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December 15, 2008 Time line critical in Anthony casePosted: 01:15 PM ET
NEW YORK–The time line is going to be critical for both sides in the Casey Anthony case. So much will depend on whether forensic experts can determine even the approximate date of death. The last time Caylee Anthony was seen alive was on Monday, June 16, 2008, the day after Father’s Day. In the days to follow, Casey Anthony allegedly asked neighbors for a shovel, and her car was seen backed up to the family’s garage. If prosecution experts can determine a time of death during this week, it will go a long way to corroborate other evidence in this so-far circumstantial case. We don’t currently know what the defense will be in this case. If the remains are identified as Caylee, and it can be determined that the corpse was in the trunk for a substantial period of time, it may go far in helping the defense. This is a capital murder case, and prosecutors may amend their decision to not seek death. A viable defense in this case, that could absolve the defendant of guilt, is the defense of insanity. In Florida, as in the majority of jurisdictions in this country, the Supreme Court case of McNaughton provides the standard rule followed by Florida courts. The test for insanity from this landmark case is whether the defendant knew right from wrong at the time the crime was committed. At first glance, Casey Anthony knew right from wrong, because if she committed this crime, she was able to lie her way through it, blame it on someone else, put the body in a bag with duct tape and dispose of it. However, if the body was in the trunk for a determinate amount of time, which is a viable possibility because of the strong odor many have described, there could be a time lapse between the murder and the intentional disposal of the remains. As in the Texas murder case of multimillionaire Robert Durst, the defense was able to separate out the killing of victim Morris Black from the dismembering of his body, which was subsequently thrown out to sea. The millionaire was found not guilty of Black's murder, after successfully arguing self-defense, and that disposal of the body was not evidence of murder itself. In this case, if there is enough time between the death of the toddler and disposal of her corpse, the defense could try to argue the same theory as was done in Durst, except insanity at the time of the crime would be substituted for self-defense. Subsequently, all the lies and actions that followed would be separated out from the killing itself. Time will tell how the defense will proceed and many questions remain as to what forensic conclusions can actually be made in this case. This truly will be a battle of the experts. –Jean Casarez, In Session correspondent Filed under: Casey and Caylee Anthony |
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