Day 18 Casey Anthony trial Day 18: State may be done with witnesses in Casey Anthony trial
ORLANDO:
Tuesday may have been the second half-day in a row in the Casey Anthony murder trial, but Wednesday could be even shorter.
Prosecutors said they may not call any more witnesses, and will likely rest Wednesday after submitting a few final pieces of evidence.
The defense, however, would not be able to start until Thursday.
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Court resumed at 1 p.m. Tuesday after the trial came to an abrupt halt the day before, when the state announced it would not have any more witnesses ready to put on the stand until the following afternoon.
Among Tuesday's key pieces of the state's case were a heart-shaped sticker found near Casey's daughter, Caylee's remains, and a tattoo on Casey's back that says "Bella Vita," an Italian phrase meaning "beautiful life."
Day 18 witnesses
Catherine Theisen:
A quality assurance specialist at the FBI's laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, Theisen is an expert on mitochondrial DNA analysis. She said her expertise can help exclude people from pieces of evidence, in this case, a hair found in the trunk of Casey's Pontiac Sunfire.
Theisen said the hair in the trunk matches a hair mass found with Casey's daughter, Caylee's remains in the woods near the Anthony family's home.
She also said the DNA profile of the hair showed it could be either Casey's or Caylee's. But Theisen added other members of Casey's maternal family line -- including her mother, Cindy, and brother, Lee -- could not be excluded as the source.
Defense attorney Jose Baez tried to ask Theisen if she was aware that Lee Anthony once owned the Sunfire. But the prosecution objected, and Judge Perry sustained.
Alina Burroughs
The state then called another crime scene investigator from the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Burroughs was shown a series of photos, including an aerial shot of the Anthonys' neighborhood and the woods where where Caylee's remains were found, and several books of heart-shaped stickers from Casey's bedroom.
Burroughs said all the sticker books were found either in Casey's or Caylee's room. None were found in the master bedroom.
One photo showed a purple envelope, addressed to Caylee Marie Anthony, with the outline of one heart-shaped sticker stuck to the front of it. The sticker, itself, was not on the envelope.
Baez noted the envelope had a 37-cent postage stamp on it, suggesting that it was a few years older than the events in 2008. U.S. first-class postage stamps last cost 37 cents in early 2006.
He also noted scrapbook items from Caylee's baby shower. Caylee was born in August 2005.
Cindy Anthony
Prosecutors then called Casey's mother back to the witness stand for the second time in her daughter's murder trial.
Cindy was asked about her hair style in 2008. She confirmed it was short and colored blonde, and had not changed significantly in length or style within six months to a year that Caylee disappeared.
She was then shown several photos of Caylee and Casey, as prosecutors pointed out the difference between their hair styles. The hair found in Casey's trunk, believed to be Caylee's, was long and brown.
Cindy also said she noticed Caylee's Winnie-the-Pooh blanket was missing since May 2008. That blanket was found with Caylee's remains.
The questions then shifted to duct tape. Cindy said she used black tape on her property for signs and boundary markers to keep protesters away from her home.
She also recalled using duct tape on signs at the command center for the search for Caylee. She did not recall if that silver tape was from her home or not. A photo published to the jury showed that tape was similar to the samples found near Caylee's remains.
Cindy was also shown pictures of bags like those found in the woods. She confirmed that there were black, plastic bags in her garage, and the white canvas bag was used to hold stuffed animals and toy balls. After the search warrant, she never saw those bags again.
Prosecutors then showed Cindy a photo of Caylee in her pink shirt that said "Big trouble comes in small packages." Interestingly, Cindy said she had never seen Caylee in that shirt before, and the first time she saw the shirt was in a photo she was shown during a deposition in 2009, about six months after Caylee was found dead.
Before leaving the witness stand during a break, Cindy was seen mouthing "I love you," to Casey.
Jennifer Welch
The first Orange County crime scene investigator at the crime scene in 2008 returned for a very quick third testimony.
Welch confirmed she went to the Orange County Jail to take a photo of Casey's tattoo.
Bobby Williams
The next witness was the man who gave Casey that tattoo. Williams said Casey made an appointment at Cast Iron Tattoos for July 2, 2008.
Williams said he created the tattoo based on what Casey wanted: "Bella Vita" in a "feminine" font.
When Casey came in to get it, Williams said she paid in cash, and her behavior seemed "normal," though she was on the phone during most of the process. He said Casey came in again on July 15 to make another appointment for the 19th, this time for a matching tattoo with a friend, but that was not a concrete decision.
Williams said Casey told him Caylee was with her nanny, but she would bring her in on July 19 for her second appointment.
By: Jacqueline Fell and Adam Longo
