ORLANDO, Fla. - Casey Anthony briefly wept Sunday as prosecutors told jurors during closing arguments that she murdered her 2-year-old daughter Caylee to reclaim the carefree life she had before the girl was born.
Prosecutors portrayed Anthony as a young mother who killed her daughter because she got in the way of her love life.
"Something needed to be sacrificed, that something was either the life she wanted or the life thrust upon her. She chose to sacrifice her child," prosecutor Jeff Ashton said during his 90-minute argument.
Defense attorney Jose Baez said the prosecutors' case was so weak they tried to portray Anthony as "a lying, no-good slut" and that their forensic evidence was based on a "fantasy." He said Caylee's death was "an accident that snowballed out of control."
Prosecutors contend Caylee was suffocated with duct tape by her mother, who then crafted elaborate lies to mislead investigators and her parents. Defense attorneys countered that the toddler accidentally drowned in the family swimming pool, and that Casey in fact was hiding emotional distress caused by alleged sexual abuse from her father. Her father has denied that claim.
People are also reading…
Judge Belvin Perry ruled that there was no evidence of such abuse and that the defense could not allude to it in closing arguments. Jury deliberations are now expected to begin today after the prosecution gives its rebuttal arguments.
Baez began his closing argument by telling jurors they have more questions than answers, including the biggest: How did Caylee die? Neither prosecutors nor the defense have offered firm proof. "It can never be proven," he said.
Earlier during prosecution's closing argument, Casey Anthony appeared mostly stone-faced for the first 45 minutes, but she began to cry when Ashton said the story that Caylee drowned also was false.
Ashton, the prosecutor, said Caylee's death wasn't an accident because of the duct tape on her face - one piece on the mouth, one on the nose and one over those to be "thorough."
The case has played out on national TV since Caylee's disappearance in summer 2008 and continued through her mother's trial, with spectators traveling from all over the U.S. to jockey for coveted seats in the courtroom gallery. Anthony, a single mother, was 22 when her daughter died. No one has come forward as the father.
Casey Anthony has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. She could face a possible death sentence or life in prison if convicted of that charge.
She also is charged with aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child and four counts of providing false information to law enforcement.
New Tucson lounge to embrace dark and cozy
