FL v. Casey Anthony (2011): Detective Yuri Melich Testifies — Transcript
Full transcript
- 0:02My name is Yuri Melich, Y U R I M E L I
- 0:07C H.
- 0:10All right, may I proceed, Mr. Drake?
- 0:13Thank you.
- 0:17Good afternoon.
- 0:18Good afternoon.
- 0:19How are you employed, sir?
- 0:21I work with the Orange County Sheriff's
- 0:22Office.
- 0:23How long have you been employed with
- 0:25Orange County?
- 0:26Just under 10 years since October of
- 0:272001.
- 0:28Okay. Do you have an assignment with
- 0:31them currently?
- 0:32I do.
- 0:33What is that?
- 0:34I work for the professional standards
- 0:35section, better known as internal
- 0:36affairs.
- 0:38In July of 2008, did you have a
- 0:41different assignment?
- 0:42I did.
- 0:43What was that?
- 0:44I was a detective corporal in the
- 0:45missing persons child abuse unit.
- 0:48Okay. Can you explain for the jurors
- 0:50what the responsibilities of a
- 0:53detective corporal in that unit would
- 0:55entail?
- 0:56Along with supervisory responsibilities,
- 0:58we had three detectives and four
- 1:00civilians under our command.
- 1:02We also investigated cases of missing
- 1:04persons and investigated allegations of
- 1:07child abuse.
- 1:10As of July of 2008, how long had you
- 1:14had that assignment?
- 1:16I was promoted and transferred there in
- 1:17April of 2008.
- 1:22Okay. Prior to your promotion,
- 1:24what background did you have with the
- 1:26Orange County Sheriff?
- 1:28For just over 2 years, I worked with the
- 1:31homicide division.
- 1:34What else?
- 1:35Prior to that, I would spend a year
- 1:37working as a detective in East Side
- 1:39Property Unit.
- 1:41What is that?
- 1:43Investigating property crimes on the
- 1:44East Side of Orange County.
- 1:46Okay. Burglaries, things like that.
- 1:49People's residences.
- 1:51Break-ins at houses and things like
- 1:53that.
- 1:53Yes, that's correct.
- 1:57Prior to uh your assignment as a
- 2:00detective, did you work in patrol?
- 2:03I did.
- 2:10On July 16th of 2008, did you receive a
- 2:15call from then Sergeant Reginald Hosey
- 2:19regarding
- 2:20um the events occurring at
- 2:254937 Hope Springs Drive?
- 2:27I did.
- 2:29As a result of that call, uh did you
- 2:32respond to 4937 Hope Springs?
- 2:35I did.
- 2:36Do you recall what time you arrived on
- 2:39scene?
- 2:39Uh just before 4:00 in the morning,
- 2:41before between 3:30 and 4:00, 3:51, I
- 2:44believe.
- 2:46When you arrived there, did you meet
- 2:48with an individual by the name of Casey
- 2:50Anthony?
- 2:51I did.
- 2:54Did you become aware that she had given
- 2:58any sort of written statement in regards
- 3:01to the events that the patrol officers
- 3:04uh were investigating?
- 3:06Yes.
- 3:08If I may approach the witness, Your
- 3:09Honor.
- 3:13I'm going to show you what's been marked
- 3:14as KI for identification.
- 3:22I do.
- 3:24Were you provided with that upon your
- 3:25arrival um
- 3:27that morning?
- 3:30Yes.
- 3:30Okay. From the uh patrol deputies who
- 3:33were there?
- 3:34Yes.
- 3:36Did you show it to Casey Anthony?
- 3:39I believe I did because
- 3:41I ended up referring to it in a later
- 3:43interview with her, so yes.
- 3:44All right. Um after showing it to her,
- 3:47did you ask her if this was in fact her
- 3:50statement?
- 3:51Yes, I did.
- 3:53Did you ask her if she wrote it herself?
- 3:57I did.
- 3:58Okay, and did she adopt that statement
- 4:00as being one that she had written out?
- 4:03Yes.
- 4:04Your Honor, at this point I would seek
- 4:06to introduce K I for identification into
- 4:08evidence.
- 4:10What says the defense?
- 4:12We would object as to the proper
- 4:14predicate.
- 4:15This detective does not know the
- 4:17circumstances surrounding how that
- 4:19statement was taken. It's not the
- 4:21officer who took the statement.
- 4:35Response from the state of Florida?
- 4:37Your Honor, the witness has indicated
- 4:39that
- 4:40these statements were adopted in their
- 4:42entirety by Miss Anthony, that he had
- 4:44shown her the statement, asked her if
- 4:46she wrote it, and if it was in fact
- 4:49her statement. They are adopted
- 4:51admissions.
- 4:54Any additional objection besides not a
- 4:56proper predicate?
- 5:00No.
- 5:02Okay, based upon that objection, the
- 5:03objection will be overruled. It'll be
- 5:05received in evidence as
- 5:10Okay,
- 5:11mark it, Madam Clerk,
- 5:13then we can hand it back to the witness.
- 5:21I'm sorry, that's number 60?
- 5:23Yes.
- 5:28Permission to
- 5:30publish 60 in evidence to the jury, Your
- 5:33Honor.
- 5:48One moment. If may have a moment.
- 5:50Yes.
- 5:55Actually, Judge, I have an objection I'd
- 5:57like to
- 5:58Is saying that
- 6:03Is saying
- 6:23My previous motions and objections.
- 6:26Okay, renewed
- 6:28objection same prior ruling.
- 6:31Thank you, Mr. Baez.
- 6:34Can we have a moment to set up the
- 6:35document camera? Apparently, there's a
- 6:37slight technical difficulty with trying
- 6:39to display it on the monitor. I
- 6:41apologize.
- 6:43Yes, ma'am.
- 6:49Detective
- 6:50Melich, you
- 6:53see the document in front of you?
- 6:55I do.
- 7:15Read, if I may, Judge.
- 7:17You may.
- 7:17Can you
- 7:19read to the jury
- 7:21this Anthony's statement?
- 7:31On Monday, June 9th, 2008,
- 7:34between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.,
- 7:37I, Casey Anthony, took my daughter,
- 7:40Caylee Marie Anthony,
- 7:42to her nanny's apartment.
- 7:44Caylee will be 3 years old on August
- 7:469th, 2008.
- 7:49She was born on August 9th, 2005.
- 7:52Caylee is about 3-ft tall, white female
- 7:55with shoulder-length light brown hair.
- 7:58She has dark hazel eyes (brown/green)
- 8:02close parentheses
- 8:03and a small birthmark on her left
- 8:05shoulder.
- 8:06On the day of her disappearance, Caylee
- 8:08was wearing a pink shirt with jean
- 8:10shorts,
- 8:11white sneakers, and her hair was pulled
- 8:13back in a ponytail.
- 8:15On Monday, June 9th, 2008, between 9:00
- 8:19a.m. and 1:00 p.m.,
- 8:21I took Caylee to the Sawgrass Apartments
- 8:24located
- 8:26on Conway Road.
- 8:27Caylee's nanny, Zenaida
- 8:29Fernandez-Gonzalez,
- 8:32has watched her for the past year and a
- 8:34half to 2 years.
- 8:36Zenaida is 25 years old and is from New
- 8:39York.
- 8:40She is roughly 5-ft 7-in tall, 140 lbs.
- 8:44She has dark brown curly hair and brown
- 8:47eyes.
- 8:48Zenaida's birthday is in September.
- 8:51I met Zenaida through a mutual friend,
- 8:53Jeffrey Michael Hopkins.
- 8:55She has watched his son, Zachary
- 8:57Hopkins, for about 6 months to a year.
- 9:00I met Zenaida in 2004 around Christmas.
- 9:04On the date listed above, June 9th,
- 9:062008, after dropping Caylee off at
- 9:09Zenaida's apartment, I proceeded to head
- 9:11to my place of employment, Universal
- 9:12Studios Orlando.
- 9:14I have worked at Universal for over 4
- 9:16years, since June of 2004.
- 9:19I left work around 5:00 p.m. and went
- 9:22back to the apartment to pick up my
- 9:23daughter.
- 9:24However, after reaching the apartment, I
- 9:27realized that neither Zenaida, Caylee,
- 9:30or either of her two roommates were
- 9:31home.
- 9:32I have briefly met Raquel Ferrell and
- 9:34Jennifer Rosa on various occasions.
- 9:38After calling Zenaida to see where she
- 9:39and Caylee were
- 9:41and when they were coming home,
- 9:44I waited outside of the apartment.
- 9:46I had called Zenaida earlier that
- 9:48morning prior to bringing Caylee over
- 9:50for the afternoon.
- 9:52When I called her that afternoon,
- 9:55her phone was no longer in service.
- 9:58Two hours passed and around 7:00 p.m., I
- 10:01left the apartment and headed to
- 10:03familiar places that Zenaida would go
- 10:05with Caylee.
- 10:07One of Caylee's favorite places is Jay
- 10:10Blanchard Park.
- 10:12I spent the rest of the evening,
- 10:14correction, rest of that evening
- 10:16pacing and worrying at one of the
- 10:19few places I felt "at home."
- 10:22{unintelligible}
- 10:23My boyfriend Anthony Lazarro's
- 10:25apartment.
- 10:27For the past 4 weeks since Caylee's
- 10:29disappearance, I have stayed at
- 10:30Anthony's apartment in Sutton Place.
- 10:33I have spent every day since Monday,
- 10:35June 9, 2008 looking for my daughter.
- 10:39I have lied and stolen from my friends
- 10:41and family to do whatever I could by any
- 10:44means to find my daughter.
- 10:47I avoided calling the police or even
- 10:49notifying my own family out of fear.
- 10:52I have been and still am afraid of what
- 10:54has or may happen to Caylee.
- 10:57I have not had any contact with Zenaida
- 10:59since Thursday, June 12, 2008.
- 11:03I received a quick call from Zenaida.
- 11:06Not once have I been able
- 11:08to ask her for my daughter
- 11:10or gain any information on where
- 11:14I can find her.
- 11:16Every day I have gone to malls, parks,
- 11:19any place I could remember Zenaida
- 11:20taking Caylee.
- 11:22I have gone out and tried to find any
- 11:24information about Caylee or Zenaida
- 11:27whether by going to a popular bar or
- 11:30restaurant.
- 11:31I have contacted Jeff Hopkins on several
- 11:33occasions to see if he had heard from or
- 11:36seen Zenaida.
- 11:38Jeff currently lives in Jacksonville,
- 11:39Florida.
- 11:41On Tuesday, July 15, 2008, around 12:00
- 11:44p.m., I received a phone call from my
- 11:46daughter, Caylee.
- 11:49Today was the first day I have heard her
- 11:51voice in over 4 weeks.
- 11:53I'm afraid of what Caylee is going
- 11:55through.
- 11:56After 31 days, I know that the only
- 11:58thing that matters is getting my
- 11:59daughter back.
- 12:01With many and all attempts to contact
- 12:03Zenaida,
- 12:04and within the one short conversation on
- 12:07June 12, 2008, I was never able to check
- 12:11on the status or well-being of my
- 12:12daughter.
- 12:13Zenaida never made an attempt to explain
- 12:16why Caylee is no longer in Orlando, or
- 12:18if she is ever going to bring her home.
- 12:22Thank you.
- 12:24Where did you review that statement with
- 12:26Miss Anthony?
- 12:28If I recall correctly, it was in a spare
- 12:30bedroom they had at the Anthony home.
- 12:33Okay.
- 12:36When you arrived at the Anthony home, uh
- 12:39did you ask Miss Anthony if she would
- 12:41speak to you about the statement that
- 12:43she had written prior to your arrival?
- 12:45If you're referring to Casey Anthony,
- 12:47yes.
- 12:47Miss Anthony.
- 12:48Yes.
- 12:49Yes, Casey Anthony.
- 12:51All right. Uh and did she agree to speak
- 12:53with you?
- 12:53Yes.
- 12:55Did you stay in what you you referred to
- 12:58as a the spare bedroom and speak with
- 13:00her further?
- 13:01Yes.
- 13:02Okay. At that point, did you uh
- 13:06place her on
- 13:08tape?
- 13:10Yes.
- 13:10Audio tape.
- 13:13Have you had the opportunity to listen
- 13:15to that audio tape?
- 13:16Yes.
- 13:17Does the audio fairly and accurately
- 13:20reflect the conversation that you had
- 13:23with Casey Anthony?
- 13:25Yes.
- 13:37Your Honor, at this point I would seek
- 13:39to introduce M U for identification to
- 13:42evidence
- 13:44M V being a
- 13:50What says the defense?
- 13:52We renew all previous motions and
- 13:54objections.
- 13:56Noting previous motions and objections,
- 13:58uh
- 14:00objections will be overruled and it will
- 14:03be received in evidence.
- 14:12Detective Melich, have you had the
- 14:14opportunity to review the transcript
- 14:17that was generated from the tape?
- 14:19Yes.
- 14:21And uh have you determined that the
- 14:24transcript is an accurate
- 14:28version of what also appears on tape?
- 14:31Yes.
- 14:34Your Honor, at this point I would seek
- 14:35to publish 61
- 14:39in evidence
- 14:41to the jury.
- 14:44Okay, you may publish.
- 14:565/16/2008. The time right now is 04:11
- 15:00hours. I'm Detective Melich with the
- 15:01Orange County Sheriff's Office.
- 15:03Um present here at
- 15:054937 Hope Spring Drive. I reference
- 15:09Orange County case number 08-069208.
- 15:12I am with Casey Anthony. Is that
- 15:14correct?
- 15:15Yes.
- 15:15And Casey, would you please state your
- 15:16birthday for me?
- 15:1703/19/1986.
- 15:20Okay. Casey, do you understand this is
- 15:22being recorded? do
- 15:23you have any objection to that?
- 15:24No.
- 15:24All right. Okay, so I got called here in
- 15:27my sergeant Reggie Hosey with the Orange
- 15:29County Sheriff's Office in reference to
- 15:30a missing child. We sat here and and
- 15:32talked for a short moment before we went
- 15:35on tape because I wanted to make sure
- 15:36that your sworn statement, which I'm
- 15:37looking at, was accurate. I'm looking at
- 15:40four pages of a sworn statement. On the
- 15:42bottom it appears to be your signature,
- 15:43is that correct?
- 15:44Yes.
- 15:44Okay.
- 15:45And you're saying that everything
- 15:47contained in these statements are true
- 15:48and accurate?
- 15:49Yes.
- 15:50Also, before I turned on the recorder, I
- 15:52gave you a chance cuz I wanted to
- 15:54explain what happens if if you make a
- 15:56false report or if there's something
- 15:57about this incident that you're not
- 15:58telling us the truth of.
- 16:00Mhm.
- 16:00And I wanted to make sure I made it
- 16:01perfectly clear that, you know, if you
- 16:03want to go ahead and and rescind this
- 16:05statement, and if you want to tell me a
- 16:06different story about what happened
- 16:08Mhm.
- 16:09if you're basically if you're trying to
- 16:11to fabricate a story to kind of make
- 16:14something look a little bit better,
- 16:15now's your time to tell me. Are you
- 16:17telling me that this is the story you
- 16:18want to stick with?
- 16:18It's the truth. It's the story I want to
- 16:20stick with.
- 16:22Okay. Um
- 16:24in your own words, let's go let's go
- 16:25back. Your daughter's name is Caylee, c
- 16:28a y l e e.
- 16:29Yes.
- 16:29Marie Anthony. She was born August 9th,
- 16:322005.
- 16:33Okay.
- 16:36And
- 16:38according to your statement back on
- 16:39August 9th,
- 16:42I'm sorry.
- 16:43Uh
- 16:44back on June 9th, 2008, you took Casey
- 16:47to
- 16:48a babysitter's house.
- 16:49Yes.
- 16:50And who was this babysitter?
- 16:51Her name is Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez.
- 16:53Do you know how to spell the first name?
- 16:55z e n a i d a
- 16:58And where was Zenaida's Where did you
- 17:00drop Zenaida off? Your child off?
- 17:02The Sawgrass Apartments on Conway and
- 17:05Michigan.
- 17:05Do you remember the address?
- 17:07I don't remember the address.
- 17:08Do you remember an apartment number?
- 17:09210
- 17:10Okay.
- 17:11It's on the second floor.
- 17:12If you were to pull into the Sawgrass
- 17:14Apartments, would the building be the
- 17:16one closest to the road or the back,
- 17:18halfway
- 17:19as you go straight, you go over one
- 17:20speed bump and it's the first one on the
- 17:22right hand side.
- 17:23Okay, is there a pool next to it or is
- 17:25there anything about the apartment that
- 17:26stands out?
- 17:26There is a welcome sign. It's
- 17:28um
- 17:31I guess there's a little shed close to
- 17:33the building, maybe about 10 yards away.
- 17:36Okay. How long have you known Zenaida?
- 17:39Almost 4 years. It'll be 4 years
- 17:41Christmas this year.
- 17:42And where did you meet her or who did
- 17:44you meet her through?
- 17:45A mutual friend. His name is Jeffrey
- 17:47Michael Hopkins.
- 17:49Um I met him at Nickelodeon Universal
- 17:52and I met her through him. She was his
- 17:55son's nanny at the time.
- 17:56Does Jeffrey still work at Universal?
- 17:58No, he does not.
- 18:00How long has it been since he left?
- 18:03About
- 18:059, 10 months, give or take.
- 18:08Did he move back to Jacksonville?
- 18:09He moved up to North Carolina for a
- 18:11short time and moved down to
- 18:13Jacksonville
- 18:15within the last 3 months.
- 18:17When was the last time you spoke with
- 18:18him?
- 18:19About a week and a half ago.
- 18:21Okay. Do you know a telephone number for
- 18:23him?
- 18:25I can find a number for him. I don't
- 18:27know a number off hand. No, I do not.
- 18:30You mentioned something before we went
- 18:32on tape about your cell phones.
- 18:33Yes. I have two phones. I just received
- 18:37a new phone through work, through
- 18:38Universal.
- 18:40Um the
- 18:42phone won't keep charged, so I use my
- 18:44old phone that I actually had gotten
- 18:46again through Universal for work.
- 18:48Okay.
- 18:49You Did you lose a phone?
- 18:51Yes.
- 18:51Was it your personal phone?
- 18:52It was my personal phone, but I also use
- 18:54it for business.
- 18:55Okay. What's your What's the number for
- 18:56the phone that you lost?
- 18:58Um 407
- 18:59619
- 19:019286.
- 19:03Did you keep that same number?
- 19:04Yes, it's still the same number. I just
- 19:06lost the phone.
- 19:07And in that phone, you're saying was the
- 19:09SIM card and the SIM card had the
- 19:10contact information? sim
- 19:11is in my Nokia phone, but I know there's
- 19:14numbers saved to the cell phone itself.
- 19:16So, if we get the actual phone, I know I
- 19:18have one other number for Zenaida.
- 19:21And probably number for Jeff besides
- 19:24work numbers and
- 19:26But, they're not in your sim card?
- 19:28They're not saved on the sim card,
- 19:29they're saved on the phone. I've been
- 19:30trying to figure out on that new phone
- 19:32how to save numbers from the phone to
- 19:33the sim card and switch them back and
- 19:35forth. So, that way I have everything
- 19:38all in one piece.
- 19:39Okay. So, the phone where you had the
- 19:41number saved
- 19:42was lost?
- 19:43Yes. I filed an incident report.
- 19:45How did you end up keeping the sim card?
- 19:47I had taken it out. I know I left the
- 19:49phone on my desk at work after I'd
- 19:51switched the sim card back to my old
- 19:52phone.
- 19:53Because this was the phone that actually
- 19:55would keep charge. And I want to be able
- 19:57to have a working phone
- 19:59instead of having a phone that would
- 20:00only
- 20:02stay charged for about a half hour and
- 20:04then it would die and I can't make any
- 20:05more calls. It's for me not a
- 20:07So, after you after you switched the sim
- 20:09card, is when the phone was
- 20:10I left it I know I left it on my desk
- 20:12and I hadn't been at work for at least
- 20:15three or four days.
- 20:16And you said you made a report to
- 20:17Universal?
- 20:18Yes, with security.
- 20:20When was
- 20:20Nine days ago.
- 20:21Nine days ago?
- 20:22Yes.
- 20:22Okay.
- 20:24So, you met Zenaida through Jeffrey
- 20:26Hopkins.
- 20:26I did.
- 20:27And his son Zach Hopkins, I guess.
- 20:29Zenaida used to watch over Zach.
- 20:30Yes.
- 20:31And so, you've known Zenaida for about
- 20:32four years?
- 20:33Almost four years, yes.
- 20:34knew her you knew her before you had
- 20:36your child.
- 20:37Well, I met her just before I was
- 20:39actually pregnant at the time.
- 20:41So.
- 20:42And when did she start watching over
- 20:43your child?
- 20:45Um it's been within the last year and a
- 20:48half to two years that she started
- 20:49watching Kaylee. I had another friend
- 20:52watch Kaylee that I'd I've known since
- 20:54middle school. When she went back to
- 20:56school, I was looking for a new nanny.
- 20:58Jeff offered to have
- 21:00Zenaida watch both kids. She agreed and
- 21:03they kind of went from there.
- 21:05Before Zenaida started watching over
- 21:07your child, who the who was the nanny?
- 21:09Her name was Lauren
- 21:11Gibbs, g i b b s.
- 21:13And when did Lauren stop watching
- 21:15your child?
- 21:16Um
- 21:23maybe
- 21:25April of 2006.
- 21:28Okay. And right in April 2006, roughly,
- 21:31is when Zenaida started watching over?
- 21:33How would you normally drop off How
- 21:34would you normally do the exchange with
- 21:36your child and Zenaida? Would you drop
- 21:37the child off? Would you meet her
- 21:38somewhere?
- 21:39I would usually drop her off for a few
- 21:42months. We would go over to Jeff's
- 21:44house. He lived over in Avalon Park.
- 21:47That was
- 21:49a couple years ago, almost a couple
- 21:50years ago.
- 21:51And you would go to Jeff's house why?
- 21:53To drop off Kayleigh.
- 21:55That's where Zenaida would go to watch
- 21:56both of the kids.
- 21:57Okay.
- 21:58It was in a nice centralized area. He
- 22:00had a decent size house. It was good
- 22:02room for the two of them.
- 22:04Then I started bringing Kayleigh over to
- 22:06Zenaida's apartment.
- 22:07How long were you using or were you
- 22:09going to Zenaida's apartment? How When
- 22:11did you start taking
- 22:13Kayleigh?
- 22:14Um
- 22:18I guess maybe the end of 2006, beginning
- 22:20of 2007.
- 22:22So, since the end of 2006, beginning of
- 22:24'07
- 22:24Mhm.
- 22:25you started taking Kayleigh to Zenaida's
- 22:28house on Sawgrass.
- 22:30She had an apartment on
- 22:33I guess it's considered Glenwood, but
- 22:35it's off of Bambi and Robinson.
- 22:38Mhm.
- 22:38Close to downtown.
- 22:40She lived there for
- 22:42quite a few months and moved over to
- 22:44Sawgrass just recently, this year.
- 22:49Yeah, the house on Bambi. Do you
- 22:51remember the address? Remember where
- 22:52it's at?
- 22:53I know it's off of Glenwood. I don't
- 22:54remember the apartment number off hand.
- 22:57No, I do not.
- 23:00And how long would you say you dropped
- 23:01the child off there from the beginning
- 23:02of
- 23:03end of '06, beginning of '07 to
- 23:06Um
- 23:12He got 6-7 months to maybe the middle of
- 23:152007.
- 23:17So, she moved into the Sawgrass about
- 23:19the middle of '07?
- 23:20She's been at that apartment in Sawgrass
- 23:23for about the last 3 or 4 months. She
- 23:26lived with her mom for a little bit.
- 23:28Where does her mom live?
- 23:29She lives off of Michigan.
- 23:31Do you know where the house is?
- 23:32Um
- 23:35It's not a very well-marked
- 23:36neighborhood. It crosses just over a
- 23:38Conway. It's one of the big stretches of
- 23:40neighborhoods.
- 23:41Had you dropped the child off there
- 23:42before?
- 23:42Yes.
- 23:43If you had to find the place, would you
- 23:44be able to find it?
- 23:45Most likely, yes. I think I'd remember
- 23:47the house.
- 23:48Okay. So, she was living off of
- 23:49Glenwood, then moved into her mom's
- 23:50house somewhere off of Michigan.
- 23:51Mhm.
- 23:52And then moved into the Sawgrass.
- 23:54So, Sawgrass 3 or 4 months ago, off of
- 23:56Glenwood until mid '07.
- 23:58Mhm.
- 23:59And mom's house.
- 24:03Her mom wasn't living there at the time.
- 24:06Her mom had gotten another place with
- 24:08her sister.
- 24:10But she was staying over at the house
- 24:13and moved in with the two girls that are
- 24:15referenced in the pages.
- 24:19She was living with these two girls at
- 24:20Sawgrass?
- 24:21Yes.
- 24:21Okay.
- 24:22About your statement, you dropped off
- 24:24your uh you dropped off Kaylee
- 24:26on June 9th
- 24:28and walk me through it. You dropped her
- 24:30off to go to work.
- 24:31Mhm.
- 24:31Okay. Get off of work and go from there.
- 24:34I got off of work, left Universal,
- 24:37driving back to pick up Kaylee like a
- 24:39normal day,
- 24:41and I show up to the apartment, knock on
- 24:43the door, nobody answers.
- 24:45So,
- 24:47I call Savannah's cell phone and it's
- 24:49out of service.
- 24:51It says that the no the phone is no
- 24:53longer in service. Excuse me.
- 24:55So,
- 24:57I sit down on the steps and wait for a
- 24:59little bit to see if maybe it was just a
- 25:02fluke if something happened.
- 25:04And
- 25:06time passed. I didn't hear from anyone.
- 25:08No one showed up to the house. So, I
- 25:10went over to Jay Blanchard Park and
- 25:13checked a couple other places where
- 25:14maybe possibly they would have gone.
- 25:16Couple stores.
- 25:18Just regular places that I know Zenaida
- 25:21shops at and she's taking Caylee before.
- 25:25And after about 7:00 when I still hadn't
- 25:28heard anything,
- 25:31I was getting pretty upset, pretty
- 25:32frantic. And I went to a neutral place.
- 25:37I didn't really want to come home. I
- 25:38wasn't sure what I'd say about not
- 25:40knowing where Caylee was. Still hoping
- 25:42that I would get a call or
- 25:44you know, find out that Caylee was
- 25:46coming back so that I could go get her.
- 25:49And I ended up going to my boyfriend
- 25:51Anthony's house who lives in Southern
- 25:53Place.
- 25:57Did you talk to Anthony about uh
- 25:59what happened with Caylee?
- 26:00No, I did not.
- 26:01Has Anthony ever seen Caylee before?
- 26:02Yes, he has.
- 26:07Have you talked to anyone about Caylee
- 26:10about Zenaida and Caylee or the fact
- 26:12that she's missing?
- 26:13A couple people, a couple mutual
- 26:15friends.
- 26:16Who did you talk to about it?
- 26:17Uh I talked to Jeff.
- 26:20Jeffrey Hopkins.
- 26:20Mhm.
- 26:21I also attempted to contact
- 26:25Zenaida's mother and never received a
- 26:27call back from her.
- 26:28Do you know Zenaida's mother's name?
- 26:30Um
- 26:32Wow. And um
- 26:36I think it's Gloria.
- 26:39Do you know a telephone number for
- 26:40Zenaida's mom?
- 26:41I do not know.
- 26:42Do you have any of these numbers
- 26:43programmed into your SIM card that you
- 26:45kept into your other phone?
- 26:46No, I do not.
- 26:48How long did you have this old phone?
- 26:50I've had the Nokia for
- 26:53almost a full year.
- 26:55Okay. So, after a full year of dealing
- 26:56with Zenaida and having her baby sit and
- 26:58you don't remember
- 26:59back and forth. Zenaida's number has
- 27:01changed a couple different times. She
- 27:03switched services between having Sprint
- 27:06and having AT&T or Cingular.
- 27:08What about Jeffrey? You've known him for
- 27:10at least 4 years.
- 27:11His number has changed a couple
- 27:12different times from when he moved from
- 27:14Orlando up to North Carolina and back
- 27:17down to Jacksonville.
- 27:19I know I do have a current number for
- 27:20him.
- 27:22How would you get that number?
- 27:23If we can find that other phone or I
- 27:26might have it online, I may be able to
- 27:28access it off the internet.
- 27:30Okay. Who else did you talk to about
- 27:32this besides Jeffrey? Did you try to
- 27:33call Zenaida's mom? You talked to
- 27:35Jeffrey, who else did you talk to?
- 27:36I talked to Juliet Lewis. She's one of
- 27:38my co-workers at Universal.
- 27:42She works Do you still work at
- 27:43Universal?
- 27:43Yes.
- 27:44What do What do you do at Universal?
- 27:45event coordinator.
- 27:46Okay. What is Juliet? What position is
- 27:49she? Where she work?
- 27:49She's also an event coordinator. We work
- 27:51in the same department.
- 27:53Do you have a number for Juliet?
- 27:56Ooh, offhand.
- 28:01I can't think of one.
- 28:02in your SIM card?
- 28:03No, she's not.
- 28:05Some of the more recent numbers, her
- 28:07number just changed because she just
- 28:08moved back up north. She Within the last
- 28:112 months
- 28:13has finished moving up to New York.
- 28:15She's subleasing her apartment.
- 28:17So, Juliet doesn't work at Universal
- 28:18anymore?
- 28:19No, she does not.
- 28:20When did she leave Universal?
- 28:22About 2 months ago.
- 28:29Who else did you talk to about it?
- 28:31It's been within that small group. I've
- 28:35tried to find out information from
- 28:37people, going out to different places
- 28:40like Fusion Ultra Lounge and
- 28:43a couple bars that I know Zenaida had
- 28:45gone to downtown before to see if
- 28:48just kind of random talk if anybody
- 28:50heard about my nanny or talked to her
- 28:52lately.
- 28:52Did you tell anyone specifically that
- 28:54Zenaida took your child?
- 28:55No.
- 28:56The only two people that I specifically
- 28:59told were Jeff and Juliet.
- 29:01And you don't have a number for Juliet?
- 29:05Not offhand, no. I do not.
- 29:06It's not in your phone?
- 29:08It might be online?
- 29:09It's definitely online. I know it's on
- 29:11one of our old worksheets.
- 29:13Um her old number, which could still be
- 29:16active. I'm not sure if it is, but I
- 29:18know she does have a new number, which I
- 29:19just programmed into that other phone.
- 29:21When was the last time you talked to
- 29:22Julia?
- 29:24Um about 3 weeks ago. Shortly after this
- 29:27happened.
- 29:29So you talked to her after she left?
- 29:30Mhm.
- 29:38What's the reason I've asked you this
- 29:40before, I'll ask you this for the
- 29:41record. What's the reason you didn't
- 29:42call the police before?
- 29:44Since right now we're here because your
- 29:45grandparents or your your parents
- 29:47asked you about the child and they were
- 29:49concerned and didn't get an answer as
- 29:51far as the child was, they called the
- 29:52sheriff's office. Why didn't you call
- 29:54prior to today?
- 29:57I think part of me was naive enough to
- 29:58think that I could handle this myself,
- 30:00which obviously I couldn't.
- 30:03And
- 30:05I was scared that something would happen
- 30:06to her if I did notify the authorities
- 30:09or got the media involved or my parents,
- 30:12which I know would have done the same
- 30:14thing.
- 30:16Just fear of the unknown. Fear of the
- 30:19potential of
- 30:20Kaylee getting hurt, of not seeing my
- 30:22daughter again.
- 30:24I asked you this I asked you this at the
- 30:26onset and asked you before we we went on
- 30:27record and I'll ask you again just to
- 30:28make sure we're clear.
- 30:30Um
- 30:31is there anything about this story that
- 30:33you're telling me that is untrue or is
- 30:34there anything that you want to change
- 30:36or divert from what you've already told
- 30:37me?
- 30:37No, sir.
- 30:38Um did you cause any injury to your
- 30:40child, Kaylee?
- 30:41No, sir.
- 30:42Did you hurt Kaylee or leave her
- 30:43somewhere and you're worried that if we
- 30:45find that out that people are going to
- 30:46look at you the wrong way?
- 30:47No, sir.
- 30:49And you're telling me that Zenaida took
- 30:51your child without your permission and
- 30:52hasn't returned her.
- 30:53The last person that I've seen with my
- 30:54daughter, yes.
- 30:56What did Zenaida Does she have another
- 30:58job besides watching children?
- 31:00She has a seasonal ID for Universal.
- 31:04However, the only job that I know that
- 31:06she's had for the last few years she's
- 31:08been a nanny.
- 31:11So, seasonal employee at Universal?
- 31:13Mhm.
- 31:17When was the last time she worked at
- 31:18Universal, do you know?
- 31:19I have no idea.
- 31:26Does Kaylee take any medications? Does
- 31:28she have to suffer from any conditions,
- 31:29any mental conditions that we need to
- 31:30know?
- 31:31not at all.
- 31:33Um
- 31:35It was brought up before about taking
- 31:37some money from some people. And I want
- 31:39to make sure I get it on tape.
- 31:41Do you have any problems with drugs or
- 31:42narcotics, either prescription narcotics
- 31:44or drugs, cocaine, ecstasy, meth,
- 31:47anything like that?
- 31:47Nothing.
- 31:48Have you ever been
- 31:49Have you ever been Have you ever been
- 31:51committed for thoughts of suicide? Have
- 31:53you ever been on Lakeside, anything like
- 31:54that?
- 31:54No.
- 31:57Is there any underlying cause to why
- 32:00Zenaida was taking your child?
- 32:02No. Nothing that
- 32:04She ever make any statements to you
- 32:05about?
- 32:06Only how much she loves Kaylee and how
- 32:08great of a kid she is.
- 32:10And have you talked And when you talked
- 32:12to Jeffrey afterwards, I'm assuming that
- 32:13Jeffrey's child is still with him.
- 32:15His child is still with him.
- 32:17Okay. You said Zenaida had family up in
- 32:19New England, up in New York or
- 32:21something?
- 32:21Yes, she has family down south, her
- 32:23mother and her sister.
- 32:25Her brother's in New York. She's
- 32:27originally from New York.
- 32:29And where's down south?
- 32:30Um Miami area.
- 32:33Where's she originally from?
- 32:35New York.
- 32:37Uh she born and raised in New York? She
- 32:39have family outside of the country or
- 32:41I don't know. As far as I know, she
- 32:43pretty much grew up there and moved down
- 32:44here and went to the University of
- 32:46Florida.
- 32:46She Puerto Rican? Is she Dominican? Is
- 32:48she white?
- 32:49She's mixed. She's black and Puerto
- 32:52Rican.
- 32:55And you don't know what her birthday is
- 32:56or you don't know what her birthday is?
- 32:57I think September. That's
- 32:59all I can remember at the moment.
- 33:04If um when we finish this, if you
- 33:08would you be willing to drive with me to
- 33:09show me where her mom lives and the
- 33:11apartment that you used to drop her off
- 33:12at?
- 33:13Yes.
- 33:14Okay.
- 33:15Is there anything I haven't asked you
- 33:16about um Caylee or this night or just
- 33:19this incident in particular that you
- 33:20feel is important that you wanted to
- 33:21tell me about before I turn this off?
- 33:23Um
- 33:25Caylee has very
- 33:27distinctive features even if her hair
- 33:29was cut or changed. She has dark hazel
- 33:32eyes. They're brown and green. She has a
- 33:34birthmark on her left shoulder.
- 33:38Um
- 33:39What kind of birthmark?
- 33:40It's just like a small line. It almost
- 33:43looks like a small little beauty mark.
- 33:48Anything else?
- 33:53I just want my daughter back.
- 33:56Okay. Would you raise your right hand
- 33:57for me? Do you swear and affirm
- 33:58everything you just told me is the
- 33:59truth?
- 33:59Yes.
- 34:12Detective Melich, this statement was
- 34:16taken at 4:11 a.m. and lasted about 20
- 34:19minutes.
- 34:20Um did you head out immediately after
- 34:23taking the statement to go look in those
- 34:26places that you asked Ms. Anthony about?
- 34:28Yes.
- 34:29Okay. Where did you go?
- 34:32The first location we went to
- 34:34later I would find out turned out to be
- 34:36301 North Hillside.
- 34:38That's the location she mentioned that
- 34:40was near the intersection of Bumby and
- 34:41Robinson or off of Glenwood.
- 34:47Did you get out of the vehicle at that
- 34:50location at 301 North Hillside?
- 34:52No, we drove by the building and I asked
- 34:54her if she could point out to me the
- 34:56apartment or windows that belonged to
- 34:58Zenaida or her family and she pointed
- 35:02out two windows on the side of the
- 35:03building facing Robinson.
- 35:06And she indicated the two windows, one
- 35:07above and one below, both belonged to
- 35:09the same apartment and that Zenaida and
- 35:12her family had lived there at one point.
- 35:15Now you had mentioned that this address
- 35:17at 301 North Hillside was off Glenwood
- 35:20and Bumby.
- 35:22Is that what you had testified to?
- 35:24At Glenwood and Robinson cuz I believe
- 35:26Bumby runs parallel to Glenwood.
- 35:29At 301 North Hillside.
- 35:32All right. During the course of the
- 35:34investigation into the
- 35:37uh disappearance of Caylee Anthony, did
- 35:39you come to find out that there are
- 35:41individuals who Ms. Anthony knew that
- 35:45lived on Glenwood?
- 35:46Yes.
- 35:47Who would that be?
- 35:48Ricardo Morales and at one point in time
- 35:51Amy Huizenga lived at 232 Glenwood,
- 35:55which is directly across from where this
- 35:57building is.
- 36:01During the the drive that morning where
- 36:03she was showing you these locations, did
- 36:05she mention that friends of hers lived
- 36:08directly across the street?
- 36:10She did not.
- 36:11Did she mention that she had spent time
- 36:14since her daughter had been missing
- 36:16at the location on Glenwood?
- 36:19She did not.
- 36:22Aside from the address on Hillside, did
- 36:25you go to any other location?
- 36:28We went from there to the Sawgrass
- 36:30Apartments.
- 36:33What happened at the Sawgrass
- 36:34Apartments?
- 36:35I asked her to drive direct me into the
- 36:37Sawgrass Apartments and point out the
- 36:39apartment that she claimed to have
- 36:41dropped Caylee off on June 9th.
- 36:43And
- 36:44where were you directed?
- 36:46I was directed to the first apartment
- 36:48building inside the complex on the
- 36:50right, apartment 210.
- 36:54Did either of you get out of the car at
- 36:56that point?
- 36:56I did not, no. Neither one.
- 36:58Okay. Aside from directing
- 37:01you to or pointing out apartment 210,
- 37:04did she make any other statement at that
- 37:07point in the morning about what happened
- 37:10at apartment 210?
- 37:11I don't recall, no.
- 37:14Was that the last location that you
- 37:15visited?
- 37:16No.
- 37:17Where else did you go?
- 37:18Almost caddy-corner from the Sawgrass
- 37:20Apartments
- 37:21are
- 37:25Just forgot the name. The con-
- 37:27apartments at Conway. Uh there's an
- 37:28intersection right there at Conway
- 37:31and Michigan.
- 37:32And I believe it's the apartments at
- 37:33Conway. I'm mistaken, please correct me,
- 37:36but it's a
- 37:40several single-story townhomes that are
- 37:43Yeah, several homes that are attached in
- 37:44one building, but each individually
- 37:46owned.
- 37:48And what was it that you were supposed
- 37:51to have been doing there at at this
- 37:53address?
- 37:53She claims this is one of the locations
- 37:55that Zenaida had lived in that she had
- 37:57dropped off Caylee several times in the
- 37:58past.
- 37:59So, I asked her to direct me to the
- 38:01apartment or the the townhome
- 38:03for lack of a better word that she had
- 38:05dropped the child off at. Then we drove
- 38:07through the entire complex at least
- 38:09once.
- 38:10And she wasn't quite sure which
- 38:12apartment it was,
- 38:13but said it was in the generic or a
- 38:15general area.
- 38:20Okay.
- 38:21Did you go anywhere else?
- 38:26No, that's the only location we actually
- 38:27got out of the car though cuz it was
- 38:29starting to get light out so
- 38:31people were starting to get up to go to
- 38:32work.
- 38:34All right. Once you all got out of the
- 38:36car, what occurred?
- 38:37I asked Casey to Oh, let me preface
- 38:39this. We had a marked patrol car also
- 38:41following us with a uniform in case I
- 38:43were to get out of the car
- 38:46Over the road.
- 38:48You can continue.
- 38:49In case I were to get out of the car and
- 38:51knock on the door, I wanted uniform
- 38:52presence so there was another marked car
- 38:53with us.
- 38:55I had asked Casey to sit in the car. I
- 38:57rolled the passenger window down. I told
- 38:59her I would knock on the doors of the
- 39:01area. There are several apartments in
- 39:02that area that she indicated and if she
- 39:05noticed anyone or looked familiar to her
- 39:07to indicate it to me and then we would
- 39:09go from there.
- 39:10All right, Ms. Anthony.
- 39:11Yes.
- 39:14And did Ms. Anthony tell you that any of
- 39:17those apartments or people in those
- 39:19apartments look familiar to her?
- 39:21No.
- 39:26Were you directed anywhere else by Ms.
- 39:27Anthony?
- 39:29No.
- 39:30Okay.
- 39:35After all of this process is completed,
- 39:39about what time it is you is it? Did you
- 39:41say that it was starting to get light?
- 39:44I believe we were at the crossings at
- 39:46Conway or the Conway apartments about
- 39:48just after 6:00 in the morning.
- 39:56Okay.
- 39:58Once that process was completed, where
- 40:00did you go with Ms. Anthony?
- 40:01I drove her home.
- 40:03Okay.
- 40:04Did either one of you have her cell
- 40:06phone?
- 40:08No. I don't recall if she had it. I
- 40:09didn't have it.
- 40:17When you dropped her at home,
- 40:20did you just let her out of the car and
- 40:22she went into the house? What happened?
- 40:24Yeah, pretty much it.
- 40:26Okay. Did you indicate to her
- 40:28uh that you would continue to
- 40:29investigate some of the information that
- 40:32she had provided to you?
- 40:34We had small talk as I dropped her off.
- 40:36I was saying that you were going to look
- 40:38to try and see if we can find Caylee. I
- 40:40can't remember specifically what I told
- 40:41her, but in the general sense, yes.
- 40:44Okay.
- 40:47Did you leave at that point and
- 40:52begin an investigation into some of the
- 40:54information that she had provided to
- 40:56you?
- 40:56Yes.
- 41:00Your Honor, at this point I have no
- 41:01other questions of the witness.
- 41:02Cross-examination?
- 41:09Good afternoon, Detective Melich.
- 41:10Good afternoon, sir.
- 41:11Do you ever go by any other names other
- 41:13than Yuri Melich?
- 41:15Your Honor, I'm
- 41:16I'm going
- 41:17Sustain.
- 41:19Do you ever go by the name of Dick Tracy
- 41:20Orlando?
- 41:21Sustain. Next question.
- 41:23Judge, may we approach?
- 41:25No, sir.
- 41:25I'd like to be able to show the
- 41:26relevance of this line of
- 41:28Okay, you can approach.
- 41:32Okay, ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
- 41:34I'm going to ask that you step outside.
- 41:36We will probably take at least 10
- 41:38minutes to take care of this brief legal
- 41:40matter outside of your presence.
- 41:42I'm going to ask you not to discuss this
- 41:44case among yourselves and please uh
- 41:47abide by all of my other previous
- 41:50admonitions. Thank you.
- 41:56Okay, do you have copies of those for
- 41:58us, uh
- 41:59Mr. Bias?
- 42:01I know I've submitted a copy to uh Mr.
- 42:03Aim Burdick. I can make a quick copy.
- 42:06Uh
- 42:07if I
- 42:08that you were provided in discovery, Mr.
- 42:10Bias. Unless they were. I've not
- 42:13received very many documents or discs
- 42:15from him and I have been careful to
- 42:18itemize those that I have received
- 42:20including one that I actually filed.
- 42:24Uh
- 42:24Nevertheless, if he can provide copies
- 42:26at this time, I'm willing to take a look
- 42:28at them uh at the same time as the
- 42:31court.
- 42:33Uh 3 minutes, I can make a quick copies.
- 42:36Okay, why don't you get some copies and
- 42:38uh we stand at ease and uh the detective
- 42:40can stand down.
- 42:43You can step outside, detective, while
- 42:45we take care of this.
- 42:54Okay, let's go back on the record.
- 42:58Okay, Mr. Byers, you may proceed to tell
- 43:01me why you think this is a
- 43:05inadmissible
- 43:07Uh I think that uh
- 43:10once a uh
- 43:12a witness takes stand, their credibility
- 43:14is an issue
- 43:15as well as any possible bias that they
- 43:18may have.
- 43:20These vlogs are clear evidence of a
- 43:23detective who is engaging in some sort
- 43:25of self-promotion.
- 43:27Uh
- 43:29and discussing
- 43:32this specific case.
- 43:34I think that it clearly goes to this
- 43:37witness's bias and credibility.
- 43:40I
- 43:41don't
- 43:41What's Which
- 43:43I have these and I quickly looked at
- 43:46each one of them.
- 43:48Uh are you
- 43:49When you say it goes to his
- 43:52credibility {slash} bias,
- 43:55uh
- 43:57specifically, what are you talking
- 43:58about?
- 43:59Just the mere
- 44:01Just the actual engagement of this
- 44:03conduct is that of self-promotion and
- 44:08should go to his bias.
- 44:10The
- 44:13Well, the reason I asked that question
- 44:16Florida statute 90.608
- 44:20is very specific
- 44:22as to the methods of impeachment.
- 44:25And
- 44:27unless you can specifically, and that's
- 44:29why I'm asking, I have these
- 44:31point something out.
- 44:34This is in
- 44:35sort of uh
- 44:37in line with you saying he's
- 44:39unprofessional.
- 44:42Among other things, Judge, yes.
- 44:43Okay.
- 44:44I I The problem with the The problem
- 44:47with saying he's unprofessional
- 44:50there's a case called Rose versus State
- 44:53which is found at 472 7 2nd 1155
- 44:59a 1985 decision of the Florida Supreme
- 45:02Court.
- 45:04Uh I believe this was authored by then
- 45:07Justice Acton.
- 45:10And uh
- 45:12it had note
- 45:15three.
- 45:16And this was a uh
- 45:20this case was
- 45:22uh
- 45:23presided over by my good friend Judge uh
- 45:25Susan Schaeffer
- 45:27over Pinellas County.
- 45:30Uh first-degree murder.
- 45:32And
- 45:34Judge Schaeffer
- 45:36uh imposed a death sentence in this
- 45:38particular case
- 45:40which was affirmed.
- 45:43And appellant as an error contended that
- 45:46the trial court violated his rights to
- 45:49confrontation
- 45:51by restricting cross-examination
- 45:54of the detective on a matter
- 45:56affecting his credibility, and the court
- 45:58indicated that it disagreed.
- 46:02And it basically wanted to bring out his
- 46:05uh
- 46:07level of professionalism of the
- 46:10detective for the purposes of
- 46:11determining his credibility.
- 46:14And it goes on to talk about uh
- 46:1890.
- 46:20608
- 46:22uh and they concluded that we find that
- 46:25the appellant's attack on the
- 46:27detective's professionalism
- 46:30was not a proper method of attacking
- 46:32credibility
- 46:34under 90.608.
- 46:37So,
- 46:43specifically in these blogs that you
- 46:46have provided me,
- 46:48uh
- 46:50is there any statement in here
- 46:53that you contend
- 46:56that would affect uh his bias?
- 47:00So, I can specifically look at it
- 47:02because the broad category of
- 47:04professionalism
- 47:06uh
- 47:08does not fall within the realm of 90.608
- 47:11as a valid form of impeachment. Thus, we
- 47:15need to look specifically
- 47:19uh
- 47:20at your blogs to ascertain whether there
- 47:23is something
- 47:25that goes specifically
- 47:27to uh
- 47:30credibility in terms of uh bias
- 47:34or any of the other things uh
- 47:37dealing with 90.608
- 47:41or uh
- 47:44some things I believe in 806.
- 47:48So,
- 47:50if you can reference me and this
- 47:53and so the state can follow along
- 47:57the blog and I guess these things have
- 48:00dates on them
- 48:03that you uh
- 48:05would sub that I can look at to make a
- 48:09determination whether or not
- 48:11it falls in the 90.608.
- 48:14Yes, sir.
- 48:16Uh I'll give you an example of why I
- 48:17think this an example of why I think
- 48:20this might
- 48:22uh tend to show this detective's bias.
- 48:25On September 29th, 2008 at 2:50 p.m.
- 48:29Okay, September
- 48:3129th, 2008.
- 48:32Just a second.
- 48:33Yes.
- 48:352:50 p.m.
- 48:36Okay, September
- 48:4029th.
- 48:42The dates I have
- 48:43It would be uh just to give you
- 48:45show you what the date is, it would be
- 48:47above the avatar of Dick Tracy
- 48:50on uh the top left-hand corner of the
- 48:53inside
- 48:54September 29th?
- 48:56Yes, sir.
- 48:56Okay, just a second.
- 49:07I have September 26th.
- 49:15I have a
- 49:16I'll be handling this.
- 49:18I have a September 30th and September
- 49:2026th.
- 49:23I have September 26th, September 27th.
- 49:28They might be out of order because of
- 49:30the way they came out of the copy.
- 49:31Okay, let me let me wade through them
- 49:34then. Just give me a second.
- 49:36Sure.
- 49:41I don't have one with a September 29th
- 49:43date.
- 49:47If you would take the one that you have
- 49:50and highlight the portion
- 49:54of that.
- 49:56Read it into the record and then hand it
- 49:58to me or
- 50:00I uh
- 50:01I can look over your shoulder.
- 50:02Sure. Or you can put it on the overhead
- 50:04and then we all can see it.
- 50:06Sure, that might work.
- 50:07Set that overhead up, please.
- 50:11I can't touch it.
- 50:13We didn't get that one.
- 50:14Yes, I know. I
- 50:16We're making extra copies right now.
- 50:18Unfortunately, I was rushing it. Judge,
- 50:21our position is this. On September 29th,
- 50:232008 at 2:50 p.m., this detective po-
- 50:28made the following post.
- 50:30Uh a true missing person investigation
- 50:32is akin to a murder investigation
- 50:34without a body.
- 50:36Is the defense's position and theory of
- 50:38the case that this was an accident?
- 50:41This is a detective currently
- 50:43investigating a missing person's uh
- 50:46case, but yet he considers it akin to a
- 50:50murder investigation without a body as
- 50:54opposed to
- 50:55uh possibly considering the fact that it
- 50:57might be an accident.
- 51:00That specifically goes to the bias that
- 51:04we will be cross-examining this officer
- 51:06on multiple levels. That when faced with
- 51:09information that this was a possible
- 51:11accident, he instead took it in the
- 51:13direction of a murder investigation.
- 51:16Uh naturally, I I think it will be
- 51:19What information, Mr. Bias, of record
- 51:22evidence that would be introduced
- 51:25that shows this was an accident?
- 51:28The fact that
- 51:30uh Mrs. Anthony had informed him within
- 51:3224 hours of him being involved in the
- 51:35case that they had accidentally or that
- 51:39she had noticed that the ladder was left
- 51:41up on the pool.
- 51:43There are also multiple statements from
- 51:45both George and Cindy Anthony where they
- 51:48have clearly uh advised this officer
- 51:51that in their opinion
- 51:54it this could have been an accident that
- 51:56was covered up.
- 51:58And that that accident would have
- 52:00centered around the pool of this case.
- 52:04This officer did absolutely nothing with
- 52:07this information, did not inspect the
- 52:10pool, did not do anything or did not
- 52:13even question Miss Anthony when he
- 52:15had the opportunity to.
- 52:16What evidence, Mr. Baez,
- 52:19would one glean from inspecting a pool?
- 52:24Well, if you never look, you'll never
- 52:25know.
- 52:25Yeah, but let's say you look, what would
- 52:28you see to determine whether someone
- 52:30drowned?
- 52:31Well,
- 52:32if a body is not found in a pool,
- 52:35how do you determine
- 52:38if it was drowned in that particular
- 52:40pool?
- 52:41There could be there could be spatters
- 52:44of blood around the pool. There could be
- 52:46any number of
- 52:48there could be actual
- 52:50hairs, other trace evidence that could
- 52:52have been found.
- 52:54Not necessarily indicating the cause of
- 52:56death, but certainly as the state will
- 52:59want to later on argue that there are is
- 53:02postmortem banding on certain hairs.
- 53:05There's
- 53:07any number of things that one could
- 53:11glean from that type of information or
- 53:13by investigating. And here's the point.
- 53:15You don't look, you'll never know. And
- 53:18in this situation, they looked at a car
- 53:21and they were clever enough to come up
- 53:23with something new like air tests.
- 53:26Who knows who's to say that they
- 53:27couldn't find something
- 53:30just a bit more clever when it came to
- 53:32surrounding around the pool. But if you
- 53:33don't look, you don't investigate,
- 53:35you're never going to know.
- 53:37It's as if they had
- 53:38parked the car and pushed it aside and
- 53:41did nothing with it.
- 53:43And that's the situation with the pool.
- 53:46Okay. Ms. Ashton?
- 53:47Thank you.
- 53:48Um
- 53:50to answer the court's question,
- 53:52um the court's question I believe was
- 53:53what record evidence is there
- 53:55that the victim drowned, the answer is
- 53:58none.
- 54:00The in this trial at this stage, there
- 54:03is absolutely zero because
- 54:06with all due respect to counsel, what
- 54:08counsel says isn't evidence of anything.
- 54:11So at this point, the issue is
- 54:14is this comment
- 54:17does it show bias?
- 54:19According to Professor Ehrhardt at
- 54:23section 608.5,
- 54:25um one of Mr. Cheney's favorite authors,
- 54:28um he indicates that
- 54:31uh
- 54:32the underlying bi- and this is at page
- 54:34uh 555 of uh the 2010 edition.
- 54:39He points out that the underlying bias,
- 54:41prejudice, or interest must be one that
- 54:43is relevant to the witnesses or parties
- 54:46in the case being litigated.
- 54:49Evidence relating to bias or prejudice
- 54:51is admissible when it's probative of the
- 54:53credibility of the witness.
- 54:54Conversely, evidence of bias that is not
- 54:58probative of credibility should not be
- 55:00admitted.
- 55:01This comment has absolutely nothing to
- 55:05do with showing a bias toward a witness
- 55:09or a party in this case.
- 55:12It shows nothing.
- 55:14And I would submit that it is
- 55:16inadmissible for
- 55:18for that reason. Now,
- 55:20with all due respect to counsel's other
- 55:23comments, I believe that the evidence
- 55:26thus far has not demonstrated that
- 55:29Detective Melich was informed by
- 55:33uh Mrs. Anthony or within 24 hours of
- 55:36something about a ladder. Uh, she didn't
- 55:38testify to that. Uh, she testified to
- 55:40talking to some reporter
- 55:43uh, at some point about it. Um, but not
- 55:46Detective Melich. And so, I think
- 55:49counsel would have to prove that first,
- 55:50obviously, before he asserts that
- 55:52position.
- 55:54Um,
- 55:55while there may have been uh, well, we
- 55:58don't have any record evidence now of
- 56:00any comments by anybody that this might
- 56:01have been a drowning, but obviously, you
- 56:03know, somebody's speculations are not
- 56:05relevant. The question is, does do these
- 56:08blogs show that he has a bias against
- 56:10the defendant or a bias against a
- 56:12witness in this case, and they clearly
- 56:14don't come even close to that. And we
- 56:16would suggest that this uh, his
- 56:18participation in this, while he was home
- 56:20recuperating from breaking his leg,
- 56:23is not relevant of anything.
- 56:25And it's not impeachment.
- 56:27Okay, anything else, Mr. Bias, as far as
- 56:30this particular item?
- 56:32No, sir.
- 56:33Okay.
- 56:34Although then I I just disagree with the
- 56:36assertions made by counsel, but I'll
- 56:38leave it at that.
- 56:39Okay.
- 56:40Uh,
- 56:42the objection as to the use of that
- 56:44particular document will be sustained.
- 56:47You can make a copy of it and add it to
- 56:49the record for
- 56:51appellate purposes, if we get that far.
- 56:54Uh, but uh, that particular statement
- 56:58does not go to any particular bias or
- 57:02uh,
- 57:03or interest in in this particular case.
- 57:07Just for the record,
- 57:09if she's correct, we did give you grand
- 57:11jury testimony
- 57:12that she denied
- 57:14back at the station. We kept her first
- 57:16off, so it should be marked and sealed
- 57:19for the same reason.
- 57:24I'm going to be studying the document at
- 57:26some point past this.
- 57:29I would take that in consideration, but
- 57:34I think there's a case called Mince
- 57:35versus State
- 57:37that
- 57:38uh if I remember the case correctly,
- 57:40that
- 57:44talks about a threshold that must be
- 57:46shown. I'm uh but let me take a look at
- 57:49it and and we can always do that.
- 57:55Then that was objected to was
- 57:58Dick Tracy.
- 58:00Dick Tracy, and since we've had delved
- 58:02further into the what he wanted to do
- 58:04with this information,
- 58:06uh
- 58:08Well, Mr. Baez, well, correct me if I'm
- 58:10wrong. He was just trying to figure out
- 58:11that was he going to own up to this name
- 58:13Dick Tracy for the purposes of
- 58:15introducing the blog.
- 58:18But
- 58:19I will not be inquiring further about
- 58:23any of these while we're while we're
- 58:26here and the jury is out
- 58:29or any of these other
- 58:32blog materials you will be attempting
- 58:36to utilize.
- 58:38No, sir.
- 58:39Okay.
- 58:42You also brought up something
- 58:45uh
- 58:47about a reprimand that you
- 58:50brought up at the bench.
- 58:52Do you Okay.
- 58:54So, we won't have the jury going back
- 58:56out like a Pop-Tart again, let's take
- 58:58care of that now.
- 59:05I'm sorry, Judge. I didn't hear you
- 59:07clearly.
- 59:08You you had mentioned about
- 59:11the possibility
- 59:13of questioning him about a reprimand.
- 59:16Yes, sir.
- 59:17You did not fully go into that.
- 59:20Rather than to run back and forth,
- 59:25uh
- 59:27do you intend to pursue that line of
- 59:30questioning which I
- 59:32think the state will object, so we can
- 59:34go ahead and deal with that now.
- 59:37Well, I wanted to inquire into his
- 59:41supervisor reprimanding him
- 59:44uh
- 59:45for actually blogging.
- 59:48And uh
- 59:51However,
- 59:52I don't know if the if the court's not
- 59:54going to allow me to go into
- 59:56the fact that he blogged, I can't
- 59:59necessarily say why he was reprimand.
- 1:00:01It's reprimanded, excuse me.
- 1:00:04If the only blog that you were
- 1:00:06attempting to introduce was the one that
- 1:00:08you shown,
- 1:00:10which the court has ruled on, then
- 1:00:13uh
- 1:00:17there's no need to do it, but I don't
- 1:00:19know if you are attempting to utilize
- 1:00:22this I don't know what he was
- 1:00:23reprimanded for. You're saying he was
- 1:00:26reprimanded for these blogs?
- 1:00:28Correct.
- 1:00:31It is a activity that I think would be
- 1:00:33frowned upon
- 1:00:35for any detective to be
- 1:00:38going on the worldwide web and making
- 1:00:42posts in the middle of an investigation
- 1:00:46just for the exposure.
- 1:00:50But in quickly looking at these posts,
- 1:00:53which particular posts, other than the
- 1:00:56one that you just showed us,
- 1:01:01reference
- 1:01:03uh
- 1:01:06this case?
- 1:01:09Uh I think most of them do.
- 1:01:11Um
- 1:01:12I can have
- 1:01:13a second.
- 1:01:15I can point out which ones.
- 1:01:20Because there's one that I I'm looking
- 1:01:23at from uh September 22nd, 2008.
- 1:01:28Uh
- 1:01:29Someone says to him,
- 1:01:32"We aren't here to question him about
- 1:01:34the case. Thanks.
- 1:01:37This thread is for well wishes and
- 1:01:40support only.
- 1:01:42I hope we can all respect that he cannot
- 1:01:45discuss the case.
- 1:01:47We want him to feel welcome to come in
- 1:01:49here and relax while he's recovering
- 1:01:51from his accident.
- 1:01:54Corporal Melich has enough to deal with
- 1:01:56from where he sits right now,
- 1:01:59like reaching the remote if it falls to
- 1:02:01the floor."
- 1:02:04And then the next one is, I guess this
- 1:02:06is Corporal Melich.
- 1:02:08"Thanks, seriously. Besides, I can't
- 1:02:11officially talk about the case outside
- 1:02:13of work anyhow.
- 1:02:15Nor can I put a end to theories and
- 1:02:18conclusions people come up with, whether
- 1:02:21good or bad.
- 1:02:23Basically, this is as public as one can
- 1:02:27get, so I have to watch what I say so
- 1:02:31doesn't it affect either me or the case.
- 1:02:35As to the remote, I have the dogs
- 1:02:37trained to retrieve it.
- 1:02:40Shame the Dane drools so much. Ick."
- 1:02:47Yes, Judge. There are I'm not indicating
- 1:02:50or implicating in any way that
- 1:02:53he was giving up confidential
- 1:02:56information on the worldwide web, but
- 1:02:58there are clear points where he
- 1:03:00references
- 1:03:02being involved in the case, what it's
- 1:03:04like,
- 1:03:05uh
- 1:03:07case
- 1:03:08Excuse me. Caylee Anthony.
- 1:03:12Um
- 1:03:14There's one from the September the 20th
- 1:03:182008
- 1:03:2011:41 a.m.
- 1:03:26where he referenced, "Also, thank you
- 1:03:29for keeping Caylee on the forefront.
- 1:03:32We all are working for her.
- 1:03:36She's so much more than one person or
- 1:03:39one agency now.
- 1:03:41I can only hope we find her soon
- 1:03:44so these many thousands of people who
- 1:03:47have been enveloped by this case
- 1:03:51can find some closure."
- 1:03:54Then he goes on to talk about his uh
- 1:03:57broken leg.
- 1:03:59Yes, I I would agree generally most of
- 1:04:02these are general in nature, but as your
- 1:04:05honor pointed out, he does mention
- 1:04:07Caylee's name there. Uh
- 1:04:09point is he shouldn't be doing this.
- 1:04:11Not only Not only is that my position,
- 1:04:14that's the position of the Orange County
- 1:04:15Sheriff's Office.
- 1:04:16He He shouldn't be doing it, but as I
- 1:04:18said before on the 9608
- 1:04:23I I'm trying to look at specific blogs
- 1:04:28other than the one that you have shown
- 1:04:30me in the the two that I have the one
- 1:04:33that I just read
- 1:04:35uh
- 1:04:36that goes to anything
- 1:04:41that is impeachable.
- 1:04:43What I'd like to do is
- 1:04:46uh
- 1:04:46based on the court's rulings and the
- 1:04:49guidance that the court is is using to
- 1:04:53make its decision,
- 1:04:55I will refrain from addressing this
- 1:04:57issue with this detective at this time.
- 1:05:00In the event that I choose to bring it
- 1:05:02up again, I would certainly make the
- 1:05:04court aware of it, which one identify
- 1:05:06which specific blog I would like to
- 1:05:09introduce
- 1:05:10and the basis the basis for my doing so.
- 1:05:14Okay.
- 1:05:17We could ask that these be provided to
- 1:05:18us because we've so far as we can tell
- 1:05:20we've never received these in discovery.
- 1:05:22So if we could have the entire set in
- 1:05:25case counsel wants to bring up any of
- 1:05:27them.
- 1:05:27Certainly.
- 1:05:32Okay.
- 1:05:37All right, we're going to take a quick 5
- 1:05:39minutes and then we'll bring the jury
- 1:05:40back in to continue your
- 1:05:42cross-examination.
- 1:05:43Yes, sir.
- 1:05:49Okay, state recognize presence of jury.
- 1:05:53Defense.
- 1:05:54Yes, sir, we do.
- 1:05:55Members of the jury, my apologies it
- 1:05:58took me a little longer than 10 minutes.
- 1:06:02Sometimes that happens. Uh
- 1:06:06Again, my apologies. The witness may
- 1:06:08resume the stand.
- 1:06:29You make
- 1:06:30May I please approach?
- 1:06:31Continue.
- 1:06:32Uh
- 1:06:34Detective Malich,
- 1:06:36you arrived on the scene at 4:00 a.m.
- 1:06:38Just prior to I believe you did.
- 1:06:40And that's on Hope Springs Drive.
- 1:06:41Yes.
- 1:06:42And when you arrive, the first thing you
- 1:06:44do is meet with Sergeant Hosey.
- 1:06:47To the best of my recollection, yes.
- 1:06:49And part of that is to be briefed on all
- 1:06:52that transpired before you got there.
- 1:06:54Correct.
- 1:06:55And that gives you a better
- 1:06:56understanding of what needs to be done
- 1:06:58while you're there.
- 1:07:00Yes.
- 1:07:01And what was the situation report at at
- 1:07:05point?
- 1:07:06Going based on recollection.
- 1:07:10Mr.
- 1:07:12Bias
- 1:07:13I'm not asking him for specific
- 1:07:14statements. I just
- 1:07:16like to know what information what he
- 1:07:19knew about the case at that point.
- 1:07:23If I can rephrase it so he doesn't give
- 1:07:24any specific statements.
- 1:07:27Okay, you can re- attempt to rephrase
- 1:07:30the question.
- 1:07:30Without giving us any hearsay or
- 1:07:32anything that someone
- 1:07:34any information or without telling us
- 1:07:37what exactly was said, can you give us a
- 1:07:39general idea of what you were looking at
- 1:07:42when you arrived?
- 1:07:44Well, primarily a missing person's case.
- 1:07:47And what else?
- 1:07:49I
- 1:07:49can't recall if there was indication on
- 1:07:51scene or if it was through a phone call
- 1:07:53prior about some theft theft of a car or
- 1:07:56theft of money, some theft involved.
- 1:07:58Now, when you specifically got there,
- 1:08:01were you made aware that Miss Anthony
- 1:08:04had already gone to Sawgrass Apartments?
- 1:08:08Yes.
- 1:08:09Okay, and that was with Acevedo, Deputy
- 1:08:12Acevedo. The female officer.
- 1:08:14I don't recall who took her at the time.
- 1:08:16I just recall being told that they had
- 1:08:18already gone to Sawgrass.
- 1:08:20And you were aware that there was nobody
- 1:08:21home there.
- 1:08:24Your Honor, I'm going to object. These
- 1:08:25answers are based on hearsay that was
- 1:08:27provided.
- 1:08:29Sustain.
- 1:08:31Did you have any information
- 1:08:34about that apartment
- 1:08:36as to whether
- 1:08:38suspects were identified?
- 1:08:40Same objection.
- 1:08:42Sustain.
- 1:08:45Did you have any other information about
- 1:08:47Miss Anthony?
- 1:08:51Very vague, I'm sorry.
- 1:08:53About Miss Anthony's actions that
- 1:08:54evening.
- 1:08:57Aside from the fact that
- 1:08:59she had gone with deputies to another
- 1:09:00location,
- 1:09:02Uh, can't recall if they had already
- 1:09:03told me.
- 1:09:04Obviously, the statement had been filled
- 1:09:06out. I don't know if I was just handed
- 1:09:08the statement or if they told me
- 1:09:09outside.
- 1:09:11Were you aware how long the the
- 1:09:12apartment was vacant was vacant that she
- 1:09:15had pointed out?
- 1:09:16Any answer would be based on hearsay
- 1:09:18information.
- 1:09:19Sustain.
- 1:09:23Did you feel sufficiently informed as to
- 1:09:26what the situation was when you arrived?
- 1:09:30I had a
- 1:09:32I guess a general understanding of why I
- 1:09:34was there, primarily to look for a
- 1:09:36missing child.
- 1:09:38And when you arrived, did you see the
- 1:09:39garage door open?
- 1:09:40I don't recall what the garage condition
- 1:09:42of the garage door.
- 1:09:44Did you see the car that evening?
- 1:09:46Which car?
- 1:09:48The Pontiac Sunfire.
- 1:09:49I don't recall what I saw parked where.
- 1:09:52Okay.
- 1:09:53Were
- 1:09:54you made aware of anything going on with
- 1:09:57that car?
- 1:09:58At some point throughout that evening,
- 1:10:00and I can't recall when, I remember
- 1:10:02there was a comment made about an odor
- 1:10:04coming from a car.
- 1:10:06But I don't recall who made it or at
- 1:10:08what point
- 1:10:09throughout my time there that that
- 1:10:10occurred.
- 1:10:12So, immediately upon getting this
- 1:10:14information, you went and inspected the
- 1:10:15car?
- 1:10:17No.
- 1:10:18Okay.
- 1:10:19You were told that there is a missing
- 1:10:21child.
- 1:10:23Yes.
- 1:10:23You are told that
- 1:10:27the location where Miss Anthony had
- 1:10:29taken off officers were
- 1:10:33showed no results.
- 1:10:36Something along those lines, yes.
- 1:10:37And then you were told about an odor
- 1:10:39coming from a car.
- 1:10:41Yes.
- 1:10:42And you never went and looked at the
- 1:10:44car.
- 1:10:45No.
- 1:10:47You never called CSI to come look at the
- 1:10:49car.
- 1:10:50No.
- 1:10:50You never secured
- 1:10:52uh,
- 1:10:53any possible evidence that may or may
- 1:10:56not have been at that car.
- 1:10:57Upon my arrival that night when I first
- 1:10:59responded, no.
- 1:11:01You did absolutely nothing with the car.
- 1:11:04Correct.
- 1:11:05And
- 1:11:07in your
- 1:11:09investigation at that point or that
- 1:11:10entire evening,
- 1:11:13you didn't find it necessary
- 1:11:16to
- 1:11:20secure that car in any way.
- 1:11:22No.
- 1:11:22Objection, asked and answered.
- 1:11:24Overruled. Listen to the last question.
- 1:11:27You may answer, sir.
- 1:11:27No.
- 1:11:32Now,
- 1:11:36one of the first things you looked at
- 1:11:38with Miss Anthony was she was a suspect,
- 1:11:41did you not?
- 1:11:44At the time I got there, she wasn't a
- 1:11:45suspect of anything. She was a mother of
- 1:11:47a missing child.
- 1:11:48And despite all of this information that
- 1:11:50you had, you didn't consider Miss
- 1:11:52Anthony a suspect.
- 1:11:54I hadn't talked to her yet. I didn't
- 1:11:55know what she was going to tell me. I
- 1:11:56was just going based on what other
- 1:11:57deputies had told me upon arrival.
- 1:11:59Did you instruct Deputy Hosey to
- 1:12:01un-handcuff Miss Anthony because you
- 1:12:04wanted to come down and speak to her?
- 1:12:05I did not. I did not even know she was
- 1:12:07handcuffed.
- 1:12:08Okay.
- 1:12:08Did you uh Mirandize or read uh Casey
- 1:12:12Anthony her Miranda warnings prior to
- 1:12:15questioning her?
- 1:12:16No.
- 1:12:17And
- 1:12:19the reason for that is because
- 1:12:22you didn't think she was a suspect of
- 1:12:24anything.
- 1:12:25She was a mother of a missing 2 and 1/2
- 1:12:26year old. That's what I was there to
- 1:12:28investigate as a missing 2 and 1/2 year
- 1:12:29old. I had no reason to Mirandize her.
- 1:12:32A mother of a 2 and 1/2 year old who was
- 1:12:34telling
- 1:12:36who was giving information that did not
- 1:12:38appear to pan out. Is that correct?
- 1:12:41According to what I was told before
- 1:12:43getting there, yes. But I hadn't talked
- 1:12:45to her yet, so I don't know if they mis-
- 1:12:47misunderstood. I don't know what she was
- 1:12:48going to tell me.
- 1:12:51Well, you read her statement, did you
- 1:12:52not?
- 1:12:53Yes.
- 1:12:54And in fact
- 1:12:56you testified prior to it getting
- 1:12:57admitted that you asked her if she was
- 1:13:00adopting it.
- 1:13:01Yes.
- 1:13:02And in fact, you thought the information
- 1:13:05that was contained in there was suspect,
- 1:13:08did you not?
- 1:13:09I wrote that in my report, yes.
- 1:13:11Okay, but you thought it was suspect.
- 1:13:14I can't recall what I thought at the
- 1:13:16time,
- 1:13:17but I do acknowledge that I wrote that
- 1:13:19in my report.
- 1:13:22So,
- 1:13:24since you think she's suspect,
- 1:13:27you think her stories are going on, but
- 1:13:29you don't think she's a suspect at all,
- 1:13:31is what you're saying.
- 1:13:33You're saying that I think she's
- 1:13:34suspect, I did not.
- 1:13:35that to make that a little clearer.
- 1:13:37Her version is suspect according to you.
- 1:13:40To what I wrote in the report, yes.
- 1:13:42You have a missing child that's been
- 1:13:44missing for 30 days.
- 1:13:46Yes.
- 1:13:47Never reported.
- 1:13:49Correct.
- 1:13:50The mother's not taking you to a
- 1:13:51location where you can find the child.
- 1:13:54She hasn't taken me anywhere yet.
- 1:13:56Or prior or prior officers.
- 1:13:59As far as the officers are concerned,
- 1:14:00correct.
- 1:14:01And in your opinion, she's not a
- 1:14:04suspect.
- 1:14:05Yes.
- 1:14:07Yes, she is a suspect or yes, she's not
- 1:14:09a suspect.
- 1:14:10You asked in my opinion, is she a
- 1:14:11suspect? No, she's not a suspect.
- 1:14:15Now,
- 1:14:18the
- 1:14:20statement that she gave,
- 1:14:23you read it over carefully.
- 1:14:25I read it over that night, yes.
- 1:14:27Because this is a very important matter.
- 1:14:30Yes.
- 1:14:31And
- 1:14:34did you notice
- 1:14:36that
- 1:14:37there was a portion in quotations
- 1:14:42on page three.
- 1:14:53Are you referring to the top four lines
- 1:14:55down?
- 1:14:55Yes.
- 1:14:58Okay. The portion that reads, quote,
- 1:15:00that she a few places that she felt,
- 1:15:03quote, at home, end quote.
- 1:15:07Yes.
- 1:15:07Okay. And in this entire four-page
- 1:15:09statement, that is the only portion that
- 1:15:12is
- 1:15:13in quotations, is it not?
- 1:15:15Yes.
- 1:15:17And
- 1:15:18when something is placed in quotations
- 1:15:20in your experience, that means it's
- 1:15:22important
- 1:15:23or somebody wants attention drawn to it?
- 1:15:26I can't answer to why people put quotes
- 1:15:28on certain words. Sometimes it's proper,
- 1:15:31sometimes it's not, so I can't answer
- 1:15:33that.
- 1:15:35Your experience.
- 1:15:36Repeat the question.
- 1:15:38Do when people put things in quotations,
- 1:15:40does that mean they want attention drawn
- 1:15:42to it?
- 1:15:43I can't tell you what they want to
- 1:15:45people use quotations all the time. It
- 1:15:47didn't stand out to me. It doesn't stand
- 1:15:49out to me now.
- 1:15:50Okay.
- 1:15:51Now,
- 1:15:53did you ask her
- 1:15:55why she didn't feel at home in her own
- 1:15:57home?
- 1:15:58No.
- 1:16:03And you would later also characterize or
- 1:16:06document that
- 1:16:08she went somewhere where she felt safe.
- 1:16:12I'm sorry. The question again?
- 1:16:14You would later document that she
- 1:16:17went somewhere where she felt,
- 1:16:18quote, safe, end quote.
- 1:16:21If you're referring to my report?
- 1:16:22Yes.
- 1:16:23Yes.
- 1:16:24In fact, you put that in quotes.
- 1:16:27I won't disagree.
- 1:16:28Okay. And when you put things in quotes,
- 1:16:32it's because it's important.
- 1:16:34I couldn't tell you what my there what
- 1:16:36my
- 1:16:39state of mind was when I put it in
- 1:16:40quotes. Obviously I did, but I can't
- 1:16:41tell you why I did it now.
- 1:16:43So, you have no idea why you put that in
- 1:16:44quotes?
- 1:16:45I did. I can't answer now as to why I
- 1:16:47did.
- 1:16:47Did you ask her
- 1:16:50why she didn't feel safe at home?
- 1:16:53I don't believe so, no.
- 1:16:56And then
- 1:16:59uh
- 1:17:00you document that uh
- 1:17:02the next time you use quotes is when you
- 1:17:05describe that she had seen movies or and
- 1:17:07reports.
- 1:17:09You put that in quotes, too.
- 1:17:11I won't disagree if you're referring to
- 1:17:12my report, yes.
- 1:17:13And you're referring when you when you
- 1:17:15talk about that is to
- 1:17:17uh why she didn't call the police.
- 1:17:19Correct.
- 1:17:21Did you put that in quotes because you
- 1:17:24thought that was pretty outrageous
- 1:17:25statement to make?
- 1:17:26No, based on my recollection, I put it
- 1:17:28in quotes cuz it was one of the things
- 1:17:30that she told me. Uh I don't recall it
- 1:17:32being on the statement, so it must have
- 1:17:33been one of the things we mentioned
- 1:17:35before at the tape or during our drive.
- 1:17:37So, I used it to
- 1:17:39acknowledge what she said to me.
- 1:17:41I'm talking specifically about your
- 1:17:44your
- 1:17:45frame of reference here.
- 1:17:47Okay?
- 1:17:48I want to know from you that in your
- 1:17:51opinion
- 1:17:52when you're
- 1:17:54uh listening and speaking to her in
- 1:17:56reference to these statements that
- 1:17:59you
- 1:18:01think they're a little outrageous.
- 1:18:04Your Honor, I'm going to object. He's
- 1:18:06attempting to elicit hearsay statements
- 1:18:09of his client
- 1:18:11that were not elicited by the state.
- 1:18:13I withdraw the question, Judge.
- 1:18:15Sustained.
- 1:18:18Now,
- 1:18:21the
- 1:18:24statements that you first
- 1:18:27took from her that we heard
- 1:18:29uh a while ago.
- 1:18:31Let me give you a copy of that. Do you
- 1:18:32have one with you?
- 1:18:34Not with me, no.
- 1:18:36You You
- 1:18:37I'd like to show
- 1:18:39Detective defense exhibit U.
- 1:18:44Thank you.
- 1:18:58Now,
- 1:19:00when you I'm I'm going to stop I'd like
- 1:19:02to take you down this statement, uh
- 1:19:06Detective,
- 1:19:07and I'll I'll start off on page two.
- 1:19:13And line 10.
- 1:19:19First area that you start inquiring is
- 1:19:24you're basically telling her she
- 1:19:26fabricated a story, are you not?
- 1:19:28No.
- 1:19:30What is your purpose of saying if you're
- 1:19:32basically if you're trying to fabricate
- 1:19:34a story?
- 1:19:35A lot of times before I get an official
- 1:19:37statement from someone, I'll give them
- 1:19:39the chance to change
- 1:19:41whatever they're going to do whatever
- 1:19:42they've said previously I won't hold
- 1:19:44against them. So, a lot of times in an
- 1:19:46interview, I'll say, "Listen, you know,
- 1:19:47I want to make sure that you're telling
- 1:19:49me the truth. Whatever you may have said
- 1:19:50in the past, I don't care. What I care
- 1:19:53about is what you're going to tell me
- 1:19:54now." So, if you're asking me in what
- 1:19:55context I made that statement, that's
- 1:19:58the best I can answer that right now.
- 1:19:59So, what you're telling this jury is
- 1:20:01that the reason you made that statement
- 1:20:03is not because you find her story to be
- 1:20:07a fabrication,
- 1:20:09but that's something you always say.
- 1:20:13I didn't find her story to be a
- 1:20:14fabrication then because I hadn't had a
- 1:20:16chance to investigate what she claimed.
- 1:20:18She was very detailed and specific in
- 1:20:20her statement, so there was a lot I had
- 1:20:22to follow up on. I couldn't say that I
- 1:20:24could tell for sure it was fabricated at
- 1:20:25that point.
- 1:20:26Okay. Uh
- 1:20:29let's let's start off with some of them
- 1:20:31details then. Uh she tells you that
- 1:20:34Zenaida Gonzalez that she had known
- 1:20:36Zenaida Gonzalez for 4 years.
- 1:20:40Are you referring to a particular page
- 1:20:41you want me to follow along or just in
- 1:20:43general?
- 1:20:45Page 3, line
- 1:20:4821.
- 1:20:52Yes, almost 4 years.
- 1:20:54Okay.
- 1:20:55And then
- 1:20:57she tells you that this person that she
- 1:20:59was introduced to this person on the
- 1:21:01next page
- 1:21:02by a
- 1:21:05Jeffrey or actually it's on that page
- 1:21:08on line 23, Jeffrey Michael Hopkins.
- 1:21:11Yes.
- 1:21:15And when you question her about
- 1:21:18Jeffrey Michael Hopkins, she can't give
- 1:21:20you any information on how to reach him.
- 1:21:25I could only go based on what I asked
- 1:21:27her and I believe I asked her where she
- 1:21:29where he worked or if she had a contact
- 1:21:31number for him and she did not.
- 1:21:34Right. So the answer to my question is
- 1:21:36yes, she didn't give you any information
- 1:21:37on how to reach him.
- 1:21:38Well, he told me that he used to work at
- 1:21:40Universal Studios. I would consider that
- 1:21:41information.
- 1:21:42Okay, but
- 1:21:45and then she told you that he went to
- 1:21:46North Carolina
- 1:21:48and then moved down to Jacksonville.
- 1:21:50Yes.
- 1:21:54Then on page 5 she goes into this state
- 1:21:57several statements about SIM cards.
- 1:22:00Did any of that make sense to you?
- 1:22:02Your Honor, I'm going to object. That's
- 1:22:03not relevant.
- 1:22:05His opinion.
- 1:22:07Relevant statements to bias.
- 1:22:10I'll rephrase the question, Judge.
- 1:22:12Okay.
- 1:22:12Did you
- 1:22:14confront her with any of this
- 1:22:15information about SIM cards?
- 1:22:20I I wouldn't say confront. I was trying
- 1:22:22to get clarification on what she meant
- 1:22:24since she said she had lost a phone and
- 1:22:26when I was asking her for certain
- 1:22:27numbers she brought up a SIM card, so I
- 1:22:29was asking questions for clarification
- 1:22:30on that.
- 1:22:32All right. I'd like to take you to
- 1:22:42page
- 1:22:4411,
- 1:22:49lines
- 1:22:5116 through 25.
- 1:23:03Uh the exhibit
- 1:23:05I
- 1:23:06I've read it into the record and it's in
- 1:23:08evidence.
- 1:23:11You state you asked her if she had
- 1:23:12spoken to anyone else about Caylee being
- 1:23:15missing and she answers Juliet Lewis.
- 1:23:18Correct?
- 1:23:19Yes.
- 1:23:19She says, "She's one of my co-workers at
- 1:23:22Universal."
- 1:23:25Correct?
- 1:23:26Okay.
- 1:23:27And then you you take it a step further
- 1:23:29and you ask her what she does at
- 1:23:31Universal.
- 1:23:32Correct?
- 1:23:33Yes.
- 1:23:34And she tells you an event coordinator.
- 1:23:36Correct?
- 1:23:38Yes.
- 1:23:39Okay.
- 1:23:39Then you ask her for a number for Juliet
- 1:23:42Lewis.
- 1:23:43Correct?
- 1:23:45Yes.
- 1:23:46And she can't come up with one.
- 1:23:51To quote her, she says, "I can't think
- 1:23:52of one."
- 1:23:53Okay.
- 1:23:55Then immediately after that, she tells
- 1:23:57you
- 1:23:58that the reason she doesn't have a
- 1:24:00number is cuz she just moved up north
- 1:24:04within the last 2 months to New York.
- 1:24:08Yes.
- 1:24:09And she's subleasing her apartment.
- 1:24:12According to what she said, yes.
- 1:24:14Okay.
- 1:24:15And then at that point, she tells you
- 1:24:17she doesn't work at Universal anymore.
- 1:24:22Correct.
- 1:24:22So within seconds, she's telling you she
- 1:24:25has a co-worker at Universal Studios.
- 1:24:28Correct?
- 1:24:29Yes.
- 1:24:30Who's an event planner, a current
- 1:24:31employee.
- 1:24:33Yes.
- 1:24:33And then, this person
- 1:24:36all of a sudden moved up to New York a
- 1:24:38couple of months ago.
- 1:24:40Yes.
- 1:24:41But her child's only been missing a
- 1:24:42month.
- 1:24:45Yes.
- 1:24:52And she has no number for this person.
- 1:24:55Whether she did or didn't, I don't know.
- 1:24:57She told me she did not.
- 1:24:59So,
- 1:25:02you couldn't investigate or couldn't
- 1:25:05confront anyone about
- 1:25:08Well, let me let me strike that and
- 1:25:10rephrase that.
- 1:25:12At that point in time,
- 1:25:14did you do anything
- 1:25:16to say, "Wait a minute.
- 1:25:18This doesn't make any sense."
- 1:25:20No.
- 1:25:21Did you realize that
- 1:25:24you were dealing with something a little
- 1:25:26bit
- 1:25:28unique?
- 1:25:31You're asking me to testify to what I
- 1:25:32felt at the time I was doing the
- 1:25:34interview. I can't tell you what I felt.
- 1:25:37I can't say it was unique. I was in an
- 1:25:39information-gathering stage at the time.
- 1:25:41I was meeting with the mother of a child
- 1:25:42who's missing. The purpose was to try
- 1:25:44and get information to locate the child.
- 1:25:49You're getting information about one of
- 1:25:51only two Outcry witnesses
- 1:25:54to a crime that occurred a month ago.
- 1:25:57Correct?
- 1:26:00It turned out she only gave me two
- 1:26:01Outcry witnesses, but there's more to
- 1:26:03the interview. So, at that point, yes,
- 1:26:05she had given me two.
- 1:26:06And she's telling you in 1 second that
- 1:26:09the person works with her, and then the
- 1:26:12next second she's saying she doesn't.
- 1:26:14All within
- 1:26:16what, 10 to 15 seconds?
- 1:26:18Correct.
- 1:26:19And you didn't
- 1:26:21think at that at that specific moment
- 1:26:24that you're dealing with something
- 1:26:25unique.
- 1:26:26Your Honor, I'm going to object to the
- 1:26:27talking narrative.
- 1:26:28This has been asked and answered. The
- 1:26:29exhibit speaks
- 1:26:30Sustain.
- 1:26:32You didn't do anything based on that
- 1:26:34information, did you, sir?
- 1:26:37Well, eventually I would go to Universal
- 1:26:38Studios and try and identify these
- 1:26:40people. So, yes, I did something.
- 1:26:46At the end of this interview
- 1:26:49you ask her
- 1:26:51if she's got a drug problem.
- 1:26:54Do you have a page and line number, sir?
- 1:26:55Yes. Page 14, lines 21 through 25.
- 1:27:04Yes, I did.
- 1:27:05You ask her about cocaine?
- 1:27:08Yes.
- 1:27:08You ask her about meth?
- 1:27:11Yes.
- 1:27:11Ecstasy?
- 1:27:13Yes.
- 1:27:14And anything else?
- 1:27:18I don't read it off top of my head, so
- 1:27:19no. I believe that was it.
- 1:27:21And the reason is because
- 1:27:23Sorry, uh are there prescription
- 1:27:25narcotics as well just before that?
- 1:27:27Okay. You're asking if she's on any
- 1:27:29prescription medication.
- 1:27:33I was asking if she had any problems
- 1:27:35with drugs or narcotics, either
- 1:27:37prescription narcotics, she interrupts
- 1:27:39says no, or drugs, cocaine, ecstasy,
- 1:27:42meth. I asked her if she had problems,
- 1:27:43not if she was on any.
- 1:27:45Okay.
- 1:27:45Then you ask her if she's ever committed
- 1:27:47suicide.
- 1:27:48Next page.
- 1:27:52I don't think I could have asked her if
- 1:27:53she's ever committed suicide cuz if she
- 1:27:55had, she wouldn't be there.
- 1:27:56Thoughts of committing suicide, excuse
- 1:27:57me.
- 1:27:59Yes.
- 1:28:00All right.
- 1:28:01Uh
- 1:28:03and
- 1:28:05then you ask her if she's ever been to
- 1:28:06Lakeside or anything like that.
- 1:28:08Yes.
- 1:28:09Can you explain to the ladies and
- 1:28:10gentlemen of the jury what Lakeside is.
- 1:28:12Lakeside is a local receiving facility
- 1:28:14that we would take people who have
- 1:28:16mental problems or mental issues
- 1:28:18uh such as under a Baker Act. If
- 1:28:20somebody's suicidal, have thoughts of
- 1:28:22hurting themselves, and we would take
- 1:28:24them into custody for lack of a better
- 1:28:26word. We would take them to Lakeside so
- 1:28:27they can get treatment and be seen by a
- 1:28:29a doctor or psychiatrist and perhaps get
- 1:28:31some help.
- 1:28:33And
- 1:28:35the reason you're asking these
- 1:28:36questions, Detective, is because you
- 1:28:38realize that the statements being given
- 1:28:41to you at that particular point in time,
- 1:28:43at the very beginning of this case,
- 1:28:45are just not right.
- 1:28:47No, I can't tell you the reason I asked
- 1:28:49that question. Obviously I did. It's
- 1:28:50just part of an information gathering uh
- 1:28:52uh
- 1:28:53information gathering process. I ask a
- 1:28:55lot of questions.
- 1:28:56So, this is not
- 1:28:58So, basically, this is just something
- 1:29:01you do out of out of routine and it's
- 1:29:03not something that you do as a matter as
- 1:29:06a matter of this specific case.
- 1:29:08Your Honor, I'm going to object. It's
- 1:29:09argumentative.
- 1:29:12He's answered the question.
- 1:29:15Sustain.
- 1:29:18You asked those questions because of
- 1:29:21what you had just the information that
- 1:29:22you had gathered in your investigation
- 1:29:24at that point? Or is that because Excuse
- 1:29:27me.
- 1:29:28Or is that because you do this as a
- 1:29:30matter of routine?
- 1:29:31Right.
- 1:29:32Objection. Asked and answered.
- 1:29:34I don't think it's has been answered,
- 1:29:35Judge.
- 1:29:37Sustain.
- 1:29:51If I can have just a moment, Judge.
- 1:29:53Yes, sir.
- 1:29:54See if I have anything for you.
- 1:30:36Detective, were you made aware that
- 1:30:38evening, or did you make any other
- 1:30:40inquiries about Casey Anthony to other
- 1:30:45individuals in the home?
- 1:30:47I know I had a brief conversation with
- 1:30:49Cindy.
- 1:30:50George was there. I don't recall
- 1:30:52conversation with him, but I'm not
- 1:30:54saying I didn't.
- 1:30:55And were you made aware of any possible
- 1:30:57seizures that Casey Anthony may have?
- 1:31:02That's not in evidence, and this based
- 1:31:05on a hearsay response.
- 1:31:07Sustain based upon hearsay.
- 1:31:10Did you get any medical information
- 1:31:13about Miss Anthony?
- 1:31:14Same objection.
- 1:31:17As to that particular question, did he
- 1:31:19get any medical information? He can
- 1:31:20simply answer yes or no.
- 1:31:23Aside from asking her the questions
- 1:31:24about Lakeside, if you would consider
- 1:31:26that medical information or prescription
- 1:31:28drugs, if you would consider that, no.
- 1:31:34Do you have a copy of your report, sir?
- 1:31:36Not with me, no, sir.
- 1:31:38Okay.
- 1:32:27Judge,
- 1:32:29I have no further questions at this
- 1:32:30time.
- 1:32:31Okay, thank you.
- 1:32:34Any redirect?
- 1:32:35Not on these issues, thank you.
- 1:32:38May the detective be excused for
- 1:32:41this time subject to recall?
- 1:32:43Yes, sir.
- 1:32:44Detective, you may be excused subject to
- 1:32:46recall.
- 1:32:47Thank you.
- 1:32:47Thank you, sir.
- 1:33:00Okay, ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
- 1:33:02the time is now approximately 4:59
- 1:33:05uh
- 1:33:05p.m.
- 1:33:06We're going to recess uh for the
- 1:33:08evening.
- 1:33:10Again, uh please remember all of my
- 1:33:12previous uh admonitions.
- 1:33:16Uh
- 1:33:21and have a uh
- 1:33:24good evening.
- 1:33:26I understand one of you has a new name,
- 1:33:28Johnny Depp.
- 1:33:34Okay, have a good evening.
- 1:33:36All right, thank you.
- 1:34:13You may be seated.
- 1:34:16Okay, folks.
- 1:34:19Uh
- 1:34:20on Friday, I will inquire of the state
- 1:34:23of Florida as to
- 1:34:26where they think they are
- 1:34:29in in the approximate
- 1:34:32time when they think they will be
- 1:34:34wrapping their case up.
- 1:34:36Uh
- 1:34:37so, uh
- 1:34:39the defense can have some basic idea of
- 1:34:42when they would need uh
- 1:34:44to start.
- 1:34:50Turn your microphone on. Is your
- 1:34:51microphone on?
- 1:34:52No. I can tell you numerically we're
- 1:34:54about halfway.
- 1:34:56Um obviously, some of the expert
- 1:34:58testimony might not make it the halfway
- 1:35:01point time-wise, but as it relates to
- 1:35:04number of witnesses we intend to call in
- 1:35:06our case in chief, we're about halfway.
- 1:35:09Okay, you're about halfway, so you're
- 1:35:11talking about another
- 1:35:15week or 2 weeks?
- 1:35:23Perhaps. Um
- 1:35:25I think by the end of the week, if
- 1:35:27things go as planned, we could
- 1:35:32be up to possibly witness number 49 out
- 1:35:37of
- 1:35:38however many we've called. I think we've
- 1:35:40called 20 plus now.
- 1:35:43Yeah.
- 1:35:43So,
- 1:35:45uh maybe we can get another
- 1:35:4720.
- 1:35:48A lot of it is marking evidence that
- 1:35:50kind of bogs things down a little bit.
- 1:35:52I'm going to try to
- 1:35:54have a list for the clerk
- 1:35:57in the anticipated order to maybe speed
- 1:35:59that up.
- 1:36:00If you would let the clerk know she can
- 1:36:03have an extra clerk up here
- 1:36:06uh that can be just involved in marking
- 1:36:09things uh
- 1:36:10probably we can find another area to
- 1:36:13mark those things in and caught them
- 1:36:15away.
- 1:36:17Uh
- 1:36:18I do want to alert the court to the fact
- 1:36:20that it is our intention to
- 1:36:23play the jail visitation videos within
- 1:36:27the next day's worth of testimony. There
- 1:36:29were some other
- 1:36:30predicate matters that we have to
- 1:36:33address before we get there.
- 1:36:35Um however, it's our intention that
- 1:36:39within the next day's worth of testimony
- 1:36:42that we begin the process of playing
- 1:36:44those. Um
- 1:36:45I had indicated to the court before and
- 1:36:48to Mr. Baez this morning if there are
- 1:36:50specific things that he wants to have
- 1:36:53redacted, it will be difficult for us to
- 1:36:56do that, but if he gets it to us early
- 1:36:58enough and we agree
- 1:37:00then there's
- 1:37:02a slight possibility that we could
- 1:37:04accommodate that. Um Mr. Ashton has been
- 1:37:07going through them and so far there's
- 1:37:10not much um
- 1:37:13that we believe is inadmissible.
- 1:37:16Well, let me ask you this. Do you have
- 1:37:17transcripts of the jail visitation?
- 1:37:20We have transcripts of all of them but
- 1:37:22one which is part
- 1:37:24two of a two-hour visit that Mr. and
- 1:37:28Mrs. Anthony had with Casey Anthony on
- 1:37:32July 20
- 1:37:33fifth.
- 1:37:34Okay.
- 1:37:35And the only reason we don't have that
- 1:37:36is because there were some confusion
- 1:37:37over whether or not a duplicate was
- 1:37:39provided and I know counsel has some of
- 1:37:42these transcribed and then we had some
- 1:37:44transcribed as well.
- 1:37:46But we are hoping at a minimum to have
- 1:37:49those
- 1:37:51Friday, that last one, available to us
- 1:37:54on Friday. I I had asked that it be
- 1:37:56prepared by tomorrow, but right now the
- 1:37:58indications are that this last one won't
- 1:38:01be available till Friday, but we
- 1:38:03certainly have actually have copies um
- 1:38:06that I was going to provide to the clerk
- 1:38:08somewhere.
- 1:38:08Well, it would be very helpful
- 1:38:11uh if there are objections that are not
- 1:38:14untimely
- 1:38:16uh to have the transcript so I can go
- 1:38:18directly to those to look at the the
- 1:38:21portion
- 1:38:23that you may have objections to
- 1:38:25uh
- 1:38:27but
- 1:38:28the the the sooner you let the state
- 1:38:31know since
- 1:38:33uh
- 1:38:34as I say, they may or may not be barred.
- 1:38:37Uh but we'll take a look at them.
- 1:38:40Would the court like the copy that we
- 1:38:42prepared for the court reporter?
- 1:38:45It It's a lot of reading, but
- 1:38:48Well, I'm not going to read them
- 1:38:50Okay.
- 1:38:51I'm not going to read them tonight. I
- 1:38:53read enough last night. I'm
- 1:38:58We will work uh
- 1:39:01this evening
- 1:39:03uh
- 1:39:04I'm not sure if we'll get it done
- 1:39:06if we're all
- 1:39:08evening, but over the next 48 hours to
- 1:39:10try and get to the state
- 1:39:12as quickly as possible some of the
- 1:39:14things that we think would be
- 1:39:15objectionable and that might slow things
- 1:39:17down.
- 1:39:19I would suggest in chronological order
- 1:39:21cuz that's the way I intend to proceed
- 1:39:22with the
- 1:39:22That's the way we'll go then.
- 1:39:24Okay.
- 1:39:24Um one other thing to kind of piggyback
- 1:39:28off of what's been said, just to let the
- 1:39:29court know um
- 1:39:32as it relates to the JAC and travel for
- 1:39:35out-of-state defense witnesses,
- 1:39:37I think what the what I was told the
- 1:39:40requirements are is that they need
- 1:39:435 days notice
- 1:39:45to be able to pay
- 1:39:47for travel.
- 1:39:50And the reason for that is
- 1:39:53um
- 1:39:54this would pertain to people who need
- 1:39:56the travel paid directly by the JAC as
- 1:39:58opposed to reimbursement which most of
- 1:40:00the out-of-state witnesses would be.
- 1:40:03Um
- 1:40:06so I I just
- 1:40:08I I know everyone's
- 1:40:10everyone's doing their best to try and
- 1:40:12make sure we're all on all on schedule,
- 1:40:13but I just wanted to
- 1:40:15make the court aware of that so we could
- 1:40:16keep that in mind
- 1:40:18as to some of our troubles that may
- 1:40:21come up.
- 1:40:23Uh
- 1:40:25do you have the motions and orders ready
- 1:40:27now?
- 1:40:28No, sir. And I I however, I have Miss
- 1:40:31Medina working on that right now. She
- 1:40:34just informed me today of the 5-day
- 1:40:35requirement and what's required. So she
- 1:40:38is currently plugging away and they will
- 1:40:41be forthcoming.
- 1:40:42Okay. Well, my suggestion is that when
- 1:40:45she's ready just bring them here where
- 1:40:47she can approach the bench and give them
- 1:40:48directly to me.
- 1:40:50Yes, sir.
- 1:40:51You know, we can follow them in a open
- 1:40:52court and if there are any questions
- 1:40:55I can take care of those.
- 1:40:58Just to let you know I know that the
- 1:40:59court had inquired about that one status
- 1:41:01hearing. We have withdrawn that request.
- 1:41:03Okay.
- 1:41:04Uh for that for that specific
- 1:41:06transcript.
- 1:41:07Okay.
- 1:41:09Anything else folks for the good of the
- 1:41:11order?
- 1:41:13Nothing from the state, Your Honor.
- 1:41:14Nothing from the defense.
- 1:41:16Okay. Remember if you need anything
- 1:41:20that you need to bring up, let the court
- 1:41:21deputy know by 8:20. He will
- 1:41:24contact me and we will take it up before
- 1:41:279:00.
- 1:41:29If with that said, we're being recessed
- 1:41:31to 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.
About this transcript
This page contains the full transcript of FL v. Casey Anthony (2011): Detective Yuri Melich Testifies by COURT TV, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 13,654 words across 2,685 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.
What you can do with it
Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to translate the transcript into 100+ languages.
Free YouTube transcript tool
YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, translation to 100+ languages, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.