New Casey Anthony defense tactics midstream?

Testimony was to resume Saturday in the intensely-watched Casey Anthony murder trial in Orlando, Fla.

A leading criminologist says she now thinks it's highly unlikely Anthony will take the stand - because prosecutors would "eat her alive."

On Friday, Day 27, attention was focused on dramatic testimony of her brother, Lee Anthony, who broke down in tears on the stand, as Casey cried from her seat.

She's pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, and could face the death penalty if convicted on that charge.

Her lawyers say they could wrap up their case by Thursday.

Earlier Friday, it was Casey's mother, Cindy Anthony, who became emotional after being shown pictures of her getting into the family's swimming pool with Caylee.

Casey's attorneys claim the tot died when she accidentally drowned in the pool.

Prosecutors have sought to implicate Casey by saying she had researched possible murder techniques on the Internet.

But on Thursday, Cindy admitted that in March of 2008 she had searched online for the term "chloroform," just a few months before her granddaughter went missing.

Under cross-examination, Cindy said her searches only went so far - not Googling how to make chloroform, any on Googling the term chloroform.

On "The Early Show on Saturday Morning," criminologist Casey Jordan admitted she doesn't know what Casey's defense team is up to, adding, "I don't know whether anybody knows. We've been waiting and waiting and for Lee to take the stand. Four weeks ago, we heard in opening statements allegations by (Casey lawyer) Jose Baez that Lee was sexually inappropriate, molested his sister. Of course, (Casey's father) George was accused of the same, and already had the opportunity to deny it.

"When Lee was on the stand, we kept waiting for that question. And it never came. Instead, we get all of this emotional, this teary, 'My family didn't accept me, I was always excluded.' We got a lot of emotions we weren't expecting, and we didn't get the confrontational direct examination we were thinking we would see.

Any idea why?

"I think (Baez is) really striving to just hammer (away at) what a dysfunctional family this is. Why give Lee an opportunity to deny the sexual abuse allegations, because he would just say 'no.' Why not just use him to humanize the fact that this family is incredibly screwed up, so maybe the allegations are true? What else -- what huge secrets are going on in this family, especially between Lee and Casey, because they were both crying simultaneously. What's going on? Maybe it's something that could explain Casey's behavior."

Jordan says Cindy's testimony about searching for information on chloroform was surprising, as well, "because Cindy who, when under direct examination by the state, had come across as very credible, now comes across as a mother trying to save her daughter's life. Most people do not believe she was truthful. In her deposition from 2009, she had said she doesn't think she had done that. She isn't sure. Now she's claiming that she's taking medication that's helped her recover her memory. I don't think this is lost on the jury. Once Cindy's credibility is in question, that could actually backfire for the defense."

But, Jordan observed, the pool pictures "score one for the defense. It is now something graphic: little Caylee, getting into the pool, smiling, happy to be swimming. That is an actual visual that the jurors will take back with them in deliberations and really be thinking, 'Maybe she did climb the ladder. Maybe the ladder was left up. Maybe she did drown.' But that still does not explain why the so-called accident was never reported. That's the huge hurdle they really haven't overcome yet."

And Jordan said the odds of Casey testifying are getting worse by the day. "Dour weeks ago," Jordan recalled, "I said 100 percent. ... I've lost 20 percent each week as the trial's gone down.

"I think the defense has changed its strategy midstream. I think it's very unlikely she'll take the stand now. His credibility is so destroyed, better to just pretend that opening statement didn't happen; don't let her take the stand, because we've seen (Jeff) Ashton on the prosecution team, he will eat her alive if she ever gets up there."