Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Casey Anthony trial to begin with opening statements today

There are no witnesses and no confession, so the trial of Casey Anthony will likely focus on forensic evidence when it begins Tuesday in Florida. Opening statements are set for today following a marathon 11 days of jury selection.

Jurors were picked outside of Orlando because of publicity surrounding the case, and they will be sequestered for the expected two-month trial.

Casey Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in her daughter's death. If convicted, she could be sentenced to death. She also is charged with aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child and providing false information to law enforcement.

She has pleaded not guilty and has said a babysitter kidnapped Caylee.

According to CBS affiliate WKMG, both prosecutors and defense lawyers plan to bring in a host of expert witnesses to try to buttress their cases.

Each side will get between 90 minutes and two hours for opening statements.

WKMG reports that analysts think Anthony's defense may say Caylee's death was accidental during opening statements, a move that could drastically shorten the trial. The state wouldn't need to spend days proving that a body had been in Anthony's trunk if the defense admits to that during opening statements.

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