Casey Anthony Update: Defense Witness Laura Buchanan Discredited in Newly Released Documents
(CBS/WKMG) Laura Buchanan, a key defense key witnesses in the murder case of Casey Anthony, who's accused of murdering 2-year-old daughter, is the subject of ridicule in hundreds of pages of prosecution documents which were released to the public Friday.
PICTURES: Casey and Caylee Anthony, Personal Photos
Buchanan, a volunteer who helped search for 2-year-old Caylee Anthony in September 2008, said in a sworn statement that she had searched the exact area where the child's body was ultimately found, but found nothing herself.
"It is my opinion that the remains of Caylee Anthony were not there during the time of our search," Buchanan's October 2009 statement says. "I personally searched near the privacy fence and worked my way towards and then beyond the spot where the body was found. I did not notice anything unusual."
However, the newly released documents reveal that Buchanan provided a series of inconsistent statements, and altered Texas EquuSearch documents, reports The Orlando Sentinel.
Buchanan's initial statements were contradicted by other searchers and other Texas EquuSearch officials who claimed that the location where Caylee was found in December 2008 had been impassable because it was under water.
During a lengthy two session deposition in August and November, Buchanan acknowledged that she did not ever know where the child's remains were found, says The Orlando Sentinel.
"I didn't know where the remains of the child were, period. I didn't know, I was -- I was shown something, pointed to it," Buchanan said.
As a result of her incongruous statements, detectives are now focusing on Buchanan in their secondary investigation of the Anthony murder case.
Anthony, 24, remains jailed on first-degree murder charges in the death of her daughter, Caylee. She has pleaded not guilty and maintains that Caylee was abducted by her babysitter. The trial is scheduled to begin in May.
COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CASEY ANTHONY ON CRIMESIDER