a surprise witness the defense wants to question a man named vasco thompson held a news conference. casey anthony's lawyers filed a motion tuesday saying they only recently discovered mr. thompson and now want to ask him about four calls allegedly made to george anthony casey's fare before caylee was reported missing in 2008. >> i thank god for being here so i can straighten this mess up. i have no idea who george anthony is. i just met him, seen him on tv. i never talked to george anthony. like i say, i don't know him. and the phone number they got in question, i didn't have that phone number until february of '09. and i don't know why they got me involved in all this mess. and that's all i have to say about it. >> well, the judge hasn't ruled yet on whether thompson will become part of the trial. earlier i talked to mark lit mann, the lawyer who represents george anthony, represents not only george but cindy and lee anthony, casey's parents and brother. >> mark, the defense tried to raise questions about phone call that is your client allegedly made to a telephone number that's no

a surprise witness the defense wants to question, a man named vasco thompson, held a news conference. casey anthony's lawyers filed a motion tuesday saying they only recently discovered mr. thompson and now want to ask him about four calls allegedly made to george anthony casey's father the day before caylee was reported missing back in july of 2008. here's what mr. thompson said today. >> i thank god for being here so i can straight then mess up. i have no idea who george anthony is. i just seen him on tv. i never talked to george anthony. like i said, i don't know him. and the phone number they got in question, i didn't have that phone number until february of '09. and i don't know why they got me involved in all this mess. and that's all i have to say about it. >> well, the judge hasn't ruled yet on whether thompson will become part of the trial. earlier i talked to mark lippman, the lawyer who represents george anthony, not only george but cindy and lee anthony, casey's parents and brother. >> mark, the defense tried to raise questions about phone calls that your client allegedly

a surprise witness the defense wants to question a man named vasco thompson held a news conference. casey anthony's lawyers filed a motion tuesday saying they only recently discovered mr. thompson and now want to ask him about four calls allegedly made to george anthony casey's fare before caylee was reported missing in 2008. >> i thank god for being here so i can straighten this mess up. i have no idea who george anthony is. i just met him, seen him on tv. i never talked to george anthony. like i say, i don't know him. and the phone number they got in question, i didn't have that phone number until february of '09. and i don't know why they got me involved in all this mess. and that's all i have to say about it. >> well, the judge hasn't ruled yet on whether thompson will become part of the trial. earlier i talked to mark lippman,lawyerwho represents george anthony, represents not only george but cindy and lee anthony, casey's parents and brother. >> mark, the defense tried to raise questions about phone call that is your client allegedly made to a telephone number that's now belon

in response, casey's father said, he does not know vasco thompson. but thompson may join a long line of witnesses who either helped casey anthony beat the rap against her or helped the state secure the death penalty for her. and i had to do some quick math this morning. the prosecution's case, 18 days, 59 witnesses and 323 pieces of evidence. so, we'll start all over as the first witness takes the stand today. george, they started lining up at 10:30 last night to get into court -- i just have never seen anything like this. >> earlier and earlier, okay. ashleigh, thanks very much. >>> let's bring in the rest of our trial team now. nancy grace host of "nancy grace" on hln and legal analyst dan abrams. thank you for both of you joining us again. nancy, let's start out. vasco thompson, who is he? why would the defense want to call him? >> well, he's a 52-year-old felon. he has a kidnapping conviction, several probation -- parole violation and another arrest. this is who he is. his phone number pops up on george -- father george anthony's cell phone about

the defense added vasco thompson, a convicted kidnapper. phone records show george anthony called thompson's cell phone number days before casey admitted her daughter was missing. vasco, his attorneys say, has nothing to do with the case. and that the number was not even his where most calls were made. >> i have no dealings with this man. i never heard of casey anthony, caylee anthony, cindy anthony or lee anthony. none of them. >> reporter: george anthony denies any connection to vasco thompson. although thompson is on that witness list, it's not clear whether he'll actually take the stand. no word on who the defense will call today, but, dan and bianna, we will be here for every riveting moment. >> yunji, thank you, this case continues to fascinate. let's go back to ron claiborne with another look at the headlines. >> you know, dan, i really hope that the researchers find a solution to the scourge of gray hair, you know. you wear it well. >> you have the salt and pepper look nailed to a tee. >> yeah, turning salter. >>> good morning, ever

who is identified as 52-year-old vasco degamma thompson. they say this man is a convicted felon who served time for kidnapping. and here's the point that the defense team makes in documents that filed to the court. it said that mr. thompson had contact with casey anthony's father, that's george anthony, the day before caylee anthony was reported missing. now here's the question -- well what is a convicted kidnapper doing contacting george anthony? and that's exactly the question wants to plant in people's minds. the attorney for george anthony says, hey, this is easy to explain, it never happened. they say that george anthony does not know who mr. thompson is, and there was never any communication. although the defense team says we have cell phone records that prove it. now, in order for mr. thompson to testify, it has to be approved by the judge. and the judge has not ruled on that matter. but again, huge drama, more expense. >> vasco degamma thompson. >> and also there's talk that casey anthony may be taking the stand herself. that will b

this is convicted felon vasco thompson. in 1988, he was sent to prison for kidnapping. the defense says phone records show he was in contact with casey's father on july 14th, 2008. but before he even took the stand, thompson dressed the accusations. >> i have no idea who he s i didn't have that phone number until february of 2009. and i don't know why they got me involved from all this. >> the defense hasn't said what the alleged contact between thompson and casey's father has to do where this case but thompson's denial came as a shock to casey's lawyers. so far no word on who will be called to the stand there's. there's speculation casey accused of killing her two-year- old daughter could testify on her own behalf. >>> a same-sex marriage debate rages in california and new york may be close to making it legal. the new york governor expects lawmakers to approve a bill next week. they're trying to agree to greater protections for religious groups. pastors cannot be sued if they refuse to marry a gay couple. the new york may over says it's time for lawmakers to bring the

who is this vasco thompson? >> this is the big news of the day, brooke. the defense yesterday filed a motion disclosing that they intended to call this new witness. they wanted to depose him. and his name is vascal thompson. i'm looking at his record in my hand. he's been accused of kidnapping. the defense alleges he spent ten years in prison for that. of course, now that's a big deal because one of the theorys that has always floated around is that caylee anthony was kidnapped. what's also interesting is that they allege that george anthony was in contact with this person four times. four phone calls on july 14th 2008 just two days before caylee anthony was reported as missing. now george anthony's attorney issued a statement. he said mr. anthony does not know mr. thompson, does not recall speaking to him, does not recall ever receiving phone calls from him. so obviously a very big discrepancy when the defense here is saying that they have george anthony's cell phone records. so i think this is going to be one of the big issues we're going to hear about

thompson. what he says, the defense's claim that he's linked to casey anthony's father is a surprise to him, too. >> i have no idea who george anthony is. i just seen him on tv. i never talked to george anthony. i'm not going to say i never -- i don't know him. and the phone number they got in question, i didn't have that phone number until february of '09. and i don't know why they got me involved in all this mess. >> well, yes, one of the witnesses there kind of having his own press conference outside. you're seeing live pictures. this trial, again, as you know, going on right now. live pictures of what's happening there. they have one camera that's always fixed on casey anthony, as you see there. the other one showing a witness on the stand right now. let's turn to david mattingly. he is there with us. david, let's go with what's happening inside the courtroom for a change. it seems like so much is happening outside, but inside the courtroom today, what kind of a day was it for the defense?