The Casey Anthony Case on Trial

In this country, a person is regarded as innocent until proven guilty. Unless you are Casey Anthony. When her young daughter Caylee disappeared in June 2008, Casey did not report her daughter missing, partied with friends, told stories that could only be described as "outrageous lies, and did not grieve in a "normal" manner, whatever the word normal may mean. At least she did not grieve in a manner acceptable by those who had already decided her guilt. Instead, Casey Anthony became the real-life definition of "evil incarnate" to the public at large.

Casey Anthony said a person named Zenaida Fernandez- Gonzales was babysitting the child. Later, an individual with the name Zenaida Gonzales (note the name is not hyphenated) was found and she claimed she did not even know the Anthony family and that she was not the babysitter Casey alleged had her daughter. What is even more bizarre is that this woman filed a civil suit against Casey Anthony claiming the use of her name has ruined her life. This case was brought even after she was cleared by law enforcement of any connection to the missing child and although the Anthony family said she was not the person Casey was talking about. Her main hurdle may be this. How many people in this country have the same name and live in the same state? Zenaida Fernandez wants money '" plain and simple and riding the Casey Anthony train may be one vehicle if it doesn't go off the track.. Two, it gives the vigilante-minded citizens who believe Casey is guilty of murder a second bite of the apple in "making her pay" for her crimes.

Fingerprint expert Elizabeth Fontaine allegedly claimed she saw the shape of a heart sticker (evidence # 100.1) on the duct tape that was similar to a sheet of heart stickers found in the Anthony residence. This image was never photographed by Fontaine nor seen by any other person and there is only Fontaine's statement that it even existed. Was the heart impression really physically present and viewable or was it an illusion within the mind of the forensic expert? It certainly disappeared '" apparently vanishing into the fibers of the tape before it could be documented. We will never know because there was no actual physical evidence of that heart shape ever presented in court. Therefore - so much for a phantom heart-shaped sticker found on Caylee's skull or on the duct tape because it simply never existed in the first place.

That said, Elizabeth Fontaine actually stated she was NOT certain exactly what she saw and did not authorize law-enforcement to "allege otherwise. The State took that position on their own. When questioned by Baez under oath she could not "conclude with any degree of scientific certainty what the image was that she saw, or whether she actually even saw anything to begin with." Even in her deposition, this expert explicitly stated she could draw no conclusions about what she believed she saw, or even IF (emphasis mine) she saw anything at all. Specifically, Miss Fontaine stated that she "could not scientifically or never would jump to the conclusion that what [she] saw was a (heart-shaped) sticker."

Then there is the problem with Caylee's remains. Was she actually thrown away as trash as the prosecution contended at the very spot the remains were found or was the body moved there later? If a search was conducted in the Anthony home and vehicles, why wasn't the search extended beyond that area since the body was eventually found only a quarter mile away and with allegedly hundreds of searchers, both professional and private citizens? After all, when the searches were allegedly done, the body would have still been relatively intact and cadaver dogs should not have had any problems in locating it.

Ray Kronk became one of the highlights of the Casey Anthony case after he had called 911 a total of four times. The first three times were on August 11, 12, and 13 of 2008. The police finally showed up on the third call at which time Kronk points to where the "white dome-shaped object" is located, yet the officer does not investigate. Two officers show up and are reluctant to walk into the woods due to the presence of water and the possibility of running into a live snake. The officer glances around for a few seconds and then berates Kronk for making the 911 calls, stating that the body of Caylee would not be skeletalized, and generally ignored looking for any evidence.

Roy Kronk stated to a co-worker David Dean on August 11, 2008 that he saw a skull, stating "Hey guys, uhm, I see a skull in here."; however, the discovery of a skull was pre-empted by the discovery of a dead snake. According to testimony in court, Kronk had also called his son in early September 2008 and stated the same thing. Why did it take him another four months to push the issue in having the body found by law enforcement with a fourth 911 call on December 13 2008? Was it the thought of getting a reward or because he had already washed his hands at the treatment he received by law enforcement?

Another issue is Kronk's statements that he was never near the body at any time. He later changed his story to include not only being near the body, but also moving it. He admitted to placing his meter reader stick in the right eye socket of the skull and moving the bag nearby. At the very least this would constitute contamination of a crime scene by Kronk and his meter reader stick. He moved the skull and the bag containing some of the child's remains. Is that how the tape ended up on the skull? Did it just fall into a position that made it appear to be purposely placed in that location as the remains were being moved around? Whatever happened, the State was happy to use this magical miracle tape as proof of how Caylee Anthony died at the hands of her mother. Since the body was not found in its original position or location, the entire evidence with regard to the condition of the bones is in question.

Another highlight of the case was the use of cans that allegedly "captured" the "smell of decomposition" from the Anthony vehicle - a technique never used in court before. Except, the process could not be duplicated or tested independently and specifically to this body and was subsequently of little value other than being prejudicial as much of the allowed evidence was. It was fake science and pure speculation that the jury would even know what to look for.

Media assassination of Casey Anthony in the beginning provided the impetus for hordes of ordinary citizens to become enraged and ready to mete out vigilante justice without benefit of knowing the facts, evidence and from listening to a variety of prosecution and defense attorneys who were posturing and posing as "talking heads". Attorneys, mind you, who were overwhelmingly positive that there would be a conviction '" at least while in front of the camera. The hate and vitriol by ordinary citizens directed towards others is also strange in our so-called civil country. A man punches a woman in the face while arguing about the Anthony case. The Anthony parents are allegedly receiving death threats. Protesters are chanting "We Want Justice" We want Casey". Remember, these are allegedly intelligent people; however, it is evident their actions belie that assumption.

Lightening hit a tree near where Caylee Anthony's remains were found. For many, this was a "sign from God". Really? The only thing it was a sign of was that lightning hit the tree - an event that occurs thousands of times a year in every location in the world. One has to wonder how many other trees were struck after an unwelcome verdict was handed down by a United States Court. Surely a tree was struck somewhere in the world - at least a day or two before or after the event by unhappy angels. It may have been more awe-inspiring if it had struck the Anthony home or - waited a few more days and struck Casey Anthony herself as she left the courtroom a free woman. If lightning had struck one of the Memorial site tourists or even one of their own children, would it have been a sign then, too? Perhaps the angels were more unhappy with stupid people.

This entire case appears to have been built on nothing but lies. Truthful testimony appeared to be more optional than operational. The evidence was minimal at best '" from the actual so-called physical evidence to the circumstantial (and sometimes vanishing) evidence presented in court. Moreover, some of it was downright strange. Even so, the fact remains that she was not the only person to lie about the facts of this case. Her mother Cindy, father George, and brother Lee also lied, even when under oath in court.George even staged what appears to have been a fake suicide attempt. Richard Cain, the police officer who responded to the Ray Kronk 911 calls lied about his actions (or lack thereof) that day. Cain's sister unit officer, Adriana Acevedo, also lied about even being present at the scene although she had been physically described by Kronk and testified in a deposition that he had spoken with her.

Now denied a conviction, a large number of people have stated on social networks, twitter, and blogs that they will individually physically travel to Florida and mete out the punishment they so badly wanted for the mother of this missing child. If that would happen, the letter of the law and a court trial would prove premeditation, malice aforethought and all other elements of 1^st degree murder. It could also have the death penalty attached and the very possible expectation that this penalty would be executed in accordance with Florida law. Fortunately, Justice was not only blind in this case, but also deaf and did not hear the clamor from self-appointed "wanna-be" executioners who wanted this woman to burn at the state - in an atmosphere reminiscent of the Salem Witch trials in 1692-3 in colonial Massachusetts. The jury's decision was based on the rules of evidence and what consisted of evidence or the lack thereof.

The state alleged that Casey Anthony taped her daughter's mouth and nose with duct tape, smothering her to death. In court, the prosecution presented a photograph of Caylee with Caylee's skull complete with duct tape imposed over the top. It was to show that the tape could have conceivably suffocated the child and that was their stated theory as to what happened to Caylee Anthony. The physical properties of this particular brand of duct tape does raise questions. How did it manage to stick to the skull if it was first pasted onto the soft fleshy tissue of the child's face? Duct tape that gets wet usually does not last long. so how did it manage to stay in place throughout the entire decomposition process? What did this tape have that other tape does not? Was it the inherent ability of the duct tape to be able to restick itself each time a layer of cells decomposed and sloughed off? Was it capable of remaining in the exact position throughout the entire decomposition process?

The State also alleged that Casey Anthony searched 84 different times on how to make chloroform. Instead, it turns out that they willfully made this claim even after the software developer himself had redesigned the program when he realized it was defective. After making a new report to the prosecution that the word "chloroform" had only been searched once, the State still forged ahead with their claim of 84 times and did NOT give this information to the defense - a clear violation of the Brady law that came into being through the Brady vs Maryland case..

In bringing this case to trial, the State of Florida knew they had to prove there was a crime, that a specific person committed the crime and have evidence to support their case. Instead, speculation and conjecture along with some science fiction was the only ball actually in play throughout this trial. Alternatively, the defense did not have the legal obligation to prove anything. They only had to raise reasonable doubt and did not have to offer any physical or circumstantial evidence whatsoever. The general public tends to forget that the burden of proof remains with the State at all times and at all costs. In this case, the State of Florida failed miserably. Now with allegations of witness tampering and prosecutorial misconduct being investigated, the State of Florida may turn out to have been the biggest liars of all.

Sources:

Casey Anthony wants heart sticker evidence excluded from trial

'Nanny' lawsuit resumes against Casey Anthony

Transcript of interview with Deputy Keithlin Cutcher, December 18, 2008

Transcript of interview with Deputy Keithlin Cutcher, December 19, 2008

Transcript of interview with Deputy Richard Cain, February 3, 2009

Transcript of interview with Deputy Richard Cain, December 18, 2008

Transcript of interview with Deputy Richard Cain, December 19, 2008

Transcript of interview with Deputy Adriana Acevedo, December 17, 2008

Transcript of interview with Alex Roberts, January 6, 2009

Transcript of interview with Roy Kronk, January 6, 2009

Transcript of Roy Kronk's 911 calls

Transcript of interview with David Dean, January 6, 2009

Transcript of interview with Christopher Gibson, January 6, 2009

Transcript of interview with Keith Williams, April 14, 2009

Testimony in State of Florida vs Casey Anthony