The Murder Trial of Casey Anthony
Blaming George Anthony
Her father, George Anthony was called to the stand and over the course of his testimony, showed his temper and became angry and frustrated with Baez. But he spoke lovingly of his granddaughter, and wistfully remembered what he said had been their last morning together, which he said was June 16th.
"It was a great morning to have some fun together," he said. "Dance around or watch a video." He described Caylee as a smart little girl who was able to open up the pantry and find out what she wanted, that she was able to put own her own videos on the television, a girl who was verbally intelligent.
He testified that Caylee had left with her mother when she had been going to "work," and Casey had said they might be staying out late and staying at "Zanny's" house. But, he said, he never saw her again.
He was put on the spot and directly asked about the child abuse allegations, which he denied. He also denied helping with disposing of the body or knowing then that Caylee had died. He denied keeping duct tape in the house.
The defense during cross-examination, focused on the cagey relationship that the family had had. As he had put forth in his opening statements, Baez, asked how it was possible that the family hadn't known their daughter was seven months pregnant, even though she had been living with them. It was also brought to light that George Anthony hadn't known who the father of the child was, although George had been present for Caylee's birth. The elder Anthony was also asked about an alleged affair with a woman known as River Cruz (aka Krystal Holloway). Holloway had told television reporter Tony Pipitone of Local 6 that Anthony had told her that Caylee's death had been an accident gone horribly awry. On the stand, Anthony acknowledged knowing her, but only as a search volunteer, and denied having any affair.
It was revealed that George Anthony had tried to commit suicide in January 2009, a month after Caylee had been found. The suicide note was revealed, and the defense tried to frame it as a case of George thinking law enforcement had been closing in on him. But the note showed a grieving grandfather. "She was so close to home, why was she there, who placed her there, why?
The prosecution continued to point out that Anthony actions indicated he hadn't had knowledge of what had happened: he had bought a gun and had been going force people around Casey to tell him what happened.
The defense's aim was to discredit the grandfather and create doubt of his statements. They aimed to show that the family, though outwardly appearing to be happy, was in fact, dysfunctional. Baez seemed also to be working to raise the question in the jurors' minds whether Anthony himself had been the father and an habitual liar.