On the second day of Casey Anthony’s first degree murder trial, prosecutors opened by questioning Anthony’s ex-boyfriend roommates.
Cameron Campana and Nathan Lezniewicz testified that they knew Casey, as they had seen her at the apartment they both shared with Tony Lazarro, Casey’s then boyfriend during the spring and summer of 2008.
Both Campana and Lezniewicz said in June 2008, Casey was seen much more frequently at the apartment. They also testified they had met Caylee, Casey’s 2-year-old daughter, whom the prosecution said, she murdered, on a couple of occasions, but that most of June 2008, they had not seen the little girl.
The jury also learned from Campana and Lezniewicz, that at no time did they see Casey’s demeanor change when they were together and when they did inquire about Caylee, Casey said she was off to the beach with the nanny. They also told jurors Casey always appeared happy, laughing and outgoing when they interacted with her.
Campana’s and Lezniewicz’s testimony also revealed that, on a few occasions they went out together with Casey and her Lazarro, and recalled in particular going to an Orlando eastside restaurant cum club named, Fusion.
The prosecution introduced into evidence a photograph of Casey and Lezniewicz, both smiling broadly, taken at the Fusion club on a Friday night, late in June 2008.
Roy “Clint” House, another roommate who stayed briefly at the apartment was also called as a witness for the prosecution. He too testified that Casey’s demeanor remained the same throughout June 2008–happy, upbeat and outgoing.
Next up was a woman, Maria Kissh, the then boyfriend of House, who prosecutors called to the stand.
Kissh said she had met Casey and Caylee at Lazarro’s apartment. When she first met Caylee, she told jurors how the toddler answered the door on her own when she went to the apartment. She also said she did not interact with the child for more than 30 minutes, but was concerned when she had to leave, Caylee was on her own on a screened-in balcony at the apartment.
Asked to describe her relationship with Casey, Kissh said that the two were acquaintances, not friends. She also said that Casey had told her she worked at Universal as an events planner and that she paid $400 to a nanny to babysit Caylee.
On Tuesday, the first day of trial, Casey’s defense attorney Jose Baez dropped a bombshell telling jurors Caylee accidentally drowned in the family swimming pool on June 16, 2008, and that George Anthony, Casey’s father initially covered it up.
Baez told jurors that, in Florida, drowning is the number one way children die, but this case is different because of the uniqueness of the Anthony family –”a very dysfunctional family with secret things, ugly things, things that people never speak about.”
Baez said when Casey saw George holding Caylee in his arms after she drowned in the family pool, she grabbed her and began to cry.
“Look at what you’ve done,” Baez claimed George said to Casey. “You will go to jail for child neglect for the rest of your fr***ing life.”
Baez told jurors “this is not a murder case, not a manslaughter case. Caylee’s death was covered up,” Baez said.
In trying to explain why Casey did not report her child missing for 31 days to law enforcement, Baez suggested that she had been sexually and emotionally abused from as early as 8 years and so, had become used to hiding her pain, pretending as if nothing was wrong.
“She (Casey) forced herself to live in a world she wanted to, not thrust into,” Baez said. “You will hear all sorts of bizarre behavior, but Casey was raised to lie.”
Baez told the jury George had begun to touch her inappropriately from a young age, and that it escalated. He said too that Casey’s brother, Lee, when he was a teenager had attempted to touch Casey, but it didn’t go as far as George. He claimed that when Lee was confronted, he said he would talk about it when the time is right.
Asked by prosecutor Jeff Ashton whether he had every sexually molested his daughter, Casey, George when he took the stand, replied, “no sir.”
“Have you ever committed any sexually inappropriate acts in front of your daughter?” Ashton asked George Anthony. Again, he replied, ” no sir.”
“Did you dispose of your granddaughter’s body?” Ashton asked. George replied, “no sir.”
“Did you obtain duck-tape and place it over your granddaughter’s mouth?” Ashton asked. “No sir,” George replied.
Casey shook her head repeatedly from side to side, as George responded, as if to suggest that his testimony was not truthful. At times she broke down in tears.
