*snipped, bold, color & underlines by me*
Thanks for providing the transcript info, essies.
I've been reviewing the video of Cindy's tour through the back yard w/ Greta as well as the aerial pics that were taken while CSI was searching the back yard, and pics of the pool & ladder. Also reviewing the transcript after listening to McLaughlin's audio.
Based on the following:
1) Brian Burner's statement that Casey explicitly mentioned to him wanting to borrow the shovel for the purpose of dealing w/ bamboo
2) The aerial pic showing the 2 primary areas where CSI had disturbed the mulch
(a) behind the corner of the paved patio w/ the table & chairs on it (area w/ bamboo) - between the pavers and the fence - as well as
(b) around where the bench had been extending over to where Caylee's picnic table sat.
3) McLaughlin's version of Casey changing her story mid-sentence upon being cued by George & Cindy to the shovel being used to get the ladder out of the pool vs. being used,
"to knock the bamboo down,...and look for the --"
4) The configuration of the Anthony's pool ladder IMHO being virtually impossible to end up IN the pool and needing to be retrieved w/ a shovel.
...it seems Casey's ladder-in-the-pool story has as its genesis George & Cindy constructing elements of an intruding-ZG-drowned-Caylee-in-the-pool-resulting-in-the-ladder-in-the-pool alibi. We also have Cindy's story to Furman that the ladder was curiously left by the pool Tuesday morning...as another data point to consider.
This brings me to the potential for Casey to have used the shovel to
scoop the surface mulch from areas around the sandbox, picnic table, etc. in an effort to get enough mulch to 'cover' Caylee's body without taking too much from any one area so as to be obvious
A few of examples of how this could've happened...
Since there was a 'depression' in the ground near the pool this may have been a three-part approach. As in (1) Casey-level-of-effort
depression dug to good 'nuff depth (e.g. a few inches deep & wide) by the pool, (2) Caylee's body laid in the depression, then (3) mulch scooped from around the sandbox area and poured over Caylee's body. When it became obvious that this was not going to work, Casey aborted it, placed Caylee's now-bagged body back in the trunk and returned the shovel to Brian.
OR...in reverse...Caylee's body could've been laid behind the corner of the patio where the bamboo grows (behind the picnic table, sandbox, etc.) and covered in mulch-mounding fashion there. In this scenario a K9 alert by the pool could have been the result of transporting decomp there in a search for something to scoop with from the pool storage box (e.g. if sheds were locked and Casey set something down while she looked in the box).
And, of course, alternatively, if there was decomp on the bottom of the gas can(s) it could've been transported to any of these sites after Casey returned the gas cans to George
The bagging sequence
may have looked something like:
1) Caylee's body, perhaps wrapped in the WTP blanket only, was placed in the hamper bag to make it easier to carry w/o touching it and transported from the trunk of the Pontiac in the garage to the backyard.
2) While in the back yard the body was 'dumped' from the hamper bag into plastic bag(s) before being placed in the depression or behind the patio and covered with mulch. The handles on the hamper bag would facilitate 'dumping' the body into plastic without handling it.
3) After aborting the 'burial' the plastic bag(s) were lifted back into the hamper bag to be carried back to the trunk of the Pontiac in the garage - transporting some dirt in the process
So..way out on a limb w/ the unbridled speculation :bud: we go a little further
oke: and consider that it would seem unlikely that Casey would go to the trouble to return the mulch to the areas from which it was 'scooped'. This would leave some 'extra' mulch in the area by the pool that could have been potentially discovered by Cindy and/or George and perhaps re-distributed over by the sandbox/picnic table, hence, carrying some trace decomp back to these areas where the K9's alerted on it. However, since Cindy gave Greta the George-moved-the-hibiscus and the pool storage container story
after LE had observed the "depression" it seems unlikely that G&C knew anything about this 'depression'. IMHO,
had George and/or Cindy discovered disturbed mulch or a 'depression' by the pool they would've more thoroughly dealt with it (e.g. not leaving a depression for LE to find), and put things together better before LE arrived.
Coming back from the very end of that limb a bit ...all this kinda suggests to me that Casey's original borrow-the-shovel-to-deal-with-bamboo story to Brian, which was repeated to Tracy, was Casey thinking that it would be her brilliant cover, since PERHAPS the soil/mulch behind the corner of the patio where the bamboo was HAD been disturbed in an attempted - or even temporary - covering of Caylee's body. :waitasec: In the aerial pics of the CSI team there is one that shows this area of mulch/soil being of interest to the agents...although it didn't appear to have K9 alerts associated directly with it. This scenario would tie to Casey's shovel-for-bamboo story vs. what appears to be a Cindy/George-encouraged shovel-for-ladder story.
Just thinking out loud on how these stories on the shovel, the ladder, the K9 alerts, bagging sequence, and soil-in-the-trunk might be sorted out.
The "...and look for the..." part of Casey's story as told by McLaughlin also has me curious about other explanations. But this post is long enough already. :bang: