Ashton offered a timeline of Casey's lies and Caylee's life. He challenged the idea that George Anthony would cover up Caylee's accidental death as being diametrically opposed to everything we know about George Anthony thus far and diametrically opposed to common sense.
Does it make sense that a grieving grandfather who is a former cop would dispose of the body of his beloved granddaughter in this way, Ashton asks? Does it make sense that a grieving grandfather would take more time to dispose of the bodies of the family pets whom he buried in the backyard than he would with the body of his own granddaughter who was tossed in a swamp? Ashton submits that, no, such behavior does not make sense. It's a bizarro world. "And this," says Jeff Ashton, "is the world the defense is asking you to occupy."
He asks rhetorically why Casey Anthony would choose this time in Caylee's life to murder her. Why then? And he concludes that "Casey's lies only work if Caylee doesn't talk." And Caylee was beginning to talk. Not just a word or phrase. But full sentences. Casey's lies were not going to work any longer, he suggests, and therefore Caylee had to go.
Why wouldn't Casey just leave her daughter with her parents? Why wouldn't she just walk away? Jeff Ashton submits that Cindy Anthony would not ALLOW Casey Anthony to just walk away. Cindy Anthony wanted her daughter to behave like a mother and to take responsibility as a mother. Cindy Anthony and George Anthony were supporting their daughter. Casey wasn't working, and had no source of income. She had a boyfriend she loved whom she did not want to lose. She could not walk away.
Finally, Jeff Ashton brought up, is the matter of the duct tape on Caylee's head. There is no reason whatsoever to place duct tape on a child's head, whether living or dead. No innocent reason. The explanation for the three pieces of tape was simple, said Ashton. To block her airway, her mouth, her nose. Three pieces of tape were required to cause the death of Caylee Anthony, and thus, three pieces of tape were found on her body.
Jeff Ashton hadn't talked much about motive during the trial. But in his closing, he did give the jury a glimpse into the workings of Casey Anthony's mind. This was very powerful. He made you see what Casey "saw", feel what Casey felt.
"The evidence in this case," said Ashton, "proves beyond any reasonable doubt that Casey Anthony decided on June 16th that something had to be sacrificed. The the conflict between the life she wanted and the life that was thrust upon her was simply irreconcilable."
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