Lee Anthony again took the stand after the lunch break. Under direct and cross-examination, Lee seemed to come down with amnesia, not being able to recall his earlier testimony from defense attorney Jose Baez and prosecutor Jeff Ashton.
Ashton pointed out that Lee told attorneys at his deposition taken two years ago he probably discussed Casey's pregnancy, with his parents, thus contradicting his testimony this morning. Ashton pointed out that in the deposition Lee said Casey's baby shower took place before Caylee's birth, again contradicting today's testimony, when he said he couldn't recall when the shower was. The point the State was making was that Lee was excited about the birth, and was also a good uncle
Ashton also pointed out that the stains in the car trunk Lee identified as being present when he took ownership of the car in 2000 were not the stain in question.
Lee also said he reached out to Baez with information about the case based on a conversation he overheard between George and Cindy Anthony, his parents. It looks like he is definitely a defense witness, and that he is hiding something. Yet, Baez has not asked the $64,000 question -- Did Lee molest Casey? Perhaps Casey herself will answer that question.
Something is amiss. Something major is amiss, but the jury may never know what it is.
Cindy Anthony retook the stand. She seemed annoyed at being recalled. She testified Caylee's baby shower was postponed until after Caylee was born, because Caylee was born a month early.
Orange County Sheriff's Office deputy Ryan Eberlin was the next witness. Edwards responded to the Anthony home on July 16, 2008, after Caylee was reported missing. Defense attorney Cheney Mason examined Eberlin, who told the jury he handcuffed Casey Anthony that night, but his supervisor,Reginald Hosey, ordered the cuffs removed shortly afterward.
During cross-examination, prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick asked Eberlin why Casey was handcuffed, which elicited an objection by the defense.
Eberlin later stated that he handcuffed Casey after Cindy, said she had stolen checks from her, to which Judge Belvin Perry instructed the jury to ignore that during the guilt phase of the trial, if that occurs, because Casey has already been convicted for the check fraud charges. rial for check fraud.
Next up was Eric Edwards, who worked in the Orange County Sheriff's homicide unit. Mason asked him if he knew a woman named Linda Tinnelli. For some reason, the State objected. Without the jury, Edwards explained he talked with Tinnelli, a volunteer who worked in the command center set up in front of the Anthony home, about duct tape. He said she was shown video footage of duct tape being used on fliers showing Caylee's picture.
Edwards said he interviewed Tinelli about recorded conversations with George and Cindy Anthony.
Judge Perry threw that out, and said that shouldn't be heard by the jury.
Tinelli came next. Tinelli met George and Cindy Anthony at the command center. All she told Mason was that she remembered George had a roll of duct tape and that it was used to secure the gazebo tent and the picture of Caylee
Yuri Melich, Orange County Sheriff's Office lead detective and State's witness earlier, next took the stand. He was at the Anthony home on the early morning hours of July 16, the day after Caylee was reported missing, and said George told him of the smell in the trunk. He said no officers told him to take the car because of a smell. Later that day he interviewed Casey at Universal Studios and then arrested her after leading detectives on a wild goose chase. Law enforcement was operating under the impression Caylee had been kidnapped on July 9, 2008. It was later that the date was corrected to June 16. Further during the investigation, Melich realized Zanaida Gonzalez, the alleged nanny who kidnapped Caylee, was a fictitous person.
In July, Casey's cell phone records for June and July were subpoena'ed, but initially not George's. Only Casey's phone records were investigated, according to Melich.
Det. Melich interviewd Roy Kronk the day Caylee's body was found. Kronk, you may remember, was the meter reader who found Caylee's skull in the woods. The massive search operation then commenced in order to locate the rest of Caylee's remains and any other evidence at the scene. Kronk's cell phone records were investigated, but not to track his whereabouts, according to Melich.
Melich said he was interested in the duct tape seen on a video of the command center, but that he did not investigate any further. He also knew similar duct tape was found on a gas can in the Anthony home. This makes three places this particular brand tape was discovered: The woods near Caylee's body, the command center and the gas can.
In the end, Melich came across as credible, possibly setting the stage for an appearance of Roy kronk.
Overall, the defense wins the day,in part by totally confusing the jury through calling and recalling witnesses, screwing with the timeline of events and leaving us all scratching our heads wondering what is really what. Still, if the defense is nearing the end of its case as they say they will, I don't think Jose Baez and his seasoned team of lawyers will ultimately prevail. At least as far as getting Casey out of jail.
I wish I had a counter that tracked how many sidebars occur each day. It would make your head swim.
What an emotional day for those involved, particularly the Anthony family. You can't help but feel for the family. But the ultimate goal is finding justice for little Caylee. The bottom line is, what is Lee hiding? Is that the key to finding the truth, and will we ever know?
I need to correct a couple errors in previous posts. I kept calling Kronk Ray Kronk, not Roy. My mind was on McDonald's hamburgers, I guess.
Also, I wrote yesterday's blog as being Day 25. Thursday was Day 26 of the trial, my bad.
More to come!
No comments:
Post a Comment