For the first time in the case against accused child-killer Casey Anthony, recordings from her interview with an Orange County Sheriff detective was released and played Wednesday afternoon. Testimonies continued with several law-enforcement officers, her brother and former friend taking the stand.
Yuri Melich, the lead investigator in the case, arrived at the Anthony's home on July 16, 2008 and took a recorded statement from Casey. He read to the courtroom a narrative where Casey explained why she had stolen from family and friends.
"I have lied and stolen from my friends and family, to do whatever I could, by any means to find my daughter," Melich read.
Casey also told the detective that she was scared to tell anyone about Caylee's disappearance. She is accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee.
"I think part of me was naïve and I thought I could do it by myself, obviously I couldn’t," Casey Anthony said. "I was scared that something would happen to her if I did notify the authorities, or got the media involved, or my parents who I know would have did the same thing; the fear of the unknown, fear of potential of Caylee getting hurt."
Earlier Wednesday, Lt. Reginald Hosey, responded to the Anthony home in 2008. He told the court that he remembered smelling a foul odor coming from the car, but didn't call the authorities to inspect the car.
The property manager of Sawgrass Apartments, Amanda Macklin, was also called to the stand by state prosecutors. Sawgrass Apartments is the location where Casey alleged she last saw her daughter with nanny, Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez.
"It was not Zenaida Gonzalez who occupied it," Macklin said.
She also said that the apartment was not rented to anyone at the time, but it was being used as a model for future residents.
Brendan Fletcher, a former officer with the Orange County Sheriff's Department testified just before the mid-day lunch break that he didn't notice an odor coming from Casey Anthony's car. Fletcher was the first law-enforcement officer to arrive at the Anthony home on July 16, 2008.
He initially thought he was responding to the home about the stolen Pontiac, but instead the Anthony's begin to talk about Caylee's disappearance.
Lee Anthony testified for the first time in the case telling the court of a foul smell coming from his sister’s car while he was at his parent’s home.
He told state prosecutor Frank George that the smell was “very potent, very strong.”
Lee Anthony also said that Casey Anthony lied to him when he approached her about where she and Caylee had been. Casey told him she was at a Jacksonville country western bar and that someone was looking for Caylee.
Earlier Wednesday morning, Casey Anthony’s former friend, Amy Huizenga, returned to the stand for her second day of testimony.
Huizenga was asked by defense attorney Jose Baez about several messages between her and Casey Anthony, including a text message sent about an accident.
“I hit a guardrail. I’m OK. Thank God I didn’t get a DUI,” Huizenga read from a transcript.
Baez claimed to the court that Huizenga was intoxicated at the time.
The state is expected to take up to two weeks with its side of the case before the defense presents its evidence.
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