Casey Anthony Calm Day Before Her Arrest, Ex Says
ORLANDO (CBS4) – In day three of testimony in the Casey Anthony trial, an ex-boyfriend of the central Florida mother accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter testified at her murder trial that she was acting normal when she picked him and his friends up from the airport just a day before she was arrested.
Ricardo Morales dated 25-year-old Casey Anthony from February to April 2008. He also testified Thursday she and daughter Caylee regularly stayed over his apartment during that same time period.
Morales was the third witness to be called by prosecutors Thursday, following the conclusion of testimony by Lazzaro and a recall by the prosecution of Casey Anthony's father, George Anthony.
Morales said that he remained friends with Casey after their break-up and that the last time he saw her with Caylee was when they spent the night at his house the first week of June. But he said she later agreed to pick him and some friends up from a trip to Puerto Rico on July 15.
"She was the same as she always was," Morales said of Casey's demeanor that day. "Happy. Smiling. Just as usual. Same Casey."
Morales' testimony came a day after another former boyfriend whom Anthony began dating in May 2008 testified he only saw Casey with her daughter a handful of times. He said he stopped seeing them together at all in mid-June 2008.
The young mother was in tears Wednesday as ex-boyfriend, Anthony Lazarro, described to jurors the affectionate moments she shared with her toddler.
Lazarro testified under questioning from Anthony's defense attorney that she taught Caylee how to swim and regularly displayed affection for her daughter.
It's a strikingly different portrayal of Anthony as offered by prosecutors who called several witnesses Wednesday who spoke about Anthony partying, going to nightclubs and shopping during the time her daughter was believed to have gone missing.
Caylee Anthony was last seen June 16, 2008. Prosecutors said Caylee died from three pieces of duct tape being placed over her mouth and nose, while Casey Anthony's attorney claimed the toddler accidentally drowned in her grandparents' pool.
Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter. If convicted, she could be sentenced to death. She has pleaded not guilty.
One of the grandparents' neighbors, Brian Burner, testified Wednesday that Anthony asked him two days after the girl was last seen if she could borrow a shovel to "dig up a bamboo root." She returned the shovel about an hour later, he said.
Burner also said he remembered seeing Anthony's white car backed into the garage on the night of June 16.
About a month before that, Anthony met Tony Lazzaro during a party. They soon became romantically involved and she moved into an apartment he was sharing with four other people.
Lazzaro and his ex-roommates testified Wednesday that they met Anthony's daughter several times and then at some point in early June, they never saw her again.
When they asked about Caylee, her mother told them she was with her nanny at a theme park or going to the beach.
Lazzaro and the roommates said Anthony's demeanor never suggested anything was wrong. She would cook, clean and help out around the apartment, they said.
"She was a regular 22-year-old girl," said Cameron Campana, a club promoter who was a college student at the time. "Peppy. She seemed normal."
Another roommate, Nathan Lezniewicz, said Anthony liked going out and having a good time.
"She was not an introvert by any means," he said.
He echoed their sentiments and also identified Anthony in several nightclub party photos, including a "hard body contest" in which Anthony danced in a short skirt. Prosecutors also showed jurors surveillance videos of Anthony and Lazarro going to the video store and shopping at JC Penny after the time Caylee was believed to be missing.
"She was the way she was every day -- happy," Lazarro said.
Defense attorney Jose Baez got Lazzaro to describe more tender moments between the mother and daughter, including Anthony using educational "flash cards."
Anthony also once became startled and scolded her daughter for getting too close to the edge of the pool at Lazzaro's apartment complex, he said.
Maria Kissh, a girlfriend of one of the roommates, described riding in Anthony's car along with her roommates. Under questioning by Anthony's attorney, she said neither she nor any of the other passengers smelled any odor.
Prosecutors have said they believe Caylee's decaying body had been stored there, and the girl's grandparents noticed a foul odor when they picked up the car from a towing lot.
Prosecutors also called two women who worked at a nightclub where Casey helped Lazzaro promote parties. They both said she helped coordinate and manage "shot girls," special waitresses who sold shots of alcohol to patrons.
George Anthony, Casey Anthony's father, testified about confronting his daughter in late June 2008 about the disappearance of gas cans from a storage shed at his house.
He described how at one point he wanted to look inside the trunk of her car, which was parked inside his garage at the time. He testified she prevented him from doing so. He also said she cursed at him and eventually tossed the cans at him after retrieving them from the trunk.
(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
