First, let me get this off my chest: Way too many commercial breaks on HLN. Every time a witness begins to answer a key question, they break to commercial. Very frustrating.
You could turn the sound down on the TV and tell that Dr. Tim Huntington, the forensic entomologist on the witness stand today, was hired by the defense team. I'm referring to his testimony under cross-examination by prosecutor Jeff Ashton. I thought my 8 and 9-year old children had a hard time answering a yes or no question. I also thought my neighbor was cooking steaks outside by the way Ashton grilled him. Huntington was left red-faced and bug-eyed as Ashton ripped into his direct testimony.
The defense team for Casey Anthony brought in Huntington, a Concordia University (Nebraska) faculty member, to say insect evidence found by investigators in the trunk of Anthony's car does not prove that a body was stored inside. Instead, Ashton got him to admit the conditions in which he conducted his research were nowhere close to the actual conditions inside the trunk of the car. In fact, Huntington did not wrap his pig carcasses, which are known to resemble human decomposition, in the same manner as the prosecution says Caylee's body was, thus preventing 'coffin flies' from being present in the high numbers normally associated with early decomposition. Furthermore, Huntington did his study in September in Nebraska in 60-degree temperatures, as opposed to the 95-degree Florida heat. Having lived in Kansas myself, and after visiting Disney World in Orlando last August, I can truly attest we are comparing apples and oranges here.
Huntington also testified under direct examination by Jose Baez he didn't believe the now-infamous stain in the trunk carpeting could not have come from human decomposition, based on a PHOTO. This is a bug expert, not a pathologist, being questioned here. Huntington, after being flipped a few times on the grill by now, further stated he had no prior experience with cases involving decomposing bodies in trunks.Huntington also admitted under oath he never expected to testify about carpet and tobacco stains.
Ashton was licking his chops, ready to move in for the kill, when the afternoon break mercifully came. When court re-convened 15 minutes later Ashton, donning protective gloves before the jury was even ushered in, was ready to open up the evidence only seen by Huntington in photos. He had to admit shorty afterward there was no food in the trash bag found in the trunk, contradicting earlier testimony again based on photos. Baez weakly tried to counter the attack by saying the contents of the trash bag were altered in the evidence room, but the image of the empty salami container, once taken out of the evidence bag and shown to jurors, and the supposed can rife with tobacco juice but actually empty, spoke volumes. I won't go into detail about the relevance of these pieces of evidence, as court ended early Thursday because four jurors were lulled to sleep by the science.
I mentioned the 'circus atmosphere surrounding this case in my last blog. Adding to the show was none other than a Vasco de Gama Thompson, who we already knew was allegedly in cahoots with George Anthony by phone the day before Caylee disappeared, adding to the now weakened defense theory. However, Thompson, a convicted felon, held a press conference today denying he even knew George Anthony, and that was that.
I also said Casey Anthony could go free. It won't be because of today's testimony.
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