Pathological: The Casey Anthony Story — Planting The Seed — Ep. 4 | MK Confidential

At 8.30 in the morning, George Anthony walks out of his house on Hope Spring Drive carrying several bottles of medication and a handful of pictures. He gets in his car and leaves Orlando behind, driving east toward Daytona Beach. Six weeks earlier, his granddaughter Kaylee's remains had been found in the woods less than a quarter mile from his own home. It is January 22, 2009. Around 7 p.m., George checks into a room at the Hawaii Motel in Daytona Beach alone. He has his blood pressure medication with him. He also has the medication his psychiatrist prescribed for his anxiety. And sometime after he gets into that room, he starts taking pills. By his own account, about 70 of them. Not one prescription. Whatever he has with him. He starts drinking beer, too, as much as he can. At some point, he sits down and begins writing a letter. Later that night, George starts sending goodbye messages. He texts friends, family, even lead defense attorney Jose Baez. He leaves Baez a voicemail asking him to tell Casey he is sorry and that he loves her. George tells people he wants to be left alone. He says he wants to make sure Kaylee is in God's arms. He says he does not want to live anymore. People get scared that George is going to kill himself. Finally, the family lawyer calls 911. Police begin tracking George's cell phone, trying to figure out where he has gone. Officers follow the signal east to Daytona Beach, to the Hawaii Motel, where George's car is sitting outside. Then there is a knock at his door. It is Daytona Beach Police Chief. The police say he is with Mike Chitwood. George opens the door and immediately says, "He's doing fine. He's great." "Hey, I needed to get away," he says. "I needed to think. I needed to clear my head. I'm fine. You guys can leave." George's letter runs eight pages, and he never finishes it. He writes to Cindy about the ways he thinks he has failed her over 30 years of marriage. He writes that he needs to be with Kaylee, that it should have been him that died, not her. And then, near the end, the letter changes. He stops apologizing. He starts asking, "Why?" He wanted to die. He wanted to be with Kaylee. Prosecutor Jeff Ashton reads part of that letter aloud at trial. Kaylee Marie, I miss her. I miss her. I want my family back. I sit here falling apart because I should have done more. She was so close to home. Why was she there? Who placed her there? Why is she gone? Why? For months, you and I, especially you, always questioned why. I want this to go away for Kaylee. What happened? Why could she not come to us, especially you? Why not Lee? Who was involved with this stuff for Kaylee? Before that, he says, "I blame myself for her being gone." You know, for months, as a matter of fact, for a year or so, I brought up stuff only to be told not to be negative. Two and a half years after he wrote them, those words come back. Only now, George is not sitting alone in a hotel room. He is sitting a few feet from his daughter. Casey Anthony is on trial for murdering his granddaughter, Kaylee, and a prosecutor is reading his suicide note to the jury. Trying to show them that George had no idea what happened to Kaylee. It is a point made necessary by defense attorney Jose Baez, who in his opening statement tells the jury that George found Kaylee dead in the family pool and helped conceal her body. As a result, George was the first witness, the prosecution called. Were you present in your home when Kaylee Anthony died? Yes, I was. No, and when I heard that today, it hurt really bad, because if I would have known something would have happened to Kaylee, we wouldn't be here today. Prosecutor Jeff Ashton does not move on. George had spent years in law enforcement, so Ashton asks him to imagine Kaylee in danger. If there had been anything he could have done to save her, anything at all, would he have? I would have done anything I would to save my granddaughter. Then Ashton gets more specific, hitting Baez's claims that George placed the duct tape on Kaylee in the process of disposing of her body. Did you dispose of the body of your granddaughter? No, I did not. Did you obtain duct tape from your shed or garage and place it over the nose and mouth of Kaylee Anthony? No, I did not. I'm Megyn Kelly. This is MK Confidential. ♪ ♪ Founded by four PhD longevity scientists, One Skin is different. They focus on the actual cause of aging and not just the surface signs of it. After years of research, they developed OS01, their proprietary peptide, which is the foundation of every product they make. The OS01 face moisturizer has become a favorite of so many people. Who say their skin feels firmer and looks healthier. The fact that it is backed by real, peer-reviewed clinical science, rather than just marketing trends, is a huge selling point. These peptides are all the rage. Born from over 10 years of longevity research, One Skin is helping you unlock your healthiest skin now and as you age. For a limited time, try One Skin with 15% off using code MEGYN at oneskin.co/megyn. That's 15% off, oneskin.co with code MEGYN. After you purchase, they're going to ask you where you heard about them. Support our show and tell them that we sent you and using our name will also ensure you get your 15% off. May 24th, 2011, Linda Drain Burdick wraps up the prosecution's opening statement in the morning. After a lunch recess, when the jury comes back, Jose Baez gives the opening for the defense. Almost immediately, one of the jury members gives the opening for the defense. Almost immediately, Baez tells jurors that this case is not what prosecutors say it is. Kaylee Anthony was never murdered. She drowned, he tells the jury. He tells them it happened on the morning of June 16th, 2008, in the above-ground pool behind the Anthony home on Hope Spring Drive, and that George Anthony, Kaylee's grandfather, was the one who found her. Then Baez goes somewhere else entirely. He paints a picture of a deeply dysfunctional family, making two very serious allegations about the Anthonys, one involving Kaylee's father, George, and another involving her older brother, Lee. Jose Baez starts with George. This family must keep its secrets quiet. And it all began when Kaylee was eight years old and her father came into her room. And began to touch her inappropriately. And it escalated. And it escalated. What does a sex abuse survivor look like? They wear a scarlet letter. They have a tattoo on their forehead. We could all be sitting next to a person who's a sex abuse survivor and never even know it. These things are kept quiet. And this, and these ugly secrets, slowly, become a secret. And these ugly secrets, slowly, will come out through this trial. And this, and these ugly secrets, slowly, will come out through this trial. No such thing will come into evidence in this case. But the character assassination of George Anthony has begun. Baez does not, however, call George a murderer. We are not, nor will we ever, say that George Anthony killed Kaylee. Or that he had something to do with her death. And the reason's simple. It's not true. It was an accident. This is a tragic accident that happened to some very disturbed people. Then Baez moves to Casey's brother, Lee. And you'll hear evidence that Casey has a brother. And he, too, wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. And on certain occasions when he was a teenager, he attempted to also touch his sister. Although it didn't go as far. It got so bad that the FBI did a paternity test to see if he was Kaylee's father. And when he was confronted with this information, he didn't deny it. He said, "We'll talk about it when the time is right." Well, the time is now. The time is now to try and save his sister's life. It's true about the FBI. They asked Lee to take a paternity test, allegedly to help clear up an Internet rumor. He does, and it is negative. Baez tells the jury these allegations explain Casey Anthony. the lies, the imaginary nanny, the fake job, the life she appeared to be living while Kaylee was missing. Jose Baez describes Casey as a sex abuse survivor who had learned to retreat into a world of her own making. In Baez's words, quote, that's what Casey had to do to live. She forced herself to live in a world that she wanted to, not the one she was thrust into. No witness will ever come into that courtroom and support either allegation against George or Lee Anthony, which both men flatly deny. George is the first to deny the allegation. Prosecutor Jeff Ashton asks him about it directly. Now, Mr. Anthony, I need to ask you some questions about something else. Have you ever sexually molested your daughter, Casey Anthony? No, sir. Have you ever committed any sexually inappropriate act with or in the presence of your daughter, Casey Anthony? No, sir. The defense story is that on June 16th, 2008, while Casey and George are both at home, George finds Kaylee dead in the pool. Baez says Casey is distraught and that George is angry. In the middle of it, Casey begs her father for help. According to the defense, George agrees and takes over the cover-up, including disposing of Kaylee's body. A few hours into the trial, the state calls its first witness, George Anthony. He establishes the timeline of Kaylee's disappearance, Casey's behavior and her lies, and the incident with the gas cans in his driveway, where Casey seemed to want him nowhere near her car's trunk. On cross, Baez immediately starts trying to advance the defense story. He brings up the gas cans, aiming to link George to the unique brand of duct tape on them. The state objects. Judge Belvin Perry sustains it. Baez changes course and moves to the duct tape directly. Perry stops him there, too. And this time, the judge tells him exactly why. Judge Perry says, quote, you can ask him about the duct tape, but you cannot ask him about your opening statement. The opening statement is not evidence. After that, Baez never comes back to the defense. The judge says, quote, you can ask him about the duct tape, but you cannot ask him about your opening statement. The jury does hear Casey Anthony in her own words. Months earlier, while she was being held at the Orange County Jail, George came to visit her, and their conversation was recorded. I wish I could have been a better dad and better grandpa, you know? You've been a great dad and you've been the best grandfather. Don't for a second think otherwise. Years later, I asked veteran criminal defense attorney Jay Cheney Mason about the allegation that George had sexually abused Casey. Mason served as co-counsel on Casey Anthony's defense team, sitting beside Baez throughout the trial. When I spoke with him in 2021, I asked what he made of that accusation. I told George in my office, with the permission of his lawyer, what was going to happen, that George is going to be accused of sexually molesting his daughter. I wanted to see his reaction. All George did was just look and sigh, put his hands on his laps and no other, on his legs and no other response. I thought there was a peculiar response for a father having been accused in some situation like this by a lawyer of, you know, kind of officially, you know. This is what's going to happen. You make that kind of accusation, you got to prove it somewhere. This is a really bad situation for a defense lawyer or even a side to make promises to a jury that they cannot deliver on. Jurors remember it. Later in the defense case, Mason calls Dr. Werner Spitz to the stand. Spitz has been doing this work for more than half a century. Over 56 years in forensic pathology, he has conducted or supervised a number of cases. He's been in the defense for more than half a century. He's been involved in more than 60,000 autopsies. He also literally wrote one of the standard textbooks in his field. Spitz testifies that he believes the duct tape was placed on Kaylee's face after she had died. He also has a problem with the autopsy in this case. He tells the jury it was incomplete. The reason, he says, is simple. Kaylee's skull was never opened. To not open the head, I think, is a failure. A failure. Of the autopsy. And I'll tell you another thing, that if an autopsy was done in a corresponding to what I think every forensic pathologist will tell you, where the head is not opened, that tells me about a shoddy autopsy. Excuse me the expression, but you provoked it. A shoddy autopsy because if the head is not opened, what else wasn't examined? On cross-examination, Prosecutor Jeff Ashton addresses him on that point. Where is it written that a skull has to be opened for the examination to be complete? Spitz cannot say. Then Ashton asks Spitz why he believes the duct tape was placed on Kaylee's face after she had passed away. Spitz notes the tape appears to have adhered only to hair roots, not to skin tissue. He also believes the tape was used to secure the corpse during transport of the remains. On June 23rd, 2011, Cindy Anthony comes to the witness stand. The jury has already heard from her once when the prosecution called her earlier in the trial. This time she is here for the defense. Lead defense attorney Jose Baez takes Cindy back to the family computer and straight to one of the most damaging pieces of evidence in the case. As it turns out, there were two separate afternoons that someone searched the word chloroform on the Anthony family computer. On March 17th, the search was just for chloroform. The other, on March 21st, was for specifically how to make chloroform. If Cindy made those searches, the defense has an innocent explanation for them. If she didn't, the state can point the searches back to Casey. Then Baez asks Cindy a simple question. Why are those searches there? Well, I started looking at chlorophyll and I was about my smallest shorty. We have two Yorkie puppies. And the smallest one was having some issues where she was extremely tired all the time. And both of the dogs would eat the bamboo leaves out in the back. So I started looking up sources from the backyard that could potentially cause her to be more sleepy than it would affect the larger dog. And I started looking up chloroform, I mean chlorophyll, and then that prompted me to look up chloroform. Right. Now, I don't understand how you can get those two mixed up. Not getting them mixed up. If you look into chlorophyll, there's some bacteria associated with chlorophyll production. And looking up that, it comes from different species of plants that have red and brown coloring. And that prompted me to look up chlorophyll because some species of algae and seaweeds and stuff produce naturally chloroform. The problem for Cindy is her work records. They put her at the office on the afternoons when those chloroform searches were made. Cindy says that does not necessarily mean she was at the office. She also tells the jury she had been searching other household chemicals that March after a warning about hand-picked chloroform. She says she had been searching other household chemicals that March after a warning about hand-picked chloroform. She says she had been searching other household warning about hand sanitizer and small children, things like alcohol, acetone, and hydrogen peroxide. Kaylee was just the age to get into something like that, Cindy says, so she went home and started looking up what was in it. On cross-examination, Prosecutor Linda Drain-Burdick brings Cindy back to the dates March 17th and March 21st, 2008. Dates her employer has her at work and Cindy's claim on direct that she might have popped back home. Linda starts reading off some of the other internet searches found on the Anthony family computer. Self-defense, household weapons, neck breaking, and a shovel. Cindy admits those were not hers. For most of this trial, Cheney Mason has let Jose Baez run the defense. Prosecutor Jeff Ashton says that Mason once passed the state's table a note counting the ceiling tiles and recessed lights in the courtroom. Ashton later writes that on the last Saturday in June, with the defense case nearly over, Mason goes to Linda Drain-Burdick about a plea deal. Baez, on the other hand, writes that Burdick approached him about a plea deal. According to Prosecutor Ashton, at this point, the state is willing to discuss second-degree murder for 30 years on a guilty plea. Both accounts note that there is also the aggravated manslaughter. But the state wants something in return, an explanation of how Kaylee died. And the explanation has to fit the evidence. Mason, tries to broach the subject with Casey. Later, he tells Judge Perry that every time he brings it up, Casey seems to shut it down. She looks at him blankly. If he keeps talking, she acts as though he is not even in the room. It concerns Mason enough that he begins to question whether Casey is competent to continue with the trial. So the trial stops. Two psychiatrists examine Casey Anthony. Both find her competent. Both report that she is not interested in a plea deal. So it goes no further. Back in the courtroom, the defense calls a woman named Crystal Holloway. She also goes by River Cruz. She met George Anthony in the summer of 2008 at a volunteer command center people had set up while Kaylee was still missing. Crystal testifies that she and George began an affair. And around Thanksgiving, that year, while Kaylee was still missing, Crystal says George came to her house and told her something she has never forgotten. He was sitting on my couch and I was sitting on the floor. And he had told me he had said it was an accident that snowballed out of control. But I was in shock. And by the time I looked up, his eyes were filled with tears. And I didn't elaborate. I didn't ask him anything further. I didn't think that he could raise somebody that was capable of harming her child. And that's when he said it was an accident that snowballed out of control. George sits beside his wife, Cindy, during Crystal's testimony. He denies the affair from the witness stand, but Crystal Holloway has a text message from him. It's dated Tuesday, December 16th, 2008, five days after Kaylee Anthony's body was found. The text reads, quote, just thinking about you. I need you in my life. George admits he sent the text, but his explanation is that he needed every volunteer he could get. Crystal admits that she lied to police when they first asked her about the relationship in February 2010. She tells the jury she was embarrassed. She thought George would get in trouble. She assumed it would get out into the media. She was right. Prosecutor Jeff Ashton gets up to cross-examine Crystal. He points out that she gave an interview to the National Enquirer about her affair with George and that Crystal, or a family member of hers, received $4,000 for it. He suggests she sensationalized her story for cash. She snaps back from the stand. I took what I could because I was being trashed in the media as it was. She says, I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't do anything wrong. She says. Then Ashton pulls out Crystal's sworn statement denying the affair, dated February 17, 2010. On the stand, she admits she lied to police at first, but says she came clean about the affair within a week after her sister gave the media her name. Tell us how the contact from the National Enquirer or other media sources, how that related to your changing your story about the romantic relationship. I had no choice but to tell the truth because my name had already came out. Well, I mean, you had no choice but to tell the truth on the 17th because you swore you would, but you lied. Yes, sir, I did lie. So what we're trying to figure out now is when this change in the story took place and how. Prosecutor Ashton also takes issue with her newfound recollection of George's alleged confession. He has her read the sworn statement that she gave police on February 17th allowed. It goes further than what she just testified to on the stand, which was that George called it an accident that snowballed out of control. In her written statement, it was, quote, He just said that I really believe it was an accident and it went wrong and she tried to cover it up. His tone rising, Ashton says that George never told Crystal he knew what happened to Kaylee and that he never told her Casey had confessed. Anything to him. This time, Crystal Holloway agrees with the prosecution. No, sir, she says, you're right. With the jury out of the room, the lawyers argue over what the jury is allowed to make of Crystal Holloway's testimony. Can they consider the claims about Kaylee's death being an accident? Judge Perry settles it. The jury can use Crystal Holloway's testimony for exactly one purpose, to decide whether George Anthony is trustworthy, on the witness stand. In deciding whether Kaylee's death was an accident or intentional, the jury is instructed not to give any weight at all to the claims of Crystal Holloway. Everyone's talking about weight loss injections because the results can be so dramatic. They work by lowering blood sugar and reducing appetite. But what if you're looking to lose weight yet are not interested in painful weekly injections, especially when you hear about some of those intense side effects? That's why doctors create a website called Weight Loss Supplement called Lean, and the results could be remarkable. Lean says the studied ingredients in their product have been shown to lower your blood sugar, burn fat by converting it into energy, and curb your appetite and cravings so you are not as hungry. But listen, Lean is not for the casual dieter with only a few pounds to lose. The doctors at Brickhouse Nutrition created Lean for frustrated dieters with 10 or more pounds to lose. You could get started with 20% off and free. You can get started with 20% off and free. You can get started with adding Lean to your healthy diet and exercise plan. Visit TakeLean.com. Enter Kelly for your discount. That's promo code Kelly at TakeLean.com. Check it out. On June 30th, 2011, the last full day of the defense case, Jose Baez brings the Anthony family back to the stand. This time, he wants to talk about their pets. Baez would later write that George handled all the family pets the same way when they died. He wrapped them in a blanket, put them inside a plastic bag, and then duct taped it shut. At trial, Baez tries to link the way Kaylee's remains were found to the way this family has buried their animals over the years. But the memories on the stand do not line up neatly. George Anthony is first. Baez asks about a dog the family buried in Ohio almost 30 years earlier. George does not remember. Baez asks about another dog in Florida. George remembers burying the dog, but not exactly what it was wrapped in. Baez keeps going. The family cat? The other dogs buried in the yard? George still cannot give him any details. When Baez is finished, Prosecutor Jeff Ashton stands up for the state. He asks George Anthony just one question. Mr. Anthony, have you ever taken a dog? Have you ever taken a dead pet and thrown him in a swamp? No, sir. And Ashton sits back down. No further questions. Then Cindy Anthony takes the stand. Her memories are much more specific. Cindy says that when the family buried pets, they would wrap the animal in a blanket or a special towel, then put the pet inside a couple of plastic garbage bags. Baez asks three times about the tape. What kind of tape was used? Each time, Cindy gives him the same answer. Clear packing tape, not duct tape. Lead prosecutor Linda Drain Burdick gets up to cross-examine Cindy. Has the family ever used chloroform on one of their pets? No, ma'am. Have you ever put duct tape across an animal's face before burying it? No, ma'am. Then Linda has Cindy describe what the family normally did when one of their pets died. When we moved to Florida, we designated a spot at our home. That, you know, if any of the animals passed, we would put them there, if possible. But this is something that your family did for a period of years that your children were aware of, correct? Yes. So we even had a dog, not really a headstone, but George had found a dog made of stone that we kind of marked the spots. A little memorial marker in the yard for the dog. Yes, ma'am. Cindy confirms whether Casey would have seen this done. But definitely by the time she's a senior in high school, she was aware of the burial and the method of burial in the yard. Yes, ma'am. Lee Anthony remembers it differently. He is the only member of the family who says they used duct tape when they buried one of their pets. With Cindy on the stand, the defense puts up photographs of little Kaylee by the pool, in the pool, and opening the sliding glass door to go out into the backyard where the pool is. Cindy talks about Kaylee being able to get out of the house on her own, about how closely she had to be watched, and about the fact that there were no locks keeping her inside. Then Baez walks Cindy through the photos. Baez later writes that as he does, the defense's story becomes clear, that Kaylee could have gotten to and into the backyard pool on her own. Yes, ma'am. it might be necessary. Ultimately, though, as he told me in 2022, the choice was not his to make. -If Casey told me at any point during that trial or when it was asked upon her whether she would take the stand, "Hey, I want to testify," and I tell her, "Oh, no, you're not," it doesn't matter what I say. She's gonna get up there and testify, and it's her constitutional right. -Back in the courtroom on June 30, 2011, Judge Perry affirms this exact right to Casey Anthony. -First of all, is it your decision not to testify based upon consultation with your counsel? -Yes, sir. -You understand that your decision to testify or not testify is solely your decision and your decision alone? -Yes, sir. -And it is? -It is your decision not to testify? -Yes, sir. -And with that, the defense rests. Now the trial enters the rebuttal phase. The state, which has the burden of proof, gets one last chance to answer what the defense has put in front of the jury. So for the next two days, prosecutors call rebuttal witnesses. They start with Cindy Anthony's employer, Gentiva Health Services. Cindy had told the jury that the records showing her at work did not necessarily mean she was at work at the time. Now, John Camper Lengo, general counsel from Gentiva, tells the jury that Cindy could not have been home on the afternoons of March 17th and 21st when the chloroform searches were run. He presents records from the IT team that show Cindy was logged into her office workstation. Cindy's supervisor, Deborah Palazzano, says Cindy had no way to access her work computer outside of the office. So, the state turns from Cindy's office back to the computer in the Anthony home. Detective Sandra Osborne searches the entire hard drive for the terms Cindy has told the jury she looked up. The search runs all day, then overnight. Chlorophyll turns up one time inside a Microsoft dictionary file that came with the operating system. Hand sanitizer does not turn up at all. And bamboo? Remember Cindy's story about the little dogs eating the bamboo leaves? Detective Osborne finds plenty of it. Bamboo flooring, bamboo furniture, panda bears, tiki bars. But not bamboo leaves, like Cindy said. Then prosecutors dig one layer deeper. Sergeant Kevin Stinger is the computer crimes investigator who had already worked with the Anthony family computer. After Cindy testifies, prosecutors ask Stinger to go back through the browser history one more time. This time, Sergeant Stinger checks it several different ways, looking for proof of the searches Cindy says she did make, and also trying to figure out how some of the more troubling entries got there. Take the search for neck breaking. Cindy denied to prosecutors that that was hers. Stinger tells the jury that was not something a pop-up ad generated on its own. Someone did type those words into Google and hit search. He also testifies that some of what Cindy said she had searched for really is on that computer. The alcohol, the hydrogen peroxide, those searches exist as well. But Cindy's credibility has taken a hit. Then the state brings Dr. Michael Warren back to the stand. Warren runs the Identification Lab at the University of Florida. And prosecutors ask him to answer one of Werner Spitz's biggest criticisms of the autopsy, that the skull should have been found at the University of Florida. That the skull should have been found at the University of Florida. Prosecutor Jeff Ashton asks Warren whether he knows of any protocol requiring a skull to be opened in a skeletal case. The defense objects. Judge Perry overrules it. Are you aware of any protocols which would require or recommend the opening of a skull for examination in a skeletal case? No, sir, there is no protocol that I'm aware of. Is it in your profession? Is it considered best practice to saw open a skull in a skeletal case? No, sir, that, in fact, hasn't been discussed among the scientific working group members or any other groups that I'm aware of. It's not necessary. And it is during the state's rebuttal case that George Anthony's letter from the Hawaii Motel in Daytona Beach two years earlier finally goes into evidence. Jeff Ashton introduces it. It's not necessary. It's not necessary. It's not necessary. Judge Perry points back to Baez's own questioning of George as the reason the letter is now admissible. Judge Perry rules on what the lawyers can and cannot say to the jury. He starts with the unsupported allegations thrown out by Baez in his opening statement that George Anthony and Lee Anthony sexually abused Casey. Judge Perry says there is absolutely no evidence to support either in the record. Lee was not asked a single question about it and rules that Baez cannot mention either allegation in closing. The judge turns his focus to the jury. There is evidence to the drowning theory. No witness has testified that Kaylee drowned. No one has told this jury they saw it happened and nothing in the evidence establishes when a drowning would have occurred. But the defense does have pictures of the pool behind the Anthony house, the pool ladder, and Kaylee, not yet two years old, opening the sliding glass door by herself. That is enough for Judge Perry. There is evidence that the defense can make the reasonable inference of an accidental drowning by the use of the pictures, as Mr. Mason argued. So whether or not one chooses to believe or disbelieve, there is some inference that can be drawn. Years later, I asked Jose Baez where the story of the drowning came from, as well as the sexual abuse allegations he made in his opening statement. Here's some of that exchange from 2022. Everything I said in there, I had a good faith basis based on the evidence and based on what I anticipated the evidence to show. But where'd you get the good faith basis? That she drowned in the pool? That she saw, that the mother, Casey, saw her dad holding little Kaylee in his arms? That she immediately grabbed Kaylee and began to cry? This is very specific. She immediately grabbed her and began to cry? And that George yelled at her with the following quotes. Look what you've done. Your mother will never forgive you and you will go to jail for child neglect for the rest of your life. Where'd you get that from? Well, you know better than to ask me those questions. I mean, you know, there's a thing that I respect incredibly, which is the attorney-client privilege, as well as other evidence in the case. There was evidence testified to by our forensic experts as to the potential drowning theory. There was, in addition to that, there was cross-examination that the jury can make their interpretations based on. They're free to believe a witness or not believe a witness based on those questions. And I can tell you that's not the case. And I can tell you this, a lot of the feedback that we got from the jury is they believe certain parts of the evidence. There were statements made at numerous points throughout the trial that raised serious concern about the drowning in the pool. And when I say concern, I mean raise the issue that that was certainly a potential aspect. And it's the prosecutor's job to exclude that reasonable hypothesis. That's true. So, you know, they knew about the drowning theory since day one. On July 3rd, 2011, Prosecutor Jeff Ashton begins the state's closing argument. Jeff Ashton walks the jury back through the 31 days Kaylee was missing and the lies Casey told. Each lie was deliberate, and they only worked as long as Kaylee could not tell the truth. In the summer of 2008, Kaylee was about to turn 21. She turned three years old and becoming more verbal. Casey's double life was going to be exposed. Here's how Ashton put it. So she has a choice. A life tethered to a child or a life free to be 22. Having answered the question of why Kaylee died, Ashton says the duct tape explains the how. The defense. Says and will say that we can't prove how Kaylee Anthony died. Let me echo the words of Dr. Jan Garavaglia, the medical examiner in this case, and she said. No one. There is no good reason to put duct tape over the face of a child. There is no other job. There is no other justification. There is no common sense. There's just no reason to put duct tape over the face of a child. Living or dead. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is proof beyond a reasonable doubt of how Kaylee died. Because there simply is no other explanation for why you put death tape over that nose and mouth of a child. Jose Baez opens for the defense on the question he opened the trial with. How did Kaylee die? Then he goes through the forensic evidence and slams it. They gave you more speculation upon speculation, guess upon guess. They want you to fill in the gaps with your anger and your emotion. That's what they want. They'll ask you to see things that aren't there. And they'll ask you to imagine fictional science. It's a fantasy of forensics, is what it is. A forensic fantasy. And nothing more. We have the most advanced crime-fighting. fighting tools available to us anywhere in the world. And they couldn't find a single link from Casey to Kaylee's death. Not a single link. He acknowledges that Casey lies, and tells the jury he's been consistent about that throughout the trial. He tells them they can convict her for being, quote, "a liar and a slut." For that, she deserves to, quote, "pay with her life," he asks. Then he points to the state's multiple explanations. For how Kaylee died. Here's the thing. There are several things, but if neither one of them, individually, can actually stand on its own, you shouldn't consider it. They're hoping they throw enough against the wall and see what sticks. That's what they're doing here. Let's throw it all against the wall and see what sticks. Right down to their cause of death. One week it was chloroform. Today, it's duct tape. Let's make up our minds. And say we proved to you that this case was proven beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt. How can you say that? How? It makes no sense. Late in the argument, he talks about the Anthony's pool. Cindy and Kaylee swimming on the evening of June 15th, 2008. Cindy testified she took the ladder down afterward. And Baez reminds the jury that the prosecution has attacked Cindy Anthony's credibility. As a witness. Then the photographs. Kaylee, not yet two, climbing that ladder. Kaylee, opening the sliding glass door of a house with no child safety locks on it. That, he tells them, is as close to proof as anyone is going to get short of a video. And the child was found with no socks and no shoes. Law enforcement didn't want to keep their eyes open. Didn't want to look at every possible alternative. There's nothing sexy about a drowning. There's nothing interesting about a drowning. And they didn't care. The state gives its rebuttal on the 4th of July. Prosecutor Ashton goes first. And he starts by telling the jury how to think about competing experts. Look first at what the scientists agree on, he says, and then at what they don't. He tells the jury the state believes the evidence fits a scenario in which Casey Anthony used chloroform, so that Kaylee would not suffer, and then placed duct tape over her nose and mouth. He also tells them they do not have to accept that exact sequence. That they can decide for themselves what scenario the evidence supports. Near the end of his argument, Ashton comes back to George Anthony and the motel room in Daytona Beach. The defense has spent the entire trial suggesting George knew more than he admitted. Ashton uses George's suicide attempt and the letter he wrote that night to argue the opposite. That George was a grieving grandfather who was shattered by Kaylee's death. And you cannot read this letter and not see that this man was in pain. You can even see the effects of the drugs and alcohol as his handwriting deteriorates through this letter. This is not some self-serving, deliberately created manifesto of innocence. This is the cry of a man who just doesn't understand the world anymore. He doesn't understand what happened to his granddaughter. He doesn't understand why his daughter won't tell him. He just doesn't understand, and he's just tired. When Ashton is finished, he does not ask the jury to convict. He simply thanks them and sits down. Linda Drain Burdick is the last lawyer to stand up. She is the final voice these 12 jurors will hear before the case is theirs. Linda says she feels like the kicker being sent out for the last second field goal after a teammate has carried the ball to the one-yard line, only to have to wait through a timeout before she can take the kick. Her biggest fear, she tells them, is that after weeks of testimony, arguments, experts, and accusations, that common sense gets buried underneath all of it. So she goes back to the 31 days. The defense has called that evidence a smear, an attempt to turn Casey Anthony's behavior into proof of murder. Linda tells the jury why the state spent so much time on those 31 days. Because Casey's lies, her avoiding and her misleading, are evidence of guilt. She gives the jury a simpler way to look at the case. Look at the evidence tied to Kaylee's remains, and ask, who had access to all of it? The duct tape, the laundry bag, the blanket, the car. And Linda's point is simple. Casey Anthony is the one person who had access to all of them. Then she leaves the jury with one final question. Whose life was better? Who's life was better? That's the only question. The only question you need to answer in considering why Kaylee Marie Anthony was left on the side of the road dead. With that, Linda Drain Burdick puts two photos on the screen in the courtroom. One is of Casey in a short blue dress, dancing. The other is of Casey's Bella Vita tattoo. Both are from the 31 days where Kaylee was missing. Burdick sits down. The lawyers are finished. The jury has the case. Now the jury has to decide whether the state has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Kaylee was murdered and that her mother is to blame. I'm Megyn Kelly. Next time on MK Confidential, the verdict in and out of the courtroom. We'll be right back.