Casey Anthony: How crucial is her ’spiteful bitch’ comment? - OS

Casey Anthony: How crucial is her ’spiteful bitch’ comment?
posted by halboedeker on June, 1 2011 6:24 PM

Lee Anthony’s testimony today could be pivotal in his sister’s murder trial, TV analysts agreed.

The brother testified that her sister described herself as a “spiteful bitch” when he tried to persuade her to let the family see Caylee. Casey Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Caylee, her daughter.

“Spiteful bitch” will show up in closing arguments, WKMG-Channel 6 legal analyst Mark NeJame predicted tonight. “This is the cornerstone of the prosecution’s case — the fact that she wanted to go ahead and live a life of freedom, free of what she considered to be the shackles of her daughter,” NeJame said.

WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said the “spiteful bitch” comment could have greatly influenced jurors. “I don’t know that they can ever look at her the same,” Sheaffer said.

WFTV’s Kathi Belich explained how she closely followed jurors’ reactions after Lee spoke the words. ”One or two turned to her [Casey Anthony] right away,” she said. “Several others looked at Casey until about eight or nine of them were looking right at her.” Belich said that Casey ”sat cornered by her own words, staring coldly back at them, her jaw tight.”

WKMG’s Tony Pipitone cited the importance of the “spiteful bitch” comment in combination with testimony about the conflict between Casey Anthony and her mother, Cindy. ”This is all coming together in the jurors’ minds perhaps as a reason why Casey Anthony would do what she’s accused of doing,” Pipitone said.

WESH-Channel 2’s Bob Kealing said that Lee Anthony did not react to his sister when he went to and from the witness stand twice. “They barely make eye contact now,” Kealing said. ”A number of observers found it surprising that Casey would repeatedly smile at her brother given that she’s accusing him of trying to molest her.”

WFTV’s Sheaffer said that Lee Anthony seemed credible and not vindictive about those allegations, Belich reported.

Belich also described “how easily Casey can lie” about topics by offering “lies [that] are so detailed, so easy flowing and off the cuff .”

WESH-Channel 2 anchor Jim Payne said of Anthony, “Not only is she a liar, but she’s a really good liar.”

Judge O.H. Eaton Jr., WESH’s legal analyst, agreed: “Oh, yeah, she seems to be able to make up things on the go, including middle names.”

On WOFL-Channel 35, Judge Alex Ferrer said Casey Anthony’s testimony is a double-edged sword.

“On the one hand, everyone knows she’s a pathological liar,” Ferrer. “She’s going to have to get on the stand to advance that accidental-death theory, then all the more reason for the jury not to believe her because they’ve heard how convincingly she lies about everything. So I think at the end it’s going to hurt her.”

What do you think?

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2011/06/casey-anthony-how-crucial-is-her-spiteful-bitch-comment.html