Chris's Crime Forum

I think it will be easier if we try to keep both court cases seperate.

Casey Anthony's brother, Lee, said under oath Friday that Zenaida Gonzalez -- a Kissimmee woman suing his sister for defamation -- is not the Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez his sister claims vanished with her child.

He said that Friday during more than three hours of questioning by Gonzalez's attorney John Morgan, who conducted the deposition in his firm's mock courtroom in downtown Orlando.

"This has never been in regards to this Zenaida," Lee Anthony said, talking to Gonzalez, who attended the deposition.

His sister described a different woman: someone in her 20s who has no children. She is 5 feet 6 to 5 feet 7 and 120 pounds. Gonzalez -- the woman suing his sister -- is a 38-year-old mother of six.

Gonzalez's attorneys said they took a big step Friday in clearing their client's name.

"We now have a family member say under oath that it ain't this Zenaida Gonzalez and that's a good day for her," said her other attorney Keith Mitnik.

Gonzalez is suing Casey Anthony in civil court for more than $15,000 in damages. She claims she lost her job and suffered public humiliation and emotional stress after Casey Anthony identified a nanny who took her child as Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez.

On the criminal side, Casey Anthony, 22, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of daughter Caylee Marie, whose remains were found in December.

In July, Anthony told investigators that she left 2-year-old Caylee with a woman named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez at Sawgrass Apartments and that the two later vanished.

Zenaida Gonzalez, the one suing Casey Anthony, once visited Sawgrass but did not know Anthony or Caylee.

On Friday, Lee Anthony and his attorney, Thomas Luka, were prepared to leave if the media were allowed to attend the deposition.

Before they arrived at the Morgan & Morgan law firm, attorneys told more than a dozen reporters and photographers that they would have to stay out of the room. A copy of the video deposition and a transcript became public later Friday when they were filed in court.

No major revelations emerged from Anthony's questioning, but some details were clarified.

Lee Anthony told the attorneys that his sister admitted lying to the investigators about what happened when Caylee disappeared.

Shortly after she was released from jail in August, Casey Anthony told Lee Anthony that Caylee was taken from Jay Blanchard Park by Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez to teach Casey Anthony a lesson. The nanny sent messages to Casey Anthony via the Internet. His sister claimed that if she alerted the police, Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez would harm Anthony's family. He doesn't know what lesson the nanny wanted to teach his sister.

Lee Anthony related the story to his mother, Cindy Anthony, but not to investigators. He also said he never found any communication between his sister and the nanny on any computer.

Morgan asked Lee Anthony if he considered whether his sister was responsible for Caylee's disappearance.

But Luka stopped Anthony from answering the question.

Near the end of the interview, Morgan brought up Caylee's memorial service held this month. He asked Lee Anthony what he meant by the "CMA" he referred to during the ceremony.

Anthony, during the service, mentioned a promise he made to "CMA."

"Speaking to Caylee ... I made a promise to her early, early on in July that no matter what it took, I was going to find out the truth," Anthony explained to Morgan.

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At the following link there are videos of Lee's deposition,as well as videos from Zenaida Gonzalez & her lawyer.Links for the videos are listed on the right of the page.

VIDEO

Casey Anthony Pleads 5th On Caylee Questionnaire

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Casey Anthony answered questions under oath about her daughter's disappearance.

Lawyers for Zenaida Gonzalez sent Anthony a 29-item questionnaire, but she would only answer two of them -- and one was her name.

LINK to the questions.


She took the Fifth Amendment invoking her right to remain silent on the rest.

Anthony is being sued in civil court after claiming a nanny named Zenaida Gonzalez took Caylee.

She is asked whether she's involved in the death of Caylee. She responds by saying she objects to the question and it's being brought solely to embarrass and harass her in an attempt to implicate the defendant in an ongoing criminal prosecution for first-degree murder.

Anthony is being held at the Orange County Jail on first-degree murder charges in connection with the death of her daughter, Caylee.

The next hearing for the case, which Anthony is required to attend, has been set for March 12 at 3:30 p.m. Four motions will be heard, including a motion regarding access to George Anthony's suicide note.

http://www.wesh.com/news/18854442/detail.html

Are Casey Anthony's Rights Being Violated?

Should Casey Anthony be forced to answer all the questions in the Zanieda Gonzalez civil suit? Gonzales' lawyers think so.

I think so too.

Up until now, Casey Anthony has not answered even one question in the defamation suit of Zenaida Gonzalez. And lawyers for Gonzalez have had enough. Gonzalez, a mother of six, accuses Anthony of slandering her when the 23-year-old mother said Zenaida was the alleged nanny who abducted her daughter, Caylee.

Yesterday a motion was filed by Gozales' lawyers to force Anthony to answer all of the questions in the deposition. When Anthony initially filled out the questionnaire, the only item she wrote on the document was her name. She failed to answer any of the 17 questions asserting her fifth amendment right to not incriminate herself. Anthony's lawyer, Jonathan Kasen, thinks his client should be able to continue to invoke the fifth in the ongoing civil suit. Kasem believes every question in the written deposition is "inextricably intertwined" with Anthony's first degree murder case.

Robin Sax, a former Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney, agrees with Kasen. "Statements that are taken under oath at other hearings can be used against her" says Sax. Kasen and Jose Baez, Anthony's defense attorney, could be working in tandem, speculates Sax. Baez would certainly not want his client to answer questions like "Do you know who killed Caylee?" and "Were you involved in death of Caylee?"

Sax is surprised the Zenaida Gonzalez civil case has moved so quickly in the first place, "These things usually take years." But, says Sax, it's possible Gonzales' lawyer, John Morgan, has been bitten by the fame bug surrounding the highly publicized trial. "If he's the hero that gets her to answer the question which would essentially amount to a confession -- that's huge."

Should Casey be made to answer all of the questions?

http://www.momlogic.com/2009/03/casey_anthony_civil.php

On Friday, attorneys for Zenaida Gonzalez said they are preparing a packet of information for “The Oprah Winfrey Show” hoping Oprah will ask the Anthony’s tougher questions.

The Anthony’s are scheduled to appear on the show in May for an exclusive interview.

Zenaida filed a defamation suit against the Anthony’s daughter, Casey because she alleged Zenaida was the babysitter who kidnapped the Anthony’s granddaughter, Caylee.

Caylee’s remains were found on Dec. 11, 2008, and her death was ruled a homicide.

Authorities cleared Zenaida of any wrongdoing but she claims the negative publicity she received has resulted in her losing jobs and being unable to gain new employment.

George and Cindy Anthony were questioned last week in videotaped depositions in the case. Both the Anthony’s were combative and George refused to answer some key questions posed by Zenaida’s attorneys.

WESH 2 News reports that the attorneys are asking, “…if it pains the Anthony’s so much to answer their questions, why are they willing to go on national television and relive the nightmare of losing Caylee with Oprah?”

Zenaida’s attorneys say the information, including video evidence, will be sent out sometime next week.


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