Jury selection for Casey Anthony trial could end up lasting a month
(CBS/WTSP/AP) CLEARWATER, Fla. - After four days of searching for a jury in the Casey Anthony trial, the presiding judge and attorneys don't seem close to finding their jury.
Pictures: Casey and Caylee Anthony, Personal Photos
Thursday's jury selection took 11 hours and only five potential jurors went through questioning by both the defense and prosecution, with pretrial publicity being the focus of much of the questioning, reports CBS affiliate WTSP.
The pace of selection was so slow that Judge Belvin Perry apologized to almost five-dozen prospective jurors who hadn't yet been questioned and sent most of them home in the afternoon on the condition that they return Friday.
Jury selection was initially slated for one week, but now appears as if it could take a majority of the month, the station reports.
"It's almost embarrassing that lawyers are predicting that they can sit a death-qualified jury in a week," said Tampa defense attorney Jeff Brown to the station, who has been following the case from the outside."They should give themselves probably about 3 to 4 weeks to do this effectively and to be able to do it the right way."
Jury selection is taking place outside of Orlando in the Tampa area because of intense media coverage near where the alleged murder of 2-year old Caylee Anthony occurred.
Casey Anthony, 25, could face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder in her daughter's 2008 death. She is also charged with aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child and providing false information to law enforcement. She has pleaded not guilty and maintains a babysitter kidnapped Caylee.
The Casey Anthony case was recently reported on by "48 Hours Mystery."