The Case Against Casey Anthony - March 2011

I know that it was mentioned somewhere that George had quit coming to the hearings because he was working...But that could have been just speculation. I wish some interested local could find out what was going on with them and report on it...

artgal16 wrote:If she were free, I dont see that she would have a choice - in my opinion to get away from people they would have to send her out of the state or move themselves but they cant move as I dont believe they have any equity in that house

I read they had taken out a 2nd mortgage on the house to get the yard (front and back) landscaped awhile back- when Caylee was very small- in anticipation of her playing in it (the backyard). True or not I dunno, as this info was back when the protesting was going on in front of their house.

HippieChick

Didnt George write a letter to Casey where he told her he was going to stop going to hearings and sending his letters? He said he was mad because she never wrote back.

Caylee Anthony case: Battle Botanist
Posted on March 9, 2011 by JWG
Recently, a handful of defense expert witness depositions taken by the state were released to the public. Among those are depositions of the defense forensic botany expert, Dr. Jane H. Bock. As far as I can tell, the sole purpose of having Dr. Bock testify is to counter the prosecution’s expert witness, Dr. David Hall, and his conclusion that Caylee’s body had to have been dumped at Suburban Drive a minimum of four months prior to the discovery of her remains. Thus, it appears the defense may still try to claim Caylee was dumped there after October 14, 2008, the day Casey began her stint as the longest-serving inmate at Orange County. Since losing Laura Buchanan as a “witness” and deciding not to point the finger at Roy Kronk as an alternate suspect, about the only thing left for this Dream Team is, I suppose, Dr. Bock’s opinion.

Dr. Bock is a retired botany professor from the University of Colorado. She was brought onto the case by Linda Kenney Baden, the most recent member of the Dream Team to jump ship. The connection was actually made through a retired judge who, along with his wife, were vacationing together with Dr. Bock and her husband in Florida from December 2008 to February 2009.

In reading through the deposition, I thought of Dr. Bock as the classic grandmotherly type who would connect well with the jury. As Valhall has said to me, she has a comfortableness about her. She speaks in a manner that conveys her true and sincere passion for her work and the subject matter, using words such as “inspired” and “intrigued” to convey her thoughts.

I agree that Dr. Bock’s personality will help win over the jury in the sense that they will adjourn to their hotel rooms having enjoyed listening to her. She was clearly moved by seeing Caylee’s remains, both in person and in photographs. SA Jeff Ashton will need to be careful during his cross examination to hide his hot-headed tendencies and avoid appearing “mean” to Dr. Bock. However, I really don’t think this will be a problem. In reading the deposition of the good doctor, he comes across as respectful and patient.

According to Dr. Bock’s website, she has a “serious side interest in forensic botany.” The fact it is a side interest and not a full-time career came through loud an clear in the deposition. I hate to say anything negative about Dr. Bock, because she came across as very humble, likable, and earnest. Yet she also came across as a bit disorganized, unfocused, and unwilling to draw a professional conclusion. At the end of the day, I don’t think Dr. Bock will have anything of value to offer that will undermine the prosecution’s case.

Dr. Bock was deposed first on December 21, 2010. That deposition ran long so a second deposition was held on February 12, 2011. The first deposition was marked by rather lengthy exchanges – essentially back and forth sniping – between Mr. Ashton and defense counsel Dorothy Clay Sims which consumed nearly as many pages as Dr. Bock’s testimony. Both depositions were done via Skype and Webex, and the first deposition was also slowed due to a lack of familiarity with the applications.

Dr. Bock visited Suburban Dr. on February 1, 2009, accompanied by Patrick McKenna, a private investigator working for Baez. Prior to visiting the site, she was not given the opportunity to review any photos, reports, or any other form of discovery by the defense. Because of this poor up-front planning by the defense team, Mr. Ashton pressed Dr. Bock as to how she knew she viewed the exact location where the remains were discovered. No solid answer was ever given.

During her visit Dr. Bock took over 100 photographs, and these were the primary focus of the first deposition. Mr. Ashton asked numerous times if any of those photographs were of particular interest to her. Dr. Bock’s responses to those question gave me my first impression that she was not going to be particularly helpful to the defense. She would say a particular photo was interesting, then bounce to another without explaining why the previous photo caught her attention. Like a good sport fisherman, Mr. Ashton reeled her back to the photograph at hand and walk him through her thoughts. What surprised me was that she, for the most part, found the photos botanically interesting, but not necessarily forensically interesting.

The following exchange was typical:

Q. All right. This is photograph 46. Why might that be important?
A. It suggests that that’s a mature tree that’s been there for a while.
Q. Oh, okay. All right. Go ahead. If there’s any others.

Okaaaaay…If you’re wonder what, if anything, that had to do with the remains and the length of time they had been at the scene, you are as befuddled as I (and probably Mr. Ashton).

Dr. Bock examined Caylee’s skeletal remains in a mortuary, after they had been released to the Anthony family. It was clear this left a lasting impression on her, as she commented on how small the skeleton was. She handled a few bones but mostly examined them with a magnifying glass. She noted roots growing on the bones, however, she did not take any measurements of the roots.

Dr. Bock received Dr. Hall’s report on February 17, 2009. When asked if she formed any opinions about his report, her first response was that she was impressed with (and envious of) the accuracy of his plant identifications. She also mentioned that she recently reviewed a book of his and recommended it be published, that it would be useful. It’s statements like those that simply make her a likeable, honest person.

But, there are other statements about the report and throughout other parts of the deposition that left me with the impression that Dr. Bock is a bit disorganized and therefore not always tight with the facts. She had a great deal of trouble finding information such as specific photographs she found interesting (wouldn’t she have noted them or set them aside?) or when she received certain pieces of discovery, such as Hall’s report. She seemed to misunderstand Dr. Hall’s observation that the remains site was also a local trash dumping site. As stated above, she would offer up a photograph as being interesting botanically, but not forensically, even though she was being deposed as a forensic botanist. It’s those little but frequent pieces of her testimony that caused her to come across to me as a weak witness.

Another example to this point was when she was asked whether there was anything interesting in the investigative reports provided to her – she began commenting on the medical examiner report. Again, Mr. Ashton reeled her back to the investigative reports. She pointed to the passage whereby Dr. Lee examined the car at the OCSO evidence garage. It was interesting to her because there might be botanical evidence in the trunk, such as seeds and twigs.

Mr Ashton then asked:

Q. Is there any indication in any report or any photograph that there was any botanical evidence in the trunk?
A. I don’t know. I would hope.
Q. Well, I mean, have you examined the reports of the crime scene technicians and the trace evidence that the FBI analyzed, the trunk contents, to see if there was botanical evidence involved?
A. No.

Okaaaaay…I’m seeing a pattern here of her finding something interesting, then maybe not really finding anything of interest after all, and not pursuing it any further. By the way, early reports from CSI’s Bloise and Vincent do note leaf litter was removed from parts of the car. Just saying.

An interesting exchange occurred near the end of the first deposition when Mr. Ashton tried to ascertain Dr. Bock’s level of expertise with the flora and fauna of Florida. He asked how much experience she had working in the botanical field in the state of Florida. Her first response was to say that she knew the person who wrote the first flora of Florida rather well – a person who is deceased. ( Okaaaaay… ) Her second response was that her parents lived in Florida. Her third response indicated she did research on the feeding behavior of the Florida tortoise. Her fourth response was that she did thesis research on the water hyacinth, which first showed up in Florida around 1900 (she did not actually travel to Florida for this research). Her fifth response was that she had a colleague at Florida International University working on some very interesting botanical problems down in the Keys. Eventually, Mr. Ashton coaxed out of Dr. Bock that if one were to add up all the hours she traipsed through the woods of gardened in Florida, she would have 2 to 3 years of experience (not necessarily expertise).

( Okaaaaay… )

Towards the end of the deposition Dr. Bock had this to say as well:

I have to say that when I agreed to work with the defense on this case, obviously, I thought there could be something I could do for the defense in this case. You know, I’ve had a recent other source of information about this case, and I’m embarrassed to tell you what it is. My daughter, the mother of that cowboy, watches a lot of TV. I don’t, And she loves truTV. And she calls me up and says, oh, mister so-and-so is on TV, you should look. So then I’ve learned a lot. I watched the transition of judges on TV. And once I heard my name mentioned, but it was mispronounced, which relieved me. And what else have I learned on TV? I think that’s all. But it’s been a source of information.

( Okaaaaay… )

The second deposition focused on Dr. Bock’s review of crime scene and medical examiner photos. Some of the highlights:

She was asked (essentially) whether or not the plants at the crime scene would be consistent with those found in swampland. She agreed that they were consistent.
At one point she was asked if she could identify a vine in a particular photo, to which she replied “No, I’m not going to say. I trust his (Hall’s) identifications.” ( Okaaaaay… )
It was her opinion that the leaf litter found around the skull nearly to the level of the eye sockets could have occurred within a week’s time. Yet in her first deposition she noted that the leaf litter that had accumulated in the one and a half months since the crime scene was stripped of all vegetation was “two or three leaves deep.”
She noted some “very old stuff” located either at the bottom or underneath the skull, in particular a leaf skeleton. She said that it was indicative of it being surrounded by water at some point, but also that it would have taken 6 to 12 months for it to form. Dr. Bock said she assumed that the leaf skeleton had already formed when the body was placed there, but had no clear basis for that assumption.
It was also her opinion that the root growth on the skeleton, hair mass, and blanket could have occurred within a week’s time. Yet she also admitted she had never examined a skeleton with roots growing on it before, and had only examined a crime scene involving a body outdoors “three or four times” in her nearly 30 years of being interested in forensic botany on the side.
While she has never examined human bones with roots growing on them, she did mention she examined chicken bones with roots growing on them. This was on the family farm. When she was a child.
( Okaaaaay… )

But, at the end of it all and when asked by Mr. Ashton, Dr. Bock said she was not prepared to render an opinion as to when Caylee’s remains were placed at that location.

The defense should show some dignity and not call this lovely woman to the stand. They will not win this throwdown. She has nothing to offer.

JWG

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Now thats funny, all of that time and at the end - no conclusion? What the heck kind of expert is that?

Defense Penalty Phase Witness List can be found at the link below...Very interesting to read who might be called by the defense if KC is found guilty.

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I love google docs. Thanks for posting the link lisette.

Jesse Grund is listed as both the State witness and a witness for the defense as well.

Jessie will testify for the defense that Casey was a good mother and possibly about dynamics in the
Anthony household.

artgal16 wrote:Now thats funny, all of that time and at the end - no conclusion? What the heck kind of expert is that?

Artgal I was just going to say the same thing. Surely they won't spend days drilling her on the stand for that conclusion.

We shall all die in May. Casey wins..we can't take it any more. We surrender. Thats the stradegy of the defense. They shall talk us to death.

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I would bet it is Jose Baez, he did slip her a bracelet of some sort when she was in jail
bless her heart...

Have a look at the smiles on the faces of all the men in the courtroom as Miss Casey Anthony enters.

Amazing how this child killer draws their attention to the boobs.

Isn't there some kind of dress code in court or can the defendent show up in any revealing clothing.

What a farce to see her..dressed like this. Who exactly is providing her "courtroom attire"?

[left]

Casey Anthony: What were biggest surprises at hearings?
WESH — posted by halboedeker on March, 9 2011 6:47 PM

The biggest surprises in the recent hearings in the Casey Anthony case?
WESH-Channel 2’s Bob Kealing highlighted two tonight:

***Sheriff’s Sgt. Reginald Hosey revealed a conversation he had with Anthony on the night that Caylee was reported missing. Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter.

In the private chat, Hosey said, Anthony said she wasn’t worried about Caylee and confided that her parents might want to take the child away from her. Kealing said Hosey’s revelation “took many longtime observers of this case by surprise.” The defense asked why Posey’s statement hadn’t been put in a report.

***Detective Yuri Melich revealed that he had never read Anthony her Miranda rights – that didn’t happen until the day she was indicted. Kealing added, “Prosecutors counter that Anthony willingly answered those questions early on and was not subject to Miranda warnings because the suspect, after all, at that time was Zanny the nanny.”

Do you agree those were the biggest surprises during the hearings? Or were there others?

It will be a busy Friday in the case. The State Attorney’s Office that day will release hundreds of pages of evidence, WESH reported tonight.

Kealing also alerted viewers that it will be a busy summer with high-profile trials at the Orange County Courthouse. The Anthony trial will start May 16. The courthouse will house the corruption trial of former Orange County Commissioner Mildred Fernandez and the murder trial of Isleworth millionaire Bob Ward.

A court administration spokeswoman put the cost of sequestering jurors for the duration of Anthony’s trial at $350,000, Kealing reported.

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Casey's Defense Wants More Taxpayer Money

Posted: 6:22 pm EST March 10, 2011

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The defense in the Case against Casey is asking for more money from taxpayers for its private investigator.
Casey's lawyers want investigator Jeremy Lyons to do another 300 hours of work at a rate of $40 per hour. That's an extra $12,000.
The defense said Lyons would be going through new evidence submitted by the state and looking into the prosecution's witness list.
Judge Belvin Perry has yet to rule on the request.

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Records Show More Than $80K Spent On Anthony Defense

So far, the JAC has reimbursed the Anthony defense team $49,300 and another $31,281 in bills is still pending...Other state-paid fees include:
$7,206 for deposition transcripts
$8,879 for crime scene processing by an expert witness
$9,299 in subpoena services
$9,866 in out-of-state travel expenses for those working for the defense
$2,045 for in-state travel expenses for a due process provider
The state-paid costs are above and beyond the $275,000 defense fund Anthony spent on her own before being declared indigent and eligible for taxpayer reimbursement.

Read more at:
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It will be a busy Friday in the case. The State Attorney’s Office that day will release hundreds of pages of evidence, WESH reported tonight.

Please make sure this is on a fresh thread. I want to keep the doc dumps separate from the monthly's we are doing, and doing quite well...might I add. Thanks!!

Casey Anthony Update: Defense Team Asks For More Money
Posted on March 10th, 2011 by Jan Barrett

Is the timing a coincident or are they asking for a mere $12,000 more in honor of the one year anniversary since their client, the wannabe princess, had been declared indigent?

On March 10, 2010 Casey Anthony was declared indigent by Orange County Clerk of Court Lydia Gardner. Once a judge approved of the declaration it made the defense team eligible to be funded by taxpayers and they are being paid by a state agency.

After spending more than $80,000 of the taxpayers money already, Jose (Bozo) Baez claims he has no choice but to ask the courts for more investigative hours which would equal to 300 more hours at the rate of $40 per hour.

I am more than sure that this is not making too many of Florida’s citizens happy. I still don’t understand why this case is any different from any other case where the client has been declared indigent. If Bozo gets this the taxpayers will have spent over $91,000 just on this case, plus the $275,000 that the defense had already spent on the case before she was declared indigent.

The figures reported that has been reimbursed by the JAC to the defense team is $49,300 with another $31,281 still pending. This amount of money would buy me a nice car or it would feed us for four or five years or more. I would imagine it could help feed a lot of the homeless people and help them get off the streets.

Also does anyone recognize the name Kiomarie Cruz? She was a friend of Casey Anthony’s when they were kids. On July 19, 2008 as she was being interviewed she pointed out to Deputy Sheriff Appling Wells as they were walking, a wooded area near the Hidden Oaks Elementary School, which was thick with vegetation saying it was a favorite hangout for her and Casey. She claimed it was a place where young people would go to have sex, drink and smoke marijuana.

Later in a deposition Wells stated that Cruz told him that is Casey Anthony had done anything to her daughter that was where she would have put her body. Five months later little Caylee’s remains were found about 350 yards from where Cruz claimed they use to hangout at.

This information could have really helped the prosecution with their case against Anthony that she had a history of doing clandestine things in the same wooded area and those in her past even predicted that she would put the baby there.

Unfortunately Cruz took it upon herself to sell her story to a tabloid possibly for as much as $20,000 which could damage her credibility. She is listed though as a potential witness for the state.

The friends Anthony once had seem to know her pretty good. For one to have guessed where the baby’s remains would end up just from knowing how Anthony is, would be a pretty good guess if you ask me.

The trial is scheduled to begin May 16 with the jury selection to begin on May 9th. A court administration spokeswoman has quoted a figure of $350,000 as the cost of sequestering jurors for the duration of Anthony’s trial, according to WESH Channel 2’s Bob Kealing.

I just want Caylee Anthony to get some justice in this. That little angel didn’t ask for this. She is the one that has suffered in all of this. Her life was taken from her before she was even given a chance to live it. She needs to be remembered here. What happened to her rights? Why should the one responsible for taking her life have any rights? I am sorry but I think if they took someone’s life away, then they need to be stripped of all of their rights as well. Caylee didn’t get any choices did she? Why have they all seemed to have forgotten what has happened to that child? Why does anyone care about making sure the one that took her little life away, gets a fair trial, that is costing the taxpayers, more money than I will ever have. So many questions…with so few answers!

My prayers are with Caylee. I pray she gets justice of some sort in all of this. She is the only one that matters in all of this. They need to remember what happened to her.

God bless you Caylee and all the other missing, murdered and abused children like Haleigh Cummings, Adji Desir and even the adults like Zachary Pittman. It is a shame t6hat there are so many out there.

Jan Barrett

For more of my articles about the missing, murdered or abused children you can go to narwo.com.

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Such an important statement to be left out of the Police report! The fact that KC stated the night of the 911 call that her parents were thinking of taking Caylee from her. That to me was her MOTIVE for killing Caylee.
I am so sorry the Ant's didn't act sooner.

You know I never thought Casey cared about the Ants taking Caylee. They supported both of them and they lived at HopeSpring Drive forever.

I think what made Casey mad was that they were going to take Caylee from her and kicking her butt to the curb.

Casey was going to lose her "beautiful life" at the Ants house. Probably take the car they let her drive also.

That is what Casey was upset about..not losing Caylee.

Caylee was Caseys meal ticket. Caylee was the Ants power play.

Such a disfunctional family. Whew...

Jeanne said I think what made Casey mad was that they were going to take Caylee from her and kicking her butt to the curb.

Not to mention how jealous KC was of her own daughter.

lindamarie wrote:

Jeanne said I think what made Casey mad was that they were going to take Caylee from her and kicking her butt to the curb.

Not to mention how jealous KC was of her own daughter.

There is a document dump today where should these be posted?

artgal16 wrote:There is a document dump today where should these be posted?

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Please start a new topic for today's dump. Thank you.

ctee1 wrote:Do you think that she will ever come out of protective custody? Could there be some protection for her after they find her guilty? Does anyone know if she could get special consideration? Her father told Ms Drane B that he fears for her in general population. He knows she is goin down..

She will not be protected when she goes to prison. She may be put with a segment of women who have committed
similar crimes (killing their children, child neglect etc) but she is not like Charles Manson...no separate protective place for her to be able to close her eyes...no more diva treatment, she might eventually come to terms with what it is she did-no more BS stories, no wild goose chases, the raw truth. That is when I feel she will really go off the deep end.

(Didn't Susan Smith go through a breakdown in prison and needed psychiatric treatment to help her deal..???)

Praying For Faith wrote:

lindamarie wrote:

Jeanne said I think what made Casey mad was that they were going to take Caylee from her and kicking her butt to the curb.

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Not to mention how jealous KC was of her own daughter.

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too...I have long thought this might the very root of the whole thing. That, and Casey has alot of mental issues that I think her parents were very aware of (Cindy referring to her as a psychopath) (Cindy's mother was not fooled and appeared to understand the REAL Casey just fine) As well as Cindy's brother, he could see through
Casey's crap too)

HippieChick

[quote="HippieChick"]

ctee1 wrote:
(Didn't Susan Smith go through a breakdown in prison and needed psychiatric treatment to help her deal..???)

Honestly I always thought she got pregnant in prison and had a baby. I don't remember the breakdown and I could be wrong about the baby. There are so many stories.

Susan Smith got preg in prison? How did that happen? I don't remember this, but you are right a lot of stories...

Susan thing was like 18 months of psychiatric help to get her head together. IIRC. Smith or somebody else, I don't remember anything but a woman who killed her kids breaking down after a period of time in prison and needed some psych help.

I have a friend I used to work with whose (ex) brother in law (her ex-husbands brother) drove the kids to a lake near here and killed the kids. They found the kids and later arrested their father for killing them. It was a unique last name (which I now can't remember) but it was so unique it rung a bell when I heard it as it was the same last name of my friends ex-husband. I asked my friend "was your husbands family familiar with this man? My friend then said it was her ex's brother who did it. It was a shocking and embarassing thing for her. I never asked about it again but followed it in the news. Father was convicted and sent to prison.

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Well she found one boyfriend in prison. Still looking for the baby story.

This is a story on Susans life. I don't see anything about a baby. I might have been mistaken.

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Aftermath
Since her incarceration at South Carolina’s Leath Correctional Institution, two guards have been punished for having sex with Smith. Her sexual activity in prison was discovered after she developed a sexual transmitted disease

No baby story here but this is pretty interesting...she's a druggie now.

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This link says she was never pregnant in jail..

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HippieChick

I do not believe that male guards should guard female prisoners and females guard men. I know that sounds sexist, but its just realistic.

Caylee was such a beautiful little girl. Big beautiful eyes. How anyone could hurt this baby just doesn't make any sense.

The mother must have a cold cold heart to be able to stare into her daughter's face and get rid of her.

Casey, Susan Smith, Billie Jean seem to have been cut from the same cloth.

What happened to make them so devoid of maternal feelings.

This is so interesting. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

A must listen too.

Peter, Cobra, Marinade Dave, Simon and Jan.
Really a good discussion on the Anthony family and all the dynamics of this group.

I didn't realize that the prosecution is not going to use somebody to help them pick a jury. Dr. Glass is very concerned about that.

Some on this panel say depending on the jury and Caseys demeaner..she could walk. Imagine that.

The blog radio show I referred to above was the best. I could not turn it off. All the things I have thought and written about..they are saying. Such as;

Cindy, George and Casey never loved Caylee. They paraded her. Look at me I am decorating her room. Look at me this fancy birthday party. Look at me how cute I have her dressed.

But real love would have been somebody checking on this nanny that kept her for two years and nobody saw.
Real love would have been finding out where the heck she was for 31 days when she went missing.

They touched on the importance of containing Casey during trial. They actually feel with the right jury and Casey behaving herself during the trial..she has a chance.

They said she has to drop this hatred of her family. They talke about George wanting to argue with the whole world and Cindy wishing to control everything and especially Casey. They talked about Lee's appearance in court. Undressed, unshaved, goofy in general.

They talked about Jose and how he was really bunbling along til grandpa arrived on the white horse to save the day. Most of the motions Baez is filing are at Chaneys request. Jose knows not much.

But Jose and Casey are two of a kind. Both arrogant and think the world owes them everything.

It is such an interesting discussion. I hope you get a chance to listen to it.

Havent had time. I will listen soon. Sounds accurate. Little Caylee was moreless a toy. They didnt care

Today, Judge Perry filed an Order Memorializing Motions Heard on March 2-7. The link to it is below. It summarizes the motions that he ruled on during the hearings and the ones that he reserved ruling on...He said that he would rule on them by the end of this week.

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jeanne, I listened to the blogradio program while I was washing dishes. It really scares me to death that she might actually walk away from this if she has the "right demeanor" and a jury that doesn't know the background of this case. I just pray that LDB and JA will be able to make the jury understand just what this case is all about. The panel on the show pointed out how, with time, people forget about the victim and their attention is focused on the accused and her situation (possible molestation, overbearing mother, spineless father). Please Lord don't let her get away with this!!

Casey Anthonys defense team expert and noted forensic pathologist Werner Spitz is challenging the findings of the Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner's autopsy done on the remains of Caylee Marie Anthony, according to a new report the defense filed with the prosecution.

Spitz, based in Michigan, conducted a second autopsy on the child's remains in late 2008.

He challenges the earlier findings of Orange-Osceola Chief Medical Examiner Jan Garavaglia. He particularly takes issue with Garavaglia's saying: "Although there is no trauma evident on the skeleton, there is duct tape over the lower facial region still attached to head hair. This duct tape was clearly placed prior to decomposition, keeping the mandible [jaw] in place."

In his report dated March 10, Spitz states Garavaglia's statement is "flawed" because of evidence about the movement of the remains he discovered in his second autopsy and because "DNA results of the duct tape yielded no DNA from the deceased."

In addition, Spitz found "the lack of entomological evidence found on the duct tape is also inconsistent with the duct tape being placed over any orifice that would have attached to the duct tape during decomposition (skin would be expected to adhere to duct tape)."
The evidence discussed in three areas, Spitz said, "seriously call into question the statement 'clearly placed prior to decomposition, keeping the mandible in place.'"

Casey Anthony, 24, is accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee Marie Anthony in the summer of 2008. Her trial is slated to begin in May.

The Spitz report was due on Friday under a court-ordered deadline for the defense to provide the state with the expert witness's findings. The defense team met that deadline last week, according to the prosecution.

The Spitz findings take on an essential piece of the state's case: Garavaglia's conclusion that Caylee's death was a homicide.

Spitz said the cause of death is undetermined, which is the same conclusion Garavaglia reached.

However, she concluded that the child's death was a homicide, while Spitz said, "The manner of death is also undetermined because there is no scientific information available that the death was at the hands of another."

During Garavaglia's deposition, recently released in transcript form, she dismissed notions that the child might have died by drowning or suffocating, specifically noting that in such cases the victims are not normally found dumped in a bag with "duct tape on their face."

In his report, Spitz mentioned the "salient points" of his second autopsy conducted Dec. 23-34, 2008.

"The skull had not been opened, at the first autopsy, in accordance with normal protocols as when dealing with skeletal remains," Spitz wrote. "Since the skull had not been previously opened, this indicates that the interior of the skull had not been previously examined."

He found a "cake of dark brown residue" on the left side of the skull.

"The location of the residue indicates that the left side of the skull was down during most by far of the decomposition process, causing sediment to precipitate to that area."

The initial autopsy and photos show that the duct tape found on the remains was stuck to the hair and not the mandible bone.

"Therefore if the skull was once lying on its left side, as clearly evidenced by the location of the sediment, it is highly unlikely that both the skull and the mandible, which would have been disarticulated during decomposition, would roll back to an almost perfect anatomical position," Spitz noted.

Because of his conclusions based on the movement of the remains and the lack of DNA evidence on the tape, Spitz called into question and found flaws with Dr. Garavaglia's statement.

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ORLANDO, Fla. -- A document WFTV obtained Monday (read it) raises some questions about the evidence found on Caylee Anthony's body.

The Orange County medical examiner initially said there was duct tape found near the bones that looked like it was placed over Caylee's mouth.

However, a new forensic scientist hired by Casey's attorneys, Werner Spitz, said there is no DNA evidence that tape was ever on Caylee's body.
REPORTS: FBI WIRED FRIEND DURING TALKS WITH CASEY

New documents were released in the case against Casey Anthony Friday. The documents reveal new information about one of Casey's friends who wore a wire for the FBI, during a conversation with her.

It's another bombshell dropped in the case against Casey, almost three years after it started.

Mark Hawkins

Mark Hawkins told the FBI that Casey called him around the time that Caylee Anthony disappeared and said she was upset, that something had happened "a long time ago."

Hawkins also said that Casey had told her mother and brother about it and they were angry and frustrated, but she couldn't talk about it over the phone.

Casey and Hawkins met at Colonial High School and had remained close friends.

Hawkins told investigators that when Casey texted him, Caylee had been missing for 31 days. He said he called her and asked why she hadn't told anyone until then.

Hawkins also said Casey told him "she was worried for Caylee's safety and that she conducted her own investigation." Hawkins also said he got a text from her two months later, saying she missed him and wanted to see him.

So in October 2008, Hawkins, who worked with the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service, or NCIS, agreed to come to Orlando, put on a wire and visit Casey.

The first time, he rode with Cindy to pick up Casey from attorney Jose Baez's office. The second time, when he wore the recording device, he visited with Casey at her house.

The documents also show when he asked Casey what she couldn't tell him over the phone, she said her brother Lee knew most of the story about what had happened to Caylee and she would tell him all about it "some day."

The NCIS report says Casey never made any admissions to Hawkins about Caylee's death or knowing where Caylee was.

Hawkins said he called her house and in the document he stated, "She had no idea where Caylee was. She said the last time she saw her was when she dropped her off at the babysitter's. Casey told me when she tried to call the babysitter's phone it was turned off."

Hawkins also told investigators when Casey would argue with her parents she would frequently go away for some time with Caylee.

The new documents also show defense experts question the validity of testing done on Casey's car trunk. Defense experts said the air tests that found chloroform and other compounds of human decomposition are experimental, and that bugs found in Casey's trunk could have been attracted by the trash. The defense said they are not proof Caylee's body was there.

During questioning, chief medical examiner doctor Gary Utz was asked if he found any trauma to Caylee's body to prove she was murdered.

He replied there wasn't, but that most of the body was gone by the time they discovered it. Utz also said he didn't find any toxic chemicals during the autopsy, like the chloroform found in the trunk of Casey's car.

Also Friday, WFTV obtained some of the evidence the defense has gathered and shared with prosecutors, showing there was no DNA found on the laundry bag and on Caylee's shorts, which were found with her remains.

In the documents, WFTV found a transcript of a phone interview with EquuSearch volunteer Linda Ann Davis, conducted by the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Davis said she searched the heavily-wooded area behind the Anthony home on Suburban Drive. She was asked to describe the surroundings and who assisted in the search for Caylee Anthony.

Casey has pleaded not guilty in the death of her daughter. She goes to trial on May 9.
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-- In newly filed depositions in the case against Casey Anthony on Monday, Roy Kronk's son gave mixed signals about whether his father is a hero for finding Caylee Anthony's remains or someone police should have considered a suspect in the investigation.

Kronk's adult son, Brandon Sparks, was listed by Anthony's defense to argue Kronk should have been at least investigated as a suspect. Looking at Sparks deposition taken in November, some may have wondered whether Sparks considered his father a hero or a villain.

According to the new documents, Sparks said Kronk considered himself a martyr for finding Caylee's remains.

Sparks told prosecutors he was proud of Kronk and congratulated him for doing a great deed. But Sparks also indicated in the deposition that he could not rule out his father as a suspect.

"You can see there's an axe to grind there somewhere," Defense Attorney Richard Hornsby said.

Hornsby said there's obviously some lingering bad blood between Kronk and his estranged family members, but it will do Anthony's defense no good because Judge Belvin Perry ruled testimony about Kronk's alleged bad acts in the past won't be allowed.

"At the end of the day, it's not going to have any relevance in the trial," Hornsby said. "(The) defense not going to be able to get into any character issues."

Hornsby said the only way Kronk's son may be used is to establish a timeline of the discovery of Caylee's remains, but not to speculate on whether his father is a possible suspect.

"The son can't be called to attack his father's character," Hornsby said.

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lisette wrote:jeanne, I listened to the blogradio program while I was washing dishes. It really scares me to death that she might actually walk away from this if she has the "right demeanor" and a jury that doesn't know the background of this case. I just pray that LDB and JA will be able to make the jury understand just what this case is all about. The panel on the show pointed out how, with time, people forget about the victim and their attention is focused on the accused and her situation (possible molestation, overbearing mother, spineless father). Please Lord don't let her get away with this!!

Lisette I am so glad you listened to the broadcast. It was so interesting listening to these fellows that have followed this case so closely discussing it in their circle.

So many good points. But I fear like you said they have forgotten about little Caylee and it is all about Casey. If she shapes up...who knows what will happen.

Defense attorneys finally got the chance to grill a former Orange County corrections officer under oath.

Sylvia Hernandez was fired after she was accused of passing letters back and forth between Casey and another jail inmate.

Besides her lawyers, Casey Anthony probably had more interaction with Hernandez than anyone else.

Hernandez was fired from the Orange County Jail last July after an investigation revealed she let Casey Anthony chat with another inmate, Robyn Adams.

Prisoners in protective custody aren't allowed to talk to each other.

Hernandez also allegedly let Anthony cut Adams’ hair.

Monday’s deposition was the very first opportunity for Anthony's attorneys to talk with Hernandez.

Presumably, the defense would like to show that Adams was an agent of the state, working with law enforcement to get incriminating statements out of Anthony so she could get a reduced sentence or some sort of benefit down the road.

Neither Jose Baez or Cheney Mason would discuss the 45 minute deposition.

Hernandez does have a new job.

At the most recent court hearing, defense attorneys told the court Hernandez was hired as a police officer in Groveland, and they were having trouble serving her with a subpoena for the deposition.

In fact, the defense private investigator "leave town and never come back" when he tried to serve the subpoena.

It’s still unknown Adams or Hernandez will testify at the upcoming trial.
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Family friend describes 'distraught' George Anthony
By Anthony Colarossi, Orlando Sentinel
6:27 p.m. EDT, March 14, 2011

Recent depositions filed in the Casey Anthony case continue to show the vast number of potential witnesses in the case and unique roles these individuals play in the tragic, nearly three-year-old saga.

The deposition of attorney Paul Anthony Kelley, a friend of George and Cindy Anthony, offers a different take on the chaotic start of the case in July 2008 and the frantic search for missing 2-year-old Caylee Marie Anthony.

Kelley described sitting with a "distraught" George Anthony in his home as cadaver dogs sniffed around the backyard of the Anthony home.

"They did not want to believe that anything had happened to Caylee…that she was dead," Kelley said of the Anthonys.

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As investigators scoured the home and the yard, Kelley said George Anthony told him, "My daughter wouldn't do this." When asked what he said she wouldn't do, Kelley said, "hurt or kill her child."

George Anthony told him, "I can't believe they think she's killed her or think she's dead or whatever they're trying to get at with this," said Kelley, who tried to console the grandparents.

The scene Kelley describes illustrates law enforcement's early suspicions about Casey Anthony, 24, who was later charged with first-degree murder in the 2008 death of her daughter. The trial is scheduled to start in May. Anthony faces a possible death sentence if convicted.

Kelley also said George Anthony noticed – and was asked about -- a ladder to the above-ground pool in the yard that had been left down, but he emphasized that the ladder was usually left in position meant to prevent Caylee from climbing up and falling in the pool.

"We never leave that ladder down," Kelley recalled George Anthony telling him.

In the following days, Kelley helped set up a trust account for the Anthonys after the child's disappearance, but he said that a Texas EquuSearch volunteer "did not like Cindy at all" and made allegations that tens of thousands of dollars funneled into the account were "being mishandled and misused."

At that point, Kelley said he and a law partner decided with all the publicity, "We need to pass this on."

Kelley, who knew the Anthonys before the case erupted in July 2008, also said he drafted documents to help the Anthonys have Caylee's father sign over his parental rights. He did not know if those documents were ever filed, but was later told that the father signed the paperwork before he died, Kelley said during his October deposition.

He was also asked repeatedly whether George and Cindy Anthony sought custody of the child.

"Cindy never talked to me about custody of Caylee until after these circumstance happened," Kelley said. "Casey…it was my understanding that she was the primary caretaker."

Asked if he ever saw any jealousy by the family members over the child, Kelley said, "It didn't seem like there was any confrontation or anything. That girl had enough love for everybody. She was an awesome little girl."

Another witness deposed in October was Patrick Paul King, a young Kissimmee man, who did a brief search for the missing child in mid-2008 with friends. When he was told about the location where Caylee's remains were found in December of that year, King said, "I was like: Dude, that's impossible."

When asked why he thought it was impossible that the child's body could be at the site during the previous summer, King said, "Because there's no birds [vultures]. You couldn't smell nothing, you know?"

He acknowledged this was an opinion he was offering the attorneys questioning him.

"If the bag [with Caylee's body] was there, you know, animals would have got into it and scattered everything," King said.

When one of the prosecutors told him "They did," King said, "Oh."

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Here is the link to Dr. Werner Spitz report for the defense in which he disputes Dr. G's findings:

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Wonder what he expects to get out of this? Publicity, I guess.

Hes gets money

"If the bag [with Caylee's body] was there, you know, animals would have got into it and scattered everything," King said.

When one of the prosecutors told him "They did," King said, "Oh."

What a idiot

Yes he is! He also seems to hate his father.

Jeanne, after you posted what you did about the interview on Blog Talk Radio I listened to it and you were right, very interesting! :thanks:

I am listening to the blog talk this morning. It is interesting. Cobra sounds like he is doing better these days. One thing that really stuck out at me is the talk about how the jury will see KC is pissed off at her family and the jury is not going to like that or approve of it. It will be ONE of her downfalls.

LM you are right. We see it as inner anger and wonder how she would have treated Caylee. If the jury is looking more at Casey than at Caylee she better get her act together for those twelve.

I found it interesting too how they talked about all the Ants. I think they pretty much think of them as all of us do. Not good.

I wondered at Lee's appearance in court but never made mention of it. They all found him desrespectful.
He has always been like that. Doing the goofiest things at the strangest times.

Who can forget the tube sox or the CMA he shouted at Caylees Memorial.

What a group of nuts. Poor Caylee.

Why did Dr G. leave an opening for the defense? The fact that Spitzer mentions a huge step having been missed, leaves open the oppurtunity for doubt in her skill and opinion. It turned out that nothing significant was discovered,in opening the skull, however it begs the question... How good is she.. ? In knowing there were felony charges around Caylee's disappearance, I see no excuse as to why the skull was not opened by Dr. G. Discrediting Dr G's skill level would be the focus. As a juror, I would agree that the manner of death by the autopsy alone, would be inconclusive. The strong evidence around the death is the explaination and will convict Casey. 31 days, decomposition in the trunk, death banded hair in the trunk, cadavers hitting on the trunk, Caseys computer messages, everyone lies everyone dies, jail house videos , her lying family, are just a few things that no jury can overlook.

My thoughts. I think the tape was placed by cohoerts, after Casey murdered Caylee.
The tape will not be necessary in proving murder or aggravating circumstances.

The fact that there was no DNA on the tape means nothing as it probably degraded after so many months in water. I doubt that the skull not being opened was significant either they are just trying to find any opening for dispute. Duct tape on the hair then signifys what exactly to him? He is saying that because the duct tape was on the hair it couldnt have been attached to the jaw? I dont see how he concludes that. I dont think Casey had help, the body was double bagged and the duct tape was from her home. Where ever Casey killed Caylee, she used things from her own house to wrap her body and throw her in the woods. Casey wouldnt have had help because she trusted no one but herself.