Casey Anthony Murder Trial: Day 29

Casey Is Competent, Trial Continues

I was online early today. At about 8:27 I saw Ann Finnell walk by the camera. The tension began to mount in my frazzled brain. Cheney Mason, Jose Baez, and Dorothy Sims were there as well. It will be interesting to see the developments this morning.

It would seem that there is a motion of some sort afoot, based on the intensity of Cheney Mason, Casey Anthony, and Ann Finnel were reading what appeared to be a reply to some sort of motion. Since Ann Finnel is the mitigation attorney, I had to wonder if it had to do with the latest case decision in the Federal decision heard in southern Florida recently. Both Beth Karas on InSession and Bill Sheaffer on WFTV both voiced that opinion. Of all the things I had heard over the weekend, that made the most sense. (I heard later on that such a motion had been filed)

At 9:15, all the attorneys, with the exception of Cheney Mason went into chambers with the court stenographer. By 9:29, we still hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Judge Perry. I was ready for a tranquilizer at that point! Cheney Mason must have joined the conference, because, at 9:36 the attorneys, Mason included left the judge’s chambers and Judge Perry called court to order.

Then, we had our answer to all the speculation. The defense had filed a Motion for Competency to Proceed. Judge Perry announced that three court-appointed, independent psychological experts had examined Casey over the weekend. They were Dr. Daniel Tressler, Dr. Harry McClaren and Dr. Ryan Hall.

Judge Perry then had both sides stipulate that he could use the decisions to make his decisions. Once they agreed, Perry found that the defendant is competent to proceed! The reports would be filed under seal with the Clerk of the Court.

Jose Baez stated that the defense had no issues, as did Jeff Ashton. The issues with Dr. Furton had been settled and he was ready to testify.

Jose Baez called Det. Yuri Melich (again) as his first witness for the day.

Apparently, Yuri Melich misspoke on Friday. He stated that he only subpoenaed the records for Roy Kronk for July-August, 2008.

Baez stated that Mr. Kronk's involvement didn't end until December. Baez asked why he didn't subpoena the records for September-December. Baez mentioned where Kronk lived and that he worked near where the remains were found. He also asked if he had the records, he could have told the areas where Kronk was. Melich explained that it would have given him a general idea if he were in the vicinity of the Suburban Drive site. He also pointed out that there was a major highway nearby which would have pinged on the same tower.

Baez asked Melich what times Kronk had the route he had in August. Melich couldn't recall when he had that route another time.

Essentially, Baez was trying to prove that Melich was derelict in his duty in not getting all the records.

He then asked if the this was the first case where he had given wrong information to the jury. Melich said that this was the only time he "misinformed” the jury. Melich stated that he did make a mistake about the cell phone records.

Then, Baez inferred he had made another mistake. There was a question of George Anthony's cell phone records which he subpoenaed for June and July 2008. They didn't have cell phone tower information. He said that he could have had if he thought it had anything to do with the case.

Baez went on to the cell phone records of other people. Melich stated he didn't subpoena them personally. Baez mentioned Amy Huizenga, Jesse Grund, Ricardo Morales, Chris Stutz,and more. Melich said that they were trying to find Zenaida Gonzalez as the reason for at least one of them.

Melich stated he had no reason to subpoena Roy Kronk's records at the time. Baez was insinuating that the earlier calls made by Kronk were suspicious. All those questions about Kronk being suspicious were objected to and sustained.

Then, testimony moved on to Kronk's computer. Baez pointed out that they subpoenaed Joy Wray's computer. Melich did not Baker Act her, although other jurisdictions did.

He pointed out that he had reasons to get her and Ricardo Morales computer.

Baez went on to the Joe Jordan e-mail. There were a lot of objections, but the one to show him the e-mail was permitted. Baez kept putting out that he only turned the e-mail over AFTER the defense had found him. Baez kept trying to question Melich about it, but Melich refused to answer questions until he had read it for himself. After reading the e-mail, Melich said he didn't recall when the e-mail was turned over.

Then, there was a discussion of the two search warrants on the Anthony home in December 2008. At that point, Melich knew about the Winnie the Pooh blanket found at the scene. Melich affirmed that on the 11th search he left a copy of the warrant and the items confiscated.

In the December 20th search, Melich did not recall what he discussed with the Anthony's. He said it was not unusual to share information not in public with the victims. However, he didn't remember what he spoke to them about.

Baez asked if he discussed what they found on Suburban Drive, but Melich didn't recall. He wouldn't speculate what he could have said when Baez asked. Baez then discussed his reports and how the conversations should have been in them. Melich stated that he documented only pertinent information in his reports, not casual conversation.

Melich testified that he did not deploy cadaver dogs at the Anthony home to search their vehicles.

Then, there was and issue about Casey having driven Cindy's vehicle at one point. (When George said he chased Casey.) Melich said that they got the e-pass records from George Anthony and were not able to verify with the records that the event occurred in the time mentioned.

Then, Baez asked if he ever deployed cadaver dogs to search inside the Anthony home. Melich said he hadn't.

Baez then showed Melich a large aerial view of the area. The map was conditionally entered into evidence and Melich was asked to step down to view the map with the jury. He circled the area where the remains were found. Then, he was asked to circle the Anthony home.

He was then told to be seated.

Baez then moved on to the period when Casey Anthony was out on bond. Baez asked if there were media trucks. Melich said there were. She was only allowed out of the house to visit with her lawyer and had to wear a GPS device. Melich was not aware if the media always followed her.

Baez then asked if Casey had been in jail since October 14, 2008.

Linda Burdick did the cross.

She began with the e-mail. It arrived at the office two days after the remains were found. She made clear that the volume of tips, etc. was huge.

Nobody ever told Melich that George or Cindy's cars had the smell of a dead body in it.

She went on to all the phone records. They all focused on the June-August 2008, the pertinent times in the case.

Casey's phone records were also originally subpoenaed from June 1 to July 16th.

Melich stated that he based the subpoenas on the information from Casey about the baby sitter. That was the purpose of the subpoenas, to attempt to locate a connection among Casey’s friends to Zenaida.

Even doing all of that, he was never able to find Zenaida Gonzales, Juliette Lewis, Jeffrey Hopkins, and Raquel Ferrell.

Jose Baez then did re-direct.

Baez mentioned that Ms. Burdick mentioned that they were flooded with tips. Baez tried to make it sound as though Joe Jordan was a person who was very involved in the case. Melich said there were many people who tried to tell him what to do.

There was mention of Cindy Anthony's brother (Rick) and his blogging. Melich didn't recall a lot of that.

Baez then asked if anyone had informed him that the Anthony cars smelled like trash!

Baez then showed Melich a drawing he made in March, 2011. It was what he testified to that day. Melich said it was about the search of Casey's car. In it, he put one car. Melich told him to draw the second car in. Melich could only recall Dep. Forgey searching ONE car.

There was no re-cross and Det. Melich was excused for now.

The next witness was Michael Vincent.
Baez showed him the picture he drew at the hearing. He was asked if he pointed out that only one car was searched by Dep. Forgey.

There was no cross.

Next up was Gerardo Bloise. Baez showed him his drawing he drew of the evidence garage where he had said that Dep. Forgey examined one car as well.

Linda Burdick pointed out that his focus of for the day was the search of Ms. Anthony's car that day.

Baez then asked if it was his job to focus on the details. Bloise agreed.

We were then treated to a 15 minute recess.

Dep. Jason Forgey was then called by the defense. Forgey was carrying a very thick binder as he took the stand.

Jose Baez questioned him about his statement that he had examined two cars. Of course, that was after he showed him HIS drawing of the forensic bay. He had drawn TWO cars, one was a blue car. Baez asked for the tag number, but Forgey didn't recall it. When asked if he knew that it was Casey's car the dog had deployed to check. Forgey said he didn't know it was Ms. Anthony's car.

He was then asked if he had witnesses to that fact that he searched two cars. He stated his supervisor, Gerardo Bloise, and Mike Vincent were present. Baez questioned if it was the first time he mentioned the supervisor being there. Forgey said that he did mention him in depositions and earlier testimony.

Forgey pointed out that in the real world, one would not necessarily have an extra car to examine. They do it in training.

Forgey said he had them to move it (the Sunfire) out of the bay to check. Baez then went into the fact that he could have asked them to move the car to where there were several cars. Forgey wasn't sure, because it was evidence.

Ms. Burdick only asked if, be there one, two, two hundred cars, the Pontiac was the one being investigated. He agreed.

Recently re-deposed Dr. Kenneth Furton was the next witness called by Jose Baez.

Furton is a professor of chemistry and bio-chemestry. He gave his educational background and other achievements.

He said that he and his group has studied the volatile chemical compounds given off by living and dead people. Furton explained how he supervises his students' research and joins them in the lab and on field trips doing research. Most of his research the last 8 years has mostly focused on live scents but that they have also studied human decomposition scent in the lab.

He stated that this is the first time he is testifying about human decompositin. He has previously testified in cases involving other aspects of his expertiese.

Baez offered Furton as and expert witness in human decomposition and forensic chemistry.

Jeff Ashton voir dired Furton on his credentials as an expert in human decomposition. Ashton pointed out that the papers were written by his students. He also stressed that most of his work was with developing training aids for cadaver dogs and one had to deal with human corpses.

Baez said that there would only questions about odor analysis. On that basis, the judge allowed him to testify in both fields.

Furton received the autopsy reports, photographs of the contents of the trunk, the Oak Ridge reports and depositions. He also read Dr. Sigman's report and then that of Dr. Vass.

He also reviewed numerous studies of human decomposition. In his opinion, there is no instrumental method that is scientifically capable of detecting the odor of human decomposition.

We were then treated to Dr. Furton's PowerPoint Presentation. It was being offered as a demonstrative aid.

First, he showed a slide which demonstrated how a GC/MS works. He explained what a standard is. The GC/MS can only give relative abundances based on the peaks. To quantify, you need to run a calibration curve.

Jeff Ashton is halting Baez' leading questions.

Furton then showed a slide which indicated the unique chemical patters of seven LIVING people.
The next slide showed the same information for dead people. The chemical make-up was more similar among the dead than among the living. Then there was one which showed the most common/abundant compounds were. Then, we had one for animal remains parts! Furton mentioned that there was quite a bit of overlap in compounds between the humans and the animals which would have to be excluded.

We then had a big chart on the easel. It was very complicated and I imagine it would be hard to read from the jury box!

(I have to wonder how much of this the jury is enjoying?)

Apparently, the big chart broke the chemicals down based on different studies, including that of Dr. Vass. Jeff Ashton had an objection to something with this exhibit. It should be noted, that Dr. Vass' finding were highlighted in yellow.

Amazing! It was 11:30 or so when we had the first side bar of the day!

Baez was asked to rephrase the question. He asked if the methodology in the studies were different. Furton replied that they were since the scientists studied bodies under different conditions.

(We did learn from Dr. Vass testimony that bodies decompose at different rates and give off different compounds depending on whether they decompose under ground (anaerobic) or on the surface. Also, decomposing bodies give off different volatile compounds at different stages of decomposition. I don't think this chart speaks to those issues. I felt it was disingenuous to compare apples and oranges in one chart without explanation. If any of you are scientists, please let me know if this is correct!)

Then, we were back to the slides. There was a photograph of the contents of the trunk. This led to a discussion of where the compounds found in adipocere can be found in non-human products, like milk and cheese, meat.

When asked, Furton said that the wrapper for hard salami could contain the same fatty acids! Yes, Furton said that! (I was then thinking of Dr. Vass and the ten pound rotting meat raw hamburger eaten by a person with a paper bag over their head analysis of the amount of adipocere on the napkins.)

Baez then had Dr. Furton explain why it was so crucial to do a quantitative analysis. A complicated and professorial lessen then ensued.

Baez then asked where one could find chloroform. He said it could be found in many products in low quantities and in very high quantities in certain common products like bleach.

The last answer drew an objection from Jeff Ashton and we had our second side bar of the day.

Baez went back to the presence of chloroform in cleaning products like bleach. Other products include water, household foods like cheeses and soft drinks.

Ashton asked to approach and Baez started to complain about it. They went to the third side bar of the day.

I had a feeling we would have some lunch before we saw Baez ask another question. I was right!

After lunch, Judge Perry and the attorneys dealt with another proffer matter concerning Dr. Furton.

Baez said it had happened far to often. Judge Perry said that if Dr. Furton was going to take something from an article, he could not use it. He could only use his own opinion.

Ashton said that, in deposition, Furton said he learned about the individual products through Internet research. Therefore, he cannot base his opinions on what he read there.

Judge Perry said that if it came out that the testimony was based entirely on hearsay, his testimony would be stricken with a special instruction.

Baez said that experts use research based on scientific literature, textbooks, and the Internet.

Judge Perry said that if the testimony were based on reliable research, it could be used. For example, as an analytical chemist, he had analyzed these products, then he could testify. But, if he made his Internet searches and based his opinions on them, then it is a Lynn problem.

Judge Perry recommended Baez step outside and confer with Dr. Furton to find out the source of his knowledge.

Jose then did a brief proffer. Furton said that his testimony was based on general knowledge through his education and experience. He relied on scientific journals and treatises. At the Frye hearing, he referred to a World Health Organization report on toxic chemicals. He’d used a GC/MS for 20 years. He said he’d used chloroform as a solvent and found it in samples he tested. He did Internet searches to find other references to items not on the WHO list. He used a Google Scholar’s search. Furton further stated that none of his testimony would come from his most recent searches.

Jeff Ashton got Furton to say that he’d never done research on this himself. Other than reading, he said that chloroform is one of many chemicals he’d worked with. The items on household items were all from reports.

Ashton said he could give an opinion, but could not regurgitate to the jury what he had read as hearsay information.

Baez said he thought this had all been agreed to at side bar before lunch. It's not, "I've heard it at the bowling alley," it came from reports and journals.

Judge Perry said that Furton could simply regurgitate what his opinions are. Jeff Ashton, on cross, could ask the source of his knowledge.

With that issue settled, the jury was returned and the testimony continued.

Baez brought Furton back to the array of products where chloroform can be found. Furton pointed out bleach again. Also, he said it is in butter, oil, cheese and chlorinated drinking water. He also said the GC/MS can pick up chloroform in any of these volatile organic compounds. Referring to the five chemical compounds found by Dr. Vass, Furton's opinion was that they are not unique to human decomposition.

Jeff Ashton then did his cross examination.

He first asked if he had ever examined the spare tire cover. (motion to strike/overruled). Jeff Ashton pulled out the spare tire cover. He asked Furton if he saw a bleach stain on it. Furton said he didn't.

Furton was also asked if chloroform is formed in a vacuum. Were other compounds formed as well? Furton agreed.

Ashton then asked if bleach were poured on the surface, it would turn white. Furton agreed. He then asked if other chemicals, such as bromides would be formed as well. Furton said that he didn't know whether that would have happened because there is nothing in the peer-reviewed literature. It would need to be researched and published before he could answer.

Ashton asked if he asked if he read an Iranian article about that topic. He insinuated that Furton’s research didn't go deep enough. Ashton also asked how many articles he read that said that bleach combined with volatile fatty acids would form chloroform. Furton said he gave one example as an example in his report. He also added that there are other things besides bleach which could help form chloroform. Ashton said that Furton didn't do research on this topic himself. Furton replied with the fact he would need other research done first. (Figure that one out!)

Ashton pointed out that chloroform is a carcinogen and it is in butter and cheese in very small amounts (parts per million). The FDA has regulations about the amount of chloroform (parts per billion range or lower).

Ashton pulled up one of the slides from the PowerPoint. It was the variations of odor signatures between the living and the dead. He then brought up a slide his student prepared where she brought an air collection unit to a morgue. The collection medium they used was not as good as a triple sorbent trap. It would collect a wider variety of materials than the one the student used. The triple sorbent traps would be more likely to capture compounds in smaller amount.

Ashton then asked if she took control samples from the morgue. She did, but the odors there are ubiquitous. The study wasn't done in a natural atmosphere. The meats sampled were processed for human consumption from restaurants. It seemed, from the chart, that there was a great difference between the compounds in human and animal decomposition.

Ashton then went on to the studies Furton had summarized on the big chart. The Vass studies were longitudinal studies. They were the only ones that did so.

Ashton asked how many of the studies used triple sorbent traps? Furton said the Vass and the Greek studies did. Of all the studies, how many involved whole bodies and not parts? They were the same studies!

The other studies cited by Furton were of portions of a decomposing body used in training aids for cadaver dog training.

Ashton pointed out that the studies that studies of whole bodies found more compounds than on the body parts. Furton did not agree. Then, he said they found a larger number of compounds because they use triple sorbent traps.

Ashton made the conclusion that the reason Vass found more compounds because it was a longitudinal study using triple sorbent traps. The Greek study only studied one day.

Ashton went on to the comparison of anaerobic decomposition in buried bodies and bodies on the surface. Vass found more compounds because he looked at them in a different way. Furton started to agree with Ashton, but rather reluctantly.

Ashton asked if the identification of the compounds would be helpful in identifying the odor. Ashton then asked if the presence of the four compounds could indicate that there was a dead body in the car. Furton gave an answer that rambled a bit. Then, Furton stated that he would discount the Vass studies in that they are part of ongoing research and yadda, yadda, yadda.

It was getting way over my typing skills. Furton went into the fact that Vass did not use standards. But he believed that Vass did see those compounds. Ashton got Furton to say that Vass' tests were not thorough enough because they did not run standards.

Ashton then took Furton back to his first deposition. During his February deposition, he didn't say the Vass study was not done properly or thoroughly. Furton said the work has scientific merit, but there is more work that needs to be done.

Ashton went back to the morgue/crematorium slide. Furton said that he used the spectral library to identify the compounds. However, they didn't run standards on those less than 50% because they weren't as important to them.

Furton believed that it was a combination of consumer products and decompositional event (not necessarily of human origin) could produce the five volatile compounds Vass found. There were other volatile compounds which overlapped with gasoline components, so Vass excluded them.

Ashton went to the deposition from last Saturday. Ashton had asked him if a decomposing body were in the car, it could explain the results found. Furton had agreed. However, Furton also said that there were other scenarios that could have occurred (I believe they are already somewhere above.)

My head was spinning!

Then, Ashton asked if any OTHER single event could explain it. Furton went back to his multiple source theory yet again.

(Ok, let's forget the odor, cadaver dogs, etc.)

Then, Furton went on to the possibility of salami residue and other rotting trash in the bag could have contributed to the odor. Ashton then asked if he knew that something was decomposing in the trunk. Furton agreed. Finally, Ashton went back to the garbage picture. He asked if there was no meat in the package. Furton said there was residue. Ashton asked if that could cause the odor. Furton said it was unlikely unless the salami came out and decomposed elsewhere. As for the Velveeta product? The main ingredients are milk, fat, and a little cheese. Ashton brought out the Velveeta cheese package from the box.

(I love when he does this!)

Ashton opened the bag and showed it to Furton. Furton said it wouldn't produce a potential odor. The same happened with the other packages. He did say that he the items would smell more when wet. As to whether there was any food product, he would have to test it! At that point, Ashton asked to pass around the foil Velveeta wrapper to the jury. Baez objected saying it was altered. The judge overruled it and the jury got to see the Velveeta foil up close and personal.

At that point, Baez asked for a side bar.

Ashton then pointed out again to Furton that there wasn't enough organic material left to cause the odor in the car. Furton disagreed, and said it would be speculation to say that.

(I hope the jury got it better than Furton.)

Then, Ashton asked if the material in the trash bag would leave an odor that would last for two years. Furton said it was unlikely.

Ashton went on to ask a question about canine training. He had been given documents about the dogs used in the case (objection/sustained). When Ashton tried another tack about cadaver dogs, he was also blocked. Ashton said that he would reserve the right to recall him.

Baez then did re-direct. Furton said he never testified that there was a bleach stain on the carpet.

Baez asked why he didn't go to Iran and get the paper. Furton said he may have read it, but he read the articles at his disposal. Furton said the articles he read were all peer reviewed.

Baez went to the slide of the different chemical compounds given off by living and dead bodies. Baez asked if any of the five Vass found were in Furton's study.

Baez went to Vass studies and two papers. They were longitudinal studies. He asked if the results of these studies were relevant to this case. (objection/sustained).

There was another question and Ashton called for a side bar to discuss his objection.

Baez then asked Furton if he thought the chemical composition buried for over a year would help in this case. Furton said it would be of limited use. Baez then asked if Furton knew that the car was 11 days into decomposition and the testing wasn't done until later than that? Furton was aware.

Baez tried to go through and rehabilitate the witness. A few things were objected to. He asked if the contents of the trash could contribute to the odor. Furton said it could.

By this point, the questioning slowed down with the sustained objections. Baez whipped out the infamous double garbage picture. Baez asked if it was possible that food items could have been thrown away (when the bag was opened by LE)? Baez pointed out the trash on the right seemed clean? Yes. More questioned asked, nothing much came of them as objections were sustained.

All of a sudden, Baez went to the trash evidence bags, and the judge called for a "special" recess.

After the break, Jose Baez continued with his re-direct. When we last saw him, he was going through the box of evidence from the trash bag.

The item Baez chose was a soda can with a brown substance on it. The can appeared to be empty. Baez could not get Furton to say if it had dried out.

Then, he presented the Velveeta package. There was a purple stain on it.. Baez asked if he saw maggots or puperia there. Furton said he saw a little bit. Jeff Ashton came up to inspect it. Then,
Baez pointed out black powder on the outside of the Velveeta package. He then asked if one could get fingerprints from wet items (objection/sustained). To end the trash inspection, Furton agreed that the wet trash would have smelled stronger than now.

Furton testified that the signature compound study of human decomposition was not a completed study.

Baez completed his re-direct and Jeff Ashton began his re-cross by asking if a body is decomposing, it will be the strongest odor. Furton agreed. Asked if something were moved, would the odor go with it? Furton said that if the trash were removed, the majority of the odor would go with the bag, unless some of the residue leaked from the bag. Ashton then asked if anyone had said that the bag had a strong odor in the reports he read. Furton said he hadn't read anything that said it did.

Furton was excused subject to recall.

Ann Finnell then came up to question Sgt. John Allen.

Allen has been with the OCSO since 1981.

He was asked to bring two video tapes from James Hoover. He also brought a single video tape when they interviewed him in Bill Sheaffer's office with his lawyer. Allen looked at them quite a while ago. Ann Finnel showed him DVD's of the tape which were made at the State Attorney's office.

On cross Linda Burdick asked about both Jim Hoover and Dominic Casey. D. Casey worked for the Baez Law Firm from June until October 1, 2008. At that point, he worked with the Anthony family.
D. Casey had a falling out with Baez over being paid and went to work with the Anthony family. He also worked with the police to find Zanny the Nanny.

Mr. Hoover was not the person he dealt with. Hoover originally planned to sell the videos to the Examiner. Hoover ended up turning them over to the police. The third one was turned over to the police at a later date and contained different information.

Ms. Finnell asked a few questions on re-direct.

Dominic Casey originally did work for the Baez Law Firm until October 1, 2008. At some point, he began working for the Anthony family, but he had no direct knowledge of this, only what D. Casey told him.

Sgt. Allen was excused.

Jose Baez then called James Hoover to the stand.

Hoover is a licensed private investigator. He became involved in the case in July, 2008 as a private citizen. He began working with George and Cindy Anthony in July-August. He volunteered his assistance. He came to their house in the evenings to keep the protestors out of the way; he was pretty much a body guard. He helped follow up on a tip with D. Casey on November 15, 2008.

(Hoover talks very fast!)

On November 15, 2008, he was supposed to provide security for Cindy and George at a meet-and-greet in Orlando. He met D. Casey at his office and they went to Suburban Drive to search for a dead Caylee.

Hoover identified his videos and they were offered into evidence. Linda Drane Burdick pointed out that she had an objection because Hoover said he'd only seen the first 20 seconds of one of them.

We were treated to a side bar for this.

The jury was sent out for a "brief legal matter" and the judge left while Baez showed the videos to Hoover. After a short break for Mr. Hoover to view the tapes in their entirity, the jury was brought back and we started with Hoover again.

The tapes were finally moved into evidence.

Hoover said the video tape was made about one month before Caylee was found. D. Casey knew he was being taped. The first tape shown was the one where they searched Suburban Drive. Hoover said he was aware of where Caylee was eventually found. Baez stopped the video and Hoover highlighted where he thought she was found.

Linda Burdick objected to Hoover saying it was where he believed she was found. The witness had no personal knowledge of where Caylee was found.

Hoover said that they were looking for three pavers. They started at Hopespring and walked towards the school. Then, there were pictures of D. Casey searching around a house and ripping open black plastic bags looking for Caylee's remains. Then, they went back to Suburban Drive, searching for black plastic bags. (It was interesting to see that it was impossible to identify exaclty where they were in the woods.)

The second video was November 16. He parked his car near where Caylee was found.

Ms. Burdick then objected because Hoover had no personal knowledge of where Caylee was found. It was sustained.

Hoover said he was by the 5th pole. Then, Baez wanted to show the witness the aerial map he had used earlier today. Ms. Burdick objected because there were markings on the map. After a brief side bar, Baez used a different map that he placed on the machine.

Baez asked where he parked his car the second day and where they searched. He had difficulty because the poles weren't visible. So, all he could do was to estimate where he parked the car the first day.

The video continued with them seemingly searching along the end of the woods where the grassy area was. Then, it showed D. Casey poking a stick in the ground to find a buried body. Next, they counted up three pavers, but it seemed they were back at the house. Hoover and D. Casey did not report their non-findings to George and Cindy Anthony. Then, Baez showed the map with the "abandoned house" labeled on it to the jury.

Baez then went to December 11, 2008. Hoover didn't reveal the tape to the police at that time. He said he thought he'd taped it over. Hoover said he didn't try to sell that tape, but it was the original one that someone (a famous bounty hunter) suggested he could make money from it.

Baez brought out that Hoover was trusted by the family and that he had evidence in his posession. He did try to sell stills...

Oh, the man mumbled so fast and I couldn't understand what he was saying!

He said he gave other videos to Nick Savage and John Allen on the 11th or 12th of December. The one he thought he'd taped over was one of the two. This video, whichever one it is, was a focus of Baez questions. I can't begin to say how many times he asked Hoover if he tried to sell it to Fox. Someone said it could be worth $200,000.

On cross, Linda Burdick asked if he held out for the highest bidder. One video he gave to LE had bad video and the other had a Christmas parade. He said that this video of the trip to the woods was taped over. (He THOUGHT it was taped over.) In December, he found the tape and got in touch with a lawyer who helped him turn it over to the police.

Then, there was something about a lady named Marge.

(Egads! This is so hard to figure out! I think that Hoover just won't admit he was trying to sell that tape! Whatever, I now understood why his deposition was so hard to read!)

Burdick asked if he was trying to capitalize on his friendship with the Anthony's. Hoover said she was so wrong. Then, she asked if he was secretly taping D. Casey. Hoover said he wasn't taping him secretly.

She then published the aerial photograph and had Hoover mark where he parked his car. He then marked the map where he thought D. Casey went into the woods the first time. They also walked along Suburban Drive where there were three pavers.

(This guy can't figure out where he was with D. Casey in the woods!)

The item that was found, Ms. Burdick said, was a bath mat according to what D. Casey said in the video. He never saw a red Disney bag. There were several fallen trees in the woods. There was a toilet in the woods. There was a sign and a green and white umbrella. Hoover didn't remember those. Hoover said they didn't find water at the site the first day, but the second day he did. It was about 15 feet into the woods.

The 15th and the 16th of November were the only two days he was there.

Ms. Burdick was finished and Jose Baez came up for re-direct.

Baez made sure to say that Hoover never offered him the video. He asked what they were doing there and he said, "looking for Caylee's remains."

Mr. Hoover was excused, subject to recall.

After a short side bar, Ann Finnel called Dominic Casey to the stand. He's been a licensed private investigator as of March, 2008. He was employed by the Anthony's as of October 1, 2008. He said he did services for them prior to leaving Baez.

He followed up on tips from their hot line and did security. He dealt with protestors at the house. He said that the protestors started coming there in September and October. As part of his job, he would park his vehicle on Suburban Drive. He said he would park after leaving the home and going away for a while. He wanted to catch any late protestors. He did this many nights. Ms. Finnel gave him a map and told him to mark where he parked his car and in what direction.

She asked if he saw other people in the area. D. Casey said there would be a Dep. Sheriff's cars and some of the media vehicles parked there. The map was entered into evidence. She asked Mr. Baez to help her publish it. Linda Burdick helped her!

D. Casey made sure his car was parked facing Hopespring and people coming down would see the front of his car and turn around. LE would park further behing him, around the bend. The media people would park anywhere. He said that he never noticed any unusual odors on Suburban Drive.

Then, he assisted Cindy Anthony in sending a Teddy bear to Luke Phillips. He provided the address to Cindy to send something of Caylee Marie's to Mr. Phillips. The Teddy bear was returnede to his office for Cindy Anthony. They met half way and he gave her the Teddy. The request came in after Casey was in jail October 14. Luke Phillips is a person who contacted the family in the beginning and offered help. He represented a number of psychics.

November 15, 2008 D. Casey and Jim Hoover went to Suburban Drive. Hoover did not work for him. He was talking with Ginette Lucas, a psychic while he was on Suburban Drive. He went into the wooded area that day. Ms. Finnel showed him a diagram of Suburban Drive. He placed a letter B to show where he went into the woods. (Casey said he was going from approximate.)

He said that as a result of the call from Ginette Lucas, he looked for the possible location of Caylee Marie. First, they pulled up, he got out of the car, and started walking towards the school in the middle of the road.

He told Hoover to stay in the vehicle. He then walked away so Hoover couldn't hear him talk to Lucas. He entered the woods (he had a hard time marking the spot). He went about 20-25 feet into the woods. He walked into an area that had access. He was there less than 5 or 10 minutes and came walking out again. Then, he noticed James Hoover filming him. He never gave him permission to tape him.

After he came out of the woods, he saw another opening further west. It was easier to get into the woods. He went about 20-25 feet into the woods from the edge of the curb. There were 2 or 3 inches of water which ran west to east. The water was about 20 feet in. This time, he spent 10 minutes or so. He was looking for three white paver stones. He was said he wasn't necessarily looking for garbage bags. He then came out of the woods and got into the car and went to the abandoned house as the result of talking to Ms. Lucas. He was still looking for three paver stones. He said he cut open the garbage bags to see what was inside. From the abandoned house, they went to a hotel by the airport to pick someone up for the meet and greet.

November 16, he went back to Suburban Drive to prove the psychic wrong. He went through the same two openings to pan around. He did not see any remains in the woods. He spent 12-15 minutes there. The second time, he allowed Hoover to tape him.

There was talk about the probe and, with the silty soil, he could move things around without worrying about snakes. He pushed it down to see if anything gave resistance to the probe.

They again went to the abandoned house to probe.

D. Casey went back to Suburban Drive a third time the 18th or 19th of November. He didn't go into the woods at all. He parked his vehicle, got out and walked up Suburban drive and back down, got into his vehicle and left. As he walked, he wasn't looking for anything. He was feeling happy about it. He saw the openings he'd already entered. He said it was possible there were other openings.

He never saw or handled any physical evidence from the case. He saw no bags or debris that seemed to contain human remains.

Ann Finnell completed her direct and Frank George did cross.

Mr. George brought up that in his work, Casey Anthony was at home. George wanted to ask if he asked Casey... objection/side bar/judge left the courtroom/
At that point, my internet went down and I switched to HLN.

As I tuned in, Frank George was listening to Mr. Casey say that the psychic had told him where to look for Caylee. He then showed him a picture of Suburbn Drive. He asked him to mark on the map where he believed his car was parked. D. Casey said it was difficult to do because it was a deceptive map. Mr. George showed him that there is the curve in the road and the fence line. (It was a better map in that it showed more of a head-on view of the woods.)

Then my internet was back!

He also had Mr. Casey mark how far into the woods he went. Casey said he could have even gone 40-50 feet into the woods! He said that, looking at that picture on the screen made it easier to see. He then circled where he went into the woods. Then, he placed a pen mark on the picture to mark it. Casey said he saw an old toilet both days. He did find a bath mat, but never saw a Disney bag. Casey agreed that this was not an exhaustive search. Casey said there was about 2-3" of water 20-25 feet back in. The next day, he saw about the same amount of water.

Frank George then gave D. Casey another photograph and had him mark it the same as he did before. On the 16th, Casey said that Lucas told him to go back, that there was a piece missing. He thought he talked to her the second day as well. He went in and came out the same way, He said he changed direction once he was in the woods. All this was marked in red on the map. H brought a probe with him and a little trowel.

My internet went out and came back on. Dominic Casey was still marking the map.)

Mr. George had D. Casey describe his third visit to Suburban Drive when he walked down the middle of the street.

Mr. George had no further questions.

Ann Finnel did re-direct. She took the maps that Casey had marked for Mr. George. She had him describe where he entered the first and second times. She also had him circle the area where he searched in the woods.

She asked him if anyone from LE had sat down with him to have him explain what he did. He said the State's Attorney's office did it in March, 2011.

Ms. Finnel then asked for a side bar. (She seemed upset, I’m wondering if anyone informed her of how difficult Mr. Casey made it for the prosecution to get any cooperation from him.)

Finnell then asked about the "event" this year. D. Saseyt was a regular deposition with a court reporter.

She went back to ask if the OCSO had discussed it with him closer to the event. He said they hadn’t.

She asked him if he had a tape measure with him or made any mental references to help him remember. D. Casey said he took still photos. He agreed that the video tape was an accurate representation of where he had gone.

With that, she was done.

Mr. George had no additional questions.

With that, Judge Perry dismissed the jury and court was recessed for the day. Nobody had any additional matters and everyone went home.

The judge mentioned that Ms. Finnel's motion will need to be heard at the end of the day towards the end of the week, when the defense rests.

Whew! It was 7:12 PM!

See you tomorrow morning at 8:30 if there are any issues for the court or at 9:00, when court will again be in session.