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"Dead Body" 911 Call Allowed in Casey Anthony Trial, Says Judge
Caylee Anthony (Personal Photo)
ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS/WKMG/AP) A 911 recording in which Cindy Anthony, Casey Anthony's mother, tells a dispatcher that her daughter's car smells like a dead body can be used during the first-degree murder trial.
PICTURES: Casey Anthony Personal Photos
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Casey Anthony's defense team sought to have Cindy Anthony's 911 calls dismissed, claiming they are hearsay, and so should be inadmissible at trial, reports CBS affiliate WKMG.
Prosecutors, however, argued that Cindy Anthony displayed raw emotion in the 911 calls, and so her comments should be allowed at trial under an exception to the hearsay rule called "excited utterance."
Judge Belvin Perry sided with prosecutors.
This means that jurors will be allowed to hear the 911 call where Cindy Anthony says that her daughter's car smells like a dead body. "There's something wrong," Cindy Anthony told the dispatcher. "I found my daughter's car today and it smells like there's been a dead body in the damn car."
Anthony's mother, Cindy, testified that when she called 911 on July 15, 2008 - exactly two years ago Thursday - she was trying to get the dispatcher's attention so officers would come to her house faster. She also had made two calls about an hour earlier.
"I just said whatever I was thinking at the time to get them to come out," she said. "I was in shock. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was hysterical at that point."
Casey Anthony, 24, has pleaded not guilty and has said that a babysitter kidnapped her daughter, Caylee. The toddler's remains were found about six months after her mother said she last saw her alive.
Before the hearing, Cindy Anthony's attorney said his client will tell the truth about her state of mind when she made the calls on July 15, 2008. The calls launched a months-long search for 2-year-old Caylee, which ended in December 2008 when her remains were found in a wooded area near the Anthony family's east Orange County home.
Complete Coverage of Casey Anthony on Crimesider.
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