Casey Anthony Murder Trial Adjourns Early For The Day
ORLANDO (CBS4) - The trial of Casey Anthony, the 25-year old Orlando woman accused of killing her two year old daughter in 2008, adjourned early Monday after the state informed the court their next witness would not be available until Tuesday.
Monday morning jurors heard testimony from a pair of forensic examiners.
Stephen Shaw told jurors he analyzed hair found in Anthony's trunk and samples taken from her daughter Caylee's skull, which was found in a wooded area near the Anthony home.
Shaw testified that he saw more evidence of decomposition on the hairs taken from the child's skull than on the hair found in the trunk.
Prosecutors believe Anthony suffocated her daughter Caylee with duct tape. The defense contends the toddler drowned in her grandparents' swimming pool.
Before Shaw, crime scene investigator Jennifer Welch of the Orange County Sheriff's Office was called back to the stand to finish her testimony on hair and fiber test results.
On Saturday she testified that Caylee's skull and most of the rest of her remains were found 19 feet from the road in a wooded area near Anthony's family home. Stretching a tape measure across the courtroom, defense attorney Jose Baez demonstrated the remains were virtually steps from the road, nearly the same distance as the jury from the defense table. The testimony that the scene was easily accessible from the road could be significant because defense attorneys claim the meter reader who found the remains tampered with them.
More than 50 investigators recovered more than 390 pieces of evidence during 10 days at the wooded scene, said Welch. Among the items recovered were pieces of trash and black trash bags.
The area was thick with vegetation, and investigators used a county-issued machete to clear some of the area so they could do their work, Welch said. Wearing blue gloves, she held up for the jury pieces of evidence recovered from the scene, including a piece of duct tape and pink lettering. The lettering was dirty and weathered and appeared to spell the word "package."
Prosecutors have identified duct tape as Anthony's murder weapon. They contend she killed the toddler by covering her mouth and nose with it.
Caylee was missing for seven months before her remains were found. Previous witnesses have testified about evidence of decomposition in the trunk of Anthony's car, a white Pontiac Sunfire.
Anthony has pleaded not guilty. She faces the death penalty if convicted.
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