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Nancy Grace

Lee Anthony`s Attorney Says He Might Be Charged

Aired December 29, 2008 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JEAN CASAREZ, GUEST HOST: Tonight, breaking news in the case of missing 2-year-old Florida toddler Caylee Anthony. After months and months of searching throughout the Orlando area, a local meter reader calls authorities after finding a bag containing skeletal remains in a heavily- wooded area just yards from the home of Caylee`s grandparents, George and Cindy Anthony, the remains later identified as those of little Caylee, the medical examiner revealing the manner of death to be homicide, but the cause of death remains a mystery.
Headlines tonight. Will Casey Anthony`s brother, Lee, face criminal charges? His attorney is saying the state may seek to charge Caylee`s uncle with obstruction of justice or aiding and abetting. Meanwhile, we anxiously await results from additional forensic testing done on Caylee`s remains, as well as a report from CSI experts who thoroughly searched the remains site for more evidence.

And also tonight, investigators are said to be focusing in on computer searches shortly before Caylee went missing. At the same time that someone in the Anthony home was searching neck-breaking, how to make chloroform, they also were searching for a television episode centered around a child`s kidnapping. Who was the kidnapper in that show, you ask? Why, the nanny, of course.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

LEE ANTHONY, CASEY`S BROTHER: We love you. And you know, please think of anything that we can help find Caylee because the sooner we can help find her, it`s going to be, you know, open and shut to get you out of there, OK, darling?

CASEY ANTHONY, MISSING TODDLER`S MOTHER: Absolutely. I know.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Casey Anthony`s brother, Lee Anthony, could reportedly be facing criminal charges, including obstruction of justice or aiding and abetting. According to an attorney claiming to be an adviser to Lee Anthony, the state attorney`s office may hand down charges against Caylee`s uncle, even if he never intended to commit a crime.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

LEE ANTHONY: (DELETED) Baez. I don`t give a (DELETED) (INAUDIBLE) (DELETED) anything else. Our focus is on Caylee.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Also today, according to reports, someone at the Anthony home was searching for a specific episode of a television program where a child is kidnapped by the nanny.

LEE ANTHONY: My mother immediately goes, Who took her? Who took her? And then Casey goes, The nanny did. She was kidnapped, Mom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And good evening. I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session," in for Nancy Grace tonight. Stunning developments. Is Casey Anthony`s brother, Lee Anthony, in legal trouble? The attorney advising him says Lee could face charges of obstruction of justice. And tonight, investigators reportedly focus in on computer searches inside the Anthony home. Do searches about a television show give new insight into Casey Anthony`s Zenaida Gonzalez story?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CASEY ANTHONY: More like a hand. You`re the middle finger, which is funny, because you are the big guy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An attorney claiming to be an adviser to tot mom Casey Anthony`s brother, Lee Anthony, says Caylee`s uncle could face criminal charges. The adviser says that even if Lee Anthony were not aware that he was doing something illegal, the state could still seek obstruction of justice or aiding and abetting charges against him.

LEE ANTHONY: I know you`re going to meet with, you know, the investigators and everything. You know, is there anything specifically, the details that you want to clarify to me now, so when I`m following up on my own leads and my own information, putting this stuff together, you know, that I can start working on it now?

CASEY ANTHONY: At the moment, there`s nothing to consider (ph), or nothing that, you know, should probably be said here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meanwhile, computer records reportedly show a search for the 100th episode of a television show where a nanny is suspected of kidnapping a child.

LEE ANTHONY: (INAUDIBLE) to be looking for the nanny`s place. Would it be advantageous of me to look in areas that are familiar to another friend that you may have?

CASEY ANTHONY: That would be pretty much on the money.

LEE ANTHONY: We`re going to find Caylee, and that`s it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Let`s go straight out to Mark Williams, news director for WNDB Newstalk 1150. Mark, what`s the latest?

MARK WILLIAMS, WNDB NEWSTALK 1150: Well, Jean, the latest, of course, is could Lee Anthony be charged with obstruction of justice? Well, that may not happen anytime soon. The investigators right now are wrapping up all their loose ends into the Casey Anthony case right now, involving little Caylee Anthony. The state attorney`s office has not been asked to, of course, press charges against him as of yet.

But his attorney, Tom Luka, here in Orlando says Lee has been investigating. But if you have followed this show since at least July 24, that has not been the case. Lee Anthony told his parents at one time, Do not -- do not take any polygraph tests that have been administered or they want to administer to you. And secondly, you know, the lawyer says, Well, he gave up his DNA. That`s a -- a bunch of bull because they needed a search warrant for him to get his DNA. That`s the only way he ever cooperated was search warrants and through intimidation.

CASAREZ: So these would be very, very serious charges. And this is coming tonight from the attorney advising Lee Anthony.

Let`s go out to Jane Velez-Mitchell, who is the host of "Issues With Jane Velez-Mitchell." Jane, you just spoke with attorney Thomas Luka. What really struck you as you spoke with him?

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST, "ISSUES": Well, he wouldn`t tell us why his client might be facing these obstruction of justice issues or the aiding and abetting. And I asked him, I said, Could it be that Casey asked the brother to do something that he thought was an innocent request and later turned out to be incriminating? He said, No, you`re absolutely wrong. And I said, Well, did he throw something out of the house that he thought was something that he could just innocently dispose of that later turned out to possibly be important information or evidence? He said, Absolutely no.

So he wouldn`t say why. But he says reading the tea leaves, he`s getting the idea that authorities are gearing up to charge his client. And what`s so bizarre about is, usually, a lawyer doesn`t want to plant that idea in the authorities` heads and give them any ideas about charging your client. So for it to come from the attorney is really strange.

CASAREZ: It is strange. Well, let`s listen to attorney Thomas Luka in his own words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS LUKA, ATTORNEY FOR LEE ANTHONY: No charges are pending as of yet. What we are concerned with, however, is that here in Florida, the laws regarding tampering with evidence and obstruction of justice are extraordinarily broad, as opposed to other states. And because of that, there is some concern that some activities that -- that Lee might have been involved with during the investigation might have -- be seen by law enforcement to be misleading or to be in some way hindering the investigation. And that`s what we`re trying to make clear, that throughout this investigation, he has been cooperating fully.

Mr. Anthony is not -- did not throw anything out. In fact, he has talked to Casey several times in the jail at law enforcement`s request in the search for his niece. He has been fully cooperating with police, including giving a DNA sample.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And let us go out to the attorneys right now. We can`t wait any longer. Susan Moss, family law attorney, child advocate, prosecutor Holly Hughes, defense attorney Doug Burns and George Prothro, also a defense attorney.

First to Doug Burns. Tell me why it would be advantageous for an attorney who is advising Lee Anthony right now to come out on national television, saying his client is truly being investigated by the Orange County Sheriff`s Department?

DOUG BURNS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I can`t, Jean, and that`s the problem. I find it highly unusual. I`ve been practicing criminal law 23 years. I`m not going to malign the gentleman, but by the same token, I find it highly unusual that an attorney would publicly say to the media, you know, By the way, they`re, you know, likely to be charging my client with a crime. I don`t see any merit to that.

CASAREZ: To prosecutor Holly Hughes. These would be very, very serious charges because I`ve been researching the Florida law, and initially, the attorney said aiding and abetting. I cannot find a criminal statute of aiding and abetting under Florida law. I do find accessory under the fact, which can be a first degree or a second degree felony. I also find, obviously, obstruction of justice. Now he`s saying tampering with evidence. What do you make of it?

HOLLY HUGHES, PROSECUTOR: What I make of it is he knows a heck of a lot more than he`s telling us. And obviously, because of attorney/client privilege, he has to keep so much of it secret. But he knows that Lee is in this up to his neck, Jean, because otherwise, he`s not out there trying to taint the jury pool and, Oh, feel sorry for this family, and, They`re going after George and Cindy, and now they might be going after Lee.

And I think what he`s trying to do is put it out there that the prosecutor is a big bad wolf and they`re going after this grieving family, so that if and when Lee gets charged, they can say, Oh, you know, they`re over the top. Not only are they going after Casey, they`re going after everybody else.

But when he starts throwing around terms like "tampering with evidence," "aiding and abetting," I`m also thinking of party to a crime, depending on what he did, Jean. You know, he could be charged as, you know, not only tampering, but also as a party to whatever crime Casey committed, if he was part and parcel. You know, they say in for a penny, in for a pound, Jean.

CASAREZ: Well, Holly, it`s interesting you say that because if you look at the indictment and if you look under count two, which is aggravated child abuse, the prosecutor leaves it open for somebody else to be involved in this case. It is right there in black and white. It is interesting.

To George Prothro, defense attorney. What I want to ask you is, after the remains were found on December 11, George and Cindy Anthony were asked to give their fingerprints. They voluntarily gave it to law enforcement. But what we understand is that Lee Anthony waited until he was face to face with a subpoena before he did that and gave his fingerprints. Did he know something at that point?

GEORGE PROTHRO, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I don`t think, you know, he knew anything at that point. I think it`s very hard to speculate at this point on the evidence that we have with the information that we have. But what I do think he may have been trying to do is to make sure that he was protecting his rights by waiting until he was required by subpoena to provide that information. He has protected his rights if charges are later brought against him, if he is later added to the indictment. And if he has to go to trial, then that produces some issues at trial that may protect any evidence or protect his rights against any evidence that may have been brought in based on the evidence collected with that subpoena.

CASAREZ: But to Leonard Padilla, bounty hunter -- he helped search for Caylee from day one, practically. That`s really what I`m driving at because if George and Cindy Anthony voluntarily gave their fingerprints after the remains were found, but Lee Anthony -- and he has every constitutional right to not do it voluntarily, but doesn`t that mean that he may have information that an investigation was ongoing in regard to him at that point?

LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER: Lee not giving up his fingerprints voluntarily is a red herring. His situation is there`s a daisy chain that extends from Casey all the way to the meter reader, Kronk. They`re trying to fill in the spaces as to who carried the message where the body was so that the meter reader could find it after the fourth try.

Lee probably is the major suspect in the daisy chain because he`s the one that had contact with Casey, and semi-coded messages were possibly passed from her to him. He, in turn, dealt with Hoover and the other private investigator, Dominic, eventually ending up with the information in Kronk`s lap.

CASAREZ: But Leonard, what are your facts to back that up right there, your theory?

PADILLA: Hoover showed me a video that he took of Dominic filming the area for about a minute-and-a-half exactly where the body was found. On the -- on the date, it says November 15.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE ANTHONY: That`s when she opened up to me and said, Mom has thrown it in my face many times before that I`m an unfit mother, and you know, maybe she`s right. Maybe I am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lee says partly because of that atrocious smell in the car, their mother angrily confronted Casey about her claim that the nanny took Caylee, telling Casey, quote, "We could have found her a month ago. Why did you wait? What have you done?"

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re more afraid of your mom`s reaction than you are if you ever see your daughter again?

CASEY ANTHONY: No, I`m absolutely petrified, absolutely petrified. I know my mom will never forgive me.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

LUKA: They have not yet issued him a subpoena for his trial testimony. That subpoena would give him immunity to anything he would say in a court of law. They have not -- the state attorney`s office has not issued a subpoena for him yet, and that is what troubles me, at least, as far as whether there might be charges on the horizon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: But Lee Anthony is on the prosecution`s witness list, as is George and Cindy Anthony.

Welcome back. I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session," sitting in for Nancy Grace. Stunning news today out of the mouth of the attorney that is advising Lee Anthony, the brother of Casey Anthony, saying that it is very, very possible that Lee Anthony could be charged with a number of felony charges in this case. He is currently, according to Thomas Luka, being investigated by the Orange County Sheriff`s Department.

Let`s go out to Kathy in New York. Good evening, Kathy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, hi, Jean. How are you?

CASAREZ: Fine, thanks. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just have a question for Leonard Padilla. When he first bonded Casey out, he was convinced of her innocence. What changed his mind when he was around the family that now he doesn`t believe that?

CASAREZ: Good question. Leonard?

PADILLA: The lab results from the Tennessee body farm and also the FBI labs. I`ve said it a thousand times. I`m old-fashioned. I believe in the FBI lab, and definitely know they -- they know what they`re doing. I mean, they`re 100 percent. Very seldom are they off. They`ve had a couple of incidents in the past, but not this time.

CASAREZ: Now, those results, Leonard, did not come in until this fall, I believe, late summer, early fall. How did you reconcile all of the mistruths, the lies, that were evident through the entire months of the summer?

PADILLA: Well, the thing about it is that we had bailed her out, and a week later is when the results came out, in mid-August. By that time, if you`ll look at the timeline, Kronk had made three attempts on the 11th, 12th and 13th Of august to actually find the remains. Somebody was tipping him to the area but not exactly to where that bag was.

CASAREZ: Now, why do you believe somebody was tipping a meter reader, who had that vicinity to read meters in this near the Casey Anthony home -- why do you believe he was tipped off?

PADILLA: On two occasions, I believe the second time and fourth time, when he actually found the body, said he had to relieve himself -- if you`ll notice in the first, second or third tape, he starts to say that that`s where he was going, to relieve himself. Two instances, he mentions, Well, there was a dead snake back there, something to that effect. There`s no way you`re going to stop on that road to -- to go relieve yourself down that slope and into those woods when you`ve got a friend that works with you right around the corner. You can go and use the bathroom in his home.

CASAREZ: Well, to Drew Petrimoulx, reporter from WDBO radio, what`s the general consensus, the opinion of the meter reader? Because it`s my thought that if there is a meter reader and his area is near the Casey Anthony home and everybody is looking for Caylee, I would sort of have an unofficial duty, a feeling inside of me that I needed to look out. Everyone was trying to find Caylee Anthony. Why shouldn`t the meter reader, too?

DREW PETRIMOULX, WDBO: Well, I mean, coming from the sheriff`s office, they have basically said that he has shown no signs of being guilty, they don`t suspect him as being involved in the disappearance and eventual finding of the murdered body.

But you know, it is a strange story. He went out there three times and back in August, and he obviously thought he saw something out there. He called police out there. They weren`t able to find it. He comes back five months later and finds the body in the same spot. It`s a really close area to the Anthony house. So while there`s been no direct linkage between him and the death of Caylee, it`s just a strange story. It`s hard for people to swallow. But there`s no direct connection as of yet.

CASAREZ: But if he`s a meter reader and he`s walking around doing his duties, maybe he`s going to be looking for whatever he may find. And we don`t know if what he saw in August is the same thing that he saw December 11.

Let`s go out to Kim in Michigan. Good evening, Kim.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Jean. There were reports about Casey making a phone call to J.C. Penney`s and possibly purchasing two cross necklaces. Has that been verified? And then -- because there was video on your show where, when she was rearrested, she was wearing a cross necklace. Has that second one ever been found, or could it be with the remains, do you think?

CASAREZ: Well, let`s ask Mark Williams, news director WNDB Newstalk 1150. Mark?

WILLIAMS: Well, that`s news to me. The only cross that I know of is the one that Leonard Padilla found on the little bank -- or the banks of the Econ River, when he had divers in the water looking for little Caylee. And that was allegedly a home-made cross.

But that cross could have also come from -- from a murder case that happened just a couple of weeks before that, when Michelle Ganguzza (ph) went missing. She was a jogger, and they eventually found her body. And again, that`s the first time I`ve heard the possible purchase of some crosses at J.C. Penney.

CASAREZ: Well, you know what? I think Kim is saying that it`s so important -- many times in circumstantial cases, the devil is in the details. It can be extremely important.

Let`s go to a detail right now involving a computer search that was done around the time of March of this year when other computer searches were how to make chloroform, neck-breaking, were made all at the same time. Drew Petrimoulx, reporter from WDBO radio, tell us about that computer search for a TV show?

PETRIMOULX: Right. Well, as you said, there were searches for chloroform and household weapons and neck-breaking. Well, we also have learned now that there was also a search for "One Tree Hill" 100th episode. And in that episode, if you look through what transpires, the baby-sitter actually kidnaps a kid from a wedding and is holding him in a hotel room. He is eventually recovered.

But now there`s speculation, is that where Casey came up with the whole Zenaida Gonzalez story? You remember she claims that her baby-sitter took Caylee and basically never returned her. So now there`s speculation, is that where she came up with the idea, from an episode on a TV show?

CASAREZ: All right. Let`s go to John Lucich, former investigator and author of "Cyber Lies." You are a forensic investigator specializing in computer searches. How important will this search be? And is the timing of it in March around those other searches critically important for the prosecution?

JOHN LUCICH, FORMER INVESTIGATION, "CYBER LIES" AUTHOR: Absolutely, it is, because it`s going to go to show premeditation. But the one step they have to make in order to be able to use this really conclusively is to tie her to it. And based on what I see with the computer searches done so far, they haven`t been able to do that.

They have to take those dates and times and actually check the computer to see if there`s other dates and times that are around the same that says that she and only she could have been on the computer at the date and time that these searches were done.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said the sister told you that, Because I`m a spiteful (DELETED)

LEE ANTHONY: Uh-huh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did she yell that so Mom could hear it, or she just whispered that to you, or what was the context of...

CASEY ANTHONY: She didn`t whisper it. She didn`t -- she didn`t also say it -- necessarily make it a point to say it as loud so my mom can hear it. When I asked her, Why won`t you, you know, allow us to see Caylee, and she said, Well, maybe I`m a spiteful (DELETED)

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session," sitting in for Nancy Grace. Well, in addition to the attorney who is advising Lee Anthony publicly saying that his client, Lee Anthony, brother of Casey Anthony, is under investigation by the Orange County Sheriff`s Department, there is also brand-new information from a private investigator by the name of Dominic Kerry (SIC).

Now, he used to work for the defense, Jose Baez. He is now working for George and Cindy Anthony. And he says that he took a video of the area where the remains were found months ago, but they looked very different. Let`s go back out to Mark Williams, news director for WNDB Newstalk 1150. Mark, what`s that all about?

WILLIAMS: Well, what it`s all about is, all of a sudden, this tape has allegedly surfaced which -- from mid-November which shows Mr. Casey shooting videotape or videotape shot by him in the area where they found the body a little less than a month later.

Orange County sheriff`s office investigators want to talk to Mr. Casey. However, one of the deals is, is the fact that he used to work for Casey Anthony`s attorney, Jose Baez. Now, Mr. Baez has gone to court asking for a special master to be assigned to the case, saying that special master should be in -- should be present when the cops talk to the private investigator because Mr. Baez doesn`t want any privileged information to be released. Basically, he thinks the cops are leaning heavily on Mr. Casey.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything you told us is a lie. You`re looking me in the eyes. You`re looking at -- everything you told us is a lie, every single thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Casey began to break down and cry. And she said, Lee, do you want to know the truth? I haven`t seen Caylee in 31 days. Her hands are in her face, and she is crying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re tired of the lies. No more lies. What happened to Caylee?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Casey seems to be asking you here, if it you want her to bring the little snot in. I`m assuming the little snot is -- who?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The child.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you believe that when she is referring to the little snot head here, she is talking about her daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

THOMAS LUKA, ATTORNEY FOR LEE ANTHONY: There is a great deal of rumor and speculation and innuendo surrounding this entire case. I think that Mr. Anthony is simply being caught up in the periphery of this. He was running a parallel investigation with -- to the police, looking for his niece. Any money that was spent was spent appropriately. There was no misuse of funds. There was no appropriation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: That is a separate issue, I believe, from obstructing justice. The information here is coming in fast and furious. I`m Jean Casarez of "IN SESSION," sitting in for Nancy Grace tonight. Jim Hoover, private investigator, is who allegedly took the video of the very same area where the remains were found. But Dominic Casey was the center of a defense motion filed just today by Jose Baez, asking for a special master to oversee any questioning of this private investigator.

Let`s go to a caller. Roz in Colorado, thanks for waiting. Hi, Roz.

CALLER: Hi, Jean. Thank you for taking my call. What I`m wondering is, if the defense team uses Zenaida Gonzalez`s name as part of their defense, even though the only known Zenaida Gonzalez has been cleared of any wrong-doing, I`m wondering if Zenaida can sue the defense team for defamation of character, if they continue to use her name?

CASAREZ: Well, let me tell you, the Zenaida Gonzalez that was the focus initially of this investigation, she has filed a civil suit against Casey Anthony. So that has already been done, which is very interesting, because we don`t think there is a lot of money there. But based in principle, this young woman believes her name has been ruined.

I want to go to a very, very special guest right now. Dr. Joshua Perper, he is the chief medical examiner of Broward County. He is the author of the book, "When to Call The Doctor." He is nationally renowned. He is actually the forensic pathologist that determined the cause of death of Anna Nicole Smith in Florida. It`s an honor to have you with us tonight. Thank you so much.

I want to ask you a question, because I think what is so important in this case, and the results are yet to be known, is forensically what will be found on any duct tape that was around the head, around the mouth, any area of the torso. Here`s what I want to ask you: if the prosecution would bring the death penalty to this case, I think it would be important to find out if the duct tape was put on while Casey Anthony was alive. And I want to ask you, could any hair or any tissue that got stuck on the sticky side of that tape while Casey Anthony was alive, can that be determined forensically?

DR. JOSHUA PERPER, CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER, BROWARD COUNTY: If there is such evidence, it will be determined. However, there is no question in my mind, and I think that the reason why the medical examiner determined the case to be a homicide, that this tape was placed when the child was alive until the child died. Because there`s no reason in the world why this tape would have been wrapped around the head.

CASAREZ: Right. And legally speaking, homicide is death at the hands of another. Dr. Perper, when you look at duct tape, how good of a conductor is it of finger prints? Because if there was an accomplice, if there was someone else that was involved, would that be the area where forensically you could determine the acts of another?

PERPER: This would be a good conductor, if it`s dry. But remember that this tape was soaked in it water for a long period of time, that whatever finger prints were there disappeared.

CASAREZ: What about the humidity of Florida`s sun? Does that also dissipate the levels of DNA?

PERPER: The DNA level is a different story. But, yes, there can be defraction by heat. But in this particular case, they proved that the DNA of the child indeed identified her as Caylee. And there was no other DNA. The hair, which was found in the trunk of the car, could have equally been coming from the mother or from the -- this unfortunate child.

CASAREZ: You know, another thing that I wanted to ask you, because prosecutors need to link the crime scene where the skeletal remains were found with Casey. That is critical for the prosecution`s case. I was reading in the forensic report from the FBI that the air testing in the truck showed air samples of decomposition associated with anaerobic decomposition. Can you put that in plain English?

PERPER: Yes, well anaerobic decomposition means the decomposition in the absence of air, in the absence of oxygen. The explanation might be that inside the plastic bag there was not much air. Besides that, many of the decomposition processes themselves are anaerobic, and there is no use of oxygen. But because of this anaerobic lack of oxygen, this is consistent with the skeleton being in the bag, as it was found.

CASAREZ: So there is a link, potentially, between the car trunk and the air samples of decomposition, and the crime scene. Let`s go out to Mary in New York. Good evening, Mary.

CALLER: Good evening.

CASAREZ: Your question?

CALLER: When will we be hearing from her parents or anybody that will be backing her up, friends, these wonderful friends that she had parties with?

CASAREZ: Well, that`s a good question. You know, I think the next thing in line is obviously a funeral service for Caylee, for her to be remembered. That has not happened yet. Let`s go out to Drew Pethimoulx, reporter, WDBO radio. What is the status of a memorial service for Caylee Anthony?

DREW PETHIMOULX, REPORTER, WDBO RADIO: We understand a second autopsy has to be completed before they`ll have that memorial service. As far as what the caller was asking, when are we going to hear from people, you know, we don`t know who is going be at the private, who is going to be at the public. Jesse Grund, the ex-fiance, didn`t know whether he was going to be invited to the private service. So, we don`t know when we`re going to hear from these people.

What we do know is we`ll be hearing form them in court. They`re all on the prosecution`s witness list. So when the trial will start, we don`t know yet. But we know that they`ll be called to testify when that trial does start.

CASAREZ: Do we have any idea when that second autopsy is going to be performed?

PETHIMOULX: That hasn`t been announced. I haven`t heard an exact date on that. We know that the body is in the possession of funeral home that the family has chosen. So when they decide to hold this second autopsy, I have not heard yet.

CASAREZ: To Dr. Joshua Perper in regard to a second autopsy performed by defense, forensic investigators, is it normally done in the medical examiner`s office, or do you require it to be done somewhere else?

PERPER: No, it`s up to the wishes of the family. Once the body is released, it`s up to the family to decide where they want the examination to be done. By the way, that`s not an autopsy. It`s just an examination, unfortunately, of skeletal remains. And the first examination revealed no evidence of trauma. So the defense cannot do anything to improve, because it`s in the favor of the defense that there were no fractures or broken bones.

CASAREZ: Could that make a decision then to not do identification or looking at the body by the defense experts?

PERPER: They could do that, but they`re not going to do that because they have to show that they did every effort to try to uncover what they -- what they say that the actual suspect. But it`s not going to help them in any way.

CASAREZ: Very interesting. Regina in New York. Thanks for calling tonight. Hi, Regina.

CALLER: Hi, Jean. My question was for Dr. Perper, is that there was an e-mail that she had had, a friend talking about duct tape that she had took. Is it possible she put that duct tape on, because the poisoning didn`t work, and she suffocated her? And as far as the trunk goes, are you going to tell me now that he has got keys to her car and her home to be a suspect?

CASAREZ: You`re talking about the meter reader?

CALLER: Yes.

CASAREZ: That he has keys to the trunk?

CALLER: No, that they`re trying to make him look like he could be suspicious now. But he didn`t have keys to her car or to her home or anything else.

CASAREZ: Very good point. Dr. Perper, in your vast array of experience, with duct tape, what can it show? What -- how can it help in the investigation?

PERPER: Well, the tape which was placed on the mouth of the child, on the skull, was either a result of trying to prevent the child from crying, or a result of the fact that they tried to asphyxiate the child. But in either case, it`s homicide, murder by negligence or specifically.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was at my mom`s house within five minutes. When I arrived, go through the garage door like I typically do. There was -- the only vehicle in there was the vehicle driven by my sister, the white Pontiac. The trunk was open. The windows were rolled down to, I assume, ventilate the horrible smell that I had just smelled for the first time. And I went inside the house to see if anybody was there, nobody was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The smell filled up the garage?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it was -- it hits you like a wave. Whatever it was, it was very potent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of "IN SESSION," sitting in for Nancy Grace tonight. Out of the blue, the attorney advising Lee Anthony is saying that his client may be charged with some criminal counts here under the Florida statutes of obstruction of justice, tampering with evidence, possibly aiding abetting, accessory after the fact, according to my legal research. I want to go out to Jane Velez-Mitchell, who is the host of "ISSUES" with Jane Velez-Mitchell. Jane, we appreciate having you on so much.

We have so many people that day after day seem to be coming out of the woodwork, a private investigator that took video of the exact area, new attorneys. What do you make of it all?

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Well, this case, every second it seems like it there is a dramatic twist and turn. And this is going to be really extraordinary, Jean, if it turns out that they can show this videotape of the very area where remains from found and say, hey, look, a month before the remains were found, we videotaped this area, and guess what, no bag. And that would certainly dove tail with the fact that this meter reader called three times in August, and said, check this out. And authorities did go down on at least one occasion, possibly more, and didn`t find anything.

Now, we have heard all sorts of things that, oh, they were scared away by a rattlesnake. But when you consider and you listen to the tapes of Roy Kronk (ph) saying, hey, go down and check out this area; he is very insistent. These are extensive conversations he has with 911. I think this is an opening for the defense. And they`re going to take the ball and run with it. But who knows when this videotape was actually taken.

CASAREZ: You`re exactly right. I think it is a mark for the defense. But also, when you think of a forested area, everything looks alike. And when you really look at that videotape, if we ever are see it, how do we know if it`s the exact area? There`s going to have to be some precise landmarks, or it`s a videotape that both sides during trial are going to be able to use.

MITCHELL: Absolutely. You could take a video of a bunch of leaves in Central Park and say, hey, this is the area. But I think there are trees there, and the trees have very distinctive roots. And if they can actually match that video up and somehow prove that it was taken in November, that`s going to be a huge blow, because the implication is the body was moved.

CASAREZ: True. But I remember what the head of Texas Equi-Search, Mr. Miller said, that he saw the area where the skeletal remains were found. Not only was there a hollow in the Earth, but all of the leaves were very, very dark and brown underneath the skeletal remains. So that confirmed in his mind it had been there for a long time. I guess we`ll just have to see.

Let`s go to Dr. Janet Taylor, M.D., a psychiatrist. You know, doctor, the holidays, we have just gone over the Christmas holidays. And I think a lot of us, myself included, were thinking about the Anthony family, because they so long had held on to the belief that Caylee was alive, but they had to accept the reality come December 11th and onward that those were her remains. How could someone, a family, cope during a holiday period with news like that?

DR. JANET TAYLOR, PSYCHIATRIST: Jean, you`re right, the holidays are extremely tragic, and bring up so many memories of loss for everyone. But during the holidays, as in any time when you`re coping with a tragedy, the memorial service will be extremely important, and also try to gather memories and gather support wherever you can. I think, unfortunately, in this case, because the investigation and the trial is going to be ongoing, it`s going to be really difficult for closure. And the families, it`s just time and support that really can make a difference.

CASAREZ: I think you are right. Let`s go out to Mary in South Carolina. Mary, your question.

CALLER: Yes, I was wondering -- I wanted to ask the doctor about how long, approximately -- I know it`s hard to pinpoint it -- would the body have to have been in the trunk for the smell to be so overwhelming like it was? And also, I was curious why the brother is not cooperating as far as the finger prints and the DNA.

CASAREZ: OK. Dr. Joshua Perper, you have another question from one of our viewers. How long would the body have to be in the trunk to have the smell get to the point where it was at?

PERPER: Well, at least probably two or three days. In two or three days, it would be the smell. And my understanding is that the chemical analysis showed that the decomposition was about two to three days old.

CASAREZ: All right. To Doug Burns, defense attorney, Part B of Mary`s question in South Carolina: was Lee Anthony not voluntarily giving fingerprints, like George and Cindy Anthony did after the remains were found?

BURNS: Sure.

CASAREZ: Of course, that is his constitutional right. But why would someone at that point have his mother and father voluntarily give them, but he would ask for that subpoena or not give them until he received a subpoena.

BURNS: I think that`s an excellent point that the viewer raises. You do have the right against it, but by the same token, if you have nothing to hide, why in the world wouldn`t you? I mean, one of the other panelists made the point that, you know, you simply are making the authorities do it in the correct fashion, which is not uncommon, Jean, in terms of a lawyer advising somebody. But again, I think the caller makes a good point. But I think that`s a far cry, of course, from obstruction of justice.

CASAREZ: Right. You know, to Holly Hughes, prosecutor. When I look at this, and I think about the time that that body was spent in the trunk, that is something that I think could be very important to both sides. What do you say for the prosecution? How does that fare for the prosecution?

HUGHES: Well, I think it fares well for the prosecution, because it shows you, this wasn`t just a panicked moment where something accidentally happened and then she rushed out and dumped the body. This is someone who planned this. She kept that body in the trunk until she had time to get rid of it, dispose of it, without being seen. So she is methodical. She is not crazy. She is not legally insane. She is not out of her mind. She is planning every step of the way. And she waits until she can safely get rid of that body, when no one will see her, and she can get away with it, Jean.

So I think it goes directly to her state of mind before and after the crime, which will bode very, very well for the prosecution.

CASAREZ: And let me play devil`s advocate. George Prothrow, defense attorney, I think it could fare well for the defense. And let me tell you why. Do you remember the Robert Durst (ph) case in Houston? That`s where Robert Durst was accused, charged with first degree murder. He was acquitted of murder because the defense was able to separate the time of the killing, the murder, and separate it from the disposal of the body. I think there could be a mental defense in this case. What do you think?

PROTHROW: Well, absolutely, there could be a mental defense. But let`s remember one thing, an insanity defense is an affirmative defense. That will require Casey to actually admit that she engaged in this crime in this crime, that she committed it, but at the time that she did it, she wasn`t able to differentiate between right and wrong; she didn`t understand her actions.

At this point, there is no direct evidence linking her to any type of criminal behavior. She hasn`t admitted that she did it. There`s been no testimony. There`s been no confession. There`s also been no eye-witness testimony that has implicated her. All we have is circumstantial evidence. At this point, we have forensic evidence that, based on the FBI report that I`ve reviewed, is somewhat confusing at best. They haven`t come out to conclusively say that a decompositional event occurred, but that it may have occurred. They also found chemicals that would be present in an aerobic decompositional event, like you mentioned earlier.

They also noted in the FBI report that the levels of the chemicals that were found were somewhat lower than you would traditionally find in a decompositional event. So to ahead and look at the insanity defense I think is putting the cart a little before the horse. Right now the state still needs to prove that a murder occurred and that Casey actually participated in it.

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CASAREZ: Let`s go out to Susan Moss, child advocate, attorney. Susan, we`ve had breaking news tonight from the attorney that is advising Lee Anthony, telling the country and the jury pool that Lee Anthony may be charged with some very serious crimes. If you look at obstructing justice, tampering with evidence, I`m going to focus in on aiding and abetting, knowledge is a key element. Not knowledge a murder has occurred but knowledge that actual abuse and neglect of a child; that`s the knowledge that can come in regard to that count. Your thoughts?

SUSAN MOSS, CHILD ADVOCATE: Absolutely. That`s the only knowledge you need. This guy better hire Monty Hall, because it`s time for him to make a deal. If the attorney is going on national television and trying to make his case, they`ve got something against this client, because me thinks he doth protest too much.

CASAREZ: Could that be a strategy here, some type of a deal?

MOSS: Absolutely, that`s going to be his only option. If he`s going national -- lawyers just don`t go national and say, my client`s innocent, unless they have some problem, something to hide.

CASAREZ: To Mary Jean in Connecticut, good evening.

CALLER: Hello, how are you?

CASAREZ: Fine, thank you.

CALLER: I`m calling because I was wondering if she were to breathe -- if little Caylee were to breathe in the chloroform and the tape were to be placed over her mouth after, would there be any deposits from that chloroform on the tape? And if so, would that prove that this was an aggravating factor?

CASAREZ: Good point. Yes, it could be an aggravating factor. Dr. Joshua Perper, Very quickly, if Caylee was alive, she breathed that chloroform, could it be on the tape?

PERPER: Well, if it`s found, then it`s evidence. If it`s not found, it doesn`t mean anything, because the tape was in water so long. But it`s clear that this is something which was done during life, and that Caylee died with the tape on her mouth.

CASAREZ: All right. Tonight, let us stop to remember Army Sergeant First Class Anthony Woodham, 37 years old, from Rogers, Arkansas. On a second tour of duty, Woodham planned to retire once he reached 20 years of service, which would have been next month. Woodham was a huge NASCAR fan. He had a passion for restoring and fixing up Ford Mustangs. He leaves behind his mother, his mother Katherine, his wife Crystal, and three children: Patrick, Mitchell, and Courtney.

Sergeant First Class Anthony Woodham, American hero.

I want to thank you all, to our guests. Our biggest thank you though is for you, for being with us tonight. Thank you so much for inviting us into your homes. See you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. Good night, everybody.

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