Casey Anthony murder trial 5-25-2011

The Prairie Chicken

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Prosecution Attorney Frank George questioned for the state.   Defense Attorney Jose Baez for the defense.

Cameron Campana was first witness of the day.  He attended the school Full Sail in Audio Engineering and was Anthony Lazzaro’s roommate through the time that Casey stayed at Lazzaro’s apartment. He first said he saw  Casey frequently with Caylee, then without Caylee.  Campana inquired about Caylee and Casey told him she was “with the nanny.” Testimony wrought from both sides was fairly mundane, marking a box, in my opinion, of touching everyone remotely involved.

Nathan Lezniewicz took the stand next.  Lezniewicz was also a student at Full Sail and was a roommate of Lazzaro’s as well.  He was at the apartment on July 15, 2008, when Cindy Anthony and Amy Huizenga arrived to confront Casey about Caylee’s whereabouts. After Casey left with her mother, he spoke with Lee when he showed up to get Casey’s computer and backpack, and also there through the police search of the apartment about an hour after Lee left.  He thought Casey a normal, talkative, happy person overall.  Upon cross, Defense Attorney Jose Baez asked where Casey parked when at Lazzaro’s, 50 ft from their cars or right next to theirs.  Lezniewicz answer was that she always parked within a few cars from their own.  A lead in to the smell in the car, I believe.

Clint House followed Lezniewicz on the stand.  House was apparently Lazzaro’s best friend and fellow student at Full Sail in Recording Arts.  He lived at the apartment from April 2008 through the end of June.  He stated that he saw Caylee four or five times and that the baby never stayed over at the apartment.  Upon cross, Baez asked a bevy of questions pertaining to Casey
Anthony’s being a “good mother”.  At one point Baez seemed to be indicating that others had access to Casey’s laptop.  House said that although Casey cooked and cleaned and tried to inject herself into the Fusion management, taking out the trash at the apartment was left to House or Lazzaro.  Another lead in, I believe, as to why Casey would have their trash in her trunk.  Hmmm-let’s see, should we put it in the dumpster, or Casey’s trunk?  Phishaw.

Maria Kissh was witness number four this morning.  She was the girlfriend of Clint House and had met Casey through House.  He had told her Casey was “the girl Tony was seeing at the time.”  She recalled calling on House pre-date one evening and Caylee answered the door.  Casey stayed in the bedroom while Caylee was out on the balcony with others.  When they began to leave, Kissh was leery of leaving Caylee out there by herself.  Casey came out and told Caylee to get her shoes on, Kissh helped her put them on and tied them for her and that was the first and last time she saw her.  Described by Kissh as an acquaintance, Casey told her the “event planner at Universal” story and told her she paid $400 per week for the “nanny.”  Kissh recounted the hot body contest at Fusion on June 20, of which she did not personally enter.  Baez elicited that Kissh and House rode in Casey’s back seat to Fusion and smelled nothing wrong in the car.  Then he indicated through questioning that perhaps Kissh was jealous that Casey was staying at the apartment around her boyfriend House.  Kissh said she didn’t care, Casey was with Lazzaro. 

In my view, the first three witnesses of the day, Campana, Lezniewicz, and House establish that they found Casey cool, confident and relatively normal before and after Caylee’s death on June 16.  I was impressed that the young men were very intelligent, articulate and did not embellish their testimony.  They gave facts as they remembered them and seemed completely unrehearsed, as did Maria Kissh even though Kissh was not as impressed with Casey’s mothering skills as the male roommates had been. 

It now occurs to me that the hot body contest at Fusion was only four days after Caylee died. 

Afternoon session, Defense again asks to have the shovel testimony thrown out as irrelevant, now that he has claimed the baby drown.  Judge Perry denied the request and notes the objection (for appeals court after she’s convicted). 

Brian Burner was first on the stand after the lunch break with his shovel evidence, a next door neighbor of the Anthony family since 2005.  He saw Casey’s car backed into the garage on June 17, and again on June 18 when she backed in and borrowed the shovel.  He spoke with police on June 17 and again on June 30, when he told them about the shovel.

Jamie Realander and Erica Gonzalez testified after Burner, both were shot girls at Fusion Ultra Lounge on Fridays and verified previous testimony that Casey had no change in demeanor before and after Caylee had died.  One news anchor on HLN called it a “parade of shot girls.”  There was no real substance to their testimony—only that she was “protective” of the shot girls from groping drunks.  Whatever that proves. 

Anthony Lazzaro was next on the stand and the witness I was particularly waiting for.   He met Casey on Facebook and they met in person at the end of May.  He discussed their dating history, short in itself as he had only known her face to face for three weeks when Caylee died.  Several lunches, swim dates, etc., with Caylee, though no over nights.  Lazzaro verified the “job at Universal” story, and was told by Casey that Caylee stayed with either her mother or a nanny named Zani. 
It was established that on June 16 at 7:54 pm he was with her at the Blockbuster Video store.  The next day he skipped school to spend the day in bed with Casey.  They went their ways on the 18^th, he to school and she to the Anthony house, where she borrowed the shovel from Burner.   

He explained the incident with the gas cans, that Casey assured him it was her house and okay if he broke the lock on the shed.  He did not see inside the trunk when she put them in.  That was June 20.  I thought I saw a shadow cross his face when he mentioned the trunk, as though maybe he had wondered, himself, whether Caylee had been in the trunk then.  Lazzaro also discussed picking her up from the Amscot parking lot, car broken down because it was out of gas and Casey carrying groceries apparently from the Anthony house. 

Baez was not able to complete his questioning of Lazzaro, so tomorrow we will start the day with Tony Lazzaro again, with Baez introducing testimony on Casey’s night mares and sweats and having seen her crying in the dark watching the Fathers Day video Cindy had sent her of Caylee visiting her PaPa in the nursing home.  If my esp holds...

Can’t say I was much impressed with the Baez defense today and have to wonder why one of the more experienced attorneys don’t step in on some of the questioning when Baez is obviously floundering.  He was repeated unprepared and doesn’t seem to understand the admission of evidence. 
How is Baez going to explain the duct tape around her little head? 

I also wondered what was going through Casey's mind when Maria Kissh was testifying.  She looked beautifully put together in a professional skirt suit and low heels, hair clean and styled, very lovely and articulate, probably every thing Casey liked to think about herself.  And there Casey sat in her school-marm poofy-sleeved blouse and silly sideburns with her elven ears sticking out.  Hey--It's my blog, I can be catty if I want...