Defense argues innocence of Casey Anthony, George Anthony takes the stand

August 22, 5:15 PMCrime ExaminerCindy Adams

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Casey Anthony wipes tears from her eyes after seeing her father George Anthony testify during a court hearing Friday, Aug. 21, 2009 in Orlando, Fla. Defense attorney Andrea Lyon is at right. (AP)

On Friday, Casey Anthony’s defense team revealed a portion of their strategy before the court. They claimed their client was in jail when her daughter’s body was placed in the wooded area not far from her family’s home.

Casey is charged with the first-degree murder of 2-year-old Caylee Anthony, who is believed to have disappeared sometime in June of 2008. Her remains were discovered six months later, in Dec.

Mark NeJame, the attorney for Texas EquuSearch, the volunteer group that helped search for Caylee last summer, argued that the area in which Caylee was eventually found was never searched. In a news conference on Thursday, NeJame claimed this portion of land was underwater at the time the search team was looking for her. However, by the time Caylee’s remains were discovered, the water had receded.

Todd Macaluso, with the defense, argued that EquuSearch did in fact search the wooded area and should be subpoenaed.

The defense also argued that testimony from bounty hunter Leonard Padilla’s team should not be allowed during Casey’s trial. Attorney Jose Baez argued that such testimony should be quashed under attorney-client privilege, however the prosecutors thoroughly rejected this notion.

According to Bob Kealing of WESH 2 News, “Jose Baez said Casey did not confess to anyone. But at the same time, he’s trying awfully hard to quash testimony from the woman, Padilla’s employee, who spent 10 days close by Casey’s side last summer.”

Casey’s defense team also questioned her father, George Anthony, in an effort to demonstrate Padilla’s group acted as security for the family. Cale Ramaker of WOFL noted “Casey Anthony started crying when her dad unexpectedly took the stand.”

“What I saw clearly in the courtroom [was] Casey Anthony shedding big tears, sobbing instantly the second her father started talking. Four minutes later, when the camera turns to Casey, she had calmed down,” said reporter, Holly Bristow.

Although Judge Stan Stricklnad did not rule on whether Padilla and his team will be restricted from testifying due to privilege, he did grant the defense team’s request for the phone records of Casey’s ex-boyfriend, Tony Lazzaro, from June 1 through Dec. 18, 2008.

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