Casey Anthony's Brother Takes Stand In Murder Trial

ORLANDO (CBS4) - The brother of an Orlando woman accused of killing her two year old daughter has taken the stand as a witness for the prosecution.

Lee Anthony, brother of 25-year old Casey Anthony, told the jury about his unsuccessful efforts to track down his sister during the month when her daughter Caylee was missing, before the child's disappearance was first reported to authorities.

Lee Anthony testified on that he tried to track down his sister at a nightclub, by text messaging and by telephone calls in early July 2008 but was repeatedly unsuccessful.

Anthony is on trial for first-degree murder for the death of Caylee.  She has pleaded not guilty and her defense attorney says Caylee died in an accidental drowning in the family's swimming pool.

Caylee was last seen by her grandparents in mid-June 2008. Casey Anthony waited a month before telling her family the toddler was missing. Her mother then called authorities. Anthony has said she was trying to find her daughter on her own but prosecutors contend she was really going to nightclubs, shopping and hanging out with friends during that month.

Anthony wiped tears from her eyes as her brother testified that on the night of July 15, 2008 he had questioned his sister about why Caylee hadn't been seen by her family in weeks and wasn't home in the house she shared with her mother and grandparents. Anthony told her brother that Caylee was with a baby sitter and that she didn't interrupt her sleep schedule by getting her, Lee Anthony said.

"Nothing was making sense to me," Lee Anthony said. "Why couldn't anybody get Caylee and bring her home?"

After a few minutes more of questioning, Anthony told her brother that she hadn't seen her daughter in 31 days and that the baby sitter had kidnapped her, Anthony also said she had received a phone call from Caylee that very day, Lee Anthony said.

Earlier in the morning, Anthony's former best friend was cross-examined by Anthony's defense attorney about their friendship.

Brother Lee Anthony was the latest family member to testify in Anthony's trial.

On Tuesday, Anthony's mother Cindy broke down in tears on the stand as she recounted a 911 call she made in July 2008. The call came after her daughter told her that Caylee had been missing for 31 days.

Earlier in the day Cindy Anthony described for the jury the terrible odor coming from a car that her husband George had retrieved from a towing lot. The Pontiac had been driven by Casey, but Cindy Anthony testified they hadn't seen their daughter nor their granddaughter for several weeks.

Anthony choked back tears as she described removing Caylee's favorite doll from the car and spraying it with Febreze to remove the odor. She also removed Caylee's backpack and Casey's purse.

At the time the car was retrieved from the towing lot, Cindy Anthony said Casey had refused to come home for several weeks. Anthony told jurors that Casey had told her in a phone call that she needed space, and that's why she was staying away.

Prosecutors contend Casey Anthony suffocated her daughter with duct tape placed over her mouth and the odor in the car came from human decomposition.

The defense claims Caylee accidentally drowned in her grandparents pool and George Anthony, who discovered the girl's body, helped cover up the death. As for the odor in the car, the defense said it came from a bag of trash Anthony had left in the car.

On Saturday, Cindy Anthony described the days leading up to the young girl's disappearance. She gave a tour of the family home, including a playhouse built for the toddler and the above-ground pool the defense team claims the girl drowned in.

She testified about the day she and Caylee went swimming on June 15, 2008, the last day she saw her granddaughter. She said she removed a ladder used to help Caylee get into the above-ground pool -- something she did every time the pool wasn't being used.

Cindy Anthony was not asked directly Saturday whether she thought the young girl drowned.

Casey Anthony's former boyfriend, Anthony Lazzaro, also testified Saturday about the hours after the Anthony's reported Caylee's disappearance to authorities. He described a text message exchange in which he was trying to get Casey Anthony to reveal where the toddler was.

"If they don't find her guess who gets blamed and spends eternity in jail?" the text message read.

If convicted, Casey Anthony could face the death penalty.

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