ORANGE COUNTY, Fla,None — Casey Anthony's defense team filed motions late Thursday to keep the jury from hearing key evidence that was collected before Caylee's body was found. WFTV reporters reviewed hundreds of pages Thursday night.
READ: Suppress Footage | State's Motion | Duces Tecum | To Suppress Court Vid | Discovery Response | Unreliable Evidence | Hearing Notice | Exclude Tattoo | More Tattoo | Suppress Statements | Exclude Canine | Myspace | More Myspace | Cartoon | Chloroform | Stain In Car
In the documents, Casey's attorney's, J. Cheney Mason and Jose Baez, requested to have nearly two dozen items tossed out.
One of those items is the tattoo Casey got two weeks after Caylee disappeared, which reads "bella vita" which is Italian for "beautiful life."
The defense also doesn't think the shovel Casey borrowed from a neighbor, traces of chloroform found in the trunk of Casey's car, and a stain found there are relevant.
Baez is also asking the judge to exclude any and all cadaver dog search results, during the time the dogs were looking for Caylee's remains.
Casey's lawyers also want to get the judge to limit or exclude evidence taken from Casey and her mother Cindy's Myspace pages.
Cindy posted a message on the social networking site titled, "My Caylee is Missing," twelve days before she alerted the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
She went on to say "jealousy" took her granddaughter away, and her daughter, Casey, betrayed her and stole her money.
The defense is also trying to keep jurors from hearing about a message that Casey wrote, stating "Everyone lies, everyone dies and life is never easy."
WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said the defense isn't doing anything surprising.
Sheaffer said the defense is doing what it is supposed to be doing and trying to weaken the case as a whole.
Casey Anthony's lawyers also don't want a jury to see her reaction to Caylee Anthony's remains being found, according to a motion WFTV obtained Thursday. Her reaction was caught on camera from inside the Orange County jail.
Caylee's remains were discovered in December of 2008. Casey was watching coverage about the discovery and became visibility upset, according to officers.
Her lawyers filed a motion late Wednesday to suppress the video. They say her reaction is not relevant and that cameras were rolling as part of a set up.
Casey Anthony is expected in court on Monday, January 3. At that time, the judge will hear a request by prosecutors to bring sanctions against Casey's defense team.
Prosecutors say the defense has ignored the judge's order to provide specific information about defense witnesses' testimony.
CASEY DEFENSE FILES MOTION TO KEEP STICKER EVIDENCE OUT
Evidence that could link Casey Anthony to her daughter's murder could be thrown out of court. Casey's defense team filed a new motion Wednesday to try to keep jurors from hearing evidence regarding a heart-shaped sticker.
READ: Heart Sticker Motion | Memorandum | Warrant Affidavit VIDEO REPORT: Defense Wants Evidence Thrown Out
The sticker was found with Caylee Anthony's remains and similar stickers were found at the Anthonys' home on Suburban Drive.
Casey's defense says the evidence of residue from the sticker on the duct tape was destroyed in FBI testing and hasn't been recovered. Since they say the evidence doesn't exist, allowing it in court would prejudice the jury against Casey.
In the murder of Caylee Anthony, the small heart-shaped sticker is one of the most memorable pieces of evidence.
The evidence was found with Caylee's remains and later, an FBI investigator found residue in the same shape of the heart on duct tape that was wrapped around her mouth.
"Yes, that's going to be an emotional issue with the jury," WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said.
Sheaffer said it is key since it could connect Casey to the murder because similar stickers and sticker backings were later found in the Anthony home.
The defense even calls it "phantom heart sticker evidence." An FBI fingerprint examiner found the residue on that duct tape, using a technique called super glue fuming.
But testing destroyed that evidence. The defense quoted the investigator as not being able to confirm the residue was from a sticker, saying, "What I saw could be a sticker. It could be anything."
The defense team argues it shouldn't be allowed since the evidence no longer exists and its experts can't examine it.
However, Sheaffer believes it will likely be allowed.
"My opinion, this is a matter of weight and credibility, not so much a matter of admissibility," he said.
If admitted, he expects the defense will tell the jury the evidence shouldn't be given any credibility since it can't be reproduced. But if it's not allowed, it won't make or break the case because there it's just one piece in a whole chain of circumstantial evidence.
ENTOMOLOGIST DEPOSED IN CASE AGAINST CASEY
An expert working for Casey Anthony's defense team was questioned under oath Tuesday. Dr. Tim Huntington is an entomologist, which is a bug expert.
VIDEO REPORT: Defense Expert Questioned
Dr. Huntington may have tried to convince jurors there were no coffin flies in the trunk of Casey's car. According to court documents filed by Casey Anthony's defense, that's one thing he planned to say.
The case could hinge on this because with so much circumstantial evidence, her defense needs to poke holes in the forensic evidence that will be presented at trial.
Prosecutors conducted a Skype video deposition with Dr. Huntington, who is a board certified entomologist from Nebraska.
"That's paramount to the case," said WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer.
Sheaffer said Dr. Huntington was expected to attack evidence found in the trunk of Casey's car.
An entomologist for prosecutors, Dr. Neal Haskell, has said test results from the trunk show evidence of coffin flies on paper towels, which indicates the presence of a dead human in the trunk days after Caylee was last seen alive.
One of the keys for Dr. Huntington during the Skype deposition, and eventually at trial, will be to refute any testimony from the prosecutor's expert that places Caylee Anthony's body in Casey's car.
"If Caylee's remains are associated with either Casey's automobile or residence, [it's] certainly is a strong indication Casey was responsible for Caylee's death," Sheaffer said.
Huntington is said to be one of just 15 board certified entomologists and has worked as a consultant with law enforcement on several death investigations.
Sheaffer said Huntington's role will be to discredit scientific methods used by experts for the prosecution. Defense attorneys will hope it casts doubt in the minds of jurors that Casey killed her daughter.
Sheaffer said even if the forensic experts cancel each other out, defense attorneys will have an uphill battle because of all the circumstantial evidence pointing to Casey.
Previous Stories: December 29, 2010: Casey Defense Files Motion To Keep Sticker Evidence Out December 28, 2010: Entomologist Deposed In Case Against Casey
December 23, 2010: Casey's Defense No Longer Looking At Kronk As Suspect December 30, 2010: Defense Files Motion To Suppress Casey's Reaction December 22, 2010: Casey's Defense Wants Sex History Tossed Out December 22, 2010: Casey's Defense Could Lose Key Witness December 20, 2010: Judge Holds Off On Ruling On Casey Witness List December 17, 2010: George's Alleged Mistress Reveals Details In Casey Case December 16, 2010: Casey Defense Coughs Up More Info On Expert Testimony December 10, 2010: Judge: Both Sides Must Give Expert Info In Casey Case
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