My Visit To The Casey Anthony Murder Trial On June 8, 2011- Part 1

Will this trial  be the final chapter in the Quest for Justice for Caylee Marie Anthony?

 Mr. Katfish and I are here in Florida to visit family in Tampa for a couple weeks. We have been having a nice visit, but for me, the trip wouldn't be complete without a stop at one of the hottest Summer attractions (obsession?) in FL.....no....not Disney World or Universal  Amusement Parks, Busch Gardens or even the Kennedy space Center....my "hotspot" is the Casey Anthony capital murder trial taking place in Orlando. Most people reading here at Katfish....Ponders already know that I'm a trial junkie and this blog is devoted to cases of true crime and missing people, most of which eventually end up working their way through the American criminal justice system, my true "passion".

I intend for this post to be an in-depth account of my visit to the Casey Anthony murder trial in Orlando, FL on Wednesday, June, 8, 2011. I don't plan on giving an "entire account" of the testimony given today because there has already been so much reported (by people more qualified than I ); however, if you have any questions just ask, I took copious notes. The entire day was also streamed online, by various outlets as well as televised by HLN and TruTv's " InSession" and at least one local station, all live.  I'll be sure to include links to the coverage at the end of the post. What I really want to share with you is my personal experience...so here we go......

My husband and I are staying at The DoubleTree Hotel (very nice) on Ivanhoe and Orange Avenue, approximately a mile north of the Orange County Courthouse....My Mr. has little interest in trials so he plans on doing some "sightseeing" around downtown Orlando and hanging out at the hotel while I attend court. I hope to be able to get into the trial on Wednesday for the whole day and Thursday for a half day so our reservations are for Tuesday and Wednesday nights. We decided to stay over in Orlando because the court is allowing people to start lining up at 5:30 am to get the coveted 50 seats available to the public. Tickets are handed out between 8 and 8:30. I'm not even going to drive 1.5 hours to get in line at 5 am. LOL

Our plan is for Mr. Katfish to drop me off in front of the courthouse a little after 5, maybe come back and meet me for lunch, and then come and pick me up when court was over for the day. We planned it this way so that he would have a vehicle if he decided to get out in Orlando. After seeing there was plenty to do right at the hotel and realizing that DoubleTree by Hilton has some of the most comfortable beds we've ever encountered at a hotel, at about 4 am on Wed, Mr. Katfish decided he really didn't need the truck (LOL), so I drove myself that .8 mile South on Orange Avenue to the Orange County Courthouse ;)

Casey Town

As I enter the block in front of the courthouse, I can see "Casey Town" on my right, a mass of tents and awnings (I learned there were over 700 requests for media credentials and about 600 were issued). Across the street from Casey Town and directly in front of the courthouse building is a large media truck marked with COURT TV on the side. There doesn't seem to be a lot of activity yet in the media areas so I turn my attention to finding a spot to park and notice all of the parking meters on the block are covered to prevent parking.


L-R  parking garage, administrative building, 23 floor Orange County Courthouse, and another administrative building with a courtyard in front of the OCC and in between the 2 administrative buildings .

  Immediately on my left is the parking garage that I used when I attended a pretrial hearing on December 20, 2010 (We were in FL for Christmas with family). I see some lights are on in the parking garage and there are a few cars already parked....there is also a car at the entrance that I assume is stopped to grab his parking ticket ( I think it's $15 max for the day) just as I pull in I notice a line of about 20 people are standing on the Orange St. sidewalk in front of the administrative building (between the parking garage and the courthouse).

Orange Ave sidewalk where the early birds gather

I'd heard the court had allowed the lineup to move from across the street to this spot on the sidewalk that passes the courthouse complex at the street. (I assume to eliminate some of the stampede at 5:30) I'm starting to feel pretty excited about being here.....that and the caffeine is starting to kick in. WooHoo!

I pulled right behind the car entering the garage and notice out of the corner of my eye some more people are being dropped off to join the line. I'm regretting not having Mr. Katfish drop me off and the car ahead of me isn't moving....WTH? I honk my horn and immediately I regret my impatience...not my normal MO....so I get out and approach the car. I smiled at the man in the car to soften the sting of my horn and ask if he plans on parking. I notice the man has on a uniform and realize he is some type of courthouse employee, thankfully, he smiles back at me before pointing out the cone blocking his entry....he tells me the garage opens at 5:30 (it's about 5:15 now) and then asks if I'm here to get a ticket for the trial. When I tell him yes, he suggests I go ahead and park on the street behind the courthouse so I can get in line, adding the meter maids don't start patrolling until 9am. I thank him for his kindness and get back in my truck and back out to go around the block. I find a parking spot with no problem, feed the meter for the maximum allowed, 2 hours (I don't want to chance our only transportation being towed off. LOL) and cut through the back of the courthouse entry/courtyard.

~Time to get in line ~

When I get to the front of the courthouse there is a OCSO deputy/bailiff standing in the courtyard near the corner of the administration building, I smile and tell him I'm here to get a ticket for a seat, the officer points to a roped off area under the awning on the administrative building and I see the people from the line are being allowed to come on the courthouse property now (Basically just turning the corner of the building and the line begins at the opposite end up near where the bailif was standing.). To my relief there is no running or inappropriate behavior that I can see so I take my place in line. It looks like 30-40 people in front of me...drats...I hope I get a seat!

One thing I notice right off is the number of young people around me in line. Directly behind me is a group of 3 girls who appear to be early to mid twenties. In line in front of me are 2 guys in their early twenties, and in front of them are 3 more girls in their very early twenties. The first  30 or so people in line ahead of us look to be in their 40's and 50's for the most part, and there he is....right at the front of the line, neck brace guy. LOL! Most of the people who show up in the next 15 minutes or so are older women, hopefully they will get in. By about 6 am it's obvious there are way more people here than will be able to get in, regardless, everyone stays in line and remains pretty civil, some young adults at the end are getting a little loud but really they are just acting goofy, not belligerent.

The guys in front of me (since we end up sitting with each other all day, at the risk of sounding like Casey Anthony, I'll call them "my boys" from here on out.) have attended the trial another day so they are "sharing their knowledge" about the workings of this ticket system with the pretty young girls ahead of us and behind me. Of course, I'm all ears and learn after a while, that when everyone is pretty well established in line, people can step out and use the restroom (located in the building we are lined in front of) or move their cars. I'm relieved to hear this...I was just thinking about calling Mr Katfish and ask him to either ride his electric wheelchair here or get a ride from the hotel shuttle to pick up the truck. I wait until some around me have ran their "errands" and then go move my truck into the parking garage at about 7 am. Good! Now I don't have to worry about that.

All morning there have been camera crews taking still shots and video up and down the line. A few of them are taking head counts too, after several tell me I'm number 40-42 I feel comfortable I'll get a seat. My boys tell me the first 20 are seated on the main floor in the courtroom and the rest are seated in the balcony with the media.

Jim Lichtenstein, a producer for the Today show is trying to find who in line has traveled the farthest to be here. Everyone near me was from FL. I'm not sure who Lichtenstein came up with...perhaps he should have checked among his colleagues....there was a reporter from Japan trying to interview people in line. A reporter I spoke with from the Miami Herald told me the Japanese reporter doesn't speak English but his camera girl does, so she is pulling double duty. Can you believe with everything going on in Japan, they would send someone here to report this case? I suppose it's a diversion.

I found the reporter from the Miami Herald, Audra D.S.Burch, to be a very interesting person. After I told her I have a true crime blog and have occasionally written about this case she asked me to leave the line for a few minutes and sit down on a nearby bench to talk. (A welcome break after standing for hours, many have sat on the sidewalk but I was afraid if I got down there I would have trouble getting up with these knees ~ o ~ mine. LOL) Here is a link to the story Audra wrote about the trial and those attending for the Miami Herald. It's very interesting, she was here all week and interviewed a lot of people...I also did a search on Ms. Burch and linked (with her name above) the results, she has written some very interesting pieces and won some prestigious rewards. I'm glad I had the chance to meet her.

At about 8 am , staff from the court comes and hands out laminated sheets with rules of conduct for the courtroom. The energy is increasing in the line now, those who didn't receive a sheet will not get in this morning, but most stay anyway. My boys tell me there are usually a few people who get kicked out for sleeping or some other infraction and some people don't come back for the afternoon session so it's possible these people could get those seats. At 8:15 the court personnel take back the laminated rules sheets and at 8:30 return to hand out the actual seat tickets. Here is my ticket:

Once the tickets are handed out people disperse from the line. I head straight over to the main entrance of the courthouse and get in line again. This line is for everyone coming to the courthouse (for whatever reason) to go through a security checkpoint.Surprisingly, this only takes a few minutes so I make a "pit stop" up on 23 before I go into the courtroom. In the ladies room I speak with a woman who also has her husband stashed at their hotel....they are from Tennessee and came specifically for her to attend the trial. She said her husband had retired recently and hadn't been able to pry her from the TV watching the trial so he finally told her, "Let's just go to Orlando!" I thought that was a hoot!

~ Let's head into the courtroom ~

I make my way into Judge Perry's courtroom on 23 and a bailiff checks my ticket and directs me to a stair well on my left to go into the balcony. When I get up to the balcony another bailiff tells me which row to go to....I'm kind of bummed when I realize my seat is smack dab in the middle of the row. Once everyone is seated I look around and realize my whole row is made up of the same people I was right in line with. The 3 girls behind me and another woman have the 4 seats behind me and my boys are right next to me with the 3 girls ahead of them seated before them at the beginning of the row. There are 5 rows of seats, the first 2.5 rows are media seats. There are monitors across the front row that are showing split shots from various cameras throughout the courtroom being manned by people who aren't familiar.

The first person I recognize in the media section is Dave Knechel aka Marinade Dave. Dave is a blogger from Orlando that has been closely following this case and was hired by the Orlando Magazine to cover the trial for them. He is seated in the row in front of me at the far end. I'm happy for Dave to have received the media credentials so he can attend daily. Once Dave sees me he smiles and indicates we will meet in the hall at the morning break. I have followed Dave's blog for a long time but had the opportunity to meet him in person last December when I attended a hearing in this case.....it's funny how you can meet someone on the internet and become friends but not even know what each other looks like and then when you do meet feel like you have known them forever. It's like that with Dave and me but I have also had the same experience with others. I met another "trial buddy", Karental, for lunch in Tampa and it felt the same...like I had known her forever. Life is good :) I look forward to meeting up with many more of my online friends in the years to come!

~ A Little "Starstruck" ~
 Back to the trial....court will start in a few minutes so I look around to see if I see any "big names". Throughout the day I saw,  Jean Casarez  InSession Correspondent / Attorney sits in the front row keeping an eye on one of the monitors and a producer from InSession named Mike who does some on air reports sits right behind her. Ashleigh Banfield is here, now a reporter for ABC,  formerly of CTV / In session. Judge Jeanine Pirro,  former District Attorney and County Court Judge who now hosts a tv "court show" with her name, is here and seated with a couple people. Aphrodite Jones, Author and TV host of "True Crime with Aphrodite Jones" on Investigation Discovery, came in and takes a seat that in a few minutes turns out is Natisha Lance's seat, Nancy Grace Producer. The first witness was on the stand when Natisha entered the balcony so she tells Aphrodite to stay in her seat and takes an empty seat next to Dave; however, Natisha immediately reclaims her seat when Aphrodite leaves later in the day. I thought Aphrodite looked a little tired when she came in this morning but much more so now as she leaves, hope she's not sick that's all everyone squished in this balcony needs◔_◔ . Another woman takes the seat that Natisha just left next to Dave and stays there for the remainder of the day. (I assumed she was a reporter, but later learn her name is Susan Constantine, after seeing her make a couple appearances on HLN to speak as a body language specialist.) I should note that the bailiff is very strict about people remaining in their seats assigned by the court seat ticket for media and public....I'll talk about this more in a bit. I didn't note when Beth came in; however, Beth Karas, InSession Correspondent / Attorney comes in later in the afternoon and replaces Jean Casarez in the front row.

Here are a few  pictures I grabbed off the internet of Baez and the Anthonys. I can't really say I'm starstruck by any of the Anthony family but without a doubt they are the "stars" of this case. I barely caught a glimpse of George and Cindy when coming into the entry of the courtroom to reach the balcony. The lower gallery is dismissed before the balcony is allowed to disperse when court breaks so the Anthonys and other people in the gallery are gone before I reach the hallway or the elevator. Casey and her defense team are in full view from the balcony 
and her "mug" is plastered all over the media's monitors in front of us.


 ~ Order is the rule of the day ~

The bailiff get's everyone's attention in the balcony and reminds everyone of court decorum. He says anyone caught sleeping or being disruptive (chewing gum, talking, etc) will be asked to leave and not allowed back in the courtroom for the day. He reminds everyone to silence their cellphones and says that nobody can have out their cellphone, IPad, etc unless they are wearing media credentials. I already turned my phone off before I came up the elevator....I do not want to risk the ire of Judge Perry. The bailiff also reminds the accredited media they are restricted to texting on their devices. This is definitely Judge Parry's court nothing is left to chance.

All day the bailiff on the balcony kept a very close eye on everyone in the balcony and the gallery downstairs. I noticed that a bailiff downstairs also monitored the balcony and the gallery, it seemed like a very structured procedure. I'll talk about this more in a bit, but the Honorable Judge Belvin Perry has entered the courtroom and things get underway for day 13 of the trial.

After the court officially recognizes both parties. (I count 3 attorneys at the state table adjacent to the jury box and facing the court and 6 attorneys at the defense table directly across and facing the jury box, there is someone sitting at the table the defense would have normally been seated at that I think might be an investigator for the state or possibly another attorney.) Jose Baez is on his feet. The defense wants to renew their previous objections on the record about evidence coming in pertaining to the cadaver dogs. Judge Perry says," As for the video training, the trier of fact can determine the credibility but they must know the training.Objections denied." The videos weren't shown today, maybe yesterday(?), at any rate, the videos are part of the evidence so the jury will have access to them. Being on vacation I've missed a lot of the trial so far....I try and hit some blogs and news outlets to keep up as much as I can but I'm sure I've missed some things.

~ The State's Case in Chief continues Day 13 ~
     First Witness - Sargent Kristin Brewer

Sgt Brewer's mark

Assistant State's Attorney Linda Drane Burdick (LDB) calls the state's first witness for the day, Kristen Brewer of the Osceola County Sheriff Department. Sgt. Brewer reported her own work history and background with search dogs before she testified to the training and history of her cadaver dog, Bones, as well as the logistics and results of Bone's search of the backyard at George and Cindy Anthony's home ,on Hopespring Dr., on July 17, 2008. LDB showed Brewer a photo of Caylee Anthony's playhouse in her grandparents' backyard, Brewer circles the area indicating where her dog was in the yard when he alerted.

Deputy Forgey's mark

Brewer's testimony follows up yesterday's testimony of Deputy Jason Forgey of the Orange County Sheriff's Office about his dog, Gerus, who searched and alerted on both the Anthony's backyard and Casey's Pontiac Sunfire. Brewer told LDB that after Bone's first search and alert, Deputy Forgey told her "Gerus" had alerted "within" 6 - 8 feet of "Bone's" alert in the back yard. Here is the picture Forgey circled of the same area of the backyard in previous testimony....looks pretty close to me. Hopefully the jury will have access to both pictures.

Jose Baez arrows on Brewer's mark

 During his cross examination of Sgt. Brewer, Jose Baez went to great lengths to get her to admit that 6 - 8' from where she had circled was over by the pool which is out of range in these pictures the red arrows are Baez artwork. (You can see the direct and the cross of Sgt. Brewer in parts 1 and 2 below.) 

 

I finally found a picture of the Anthony's yard.....check out the distance from the playhouse to the pool....wayyy more than 6-8' for sure,
they are on total opposite ends of the house! The arrow in this particular
picture is pointing at the shed but you can see the roof of the playhouse
at the corner of the house.

I've noticed the prosecution team has worked their way through the specific timeline of this case when presenting their case in chief, down to presenting this testimony in the same order as their dog's searched the Anthony home. Hopefully the state presenting their case in this manner will make it easier for the jury to focus on the timeline when they deliberate as well as go through the evidence.


I'm going to break right here because this is the point in the testimony that I had to leave my seat and go to the ladies room and take a pain pill. I have bad knees and while the seats themselves are padded and comfortable I have long legs and there is NO room to move my legs....to even attempt to cross them creates a hazard of kicking someone in the head. I'll be back with part 2.


Links to YouTube Video of day 13 of the testimony. 
Thanks to Sierra for posting these!

June 8, Day 13 - Part1
                            Part 2
                            Part 3
                            Part 4
                            Part 5
                          Part 6
                           Part 7
                          Part 8
                          Part 9
                          Part 10 
                          Part 11        Sphere: Related Content

A Visit to Orlando For A Hearing In The Casey Anthony Murder Case

I was fortunate to be able to spend 10 days in Tampa (Brandon), FL with family over the Christmas holiday. It was a fantastic trip....a lot of wonderful family memories were made :) However, one memory is not of time spent with my family, but a little side trip I made to Orlando, on December 20, to attend a hearing in the Casey Anthony case. Although the experience was interesting for me, the hearing ended up being pretty short and uneventful, so I decided not to take more time from my family to write about it.

Casey Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the 2008 death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Marie. She has pleaded not guilty, claiming a babysitter kidnapped her toddler. Caylee was last seen in June of 2008, but she was not reported missing until a month later. Her remains were found in woods near the family's home in December 2008.

Now that we've been home a few weeks and I'm caught up on some other cases I've been following, it seems like a good time to share my Orlando experience. Before leaving IL, I had printed up directions on Mapquest with directions from my nieces home to the Orange County courthouse in Orlando. The route was a pretty direct shot, but I'd be remiss if I didn't give kudos to Mapquest for their helpful directions... for example step #10. Take the 2nd LEFT onto E LIVINGSTON ST. If you are on N ORANGE AVE and reach E ROBINSON ST you've gone about 0.1 miles too far. (When you've never been to a location before, those extra details really help and Mapquest offers them through-out :)

Even though I drove between 70-80 mph (keeping up with traffic....honestly) most of way, the 90 mile trip took about 1 1/2 hours. Once I completed step 10 on my directions I noticed a sign that said "Juror Parking" leading into a parking garage, I took the turn and found a spot to park.

Orange County Courthouse complex  Orlando, FL

Coming out of the parking garage(building on left in picture) on ground level, I notice the courthouse is right in front of me (it's huge). I follow signs directing to the main entrance, right before entering, I pass Jose Baez heading in the other direction. I assume the attorneys have a different access but make a mental note that Baez has that "Dennis the Menace" type smile on his face that many (including me) have referred to as a "smirk".....seems that's his regular look. LOL, I bet he was an ornery kid.

I head on into the courthouse through the main entrance and see a long line of people going through security. Before taking my place in line, I ask at the information desk, "Where is Judge Belvin Perry's courtroom?" Without even looking up, the employee tells me, "Up on 23".  It took just a few minutes to go through the security line and then I head for the far bank of elevators that will go up to 23. Once on the 23rd floor I see Judge Perry's chamber on one side and the courtroom is on the other side of a waiting area. There are several people sitting and standing around. No one looks familiar until I notice the back of Dave Knechel (aka Marinade Dave) speaking to someone behind a pillar. I stand back until I have a chance to catch Dave's eye so that I can introduce myself to him. I then notice the person Dave was speaking with is Casey's attorney for the penalty phase, Ann Finnell. She appears to be looking for something in her briefcase so I'm not really interrupting. Right after we shook hands, a man with a walker called Dave over to him and introduced himself and his wife to Dave. Evidently a fan of Dave's blog. That's nice :).

There were a dozen or so people standing and sitting around the waiting area when Jose Baez got off the elevator and says hello to Ann Finnell and Dave. Baez says the hearing is down on the 19th floor and heads back to the elevator, everyone in the waiting area follows him. Dave and I end up on the same elevator as Ann Finnell and Jose Baez, there were others but I can't tell you who because no one is familiar. From the conversation, I learned one was local media and another was Cindy Anthony's current attorney, Mark Lippman. I don't remember who said it ( probably JB ) but there was work being done on Judge Perry's courtroom so the hearing will be held downstairs. Dave told me the courtroom on 19 is the smaller courtroom where Judge Strickland presided over the hearings in this case before he recused himself. (I guess I should have asked the information guy where Casey Anthony's hearing was instead of Judge Perry's court. Oh well, it was an interesting ride down.)

When we get off the elevator, Jose Baez, Ann Finnell and Mark Lippman  head on into the courtroom.
Evidently the rest of us have to wait :(  Moments later Cindy Anthony appears, peaks into the courtroom and is allowed in. Cindy is alone today. I wonder to myself if Cindy isn't single these days....pure speculation of course.....but the way she is dressed seems to be trying to lean towards a " younger, sexy ? " look and she may just be trying to hook up with a biker dude.. She is wearing gray jeans that are "muffin top tight". The legs of her jeans are tucked into boots that have buttons or buckles on the side. I remember them as a charcoal color with a felt or knit shaft, but have heard them referred to as black leather.(I could be wrong) She also has on a gray sweater with an black and purple argyle print on the front  and a purple knit shirt underneath. It seems she has toned down the jewelry a bit, but just an FYI from one 50ish gal to another....too tight boot cut jeans do not take the place of the current trend to wear skinny jeans tucked in boots and matchy matchy gives our age away every time.he..he... I don't want to seem too harsh on Cindy because I doubt she has money to keep up with the clothing trends, just saying.... If ya can't do it right......

I'm pretty sure I'm not alone to speculate that Cindy's attempt at a "tight younger look" and George's repeated absence from court  may be an indicator of trouble in Anthonyland. I noticed after the hearing that George Anthony authorized Lippman Law Offices, P.A. to issue a media statement on December 17, 2010  rebutting statements George's "alleged" girlfriend, Krystal Holloway (aka River Kruz) made to the Sheriff department, in a February 2010 interview. The interview was released as a  2 part audio as part of a document dump on December 17. Who knows?  The state of the Anthony's marriage really isn't relevant to the criminal case...personally, given what we know about their "history" I  would have dumped him long ago.

When we (the public) are allowed into the courtroom Casey has already been brought in. The prosecution side (on the right) is pretty empty but behind the defense in the front row is Kathy Belich from WFTV, at the end of her row is a huge television camera. There are people from various media working with electronics in each row on that side as well. In the second row behind KB is Cindy and her attorney. There was another couple behind them......until they moved over to my row.....later I read the couple came down from NY for the hearing and she is a regular over at The Hinky Meter. I'm disappointed I didn't know who they were. (Waving at Kathy now!)

There is a tall bald man (accompanied by a short blond woman), that Dave had spoke with earlier out in the hall, sitting in the second row behind the state. I assume he is with the media because he got into the courtroom ahead of us. Later I learn he is Jim Lichtenstein, a producer from NBC for the Today show. I've had heard this guy usually sits with Cindy Anthony in the courtroom, but not today. Dave K. took the aisle seat in the third row behind them. I take a seat in the back row (after checking to make sure I have a good view of Casey if she turns to the side).

December 10

For the most part, I can only see Casey Anthony from behind, but I noticed at the hearing a week or so ago, Dec 10, that Casey seems to have lost the weight she gained during her first year or so in jail. Wonder if this is a factor in her weight loss? (I came across that article looking for a photo online of the courthouse. ew!) I've never followed much on Casey's commissary purchases, beyond her own account in her letters to Robyn Adams, but it seems she has options beyond the meals served to prisoners at the jail, so the weight loss must be intentional.

December 20

Right away, I notice Casey has on the same shirt she wore at the last hearing, a long sleeve blue and white pinstripe oxford with ruffles along the buttons. Honestly, it looks like she has been sleeping in it for the past 10 days. Today Casey has a multi-level ponytail that looks thrown together. Did she even plan on attending court today? Within minutes the gallery is filled behind the state and the hearing is ready to get under way. Judge Perry calls the case at 1:31 p.m. Jeff Ashton is the only representative for the state today (He looks very tired). . The attorney for the Orlando Sentinel, Rachel Fugate is sitting in the well behind the state's table.

This hearing was scheduled to hear a motion filed by Ann Finnell on November 23, seeking to seal the defense witness list for the penalty phase from public and media view. The motion couldn't be heard on the 10th because the media hadn't been noticed in the original motion.(oops Annie, don't let Jose rub off on ya) Judge Perry agreed to put a temporary seal on the list until the media had an opportunity to respond on sealing any part of the record.....and that brings us to today.

This is a video of the hearing:

Casey Anthony returns to court: MyFoxORLANDO.com

Since I included the video of the hearing and it has already been heavily covered, I won't go through a play by play of the hearing but rather just provide a summary and some highlights.

Ann Finnell gave a 10 minute presentation to the court of her "MOTION TO SEAL PENALTY PHASE DISCOVERY RESPONSE" . Basically the defense stance is that with the excessive publicity making these witness' names public would impede Ms. Anthony's right to a fair trial and furthermore would result in a chilling effect with some witnesses being unwilling to come forward with information for fear of harassment and stalking. When Ms. Finnell  was finished Judge Perry asked if there was a response from the state. Assistant State Attorney Jeff Ashton said no.(The state already has access to the witness list so they have no stance on the sealing of the penalty phase witness list)

Rachel Fugate came to the podium to argue the Orlando Sentinel's motion to intervene. Fugate argued that there should not be a blanket seal, but that the defense should argue to have certain witness's information sealed on a case-by-case basis adding the burden to prove a predjudice exists is the defense burden, not the court's.

Oops...no talking out of turn Jose

 Just One and a half  minutes into Ms. Fugate's argument, Jose Baez rose from his seat to object to the still photographer zooming in on notes his client was writing. (20.33 on the video above). Immediately Judge Perry stopped Baez and reminded him court procedures 101....by pointing out that only one lawyer has the floor....and it wasn't him.! Ann Finnell quickly stood and objected. “Well,” the judge added, “unfortunately, the objection will be noted and overruled.” Ms. Fugate not only picked up her argument where she left off, she also made statements in defense of the court photographer who is a seasoned pro and challenged the defense to find an example where something like that has been published. Judge Perry gave Ann Finnell the opportunity to rebut Ms. Fugate's argument, particularly the part of her argument that the claims the defense motion is too broad.

After Ms. Finnell's short rebuttal, Judge Perry says he will reserve ruling on the motion to seal penalty phase witnesses, adding the list will remain temporarily sealed until his ruling is made .

Perry also reminded defense attorney Jose Baez that he has until Thursday (December 23) to file a motion to pursue meter reader Roy Kronk as a possible suspect in Caylee's death. Kronk found Caylee's body in a wooded area on Suburban Drive near the Anthony home. Perry said he assumed Baez had given up on that defense strategy, but Baez said he misunderstood his deadline and thought he has until December 31 to file.  Judge Perry makes it clear that deadline was for motions to be heard not filed.

Jose Baez was on his feet again about an issue regarding a previous sidebar ruling. Perry called the attorneys up for a short sidebar. I'm not certain, but I think the sidebar had something to do with Dr. Henry Lee. The judge told Baez to supply him with some info he needs re Dr. Lee and the hearing was over.....all 26 minutes of it. :)

I almost forgot to mention....the guy sitting next to me had a small camera/video recorder in his hand throughout the hearing. Several times I thought he was going to sneak a picture of Casey, when the defense went to the stand for the sidebar he made his move. I don't know if he got the shot, but a bailiff came over and told him to knock it off.

I rode down in the elevator and walked out in front of the courthouse with Dave Knechel. I met Dave for the first time in person today, but as a long time reader of his blog, I feel like I have known him for a long time so I felt comfortable enough to give him a big ole hug before I left the courthouse. Just for the record, Dave doesn't smell like dirty laundry, but very much like Polo cologne.Nice! LOL

On January 7, 2011 Judge Perry issued a ruling that denied the defense motion to seal that was argued on December 20th. The order states that arguments made by Casey Anthony's attorneys fell short of the standards required to seal the list of witnesses who will be called if Casey is convicted and there is a sentencing phase.I couldn't find the order itself but here is the article that appeared in the Orlando Sentinel.

This case is expected to go to trial on May 9, 2011. If convicted of 1st degree murder of her daughter Caylee, Casey Anthony may face the death penalty.
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Will It Be a Cookie or a Kookie Defense? Continuing.... The Justice For Caylee Anthony Saga- UPDATED

There has been talk throughout the kingdom in the mainstream media and on the internet about what defense strategy Casey's 'Ever Changing' Defense Dream Team plans to use when / if this case goes to trial in May 2011. I personally don't envision Casey Anthony agreeing to any plea bargain, but for those that do, just for the purposes of this post, let's assume this case is going to trial. :) Because of  FL's Sunshine laws, the media's extensive coverage of the discovery, and Casey's media-shy defense team we've been given more than a few clues as to possible strategies that might be used to defend "Princess Casey" from the state's evil henchmen.

It's so ironic that even though neither Cheney Mason or Jose Baez seem to miss a chance to 'court the press' from the courthouse steps, they don't like the media and public speculating about their case...... screw that.... I haven't ventured into the Anthony kingdom for a while so it's time to check in.....and I have some thoughts I want to share about Casey Anthony's possible defenses based on what we know from all those clues :)

Princess Casey's newest minion er.. advocate, Ann Finnell, filed a motion on November 23 that attempts to seal the names of the defense' mitigation witnesses (those who they would call to testify in the penalty phase if Casey is convicted of capital murder). Judge Perry ruled at the hearing on November 29 that the penalty phase witness list would be temporarily sealed until December 20, when the media could respond as they had not been served a notice of hearing . Ann Finnell noticed the media in her Amended Notice of Hearing, so her motion to seal can be heard on December 20, at 1:30 PM. I personally have no position as to how Judge Perry rules on Miss Finnell's motion, but I do hope to be able to attend that hearing in person :) I hear it's a popular Florida tourist attraction.

This past week, Jose Baez has been dancing around Judge Perry's recent order for them to disclose information to the state about their expert witnesses. Jeff Ashton felt it necessary to file A Motion For Clarification/To Compel Compliance With Order For Additional Discovery   after  Jose Baez e-mailed him a list of their expert witnesses with just their mailing addresses and "field of their anticipated testimony", purporting to Ashton he was in compliance with the court's order. The judge's ruling, in response to the state's original Motion To Compel Additional Discovery, ordered the defendant to provide, as to it's expert witnesses, " the subject matter of what they will be testifying to and their area of expertise."  Ashton's motion includes a stream of e-mails exchanged between him and Baez over the course of an hour from the time he received the first e-mail from Baez until Jose eventually wrote some snarky comments on the original email prompting Ashton to write the new motion to clarify/compel. I recommend reading the motion for yourself but here is an example from the list:
             
                                     DR HENRY LEE (criminalist: He inspected the car and was at the evidence

          inspection and inspected the scene.ALL OF WHICH YOU ALREADY KNOW)

University of New Haven

    Forensic Science Program

300 Orange Avenue

West Haven, CT 05616

Despite Jeff Ashton's efforts to remain professional in the e-mails, Baez comes off as making boyish taunts. My interpretation of what Baez is really saying , " nanabooboo......I know something that you don't and I'm going to stretch this out as long as I can because I like to see you squirm." Whatever....not the first time a lawyer acted childish, I do give kudos to Mr. Ashton for staying on task. One more thing....does anyone else find it hysterical that Dr. Lee's address is Orange Avenue? Cracked me up when I saw that, life can throw out  some funny shit! (see update below for how the court resolved this issue)

Of course the defense has no obligation to put on a "defense" of any kind. It's the prosecution's burden to prove the capital murder charges against Casey Marie Anthony, 25, for the 2008 murder of her two year old daughter, Caylee Marie Anthony. Some say the "best defense" would be to try to raise doubt about the credibility of as many of the state's witnesses as they can, whether it be the experts, law enforcement or civilians and stay away from too much of the "Casey's innocent" jazz or trying to defend her lies, that's a losing battle.

I see the defense also filed their Amended Defense Expert Witness List  last week. Strangest thing......it looks just like the list Baez sent to Jeff Ashton except instead of their area of expertise in parenthesis next to their names, on this list, it just says (EXPERT). Goodness.....they put a lot of effort into complying with the judge's order, didn't they? At any rate, It looks like Casey should have a mighty enough round table to wage this battle without having to blame someone else for killing Caylee......although I won't be the least bit surprised for the defense to go there. Their main goal should be to save Casey's life. But rumors are swirling that Casey Anthony's defense may want a win bad enough to forsake another for their beloved princess. ~ alas we shall see what the future holds ~


From the civilian portion of the state's witnesses, George, Cindy and Lee are most likely to be thrown under the bus. Actually, if damaging the Anthony's credibility is part of the strategy, gauging from the things Casey said about her family to her pen pal Robyn and Cindy Anthony's behavior in the courtroom along with the letters she's written to Casey in jail, "the plan"  has already been implemented. I do have sympathy for the Anthonys, they have suffered great losses, but regardless, I don't believe much they have to say. I just don't buy, even for a second, that Cindy believes Caylee is still alive.

I also don't see any benefit to the defense for Cindy to say that under oath other than to hurt her own credibility.....although the thought crossed my mind that the damage to her credibility may be just a bonus of claiming Caylee is alive. It seemed to me she may have even caught the defense off gaurd with that one. What occurred to me is Cindy was awarded disability payments through her job over 2 years ago because of the emotional trauma she was going through. I want to be clear it's not for me to judge whether Cindy's current mental disposition qualifies her for disability or not, that's for her doctor and whoever pays her the benefits to decide. Private LTD insurance companies  usually evaluate clients at least once a year to determine ongoing eligibility for benefits.....if they don't believe her by golly, she can just direct them to the tape of that hearing....the whole world knows she's crazy. LOL just saying...


Enough catching up, I'd like to talk defense strategy. For your convenience (and mine) I separated these defense strategies into two categories, the Cookie Defense Category and Kookie Defense Category.


 Defenses falling into the Cookie Defense Category are ones that were brought up in Casey's jailhouse letters to 'Cookie' aka Robyn Adams.
They are really excuses more than defenses but they're possibly very helpful to the defense team when preparing mitigation. I know we're supposed to believe this correspondence with Cookie is nothing more than the result of boredom and the need for human contact, but it may also be Casey's way of taking control, writing these contraband letters. I'm not saying these letters were 'intended for release' but she is smart enough to know it's a possibility......besides if they did get released.....at least she gets to talk, something Casey complained about during the last jailhouse visit with her parents. "NOBODY IS LETTING ME TALK!" A lot of the stuff Casey wrote did seem to be just bored chatter, but oddly enough, out of the many letters that Casey wrote to 'Cookie' she managed to condense most of the 'good stuff' into one eleven page letter. How convenient :)  From here out I'll just refer to those 11 pages as 'the cookie letter'.

Even though "the nanny did it" defense has been a leading 'contender' for a Casey Anthony defense since the first day Caylee was reported missing, the defense have been kinda stuck with this defense since the princess came up with that fable before she thought she "needed" a lawyer. For some reason the cookie letter seems to let the nanny off the hook.....kinda....so Zany kidnapped Caylee but according to Casey she wasn't responsible.....for something??? : ( On page 10 of the cookie letter, Casey wrote, "You want to know something? I know that Caylee's nanny, the "real" Zenaida, the girl who was my friend for 4 years, I know in my heart that she's not responsible and I don't blame her for not showing her face.

Casey continued rambling to Cookie, would you be wanting to sit here with me for something you didn't do? Considering the circumstances, you technically are and it sucks and I know this goes without saying, but outside of myself and my legal team, not a soul knows this. I was going to take Caylee and move away. Unfortunately, my plans got beyond tangled when Zany wouldn't tell me where she and Cays were. I had asked her to take Cays for a few days so I could put the rest of our stuff together, money I had saved, new clothes, new everything. That's why I waited to report her missing, because she was and she wasn't. 

See...maybe Casey wasn't lying about a Zany (She just wasn't willing to give all of the details to help get her missing daughter back?) and see.....there was a reason for not reporting Caylee missing. Jose said there would be compelling reasons for that. NOT!

Another 'Casey clue' to a cookie defense are the sexual abuse allegations Casey made against her brother Lee and father George on pages 8 and 9 of the cookie letter. Once again, I don't think these allegations are helpful as a defense in the guilt phase, but may come in handy for mitigation. Here are some exerpts from those pages:

Anthony stated in the letters that she's an emotional wreck and said she was sexually abused."I woke up night after night with my sports bra lifted over my chest or if I had a regular bra, it would be unhooked," Anthony wrote. She claimed her brother would walk into her room at night and feel her breasts."This went on for over three years before I finally stood up to Lee and told him if he ever came in my room again, I'd kill him," Anthony said she informed her mother about the incidents, but that Cindy Anthony turned on her."When I told my mom about it two years ago, she made excuses, saying that he was sleepwalking. Not only did she say I was lying, but when I explained everything, her reaction was literally like a knife in my chest: So that's why you're a whore?"  

Anthony also claimed she thought her father, George Anthony, did the same things to her when she was much younger. She wrote," Over the past few months, I've been having really vivid dreams, and it's obvious that they are dreams of things that have already happened. I think my dad used to do the same thing to me. I can see him in my room, exactly the way it was when I was in elementary school and everything gets fuzzy. But I wake up feeling both sore and sick to my stomach, the way I used to feel growing up. Maybe that's part of the reason I have so much anxiety with my parents."

I think the content of these jailhouse letters do reflect some mental illness issues but not to the legal definition of insanity.  While being sexually abused as a child doesn't excuse killing your child, this little tidbit could be compelling evidence if there is a penalty phase. Childhood sexual abuse could go a long way in mitigating Casey's promiscious behavior before and after Caylee's disappearance, an explanation that might 'soften' the defendant a bit.....make her life worth saving. Having said all that, IMO, the abuse allegations Casey made against George and Lee seem contrived to me......but then I can't think of a single instance where Casey Anthony has told the truth. Can you? It's all the world as Casey sees it.


The second category is the Kookie Defense Category.The defenses in a Kookie Defense category are those that are well....kookie!

The most popular Kookie defenses  is the "Somebody Else Did It Defense". Roy Kronk has been a strong contender for blame since he reported finding Caylee's skull and ultimately her remains on Suburban drive. At the last hearing when asked about their pending Motion in Limine, defense counsel advised the court they would make a decision that day whether they would withdraw it and refile it closer to trial. In Judge Perry's order on his rulings from the hearing on November 29,  the court advised the defense to carefully consider before withdrawing  their Motion in Limine to Introduce Prior Bad Acts and Other Circumstantial Evidence pertaining to Roy Kronk, reminding them of the established deadline for hearing motions. It's all malarky anyway. I tried without success to look up the date of deadline for hearing motions. Anyone know off hand?

When asking the court for more investigative hours, Casey's defense was forced to admit they have spent over $8,000 on a investigation (fishing expedition) to find a searcher from TES who will say they searched the exact spot on Suburban that Caylee's remains were found. If they can get someone to say they searched that area when Casey was in jail and Caylee wasn't there ....they would prove Casey couldn't have put her there.....but that doesn't mean she didn't kill her and someone else put her there. This all goes back to the battle of the experts....not some anonymous searcher.

According to WFTV,  On December 6, Casey Anthony's defense received more evidence from prosecutors in her murder case. Among the 119 pages of documents are Texas EquuSearch documents from volunteer Laura Buchanan. Buchanan is under investigation by the Orange County Sheriff's Office for allegedly falsifying documents to help Casey. She claims she and others searched the woods, three months before Caylee's remains were found there, and found nothing. Investigators say the area was under water at that time.

Judge Perry has ruled the defense must give the state a list of witnesses, as a result of the EquuSearch document review, by December 31 and any depositions of those witnesses must be completed by March 2011. Casey Anthony's defense team claims to have found 150 new EquuSearch witnesses who searched the exact area months before where Caylee Anthony's remains were found and sent its private investigator, Jeremy Lyons, to talk to them. Yep,that's where that $8,000 went, and get this.....Assistant State's Attorney Linda Drane Brudick told the judge the number of new possible witnesses was greatly exaggerated publicly by the defense."When I asked Mr. Mason about that he told me he believed there would be 6 to10 individuals that may qualify as having relevant information." More malarky!

Another person who is a strong candidate ( and Cindy Anthony's personal favorite)  for scapegoat  is Jessie Grund, Casey's onetime fiance and suspected baby daddy. I think he has been on Cindy and Casey's shit list ever since he had a DNA test done that proved he wasn't Caylee's father.....some think the reason Casey went to the Grund's home, before anyone realized that Caylee was missing, was to try and get some evidence to plant and incriminate Jessie for Caylee's death. In the Cookie letter Casey mentioned that Jose had tried to get some DNA from Jessie.....wisely he didn't comply. There are rumors swirling about other attempts to gather DNA and finger prints from Jessie but I'll leave that subject be for now, until we see what comes of the allegations. If Jessie's DNA or prints are found on the shorts and blanket (?) that the defense sent out for testing recently we will likely hear more,  until then........

The princess is growing her hair....
a back up plan in the making....
lest the jury of her peers doesn't buy....
the kookie defense her dream team is taking.   
  


update 12/ 10
There was a hearing at 5pm est for the court to clarify it's order of November 29 which directed the defense to share more information with the state about their expert witnesses. The hearing was scheduled to respond to the state's motion to clarify/compel filed by ASA Jeff Ashton yesterday, after an hour of back and forth emailing with Jose Baez. Judge Perry was a few minutes late....made them wait. He's a man of few words, he just asked a few questions and made a new ruling and the hearing was over.. His ruling, as your can see below was short and sweet:

"Since ya'll can't seem to agree and can't seem to understand what I meant the last time. This is what I'm going to do," Judge Perry said less than 15 minutes into the hearing. "Where experts have not prepared reports of examinations or tests, both the state and the defense are required to provide the following … the expert's curriculum vitae, qualifications of experts, the expert's field of expertise or medical specialty, a statement of the specific subjects upon which the expert will testify and offer opinions, the substance of the facts to which the expert is expected to testify, and last but not least, a summary of the expert's opinion and grounds for each opinion … All of this must be completed by 3pm on December 23."

Those questions the judge asked said it all.......he made certain it would be clear who had the most homework to do....and did so without engaging in the tit for tat of the matter. Kudos to the court! Why is it that every step this defense team takes turns out to be just plain 'kookie' ?

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Cookie and Muffin Plan A Road Trip- Continuing.....The Justice For Caylee Anthony Saga

During this chapter of Continuing .....The Justice For Caylee Anthony Saga..... Rather than focusing on the circumstances surrounding the 2008 disappearance (or kidnapping, if you believe Princess Casey's fairy tale) and death of  two year old Caylee Marie, or the efforts of law enforcement to solve Caylee's murder. We have an unusual opportunity to get to know a little more about how Caylee's mother (and accused killer) 24 year old Casey Anthony thinks.

Casey was arrested and charged with child abuse and  lying to law enforcement about the circumstances of Caylee's disappearance within 24 hours of Caylee being reported missing on the evening of July 15, 2008. ( 31 days after Caylee was "reportedly" last seen ) The day after that, Casey hired attorney Jose Baez and instead of  helping with the search for her missing daughter ( beyond the wild goose chase she had taken law enforcement through the day before ), she
decided to invoke her right to remain silent. Casey Anthony was in and out of Orange County Jail (OCJ )  several times for felony economic charges until a grand jury handed down a seven count indictment against her (including one count of !st degree murder) on October 14, 2008. Anthony has since been in protective custody at the OCJ on a "no bond" hold, awaiting her capital murder trial. The trial is scheduled to start on May 9, 2011.,

We've heard a lot about the Anthony family through TV ( news interviews and jailhouse visits ) as well as other forms of media released under the "Florida Sunshine Laws" ( such as depositions and interviews  by LE of Casey Anthony's family and friends and neighbors). A recent form of media that's been released as part of the discovery process are a group of letters Casey allegedly wrote to fellow OCJ inmate Robyn Adams and a  supplemental report from the Orange County Sheriff's Office (OCSO) about verbal discussions that Casey allegedly had with Robin Adams and Maya Derkovic while the three were incarcerated at the OCJ and an investigation into the alleged assistance with their communications by a corrections officer at the OCJ.(The pages in the report that deal with the investigation and interviews with Derkovic and Adams  are pages 1-8 and 160-268, respectively. The supplemental report includes interviews with other areas of investigation that I won't cover in this entry.)

You can read more of the background information of these "two friends" and the investigation that was conducted after Maya Derkovic approached law enforcement about her and Robyn Adam's communications with Casey Anthony in my last post on this case.

I have read all of the jailhouse letters, which to be quite honest is a somewhat tedious process.  These letters are at times funny, sometimes very sad, often confusing because they are all over the place, mostly they are unbelievable, but that's because of "who" wrote them more than what they say. In fairness, it will be up to the jury to decide what weight they give the letters and any of the statements alleged by Derkovic and Adams, should the state or the defense introduce them at trial. Here are a couple of random samples from the collection of letters:

One of Casey's Letters to Robyn

One of Robyn's Letters to Tracy

In this post, I want to talk about some of the things in the letters that made an impression on me; however, I'll do so as I address each of the 4 statements made in the defense response to Anthony's letters (numbered in the order I'll address them below).
Here we go......

At the indigency hearing on March 18, 2010,  Ninth Circuit Judge Stan Strickland unsealed the letters (sealed at state's request until the investigation was done) and allowed Casey Anthony's defense 15 days to decide whether they would seek to have the letters remain sealed. On April 5, 2010, the Anthony defense announced in the following statement in the press they wouldn't fight the release of the letters.

Liz Brown, of the DePaul Center for Justice in Capital Cases, released the following statement as the Defense Response to Anthony's letters:

"(1)The letters released today reflect the natural desire for companionship when isolated for 23 hours a day,  and (3) clearly demonstrate Casey's unconditional love for her daughter, Caylee. Despite these intentions, (2) it is obvious in the letters authored by Robyn Adams that her sole purpose and only goal in corresponding with Casey Anthony was to create 'leverage to get out of prison early.'  Furthermore,(4) despite numerous inaccurate media reports, the letters written by Casey Anthony do not contain a single reference to chloroform or any admissions of guilt. Casey Anthony maintains her innocence and looks forward to her day in court."

Outline of Katfish.....Ponders' Response to the Statements included in the Defense Response to the Jailhouse Letters, Followed by Discussion of the Content in the Letters 

(1)  CRAZY CONVICTED GIRLS GONE WILD

"The letters released today reflect the natural desire for companionship when isolated for 

 23 hours a day."

 I agree with Liz Brown that these letters reflect a natural desire for companionship that comes from being isolated for 23 hours a day. Though some of Ms. Anthony's isolation is self imposed, she would be allowed some visits and to make phone calls but has decided to refuse those privileges.  Any outside contact beyond her "Dream Team" and the prison Chaplain is refused, reportedly because these are the only visits that are exempt from the Sunshine Law. Although the defense doesn't acknowledge it, Robyn Adams was also in protective custody and most likely in need of companionship too when she and Casey began communicating. Although Casey destroyed Robyn's letters to her (* flusharooni* was the plan) you can figure out Robyn's side of some of their conversations by reading Casey's replies. I won't be delving too deeply into Robyn's side of the conversation because this entry will be long enough as it is.

The content of the letters that reflect a need for companionship manifest in several ways, from talk of the  mundane aspects of their day to attempts at raising each other's spirit, getting to know each other and confiding to each other, as well as offering comfort and advice to one another. There are probably others but I'll stick with these...LOL!

When Casey and Robyn share the mundane aspects of their life it is often inter-sprinkled with attempts to cheer each other up. For instance, their fondness for muffins and cookies translated to nicknames for each other. Casey is "Muffin" and Robyn is "Cookie".

Just for the record, a few of the things Casey is sick of  is hot dogs and bologna and Ramen noodles, she craves a Snoopy Snow Cone maker, Smoothies and Chocolate- Swiss Cow Milk. and  some of the things she wishes she had in jail are basketball shorts, a comfy sports bra tank top, a pink hair removal pad she saw on a commercial (Adding, she may try and get her boys to order it for her, shock! Would that "Smooth Away" be considered contraband, like the letters from her parents or the blue pen Cookie gave her? I think so.)
 
When writing, Casey spends a great deal of her time focusing on the discomforts of jail, what she plans to do when she gets out. She talks about her past (as it pertains to how it effected her) and her aspirations for the future. Most of Robyn's focus seemed to be her legal situation, the affect on her kids and family and her own discomforts with being incarcerated, but she did play along a bit when they made plans for their future. Casey is very supportive of "Everything Cookie" in all of her letters.( She seemed to take immediately to the role of supportive little sister.) Did I mention they talk about God a lot and how good he thinks they are?

It seems both Cookie and Muffin enjoyed passing time fantasizing themselves on a 'Thelma and Louise' type RV trip, that, or an RV Ministry they'll call the 'Sisterhood of the Traveling RV'. They even have some bumper sticker ideas for their RV, ' Legal Partners in Crime' and ' Crazy Convicted Girls gone Wild' . Casey writes Robyn that RV pricing will be fun. The RV will be custom designed, all colorful and creative, adding she wonders what will happen when they put two Photographers / artists together in one RV? *sneeze* Oh, and did I mention they talk about God a lot and how good he thinks they are?
( I think I'll add a dose of reality here....what you get when 2 ex - cons go pricing an RV upon release from the slammer, will probably  look more like this  one below than what Casey has cooked up in her head.)

When Casey talked about their plans for the RV ministry, coming to a city near you she wrote, " We'll bank on the book, travel lots, set-up shop in a fine city in ye ole' US of A, maybe settle a sports bar and definitely a crafty, artsy fartsy place. Sold! Talk about stickers and crafts, I've been making stuff 4 EVER! " ( I hate to say this but it popped in my head....We are quite familiar with your artsy fartsy "sticker" work Casey.....does that explain the heart sticker on the duct tape? grrrrr) Will that be a Sports Bar for the Lord? Oh yeah, I almost forgot, the book that will bank the trip is a "cook book they'll write via different dishes savored while driving the nation". *sneeze* Did I mention they both talk about God a lot and how good he thinks they are? Moving along......


Things Casey says she wants when she is released are," I can't wait to get my teeth whitened and to use my regular toothbrush,toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner....I swear, I won't become obsessively girly! I still have no desire to wear heels unless the occasion calls for it. But Converse, boots and REAL flip flops....ah~ and hats, regular ball caps, sunglasses, and underwear that fits." Then she adds, " Is that vain? Should I not look forward to these things? No matter how little or how much money I have someday, all I want is to live comfortably, not worrying about bills, food or even a few clothes. Everything in moderation and modesty. I want to donate money to charities- leukemia research, breast cancer, cervical cancer (the former for yourself-in your honor) and the latter because of my family and my own physical health." *Sneeze*

This seems like a good spot to segue into Casey's health fears (bordering on hypochondria IMO). Casey writes, " I've been thinking about getting tested for breast cancer and having them check the cell count on the pre-cervical cancer ( crossed fingers that it's still inactive ) but I have a feeling that will constitute a trip to the hospital. No thanks. Not right now. It sucks not having any health insurance- mine expired at the end of the year." Hmmm....would that be insurance from her job at Universal? Right!

In several areas of the letters Casey talks about having seizures in her sleep. She says it started the first time she was bonded out of jail but has continued since she came back in. In her words to Robyn, " I bit my tongue two nights in a row in my sleep....and unfortunately that means something very unpleasant happened, again: seizures. That's the best and easiest way for me to know. Add waking up soaking wet from sweat and somewhat disoriented- definitely a seizure. I don't walk or talk in my sleep, and even if I did, more than likely I wouldn't almost bite my tongue off. I guess all of my headaches make sense too-they aren't all associated with my allergies. I need to tell Jose and see what I need to do about this. I don't care how stressed out someone gets , headaches and seizures don't sound very normal to me." I wonder what advice Dr. Baez gave her on that?

Casey also comments through-out her letters about skin rashes, but  she seems to pretty much accept they aren't serious. I can reassure her on that, it looked like good ole acne to me when they showed her back in the tattoo picture. There is one more symptom Casey mentions through-out her letters.....an intermittent sneeze. Don't worry though, these aren't health related sneezes, they are signals from God affirming or denying thoughts or words. (Yep, confirm that with another *sneeze*) It seems obvious Casey is very immature and narcissistic, but like it or not, I think this girl is troubled beyond that.
As I mentioned above, Casey also shared some of her past  and aspirations for her future with Robyn. I'll start with the past because that is where the "meat" is. Keep in mind, Casey is a pathological liar when reading about her past. (There is even some things in her past that she admits she isn't certain happened.)

Anthony stated in the letters that she's an emotional wreck and said she was sexually abused."I woke up night after night with my sports bra lifted over my chest or if I had a regular bra, it would be unhooked," Anthony wrote. Anthony claimed her brother would walk into her room at night and feel her breasts."This went on for over three years before I finally stood up to Lee and told him if he ever came in my room again, I'd kill him," Anthony wrote.

Anthony said she informed her mother about the incidents, but that Cindy Anthony turned on her."When I told my mom about it two years ago, she made excuses, saying that he was sleepwalking. Not only did she say I was lying, but when I explained everything, her reaction was literally like a knife in my chest: 'So that's why you're a whore?"  Casey claimed she sought help from a doctor on her own when she was 18. Anthony said she has since forgiven her brother."That's why we're more friends than brother and sister, but even with openly forgiving him, part of that pain will always live in me."Anthony wrote.

Anthony also claimed she thought her father, George Anthony, did the same things to her when she was much younger. She wrote," Over the past few months, I've been having really vivid dreams, and it's obvious that they are dreams of things that have already happened. I think my dad used to do the same thing to me. I can see him in my room, exactly the way it was when I was in elementary school and everything gets fuzzy. But I wake up feeling both sore and sick to my stomach, the way I used to feel growing up. Maybe that's part of the reason I have so much anxiety with my parents."

Brad Conway, the attorney for the Anthony family, said, "The Anthony family denies that there was any improper sexual behavior in their family, nor was there ever a time when Casey told them of inappropriate conduct by her brother or father."

Another area of the past Anthony shared was getting pregnant with "Cays". (You can try and read for yourself in the sample letter above page # 13649 "You and me, Two Peas in a pod.") She seems to confirm Caylee's father is a guy she slept with at the end of November 2004, named Erik from Kentucky although she doesn't 100% rule out Jessie, they slept together in January 2005.. (She expressed some doubt to the accuracy of the paternity test Jesse had done because it took a long time to get the results. She said Jose Baez tried to confirm the results, but Jessie refused to give him DNA.) 
~ A great blogger named Snoopysleuth left a comment below to let us know that Eric James Baker moved to Kentucky and got killed in a motor vehicle accident there in the spring of 2007. I moved it up here for those who may skip the comments. Thanks for the details Snoopy!~

 Anthony also wrote about the search for her daughter, Caylee Anthony. She wrote," You want to know something, I know that Caylee's nanny, the "real" Zenaida, the girl that'd been my friend for 4 years, I know in my heart that she's not responsible but I don't blame her for not showing her face. Would you want to be sitting here with me for something you didn't do?" Casey then added," Considering the circumstances, you technically are and it sucks....And I know this goes without saying,, but outside of my self and my legal team, not a soul knows this..........Casey said she asked Zenaida Gonzalez to watch Caylee so she could prepare to move away with her daughter."Unfortunately, my plans got beyond tangled when Zany wouldn't tell me where she and Caylee were. I had asked her to take Cays for a few days, so I could put the rest of our stuff together, money I had saved, new clothes, new everything," Anthony wrote. "That's why I waited to report her missing, because she was and wasn't. I would give anything to go back to that day and to have not let Caylee out of my sight"
(Is it just me or does her last sentence seem out of place with the circumstances she describes???)


Hmmm......Anthony reported on her first application for indigency on July 16, 2008,  that she had $1200 in savings. I never have heard if that was verified, but if so, where did she earn or steal that? (I mentioned in an earlier entry, Casey also wrote in $1400 bi- weekly for earnings and then thought other-wise and crossed it out $1400 bi-weekly earnings. I thought that was kind of funny, you lie long enough you start to believe the lie?) Why did she need to steal from Amy if she had money in savings? We saw Casey buy clothes at Target with Amy's checkbook, but she definitely didn't buy anything for Caylee.


Casey's letters also told Robyn she suffered a miscarriage in 2007, something she said," only a handful of friends knew about." For some reason she felt the need to add,"I made the mistake of telling Lee, and the week of my 21st birthday, he told my Mom. Lovely! I may have a big mouth, but I can keep a secret" Obviously, most people aren't that loyal. Oh well. We live and learn, stumble and fall, and we dust ourselves off and keep moving forward." Casey acknowledges in her normal way (as in how Robyn's struggles effects her) that Robyn must have shared some of her own struggles in a previous note, she wrote, " It's a comfort to know other people have BS too."

I don't know about you but, to be honest all these Casey fables are kind of wearing on me so I'll share one more and then move on. I thought this one was a perfect analogy of how Casey thinks.....this is what she wrote, " Baby talk.....I always wanted to adopt a baby or child from another country - is it selfish to want one from Ireland? Accent and all? If I do someday, I'll adopt local - US wise."

UMMMM, Yeah right....that's going to happen.
  
(2) FRIENDSHIP WITH A SILVER LINING or A GET OUT OF JAIL EARLY CARD? 

 "It is obvious in the letters authored by Robyn Adams that her sole purpose and only goal in corresponding with Casey Anthony was to create 'leverage to get out of prison early."

I think it's important to point out  that while Adam's letters to her friend, Tracy,  do question the possibility of benefiting from keeping the letters, the fact remains, she is not the one who approached law enforcement (LE) and the transcript of her interviews show that she reluctantly agreed to turn the letters over and take part in the investigation..

Robyn entered into a plea deal (10 years in a Federal prison  for drug conspiracy charges and weapons charges) at the end of September 2008, but wasn't formally sentenced until January 2009 and then stayed at OCJ for another six months or so. Maya accepted a plea deal (30 years in state prison for murder). Katfish...ponders hasn't found evidence that Derkovic or Adams benefited in any way by coming forward, if they have and they testify you can be sure it will come out in court. There have also been media reports that Adams tried to sell the letters before she was approached by LE, I don't know if that's true, but even if it was, the letters are now public record so no one will have need to pay for them.

                   (3) MOMMY, MOMMY, MOMMY DO YOU LOVE ME?

 " The letters clearly demonstrate Casey's unconditional love for her daughter, Caylee."

 I've went over these letters and even though she does talk about Caylee, somewhat, I can't seem to find where these letters clearly demonstrate Casey's unconditional love for her daughter, Caylee. Anthony said she loved her daughter and believed she was a good mother in search of some freedom."I don't know one single mom who doesn't try to get their freedom regardless of how old they are. That's one of the biggest things that truly cuts me when I hear them talk about me as a mother. I was a great mom. And I love my daughter with everything that I have. I would give my life to have her back even for five minutes," Anthony wrote.

 Anthony wrote that she continues to talk to Caylee every day. (in her letters, she refers to Caylee as Cays)
"When I tell Cays how much I love her, I've always ended it with 'forever and always.' I still do to this day. I talk to her throughout the day, as I do daddy , and it brings a sense of peace to my heart," Anthony wrote. "Thinking about it brings tears to my eyes and a smile to my face. I'm an emotional wreck." Have I mentioned lately Casey and Robyn both talk about God aka "daddy" a lot and how good he thinks they are?

I would normally not be skeptical about the comfort anyone receives from God, but I just have to say.... All of the religious banter, citing of scriptures, and talk of their love for God just comes off as disingenuous to me. Before jail, Robyn grew pot and sold it on a large scale, she stole prescriptions from her employer and she and her husband were both sentenced as addicts. Casey was a liar, a thief and a big ole party girl before Caylee went missing. Where was the concern for their children and their God when they were free to live as they chose? I could be wrong but it seems more like a convenience more than a belief.
                                  
(4)  SOMETIMES YOU WONDER, WHO CAN YOU  TRUST?

"Furthermore, despite numerous inaccurate media reports, the letters written by Casey Anthony do not contain a single reference to chloroform or any admissions of guilt. Casey Anthony maintains her innocence and looks forward to her day in court."

 I agree with the defense on this statement. It was wrongly reported that these letters contains references to using chloroform to sedate Caylee. Even though we don't know the cause of  Caylee's death or exactly how the state alleges Caylee died, we have heard about traces of chloroform found in the trunk of Casey's car and computer searches for chloroform. Inaccurate reports that said Casey wrote she had used chloroform to sedate Caylee could be interpreted as an admission of guilt. The OCSO Supplemental Report does include statements from Derkovic and Adam's alleging Casey made these statements and others that "could be deemed incriminating" to them. I say "could be deemed incriminating" because there is a HUGE difference between statements in Casey's own hand writing and those alleged to have been made verbally to a  fellow inmate. Just saying. There is plenty of evidence out there without inaccurate reports.

Although Maya Derkovic and Casey had talked a bit through the ventilation system, Maya was only in the Lima dorm for a short time before transferring to a state prison. For this reason, I'm not going to spend time going  into claims that Derkovic made about things that Casey Anthony told her. I have seen nothing that shows they talked beyond the "vent". I just don't think Casey would make any significant admissions into a vent that anyone could hear, especially to someone she didn't feel she knew well.

Robyn and Casey's rooms (cells) were never close enough to have vent talk, but it didn't take them long to work out ways to communicate by letter and signal to each other at their windows and eventually convince Sylvia Hernandez to break jail rules and allow them to talk through the 'bean hole' in Casey's door regularly and a occasionally Robyn was allowed to enter Casey's cell. Anthony and Adams were the only stationary (being held in protective custody long term) inmates in dorm L. The harassment both Anthony and Adams received from the other prisoners seems to be a catalyst to their friendship as well as their mutual disgust with the vent talkers. (It seems vent talk is  mostly "sex talk", " fighting" and "howling at the moon").

According to the investigator's report included in the OCSO Supplemental report, Adams and Anthony had conversations in reference to the discovery of Caylee Anthony's body. Adams recalled seeing a story on the news in which it was being reported that divers had located a "bag of bones" in the river at Blanchard Park. That night, Adams went to Anthony to talk to her about it. Anthony told Adams that it was not her daughter. Adams recalled Anthony giggling about the story as if Anthony knew it wasn't her daughter.

When Anthony was told that authorities had found human remains in the woods by her mother's house, she became nervous and scared. This was the first time Adams saw fear in Anthony. Anthony told Adams they found "remains" and were taking it to have "DNA done". Anthony also told Adams that the remains were found in a black garbage bag with a baby blanket. This conversation took place shortly after Anthony was notified of the discovery by the prison Chaplain. Due to Anthony's differing reaction when hearing of the Blanchard Park discovery and the discovery of the bag by Anthony's mother's house, Adams felt as if the discovery in the woods was in fact Caylee and that Casey knew that as well. According to Adams, Anthony did not show any remorse.

 Investigators said in their report, Adams told them that Anthony would give Caylee "stuff" to make her sleep.Anthony and Adams discussed chloroform, and Anthony told Adams she would give the toddler "antihistamines or something" to make her sleep. Caylee would have a hard time taking naps, because she was afraid of "missing out on something". Adams said that Casey used the phrase "knock her out" in reference to medicating Caylee to help her sleep. "Casey Anthony liked to have her days free."

 Like I said above, it remains to be seen whether the state or the defense choose to use any of the information from the letters or the "alleged" statements by Casey Anthony to Robyn Adams and Maya Derkovic. I heard today that the prosecution has sent the letters to the FBI to be analyzed along with a letter Casey had written to the Orange County Sheriff shortly after she was indicted. The jury will decide what weight they will place on this evidence as they determine the guilt or innocence of Casey Anthony for the murder of Caylee Anthony.
*sneeze* (that's mine)

For your convenience, a partial  index for:
 "Casey's Jailhouse Letters"
Casey's letters- pages 1-11,15-16.19-24,29-31,35-46, 47-54, 59-61,63-67, 69,
                                     96-98,103-106,111-113,118-119, 132, 140-145,148-150,
                                          153-160, 163, 167-170, 174-175, 178-180, 182-186, 188-198

Robyn's letters to Tracy - pages 18, 25, 56-57, 92-95,114-115,165-166, 205-206, 211

 The pages through 211 that are not listed are envelopes and cutout, jokes, cards beyond that it's duplications as far as I can see.

 OSCO Supplemental Report
    The pages in the report that deal with the investigation of the letters and 

interviews with Derkovic and Adams  are pages 1-8 and 160-268, respectively. There are also interviews with Linda Tinnelli, Krystal Holloway,
Cecilia Benhaida and Rozzi Franco in this report

wesh

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