ORLANDO, Fla. — Another crucial hearing took place Thursday in the case against Casey Anthony, and for the second day in a row George Anthony took the stand. Casey's attorneys are fighting to keep some evidence out of the trial. Judge Belvin Perry has a steep task in front of him with several motions yet to be heard.
CASEY ENTERS 03/03: Raw Video | See Images GEORGE TESTIFIES 3/3: Pt. 1 | Pt. 2 | Pt. 3 | Pt. 4 | Pt. 5 LEE TESTIFIES 3/3: Part 1 of 3 | Part 2 | Part 3 BILL SHEAFFER: Pre-Hearing Analysis Of Day 2 IN COURT 03/03: Key Players At Thursday Hearing SGT. HOSEY TESTIFIES 03/03: Part 1 of 2 | Part 2 VIDEO REPORTS: Lee Testifies | George On Stand READ: Motions To Be Heard March 2-3
The hearing started about 15 minutes late, with Casey arriving in what appeared to be the same shirt as yesterday, but with a grey jacket buttoned over it (video | images). Her hair was in a ponytail that was twisted into a long curl that she was frequently playing with.
Day one saw only one motion get resolved with a second motion taking most of the day to discuss. On day two, there was more testimony about the night that Orange County deputies were called to help look for Casey's daughter, Caylee Anthony. But, like day one, the day ended with no rulings from the judge.
The defense continued to paint a picture Thursday morning of investigators who knew they were going to arrest Casey; however, prosecutors dispute that.
By mid-morning, defense lawyers moved to a new motion (read it) to suppress statements from George, Cindy and Casey's brother, Lee Anthony, calling George to the stand for the second time in two days.
But the first witness to take the stand was Sgt. Reginald Hosey. Casey's attorney, Jose Baez, opened the questioning by grilling Hosey about details regarding Casey being handcuffed the night her mother called 911 in July 2008.
After about 25 minutes of questioning, Baez let prosecutor Linda Drane-Burdick take over questioning the sergeant. Drane-Burdick tried to paint it as something other than an actual arrest.
"Did you tell her she was a suspect in anything?" Drane-Burdick asked.
"No, I didn't," said Hosey.
"Did you tell her she wasn't free to leave the area?" she asked.
"No, I did not," he replied.
"Did you ask her for her cooperation in resolving this issue?" Drane-Burdick asked.
"Yes, I did," Hosey replied.
"Did she indicate that she was willing to help? Did she try to convince you that this was no big deal, it was her mother causing problems?" she asked.
"Yes, she did," he said.
Next up was Sgt. John Allen, a detective with the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Baez got to question him first, but it was brief. Casey's parents have testified that they were warned that Casey may be going to jail that night, but Allen told Baez there was no such conversation.
"Did you pick up Casey Anthony on July 16, 2008?" Baez asked Allen.
"Yes sir, I did," Allen said.
"And when you picked her up, did you tell George and Cindy Anthony, George or Cindy Anthony, that Casey Anthony might not be coming back?" Baez asked.
"No, sir," he replied.
"I have no further questions for this witness," Baez said.
George was then called to testify and said he pleaded with investigators to have time alone with his daughter.
"If I could just have an hour with my daughter, just her and I," George testified.
Casey's defense team continued to try to cast doubt on whether she was arrested the first night she was questioned about Caylee. Deputies have testified that Casey was handcuffed and placed into a deputy's cruiser.
Defense attorneys are also trying to convince Judge Perry that investigators tried to get George to help them question Casey, saying they feared for her safety in jail. George also said investigators told him they had explicit photos of Casey that upset him so badly he became physically ill.
After a recess for lunch Thursday, George was back on the stand and was grilled by prosecutor Linda Drane-Burdick. George became frustrated numerous times and Judge Perry reminded him to simply answer the questions. After nearly 45 minutes of being questioned by the prosecution, Jose Baez got a chance to question George again.
Baez line of questioning quickly brought George Anthony to tears.
"And you love your daughter more than anything in the world?" Baez asked George at which point he began to weep and asked for a moment to regain his composure.
"Yes," George replied.
George soon thereafter was able to step down from the stand and the court took a 20 minutes recess.
Thursday afternoon, Casey's brother Lee took the stand.
Lee and Casey appeared to be happy to see each other, waving at his sister as he walked up to the stand to testify. But when Lee told the court he lied to his sister when she was in jail she threw a hand in the air and appeared to be upset and looked down at the table.
On the stand, Lee discussed the regular contact he had with law enforcement investigators in the days after Caylee was reported missing. Lee said he'd often text or call investigators; they'd do the same.
Then, lead attorney Jose Baez played a jail house video between brother and sister. In that video visitation, Lee told Casey to circumvent Baez, law enforcement and the public by sending letters directly to him. He told her he would keep their correspondence private, but lied; he later shared that information with others.
"And you say that to her, from brother to sister, were you lying?" Baez asked.
"Maybe," he said.
Casey then put her hand in the air and appeared to sigh.
Baez discussed notes Lee would take to the visits and said he had an agenda for law enforcement.
State prosecutors objected.
Also in that video, Casey discussed how she picked Baez to represent her. Apparently, other inmates liked him and recommended him to Casey.
"His name came up and I said, 'If he's good, can you go ahead and pass his name along?'" Casey told Lee in the recorded jailhouse conversation.
Lee also said he wanted to become a private investigator to try to find Caylee and get to the bottom of things on his own.
EMOTIONAL DAY 1 IN COURT FOR 2-DAY HEARING
An emotional hearing on several motions in the case against Casey Anthony wrapped up Wednesday evening with attorneys prepared to head back to court Thursday.
Casey walked into the courtroom at 9:05am, wearing a red sweater and dark slacks. She was accompanied by her lawyers. Casey's parents were both on hand to testify in the hearing.
CASEY ENTERS COURT: Raw Video | See Images CASEY CRIES IN COURT: Images | Video DETECTIVE TESTIFIES: Pt. 1 Of 4 | Pt. 2 | Pt. 3 | Pt. 4 INSIDE THE COURTROOM: Casey, Cindy, George VIDEO REPORTS: Casey Anthony Back In Court CINDY TESTIFIES: Part 1 of 3 | Part 2 | Part 3 GEORGE TESTIFIES: Part 1 of 2 | Part 2 MOTIONS: Cindy's Testimony | To Quash BELICH: Motion To Strike From Witness List BILL SHEAFFER: Analysis Before Hearing 911 CALLS: Dead Body | Turn In Casey | Caylee Gone
The first discussion was a motion to quash on the subpoenas for jail employees.
The Orange County Corrections attorney started by bringing up the jailhouse video showing Casey's reaction to Caylee's remains being found. However, it's a moot point since the state isn't going to use it; as a result, the jail wants the subpoenas of Orange County jail employees to be dropped.
Casey's attorney, Jose Baez, also shared his opinion on the jail attorney's comments. As a resolution, Baez is expected to meet with the prosecution about needed interviews.
Attorneys also discussed the sequestering of George and Cindy Anthony during hearings and, ultimately, the trial. Perry said it will be case-by-case, but offered to let them testify first so they would be able to listen to the rest of the hearing.
Cindy was called to testify shortly thereafter and Casey began crying as soon as her mother was sworn in.
The prosecution is trying to establish a case for law enforcement discussions with Casey and her statements made the night, and following day, when her mother called 911 in July 2008. The defense believes they should be suppressed.
Cindy was visibly upset on the stand as she struggled with questions from prosecutors about whether she wanted her daughter arrested when she learned of Caylee's disappearance.
"Seeing your daughter is very traumatic, being handcuffed and taken to the car," Cindy said on the stand about the night Casey was arrested.
The prosecution was not playing softball with Cindy and pushed her hard to help them support their argument that Casey's comments to law enforcement are admissible and should not be suppressed, which is what the defense is fighting for.
"I tried to get Casey to take me to Caylee," Cindy said.
"Then you wanted deputies to find Caylee?" prosecutor Linda Drane-Burdick asked.
"Yes," she said. "It was a very difficult night, evening for me that day. I'm not stupid. This is very unsettling for me."
Cindy stepped down from testifying and Casey seemed to do everything she could not to look at her mother as she got down from the stand. As Cindy walked past Casey, Cindy looked over and Casey just stared down at her papers.
At about 10:55am, George Anthony took the stand to testify. As George took the stand, he appeared to blow a kiss toward his daughter as she seemed to try to hold back tears.
Questions went right to the night deputies were first called to the Anthony house.
"I asked what was wrong. She said Caylee was missing. 'Someone has Caylee,'" George said. "The topic was about Caylee and trying to find where she was at."
Baez pressed George about how Casey was taken into custody and whether she was read her Miranda rights. The questioning was directed at whether Casey voluntarily went with a detective looking for Caylee and whether the intention of detectives was to look for Caylee or to charge Casey with a crime.
"I know there were some unpleasantries. Answers about where my granddaughter was at," he said.
Baez also asked George to describe when Casey was handcuffed by officers.
"I walked outside with the deputy who had escorted my daughter," he said.
"How long was Casey in the back of the police car?" Baez asked.
"Maybe about 30 minutes to an hour," George replied.
George told Baez that Casey was taken out of the handcuffs and escorted back into the home. Later that evening, George said Casey and a detective spoke alone in her room. He said he did not know what they talked about.
Judge Belvin Perry set the tone of authority in his courtroom and kept both sides on track during George's testimony.
Prosecutor Linda Drane-Burdick was questioning George Anthony. The two started going back and forth over whether deputies responded quickly enough when Caylee was first reported missing.
Judge Perry stepped in right away.
"That's a sore subject between you and I and we can badger all day long," George said to Drane-Burdick.
"Excuse me, I am going to object," Drane-Burdick replied.
"Just a second folks, listen ... question, answer .... be quiet! Question and answer. Don't talk over each other," Perry stated.
George stepped down from the stand at approximately 10:47am.
After Orange County Deputy Ryan Eberlin briefly took the stand, Judge Perry called for a recess until 1:30pm.
When the hearing resumed, Deputy Eberlin was back on the stand. Casey's attorney, Cheney Mason, questioned Eberlin about what happened when he responded to a 911 call made by Cindy.
The defense said that Casey was wrongly handcuffed by a rookie deputy and is trying to convince Judge Perry to throw out evidence.
Deputy Eberlin admitted that he wrongly handcuffed Casey, and shortly after removed the handcuffs. Eberlin said that after the mistake was corrected, Casey was free to do what she pleased; she was not considered a suspect.
After Deputy Eberlin stepped down from the stand, Deputy Adriana Acevedo was called.
Deputy Acevedo was also asked to describe when she responded to the Anthonys' home on Suburban Drive. She also talked about when Casey accompanied Acevedo in her sheriff's office cruiser to the Sawgrass Apartments, where Casey said she left Caylee with her alleged nanny, Zenaida Gonzalez.
At 2:38pm, Judge Perry called for a 15-minute mid-afternoon break.
When they resumed, Detective Yuri Melich took the stand. Melich was asked by Baez about Caylee's disappearance and about the night officers responded to the home.
"I was unaware that she was placed in handcuffs," Melich told Baez when asked about Casey being taken into custody. "I was unaware of what transpired before I got there."
Baez proceeded to ask Melich about Casey's claim that she worked for Universal Studios. Melich escorted her to the park after she stated in a verbal and written statement that she was an employee there.
Melich stated that he believed she was lying about her employment. When they were at the theme park, employees could not find Casey in their database.
"I can't fathom that the mother of a missing child could lie about this," Melich said.
The hearing wrapped up a few minutes before 5:00pm. There were no decisions made on Wednesday regarding Casey's statements to law enforcement, and Judge Perry called for a recess until 9:00am Thursday with several outstanding motions yet to be discussed.
Casey goes on trial May 9.
Previous Stories: March 3, 2011: Day 1 Of Emotional Casey Hearing Wraps Up March 2, 2011: Jose Baez Blames Others In Motion Addressing Allegations February 28, 2011: Casey Prosecution Won't Use Some High-Profile Evidence February 25, 2011: Judge Grants Casey Defense Team Motions February 22, 2011: Prosecutors Want Casey's Attorney Held In Contempt