The State's Rebuttal to Defense Closing Argument

[truthsleuth]

Late for the rebuttal. Sorry.

They then tell you that when the police are searching that George doesn't tell them about the duct tape. If George is concocting an nefarious plan, what doesn't he tell the police from the very first day? the police take the item, which at the time they have no idea has anything to do with anything, at this point George Anthony takes him back and holds onto it for 4 months. just lets it sit there. Then in December when the body was found, the police find the can at the house. So what does this nefarious criminal do? he uses the tape to display posters? does any of this make sense? to assert that George Anthony uses the same tape on his posters to find his missing granddaughter doesn't make sense.George Anthony had absolutely no idea that that roll of duct tape had anything to do with the death of his granddaughter. Because he wasn't involved, just as he told you.

...

Counsel also says the crime scene was staged and RK is connected to the duct tape. Then he tells you that George is connected to the tape too? Counsel says the crime scene was staged. You will recall this is the photograph out there on Suburban Drive before anything was disturbed. The only thing that disturbed this scene is mother nature herself.

There is a 2 to 3 inch level of leaf litter surrounding the skull. There are lines going through everything. This scene is staged by mother nature and no one else. The body did not move for six months. The odd thing happened is some of the animals might've moved pieces of the body before was discovered.

Dr. Schultz, forensic anthropologist, showed how the grouping of the various bones indicate how the body was discovered disarticulated. the bones showed indications of animal activity. These bones were not scattered by RK. They were scattered by animals.

This photograph is a little closer to where the skull is. It is surrounded by the hair that has fallen directly on top of the head. It is pretty much evenly distributed around the skull.

The duct tape is partially covered by leaf litter. the tape actually goes around the head, the leaf litter partially covers the duct tape. It wrapped around the mandible. it didn't just get washed there by water. That's where Casey Anthony put it.

You can see in this photograph how fibers have been lifted away from the mandible. Strings from the tape actually go under the mandible. the tape was placed on her head before she decomposed.

The scene was not staged. It appears as it does due to the forces of nature. And any suggestion contrary is conclusively refuted by the evidence that we have. That you have heard. This crime scene was not staged. The tape was placed on Caylee's face the day that she died.

The state did not call RK in this case. Roy likes to spin a good yarn. but what Roy said he did on December 11 is true. We didn't put Roy on to tell you a story. Roy found the skull back in August and reported it three times. He said the heck with it, I'm over this, maybe it really wasn't a skull. But then he told his son I know the skull is. He thought it would impress the son. RK found the skull yes, but not the way he said he did. That doesn't make Roy a morally bankrupt individual.

The main charge here is murder in the first degree. Premeditated murder and felony murder. You need to decide in your own minds what happened. You need to know, the state must convince you beyond a reasonable doubt of either premeditated murder or felony murder. while you must all agree the state has proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt, you don't have to agree on whether it was premeditated or felony murder. Some may think it's one, some think it's the other.

 

[truthsleuth]

Explains aggravated child abuse charge. Child abuse is the intentional infliction of injury upon the child ... You can postulate a number of different hypotheses in this case. Some might say well maybe she put the duct tape on Caylee to make her stop crying because she was loud. Casey put it on too tight and Caylee died by accident. if that is what you think happened, that is felony murder. so if that is something you're thinking about, that's also first-degree murder.

Or if you choose to believe that she used chloroform so she could spend time with her boyfriend. Let's say she used the chloroform in the trunk of the car and Caylee accidentally died. It is still first-degree murder. That makes the most sense it is premeditated. Anyway you put it together Casey Anthony is guilty of murder in the first degree.

I want to talk a little about George. You have seen hours of videotape between George Anthony sometimes with Cindy sometimes just with Caylee. it was an unvarnished window into the relationship between them. Is there anything in any of those conversations that shows George Anthony was anything but a loving father? He is out of his mind with worry and perplexed as to why his daughter didn't tell them about his granddaughter being missing. He was supportive to Casey, she even says he is the best dad. George is not this Machiavellian self interested monster.

Mr. Baez brought up George's suicide. ... Mr. Baez asked, did you express some guilt in your suicide letter? Now according to Mr. Baez he is telling you the suicide attempt wasn't much of anything, it was a halfhearted attempt to take some medication. George just wanted to be with his granddaughter. You cannot read this letter and not see that this man was in pain. This is not some self-serving manifesto of innocence. This is the cry of a man who just doesn't understand the world anymore. He doesn't understand why his daughter won't tell him what happened. And he's just tired.

 

[truthsleuth]

From suicide note:
I should've done more. She was so close to home. ... Why was she there? Why was she placed there? I just want this to go away for Casey. What happened, why could she [Casey] not come to us? ... I blame myself for being gone. For a year or so I've brought up stuff only to be told not to belabor it.

JA: That is not an insincere self-serving statement.

 

[truthsleuth]

Linda Drane Burdick for rebuttal:

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I felt like that guy was put out on the field to kick a last-minute field goal and of course you are ready to go and the other team calls timeout.

you have been sitting here listening to attorneys tell you what they think the evidence shows for 5, 6, even 7 hours. And you are ready to begin the job that you have been given for almost 2 months. On May 9 you packed your bags. You have made a great sacrifice and packing your bags in sitting weeks here. The state of Florida I thank you. But I ask that you do indulge me for just a moment until you get our final thoughts in this case.

I promise it won't be dragging out evidence. that's not my style. When I came up here and may in front of you for a little over two hours, I promise you that the evidence in this case would show you what I said. I did make promises to you and not keep them. I meant what I said. We've seen dozens of witnesses, hundred pieces of evidence, and they have proven every bit of what we said about Casey Marie Anthony.

Mr. Baez said his biggest fear was that you would be making decisions based on emotion. I would never ask you to do that. Co-counsel has not asked you to do that. you cannot do that. We won't make you to make decisions about this case based on anything but the testimony we heard from witnesses. do you want to know my biggest fear is? My big fear is that common sense will be lost. stop please that you won't step back and take a look at the evidence as a whole. You've got to look at the big picture here.

Co-counsel talked about rabbit holes. After he sat down

Objection.
Sustained.

My fear is we spent two years in Clearwater questioning all of you. Looking for people who are willing to see the forest for the trees. Mr. Baez used words like liar, perjurer, fraudulent ... A trial in a criminal case is supposed to be a search of the truth. the truth is the cornerstone of criminal justice. It is lying that hurts that process. so during an argument where the most documented liar in a courtroom accuses everybody of perjury, lies, of lying, the irony is rich indeed.

Objection.
Overruled.

I actually have come to find out accusing others of lying is classic Casey Anthony. When Casey Anthony was to draw the attention away from herself, she accuses others. As we have heard from the evidence, Ms. Anthony has spent years lying. Mr. Baez suggested those 31 days meant nothing. A lie told conventionally is till a lie.

Defense accused YM, Mr. Bloise, Dr. Vass, many many of the witnesses that come forward in this case of lying. In his statement he indicated the OCSO is this desperate in this case, and if there is anything that the workers in this case were desperate about it was to find a little girl. The men and women of OCSO labored for hours in an effort to find her. They would join by FBI, law enforcement from all over the country, people who had no other motive to find Caylee Marie Anthony. But it was all in vain. Even Casey parents and brother searched in vain.

False allegations are nothing new and invariably as in this case it turns out that the perpetrator is a family member. the allegation of a false abduction diverts resources away from the perpetrator. It draws attention away from the perpetrator.

Objection.
Overruled

One of the things Casey Anthony said to her mother was that she just wanted another day. When she told her brother she was trying to buy time. Time to develop another lie in diverse attention away from herself.

Officers at the home that night suggest that they did not smell a smell in the car. the police did not think Kaylee Anthony was dead that night. At that point they had no reason to believe that Caylee Anthony was dead. There was no reason to connect any smell to the car. the defendant was telling them she was alive and she was somewhere else-- and she was asking them for their help in finding. In this incident where she was handcuffed was ended like that. They weren't threatening her to make a statement they were there to help. the detectives were there to help. They say to her you have three detectives S to help you, we are spending resources to help find your daughter why are you lying to us. Casey was buying time. Like she had done with her parents, with her brother, with her friends.

 

[truthsleuth]

counsel suggested that the detailing of what Ms. Anthony was doing during 31 days had more to do with the state's interest of her being a *advertiser censored* ? nothing could be further from the truth. the state was trying to backtrack and find out what she was doing because she told them she was conducting her own investigation. They reviewed her cell phone records to find Caylee Marie Anthony, to help the defendant.
But as they backtracked it became more and more apparent that she was lying about everything. if you go back and look at a four-page witness statement, the only truth on their is the birthday of Caylee Marie Anthony. Every other statement on that form is a lie.
You have heard in closing argument by the defense that everybody grieves differently. Responses to grief or as varied as the day is long. But the guilty people do? they walk, they avoid,they run, they mislead, they diverted attention away from themselves and act as if nothing is wrong. we are not trying to convince you to hate Casey Marie Anthony but show you that what she was doing in those 31 days were not part of the 31 days of grief. These are not the actions of someone whose child has died by accident.
...
She said this was a time of desperation for her. Desperation? what are you talking about desperation? she had no option to go anywhere except away from her family. That's who she ran from, because those people would be asking her what happened to Caylee.

She was telling her friends my moms crazy. My parents are getting a divorce. etc. She is running from her family during those days, the people who would want to know where Caylee? the defendant's actions and responses during those 31 days answer for you the only real question left at this stage of the proceedings. And that is who killed Caylee Anthony. The question is no longer where is scaling Caylee Marie Anthony. We know where Caylee Marie Anthony is. the question is no longer what happened to Caylee Marie Anthony. We know what happened. The question is who killed Caylee.

for the longest time Caylee was alive.until her remains were found. As I told you in opening statements the facts and circumstances change over time and the defendants lies changed. They got bigger, they got better. Mr. Baez said there must be something wrong with Casey Anthony because she has imaginary friends. But those were lies. Every one of those were lies. Designed to deceive. Each lie was conceived for a specific purpose. To get Casey out of a jam.

For the longest time she was believed until Kaylee's remains were found. And of course at that point Caylee couldn't be with the nanny. The lie must change. I told you in opening statements that it would. So now the theory is that there was some sort of accident. but we know Caylee's death was no accident.

Plays tape of Universal interview.

in his closing statement to you counsel suggested that OCSO had murder on their mind and they didn't want to consider that this was an accident. You heard what he said. That this was an accident basically I've worked with tons and tons and tons of people when it was just an accident. No know Caylee is alive (defendant's answer). On August 16 of 2008 the defendant's mother said people are suggesting that this was an accident and drowned in the pool. Casey says surprise surprise. Then Kaylee is found on December 11 of 2008, surprise surprise.

No person would ever make the accidental of her child into a murder. Her responses are completely inconsistent with what people do 100% of the time when a child is involved in an accident, somebody's trying to save them. They want them to live. they call 911. They suffer of the death of a child especially if you want to accept the testimony that Ms. Anthony was an amazing mother. how was that defined? her friends? Did Caylee run to her mother? of course she did. A mother's love is unconditional. She's going to run to her grandparents. she supply close to Kaylee, that makes her an adequate mother, but in reality the love, the food, the shelter, were provided by her grandparents. Look at her room, look at their backyard. What amazing parent acts with complete indifference to the accidental death of their child?
---
if this truly was an accident in the pool, caylee Marie Anthony would have been found in the pool not floating in a swamp down the street. None of us would be here today. if she was home when there was an accident in the pool, she would've called 911. George would never agree to hide his granddaughter put her in a bag and put in the swamp. Did we watched the same videos? Mr. Anthony said he would trade places with his granddaughter in the second. This argument cannot be followed any logical conclusion. The way these remains were disposed of shows complete indifference. It speaks volumes about how the person who disposes of the body really felt about her.

This is so George and Cindy Anthony felt about the granddaughter. [picture of backyard] George Anthony landscape the backyard for her. There's a mailbox with her name on it. put a stone base under that playhouse so Kaylee would have to sit on the ground with an insect could crawl on her.

On the videos you heard Mr. Anthony say over and over again he was trying to get Casey to talk to law enforcement. if he was so diabolical and wanting to cover up something why would he want his co-conspirator to talk to law enforcement.

Not only does the disposal of those remains speak volumes but the phone call she made to her parents the night she was arrested on July 16, 2008 ...
Plays phone call...

 

[truthsleuth]

LDB after phone-call tape:
Casey's looking for Tony's number.
Kristina says If anything has happened to that baby ... I'll die.
Whoa, calling today ... a waste, a huge waste.

 

[truthsleuth]

LDB after tape is played.

When you use your common sense you can hear there is nothing in that is wrong with Casey Anthony that cannot be explained to you in two words: pathological liar. She is not grieving for the loss of her daughter. The focus of that call was where was the 31 days and that was about herself. She wanted Tony's number.

You have learned during the course of this trial that Casey Anthony is the only person who had access to every single piece of evidence discussed by Mr. Ashton today and yesterday. The duct tape, the laundry bag, the blanket, the shorts, the car, there is no evidence that anyone other than Casey Anthony was driving around in that car when it began to smell to the point where she is texting her friend Amy and said she had run over a dead animal. she texted Amy about 15 min. before Tony picked her up at the Amscot. You would think she might check the trunk if the smell was so bad. That trashbag was placed there as a decoy. That car was back into that spot by a dumpster. Why a dumpster? Because the dumpster was a decoy to either keep people away from the car would think the smell came from the dumpster.

George Anthony didn't have access to that car. He didn't know where the car was. Casey told her mother she was in Tampa, they didn't know where she was or the car was. And finally the shirt... Big Trouble Comes in Small Packages.

Cindy Anthony told you that that sure wasn't one she was familiar with. That shirt wasn't at the Anthony home on HopeSpring Drive. It was kept in a backpack or the back of the car because we saw that shirt in a photo at Ricardo Morale's apt.

The defense want you to think that George was involved in the cover-up of an accident that didn't happen. Even George Anthony didn't have access to everything, only Casey Anthony did. No one else tried to cover up and lie and lie and lie. I can go on the dozen or more times.

Where were George and Cindy? Let's throw Cindy into the mix. It is Casey Anthony would say it was all her mother's fault anyway. The cover-up is dad's fault after all. What were Cindy and George doing in June and July of 2008? They were going to work, they were missing the granddaughter. but what was Casey Anthony doing? Where was Casey Anthony? She wasn't at home. she was at Tony's, but that's what she told her mom, that's not where she was supposed to be. And where was Caylee? She was out in the woods.

At the end of this case all you have to really do is ask yourself whose life was better without Caylee? Was Cindy Anthony's life better?

Cindy's 911 call, where Cindy hysterically report of granddaughter missing.

 

[truthsleuth]

"I found my daughter's car today and it smells like a dead body was in the car."

LDB: Was George Anthony's life better? Mr. Ashton went over what Mr. Anthony's life was like, how distraught he was over the loss of his granddaughter.

Whose life was better? That's the only question you need to answer in considering why Caylee Marie Anthony was left on the side of the road dead.

Here's your answer: Shows picture of Casey laughing, smiling and dancing and the Bella Vita (beautiful life) tattoo.

State's rebuttal over.
Recess.