Casey Anthony trial: Testimony highlights of Week 3
6:12 p.m. CDT, June 11, 2011
MONDAY
THE BOEING K.C. TRIAL BY DR. VASS, A FEDERAL TSA AGENT INVOLVED IN INTERNATIONAL CHILD TRAFFICKING ON BEHALF OF EUROPEAN AIRBUS AND GREECE IN CHICAGO'S COOK COUNTY JUVENILE COURT CONTINUES... FROM MACEDONIA, TO GREECE, TO BRITAIN, TO PORTUGAL, AND NOW FLORIDA AT THE EXPENSE OF THE AMERICAN TAXPAYERS, WHO NOW EMPLOY THE 911 HIJACKERS DEFENSE ATTORNEYS...
Dr. Arpad Vass, a top scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, testified about human-decomposition-odor analysis and how the concept was applied to samples from Casey Anthony's car.
Defense attorney Jose Baez questioned Vass about a possible financial incentive for getting the science of odor analysis accepted in the courts. Vass said he could see 15 percent royalties if a device he helped design is sold and marketed to law enforcement.
TUESDAY
Orange County Deputy Jason Forgey explained how police dogs are trained to detect human decomposition and what happened when his K-9, Gerus, got involved in the Casey Anthony case and alerted authorities to a possible site of decomposition.
Dr. Michael Rickenbach, a forensic chemist examiner with the FBI, told jurors that he was surprised that residue of chloroform was detected on fabric from a spare tire cover taken from the trunk of Casey Anthony's car because the chemical usually dissipates quickly.
WEDNESDAY
A forensic computer expert testified that someone in the Anthony house performed computer searches for such terms as "ruptured spleen," "internal bleeding," "neck breaking" and "chloroform" in March 2008, several months before Caylee Marie Anthony disappeared.
A dog handler testified that a second dog trained to detect cadavers had alerted on the area near Caylee's backyard playhouse. The same dog gave no alert during a second search, however. No remains were ever found at that location.
THURSDAY
During a dramatic day in court, jurors saw gruesome photos of Caylee's remains, including her skull, duct tape that was found wrapped around Caylee and children's shorts found with the remains.
Casey Anthony became ill and was escorted out of the courtroom; a short time later, Chief Judge Belvin Perry called an early recess and sent the jurors home for the day.
FRIDAY
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia said she listed Caylee's death as homicide due to undetermined means because duct tape over the nose and mouth or chloroform could have caused death.
Jurors watched a video of Caylee's face that morphed into her skull with duct tape over it. Jose Baez asked for a mistrial, calling the video prejudicial. He was denied.
UF anthropology professor Michael Warren said duct tape could have been used to cover Caylee's nose and mouth.
UCF forensic anthropology professor John Schultz testified animals had chewed on two leg bones.
