ORLANDO, Fla. – Casey Anthony tearfully told her parents that her 2-year-old daughter Caylee was the "top point" in the family's star and predicted they would all be back together soon, according to jailhouse videos of their meetings while Anthony was jailed in 2008 over the child's disappearance.
Those conversations were shown Friday in an Orlando courtroom on the ninth day of Anthony's trial for first-degree murder. She's accused of killing Caylee, and if convicted could be sentenced to death.
For much of the day Thursday and all Friday morning, jurors watched videotaped jailhouse conversations between Anthony and her family.
The videotapes showed the 25-year-old Anthony crying, chatting and occasionally laughing with her family. Anthony told her visiting parents in July 2008 she ached to come home from jail and see her missing child. She thanked her parents for all they were doing and mentioned Caylee's birthday — which was about a week away at the time of the conversation — to her father.
"We all love that little girl," Anthony said.
Prosecutors said Caylee Anthony died from three pieces of duct tape being placed over her mouth and nose. A defense attorney for the mother claimed the toddler drowned in the family pool and the little girl's grandfather helped cover up the accident.
An autopsy was never able to conclude a cause of death for Caylee.
Casey Anthony waited a month before telling her mother in July 2008 that Caylee had disappeared, and that was only after her parents, George and Cindy Anthony, had recovered a car Casey had been driving, prosecutors said. The vehicle, which the grandparents picked up from a towing lot, had a foul odor inside.
Casey's attorney, Jose Baez, said she was molested by her father as a child, an allegation George Anthony denied on the witness stand. George Anthony also told jurors that Caylee didn't die at his house, and he denied disposing of her body and placing duct tape over her face.
During one of the taped jailhouse visits in 2009, Casey Anthony complimented the family on their efforts to find Caylee, telling them to "keep the faith." Anthony claimed the child had been missing for 31 days before police were called in mid-July 2008.
"You are doing a great job, mom," Casey Anthony said during the visit. "I know it's hard. I know better than anyone right now. You are doing so great."
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