Casey Anthony Update: Inmate Calls to Attorney Suggest Plan to Hurt Murder Defendant's Case
ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS) State prison officials have released transcripts of phone calls placed to Casey Anthony's defense attorney from an inmate who claims fellow prisoners were going to make up lies in order to sabotage the mother who is awaiting trial in the death of her 2-year-old daughter.
In May, defense attorney Jose Baez received a phone call from Robin Lunceford, a 47-year-old inmate serving a life sentence, claiming Maya Derkovic, another inmate, was going to hand over information to the prosecution regarding the murder of Anthony's daughter, Caylee, reports The Orlando Sentinel.
However, Lunceford claims Derkovic's story is full of hot air and that she was only offering the information in exchange for leniency.
During a conversation Lunceford says she had with Derkovic, she says the 21-year-old inmate explained how she, Anthony, and inmate Robyn Adams were friends at the Orange County Jail.
Lunceford told Baez that Derkovic asked her "What can I get out of this if I know about the murder..."
She replied that the end result would most likely be a lighter sentence or something along those lines, but she did not think Derkovic's story would ever hold up, reports the Florida paper.
Lunceford claims she tried to convince Derkovic not to cooperate with the state's attorney, but that Derkovic said a prison official and someone else connected to the case did not care if she was lying, says The Orlando Sentinel.
"The case only had circumstantial evidence, he knew that and in order to get a death row conviction he needed something more and that this was just perfect," Lunceford told Baez.
In April, Adams and Casey Anthony were caught exchanging notes which is forbidden for inmates in the protective custody section of the jail where Anthony was kept.
Baez had hoped to keep the two phone calls with Lunceford sealed arguing they were illegal because he was unaware they were being recorded; however, the judge denied his request.