Opening arguments in the Casey Anthony first degree murder trial began promptly Tuesday morning at 9:00 am, at the Orange County Courthouse, after Chief Judge Belvin Perry once more, read out the charges and gave instructions to jurors.
Prosecutor Linda Drane-Burdick opened for the state and spent close to two and-a-half hours laying out the case against Casey.
Drane-Burdick told jurors that while it appeared on the surface that Casey was a loving mother to her daughter Caylee, the evidence will show that much of Casey’s life was an illusion. She recalled the many lies that Casey told to her mother, Cindy and law enforcement, day-after-day for 31 days, when she was asked about her missing child, Caylee.
Throughout the prosecution’s opening statements, at strategic points, Casey could be seen shaking her head from side-to-side, as if to suggest what was being told to the jury was not accurate. At several points throughout Drane-Burdick’s opening statement, Casey wept.
Drane-Burdick told jurors that experts would testify to the odor of human decomposition emanating from the trunk of Casey’s car and that the duck tape found on Caylee’s remains was consistent with tape found on gas tanks in the Anthony family home and on a missing child’s poster. She said the duck tape found on Caylee’s face, mouth and nose was with the specific intent to end the child’s life and that no one besides Casey had access to all the pieces of evidence.
Other evidence such as hair found in Casey’s car truck and consistent with decomposition, would also be introduced during the trial.
Drane-Burdick closed by pointing out that, Caylee’s death allowed Casey to live the good life and that Casey is guilty of the crime of murder in the first degree. She asked the jury to return a guilty verdict.
Perry recessed the court for lunch around 11:45 am, to resume at 1:10 pm, when Casey’s defense attorneys will present their opening statement to jurors.
