Closing arguments to begin in Casey Anthony trial(Video)

Closing arguments are expected to begin Sunday in the Florida murder trial of Casey Anthony, the woman charged in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.
Prosecutors contended at trial that Anthony killed her daughter in June 2008 by covering the child's mouth with duct tape. Prosecutors told jurors the woman dumped the girl's body in woods near her parents' home and then resumed her life of partying and shopping.

Defense attorneys, without offering firm proof of how Caylee died, countered at trial that the toddler accidently drowned in the family swimming pool.
A medical examiner never determined precisely how Caylee died.
Casey Anthony has pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder. She could face a possible death sentence or life in prison if convicted of that charge.

Casey Anthony trial: Defense launches case with attack on forensic evidence

Three years to the day after Caylee died, the defense began to make its case in the Casey Anthony trial. Seven forensic scientists and crime scene investigators were called to the stand. An FBI forensic document examiner testified on Thursday that she found no evidence of a heart-shaped sticker or heart-shaped residue on a piece of duct tape that prosecutors say was the murder weapon used by Casey Anthony to suffocate her two-year-old daughter Caylee. Lorie Gottesman, a 20-year forensic specialist

at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, also told the jury that she found no match between black plastic bags containing a portion of Caylee’s skeletal remains and similar black plastic bags seized from the Anthony home. The testimony came on the first day of the defense case and Day 20 of the Casey Anthony murder trial, as defense attorney Jose Baez called to the witness stand seven forensic scientists and crime scene investigators in an attempt to cast doubt on the state’s case. The action came three years to the day – June 16, 2008 – that both the prosecution and the defense say Caylee died. Ms. Anthony has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of the toddler. If convicted she faces a possible death sentence. In an unusual twist, Ms. Gottesman also testified that the only traceable DNA evidence found on the duct tape discovered near Caylee’s remains belonged to her. “How did it happen,” Mr. Baez asked. “I have no idea how it happened or when,” Gottesman told the jury. Baez asked if she sneezed on the evidence. “No sir.” “Throughout the entire time you had these items you exercised great care,” Baez asked. “Yes,” she said. Outline of a heart In earlier testimony Gottesman told the jury that when examining the duct tape she used a high-tech device with special lights and filters that is capable of identifying images that are beyond the range of the human eye to see. During the prosecution’s case, earlier this week, an FBI fingerprint expert testified that she observed what appeared to be a dime-sized residue outline in the shape of a heart on a portion of the duct tape that allegedly covered Caylee’s face. A supervisor also said she saw the residue outline. The expert, Elizabeth Fontaine, continued conducting fingerprint tests. Later, when she attempted to photograph the outline, she said she was unable to see it. The testimony is important because it raises doubt about one of the most vivid and brutal suggestions in the case – that Caylee’s killer may have adorned the murder weapon itself with a heart-shaped sticker. Heart stickers found The disappearing heart on the duct tape isn’t the only heart-shaped piece of evidence in the case. Prosecutors also introduced a pink raised heart on a piece of soiled cardboard that crime scene investigators located in the same woods where Caylee’s remains were found. Investigators found and seized heart stickers in a drawer in Casey’s bedroom. But it is unclear whether any of them match the raised pink heart found on the soiled cardboard or are similar to the dime-shaped image reported by the fingerprint expert. Baez called three crime scene investigators who testified for the prosecution back to the witness stand to ask them how far away the pink heart on the cardboard was from Caylee’s remains. Ron Murdock of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office estimated that the sticker was found about 30 feet from Caylee’s skull. Another witness testified that the wooded area was littered with trash. The defense effort was aimed at convincing the jury that the pink heart was just a piece of refuse unassociated with Caylee’s remains or the crime scene. In another potentially important development, a DNA expert at the FBI revealed that she had been asked by investigators to confirm whether Casey Anthony’s brother, Lee, might be Caylee’s father. Shocking claims reintroduced The expert, Heather Seubert, said her analysis of the relevant DNA excluded Lee from being Caylee’s biological father. The revelation is important because it reintroduces shocking claims made by Baez during his opening argument last month. He had suggested that one of the reasons Casey Anthony seemed emotionless after Caylee’s death was that she’d been conditioned to react that way through years of sexual abuse by her father, George Anthony. Baez suggested she’d also been abused by her brother. In testimony during the state’s case, Mr. Anthony denied that he sexually abused his daughter and also denied a defense claim that he was present when Caylee allegedly drowned in the family swimming pool. Baez has said that rather than calling 911, both George and Casey Anthony participated in a coverup to hide Caylee’s body. The trial is set to continue Friday morning.

Casey Anthony trial resumes in FL after short day (Photos)

Previously released documents show that heart-shaped stickers of a similar size to what Fountaine described were found during a search of the Orlando-area home Casey shared with her daughter and parents. The 25-year-old Florida mother is standing trial on a first-degree murder charge and could face the death penalty if convicted. Caylee's skeleton was found on December 11, 2008 in woods near the Anthony home after a five-month, nationwide search. The defence says Caylee accidentally drowned in the family's

backyard pool, and no one reported her death. Prosecutors contend Casey killed Caylee on June 16, 2008 by wrapping duct tape three times around the toddler's head, nose and mouth. Crime scene specialists recovered duct tape hanging from Caylee's skull and additional tape several feet away where animals had dragged her body parts. Fountaine testified that when the FBI examined the duct tape, they found three separate pieces that were each six to eight inches long. Fountaine was one of the final prosecution witnesses in the trial, which kicked off its fourth week on Monday. At lunchtime, Judge Belvin Perry adjourned the proceedings until Tuesday

afternoon when the next prosecution witness will be available. Perry told the jury the prosecution will wrap up its presentation on Tuesday or Wednesday, and the defence will begin presenting its evidence by Thursday. The judge predicted jurors could begin their deliberations as early as June 25 or June 27, a few weeks earlier than initially expected. HEART-SHAPED STICKERS Fountaine's testimony may help plug a hole in the state's case. So far, prosecutors have tied the distinctive brand of duct tape found at the crime scene to tape used to patch a hole on an old metal gas can in the Anthonys' outdoor shed. George Anthony, Casey's father, testified he believed he patched the can with the tape about a week after Caylee died. Prosecutors last week tried to admit into evidence a photograph of heart-shaped stickers they said were found in Casey's bedroom, but they were stopped by defence objections discussed in private with the judge. Fountaine testified she saw the heart outline while examining the duct tape with the aid of a reflective ultraviolet imaging system that can highlight existing fingerprints. Fountaine said she showed the heart outline to a supervisor, but did not photograph it because her job was to look for fingerprints. Fountaine said her work required her to coat the tape with super glue and a traditional black fingerprint powder. She said she attempted to photograph the heart outline after she finished, but it was no longer visible. In her report, Fountaine noted that she saw the heart shape on the tape but found no fingerprints. Most of the testimony on Monday was dominated by a single strand of hair found in Casey's car trunk. Numerous witnesses have provided evidence indicating Caylee's decomposing body spent time in Casey's trunk before being dumped in the woods. A previous FBI expert testified that the strand of hair showed "post-mortem banding", which is a dark band of color near the root sometimes seen on hair from the deceased. The strand also was found by FBI analysts to be "consistent" with a hair from Caylee's hair brush. But the science of hair banding and its use as evidence at a trial is new. FBI hair analyst Stephen Shaw testified on Monday about his ongoing research on whether banding can ever occur on hair from a living person. Shaw said his study - which he said was expedited to shore up testimony in the Anthony trial - so far indicates that it does not. "Post-mortem root banding is already what I would say valid," Shaw testified.