Defense Testimony RESTS~Casey Anthony Murder Trial~Thread#3 (June 27-June 30)George Anthony breaks down on the stand/Roy Kronk denies moving Caylee's body/3 forensic psychologists determinee Casey competant to stand trial/Casey WILL NOT take the stand!

I'm sorry, raine, I just finished catching up on reading here during the lunch break and saw where you had already discussed River on Levi Page...I'm just afraid that the defense is going to have all kinds of proof of that GA lied about her: cancelled checks she wrote to him (where DID she get that money, anyway?), records from the gate guard, text messages, love letters, etc. I'm afraid that will destroy his credibility and negate with the jury everything he has said today. If it is true, he should have just admitted it...It would have been better than being caught in a huge lie. He could have still denied saying, "It was an accident that snowballed out of control."

BJ wrote:
Jesse Grund

Thanks, BJ! I thought that was right, but I wasn't sure.

Casey Anthony's father cried on the witness stand Wednesday in his daughter's capital murder trial as he was questioned about his slain 2-year-old granddaughter, Caylee, and his suicide attempt that followed the discovery of her remains.
"It just felt like the right time to go and be with Caylee," George Anthony told prosecutor Jeff Ashton, his voice breaking. "... I just decided it was time for me to get away from all this, to spend time with Caylee."
He recalled calling his family members from a Daytona Beach, Florida, hotel room, in an effort to say goodbye, and writing a suicide note for his wife, Cindy Anthony, to read after his death.
Earlier, George Anthony squared off again with his daughter's defense attorney, bristling at Jose Baez' questions.
Casey Anthony, 25, is charged with seven counts, including first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and misleading police, in Caylee's 2008 death. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against her. She has pleaded not guilty.
Anthony's defense team is trying to discredit the prosecution theory that the Orlando woman rendered Caylee unconscious with chloroform, duct-taped her mouth and nose, and stored the body in her car trunk for a few days before dumping it in the woods.
The defense says Caylee accidentally drowned in the family pool and that Anthony and her father panicked and covered it up. George Anthony has denied that theory.
Caylee was last seen June 16, 2008, although she was not reported missing until 31 days later, on July 15. The little girl's skeletal remains were found in December of the same year near the Anthony home.
"My emotional state, even through today -- it is very hard to accept that I don't have a granddaughter anymore," George Anthony told Ashton.
Under Baez's questioning, George Anthony agreed that he told police in a July 24, 2008 statement that his daughter's trunk smelled like human decomposition -- a smell he was familiar with from his own law enforcement experience in Ohio. He testified Wednesday he was 100% sure he had recognized that smell. "I'm not going to lie about that," he said.
He also said he told law enforcement that day that his daughter "lives on the edge," and "takes things as far as she can take them," and, just after Caylee went missing, that he told police something had happened to the little girl and that his daughter was lying. Baez attempted to suggest that George Anthony was "throwing (Casey Anthony) under the bus" to police through his statements.
Obviously, George Anthony replied, something had happened to Caylee, as she was missing. "Casey was the last person I saw with Caylee," he said. "One and one adds up to two ... For you to say that I was doing something wrong, sir, you're wrong." He accused Baez of trying to "spin" the statements of an upset man.
During the month her daughter was missing, numerous prosecution witnesses including Casey Anthony's former boyfriend, acquaintances and friends testified that she was attending parties, nightclubs and shopping, but never mentioned her missing daughter and they noticed nothing different in her demeanor.
Baez said in his opening statement that Casey Anthony behaved as she did because years of sexual abuse by her father had conditioned her to conceal the truth and hide her pain. He also said in his opening statement that Lee Anthony abused his sister, but "it didn't go as far" as it did with her father.
George Anthony has denied abusing his daughter, and did so again Wednesday. Baez implied through his questions -- punctuated with prosecution objections -- that George Anthony will not admit the abuse because he wants to stay out of prison.
"I would never do anything like that to my daughter," George Anthony said. "... I would never do anything to harm my daughter in that way."
In his cross-examination, prosecutor Jeff Ashton asked George Anthony about the effect it had on him when Cayee's remains were found.
"A deep hurt inside," George Anthony said. "Tears, the whole gamut of just an emotional loss, a breakdown inside of me, and seeing what my wife and son went through." He began to cry as he finished the sentence.
Until then, he acknowledged, he had held out hope the little girl might be found alive. As George Anthony began sobbing, Orange County Chief Judge Belvin Perry Jr. asked him whether he needed a break.
"No, sir," George Anthony replied. "I need to get through this. I need to have something inside of me get through this."
Casey Anthony was expressionless as she watched her father.
Baez previously had asked George Anthony about his January 2009 suicide attempt, suggesting that he had left a note that "expressed some guilt." Ashton objected, saying the document itself should be entered into evidence, but instead Baez withdrew the question.
On cross-examination, Ashton asked George Anthony about it and Baez objected. Perry sent out the jury and heard from both sides on the issue.
"The defense has brought up the suicide," Ashton told Perry. "I do intend for him to identify the suicide note and intend to offer it because it shows that on January 22, 2009, this man had no idea who killed Caylee Marie Anthony, and it rebuts implications by the defense that he did. It is directly contradictory to the defense's argument."
Baez argued the suicide note alone is not proof of George Anthony's innocence.
While generally, a witness' state of mind is not an issue, Perry said, "Looks as though the defense has made Mr. Anthony's state of mind an issue ... someone opened the door and Mr. Ashton's trying to walk through it."
The judge said he wanted "some time to contemplate and read a few more cases" before deciding whether the suicide note could be introduced into evidence -- something Ashton said he would do after the defense rested. But, Perry ruled, questions about the suicide attempt were fair game for prosecutors.
Baez pointed out to George Anthony that he made negative statements about his daughter on July 24, yet visited her the following day in jail and is seen "saying nice things" on video. George Anthony replied that he was cooperating with law enforcement in an effort to find his granddaughter, but was still trying to keep his daughter's spirits up while she was jailed.
Baez attempted to show that George Anthony's statements on the human decomposition odor had been inconsistent. "I could smell it 3 feet away on the passenger side," George Anthony replied. "When I opened up that door, it smelled like decomposition. Human decomposition ... not the garbage that was in it."
"And that is why you called 911 right then and there," Baez shot back, adding that George Anthony had actually driven the car home from the tow yard where he picked it up and went to work, not called police.
The defense has suggested a bag of garbage left in Casey Anthony's trunk for weeks during a hot Florida summer may have been the source of the odor, although a cadaver dog alerted to it and several witnesses have identified it as human decomposition.
"My emotions were all over the place that day," George Anthony said of the day he picked up the car. "I know exactly what I did, sir. I'm not ashamed." He said he was concerned about the odor but relieved he hadn't found his daughter or granddaughter inside the trunk.
Baez also peppered George Anthony with questions regarding his media appearances, including those in which he advocated his daughter's innocence in his granddaughter's death. "I didn't want to believe back then that my daughter could be capable of taking the life of her daughter," he replied.
He said he and his wife Cindy made the media appearances "to raise awareness of what my granddaughter meant to me, my wife and my son," as well as the plight of other missing children. But, he said, the media insisted on keeping the focus on his daughter's guilt or innocence.
"You're trying to take this joy of my life away from me, and you can't do it anymore," George Anthony told Baez.
As her father testified, Casey Anthony scribbled notes and occasionally shook her head angrily or whispered to her attorneys.
George Anthony also answered questions about gas cans his daughter had broken into the family's shed and taken after her car ran out of gas, and whether the duct tape on one can was there when police seized them on August 5, 2008. Baez used George Anthony's previous statements in an attempt to point out inconsistencies. The gas can is important because the duct tape on it appeared to match that found on the mouth portion of Caylee's remains.
Baez asked him a series of questions about whether police had taken the gas cans in a search warrant and whether he knew it was among the items taken before a second search warrant was issued. George Anthony appeared confused and said he did not remember. "I know our home was turned upside down," he said.
Earlier, Perry declined to immediately rule on a defense motion requesting that he declare Florida's death penalty law unconstitutional in light of a recent federal court decision. The judge had previously denied the motion filed by Anthony's defense team, but was asked to reconsider after the June 20 ruling by U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez.
Casey Anthony spoke in court for the first time during the arguments Wednesday. Perry asked defense attorney Ann Finnell, who argued the motion by telephone, whether she had consulted with Anthony and if she agreed with the motion. Finnell said she had not, but believed Baez and defense attorney J. Cheney Mason had.
Neither Baez nor Mason was present for the arguments Wednesday, and Perry asked Anthony if she wanted to answer the question or wait for them to arrive.
"I can answer that now," Casey Anthony said, getting to her feet as she spoke to Perry. "I agree with Ms. Finnell."
This is the sixth week of testimony in the trial. Opening statements began on May 24. Perry originally told jurors, who are being housed in an Orlando hotel shielded from media coverage of the trial, that it could last six to eight weeks.
Baez told Perry on Tuesday the defense has about six witnesses left. Prosecutors have said they intend to call rebuttal witnesses after the defense rests.

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Lisette,
I think she got a settlement.? Wrap may know.

Caylee daily reporting 6 witnesses left =- we have heard from Cindy and now George so four more - maybe River Cruz next?

Cancelled checks River wrote to George Anthony? Why in the world would he lie about that if he knew there were cancelled checks and love letters - George is not stupid. I wonder if its true and also is is admissible?

Huge crowds at noon waiting to see the attorneys - Baez and Mason must be overjoyed. Someone said he has seen crowds waiting for Brittney Spears that were smaller.

lisette wrote:I'm sorry, raine, I just finished catching up on reading here during the lunch break and saw where you had already discussed River on Levi Page...I'm just afraid that the defense is going to have all kinds of proof of that GA lied about her: cancelled checks she wrote to him (where DID she get that money, anyway?), records from the gate guard, text messages, love letters, etc. I'm afraid that will destroy his credibility and negate with the jury everything he has said today. If it is true, he should have just admitted it...It would have been better than being caught in a huge lie. He could have still denied saying, "It was an accident that snowballed out of control."

During the lunch break I was thinking why IF GA had an affair with this AKA River why did he not just admit it? With the hell he was in no one would have judged him really harshly for a mistake. GA received money from many people during that time so that is not a big deal. Now the text messages or any letters would be incriminating enough for anyone to believe that there was more there than just friendship.

George has to know that if there were "love" letters that they could appear so I'm sort of inclined to believe that he "did not have sex with that woman". Where did I hear that before? What is sex? What is a romantic relationship? What......

BJ it depends on what the definition of "is" is!

You is so right!

Man that yelled at JP is now standing before him in handcuffs, but camera is not showing him...

I missed that! Who yelled at JP?

Another sideshow in this circus, it seems...

Insession says the defense theory is falling apart and Baez made an error by introducing the gun and the suicide note. Good job Jose!

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Man yelled at JP when he was leaving for lunch. He was in the hallway, was arrested, arraigned before JP just now, given $2500 bond, ordered to appear July 6. He yelled that JP was tampering with juries. Name is Mark Schmidder...He was handing out pamphlets near jury room...not involved in case. All this per WESH blog...

Schmidter arrested for protesting outside the designated free speech zones outside the courthouse.

Mark Schmidter held in Indirect Contempt. Bond set at 25 hundred. Prosecutor Frank George says it does not involve Anthony jury. per WESH blog...

FIJA Activist Superstar Mark Schmidter has been kidnapped by the Orlando Police and the word on the street is that Mark has been taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center. Mark was seen this morning handing out Fully Informed Jury Association pamphlets at the Orange County Courthouse.

More details are soon to come.

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What is the hold-up now?

I see Bozo is there...Are we waiting on JP? Is KC already there?

Evidently this Mark Schmidter is not the guy that was yelling at JP...He was arrested for protesting outside of the prescribed "Protest Area" by passing out "Jury Rights" pamphlets in the hallway...

The only chance the defense has is now to try to discredit George by using river cruz to impeach him
but I dont think her giving george money would prove much lots of people gave them money.

John Allen and Eric Edwards are going to be up this afternoon - Per WFTV

Deputies keep going in and out from holding area and door that JP comes in...What's up, I wonder? Maybe KC is "sick" again...

KC is back, not all happy and giddy today...

artgal16 wrote:The only chance the defense has is now to try to discredit George by using river cruz to impeach him
but I dont think her giving george money would prove much lots of people gave them money.

Let's hope like hell that no one was sexting or sending any pictures of naked body parts on their cell phones!

If defense had six witnesses today and cindy and george account for two, then John Allen and Eric Edwards are next that leaves two more - River and Casey?

I am totally convinced that KC is a sociopath. She has no conscience, just mimics the emotions and social interactions of others--when she needs to...Poor Caylee...KC pretended to be a good mother when others were around, but what did that little angel endure when no one else was around?

I will be traveling in my car, but I have my trusty ipad!
but I wont be commenting in about half an hour. Maybe today the defense will rest. -

raine1953 wrote:Lisette,
I think she got a settlement.? Wrap may know.

She gave him cash as far as I know. Is that what you meant?

Look at Bozo's expression...He knows his goose is cooked!

George is back on the stand.

Wrap, I'm not sure what raine meant about a settlement...She probably gave him cash and that's why he can confidently deny that he took money from him, IF he did...

I think river cruz had some kind of lawsuit and got a settlement -maybe she slipped in the supermarket!

Word on the street (NOT the FB blog) is that River Cruz thinks Casey is guilty as hell and doesn't buy for one minute that George had anything to do w/Caylee's death or hiding the body or molesting Casey. However, she will testify of the affair although she denied it at first to LE.

GA back on stand, jury back in...

artgal16 wrote:I think river cruz had some kind of lawsuit and got a settlement -maybe she slipped in the supermarket!

Oh, OK..I know nothing of a slip an fall in a supermarket.

Melich and Kronk on the hall - maybe testifying again

Oh, I understand, art...raine was answering my question about why River would have that money to give GA...

artgal16 wrote:I think river cruz had some kind of lawsuit and got a settlement -maybe she slipped in the supermarket!

Or hot coffee spilled on her at Micky D's.

JA gets so frustrated because of Bozo's incompetence in his questioning...

Thanks to all for you great posts!!! Poor George! Bozo is as ruthless as that ice bitch!

In early Jan 2009, did you feel the walls closing in on you? I don't understand question. Knew you were being investigated?

GA says he always cooperated with LE, even with Baez.

I was hoping JA would bring up the fact that Bozo had dinner with the Ant's at the Ritz eating crab puffs. LOL.

JA bringing out the fact that Bozo and GA were on somewhat friendly terms on Dec. 11...He had dinner with them at the Ritz Carlton...Sidebar.

Well, that was an ABC deal that took them to the Ritz
and who arranged that? Baez? Or was it one of the publicity people?

I was in hopes while he was questioned about his activity when KC was on house arrest would lead to how many hours and days KC spent at Baez office during that time. KC was with Baez more then at the house.

Juror 15 shares a smile and chuckle with 16. Young woman and man appear to have some chemistry.
by bobkealing via twitter at 2:16 PM

A blossoming romance?

wesh saying 2 to 3 days now for rebuttal - that means
thursday friday monday holiday finish tuesday the 5th?