Forensic Expert: Odor From Casey Anthony's Car 'Shocking' - WKMG

Forensic Expert: Odor From Casey Anthony's Car 'Shocking'
Anthony, 25, Could Face Death Penalty If Found Guilty

POSTED: Monday, June 6, 2011
UPDATED: 5:40 pm EDT June 6, 2011

Excerpt:

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A forensic expert testified Monday that the odor of human decomposition in an air sample taken from Casey Anthony's car was "extremely, overwhelmingly strong."

Arpad Vass, a researcher at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was the first witness called Monday by the prosecution as the third week of the murder trial of Casey Anthony began. Vass is one of the state's key witnesses and began what is expected to be lengthy forensics testimony this week.

State prosecutor Jeff Ashton asked Vass if the facility is known as the body farm.

"Unfortunately, yes," said Vass, who has pioneered a novel technique for detecting human decomposition from air samples.

"Over the years, we have followed about 50 people from start to finish. They were (recently deceased) when they came in and ended in skeleton. We followed those 50 people and also looked at 100s of people at a single time doing various procedures," Vass said.

"In that time, did you find the odor of human decomposition to be distinct?" Ashton asked.

"Yes," said Vass, who also added that the odor is different than the smell of animal decomposition.

"I jumped back a foot or two," Vass said of the odor he observed when opening a can containing an air sample from Anthony's Pontiac. "It was shocking that strong of an odor could be in that little can."

More: http://www.clickorlando.com/news/28142228/detail.html