Casey Anthony Trial Update: Anthony said she was investigating disappearance herself, say cops
(CBS/WKMG/AP) ORLANDO, Fla. - At the Casey Anthony trial today the state played a recorded conversation between Anthony and a detective regarding the disappearance of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee.
Pictures: Casey and Caylee Anthony, Personal Photos
In July 2008, Det. Yuri Melich was in the missing child division of the Orange County Sheriff's Office. He took the stand Wednesday afternoon at Anthony's murder trial, reports CBS affiliate WKMG.
"I think part of me was naive enough to think I could handle this myself, which, obviously I couldn't," Anthony told Melich in the recording. "And I was scared that something would happen to her if I did notify authorities."
"I just want my daughter back," Casey Anthony said at the conclusion of the interview.
Earlier Wednesday, the state called Brendan Fletcher, an Orange County Sheriff's Office corporal who was the first member of law enforcement to respond to the Anthony family home when Cindy Anthony, Casey Anthony's mother, called 911 on July 15.
Fletcher said he thought he was responding to a car theft, which is what Cindy Anthony reported in her first call to 911. He said he spoke with Casey Anthony within 15 minutes of arriving at the home.
"She didn't really say much. I asked her numerous times, different things, and she wasn't very forthcoming with any kind of information initially," Fletcher said, reports WKMG.
Fletcher said Casey Anthony eventually told him her daughter had been missing for around a month, and she last saw her with a nanny. Fletcher said he did not understand why Casey Anthony had decided to conduct her own investigation into her daughter's disappearance instead of calling law enforcement.
Deputy Adriana Acevedo, the second law enforcement member to arrive at the Anthony home the night of July 15 testified next.
Casey Anthony told Acevedo she would take her to the last location she saw Caylee - the Sawgrass Apartments.
Acevedo said Casey Anthony directed her to a specific apartment where she said she had last left Caylee with her nanny, Zenaida Gonzalez. An employee at the apartment complex testified that no one by that name lived in the complex.
Lt. Reginald Hosey of the Orange County Sheriff's Office testified about time he spent at the Anthony home that same night.
Anthony is on trial for first-degree murder for the death of her toddler, Caylee. If convicted, she could be sentenced to death. She has pleaded not guilty, and her defense attorney says Caylee accidentally drowned in the family's swimming pool.
The Casey Anthony case was recently reported on by "48 Hours Mystery."