Prosecuting Casey Anthony Page #3

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that Casey might have had

help with the body.

Does the FBI have a name

that they want to share?

George Anthony comes to mind.

Well, that's ridiculous.

George Anthony didn't have

anything to do with this.

Jeff has bonded

with our star witness.

No, just pragmatically,

he's an ex-cop.

He would know how to

dispose of a body.

He wouldn't put it

so close to the house.

Unless he was

setting up his girl.

Can we please stay

on planet earth, here?

[ Laughs ]

At least he's not

caylee's mystery father.

DNA's back, negative

for him and the brother.

How much of the taxpayers' money

did the FBI waste

on that little joke?

It took brand-new software,

but we managed to hack

the deleted search history

of the anthonys' home computer.

Were there any results

for "chloroform"?

Oh, yeah.

Someone looked up

how to make chloroform 84 times.

[ Chuckles ] Wow.

That is a lot of premeditation.

First-degree.

Do you have time codes,

sergeant?

Yes, ma'am.

I want to know who was home.

[ Laughs ] 84 times?

A slow learner.

[ Laughter ]

Breaking news tonight

in the disappearance of

that 2-year-old Florida girl.

The skeletal remains

confirmed to be caylee Anthony.

Can you imagine tot mom

putting her head on her pillow

every night

knowing her little girl

was 15 houses away

inside three

plastic trash bags?

The skull and one

of the leg bones

were found just behind a log,

next to the garbage bag.

Now, you can see

some of the hair

still attached at the crown,

but most of it had fallen off.

It looked like a little halo

around her head.

Where were

the rest of the bones?

Scattered all over the woods.

Teeth marks.

Animals went to work on it.

The summer floods did the rest.

I'm amazed

how much we recovered.

So, caylee's body was there

before the summer rains.

Already decomposed

and pulled apart.

Under a couple feet

of standing water all summer...

just going by the depth

of the muck.

Frank:

Fits our time-line.

She was last seen alive

June 16th.

Cause of death?

No obvious trauma.

No evidence of prior injuries.

She looked like

a perfectly healthy little girl.

Shoved into two garbage bags

inside a laundry bag

and dropped in a swamp.

With duct tape on her face.

There was duct tape

on her face?

It had been removed

by the time I saw it.

You know how the FBI

can't wait.

But I found some strands of

the tape still on the mandible.

After decomposition?

Just telling you what I found.

What, so,

three strands of duct tape?

They were separated

for documentation,

but traces of adhesive

indicate they were overlapping.

Wide enough to cover caylee's

mouth and nose?

Suffocation as cause of death?

Frank:

Instead of chloroform.

There's no medical way

to know that from bones.

No, but common sense.

Because why duct tape the mouth

of a dead child?

This is the smoking gun.

We're as close

as we're ever gonna get.

I mean,

this proves premeditation.

Because why else was it there?

To stop her from breathing.

Plain and simple.

I mean, that's the only thing

that tracks.

Jeff:
I mean,

I'd seen skeletons before,

but I'd never seen a child's.

And when I looked

at those tiny little bones,

I felt a physical hatred

for that woman.

No DNA, no fingerprints?

Not after six months

in a swamp.

She was wearing a little shirt

that said, "big trouble

comes in small packages,"

and all that was left

was the collar band

and the iron-on words.

All the cotton had rotted away

like the rest of her.

Can't we just finish the tree?

Sure.

When I get done with her,

she's going to be the most

hated woman in America.

Jeff, you're such a slob.

Will you stop being a maid?

This is not your office.

It's shared space.

Exactly, so leave it alone.

Your way's not better.

Casey did what we said she did

the way we're saying she did it,

she deserves to die.

Except [Clears throat]

in this circuit,

no mother has ever been

sentenced to death

for killing her own child.

Then why waste time trying?

No, you pick a jury that's

willing to vote for death,

you weed out the softies.

You load for people

that see the world our way.

It improves the odds.

And you've set the bar higher,

beyond a reasonable doubt

and then some.

What doubt?

There's no doubt,

starting with her own behavior.

You think it'll come back

to bite us.

Look, we have two

aggravating circumstances

that meet

the state's requirement.

One, we know caylee was killed

by her own mother.

Two, it was a cold,

premeditated murder,

proved by the duct tape,

the chloroform

in the trunk of the car,

and the search history

on the computer.

I see no mitigation

for mental illness or abuse.

She's a psychopathic

narcissist,

but that doesn't

make her mentally ill

in the eyes of the court.

You've got the most

capital-case experience.

You want to take it

to the boss?

Yeah.

It'll be his call.

He likes to go heavy.

And, technically, Jose baez

can't lead a capital case.

He doesn't have enough

trial experience to qualify.

You really don't like that guy.

Well,

it's just he's always on TV

acting like

he's Clarence darrow.

The guy was selling bikinis

before he was

admitted to the bar.

And I know

we're stuck with him,

but now he'd have to bring on

a real lawyer.

It's easier, better,

safer for us down the road.

After they appeal the verdict,

it won't be

for inadequate counsel.

[ Sighs ]

Maybe she'll save us time

and plead.

[ Chuckles ]

I would be disappointed.

Tonight, a big breaker...

a shocker in the case

against Casey Anthony.

Prosecutors announce

they will...

yes, they will

seek the death penalty.

Um, if they think this is

going to make her plead,

they are sadly mistaken.

They've been out to intimidate

Casey Anthony from day one.

It didn't work then.

It's not gonna work now.

They have no witnesses,

no confession,

no cause of death, no DNA,

no date of death.

It's an unprovable case

because it's not true.

What was Casey's reaction?

She knew this was

a strong possibility.

She's aware of the forces

that are out to get her.

Legal experts say that

asking for the death penalty

was a strategic error.

Do you think

you went too far, Jeff?

Well, the jury had plenty

of other options besides death.

They could have found her guilty

of second degree

or even manslaughter.

But they weren't interested

in punishment.

They didn't believe that

she should be punished at all.

Casey Anthony's trial

turning into a huge

dramatic production.

And will Casey's attorney,

Jose baez,

even be allowed to defend her?

Reports say

he doesn't have the experience

required by the Florida bar

to defend a death-penalty case.

[ Cellphone ringing ]

[ Cellphone beeps ]

Jeff Ashton.

Right now?

Okay, I'm on my way.

[ Door opens ]

Consejero.

Seor. How are you?

I'd like you to meet

two new members of my team.

Ann, this is Jeff Ashton,

second chair to the state.

Where's first chair, Jeff?

Linda's gone home.

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