Casey Anthony Trial Update: Judge Perry Adjourns Trial, to Resume on Monday
The Casey Anthony trial abruptly went into recess on Saturday over legal issues, but it remains unknown over what exactly.
Judge Belvin Perry Jr. cancelled the nearly 7 hours of hearings scheduled for Saturday and said the court would resume on Monday, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Attorneys on both sides declined to comment on the unexpected recess.
Perry recessed the court after meeting with defense attorneys on Saturday morning. The court was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and end at 3:30 p.m., longer than normal for Saturday hearings.
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Casey Anthony, 25, is accused of first-degree murder of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, in June 2008. If convicted, she could face the death penalty.
Anthony’s attorneys claim Caylee died from drowning in her grandparents’ swimming pool and that Casey’s father, George, was involved in covering up the death and disposing the body. George has denied involvement in the death of his granddaughter.
Meanwhile, the state maintains that the defendant suffocated Caylee with duct tape, stored her in the back of her trunk for days, and then dumped her body in the woods nearby the Anthony’s home.
The toddler was last seen on June 16, 2008, reported missing on July 15, 2008, and the remains of her tiny body was found in December 2008.
On Friday, the court heard the testimonies of Casey’s mother, Cindy, and her older brother, Lee.
Lee gave an emotional testimony, claiming that the family ignored Casey’s pregnancy with Caylee until just days before she gave birth. He claimed no one acknowledged Casey’s pregnancy until nearly when Caylee was born and broke down in tears during his testimony.
The defense is thought to be trying to illustrate the Anthonys as a dysfunctional family. The prosecution, however, questions the accuracy of Lee’s testimony, which appears to differ from his 2009 deposition. When questioned by the prosecution earlier this month, Lee often responded that he didn’t remember his deposition and expressed little emotion.
In the deposition, Lee had said his parents were excited about news of a granddaughter and prepared a nursery for her as well as a baby shower.
On Friday, the defense also called back several investigators, including Orange County deputy Ryan Eberlin. Eberlin explained that he handcuffed Casey on the night of July 16, 2008, because her mother, Cindy, had accused Casey of stealing her credit cards.
Judge Perry told the jury to not consider Casey’s fraudulent use of credit cards in the case because it was unrelated to her current charge of murder.
A video of a happy 2-year-old Caylee and her mom, Casey, was also shown in the court room yesterday.
Perhaps the biggest shocker this week was the revelation by Cindy Anthony that she searched for the words chloroform and chlorophyll on the family’s computer. The prosecution had called computer experts to the stand earlier in the trial who gave damaging testimonies that there were Google searches for chloroform that were later deleted from the Internet search history. There was also a search for how to make chloroform, but Cindy said she did not remember if she made that search.
Cindy’s chloroform testimony shakes up the prosecution’s argument that Casey Anthony made searches for chloroform. The prosecution maintains that Casey used chloroform to knock Caylee out before using duct tape on her. There was also high level of chloroform found in the trunk of Casey’s car.
