Jose Baez displayed a vicious streak of cruelty in the court on Wednesday. He seemed to suppress a bubble of diabolical glee as tried to trip up his client’s father. The direct examination brought to mind someone stabbing pin after pin into the voodoo doll representing his enemy.
He mocked George’s suicide attempt, ridiculed his emotional responses to Caylee’s disappearance and death and accused him of child sexual molestation.
Baez questions were tricky, like the old stand-up comedy line: “when did you stop beating your wife?” He used that tactic again and again. Baez pointed to George’s July 2008 statement to the police where he described his experiences smelling decomposition when he was a law enforcement officer. Baez zeroed in on the incident in the woods. Then he asked him how George how he knew that his granddaughter’s body would be found in the woods.
Baez referred to the Anthony’s many media appearances and asked, “All those media appearances stopped when the allegations of abuse came up, didn’t they?” George fired back. “I believe, sir, that was done by you, sir.”
At another point, after George denied sexually abusing his daughter, Baez asked, “You, of course, would never admit to molesting your child, would you?”
Throughout the ordeal, George Anthony cried over his granddaughter Caylee. And he stood up for her. When Baez asked him about this public protestations of belief in his daughter Casey’s innocence, he said that he did not want to believe, at that time, that his daughter was capable of killing her daughter.
George insisted that he wanted to talk to media about his missing granddaughter and other missing children. He said, “Unfortunately, it seemed, every time the media came around the focus was on my daughter and not on my granddaughter Caylee.”
Before George took the stand, Cindy Anthony demonstrated a change of attitude, too. It seemed to surprise Baez that Cindy was no longer willing to lie for the defense. She denied every knowing anything about her son Lee visiting Casey’s bedroom at night.
Maybe they now both clearly understand that the most important matter before the court is Justice for Caylee.