ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The state released 10 CDs Wednesday in the case against Casey Anthony, but they only show scientific DNA charts incomprehensible to anyone who doesn't study DNA.
EXAMPLE OF EVIDENCE: See 'Incomprehensible' Evidence MOTIONS TO EXCLUDE: Party Pics | Innuendos | Testimony VIDEO REPORT: Defense Wants Evidence Blocked PARTY PICS: Casey With Friends
WFTV also obtained newly-released paperwork that reveals all the negative comments about Casey the defense team wants left out of the trial. Many of them were comments by Casey's own friends.
Looking at the 10 CDs themselves will tell you as much about the case as looking at what's on them, DNA charts without explanation or labels (see an example), many of which wouldn't even open. Sources told WFTV that the State Attorney's Office and the defense had similar problems actually accessing the files.
PREVIOUSLY: EVIDENCE RELEASED 2/16/10 » Knife, Duct Tape | Car Seat » Syringe, Gatorade Bottle, Substances » Baby Doll | Steering Wheel Cover » Alternate Light Source | Miscellaneous Pics » Still Image From WFTV Video Of Tape
But, a year and a half into the case, the defense is starting to do the real work of preparing for trial.
Investigators did DNA tests on Casey Anthony, her parents and her brother Lee before Caylee was found and determined that a hair found in Casey's trunk was from Caylee's dead body. Now, the defense wants to keep a frantic 911 call from Casey's mother about the trunk out of the trial (read motion).
"I found my daughter's car today and it smells like there's been a dead body in the damn car," she told the dispatcher.
The defense says it's not really an "excited utterance" during a time of stress, which would be admissible and could be considered by a jury to be truthful.
"That one the defense is going to have a problem with. That should come into evidence," WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said.
Sheaffer said, even if the judge rules to keep it out, it could come back in if Cindy tells her new story under oath that she really thought Casey's trunk smelled like rotting pizza.
Sheaffer said the photos of Casey partying (see pics) before Caylee disappeared probably won't be admitted (read motion), but the jury probably will see the photos taken less than a week after Caylee disappeared.
"She was out there partying, unconcerned. It shows her state of mind," Sheaffer said.
The defense also wants to keep out comments from Casey's friends, and even Orange County Detective Yuri Melich, when they accuse her of lying (read motion).
"What happened to Caylee?" Melich asked Casey during questioning.
"I don't know," she said.
"Sure you do," Melich replied.
"I don't know," Casey said.
Sheaffer said the defense probably will be able to keep non-expert witnesses' opinions out and keep their testimony limited to what they observed firsthand.
"At least now we're starting to see some effort on the part of the defense to defend this woman and to take care, by way of exclusion, of what is prejudicial or damning evidence," Sheaffer said.
Prosecutors will file responses to the defense's requests and the judge will most likely hold hearings before ruling on the issues.
CASEY SEEKS 'INDIGENT' STATUS
The newly-released evidence comes just hours after the Orange County Clerk of Courts agreed that Anthony cannot afford to pay for her own defense. Casey Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, filed a motion requesting that Casey be declared indigent.
INDIGENCE: Motion | Fees | Approved Application
However, WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said Wednesday afternoon that Casey can only be declared indigent for the purposes of cost by a judge. The judge could either issue an order declaring her indigent for "the purposes of cost" or set a hearing to consider the issue.
Casey says she is broke and can no longer afford to pay to defend herself against the murder charges she is facing. However, criminal defense attorney Chris Smith said that should be the least of anyone's worries.
"The real concern is they did this case and it wasn't prepared properly and has to be tried all over again. I think that's where everybody's real concern should be," Smith said.
Casey has already paid lead attorney Jose Baez nearly $90,000 and Andrea Lyons has received more than $20,000 in compensation. Smith said that is nothing when you consider all the work that has gone into the case since Caylee Anthony was killed two years ago.
"Those fees are actually pretty low given the amount of work in this case," Smith said.
Casey is not scheduled to go to trial until May 2011 and there could be appeals after the trial.
If a judge declares Casey indigent, Smith said taxpayers should not worry about that too much, because every dollar spent on indigent defendants is closely monitored by the Justice Administrative Commission in Tallahassee.
"You have to go through a very intense process to get every cost approved prior. You're going to have to go and get it authorized to get paid subsequent. So they get two hearings," explained Smith. "The Justice Administrative Commission doesn't give up its money very easily. They're going to file a lot of motions [and] fight for every dime."
Some of the money to pay Baez and Lyons may have come from hundreds of thousands of dollars that the ABC network paid Casey for exclusive photos and videos of her daughter she is accused of killing. Sources told Eyewitness News that most of defense attorney Andrea Lyons' compensation has been spent on airfare and investigations.
A hearing to determine Casey's "indigency for costs" request will be held March 18 at 11:00am. Judge Stan Strickland will hear the motion.
WHAT'S NEXT IN THE CASE?
Meanwhile, prosecutors have about two weeks to decide whether they'll share new evidence with the defense or ask a judge to keep it sealed a little longer. Last month, the judge allowed prosecutors to keep information, which could be damaging to Casey, secret for 30 days.
Also, another 1,000 pages of evidence are expected to be released soon.
DATE SET FOR CASEY ANTHONY MURDER TRIAL
A trial date has finally been set in the case against Casey Anthony Monday. In an order signed by Judge Stan Strickland (read order) , Casey's trial has been set for May 9, 2011, almost three years after Caylee Anthony's murder.
Judge Strickland set a timeline for the issues that need to be addressed ahead of the trial, including depositions of expert witnesses, which need to be completed no later than September 30, 2010. The evidence must be reviewed by defense expert witnesses no later than October 31, 2010.
READ: Judge's Order | Motion | Fees | Application VIDEO REPORT: Murder Trial Date Set
The judge pushed the trial back one week from where prosecutors had proposed for a start date and gave the defense a little more time than prosecutors had proposed to get their key work done in the murder case.
Casey's defense team hasn't even started deposing state experts. The judge extended the date by another month and also gave the defense experts another month to review the evidence against her.
Casey Anthony's defense must also list all expert witnesses she intends to call, file motions related to the forensic evidence found and reports prepared by expert witnesses no later than November 30, 2010.
The judge ordered that he will determine the time and, more importantly, the location of the trial in the future. The most likely scenario is that, if a jury is seated outside of Orange County, that jury would be brought to Orange County to hear the murder case, which would be cheaper than paying for all the parties and all the witnesses to travel outside of the county.
Meanwhile, new documents show how much money Casey Anthony has already paid for her defense.
Jose Baez has already been paid close to $90,000. Death penalty attorney Andrea Lyon has been paid more than $20,000. As a result, Casey Anthony says she's broke.
If Casey's declared partially indigent, the state will have to pay the rest of her bills. The defense motion does not divulge how much the defense has spent and on what, and does not say how much the other members of the defense team have been paid.
Casey Anthony's first defense lawyer, Jose Baez, insisted from the beginning he was being paid, even though the only money Casey might have had when she hired him was stolen. WFTV found out Monday that Baez was paid about $90,000 to take the case.
The only source that is known of at this point that could have brought that kind of cash is the hundreds of thousands of dollars WFTV first reported that came from the ABC network for all of Casey's photos and videos of Caylee.
Defense attorney Andrea Lyon was paid $22,500, but court documents show she's claiming to have spent all of it on plane tickets and investigative costs.
WFTV doesn't know how much she's paid New York defense attorney Linda Kenney Baden or former defense attorney Todd Macaluso of California.
The defense says Casey has not gotten any more money since she was indicted for murder more than a year ago and that "all of Miss Anthony's resources are exhausted."
Casey signed a document on March 2 saying she has no money, no assets and no anticipation of any coming in the future. Taxpayers may pick up the tab for the rest of her legal costs.
Taxpayer Gil Fensler of Apopka says he realizes it's necessary even if he ends up paying for the defense to try to cast blame on innocent people.
"The chips have to fall where they may," he said.
However, not everyone is okay with it.
"Why should we pay for something that she did?" said another taxpayer.
Prosecutors released two CDs of evidence to Casey's defense team, but they have not been made public. One includes about 300 pages of documents. The other is related to Joy Wray, a Seminole County woman who claimed to know information about the case.
Also this week, several Orange County detectives will be questioned by Casey's defense team.
Casey Anthony has pleaded not guilty for allegedly killing her daughter Caylee. The 2-year-old was last seen in June 2008, but she wasn't reported missing until July.
Caylee Anthony's remains were found in woods near her house in December 2008.
Previous Stories: March 9, 2010: Defense Wants Casey Party Pics Thrown Out March 5, 2010: New Evidence Soon To Be Released In Casey Case February 24, 2010: Casey Prosecutors Allowed To Keep Evidence Secret February 23, 2010: Foreclosure Papers Filed On Anthony's Home February 23, 2010: Zenaida Gonzalez Files Witness List In Casey Case February 18, 2010: Anthony Allotta, D.O., Earns "Partners In The Business Of Education Award" February 17, 2010: Is Casey's Defense Team Running Out Of Money? February 16, 2010: Legal Expert: Evidence Suggests Only Casey As Suspect February 16, 2010: Knife, Syringe Among Photos Released In Casey Case February 15, 2010: Attorney Leaving Casey's Defense Team February 12, 2010: Casey's Defense Wants Private Meeting Denied February 12, 2010: EquuSearch Attorney: Baez Motion Is A Waste Of Time February 5, 2010: Juror Surveys Call Casey's Attorney "Rat," "Jerk" February 4, 2010: Why Does Casey's Trial Keep Getting Delayed? February 4, 2010: Casey Case Prosecutors Want To Withhold Info
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