Saturday, May 28, 2011

No weekend break for jurors in Casey Anthony trial

The capital murder trial of Casey Anthony enters a fifth day Saturday, a day after jurors heard testimony about a pungent smell coming from the Orlando woman's car.
Anthony, 25, is charged with seven counts, including first degree murder, aggravated child abuse and misleading police in the death of her daughter, whose remains were discovered in December 2008.
On Friday, Anthony's father and a tow company manager testified that Anthony's car reeked of the unmistakable odor of a decomposing body.
George Anthony said the odor was so powerful he could not drive it home from the impound lot where it had been towed without rolling down the windows, he said.
"I did worry for my daughter and granddaughter," George Anthony testified. "I didn't want to believe what I was smelling."

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The defense pointed out -- and George Anthony admitted -- that he did not call police after noticing the smell, nor did he tell authorities about his concerns.
Later that day, his wife, Cindy, did call 911, sparking the investigation that led to the discovery months later of Caylee's remains and the arrest of the toddler's mother.
"Looking back, sir, there's a lot of things I wish I would have done," George Anthony said after being pressed by defense attorney Jose Baez as to why he didn't contact police immediately.
Prosecutors say Anthony used chloroform on her daughter and then put duct tape over her nose and mouth, suffocating the girl.
Anthony's attorneys argue that she did not kill Caylee, but rather that the girl accidentally drowned in the Anthonys' pool. They say Anthony and her father panicked, and kept the death a secret. George Anthony denied that claim in testimony Thursday.
Anthony's car was found, apparently abandoned, in a financial-services company parking lot.
It was towed by a wrecker service to an impound lot and remained there for about two weeks, the wrecker service's operations manager, Simon Birch, told jurors.
Closed, the car gave off the faint smell of human decomposition, Birch testified.
"It's a very, very unique and distinctive smell," Birch said, noting that he has had the misfortune of coming into contact with decomposition in cars numerous times.
Birch said the smell became more noticeable after George Anthony and his wife arrived to pick up the car and they opened the door and trunk.
George Anthony recalled his mind racing with concern for his daughter, whom he had believed was with the car in Jacksonville, Florida, and his granddaughter, whom he had not seen in nearly a month.
"Please God," he recalled thinking as he prepared to open the trunk, "don't let this be Casey or Caylee."
In response to a question from Baez implying he was trying to distance himself from evidence in a potential crime, George Anthony said, "I would not have walked away ... from something. That's not in my makeup. ... I believe I'm a pretty good guy."
Before challenging George Anthony, Baez questioned why Birch never called police, even after learning the car had been towed by authorities for forensic analysis.
"I had no idea why it was towed to forensics," Birch said.
William Waters, a friend of Anthony's who testified that he went shopping with her on July 5, testified that she had a friend's car at the time. He said she explained that she did not have her own because it needed an alignment or a tune-up.
Waters also testified that Anthony attended an Independence Day party at his house on July 4, 2008 -- about two weeks after Caylee was last seen -- and that the two also went shopping the next day. She gave no indication that anything was wrong either time and only briefly mentioned her daughter, Waters testified.
Waters' testimony was similar to statements Thursday from numerous witnesses who said Anthony did not mention her daughter's disappearance until her mother, Cindy Anthony, reported the girl's absence to police on July 15.
A former boyfriend, Anthony Lazzaro, and his roommates said that when they asked where Caylee was, Anthony told them she was with her nanny, mentioning that the nanny was taking her to Universal Studios and to the beach.
In the early days of the investigation, Anthony said the nanny, who she said was named Zenaida Gonzalez and nicknamed "Zanny," had kidnapped Caylee. Authorities were never able to find the nanny but did track down a woman with that name who denied knowing Anthony and sued her for defamation.
Defense attorneys explain Anthony's behavior as a result of what they allege was sexual abuse by her father beginning as a child. Anthony was schooled from a young age to "hide her pain," her attorneys argue. In testimony, George Anthony has denied sexually abusing his daughter.
In cross-examination by Baez, those who saw Anthony and her daughter together testified that Caylee was well taken care of and that Anthony, at least to their knowledge, appeared to be a good mother.
In a dramatic moment Friday morning, the fiancee of Casey Anthony's brother broke down when asked to describe Anthony's relationship with her daughter.
The fiancee, Mallory Parker, described the relationship as "amazing."
"Casey and Caylee had a very special bond," Parker, a witness for the prosecution, said with a quivering voice while under cross-examination by Baez.

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