Trial Coverage and Discussion Only ~ Day 29 ~ June 27, 2011

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DAY 40: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

SMILING CASEY PRIOR TO RULING: See Images

DOCUMENTS: Motion On Competency, Judge's Order

DEFENSE MOTIONS: On Death Penalty

CASEY WALKS IN: See Images | Raw Video

IN COURT: Casey, Parents, Lawyers, Witnesses

VIDEO REPORT: Trial Resumes After Abrupt Recess

FACES OF CASEY: Most Recent To Oldest

EVIDENCE ARCHIVE: Casey Anthony Case

CASEY COVERAGE On Twitter | On Facebook

http://www.wftv.com/news/28366382/detail.html

Day 29 witnesses

Yuri Melich

For the defense's first witness Monday, attorney Jose Baez called back the lead detective in the case to correct something he said before the jury Thursday.

Melich said he misspoke about when his department looked at phone records from Roy Kronk, the meter reader who found the remains of Casey's daughter, Caylee Anthony, in December 2008.

The detective said he actually looked at Kronk's phone records from June and July 2008, not August, when Kronk first called 911 to report something in the same wooded area.

Melich also confirmed subpoenas for cell phone records from several of Casey's friends and ex-boyfriends, and the computer of Joy Wray, who claimed to be an informant for former President George Bush who information about the Casey Anthony case.

The detective said the initial reason for the subpoena was because at the time, they were looking for Zenaida Gonzalez, Caylee's alleged nanny.

Baez then switched gears, asking Melich police cadaver dogs had searched inside the Anthonys' home, or in two other cars that were there, aside from the white Pontiac Sunfire.

The detective said they did not. But during cross-examination, he confirmed for prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick that neither of the other two cars were reported to have smelled like a dead body had been in them.

Michael Vincent

Baez quickly called the crime scene investigator to identify a drawing he made during a hearing before the trial began. The drawing is a diagram of the Pontiac Sunfire at the Orange County Sheriff's Office forensic bay.
Gerardo Bloise

Baez asked this deputy about the drawing of the forensic bay, and then submitted it into evidence.

In cross-examination, Bloise said the focus was on the car. But during redirect, Baez asked him if his job was to "look at everything." He said yes.

Jason Forgey

The defense then brought back the cadaver dog handler whose dog, Gerus, alerted to some indication of human decomposition in the trunk of the Sunfire.

Forgey said there were actually a second car unrelated to the Casey Anthony case in the forensic bay when he deployed the dog.

Baez asked the deputy if that was so the dog would not falsely alert in attempt to please its handler and get a reward. Forgey said that was the reasoning behind having two cars in training, but in this real-world case, he just did it that way.

Forgey did acknowledge during cross-examination that he, himself, knew that it was the Sunfire that was in question.

Dr. Kenneth Furton

Next came the witness both sides briefly argued over Saturday before court unexpectedly ended.

That morning, prosecutor Jeff Ashton claimed the expert chemist's planned testimony included a PowerPoint presentation containing opinions on chloroform that were not disclosed in his initial report.

When court went to recess, the state redeposed Furton.

On the stand Monday, Furton claimed there is no scientifically valid instrument that can identify decomposition.

Furton created a PowerPoint presentation to help explain the gas chromatograph mass spectrometer that the jury has already heard so much about from the state's expert, Dr. Arpad Vass, on Day 11 of testimony.

The presentation included charts showing the chemical makeup of a group of samples from both male and female subjects, both alive and dead.

According to Furton, the five chemical compounds Dr. Vass found in the air samples he tested are not unique to human decomposition. He said they can also be found in household products and garbage.

Furton said chloroform can be found everywhere in low amounts. He also confirmed for Baez that the gas chromatograph mass spectrometer can pick up chloroform in water.

During cross-examination, Furton admitted to Ashton that he did not analyze if the presence of chloroform was coincidental, or if someone deliberately mixed it and gave it to a child.

Ashton also pointed out that much of Furton's research was done by his students, not himself, though the doctor did say that it was done under his supervision.

Furton did admit that it was possible that a decomposing body in the trunk could explain Dr. Vass' findings, but it is not the only explanation. He pointed to food items found in the trash bags in the trunk.

According to Furton, fatty acids in Velveeta cheese and salami, both found in the trunk, are identical to the compounds found when a human body decomposes.
Sgt. John Allen

For the next witness, defense attorney Ann Finnell returned for the first time since jury selection to question the case's supervising officer from the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Sgt. Allen identified two videos sent to investigators, taken by a James Hoover. The videos showed private investigator Dominic Casey, and taken in the woods area off Suburban Drive in November 2008, one month before Caylee's remains were found in the same area.

Allen also confirmed to prosecutors that both Dominic Casey was initially hired by the defense, and then worked for the Anthony family to help find Caylee.

He also said Hoover tried to sell the videos to the National Enquirer.

James Hoover

Hoover told Baez he became involved in the case as a private citizen, when he approached George Anthony and offered to help keep protesters away from his home.

He identified the videos he took of Dominic Casey searching in woods Watch Video for Caylee's body. The videos were then shown to the jury.

Hoover said they went about 15 feet into the woods. He said they found a small blanket, but he could not describe it. On the video, however, Dominic Casey called it a bath mat.

He said he tried to sell photos to get money for Dominic Casey and the Anthony family. He said it was around Christmas time, and "everyone was broke."

But Hoover said the videos were never for sale, though he did mention that a "famous bounty hunter" suggested to him that they might be worth something.

He also denied trying to capitalize on his relationship with the Anthonys by secretly taping them.

Dominic Casey

Finally, Ann Finnell call the private investigator the jury just saw in the videos to testify.

Dominic Casey said he terminated his relationship with the Baez Law Firm before he began working with the Anthony family. He said he followed up on tips the family received, and helped protect them from protesters outside their home.

In the video, Mr. Casey was seen talking on a cell phone. He identified the person on the other end as Jeanette Lucas, a psychic who led him to the area around Suburban Drive in his search for the remains of Caylee Anthony. He later added that no one from the Anthony family directed him to check that area.

Dominic Casey also said the first time he went into the woods, he had never given Hoover permission to videotape him, and had no idea why he was doing so.

He said his second search was to "prove a psychic wrong." He was seen using a probe in the video, and said it was because he saw a lot of snakes in the area.

Mr. Casey said he also went back a third time without Hoover on November 18 or 19, 2008. He said he never saw any bags or debris that appeared to contain human remains.

http://www.cfnews13.com/article/news/2011/june/269830/Day-29:-Casey-Anthony-tested-for-competency,-trial-resumes

BILL SHEAFFER: Analysis Of Casey Murder Trial Day 40

WFTV legal analysis Bill Sheaffer discusses Casey Anthony's murder trial on day 40.

http://www.wftv.com/video/28376245/index.html