Prosecutors fail to link Anthony to girl’s death

ORLANDO, Fla. – Prosecutors proved Casey Anthony was a liar, but convinced the jury of little else.

The government failed to establish how 2-year-old Caylee Anthony died, and they couldn’t find her mother’s DNA on the duct tape they said was used to suffocate her. There was conflicting testimony on whether the putrid smell inside the family’s car was a decomposing body or trash, and it was never quite clear why chloroform was so important.

The lack of evidence and the doubt raised by the defense – that Caylee accidentally drowned in the family’s pool – was enough to win an acquittal Tuesday.

Anthony was convicted only of four misdemeanor counts of lying to investigators who were looking into the June 2008 disappearance of Caylee. She lied about being employed at Universal Studios. She lied about leaving Caylee with a baby sitter, then again when she told police she had told two imaginary people that Caylee was missing. She also lied about receiving a phone call from Caylee the day before she was reported missing.

Anthony will be sentenced on those charges Thursday.

Lead defense attorney Jose Baez was criticized by many legal pundits for his strategy and loosely throwing around allegations of molestation and incest. Baez suggested early on that Casey’s father, George Anthony, helped cover up the drowning and sexually abused his daughter, accusations the father vehemently denied.

Baez claimed Casey’s brother might be Caylee’s father and that a meter reader who discovered the girl’s remains may have moved them, more claims that weren’t substantiated.

Ultimately, though, the burden of proof wasn’t on Baez.

“I don’t think it was Baez’ great lawyering that won the case,” said Richard Rosenbaum, a Florida criminal defense attorney. “I think it goes back to the prosecution and the weaknesses in their case.”

Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. attorney for Miami and now a defense attorney, said Baez had to offer an alternative to the prosecution’s theory of how Caylee was killed, though he was less impressed with the molestation accusations.

“The biggest questions were the ‘how’ and the ‘why,’ ” Coffey said. “Even the state acknowledged they weren’t exactly sure of how Caylee was killed. That was a candid acknowledgement, but Baez seized on that.”

Orlando’s chief prosecutor, Lawson Lamar, said his attorneys were disappointed with the verdict but they presented every piece of evidence that existed.

One of the lead prosecutors on the case, Jeff Ashton, announced he would retire following 30 years as a prosecutor. A spokeswoman said Ashton and Lamar had previously discussed his retirement.

Baez addressed his naysayers during a press conference.

“This case has brought on new challenges for all of us. Challenges in the criminal justice system, challenges in the media, and I think we should all take this as an opportunity to learn and to realize that you cannot convict someone until they have had their day in court,” he said.

Yale Galanter, who has represented O.J. Simpson in cases since 2000, said he was not surprised by the verdict.

“The issue is there was absolutely no evidence linking her to the death. None. So what the defense did was brilliant, they brought up the drowning, they brought up the sexual molestation, and it really got the jury to focus away from the bad behavior of the mom.”