A sniffer dog trained to detect human corpses homed in on the boot of Casey Anthony's car and on a patch of grass in front of her dead daughter's playhouse, a court in Florida heard today.

Gerus, a German Shepherd dog working with Orange County Sheriff's Department K-9 unit during the search for missing toddler Caylee Anthony in July 2008, indicated that he could smell human death in the back of Anthony's Pontiac Sunfire car, and at a spot in the garden of her home in Orlando.

The canine detective, who is trained only to hunt for human remains and to ignore distractions such as food and other odours, twice gave his handler an indication known as a 'final trained alert' to indicate that it had pinpointed a scent source.

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© Associated PressOn trial: Casey Anthony sits in the courtroom before the start of court on the 12th day of her murder trial at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando today

The first was after he was let loose on Anthony's car after it was seized by detectives hunting for Caylee, who prosecutors claim was murdered by her mother. Anthony, 25, has pleaded not guilty but faces the death penalty if convicted.

Describing his searches, Gerus' handler Jason Forgey told jurors hearing Anthony's case in Orlando that he could personally smell human decomposition before he even let his dog loose on the vehicle with his signature command: 'Find Fred.'

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© Associated PressUpbeat: Anthony smiles at one of her attorneys before the start of the trial. The 25-year-old is accused murdering her two-year-old daughter, Caylee
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© Associated PressEvidence: Assistant state attorney Jeff Ashton (L) talks with Dr Arpad Vass, who told the court on Monday carpet in the trunk of Anthony's car showed up a 'shockingly high' level of chloroform
'When the driver's door was opened...he (Gerus) dove into the car between the driver side and the back side and jumped in there looking to the back side trunk area, trying to get back into that area.

'I indicated for the detective to open the trunk...When we turned down the rear of the trunk, Gerus jumped up into the trunk, front end, stuck his head in there and then of course I was overwhelmed at that point because I'm getting it at the same time he is,' he said, referring to the smell.

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© Associated PressCompelling evidence: Jason Forgey, a canine handler for the Orange County Sheriff's Department, said that both he and his cadaver dog could smell human decomposition in Casey Anthony's car
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© Associated PressTestimony: Assistant state attorney Jeff Ashton (L) shows an evidence to FBI forensic chemist examiner Dr Michael Rickenbach, who testified about chloroform residue that he found on materials inside Anthony's car
'I continued to walk, Gerus came out of the trunk with his front paws to the rear passenger tail light area and gives me a final trained alert - he goes into the down position.'

Gerus was later summoned to the back garden of Anthony's parents' home in Orlando, where she and her nearly three-year-old daughter also lived, after detectives reported some 'areas of concern' while searching for clues.

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© Associated PressEvidence: Assistant state attorney Jeff Ashton (L) talks with Dr Arpad Vass, who told the court on Monday carpet in the trunk of Anthony's car showed up a 'shockingly high' level of chloroform
The dog appeared unphased as it scanned certain parts of the garden, but then communicated to his trainer that he had found a scent.

'The only areas that he gave me any indications, and either alerts and a final trained alert, was in the south-east corner of the yard, which is near the play area,' Officer Forgey testified.

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© Associated PressGarbage: Photographic evidence entered today shows the contents of a bag of trash that was found in the trunk of Anthony's car
'There was like a playhouse with a kid's bench, sand playbox area.'

The prosecution's case centres on the theory that Anthony incapacitated her daughter using chloroform and sealed duct tape over her nose and mouth, then disposed of her body, storing it in the boot of the car before dumping it on wasteland near the family home.

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© Associated PressA detailed look: A photo entered into evidence today showed paper towels that were found in the bag of trash
In the weeks prior to Caylee's death, Anthony had searched various terms on her parents' home computer including 'how to make chloroform,' 'making weapons out of household products', 'neck-breaking' and 'shovel', the prosecution has alleged.

Earlier the court heard testimony from Michael Rickenbach, an FBI forensic chemist examiner, about chloroform residue that he found on materials inside Anthony's car.

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© Orange County Sheriff's OfficeInnocent: Two-year-old Caylee Anthony, whose skeletal remains were found in a swamp not far from her mother's house, five months after she went missing
A scientist from Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, Dr Arpad Vass had told the court on Monday that his examination of carpet in the car's boot - a sample that had been stored in a sealed can - showed up a 'shockingly high' level of chloroform.

Mr Rickenbach said that the sample he examined was kept only in a cardboard box and that chloroform dissipates rapidly when exposed to air. He said that he did not consider the level of chloroform that he found to be 'shockingly high', but did say they he was 'surprised to even get any results for chloroform.'

The case continues.