Reported By Jacqueline Fell
ORLANDO -- Attorneys in the civil defamation case hit a roadblock Thursday, but continue to question those close to the Orange County mother accused of killing her daughter, Caylee.
Annie Downing and Casey Anthony were once good friends.
"We were best friends for a short period of time," Downing said during a deposition on Thursday.
After Anthony was released from jail, she visited Downing.
But lawyers for Zenaida Gonzalez, who is suing Anthony for defamation, said Casey didn't have a nanny or even know a Zenaida Gonzalez.
Downing said Thursday that she doesn't think a Zanny the Nanny exists.
"We've heard from the Anthonys now that everybody knew a Zanny and that it had been common knowledge, and here her best friend had never heard the name," said John Dill, Zenaida Gonzalez's attorney.
Gonzalez's attorneys said this is just a piece of the puzzle that proves their case and clears their client's name.
Casey told investigators Caylee was kidnapped by a nanny named Zenaida.
From Thursday's deposition, we're also learning more about the troubled relationship between Casey and her parents.
"She (Cindy) screamed and yelled at her, 'You're an idiot. You're stupid. What do you think you are doing?'" Downing related.
"What was Cindy's response," Dill asked.
"'Trying to find Caylee,'" Downing remembered Casey replied.
Downing said Casey told her she thought she was nearing a breakdown.
"She came up to my work really upset. We went to grab something to eat. (She said) 'I feel like I'm losing it, like I need to go somewhere.' She wanted to go to an institution," Downing said during the deposition.
Downing has also told investigators and Gonzalez's attorneys that everything she's ever known about Casey, including where she worked, has turned out to be a lie.
Civil Case Hearing Postponed
The civil case against Casey Anthony was expected to move forward Thursday, but instead it is now postponed.
The judge was supposed to decide whether to order Cindy, George and Lee Anthony to answer questions they originally refused to answer during depositions. However, Brad Conway, the attorney for George and Cindy Anthony, hurt his back and had to cancel.
Attorneys for Zenaida Gonzalez said they are frustrated, but will have to wait. They said they want George and Cindy to answer questions about Casey possibly stealing money. They say that could prove if she really did ever know a Zenaida Gonzalez.
Casey told investigators a woman by the same name kidnapped Caylee in June 2008.
The hearing may be rescheduled in June.
The Case Against Casey
See News 13’s Extended Coverage for more Documents, Audio and Video released in the case, plus News 13’s story archive of the entire case against Casey Anthony.
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