ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.,None — Cindy and Casey Anthony cried as the 911 calls that Cindy made to authorities about Casey and Caylee were played to the jury on Tuesday. Cindy leaned forward with her face in her hands and sobbed as she listened to the 911 call where Cindy said her daughter had just told her that 2-year-old Caylee Anthony had been missing for 31 days.
DAY 17: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 BILL SHEAFFER: Analysis Of Day 17 CINDY BREAKS DOWN: See Images | Raw Video CASEY CRIES DURING CALLS: Images | Video CASEY WALKS IN: See Images | Raw Video KEY PLAYERS IN TRIAL: Casey, Parents, Attorneys, Judge 911 CALLS: Dead Body | Turn In Casey | Caylee Gone VIDEO REPORT: Casey Trial Day 17
Casey entered the courtroom just before 8:30am, wearing a long-sleeved purple shirt and grey pants. She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Casey's parents Cindy and George Anthony were already in the courtroom.
Cindy also shed tears as she described retrieving her granddaughter's favorite doll from a car that prosecutors believe may have held the little girl's body at some point.
Cindy testified that Casey refused to come home for several weeks in the summer of 2008. Cindy told jurors that Casey told her in a phone conversation in early July 2008 that she needed space, and that's why she had stayed away with her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.
Cindy choked back tears on Tuesday as she described retrieving Caylee's favorite doll, backpack and Casey's purse from Casey's car and spraying it with Febreeze to remove the odor. She testified that the vehicle had a terrible odor after it was retrieved in mid-July 2008 from a towing lot by her husband, George. The Pontiac had been driven by their daughter, Casey, but the Anthonys hadn't seen her, nor Caylee, for several weeks.
In a 911 call back in 2008, Cindy described the odor in the car as that of a dead body. But she said Tuesday that it was merely an expression she used and at that moment she didn't think a body had been in the car.
"I said 'Oh my gosh. What is wrong with the car?'" Cindy Anthony said from the witness stand. "The smell in the car was pretty strong."
She said she opened the car's windows and trunk in order to air it out, and George took the battery out of the car because they feared Casey would return home and try to take the vehicle.
Also, for the first time, Cindy described what happened right before the frantic 911 call.
"I lost it. I just went into the room and started yelling at Casey. [I] said, 'What do you mean she's been gone? Why didn't you tell me?' I swore at her, hit the bed, then I ran out of the room and called the police again," Cindy stated on the stand.
Casey Anthony's defense attorney, Jose Baez, asked Cindy about Casey's lies concerning who Caylee's father is and about relatives of the alleged nanny.
After hours on the stand, Cindy was dismissed and prosecutor Linda Drane-Burdick stood up and told Judge Perry that Baez had just opened the door for the state to bring in Casey's criminal record for check fraud, for which she had pleaded guilty.
"Once he places the credibility of his client before the jury in the form of an out of court statement he opens the door to have that testimony impeached with her prior felony convictions," said Drane-Burdick.
"I think we have an issue where we believe we would have some argument," Baez stated.
"I will let this go into evidence if you don't persuade me otherwise," Perry said.
Prosecutors apparently switched their witness lineup in order to bring in Casey's former best friend, Amy Huizenga, who was the victim of Casey's check fraud convictions.
The defense tried to get Judge Perry to delay Huizenga taking the stand. Baez said he didn't expect her to testify on Tuesday and didn't have a file he needed.
Perry allowed Baez more time before he cross examines Huizenga, but said Baez needed to have all his files with him.
"If you want files, you better put them in there. I am not stopping anymore for you to get a file," said Perry.
Perry threatened to force lawyers to hold a full day of court on Saturday instead of a half day if Huizenga didn't take the stand on Tuesday.
When Huizenga took the stand, prosecutor Frank George asked her to describe the relationship between Casey and Cindy.
"It was strained. It was hard. Her mom was continuously agitated with her," Huizenga said.
"Did she tell you why her mother was continuously agitated with her?" asked George.
"I remember, there was a time when she told me that her mom told her that she was an unfit mother. She was extremely upset about that," Huizenga stated.
Prosecutors allege that Caylee was last seen several weeks earlier and that Casey waited a month before reporting the girl missing. Prosecutors contend the odor in the car came from human decomposition, but defense attorneys claim it was from rotting garbage.
Also on Tuesday, Judge Belvin Perry said he will allow Casey's brother, Lee Anthony, to be in court.
A motion was filed over the weekend by Lee, who is also a witness in the case. His attorney, Mark Lippman, who is also representing George and Cindy, petitioned the judge on Tuesday to allow Lee to sit in on the trial and hear testimony from other witnesses.
Typically, witnesses aren't allowed to be in court to hear other testimony. But since Lee's testimony was already in a deposition, Judge Perry said that he could be in court to hear other testimony, just as his parents have been allowed to.
"Based upon the presentation there has been no evidence to indicate or suggest that Mr. Lee's testimony will be colored. The court will exclude him from the rule of sequestration," said Perry.
Casey is accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee and is charged with first-degree murder. Prosecutors contend that Casey suffocated Caylee with duct tape. Casey's defense team says the child drowned accidentally in a family pool. If convicted, she could be sentenced to death.
Court will resume at 8:30am on Wednesday.
Previous Stories: May 27, 2011: Cindy Cries During Testimony On Caylee, Casey Angered May 27, 2011: Witness: Casey Anthony's Car Smelled Of Decomposition May 26, 2011: Casey's Ex-Lovers, Friends Testify On Day 14 Of Trial May 25, 2011: Casey Friends Say They Never Knew Caylee Was Missing May 24, 2011: Casey Murder Trial Brings Tears, Blame And Shame May 23, 2011: Legal Analyst Previews Casey Trial Opening Statements May 20, 2011: Casey Anthony Back In Orange County Jail May 20, 2011: Details On Jurors For Casey Anthony Trial May 20, 2011: Casey Jury Sworn In, Opening Statements Start Tuesday May 20, 2011: Woman Yells "She Killed Somebody" During Casey Trial
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