Casey Tattoo, Duct Tape Photos Released

It's a side of Casey Anthony you haven't seen before. Prosecutors released never before seen pictures of Casey and the duct tape they say she put around her daughter's mouth.

For the first time, the public is getting to see the duct tape that was found over Caylee's mouth (see tape); it's badly deteriorated after facing the elements for months and easy to see, without a microscope, why an FBI report said it looked microscopically different from the tape on the Anthonys' gas can. But it's also easy to see how it's the same in some very important ways.

CASEY TATTOO: Images Of Infamous 'Bella Vita' Tattoo DUCT TAPE: See Tape That Was On Remains SHOVEL: See Shovel Casey Borrowed DOCUMENTS: All 1,405 Pages Released 10/09/09 SELECT PAGES: Sticker Residue | Caylee In Bag | Hair Decomp MORE EVIDENCE: Photos In Docs Of Remains Evidence LEGAL ANALYSIS: Sheaffer On New Evidence VIDEO REPORT: Evidence Released In Casey Case

The duct tape found over Caylee Anthony's mouth was so badly deteriorated the adhesive on the back side was gone and most of the fibers also were gone. But the deterioration made way for a very important discovery, the Henkel brand logo, and specifications of the Anthonys' rare duct tape are the same as those found on the duct tape on their gas can and the duct tape Eyewitness News discovered on their Caylee posters just days after Casey's arrest.

caseyducttape100909-3b Images Of Duct Tape “It is going to be dramatic and it's going to be damaging to the defense when the jurors look at this,” WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said (watch full interview).

Sheaffer said looking at the tape will bring an emotional reaction from jurors.

“I have witnessed jurors looking at this type of evidence and getting emotional in a courtroom. I've also witnessed people look at what we're looking at and become overwhelmed with emotion,” he said.

Also released Friday are photographs the Orange County Sheriff's Office recently took of Casey in jail and her tattoo (see tattoo). She got the tattoo days after Caylee disappeared, when she claims she was out looking for her daughter. Instead, the tattoo artist asked her where Caylee was and says Casey told him she was with a sitter and was just fine.

caseytat100909-10 See Infamous Tattoo The tattoo "Bella Vita" means beautiful life in Italian.

“That is so bizarre and inconsistent with a desperate mother whose child has been taken by a third party,” Sheaffer said.

Eyewitness News found, among the 1,400 pages released, documents showing investigators saw signs of decomposition in one of Caylee's hairs they found in Casey's car back in July and later confirmed through further testing what Eyewitness News was first to report last year, that it was Caylee's hair and it came from her dead body (hair decomposition document).

The documents also revealed Friday there were plenty of people who saw a piece of evidence before it was destroyed. Eyewitness News first reported, last month, FBI fingerprint dusting destroyed adhesive from a heart-shaped sticker found on the duct tape over Caylee's mouth (sticker residue document). The evidence may have been destroyed, but documents show several FBI agents saw it before it was dusted.

DOCUMENTS: 3 PIECES OF TAPE ON CAYLEE

One of the documents released Friday shows that investigators found three pieces of duct tape attached to Caylee Anthony's hair (see document). Each was about six to eight inches long.

Two of the three pieces were still stuck together, one over the other. Each one bore the same brand logo of the rare tape found on the Anthonys' gas can and the tape Eyewitness News found on one of the family's Caylee posters.

WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer, a former prosecutor, says the discovery of layered pieces of duct tape answers the question for him as to why there was duct tape over Caylee's mouth.

“The person who placed this duct tape and put it in multiple layers did it for one reason and one reason only, to make sure that child could not breathe either through the mouth or the nose,” Sheaffer said (watch full interview).

Sheaffer says a child Caylee’s age would suffer extreme distress when prevented from breathing.

“They would become panicked and not understand what they're feeling, but knowing they can't breathe,” Sheaffer said.

That kind of cruelty would be one of the factors jurors would consider in deciding whether to recommend the death penalty if Casey were to be convicted and Sheaffer says it's a powerful one.

“The cruelty of suffocation, it just reaches on a high scale,” Sheaffer said.

NEXT IN THE CASE AGAINST CASEY

In the case against Casey, she will be in court for a hearing next Friday on a number of issues.

The defense has asked the judge to throw out the murder charge against her and, if not that, to take the death penalty off the table.

Prosecutors say their motions are legally bogus.

Also, Friday it could become clear when Casey will stand trial on check fraud charges.

STATE ATTACKS DEFENSE TEAM'S MOTION

In a new document filed Thursday, prosecutors are accusing Casey Anthony’s defense team of filing yet another bogus motion, this time over the death penalty.

The defense wants the judge to take the death penalty off the table, but prosecutors say judges don't have that authority.

Prosecutors went as far as saying either the defense team doesn't understand the law or is purposely misstating it to grandstand.

Prosecutors say a hearing on the issue would be a waste of the court's time.

DEFENSE WANTS CHARGES DROPPED

Eyewitness News got a better idea of how Casey Anthony’s attorneys are trying to convince a judge to drop her murder and child abuse charges.

In order to get those charges dropped, prosecutors say Casey must swear the evidence they have is true and convince a judge it's not enough to convict her.

DOCUMENT: Addendum To Motions

However, so far, she's only admitted to two things.

The first is that she didn't report her daughter, Caylee Anthony, missing until her mother, Cindy, called 911. The second is that Casey told investigators she last saw the child with a woman named Zenaida Gonzalez.

Also Wednesday, Casey's defense team got another 42 pages from prosecutors detailing forensic entomology reports from August 28 and December 11 of 2008. Those reports talked about the insects experts analyzed from the trunk of Casey's car and the scene where Caylee's remains were found.

JUDGE: HAND OVER GEORGE ANTHONY TESTIMONY

A judge ordered Tuesday (read order) that the grand jury testimony George Anthony gave in October 2008 be handed over to state prosecutors in the case against Casey Anthony.

READ: Judge's Order On Grand Jury Testimony VIDEO REPORT: Testimony Must Be Handed Over

Prosecutors wanted a transcript of George Anthony's secret grand jury testimony given on October 14, 2008 that led to the first-degree murder indictment against his daughter Casey. Casey was arrested the very next day. Prosecutors asked for the testimony to be used in the murder trial of Casey set for next summer.

"... the original of said transcript shall be delivered to the State Attorney," Judge Stan Strickland wrote in the order issued Tuesday afternoon.

George, a former detective, told investigators he recognized the unmistakable odor of a dead body in the trunk of Casey's car when he picked it up at a wrecker service.

Prosecutors presented the grand jury case and George is working with the defense team, so both sides likely already know a lot about the testimony, which is supposed to be secret.

MORE DOCS EXPECTED TO BE RELEASED

Also this week, the state is expected to release more documents in the case.

Eyewitness News has learned they are releasing every document the state has received to date that hasn't been released.

With the latest released expected this week, there will be a total of 10,400 pages released so far.

BAEZ ANSWERS "PLEA DEAL" QUESTION

For the very first time in the case against Casey Anthony, her lawyer says he won't rule out the chance of a plea deal.

"Any plea that would ever be taken would have to be taken by Casey,” Jose Baez told Geraldo Rivera during an interview over the weekend (watch comments).

BAEZ TALKS: 'Plea Deal' Comments To Geraldo SHEAFFER ANALYSIS: Legal Analyst On Baez Comments VIDEO REPORT: Plea Deal A Possibility?

Up until now, Casey's defense team and her family have insisted there would be no deals made. They insist she's innocent and say she would have to admit to something she didn't do to take a plea deal, even though she could face the death penalty by going to trial.

Prosecutors still haven't publicly offered a deal to Casey, but over the weekend talk show host Geraldo Rivera asked Baez, with all the evidence against Casey, why not agree to a plea deal to save her life. Baez says it’s up to Casey.

“Well, that’s not my decision to make. Umm, that, any plea that would ever be taken would have to be taken by Casey and she would have to accept a plea, if one were offered,” Baez told Rivera.

“The proper response would have been, ‘Are you kidding me? She’s innocent! We pled not guilty. We are going to trial,” WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said (watch full interview).

Baez made the surprising statements Sunday during a New York media blitz.

“’Cause it’s her that has to do the time. It’s her life at stake here,” Baez told Rivera.

But to this point, Baez has maintained Casey is innocent and that she has a very compelling reason for not calling law enforcement for a month after Caylee disappeared.

"We feel our client is innocent and we want her to have her day in court. She wants to have her day in court and, I know it's a hard thing for everyone to believe, but she is innocent,” Baez said on January 30.

Baez spent the beginning part of the interview with Rivera arguing that the evidence against Casey is weak at best and that the whole case should be thrown out.

“Well, there’s one thing that’s consistent about the defense and that’s their ability to continue to make inconsistent statements, one after the other,” Sheaffer said.

Eyewitness News received no response from Baez in attempts to get his comments Monday.

Previous Stories: October 8, 2009: Prosecutors: Casey’s Defense Filed Bogus Motion October 7, 2009: Defense Wants Charges Dropped In Casey Case October 6, 2009: Judge: Hand Over George Anthony Testimony October 6, 2009: Casey’s Attorney Answers ‘Plea Deal’ Question October 2, 2009: WFTV Discovers Possible Duct Tape Link In Casey Case October 2, 2009: FBI Docs: Stain Shaped Like Child's Body In Casey's Trunk October 2, 2009: Casey's Defense Tries To Discredit Prosecution's Case September 30, 2009: Attorney Shares “New Evidence” In Casey Case September 28, 2009: Book About Casey Anthony Expected In November