date might be suspect because she got knocked silly?) Amy clearly said she was fine, just (barely) a little bit of a nose bleed.

Baez: "You never saw a doctor, so you don't know what the full extent was of the airbag hitting you, do you?" Yes, seriously, he asked that. Guess he knows better than she does that she had an untreated, undiagnosed head/brain injury. Amy looked at him like he was crazy. "Ummm....no.."

He then moved on to Casey's boyfriends. "You met Jesse on July 15, and you later went out with him?" Amy: "We struck up a friendship." Baez: "Any other boyfriends of Casey you went out with?" Objection/sustained.

So, that's the way Casey treats a best friend. And Casey's defense has the nerve to paint Amy as a lying, brain-damaged lush who wanted Casey's boyfriends and revenge.

Of course, what the jury didn't get to hear was how Casey robbed Amy blind, stealing her cash and checks, depleting her accounts...and that Casey was convicted of six felony charges as a result. Nope, what the jury heard was the implication that poor little Casey is a victim of Amy. Amy was nothing but good to Casey and got nothing but pain in return...and three years later, nothing's changed

Dee Snider's got nothing on Lee Anthony in the Twisted Sister department.

Lee Anthony is questioned by Frank George for the state. Lee said that on July 3, 2008, Cindy made him aware that Caylee and Casey had not been home in some time. Lee tried to investigate and find them on his own. Via clues on myspace and Facebook, he thought she might be at The Dragon Room in downtown Orlando that evening. He and a friend met his girlfriend, Mallory, there. When Casey didn't show at that club, he tried to text her to find her.

Lee tried on/off for about an hour with text messages and then tried phone calls, some of which Casey answered. He asked her to meet up, but she said she was busy with friends. During one of the calls, she told Lee she was in Jacksonville. Lee knew it was a lie and questioned her about what she was doing there. She told him she was out with a friend at a country western bar.

He called her on the lie, told her he knew she was in town and asked where she was, to no avail. She told him Caylee was being watched while she was out with her friend. Lee told her she needed to talk to the family was worried about her and Caylee. She told him everything was fine and she'd call Cindy the next day. Casey eventually hung up on him. He made numerous subsequent attempts to call her, but she wouldn't answer.

Lee stayed on a stretch of Church St. (apparently a strip with lots of bars), figuring he'd catch her coming out of one of them and she'd have to talk to him. But he never found her. Cindy told him not to continue to pursue it.

On July 15, Lee got a call from George that his mom needed him; asked him to go to the house. When Lee arrived, his mom and Casey weren't there yet. He went into the house through the garage. The first thing he noticed was a smell from the car -- the windows were rolled down and their was writing on the car from the two yard. Lee said the smell was very potent and strong, an offensive smell. When asked if he approached the car, Lee said he had to walk past it to get into the house, but not by choice.

When Cindy and Casey arrived, they went inside. Casey was very combative, saying she didn't know why she bothered since no one was listening to her anyway. Cindy was equally, if not more, combative. Prior to that night, Lee said he didn't know Casey used a nanny. Cindy was asking her about Caylee and Casey kept saying she was already asleep at the nanny's and she didn't want to disturb her "routine." She told them she'd go get her in the morning.

Lee couldn't understand why they couldn't go get Caylee. He offered to go himself, send his friend, someone else to pick her up. He felt it just didn't make sense for Casey to put them all through this (including having LE called on her) when they could just go get Caylee and be done with it.

When Frank George asked Lee what, specifically, Casey told them about why she wouldn't allow the family to see Caylee, Casey said, "Maybe because I'm a spiteful bitch." (I guess she is capable of telling truth every once in a while.)

Lee tried to talk to and reason with Casey while his mom was outside the room. She told Lee that her mom had thrown in in her face many times that she was an unfit mother. "Maybe I am," she said.

Lee was getting extremely frustrated with Casey -- nothing was making sense. She eventually told him that Caylee had been taken by Zanny 31 days before. That was the first time he'd ever heard the name Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez. Lee said Casey was very specific about the 31 days.

Cindy heard the conversation and came into the room, yelling at Casey, "What did you do? We could have found her!" Lee asked Casey where she'd last seen Caylee, and she told him Sawgrass Apartments, when she dropped her with ZFG. She told him she'd been staying at Tony's and trying to find Caylee herself; that she camped out at ZFG's apartment and watched it; that she went places ZFG might take Caylee -- stores, parks, etc.

Casey claimed she'd gotten a call from Caylee -- that very day, as a matter of fact. She talked to Caylee for a moment, then asked Caylee to put an adult on the phone and the line went dead. Lee immediately went into search mode. He went to Tony's. He told Tony what was going on and picked up Casey's belongings (laptop, duffel bag, backpack). The computer was on, with a "blue screen" showing, as if it had a virus or the system were corrupted. He tried to reboot it, but it wouldn't boot up.

Among Casey's belongings that Lee retrieved were 19 receipts. Within a day or two during a family sit-down with LE, they were offered the receipts and anything they wanted from the items he'd picked up. There were no items belonging to Caylee in any of the bags he got from Tony's.

Interestingly (and oddly, since Baez seems to want to do the cross of every single witness), the cross of Lee is passed off to Dorothy Clay Sims, who practically whispered her questions. (My theory is Lee knows something about Baez's handling of the case that he didn't want to take a chance of being blurted by Lee if he questioned him; or, he's too chicken shit to face Lee after claiming Lee wanted to "follow in his dad's footsteps" and molest his sister.)

Sims elicited that Lee wasn't in Chicago July 3/4; that his dad had a set of keys to Casey's car; that at one point during evening of 15th, Lee was whispering to Casey; that his mom's focus was "why didn't you tell us."

Then Sims tried to implicate Tony Lazzaro in some sort of wrongdoing. She asked if Lazzaro packed Casey's bags. "Is it almost 100% your firm belief..." Objection/sustained. Rinse/repeat. Then she asked if Lazzaro might have caused the blue screen on Casey's computer.

Lee said the things from Tony's had no odor to them. He agreed his father is the car detailer/maintenance provider in the family. On re-direct, Lee said his focus became finding Caylee as soon as Casey alleged a kidnapping. He also testified that LE's focus was not on Casey but on finding Caylee.

Brendan Fletcher, first officer to arrive on scene.

Fletcher said the initial call was for a stolen vehicle and altercation between the caller and her daughter. He saw George and Cindy immediately upon entering the home, but not Casey. Cindy was very upset, trying to convey information. Within 10 mins or so of arriving, he talked to Casey. She came out of her room, didn't really say much, not very forthcoming.

At some point, Casey told him she'd left Caylee with the nanny who had kidnapped her. Fletcher contacted his supervisor, Sgt. Reginald Hosey, who arrived and began running the scene.

Flecther drove to Sawgrass, while Deputy Acevedo and Casey followed in another car. CA pointed out a second floor apartment, #210. The blinds were open, and from what he could view, the apartment appeared to be empty, no furniture.

Baez asks if he noticed odor from car, and Fletcher says he can't say he did. Baez asked if anyone else told him about an odor (hearsay objection sustained). Baez asks if another officer tells him something, does he put it in his report. Fletcher said it just depended since it might be included in the other officer's report instead.

Adriana Acevedo, Deputy who drove Casey to Sawgrass.

Acevedo transported Casey in the back of her patrol car to Sawgrass to identify the apartment where she claimed to have dropped Caylee. She was not handcuffed for the ride and Acevedo took steps to ensure Casey knew the ride was voluntary and that she didn't have to go if she didn't want to.

Baez asked about Cindy's demeanor - "upset." George's demeanor - "calm, quiet." Casey's demeanor - "quiet." Just like her dad? "Yes." She noticed an odor; didn't know if it was garbage or the car. She told LDB on redirect that she didn't have much experience with human decomp to distinguish from garbage.

Amanda Macklin, Manager of Sawgrass.

Macklin testified that apartment 210 at Sawgrass was vacant; it was the leasing model, no one lived in it. There was never a ZFG who lived at Sawgrass.

Lieutenant Reginald Hosey, officer in charge July 15 2008.

I lost my live stream during direct, but he basically testified that he arrived on scene that night and directed LE to take Casey to Sawgrass to ID the apartment and to go to Lazzaro's to talk to them, search the apartment.

Hosey realized there was a situation between Casey and her mother. He asked Casey if she'd walk with him, and they went outside and walked and talked a bit. She told him Casey was with the nanny. She wanted to prevent Cindy from seeing Caylee because she thought Cindy might try to take Caylee away from her. Hosey contacted Yuri Melich of the missing persons unit to assist.

On cross, Hosey testified that he doesn't recall Anthony being handcuffed that night or telling other LE to uncuff her. He was advised in talking to state attorneys after his deposition that Anthony was cuffed, but he doesn't recall seeing her in cuffs. He said Anthony was put in the "cage" (back seat) of Acevedo's patrol car for transport to Sawgrass. That's standard procedure.

When Casey got back from Sawgrass, he walked into the house with her. There were 3 or 4 other officers on scene, but they were in and out. On redirect, LDB emphasizes that at that Hosey believed, based on what Casey told him, that Caylee was a live and well and with the sitter, who she wasn't able to contact.

He said that other people in the house with the "armed" deputies were George, Cindy and Lee. He made no effort to restrict the movement of anyone. None, including Casey, indicated they wanted to leave. All appeared to be cooperating to find Caylee.

******
Still working on my posts for Melich's testimony, the recorded jail visits and LE/forensic testimony. Will publish those once I finish up. There was much to cover in the second week!

Casey Anthony Trial - Day 6 (31 May) - Cindy Anthony's Testimony Continues

The day began with two blows to the defense. Judge Perry agreed to excuse Lee Anthony from the rule of witness sequestration so that he can be allowed to sit in the courtroom during trial. Also, after reviewing George Anthony's grand jury testimony, the judge ruled there was nothing inconsistent there compared to his trial testimony and denied the defense's request to be given that transcript.

Cindy Anthony then returned to the stand. Linda Drane-Burdick picked up where she left off on Saturday -- the July 3, 2008 posting by Cindy on myspace, "My Caylee Is Missing." Cindy says it was just a "figure of speech" when she posted Caylee was missing -- she had no idea at the time that Caylee was actually missing.

Casey continued to make one excuse after another for not coming home, including that "Jules" (the cancer-stricken mom of "Jeff the boyfriend") was getting married spur of the moment -- in a hospital chapel, no less. Next, she told her mom something was wrong with her car and Jeff was looking at it; they'd have to get it fixed. All this time, she also made excuses for why Cindy couldn't speak to Caylee.

During this time, Cindy said George asked about Casey and Caylee every day. They both were anxious for them to come home, especially Caylee. But they were never to see little Caylee again.

Cindy talked about receiving the notice from the wrecker service and picking up Casey's car. When they got it home, Cindy found Caylee's favorite little doll sitting in the car seat, the way Caylee would've sat in it, she said. Why would Caylee's doll be in the car if Caylee died at home? Wouldn't her favorite doll have been with her, in the house? We better not hear Baez say Casey put it in the car seat and pretended it was Caylee after the "accidental drowning." I wouldn't be surprised if he claimed that as part of her "imaginary" world.

Caylee's little doll smelled so terribly that Cindy used some Clorox wipes to clean its plastic face and hands and Febrezed its fabric body. She used a whole can of Febreze on the car as well, trying to get rid of the stench.

Cindy has had experience debriding wounds and with the odor of rotting flesh in the morgue from nursing school. She said she didn't make any connection between the smell in the car and an actual dead body because George had told her about the garbage bag. She was satisfied that had caused the smell.

Cindy found Amy Huizenga's resumes in Casey's car and called the number listed. Amy was at a mall, and Cindy went and picked her up. We've heard the account of what happened next already, so I won't go into detail about their going to Tony's apartment and Casey's then leaving with them. I did find it very curious that Cindy threw in how "surprised" she was that Amy knew exactly which apartment to go to. Made me think that she still believes Casey's friends might have been involved.

When Cindy realized she was going to get nowhere with Casey, she called 911 -- three times. The first two calls were to report the car as stolen, attempting to scare Casey into producing Caylee for her. But of course Casey couldn't do that since poor little Caylee was dead. She kept insisting Caylee was with Zanny and she didn't want to disturb her sleep; she'd pick her up the next day. Cindy wasn't buying it and neither was Lee. Casey eventually "confided" in Lee that that Caylee had been "kidnapped" a month earlier by Zanny the Nanny.


All three 911 calls were played for the jury. The third call, of course, is the one in which Cindy reported Caylee missing. Cindy was doubled over, her head on the witness stand, sobbing uncontrollably but quietly as that tape was played. She clearly started making the connection between the car odor and Caylee's absence at the time of that call. "Something is wrong...it smells like there's been a dead body in the damn car!"

The panic in Cindy's voice is heartbreaking, especially when George arrives and she calls out to him, "George, Caylee is missing!" Compare and contrast her reaction and that of her daughter in the 911 call. When the operator speaks to Casey, she is cool as a cucumber, telling them that she's been looking for Caylee on her own. "I've tried to go through other resources to find her, which was stupid."

Linda Drane Burdick played Casey's first call home from jail for the jury. That call is the best example of who Casey Anthony really is, and I don't think that fact is lost on the jury. She is belligerent, hateful, disrespectful, selfish. She said to her mom, "I just saw your nice little cameo on TV. You don't know what my involvement is?" When Cindy brings Caylee up, Casey's response is, "I don't fucking know where she's at!"

Casey's main concern was getting Tony's phone number so she could call him. She told Lee, "I talked to my mother and it was a fucking waste." She told him, "Don't bother coming for the bond hearing." Lee put Casey's friend, Christina, on the phone. She asked Casey why she wanted to talk to Tony. With as much snark and contempt as she could manage, Casey said, "Because he's my boyfriend??? And I got arrested on a fucking whim today???"

Christina tells Casey that if anything happens to Caylee, she'll just die. Casey's cold-hearted response was, "Oh. My. God. Calling you guys -- a huge waste!" She goes on to tell Christina that, "They're going to pin it on me if they can't find her." Christina asks Casey why she isn't upset and crying. She said, "I'm not sitting here fucking crying every two seconds...I have to stay composed."

Christina assured Casey that her family was with her 100%. Casey said no, they weren't; that she'd watched the news and nobody in her family was on her side. "All they care about is getting Caylee back," she said. As an afterthought, when she realized how that must sound, she tossed in very unconvincingly that, of course, that's what she wanted, too.

Will the real Casey Anthony please stand up?

During cross exam by Jose Baez, Cindy said Casey was a loving mother and that Caylee absolutely adored her. Baez tried to show that Cindy and George knew Casey was pregnant long before Cindy's brother's wedding, when the brother asked if she were. Cindy insisted they didn't know. She said Casey had a lot of problems with her period and with bloating and that she'd recently taken a sedentary job. She attributed the weight gain to those factors.

Then Baez has Casey stand and asks Cindy to come down from the witness stand and take a look at her. He pointed out that Casey has been sedentary in jail the past 2+ years. "Is her belly protruding now?" After motioning for Casey to turn to the side so she could get a better look, Cindy replied, "She's not as big as she was at that time, no." Casey had sort of a funny look on her face as she sat back down and said something to Dorothy Clay Sims. I think she may have taken offense to Cindy's having said she wasn't "as big," as if she were big...just not as big.

Baez asks her about Casey's nonexistent friends and their associates. Cindy believed they were real at the time. She gave up on Zanny being real only a few weeks prior to trial. She testified that she had looked for Zanny up until that time.

Cindy testified that she took the ladder off of the pool after she and Caylee finished swimming on Father's Day. At some point later, she found the gate unlocked and the ladder on the pool. Baez elicited that there were no bars or childproof locks on the sliding glass doors in the home; that Caylee could have gotten out of the house; and that Caylee loved to swim

Baez played the portion of the 911 call where Cindy calls out to George that Caylee is missing. Baez asked if she could hear George's voice on the call. Cindy tried to explain that he parked at the street and she was close to the house while on the phone, so George's voice wasn't picked up on the recording. But Baez wants just a yes or no answer and Cindy concedes that no, George's voice is not heard on the recording. Baez is trying to establish that George had no excited reaction because he already knew Caylee was gone.

Then Baez moved on to accusing the Anthonys of making money off of Caylee's death. "You trademarked her name?" "Yes." "Did you make money off this case?" "We've lost money." He asked about receiving $20k from CBS. Cindy said their attorney at the time set that up so he could get paid. They paid him and paid bills with the rest, she said. The Anthonys went to New York to discuss a book deal (also set up through attorney). "Have you tried to make a living as director of the Caylee Foundation?" "No, sir."

Now, if this isn't the pot calling the kettle black! There sits his client, slapped in the last few weeks with a notice of failure to pay taxes of over $60k on her income (how much must she have received from selling photos/videos for taxes to be that much?!) and he wants to accuse someone else of making money off Caylee's death? Hypocritical much?

On redirect by Drane Burdick, Cindy testified that she provided Caylee's food, clothing and shelter. LDB asked Cindy whether Casey's weight has fluctuated in jail (remember, she was relatively chunky looking at one point). Baez had asked Cindy about Caylee's father. Cindy told LDB she asked right away after learning Casey was pregnant and Casey told her Jesse was the father; Cindy told George about Casey having said that.

Cindy told LDB in regard to the open gate and ladder that George had not left the gate open. Cindy said Caylee was not able to reach the gate lock. LDB asked, "If Caylee couldn't reach the gate lock and George hadn't opened it, who does that leave in the house who could unlock the gate?" Answer: Casey Anthony.

Cindy testified on redirect that the smell in the car was like nothing she'd ever smelled before. LDB asked if it were worse than odor of rotting flesh she'd encountered in her nursing career. Cindy said yes, because it was a bigger surface.

LDB cleared up a couple of other issues: Cindy couldn't remember exactly what George said when she called out to him that Caylee was missing during 911 call, but she remembers he was quite upset. She testified that the trademarking of Caylee's name was to avoid exploitation by strangers.

On re-cross, Cindy testified that the odor in the car was "overwhelming" and worse than any garbage or dead flesh she'd ever smelled. She said the odor was closest in smell to rotting flesh.

Cindy testified that upon reaching George while on the 911 call, she collapsed in his arms. Once he got her picked up, he started to cry and was just as upset as Cindy was.


Judge Perry: "I am not stopping anymore for you to get files."

Amy Huizenga is the state's next witness, but the defense is unprepared for her. Baez says they need to retrieve her file. The judge is not pleased at all with this. He reminds Baez that he cleared an entire locked hallway for their file storage. "Have you stored any files there?" Baez says they have not. The judge tells him that if they recess early because of that, he will "work you all day Saturday." He said he was gonna get that time back.

The judge said they'd take just direct testimony and the defense could cross examine the next morning. "But let me make it clear -- if you want files, you better put them in there. I am NOT stopping anymore for you to get files. You're not sequestered. You can go home every night. The jurors can't, and they want to work."

Frank George conducts the state's direct exam of Amy Huizenga:

Amy now works in the theater department of a cruise ship. She met Casey on New Year's Eve, going into 2008. Ricardo Morales is one of Amy's best friends. Once Casey began dating him, Amy got to know Casey even better. They became very close friends by February. She saw Caylee once in a while -- if Casey was at Ricardo and JP's place, Caylee was with her.

There were many times Casey couldn't go out with Amy because she didn't have someone to watch Caylee, although sometimes she'd bring her along. Caylee would sleep in Ricardo's room while the adults hung out. 

Around mid-May Casey and Amy made plans to live together. They talked about various apartments, but it always fell through. In late June, early July, Casey told Amy that her parents were moving out of the Anthony home and that Amy could move in there with her. Amy wanted to meet Cindy and thought Cindy might want to meet her too since she'd be living with her daughter and granddaughter, but Casey never introduced them.

Amy testified that Casey had a tense, strained relationship with her mother and that problems arose when Casey wanted to go out and her mom couldn't watch Caylee. Casey would tell Amy that her mom was crazy; that she wanted some space between them.

Amy wrecked her car and moved in with Ricardo and JP June 5/6 because they lived near her employment. Casey was to give Amy a ride to Jacksonville to buy a car. Amy called the morning they were to go to be sure Casey was up. Casey told her something was wrong with her dad and they were taking him to the hospital. Later, Casey called her and wanted Amy to go to Fusion with her, but Amy didn't go.

Amy wanted to work at Universal and hoped Casey would help her get a job there. She emailed her resume to Casey. (Cindy later found it in Casey's car and used the number on it to contact Amy and ultimately locate Casey.)

Beginning the second week or so of June, Amy didn't see Casey for about three weeks. During that time, Casey mentioned getting two flat tires, running out of gas and an extremely bad smell from her car. Amy got a text from Casey saying, "There was definitely part of a dead animal plastered to the frame of my car." She had been talking about the odor for about a week.

Around June 30, Casey unexpectedly showed up at Ricardo's to see Amy and wanted to stay with her. Amy didn't feel comfortable with it since it wasn't her place, but Casey ended up staying about a week. She was driving Tony's Jeep. While there, Casey talked about strife with her mom. Amy recalled the issue being that Cindy wanted to see Caylee and Casey was trying to keep her away from Cindy because of the problems between them.

Amy still thought she'd be moving in with Casey, but the dates kept changing. Casey gave various excuses such as landscaping being done, workers in the house, etc. Eventually, Casey told Amy that Bank of America allowed a certain time frame for Cindy to rescind the paperwork giving the house to Casey, and that Cindy had decided not to give it to her.

A few days before Will Waters' July 4th party, Amy invited Casey to attend with her. Casey said she didn't have a sitter for Caylee. Amy told her to bring Caylee along, that it would be fun to have her there. Casey showed up for the party, but Caylee wasn't with her. Casey said Caylee was with at Sea World with the nanny.

Amy awoke July 5th to find Casey happily typing away on her computer. She was thrilled because Tony was coming home from his NY trip.

On July 16th, when Cindy found Amy's number and called her, Amy was initially hesitant about letting her pick Amy up from the mall to find Casey. Casey had told her many times her mom was crazy, so she was kind of worried about that. She did end up going with Cindy, though, and knocked on the door of Tony's apartment while Cindy stayed out of view. She motion for Casey to come outside.

When Casey came outside, Cindy was very confrontational and angry with her (a "massive explosion" between mother and daughter, Amy said). Cindy immediately demanded to know where Caylee was. Casey told her she was with the nanny.

Cindy continued to try to get answers about Caylee after they all got in the car. Amy said Casey's demeanor was mostly one of sitting cross-armed, glaring, like a teen who knew she'd done something wrong.

Cross exam of Amy Huizenga will begin Wednesday morning.

Casey Anthony Trial - Days 6 & 7 (Tuesday/Wednesday)

After the Tweeting day was done Tuesday, I began working on a post for the blog. There's just so much to cover that I haven't had time to get all the way through it yet. It may even be the weekend before I can finish up. In the meantime, here are my Tweets -- in chronological order -- from Tues and Wed (May 31 and June 1):

*You can enlarge text size by clicking the "+" button at the bottom of the document. Times listed are 1 hr behind FL time.


Trial Notes May 31 June 1