Closing arguments begin in Anthony trial

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Casey Anthony wept Sunday as prosecutors told jurors during closing arguments that she murdered her 2-year-old daughter Caylee to reclaim the carefree life she had before the girl was born.

The closing came in a case that has played out on national TV since Caylee's disappearance in the summer of 2008 and continued through her mother's trial, with spectators traveling from all over the United States to jockey for coveted seats in the courtroom gallery.

Anthony, 25, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. She could face a possible death sentence or life in prison if convicted of that charge. The jury could begin deliberating Monday.

Prosecutors portrayed Anthony as a young mother who killed her daughter because she got in the way of her love life.

"Something needed to be sacrificed, that something was either the life she wanted or the life thrust upon her. She chose to sacrifice her child," prosecutor Jeff Ashton said during his 90-minute argument.

Defense attorney Jose Baez said the prosecutors' case is so weak they tried to portray Anthony as a liar and "no good" and that their forensic evidence was based on a "fantasy."

Prosecutors contend Caylee was suffocated with duct tape by a mother who then crafted elaborate lies to mislead investigators and her parents.

Defense attorneys countered that the toddler accidentally drowned in the family swimming pool, and that her mother was hiding emotional distress caused by alleged sexual abuse from her father. Her father has denied that claim.

Judge Belvin Perry ruled Sunday that there was no evidence of such a claim and that the defense could not allude to it in closing arguments.

Baez began his closing argument by telling jurors they have more questions than answers, including the biggest: How did Caylee die? Neither prosecutors nor the defense have offered firm proof of how Caylee died. "It can never be proven," he said.

He said the prosecution's air analysis of the trunk of Anthony's car, which allegedly showed air molecules consistent with decomposition, could not be duplicated. He said no one could prove a stain found in the trunk was caused by Caylee's body decomposing there.

"They throw enough against the wall and see what sticks. That is what they're doing . . . right down to the cause of death," Baez said.

He later conceded his client had told elaborate lies and invented imaginary friends and even a fake father for Caylee, but he said that doesn't mean she killed her daughter.

Earlier during Ashton's argument, Anthony appeared mostly stone-faced for about the first 45 minutes, but she began to cry when Ashton said the story that Caylee drowned was also false.

Ashton said Caylee's death wasn't an accident because three pieces of duct tape were placed on her face -- one on the mouth, one on the nose and one over those to be "thorough."

The jury is expected to begin deliberating after the prosecution finishes its rebuttal to the defense's closing argument.