Cindy Anthony described for jurors Saturday the slow torture she went through during June and July 2008 as she tried in vain to get her daughter to bring home her grandchild. 
 
 
 
 She said she went more than half a month without seeing 2-year-old Caylee — a child she had seen pretty much every day of her young life — as daughter Casey Anthony told lie after lie to explain where the little girl was. 
 
 
 
 Finally, in early July 2008, Cindy Anthony opened a MySpace account to express her desperation at being unable to locate the granddaughter she loved and missed dearly. 
 
 
 
 "It was my way of venting without yelling at her [Casey] and getting on the phone and being upset," Cindy Anthony testified. "I never got a response back from her." 
 
 
 
 Cindy Anthony's tearful testimony consumed most of Saturday's half-day session in Casey Anthony's murder trial. The 25-year-old is charged with first-degree murder in Caylee's death nearly three years ago. 
 
 
 
 The grandmother recalled a bittersweet Father's Day 2008, when she took Caylee to a Mount Dora nursing home for a visit with the child's great-grandfather. Later on, the child and grandmother swam in the above-ground pool at the Anthony home. 
 
 
 
 Then, Casey, Caylee and Cindy Anthony sat down to watch the video from earlier that day. 
 
 
 
 "That evening was a very emotional and a very special evening," Cindy Anthony said. "… Casey and I cried. It was a very special moment that the three of us shared." 
 
 
 
 The next day, June 16, 2008, is when granddad George Anthony said he last saw Caylee alive. And it’s the day Casey Anthony’s defense lawyers say the child drowned. 
 
 Cindy Anthony testified that her daughter told her she was taking Caylee to see nanny “Zanny,” and that mother and child were “just going to crash” there. 
 
 
 
 Jurors have now seen that this was not true: Video captured Casey and her then-boyfriend Anthony Lazzaro at a Blockbuster renting a video that night. Lazzaro also testified Casey Anthony was with him. 
 
 
 
 But the next day, June 17, Casey Anthony told her mother that she, Caylee and the nanny were headed to Tampa on work-related business through Universal Studios. 
 
 
 
 This was another lie: Casey was not associated with Universal Studios at that time. 
 
 
 
 By the end of that week, Cindy Anthony said, her daughter told her Caylee was at a Tampa theme park. Then the nanny was in a car accident, further delaying their return home. 
 
 
 
 By June 24, Cindy Anthony learned her daughter had had a run-in with her father at their home, but Casey continued with the injured-nanny story. 
 
 
 
 "I was missing Caylee very much at that time," Cindy Anthony testified. And that's when she started sleeping with one of Caylee's teddy bears. "After four or five nights, then I noticed it was missing," she said. 
 
 
 
 By June 27, Cindy Anthony hoped her daughter would bring Caylee to her workplace, but that never happened. 
 
 
 
 Instead, Casey Anthony told her she had met up with an old flame who had a young son and a hotel suite near Universal. The mother and daughter would stay with them. 
 
 
 
 "I thought, 'Who would want to interfere with that?' " Cindy Anthony said. "She was living in my home, but she was an independent person … ." 
 
 
 
 But by the week of June 30, Cindy Anthony testified, Casey Anthony continued to avoid her mother. Cindy Anthony said she showed up at Universal, thinking she would meet her daughter and granddaughter there. That's when Casey Anthony told her over the phone that they were in Jacksonville. 
 
 
 
 "It was a shock, and I was upset," Cindy Anthony said, adding that she was unsure where her daughter and granddaughter were at that point. "I realized she had lied to me the past couple of days." 
 
 
 
 Her son, Lee Anthony, indicated Casey Anthony might actually have plans to spend time with friends in Orlando for the Fourth of July weekend. That turned out to be true, according to earlier testimony. 
 
 
 
 "I was just really angry, upset and felt betrayed," Cindy Anthony said. 
 
 
 
 She also confirmed she never met "Zanny" despite hearing about the nanny frequently. And she said she continued to seek out this person until six weeks ago. By then it was clear the defense team planned to pursue an accidental-drowning theory and point blame at the Anthony family for Casey Anthony's lying. 
 
 
 
 Anthony family attorney Mark Lippman said after Saturday's testimony: "They don't believe this defense at all. It's absolutely ridiculous … ." 
 
 
 
 When asked whether the Anthonys were abandoning their support of Casey Anthony, Lippman said, "They support the justice system is the best way to put it. They hope for the best." 
 
 
 
 Casey Anthony has sat solemn and red-faced during her mother's testimony but appeared to tear up and wipe her eyes as Cindy Anthony described a playhouse purchased for Caylee around the time of her second birthday. 
 
 
 
 During a recess, Casey Anthony seemed to break down, crying and speaking as one of her attorneys comforted her. 
 
 
 
 Jurors on Saturday again heard from Lazzaro, Casey Anthony's ex-boyfriend, who detailed their text messages after Anthony revealed in mid-July 2008 that Caylee was missing. In those, she acted as if Caylee were still alive. 
 
 
 
 "I am the worst [expletive] person in the entire world. Don't know what I'll do if something happens to her," she wrote, but later added, "If they don't find her, guess who gets blamed and spends eternity in jail." 
 
 
 
 Her trial resumes Tuesday morning. 
 
 
 
 acolarossi@tribune.com or 407-420-5447. ||||| The mother of a Florida woman accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter gave a tour of the family home, including a playhouse built for the toddler and the above-ground pool the defense team claims the girl drowned in. 
 
 Casey Anthony listens to the testimony of Mallory Parker during Anthony's trial at the Orange County Courthouse, Friday, May 27, 2011 in Orlando, Fla. Anthony, 25, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree... (Associated Press) 
 
 Simon Birch, an operations manager for a tow truck company, testifies during the Casey Anthony trial at the Orange County Courthouse, Friday, May 27, 2011 in Orlando, Fla. Birch towed Anthony's abandoned... (Associated Press) 
 
 Mallory Parker tries to compose herself during her testimony in the Casey Anthony trial at the Orange County Courthouse, Friday, May 27, 2011 in Orlando, Fla. Parker is engaged to Lee Anthony, Casey Anthony's... (Associated Press) 
 
 Lee Anthony, brother of Casey Anthony, hugs his fiance, Mallory Parker after she testified during day 4 of the trial at the Orange County Courthouse, in Orlando, Fla., Friday, May 27, 2011. Casey Anthony... (Associated Press) 
 
 Casey Anthony is seen shopping in a detail of a surveillance video shown as evidence in the Casey Anthony trial is shown on a monitor at the Orange County Courthouse, Friday, May 27, 2011 in Orlando,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Cindy Anthony testified Saturday at her daughter's murder trial that she and Caylee went swimming on June 15, 2008 _ the last day she saw her granddaughter. She said she removed a ladder used to help Caylee get into the pool _ something she did every time the pool wasn't being used. 
 
 Casey Anthony, who is charged with first-degree murder in the toddler's summer 2008 death, wiped away tears with a tissue during her mother's testimony. Prosecutors contend Casey Anthony suffocated the girl with duct tape. If convicted, she could be sentenced to death. 
 
 Cindy Anthony was not asked directly Saturday whether she thought the young girl drowned. The trial will resume Tuesday in Orlando. 
 
 Through most of her testimony, a photo of young Caylee remained on display on television monitors along the courtroom, where evidence is displayed for the jury, media and spectators. Anthony eventually interrupted her questioning, asking prosecutors to remove the photo. 
 
 "I can't look at my granddaughter without getting upset," she said. 
 
 Casey Anthony's former boyfriend, Anthony Lazzaro, also testified Saturday about the hours after the Anthonys reported Caylee's disappearance to authorities. He described a text message exchange in which he was trying to get Casey Anthony to reveal where the toddler was. 
 
 "If they don't find her guess who gets blamed and spends eternity in jail?" Casey texted Lazzaro. ||||| The Florida mother accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter partied, promoted nightclub events and entered a swimsuit contest around the time the toddler disappeared, according to testimony Wednesday, and the woman asked a neighbor to borrow a shovel two days after the little girl was last seen alive. 
 
 Jose Baez, right, and Cheney Mason, Casey Anthony's lawyers, leave the courtroom during a recess Wednesday, May 25, 2011 during the second day of Casey Anthony's trial. Anthony, 25, is charged with... (Associated Press) 
 
 Casey Anthony sits at the defense table, in Orlando, Fla., Wednesday, May 25, 2011 during the second day of her trial. Anthony, 25, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Casey Anthony appears in court with attorney Cheny Mason for her trial at the Orange County Courthouse, Wednesday, May 25, 2011 in Orlando, Fla. Anthony is on trial for the murder of her 2-year-old daughter... (Associated Press) 
 
 Nathan Lezniewicz testifies during the Casey Anthony trial at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando, Fla., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. Lezniewicz was a roommate of Casey Anthony's boyfriend during the... (Associated Press) 
 
 Cameron Campana takes the witness stand during the Casey Anthony trial at the Orange County Courthouse on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 in Orlando, Fla. Campana was a roommate of Casey Anthony's boyfriend... (Associated Press) 
 
 George Anthony, father of Casey Anthony, leaves the courtroom for a recess with wife Cindy Anthony, right, and attorney Mark Lippman, left, during his daughter's trial at the Orange County Courthouse,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Casey Anthony, 25, is charged with first-degree murder in the 2008 death of her daughter Caylee. Prosecutors said Caylee died from three pieces of duct tape being placed over her mouth and nose while Anthony's attorney has claimed the toddler accidentally drowned in her grandparents' pool. 
 
 Caylee was last seen on June 16, 2008. One of the grandparents' neighbors, Brian Burner, testified that Anthony asked him June 18 if she could borrow a shovel to "dig up a bamboo root." She returned the shovel about an hour later, he said. 
 
 Burner also said he remembered seeing Anthony's white car backed into the garage on the afternoon of June 16. 
 
 About a month before that, Anthony met Tony Lazaro during a party. They soon became romantically involved and she moved into an apartment he was sharing with four other people. 
 
 Her ex-roommates testified that they met Anthony's daughter several times and then at some point in early June, they never saw her again. 
 
 When they asked about Caylee, her mother told them she was with her nanny at a theme park or going to the beach. 
 
 The four witnesses said Anthony's demeanor never suggested anything was wrong. She would cook, clean and help out around the apartment, they said. 
 
 "She was a regular 22-year-old girl," said Cameron Campana, a club promoter who was a college student at the time. "Peppy. She seemed normal." 
 
 Another roommate, Nathan Lezniewicz, said Anthony liked going out and having a good time. 
 
 "She was not an introvert by any means," he said. 
 
 Maria Kissh, a girlfriend of one of the roommates, said she saw Anthony in a "hard body contest" during a nightclub promotion, and that Anthony once told her Caylee's father was dead. 
 
 Kissh described riding in Anthony's car along with her roommates, but under questioning by Anthony's attorney, she said neither she nor any of the other passengers smelled any odor. Prosecutors have said they believe Caylee's decaying body had been stored there, and the girl's grandparents noticed a foul odor when they picked up the car from a towing lot. 
 
 In their opening statement, prosecutors said Caylee was last seen by her grandfather on June 16. Anthony waited a month before telling her mother Caylee had disappeared, and that was only after her parents recovered the car, prosecutors said. 
 
 The trial began Tuesday with explosive allegations and two very different theories about how the little girl died. 
 
 For the first time, prosecutors said Caylee died from the duct tape. Anthony's attorney claimed the toddler drowned pool and the girl's grandfather helped cover up the accident. Baez also leveled accusations that Anthony was sexually abused by her father. Anthony's father disputed both allegations when he took the stand. 
 
 The contrasting explanations about how Caylee died were offered to the jury in part because an autopsy was never able to conclude a cause of death. Prosecutors believe they have enough circumstantial evidence to prove Casey killed her daughter during the summer of 2008.
– Casey Anthony's mother had an emotional day on the witness stand today, crying throughout her testimony and at one point asking the judge to remove a photo of Caylee from her view, reports ABC News. She recounted the lies her daughter told to explain the girl's disappearance, with Casey sometimes claiming the girl was with a (nonexistent) nanny or with Casey at her (nonexistent) job. Cindy Anthony also testified that Caylee could not have reached a back-yard pool on her own and that she always removed a ladder the girl used when they were done swimming, note the Orlando Sentinel and AP. (That could shoot a hole in the defense team's claims that Caylee drowned in the pool.) One of Casey Anthony's ex-boyfriends also testified today, and he detailed texts he received from her. "If they don't find her guess who gets blamed and spends eternity in jail?" read one.