If one was expecting Casey Anthony’s defense to open with a bang and hear about the accidental drowning of Caylee which her attorneys have claimed or the sexual abuse their client endured from her father, George and brother, Lee, that did not happen.
On Day 20, the first day of presentation of witnesses, lead defense attorney, Jose Baez first called Gerardo Bloise, an Orange County crime scene investigator back to the stand.
Bloise told jurors that he had first inspected the vehicle of Tony Lazzaro, a boyfriend of Casey’s, as he was investigating the “disappearance” of little Caylee, but found no evidence of blood in the vehicle, including the trunk.
Bloise also said he had removed clothes for Caylee from the Anthony family home on July 23, 2008, but they too, had no blood evidence.
A black, pinstripped pants worn by Casey on the day the defense claimed Caylee drowned, June 16, also had no stains, Bloise said.
Linda Drane Burdick, one of the state’s attorneys pointed out that Casey’s mother Cindy had washed the pin stripped pants because of the strong odor found in her daughter’s Pontiac Sunfire.
Drane Burdick also asked Bloise whether Lazzaro’s car smelled of human decomposition, to which he responded, no.
Next up on the witness stand was Heather Seubert, an FBI -DNA expert.
Seubert, who spent nearly four hours answering questions on direct examination from Baez and on cross by prosecutor Jeff Ashton, testified she tested for bodily fluids, including blood on various parts of Casey’s Pontiac Sunfire. She also tested pieces of spare tire covers found in the trunk of Casey’s car. Seubert said she found no blood on the items tested.
Blood tests were also conducted on clothing found near Caylee’s remains and Seubert told jurors no blood was found. Seubert said that small traces of DNA were found on the duck tape on Caylee’s skull, but it ended up being that of one of the FBI investigators.
Ashton asked if because no DNA was found on the various items whether this would signify no decomposition had taken place. Seubert replied that factors such as the environment, including the length of time articles were in water, would greatly reduce the likelihood of DNA being found.
Baez wanted to question Seubert on the paternity test that the FBI had conducted on Lee Anthony to determine whether he was the father of Caylee. But Ashton objected to the relevance of the question. Outside the earshot of jurors, Seubert said initial test undertaken did rule out Lee as the little girl’s father.
At one point, Ashton, who appeared to lose his cool outside the presence of jurors, was admonished by Chief Judge Belvin Perry.
“Mr. Ashton, Mr. Ashton, calm down. Mr. Ashton, sit-down”, Perry ordered.
Robin Maynard, who was an Orange County crime scene investigator in 2008, was called to testify. She told jurors that the heart-shaped sticker recovered with Caylee’s remains was found in “Lane 6”.
Ronald Murdock, an Orange County supervisor in the Forensic Unit was called to the stand. He testified where the heart-shaped sticker was found in relation to Caylee’s skull.
Next up was Jennifer Welch, another Orange County crime scene investigator who testified for the fourth time.
Welch told jurors over 300 items had been recovered from the scene where Caylee’s remains were found. A lot of the items collected were waste, Welch testified.
Shown several pictures of trash collected, Baez got Welch to testify that a lot of those items were not tested.
On cross-examination, Drane Burdick had only one question for Welch.
“Would it be fair to classify where Caylee Marie Anthony’s remains were discarded as a trash dump?”, Drane Burdick inquired.
“Yes, I would”, Welch responded.
Lorie Gottesman, an FBI forensic documentary examiner testified that she compared five bags from the Anthony’s residence to two items (bags) from the Medical Examiner’s Office.
Cary Oien, a section chief at the FBI laboratory was the final witness called by the defense to testify.
Prosecutors believe that Casey murdered her two-year-old daughter, Caylee and drove around with the child’s body in the trunk of her car for sometime. They have said she placed duct tape on the child’s skull, before dumping the body in the woods. The duct tape on Caylee’s skull was similar to what was found in the Anthony family home.
Casey’s defense attorneys have claimed that Caylee accidentally drowned in the family swimming pool and George Anthony, Casey’s father covered up the crime. The defense has also said that their client was sexually abused by George, and her brother Lee.
Casey, if convicted, could face the death penalty.
