Casey Anthony Trial Update: Cindy Anthony back on stand after chloroform testimony
(CBS) - Casey Anthony's mother, Cindy, is back on the stand today in her daughter's murder trial. Defense attorney Jose Baez has been taking Cindy through a narrative describing events in a series of pictures and a video, all of them showing her two year old granddaughter Caylee in the family pool or near it. The defense contends that Caylee drowned in that pool and Casey's only role in the death was helping to cover it up.
Pictures: Casey and Caylee Anthony, Personal Photos
Yesterday, Cindy Anthony testified that she - and not Casey - had performed searches for chloroform on the family computer.
Cindy Anthony testified that the pool ladder was never left in place and the deck storage box had been moved away from the pool to prevent the child from climbing on it and into the water. Cindy said Caylee was never allowed to enter the pool unsupervised or without a life jacket. Cindy also testified that on June 16, the last day Caylee was seen alive, she came home from work and found the ladder in place on the pool and the side gate to the backyard open. She was shocked enough by that to call her husband at work to inquire about it and then, the next day, told her co-workers how odd it was.
The trial went into its morning recess just moments after defense attorney Jose Baez asked Cindy Anthony about the state of her marriage at the time her granddaughter disappeared. That raised immediate objections from the prosecution - for obvious reasons. The defense claims George Anthony was present when Caylee drowned in the pool and used the specter of child neglect charges to enlist his daughter in efforts to cover up the death.
Casey Anthony is accused of first degree murder in the death of her then two year old daughter. If convicted, she could face the death penalty.
Post contributed by Lisa Meyer-Steinhaus.
The Casey Anthony case was recently reported on by "48 Hours Mystery."