Casey Anthony Trial: Defense Sets Off Argument over Caylee's Dad

Plus, DNA on the duct tape was possibly destroyed by "sunlight, humidity and rain"

Photo: Orlando Sentinel/MCT/Landov; Orlando Sentinel/MCT/Getty

Things got heated in the courtroom as the defense began to present its evidence in the Casey Anthony murder trial.

Just before the lunch break, defense attorney Jose Baez raised eyebrows when he asked FBI technician Heather Seubert if she had conducted a paternity test on 2-year-old Caylee. Seubert testified that she had been asked to test whether Casey’s brother, Lee Anthony, could be Caylee’s father.

Assistant State Attorney Jeff Ashton loudly objected, causing the two attorneys to get into an argument. Judge Belvin Perry immediately sent the jury out of the room. “All I’m gonna say is this: I don’t have a hearing problem. The amplification of questions, objections, I don’t need,” Perry said to the attorneys.

The defense team has claimed that Casey was sexually abused by both her father, George, and brother Lee. Test results released to the public show that Lee Anthony is not the father. Paternity tests on Casey’s ex-fiancee Jesse Grund also came out negative.

Earlier Thursday, Seubert testified that there was a trace amount of DNA found on the duct tape that covered Caylee’s mouth. The problem: the DNA did not match either Casey or Caylee Anthony. Seubert then told jurors that she opened an investigation to find the source of the mystery DNA. It matched another forensic examiner who had examined the duct tape.

The defense repeatedly asked Seubert to explain how there was no DNA from Casey on the tape, causing her to point out that the duct tape had been outdoors for months, and that “sunlight, humidity and rain” could degrade or destroy any DNA evidence.