Defense Rests In Casey Anthony Murder Trial On Thursday
Anthony, 25, Could Face Death Penalty If Found Guilty
"Snip" UPDATED: 7:17 am EDT July 1, 2011
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Judge Perry asked Casey Anthony if it was her decision not to testify. She said it was and that she has had time to discuss the matter with her attorneys.
Local 6 legal analyst Mark NeJame noted that the defense never presented evidence or witnesses to bolster its claims in opening statements.
Lead defense attorney Jose Baez claimed that Caylee Anthony drowned in the family pool and was found by George Anthony. He said Casey Anthony acted with no apparent remorse following the death of her daughter due to emotional issues stemming from years of sexual abuse at the hands of her father.
George Anthony denied both claims against him on the first day of testimony in the trial.
Prosecutor Jeff Ashton said he wants the jurors to smell the cans of evidence that contain a piece of carpet taken from Casey Anthony's trunk during rebuttal. The cans apparently still carry the scent from her trunk that several people have testified was that of a decomposing body.
Perry said that the cans will not go back to the jury during deliberations and they will not be allowed to smell the air samples.
CSI Alina Burroughs, previously testified about photos she took of Casey Anthony's clothes during the execution of a search warrant at the Anthony family home.
The state entered into evidence several photos taken by Burroughs.
The state entered into evidence George Anthony's suicide note.
At the conclusion of the day a court spectator was found guilty of contempt for showing his middle finger toward Ashton. He was sentenced to six days in jail.
The state is expected to continue with its rebuttal case on Friday and closing arguments are expected to be held Saturday.
Prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick said the state also plans to call an executive from Gentiva, the company Cindy Anthony worked for in March 2008.
Cindy Anthony has testified that although her work records indicate she was at work when searches for chloroform were made on the family computer in March, she had actually left work early. She said as a salaried employee, she did not punch a clock and the records were not always accurate.
The state wants to prove that Cindy Anthony was at work when the searches were performed, but the defense argued that bringing in additional work records goes against Perry's decision that all documents should be turned over to the opposing side and would be a discovery violation.
Burdick said that although Cindy Anthony did tell her about some computer searches, she did not realize she would dispute work records that extensively.
Perry ruled that the defense could have the rest of the afternoon Thursday look over records from the Gentiva executive,
but that the state could present Cindy Anthony's work records during rebuttal and they were not in violation of discovery rules.
Earlier Thursday, Baez asked the Anthony family was questioned about pet burial traditions.
Cindy Anthony was then called to testify about the death of the family pets.
Cindy said the first two dogs were buried wrapped in black plastic and tape, which is how they were prepared by the veterinarian.
A family cat was buried wrapped in a towel, then a plastic bag and wrapped with packing tape.
Cindy said tape was used to make the bags more compact.
In cross-examination, Cindy Anthony said her children were aware of the family pet burial tradition. Burdick asked her if any of the pets were killed using chloroform, or cut tape over their mouths. Cindy Anthony said no.
Baez played a brief Local 6 archive video depicting Henkel brand duct tape at a Caylee search command center in the parking lot of a Publix on Chickasaw Trail.
The same brand tape was found on Caylee's skull.
Baez asked George Anthony about the video. Henkel is not a common brand of duct tape. It is manufactured in Ohio.
The same brand duct tape was found in the shed at the Anthony family home.
Krystal Holloway said she met George Anthony at a tent during the search for Caylee Anthony in October 2008.
Holloway testified that she developed an intimate relationship with George Anthony and that he came to her home around a dozen times.
Holloway said that during a conversation about Casey Anthony around Thanksgiving 2008, she said George Anthony told her Caylees death was an accident.
He said it was an accident that snowballed out of control. I was in shock. By the time I looked up, his eyes were full of tears. I didnt elaborate. I didnt ask him anything further, Holloway said.
Holloway said she provided investigators with her cellphone and letters George Anthony had written her.
She said she lied to investigators about the affair at first because she was embarrassed, but she eventually told them the truth.
Holloway said her relationship ended with George after Caylees remains were found in December 2008.
Holloway said she was paid $4,000 by the National Enquirer to tell her story .
Prosecutor Jeff Ashton accused Holloway of sensationalizing her story to make more money. He accused Holloway of seeking out the Anthony family because they were well known after Caylee was reported missing.
Ashton pointed out that George Anthony never told Holloway he was present when Caylee died by accident.
Perry told the jury they could not consider Holloway's statements as a reflection of how Caylee died. He said Holloway's testimony can only be considered as evidence that George Anthony had lied about their affair.
Holloway said she is also known as River Cruz.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WATCH LIVE: Anthony Murder Trial
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/28398264/detail.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Wednesday, a grief expert Sally Karioth who never interviewed Anthony, laid out a hypothetical scenario with facts from the case, she testified it wasn't inconsistent with grief she's observed in similar situations. Karioth previously testified in the South Carolina murder case of Susan Smith, who was convicted of drowning her children.
"Young adults are reflective grievers and will often act like nothing happened," Karioth said.
Read Much More Here:
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/28404999/detail.html