June 1, 2011

Casey Anthony Trial 5/31/11

Something quite unusual in the Casey Anthony murder trial in Orlando, Florida, is the judge's ruling that Casey's father, mother and brother may attend the trial, despite the fact that all three are witnesses. Generally witnesses are sequestered so what they hear in the trial does not taint their testimony. 

Since Ms. Anthony's defense alleges that both Casey's brother and father molested her, and as a result, she became a chronic liar, making her appear more guilty than she is, I think his ruling could be grounds for an appeal. It would seem that by making these exceptions, especially in the case of her father and brother, the judge is implying that he does not believe her allegations. I myself find the allegations that she was abused sexually incredibly self-serving, if not obviously untrue. She wrote one letter from jail while she was being held on child neglect charges, before Caylee's body had been found, stating that her brother attempted on one occasion to molest her, and she "thinks" that "maybe" her father had done so as well. 

As for being a chronic pathological liar, her mother's testimony today gives one some idea 
where she developed that particular tendency.  Cindy Anthony has taken the stand and is
clearly lying. The prosecution asks her about a statement she posted on My Space, and also said directly to her daughter, "Caylee is missing and I don't know why." It is clear she was trying to get answers from her daughter about tbe whereabouts of her grandchild. Her "explanation" of that remark while on the stand today was, "That was a figure of speech. I meant she was missing in my heart." One might say this is understandable; she is trying to save her daughter. However this fabricated and convoluted explanation along with attempts to retract her original statement that it "smelled like something died in here" (referring to Casey's car trunk) will likely be transparent to jurors. 
Again, I think the death penalty is a mistake in this case, given the need for cooperation from her parents and family members and the fact that if even one juror believes that this was an accident, which it may well have been, even though I don't believe the accident story that
the defense has put forth.

As Cindy Anthony continues to testify it becomes clear though that Cindy and George Anthony, Casey's parents, may not be conspiring in Casey's defense. She appears to be acknowledging that she spoke with her daughter on about July 15 and demanded to know where Caylee was.  She also acknowledges that she told her daughter to either tell her where Caylee was OR she would call 911... So - apparently, they aren't going along with the defense strategy-  

One TV journalist/defense attorney said that she found Casey Anthony to be one of "the most fascinating criminals she's seen in 25 years. 

She pointed out how far Casey took a lie. She told her mom she would take her to see Caylee  at the (nonexistent) nanny's, and they drove around a while with Casey saying to "go this way" or "go that," finally saying, I don't think it's a good idea you see Caylee. 

With the police, Casey told them she was "looking for Caylee around Universal Studios where she worked," and led them around the studio lot. Then, when they attempted to pin her down on where her actual office was, she eventually admitted she hadn't worked there for two years. 

This is clearly bizarre behavior and indicates some kind of delusional mind- Today she sat slightly scowling, but stone faced, unmoving- it's hard to know what makes her tick. 

Is she a calculating killer? Is she a sociopath. She seems clearly to be a pathological liar, and also to suffer from both narcissistic and borderline personality disorder, with sociopathic tendencies.    I wonder if we'll catch a glimpse of who she really is -- and is not -- when she testifies-- which she will have to do in order to put forth her particular defense.

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