Casey Anthony Defense Casts Doubt on DNA Evidence

The duct tape found on Caylee Anthony's body didn't bear her DNA or her mother's, an FBI technician testified today—it actually matched a forensics examiner who had accidentally contaminated it. Thus began Casey Anthony's defense, the AP reports. Anthony attorney Jose Baez called on FBI technician Heather Seubert, who testified that she'd found no testable amount of DNA, blood, or semen on other items she tested, which included a shovel found by Caylee's body, a spare tire cover from Anthony's trunk, and clothing from Casey's bedroom.

Then things got wild: Baez asked if the technician had run a paternity test on Caylee to see if Casey's father George or brother Lee were her father. The defense has claimed that Casey was abused by George and Lee. The prosecution immediately objected, and the judge dismissed the jury for lunch. The judge questioned Seubert and found that her lab wouldn't have conducted the test, but that additional testing had excluded Lee and George as potential fathers. The judge is considering a motion to strike the question. (More Casey Anthony trial stories.)