Casey Anthony Trial Update: Jailmate April Whelan may testify in Anthony's murder trial - CBS News

June 21, 2011 4:32 PM
Casey Anthony Trial Update: Jailmate April Whelan may testify in Anthony's murder trial
By Crimesider Staff

Excerpt:

(CBS) ORLANDO, Fla. - It's not clear that the witness will ever be called to the stand, but Casey Anthony trial watchers are abuzz about the possibility that a former Orange County jail inmate named April Whelan might play an 11th hour role in the murder case.

Pictures: Casey and Caylee Anthony, Personal Photos

Earlier today, defense attorney Jose Baez complained to the presiding judge, Belvin Perry Jr., that prosecutors had just given him an indication that they could use in court a conversation that Whelan had - and which Casey Anthony may have heard from an adjacent cell - about the death of Whelan's child by drowning in her family pool. Whelan's father apparently retrieved the body of the child.

The scenario bears a strong similarity to the defense claims, made in opening statements, that Casey Anthony's father George found two-year-old Caylee's body in the family pool and got Casey to participate in a cover-up of the accidental death.

The defense has conceded that Casey was a habitual liar and previous testimony has shown that Casey's lies had often been grounded in a nugget of truth. The Whelan story has piqued interest because of that. Judge Perry has left the door open for Whelan to testify but there's been no indication from prosecutors that she will do that.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20073045-504083.html#ixzz1Q10DN22F