Photos show Caylee climbing into family pool

Friday, June 24, 2011

photo Cindy Anthony testifies during her daughter, Casey's murder trial at the Orange County Courthouse, in Orlando, Fla., Thursday, June 23, 2011. Casey Anthony is charged with killing her daughter, Caylee in 2008. (AP Photo/Red Huber, Pool)

ORLANDO, Fla. - Defense attorneys for a Florida mother charged with killing her 2-year-old daughter showed jurors several photos today that they hope bolster their argument that the toddler drowned and wasn't murdered.

Casey Anthony's attorneys showed photos of her daughter Caylee climbing a ladder into an above-ground pool at the family's home as her grandmother, Cindy Anthony, supported her from behind.

From the witness stand, Cindy Anthony testified that Caylee was able to open a sliding glass door that led to the backyard pool.

"Even at that point, she could even climb into the pool," Cindy Anthony said when shown a photo.

Casey Anthony's attorneys contend that Caylee drowned in the pool and that her mother didn't kill her.

Casey Anthony wiped away tears while a video of her playing with the girl was viewed by the jury during her mother's testimony.

Prosecutors have argued Casey Anthony suffocated her daughter in June 2008. She didn't report the girl missing for 31 days.

On Thursday, Cindy Anthony's testimony directly contradicted prosecutors' theory that Casey Anthony was the one who made Internet searches about chloroform, a chemical compound that can be used to knock someone unconscious and also is found in human decomposition.

Earlier in the trial, a medical examiner testified that even a small amount of chloroform would be sufficient to cause a child's death.

Cindy Anthony also said stains in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car were present when the family bought the car in 2000. Prosecutors claim the child's body was in the car trunk and then dumped near the Anthonys' home in Orlando in a wooded area, where Caylee's remains were found nearly six months after she disappeared. Prosecutors have presented extensive evidence of human decomposition in the car trunk, including stains.

Also on Friday, Casey Anthony's attorney Jose Baez questioned Cindy Anthony about a pair of shorts found with Caylee's remains.

Casey Anthony has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and could face the death penalty if convicted of that charge.