Hi Joaninwa!
Wow! I didn't think anyone on the board had been following the case! I've followed it since "day one". It's so good to hear from another "sleuth". :-)
You seem to have made up your mind already as, if online blog comments are any indication, many others have. I am trying hard to decide if I think the defense is reasonable and of course, I won't be able to fully determine that for myself until the defense presents.
I think that while the evidence presented thus far is powerful, still none of it can be tied directly to Casey Anthony and those evidences that have been presented can also be tied in a similar fashion to George Anthony or anyone in the Anthony family for that matter. But since the defense is implicating George in a cover up, I will try to stay focused on just George and Casey.
Gas Can: Owned and also handled by George. Reported missing and received back by George. What is the significance of the gas can? I think the following is why...
Henkel Duct Tape: Likely owned and handled by George. I say this because there was only *one* piece of duct tape found in the shed (none in the house or elsewhere) that was attached to the gas can and there is a photograph of George after Caylee was reported missing where there is a roll of Henkel duct tape on the table.
So, the only thing significant about the gas can is that they were found with a piece of Henkel duct tape on them, the very same type of distinguishable duct tape that was found attached to the hair mat of the skull.
I really need to go back over a few things about those gas cans. My understanding is that the gas cans were reported missing by George and returned by Casey: "Here's your damned gas cans." Did Casey return the gas cans with a piece of duct tape on one of them? I need to review the facts and I'll try to do that before I address types of evidences again.
Here's an example of something I find disturbing with regards to the reporting on this case. This is a sample from CNN:
CNN wrote:Stenger found multiple search results (Google, Wikipedia, etc.) for “chloroform” on March 17 and March 21, 2008. Whoever initiated the searches often misspelled the word as “chloraform” – one search, from March 21, was the question “how to make chloroform?” Bradley also found searches on those same days relating to such subjects as “alcohol, inhalation, death, self-defense, hand-to-hand combat, head injury, ruptured spleen, chest trauma, and internal bleeding.” He acknowledged that many of the “chloroform” hits appeared to be fairly brief, often only a matter of seconds. However, because Bradley had access only to the history of searches and not to the full text of the search results themselves, it’s impossible for him to know exactly how long any of these results were monitored. In all, there were a total of 84 searches for the word “chloroform” on the Anthony computer through this particular browser.
Did you watch this expert testimony? If so, do you remember Bradley saying that the searches in question BEGAN with a search on "self defense"? That fact isn't reported in the above.
Do you also remember that the Mozilla Fire Fox history indicated that the person using the computer went between MySpace and the chloroform searches? Didn't Rico or was it Tony (?), have that photographic image on his MySpace with "Win her over with chloroform?"
My point is that Casey (or whomever was on the computer, likely Casey) could have gone from MySpace to "chloroform" and back again several times in the same exact way someone (presumably Casey) did the "self defense" searches and going on to "internal bleeding" and such.
I cannot tell you how many computer searches I do myself. There are times when I go from one thing to the next...example, look something up and read a Wiki on it...click a hyperlink embedded in a Wiki article and keep on keeping on!
Casey Anthony, in my view, is not a very bright person. She knows how to lie but her lies are naïve with regards to "real life". I think she easily could have viewed the MySpace photo, decided to go look up chloroform and on and on. The one problem I have with that is the number of times she flipped back to a chloroform search and yet, the time spent presumably viewing any of the searches was a matter of seconds or one-two minutes.
I don't find that particularly damning especially when you consider the fact that it cannot be proven that Casey herself made those searches, the chloroform levels found in the car are consistent with cleaning products regardless of what Vass (Body Farm) stated whose overall testimony I found intriguing.
I don't have much doubt, based on the presentation of the forensics experts and both canine handler's testimony, that Caylee's body was in the car at some point and for at least 3 days or so, nor do I doubt that her body was at least for a time located in the back yard near the play house. I don't doubt this part of the evidence. I would have to reach far to dispute those two things.
But...and you tell me what you think about this....the dogs hit on the playhouse area...and then what? If the body was in the car...where's the evidence trail that leads to the car? Was the body wrapped and carried to the car? There is no solid line of evidence that demonstrates the body traveled from the backyard to the car and yes, I do think that eventually the body went from backyard to car, but there is a gap that cannot be accounted for.
Example: Casey went to Tony's house that evening, no? Casey, in fact, was with Tony for a couple or three days, no? If so...why didn't Tony notice any decomp odor coming from the car? He
testified under oath that he never smelled decomp coming from the car.
Something isn't right here, I don't think the prosecution case is completely convincing.
What if....it is just as Casey says. George found Caylee floating and drowned in the pool. George knows CPR, he knows what deceased is. He was a cop for, I think 10 years, worked detective squad and in some cases, worked homicide in Ohio.
So...Casey begs George...out of sheer FEAR of Cindy (know what I mean?) to help her. He tells her to leave and from that point on, she either isn't aware of what he does to cover up the death OR she stays there and they attempt a cover up together.
George puts Caylee's body on the lawn near the play house or perhaps in the playhouse itself...am I imagining that the dogs also hit IN the playhouse? So...Caylee's body is in or near that location.
That body was NOT immediately put in the car. The trunk was EMPTY when Casey returned the gas cans and Tony testified that he SAW the trunk and did not smell decomp.
If I am following correctly (I make no claim to that!), it wasn't until George picked up the car at the tow yard that he and the tow truck drive smelled possible decomp.
Where was the body between the time it was in the yard and the trunk of the car?
I can't answer that! Another thing, I find truly weird. The tow truck driver testified that he smelled decomp. He was familiar with the smell of decomp. He's got a car in the yard reeking of human decomp which means the possibility is great there's a dead body in the car.
WHY DIDN'T HE REPORT THE SMELL TO THE POLICE???
Then, George (an ex-cop/detective) goes to the car and claims to smell decomp.
WHY DIDN'T HE REPORT THE SMELL TO THE POLICE IF HE'S REALLY ON THE UP AND UP????
Then Cindy (an RN) smells the car.
WHY DIDN'T CINDY REPORT THE SMELL TO THE POLICE?
Everyone smells decomp in the car that's been sitting in the tow yard and
not one person reports it to the police until Cindy freaks out when she overhears the conversation between Lee and Casey and learns that Caylee is missing. And no one has ASKED all three WHY they didn't report it!
????????
There is a lot of weirdness in this case and not all of it is coming from Casey Anthony!