Decomposition Odor is a New Type of Evidence Used in the Casey Anthony Florida Trial

The Florida Casey Anthony Murder trial has been covering headlines all over the State of Florida and the nation. Anthony is an Orlando woman accused of murdering her 2-year-old daughter. Ms. Anthony contends that her daughter drowned in a family swimming pool.

The Florida prosecution has presented testimony from multiple witnesses that claim that Ms. Anthony’s car had an extremely foul odor. The State of Florida is presenting this evidence to the jury to infer that a dead body was in the vehicle. In order to identify the odor, Florida prosecutors called Dr. Arpad Vass, he developed a test that is designed to analyze air samples to determine the presence of certain chemicals and compounds associated with human decomposition.

While not conclusive, Dr. Bass has testified that nearly all the compounds associated with human decomposition were found in Ms. Anthony’s car. Further, Dr. Vass recalled smelling an “overwhelmingly strong” odor of human decomposition from an air sample taken from Anthony’s car. This is the first time his tests have been admitted in a trial in the United States, but if found reliable, such evidence may be used in other trials in the future. Anthony’s attorney has objected strenuously to the admittance of this evidence due to the lack of reliability. It will be interesting to see if the jury places much emphasis on this evidence. (Jacksonville.com)

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