ORLANDO, Fla.,None — Tattoos and ex-boyfriends could build the state's case against Casey Anthony. Documents released Tuesday reveal why prosecutors want to use information about Casey Anthony's tattoo and her partying lifestyle.
READ: State Docs On Case Against Casey VIDEO REPORTS: Tats, Ex-Boyfriends | Borrowed Shovel SEE CASEY'S TAT: Investigator Photos Of Tattoo SEE SHOVEL: Controversial Shovel In Casey Case
The defense wants several things thrown out before Casey's murder trial, and they all deal with a time period that is key in the prosecution's case against her.
The 30 days before Caylee Anthony was reported missing took center stage in the documents filed by the State Attorney's Office.
Casey's defense doesn't want her past sexual relationships with ex-lovers, including Tony Lazarro, to be brought up in court. But prosecutors say it's significant, because Casey and Tony engaged in an intimate relationship, yet she told him nothing of her daughter's disappearance.
caseytat100909-10 See Infamous Tattoo Documents state the fact Casey Anthony was playing "house" with Tony after her daughter was missing does tend to disprove that she was conducting her own investigation.
"It tends to prove Casey, since didn't tell Lazarro that her daughter was kidnapped, that in fact her daughter wasn't kidnapped," WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said.
The state says Casey's state of mind is relevant during the time of her so-called search for Caylee and the investigation into her disappearance.
As for the defense motion to keep out her history of lying and stealing, prosecutors say Casey wanted to avoid answering any questions about Caylee so "Miss Anthony was doing everything in her power to flee from her family, to include lying to them as to her whereabouts and stealing from her friend to avoid having to rely on her family for financial support."
Investigators also interviewed the artist who gave her the Bella Vida ("Beautiful Life") tattoo (see tat) more than a week before Caylee was finally reported missing. He says Casey "seemed fine and was just normal."
Sheaffer says it's not about the tattoo; it's about how Casey's actions during that 30-day period were not consistent with a mother who was looking for her missing child.
caseyshovel100909-05 Shovel Casey Borrowed WFTV also learned why a shovel (see it) is so important to their case against Casey Anthony. The state says it's obvious Casey used a neighbor's shovel during her crime.
Prosecutors are also using that neighbor to show how Casey went to her parent's home three times while they were not there, backed her car into the garage and didn't stick around for long.
The newly filed court documents say Casey's neighbor, Brian Burner, saw her three different times the week of June 16, which is the last time anyone saw her daughter Caylee alive.
The second time Burner saw Casey, she borrowed his shovel because, she claimed, she was doing some yard work. But when she came back an hour later, he says "she was calm, just normal, normal Casey. No sweat. She wasn't, didn't appear to be muddy or the shovel wasn't even muddy."
Prosecutors say it appears the shovel hadn't been used much and Casey didn't look like she spent an hour out in the June heat digging up bamboo roots in her parent's backyard.
Documents say "the more reasonable explanation is that the defendant borrowed the shovel with the intent to bury her daughter."
"His testimony regarding the shovel and Casey's actions in borrowing the shovel and returning the shovel, it's more consistent with the state's theory than the defense theory," Sheaffer said.
The prosecution is also fighting to let jurors hear about a message that Cindy Anthony posted on MySpace. The state says the message, titled "My Caylee Is Missing," is relevant because it shows the issues she was having with Casey at the time of Caylee's disappearance.
JUDGE LAYS OUT PLANS FOR JURY
A hearing wrapped up Friday afternoon in the case against Casey Anthony. The judge started laying out plans to pick a jury in the highly publicized case.
VIDEO REPORT: Judge's Plans For Casey Jury Selection WATCH 1/14/11 STATUS HEARING: Part 1 | Part 2
The judge estimates it will cost $350,000, maybe more, to bring jurors to Orlando. That's necessary because media attention surrounding the case has raised concerns about getting a fair jury.
Chief Judge Belvin Perry laid out intricate plans detailing how they will select a jury in a different Florida county and bring those jurors to Orlando for what's expected to be an eight-week trial starting in May.
"Day 1, I'm going to bring in 40 potential jurors," Perry said Friday.
Instead of allowing all the potential jurors together to listen to questions, Perry will bring them in one at a time and ask about three specific topics: first, hardship, or anything that will prevent them from traveling; second, pretrial publicity; and third, how they feel about the death penalty.
After that, attorneys on both sides will be allowed to ask questions and will have to immediately accept or reject each juror.
Bringing them to Orlando will not be easy. The judge said it will cost at least $350,000. They need security, hotel rooms, food and even laundry service.
"It's almost like summer camp," Perry said.
The judge has already picked out the place, but hasn't even told attorneys where the jury will come from. The judge is considering giving them two week's notice and issuing a gag order forbidding them to talk about it.
Defense attorneys wanted 30 days in case they want to object to where the jurors, who will decide Casey Anthony's fate, will come from.
The jurors will likely be sequestered and not allowed to return home during the trial. The judge is even planning to have their televisions set up to only receive approved channels, channels that don't have any type of news programming.
CHENEY MASON INCLUDES LETTER WITH CHECK FOR FINE
WFTV obtained a copy of the letter written by defense attorney J. Cheney Mason (read it) asking prosecutors to drop the contempt fines against Jose Baez, although a check for $583 was included with it.
READ: J. Cheney Mason's Letter
In the letter addressed to Assistant State Attorney Jeffrey Ashton on Wednesday, Cheney asked the prosecutor to consider the impact on "Mr. Baez, his youth, and relative experience in these matters."
Baez was fined for not turning over information to the prosecution.
CASEY'S ATTORNEY PAYS FINE, EXPLAINS HIMSELF
In the case against Casey Anthony, it's clearer now what allegedly caused Casey's lead attorney to have to be sanctioned by the court.
In a motion Jose Baez filed to challenge a $583 fine (read it), he said bad traffic in Kissimmee kept him from delivering more defense expert information to prosecutors and he claimed the file was too big to fax.
Baez paid the fine January 12.
Previous Stories: January 18, 2011: Cheney Mason Includes Letter With Check For Fine January 14, 2011: Judge Lays Out Plans For Casey Case Jury January 13, 2011: Casey's Attorney Pays Fine, Explains Himself January 12, 2011: Casey's Attorney Files Motion Fighting Sanctions January 7, 2011: Casey Hearings Set; Defense Motion Denied January 7, 2011: Casey's Attorney Ordered To Pay Nearly $600 January 5, 2011: Subpoena For Photos Denied In Casey Case
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