Family Secrets?

Jurors finally got a break from the incessant forensic evidence that has lulled them to sleep at times during the 27-day old trial. What they heard and saw this morning instead was a family conflicted, torn, hurt and anguished. Tears were shed, real tears this time. And not just from Casey, but from Mom Cindy, and Lee, who both testified for the defense.

First on the stand was Cindy, who trial-watchers, talking head and no doubt the jury, were chomping at the bit to hear more from. Would she be the witness that would finally unlock these supposed family secrets the defense says is at the heart of defendant Casey's bizarre behavior?

Now, I understand why Cindy Anthony doesn't want her daughter to die in the hands of the State of Florida. She's already lost a granddaughter. You want to protect your children. But after her attorney, Mark Lippman, went public recently by saying she and George Anthony don't believe Casey is innocent of murder, her conflicting testimony sends her credibility right out the window. Suddenly, she has total recall of incidents that occurred three years ago, thanks to a change in medication. I want some of those pills. Is it Ginkgo Biloba? I used to have a bottle, but I kept forgetting to take them. And why would she let Casey sit in jail for three years if it was an accidental drowning?

Back to the testimony. Questioning began rather innocuously, despite a sidebar less than two minutes after the jury was sat. Casey smiled when a video of her and Caylee playing was shown, then she began to "cry." I wondered who in the courtroom was assigned to hold the cue cards for her?

Cindy was then shown a photo of the pool ladder in its proper position and then laying next to the pool wall. She said that on June 16 the ladder was left up. Then, the jury was shown several photos of Caylee taken about a year before her disappearance. They depicted the child, then not even 2-years old, climbing the pool ladder. This brought real tears from Cindy. Was she recalling a horrible drowning incident?

The first real surprise of the day was when Judge Belvin Perry challenged the defense theory, right in the middle of testimony! This is the theory that Caylee accidentally drowned, and that Casey's strange behavior in the 31 days since her daughter went missing was due to sexual abuse by a family member, either George or Lee. Judge Perry questioned Baez and his line of questioning, particularly the question asked of Cindy that she and George were having marital problems.

After another lengthy sidebar, Cindy retook the stand. Interestingly, Lippman strode into the courtroom right behind her, and took a front row seat to hear what his client had to say. Baez dropped the marital discord questions and resumed the pool issue.

Prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick, under cross-examination, challenged Cindy's testimony. Photos were shown of Caylee wearing shorts purchased at a Target and kept in her bedroom. They were sizes 2-T and 3-T (toddler). Clothes presumably purchased to be worn by a rapidly growing child. Some clothes were moved to a diaper bag or backpack, to be placed in a car for transport. Cindy couldn't recall the last time she saw the shorts in the video, and also the shorts found at the wooded scene.
Burdick then questioned Cindy about the pool and ladder. Cindy stated she would never leave Caylee at home alone. She said Caylee could not open the gate to the backyard. She described one incident when the gate was left open and the ladder was up. She said she called George, but wasn't sure if she talked to him after leaving a message or not. Burdick pointed out conflicting statments in her first sworn statement to law enforcement.

Burdick then pointed out the timecard from Cindy's workplace, stamped June 16, 2008, when Cindy says she went home to search for chlorphyll on her home computer. The timecard shows she was at work on that day, on the 17th, and through June 24. She was not on vacation during that time, and had to be at work, not at home researching chlorophyll, chloroform and other topics. She admitted Casey never told her Caylee drowned, and that she was kidnapped. This blows the drowning theory out of the water, so to speak.

Baez tried to soften the blow of Burdick's questioning. Cindy told Baez outgrown clothing was always kept in the house. She said she hadn't seen the shorts found in the scene for several months. Like the jurors, I'm really confused. In the big picture, to me this doesn't amount to a hill of beans. I was not moved.

Next came Lee Anthony, Casey's brother. Baez questioned him about the Pontiac Sunfire, saying he took ownership between 2000-2005 before selling it to Casey. He was shown photos of the car trunk interior and pointed out three stains that he says were present when he purchased the car. Was the odor of decomposition also there when Lee owned it? NOT! But I digress.

Baez then asked Lee about Casey's pregnancy, which immediately brought attorneys to their feet and to another sidebar, yet he was allowed to resume this line of questioning. Lee said in early 2005 he encountered Casey in the bathroom and that she appeared pregnant. He asked Cindy a couple days later if Casey was pregnant. He then said he saw her showing more signs of pregnancy when she picked him up at the airport. Lee told the court he never discussed her pregnancy since he first noticed her pregnancy, and not until right before Caylee was born. He said he did not go to the hospital to see the birth on August 9, 2005, saying he was hurt and didn't want to be there. At this point, both Lee and Casey began sobbing uncontrollably, the most emotion we've seen in the trial by far. Was he hiding some kind of family secret, as the pundits postulate? Will the jurors wonder if Lee is actually Caylee's father? Lee continued to weep during a sidebar, as was Casey. When testimony resumed, Lee said he was angry because Casey didn't tell him of about Caylee's birth. He said there were no other reasons for being angry.

Testimony was mercifully called for lunch.

I can't wait for the afternoon session to begin. More to come!