Casey Anthony: Is there a Texas EquuSearch volunteer who will raise reasonable doubt?

Casey Anthony: Is there a Texas EquuSearch volunteer who will raise reasonable doubt?
Caylee and Casey Anthony, WESH, WFTV, WOFL — posted by halboedeker on October, 4 2010 6:24 PM

Could Texas EquuSearch volunteers provide new clues in the Casey Anthony case?

That was the story today as Anthony’s defense team focused on the group that looked for Caylee Anthony in 2008. Casey Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter.

WESH-Ch. 2’s Jeff Lennox explained the defense is “looking to find a credible volunteer with Texas EquuSearch who will say he or she searched in the area where Caylee Anthony’s remains were later found but discovered nothing at the time of their search.” Lennox noted that the state had sworn statements from several volunteers who said the area was submerged.

WFTV-Ch. 9’s Kathi Belich said 32 EquuSearch volunteers were officially searching the area two years ago, but the defense believes more were there. “The defense wants to try to show that Caylee’s body was not placed there until after Oct. 14 of 2008, when Casey was locked up on no bond to try to prove Casey couldn’t have put Caylee’s body there,” Belich said.

Belich also followed up her report that investigators believe a volunteer might have falsified documents in the search. Volunteeer Laura Buchanan has said she found nothing in her search of the area, the Anthony defense team says. But, Belich added, “Another volunteer says Buchanan is working with the defense and is using a fake document to prove her claim.”

EquuSearch founder Tim Miller told Belich that the allegations wouldn’t be taken lightly and that he spent a lot of time and money on the search.

Did Buchanan doctor documents? “Absolutely not,” defense attorney Cheney Mason told Belich.

On WOFL-Ch. 35, anchor Bob Frier asked if the defense is “looking for that one person to come out and say, you know what, I searched that area and didn’t find a thing”?

“That’s exactly what they’re looking for,” said Orlando attorney Diana Tennis, who offers analysis for the station. “Reasonable doubt … just one little issue for one particular juror.”

But Tennis added that the approach could backfire on the defense. “If I were the prosecution … I’d sit back and let them go through the boxes, let them find the people that were in the area, and then send out my own investigators, and it’s just as likely they’re going to say the water was hip-deep, there’s no way way we could have gone back there,” Tennis said.

The defense will continue to look at Texas EquuSearch documents on Tuesday.

Belich said the defense had questioned volunteers today about whether they searched the area. The defense “will have to convince the judge some of these witnesses are relevant to the case,” she added.

WFTV noted that another Texas EquuSearch volunteer deposition will be Oct. 13, there will be more depositions on Oct. 20 and a status hearing is set for Oct. 29.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2010/10/casey-anthony-is-there-a-texas-equusearch-volunteer-who-will-raise-reasonable-doubt.html