Anthony defense's key witness Laura Buchanan testimony disputed

ORLANDO, Fla. -- There's a new blow to the defense in the case against Casey Anthony. Documents uncovered by WFTV raise questions about a key defense witness.

That witness swore she saw nothing when she searched a spot in east Orange County where, months later, Caylee's body was found. But WFTV obtained documents and a new witness contradicting her story.

A document shows EquuSearch volunteer Laura Buchanan wasn't with a team of volunteers, at the site Caylee's body was later found, the day she says she was. The document instead says she and the group of volunteers searched Blanchard Park that day and one of the volunteers, who was with her, says they never went to the woods on Suburban Drive that day.

The defense is desperate to show Caylee Anthony's remains were put in the woods near her house by someone other than her mother, Casey.

Defense witness Laura Buchanan signed an affidavit a year after Caylee was found there claiming she searched the area months earlier, on September 3, with her team of volunteers and Caylee was not there.

But WFTV found Texas EquuSearch documents that show Buchanan and her team were at Blanchard Park that day and even that they found bones there.

Volunteer Lela Radojevic, who was on Buchanan's team that day, says they were at Blanchard Park from morning until late afternoon.

"You were all together all day at Blanchard Park and nobody ever, with you, went to Suburban Drive that day?" WFTV reporter Kathi Belich asked Radojevic.

"No," she said.

Buchanan apparently has a document to prove her claim, which investigators believe could've been fabricated and they are looking into it.

Defense attorney Cheney Mason claimed to have found a legitimate copy of it in the EquuSearch records they're inspecting, but lead attorney Jose Baez is less demonstrative.

"Well, if Cheney says he saw it, he saw it," Baez said.

"Did you see it?" Belich asked Baez.

"I have not seen every document," he replied.

If it turns out someone falsified documents and or tampered with witnesses in this capital murder case about what went on at Suburban Drive, they could face felony charges.
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The defense has been cold-calling TES searchers in an attempt to find people to dispute the prosecutions claims about the area where Caylees body was found being underwater. This will be a major blow to the defense. Ms. Buchanan will now probably come out and say she was "mistaken".

And why in God's name would this woman...this volunteer possibly falsify documents. Why would she want to help the defense and ultimately KCA if in fact it wasn't even true! Blows my mind.

Who knows why people lie? But they do all the time
its the same thing as a lot of people that "confess"
to murders or other crimes they didnt commit. To insert themselves into the case. This will really hurt the defense now as they will have to really cross check
every person that says anything about being in that area and not seeing water. That will take a lot of work and thoroughness which this defense as we know isnt very good at!

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A key witness, who could help defend Casey Anthony, backed out of being questioned under oath about falsifying documents, but Texas EquuSearch volunteer Laura Buchanan can't avoid prosecutors forever. She's under subpoena and she will have to answer their questions under oath about whether she made up a document to help Casey.

Investigators are looking into allegations that Buchanan falsified records to make it appear as though Caylee Anthony's body was not in the woods near her house on Suburban Drive in September 2008. That was three months after Caylee disappeared, and three months before she was found.

Buchanan was to be deposed by prosecutors for a second time Wednesday about those records. However, Tuesday, Buchanan backed out saying she was ill.

"It is certainly suspect and damning to the defense that all of a sudden she's too ill to proceed with the deposition," WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said.

If investigators find Buchanan did falsify records in the death penalty case against Caylee's mother Casey, Buchanan could be in serious legal trouble.

The defense would not respond to WFTV's questions about Buchanan's illness, but it put out a press release repeating last week's claims that it found another 150 Texas EquuSearch volunteers who searched Suburban Drive for Caylee.

Suburban Drive is almost a mile long and the court has already ruled the defense can only get the records of volunteers who were in the exact area of the road near where Caylee was later found.

"Were there any witnesses that can testify that they were at the location where Caylee's body was found prior to the discovery of the body and that the body wasn't there? That's the sole issue," Sheaffer said.

Sheaffer says, if they don't have that, they can do all the press releases and media interviews they want, but it won't help Casey convince a jury in that she's innocent.
There's a new blow to the defense in the case against Casey Anthony. Documents uncovered by WFTV raise questions about a key defense witness.

That witness swore she saw nothing when she searched a spot in east Orange County where, months later, Caylee's body was found. But WFTV obtained documents and a new witness contradicting her story.

A document shows EquuSearch volunteer Laura Buchanan wasn't with a team of volunteers, at the site Caylee's body was later found, the day she says she was. The document instead says she and the group of volunteers searched Blanchard Park that day and one of the volunteers, who was with her, says they never went to the woods on Suburban Drive that day.

The defense is desperate to show Caylee Anthony's remains were put in the woods near her house by someone other than her mother, Casey.

Defense witness Laura Buchanan signed an affidavit a year after Caylee was found there claiming she searched the area months earlier, on September 3, with her team of volunteers and Caylee was not there.

But WFTV found Texas EquuSearch documents that show Buchanan and her team were at Blanchard Park that day and even that they found bones there.

Volunteer Lela Radojevic, who was on Buchanan's team that day, says they were at Blanchard Park from morning until late afternoon.

"You were all together all day at Blanchard Park and nobody ever, with you, went to Suburban Drive that day?" WFTV reporter Kathi Belich asked Radojevic.

"No," she said.

Buchanan apparently has a document to prove her claim, which investigators believe could've been fabricated and they are looking into it.

Defense attorney Cheney Mason claimed to have found a legitimate copy of it in the EquuSearch records they're inspecting, but lead attorney Jose Baez is less demonstrative.

"Well, if Cheney says he saw it, he saw it," Baez said.

"Did you see it?" Belich asked Baez.

"I have not seen every document," he replied.

If it turns out someone falsified documents and or tampered with witnesses in this capital murder case about what went on at Suburban Drive, they could face felony charges.

source:
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Casey's Defense Gets EquuSearch Documents
Posted: 12:49 pm EST December 6, 2010
Updated: 2:10 pm EST December 6, 2010

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Casey Anthony's defense received more evidence from prosecutors in her murder case. Among the 119 pages of documents are Texas EquuSearch documents from volunteer Laura Buchanan.
Buchanan is under investigation by the Orange County Sheriff's Office for allegedly falsifying documents to help Casey. She claims she and others searched the woods, three months before Caylee's remains were found there, and found nothing.
Investigators say the area was under water at that time.
Also, the defense wants the state commission that monitors its spending to approve a higher rate for copies of deposition transcripts. Apparently it didn't lock in a deal with a court reporter service before hiring it and wants an extra $860.

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