"George Anthony's daughter, Casey Anthony, 25, is accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Marie in the summer of 2008.
But in his opening statement, defense attorney Jose Baez said Anthony did not kill her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, as prosecutors allege.
Baez claims Caylee drowned in her family pool in June 2008 and that George Anthony knew and helped dispose of the body — claims George Anthony has denied."
REPORTER ANTHONY COLOROSSI; THE ORLANDO SENTINEL;
A backgrounder on this high profile Florida case cane be found on Wikipedia at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Caylee_Anthony
GUIDE TO THE NPR/FRONTLINE/PROPUBLICA INVESTIGATION;
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=858012168717160055
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"Minutes after Casey Anthony told Chief Judge Belvin Perry she won't testify in her own defense, her lead attorney said the defense has rested its case," the Orlando Sentinel story by reporter Anthony Colorossi published earlier today under the heading, "Casey Anthony trial: 'Caylee, here I come' George Anthony writes in suicide note: Defense rests; Casey says she won't testify," begins.
"Anthony, 25, briefly answered Perry's questions about her decision after proceedings resumed following today's lunch break," the story continues.
""Is it your decision not to testify?" Perry asked her.
"Yes, sir," Casey Anthony said.
Casey Anthony will not take the stand
She agreed that she has not been forced or pressured to arrive at that decision. She agreed that she made it freely and voluntarily. Then her defense team rested its case, signaling the latest milestone in a trial that began in late May.
George Anthony's suicide note shown to jurors
Prosecutor Jeff Ashton revealed the George Anthony suicide note to jurors
Some excerpts: (It is addressed to Cynthia and these excerpts are not in order)
•"Caylee, here I come."
•"My loss of life is meaningless."
•"I have never been the man any of you can count on."
"I know you love me and I still question all these years, how can she love me, put up with me? Well I guess you took the vows of marriage and meant it."
•"I love you Cynthia Marie. I really do. That is why I must join Caylee Marie now,"
•"I cannot be strong anymore. Caylee Marie our granddaughter, i miss her. I miss her so much. I know you do too."
•"I blame myself for her being done."
•He says "Casey does not deserve to be where she is."
•"her personal safety is always on my mind,"
•"I love you Cynthia Marie. You are the best. You always have been. Caylee here I come."
"It is my hope that on Saturday afternoon that you will hear the final summation by the state of Florida and the defense," Perry said.
Perry said he will give jury instructions on Saturday afternoon and then they will begin deliberations.
The court is in recess for the afternoon.
"Please have a restful evening," Perry said.
State wants jurors to smell death
Judge Perry said he will not allow any "smell tests" by jurors in sniffing a can with an air samples from Casey Anthony's car.
Perry said that item will not go back to the jury room with other evidence. He felt that their smelling the can would be unfair to Casey Anthony because she would not be able to cross examine the jurors and confront them on their opinions regarding the smell.
"Judge's are not supposed to be potted plants," Perry said in ruling that he would use his judicial discretion to prevent the can smelling.
Perry cited two other cases in Florida that have dealt with this so-called "jury experimentation" issue. But he decided to keep it out.
Assistant State Attorney Jeff Ashton wanted to allow jurors to smell the can with the air sample from Casey Anthony's Pontiac Sunfire, if they asked to do that.
Ashton wanted to call Michael Vincent with the Orange County Sheriff's Office to describe the smell in the can and establish the possibility that jurors could do the same.
"This jury in my estimation is going to want to smell the evidence," Ashton said. He found no case law preventing jurors from using their "olfactory senses" to evaluate evidence, Ashton said.
But Baez argued that allowing the can smelling would amount to "changing rules in the middle of the game."
He argued that letting jurors smell the evidence would be turning jurors into witnesses in the case.
Defense upset about last-minute records
Perry, meanwhile, turned away the defense team's complaints about more than 200 pages of records it just received from the state about Cindy Anthony's records from her former employer, Gentiva.
Getting the records at this time essentially amounts to a violation of the record-sharing rules between the defense and state, according to defense attorneys Jose Baez and J Cheney Mason.
"The timing is way too late," Baez said.
The records could be crucial because Cindy Anthony has previously testified that she was the one who looked up "chloroform" on the family's computer – not Casey.
She testified that she did this even though work records showed she was working at the time of the searches. Her employer, she testified, allowed her to do that.
Perry decided it was not a discovery violation. That means the state can use the records during the trial.
Anthonys quizzed about dead pets
Before the break, her main defense attorney quizzed members of the Anthony family today about the manner in which they disposed of their dead family pets.
Attorney Jose Baez asked George Anthony if he recalled burying his pets through the years by wrapping them in plastic bags and with duct tape —the way Caylee was left in the woods a short walk from the Anthony's home in east Orange County.
George Anthony said he couldn't recall.
He asked similar questions of Cindy Anthony. She recalled a dog named Mandy that was put down in Ohio about 20 years ago because she had been very ill. She brought a blanket to the veterinarian's office.
The dog was wrapped in black plastic with packing tape over it — not duct tape.
Lee Anthony said he remembered duct tape used to secure a bag in the burial of a pet.
"Typically, it would have been my parents," Lee said when asked who was responsible for burying pets.
Bo, another dog, passed in the summer of 1990. George and Cindy took Bo to the vet. Bo was buried in black plastic with tape.
Ginger and Cinnamon were buried with a towel or a favorite toy in plastic bags secured with clear packing tape, Cindy said.
Penny the cat died in 2009 and he was put it one of Caylee's hooded bath towels and placed in a bag secured with packing tape.
Casey was present when Cindy wrapped thedogs. In Florida, the Anthonys designated a spot for the pets with a memorial marker, Cindy said.
Casey was present for a couple of the burials, possibly Bo and maybe Ginger or Cinnamon.
Casey was aware of the method of burial in the yard by the time she was a senior in high school, Cindy Anthony said.
After the Anthonys testified about pet burials, the proceedings went into a two-hour recess until 1:30 p.m.
George's alleged mistress testifies
The unusual line of questioning came after testimony from a woman who claims to have had an affair with George Anthony.
A woman who goes by two names — Krystal Holloway and River Cruz testified that George Anthony told her once that Caylee's death was an accident that snowballed out of control — a statement George Anthony has already denied making.
Holloway said she was caught off guard by the statement and looked up to see George Anthony's eyes filled with tears.
"I didn't say anything after that,'' the woman said.
The jury and Holloway were called out of the courtroom while Chief Judge Belvin Perry discussed crafting instruction regarding her testimony.
When the jury returned, Perry told them that Krystal's testimony may be considered only as it relates to impeaching George Anthony's prior statements. They should not be considered proof as to the manner in which Caylee died and the testimony shouldn't be used in determining the defendant's guilt or innocence.
George Anthony's daughter, Casey Anthony, 25, is accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Marie in the summer of 2008.
But in his opening statement, defense attorney Jose Baez said Anthony did not kill her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, as prosecutors allege.
Baez claims Caylee drowned in her family pool in June 2008 and that George Anthony knew and helped dispose of the body — claims George Anthony has denied.
Holloway says she initially lied to police
This morning, Holloway said she met George Anthony at a tent in July 2008 when his granddaughter, Caylee Marie, was still considered a missing child. She said she developed an intimate relationship with George Anthony.
He went to her home about 12 times, he said.
George Anthony previously testified that he was only a friend and he went to her place to comfort her because of herbrain tumor.
She said their relationship ended on what would have been Caylee's 4th birthday during a memorial balloon release.
George is in court wearing a tie and staring straight ahead with his hands clasped. His wife, Cindy Anthony, is seated next to him, as usual.
Defense attorney Jose Baez asked his witness to read from a text message she said was from George just before they broke up. She said it said I'm "just thinking about you. I need you in my life."
She said police contacted her about two years after they broke up and she denied having a relationship with George because she didn't want him to get in trouble, she was in another relationship and because she felt if she told police, the media would find out.
"So, I initially lied because I was embarrassed," she said.
She agreed to an interview with someone from the National Enquirer in exchange for $4,000 because she was worried other media would heavily edit her story and make her look like "trash."
Assistant State Attorney Jeff Ashton is cross-examining the woman and suggesting she made up the affair to make her story more interesting.
He also noted that George and Cindy had celebrity status at this time because of their frequent media appearances.
Ashton said it's much sexier, and the story is better, "if you're actually sleeping with George Anthony."
Holloway insisted: "I did have an affair with George.''"
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The story can be found at:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/caylee-anthony/os-casey-anthony-trial-day-32-20110630,0,7460571.story
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
