The News 360°

Casey Anthony ‘Bella Vita’ Tattoo

[This article is by contributing writer Ivy Bigbee. She is a Washington, D.C.-based writer.]

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Bella Vita. The jury eyed an FBI evidence photograph of Casey Anthony’s infamous “beautiful life” tattoo behind her left shoulder during day 18 of her first-degree murder trial.

Bella Vita, Then Pizza

Learning also that during her July 2 visit to Cast Iron Tattoos — approximately 17 days after prosecutors say she murdered her daughter — the jury heard testimony that the defendant treated those in the shop to pizza after the appointment. On June 15, the state plans to translate into English for the jury the words Bella Vita. The state could choose to reference the tattoo in their summation, helping to show a motive of wanting freedom to pursue the unfettered lifestyle she demonstrated after Caylee was last seen.

A Mother’s “I Love You”

Today’s proceedings took on airs of symbolism. From the defense table, Casey Anthony considered the remnants of her “beautiful life.” Later, she seemed to pay more attention to the FBI’s evidence photograph of her tattooed left shoulder than she did to her mother, who mouthed, “I love you,” after testifying and passing her daughter. Turning her head away, Anthony denied her mother a single nod, in much the same way she has made minimal eye contact with either parent.

Cindy Anthony had just testified she never had seen the pink “trouble comes in small packages” shirt, whose remnants were discovered among her granddaughter’s bones off Suburban Drive; when asked, the defendant’s mother said she also had not seen Caylee’s “Winnie the Pooh” blanket since May 2008.

Follow the Timeline of Events in the Casey Anthony Case >>



Caylee’s Blanket

Mud-stained portions of a blanket that Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia testified as being “Winnie the Pooh with Tigger on his back” had weathered Tropical Storm Fay, which flooded the dumping ground in August 2008. Caylee’s body had been discarded at the site.

During her direct examination of Cindy, state prosecutrix Linda Drane Burdick methodically shaped testimony to eliminate most maternal line family members as mitochondrial matches from the single decomposition-related human hair found in Casey Anthony’s car trunk. Questioning the defendant’s mother about hair color, length and whether or not their hair had been processed, Drane Burdick aimed to establish that the single “death-banded” hair belonged to none other than the victim.

State Pins Down Hair

Prior to Cindy Anthony’s testimony, Catherine Theisen, an FBI forensic mitochondrial DNA analyst, identified evidence she worked on in the case, including buccal, or cheek swabs collected from Casey Anthony and hair samples from the car trunk and the victim’s skull, with both hair samples being naturally brown. The expert said Caylee Anthony and her mother, Casey, “could not be excluded” from likely donors.

Under cross-examination by Jose Baez, Cindy Anthony said that during the eight years the Anthonys owned the car, all family members had different colors and lengths of hair.

Other crucial testimony sought to buttress the state’s case:
· Heart-shaped stickers in Casey Anthony’s room, found during a Dec. 20, 2008, search warrant, were similar to a single sticker found on cardboard near Caylee’s remains.
· Pizza to Cast Iron Tattoos: During cross-examination of Cast Iron Tattoos’ owner/operator, Bobby Williams, who designed and created Casey Anthony’s “Bella Vita” tattoo, said Casey Anthony “didn’t seem upset about anything” during her July 2 visit to the shop and that she ordered and paid for pizza that day. Anthony was “pretty happy for the most part.” The pizza delivery bill was $65, Williams noted, which Anthony paid for with cash.

Tattoo as Memorial?

On cross examination, Jose Baez elicited testimony from Williams that people sometimes get tattoos to memorialize someone who died; on redirect, Frank George for the state asked the witness if Casey was “mournful.” A sidebar followed.

After moving for a mistrial based on a number of supposed missteps by the prosecution, claimed Cheney Mason for the defense, Judge Perry declined to make that ruling.

Prosecutor Jeff Ashton advised the court that the state has two more evidentiary items they wish to enter into evidence on June 15, actions which will conclude the state’s case.

Casey Anthony’s defense team begins its case in chief on June 15, although they are not required to do so.

This post was written by: Joel Waldron

Joel Waldron is a professional blogger, web designer and IT Techinician. Follow him on Twitter