Mommy Dearest - "Seeking Justice"

Why Didn’t Mommy Love Me? 

 March / 19 /2012

We  all love our children ..  don’t we?

2 1/2 Year-old Caylee Marie Anthony

They are a priceless part of us, and capture our hearts and souls the instant they are born.   From that moment we will do anything to protect and care for them.  This is human nature.  It is an inborn instinct to safeguard our loved ones and is something we all experience. Whether it is our children, our elderly, our partner, a family member, or even our friends, we all experience protectiveness at one point in our lives.  For most of the world’s population, this is an ongoing phenomenon – for life.

What if someone you loved went missing; what would be your first reaction? Worry? Panic even? Perhaps.  If that ‘someone’ was a mere child of only two years, you might even be out of your mind with terror and apprehension, fearing the worst.

Would you wait an entire month before calling police to report the child missing?  Not very likely now, is it?  However, that is exactly what happened when Caylee Marie Anthony went missing on June 16 / 2008. Caylee’s (then) 22-year-old mother, Casey Marie Anthony waited until she was pressured to report the toddler missing on July 15 / 2008.  A month after her baby girl was last seen.  Seems impossible, doesn’t it?

Casey Marie Anthony - Mother of missing toddler Caylee

On July 15, Caylee’s Grandmother, Cindy Anthony, called 9-1-1 and told police she had not seen the child in weeks.  Caylee lived in Orlando, Florida, USA, with her mother and grandparents (George and Cindy Anthony).  The hartbreaking call was made far too late.  Cindy told the 9-1-1 dispatcher, “Caylee’s missing. There is something wrong. I found my daughter’s car today and it smells like there’s been a dead body in the damn car..”   Haunting words that will play over in the dispatcher’s mind for a very long time.  When the dispatcher asked why she hadn’t reported the missing child earlier, Cindy Casey replied, “I’ve been looking for her

Caylee with Cindy and George Anthony (grandparents)

and just gone through other resources to find her, which was stupid.” 

The ‘car’ Caylee’s grandmother was referring to was used by her own daughter, Caylee’s mother.  The day the child was reported missing, Casey’s parents went to the impound yard to retrieve Casey’s car, where it had been towed.  The car smelled like a body had been decomposing in it, the impound yard manager and Casey’s father claimed later.  As a nurse, Cindy knew the odour immediately.  She later recalled asking her husband after driving home, “What died?”, not actually thinking that there had ever really been a dead body in the car at the time she made the statement.  The car was owned by her parents, but it was driven by Casey alone.

It appears that Casey was staying with a boyfriend at the time her daughter went missing.  After locating the car and returning it to their home, Cindy Anthony searched it and found a purse with information on a friend of Casey’s.  Cindy asked the friend to take her to Casey’s boyfriend’s house.  She confronted her daughter and demanded to see Caylee.  They drove around for a while, then Casey finally admitted that she didn’t know where her daughter was.  Returning to the Anthony family home, Cindy finally called police.  Casey spoke to the 9-1-1 operator as well, and calmly told them that her daughter had been missing for four weeks, but she was afraid that her abilities as a mother would be questioned by authorities, and that is why she did not report the disappearance.

Missing

Casey was arrested following the report of her daughter’s disappearance that same night, and charged with the egregious act of murdering her own child.  In all, Casey faced seven counts in her daughter’s death, including first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, child neglect and misleading investigators.  If she were convicted, Casey could have faced the death penalty.  That was not to be the case.  Casey Anthony was acquitted of all charges.  That is astonishing, when you consider the evidence the Crown presented at trial.

FACTS IN THE CAYLEE ANTHONY CASE:

 Last time Caylee was seen was on June 16 / 2008.  Casey claimed (one of several claims) that a nanny, Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez, had run off with her daughter on June 19.  Casey gave the fictitious woman the nickname ”Zanny” .  A woman with this name exists, but has never met Casey or any of the Anthony family.  September 5, Casey was released from prison on $500,000 bail, posted by her parents.   On October 14,  Casey Anthony was indicted by a grand jury on charges of first degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child, and four counts of providing false information to police.   She was arrested once more.   Judge John Jordan ordered that she be held without bond.   On October 21, the charge of child neglect was dropped against Casey, according to the State Attorney’s Office, citing that “as the evidence proved that the child was deceased, the State sought an indictment on the legally appropriate charges.”   On October 28 Anthony was arraigned and pled not guilty to all charges.

Skeletal Remains, Presumed at the Time to be That of Caylee Anthony

Sadly, on December /11 / 2008, remains of a small child are discovered in a wooded area near the Anthony family home.  The skeletal remains of the tiny body were found in a garbage bag, along with a blanket.  Duct tape was found at the front of the skull, skin tissue was attached to the tape, but little possible DNA sources remained, save the hair, which was consistent with the colour of Caylee’s hair.  On December 19 / 2008, DNA tests confirm that the remains were indeed little Caylee.

Evidence from the trunk of the car was indisputable.  A strand of hair found matched the DNA of hair from Caylee’s hairbrush, and upon analysis, the strand from the trunk confirmed that the hair was from that of a deceased child; specifically Caylee Anthony.  October / 24 / 2008, a forensic report by Dr. Arpad Vass of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory deemed that results from an air sampling performed in the trunk of Casey Anthony’s car provided chemical compounds “consistent with a decompositional event” based on the presence of five key chemical compounds out of over 400 possible chemical compounds.  A group of technicians from Dr. Vass’ lab confirmed the presence of chloroform in Casey’s trunk.

On April /13 / 2009 prosecutors announced that they planned to seek the death penalty.   In October / 2009 officials released 700 pages of documents related to the Anthony murder investigation, including records of Google searches of the terms “neck breaking” and “how to make chloroform” on a computer accessible to Casey Anthony.  According to detectives, crime scene evidence included residue of a heart-shaped sticker found on duct tape over the mouth of Caylee’s skull.   However, the lab was not able to capture a heart-shape photograph after the duct tape was subjected to dye testing.   A blanket was found at the crime scene that matched Caylee’s bedding at her grandparents’ home.

Casey Anthony shown during trial

Jury selection began on May / 9 / 2011, and took longer than expected; 9 days, with twelve jurors and five alternates being sworn.   The panel contained nine women and eight men.  The trial took six weeks, during which time the jury was sequestered.  The trial began on May / 24 / 2011, at the Orange County Courthouse, during which time, Casey was described as someone who was a ‘party girl’, loved to have a good time and did not want the responsibilities of parenthood any longer.  Casey’s defence attorney claimed that the little girl had drowned in the family pool, and it was George Anthony that found the lifeless child.  He said Casey’s father told her that she would spend the rest of her life in jail, and hid the body.  Defence also claimed that the reason Casey was able to carry on as she would normally is because she hid her feelings well, after having been molested by her father as a child.  This, of course, did not hold water.

George Anthony was the first witness for prosecution and refuted all claims during his testimony.  When Cindy Anthony testified, she claimed that her comment to the 9-1-1 dispatcher that Casey’s car smelled “like someone died” was just a “figure of speech”.  At some point, the question whether Lee Anthony (Casey’s brother) was Caylee’s father arose.  This was proven false.

Lee Anthony

After examination and cross-examination of dozens of experts, friends and family, the jury was left with more questions than answers.  Questions were raised about the examiners method during autopsy. More about the use of chloroform and whether it was actually used.  Someone even claimed that despite the fact Caylee was found in a garbage bag, dead, it did not mean there was homicide involved.  How that makes any sense is beyond all logical thought. Yet it is this lack of professionalism that bemused jurors and placed that ‘shadow of a doubt’ in their minds.  The evidence against Casey is impossibly clear, yet the lack of ‘hard’, ‘tangible’ evidence allowed her to walk free on all charges related to her daughter’s death.

On July /5 / 2011 the jury found Casey not guilty of  aggravated manslaughter, first-degree murder, and aggravated child abuse.  She was however, found guilty of four misdemeanour counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer.  1) Casey told law enforcement that she was employed at Universal Studios during 2008, pursuant to the investigation of a missing persons report, and leading the investigation astray.   2) Casey also told law enforcement that she had left Caylee at an apartment complex with a babysitter causing the authorities to pursue the missing babysitter.  3)  Casey told law enforcement that she informed two “employees” of Universal Studios (where she lied about being employed) of the disappearance of Caylee.  4) Casey lied to the authorities and claimed she had received a call and spoke to Caylee on July / 15 /2008, causing them to expend further resources.  None of which will carry a sentence that has much impact.

Sentencing was on July / 7 /2011.  Casey Anthony was given one year in jail and a $1,000 fine for each of the misdemeanours in turn.  She received 1,043 days credit for time served.  Additionally, she was credited for ‘good behaviour’.  Casey was released on July / 17 /2011.  She filed an appeal for the minor charges and fines two days prior to her release.  A judge  ruled that Casey Anthony must pay $217,000 to the state of Florida.   In the end, she had to pay those costs directly related to lying to authorities about the death of Caylee.

 

Caylee Anthony

Timeline of Important Events in Caylee’s Case:

2008

June 9, 2008 — Casey Anthony and her daughter Caylee move out of Casey’s parents, Cindy and George Anthony’s home, and in with her ex-boyfriend, Ricardo Morales, and friend, Amy Huizenga.

June 15, 2008 — Cindy swims with Caylee in the Anthony’s pool that day, afterwards removing the ladder and closing the gate.

June 16, 2008 — Caylee is last seen alive at the Anthony family residence.  According to George Anthony, Caylee departed with Casey by car around 12:30 PM with backpacks on their shoulders.  According to the defense, Caylee drowned in the family’s above-ground swimming pool during this day and both Casey and George Anthony panicked upon finding the body and covered up her death.  Between 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.  Casey makes numerous short calls to her parents and several friends. Surveillance videos show Casey Anthony and her boyfriend walking around casually at a Blockbuster video store.

June 17, 2008 — George and Cindy Anthony notice that the gate to the swimming pool is open and the ladder is next to the pool.

June 20, 2008 — Casey Anthony is captured in various photos partying at the Fusion nightclub and participating in a “hot body contest.”

June 30, 2008 — Casey’s car is towed from a parking lot after being there for several days; her purse and a child’s car seat are found in the car.

July 2, 2008 — Casey gets a tattoo on her back saying “Bella Vita” which means “beautiful life” in Italian.

July 15, 2008 — George and Cindy Anthony pick up Casey’s car from the impound yard.  George Anthony observes a strong odor emanating from the vehicle.  Distressed because Casey has not brought Caylee home in a month, Cindy has Amy Huizenga take her to where Casey is staying and makes Casey come home.  Casey tells her parents that she hasn’t seen Caylee in a month and that a babysitter named Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez (“Zanny”) may have kidnapped her.  Cindy Anthony immediately calls 911 and reports her granddaughter Caylee missing.

July 16, 2008 — Police investigators discover Casey Anthony has been lying about her place of employment and where she says her nanny lives.  As a result, Casey is arrested and charged with child neglect, making false official statements, and obstructing an investigation.

July 17, 2008 — Casey appears in court, during which time the judge denies bail, saying she showed a “woeful disregard for the welfare of her child.” The policemen from the Sheriff’s Office searches Casey’s car and takes several items of evidence.

July 18, 2008 — Casey Anthony hires Jose Baez as her legal attorney, who writes a letter to Orange County Sheriff’s Office about Casey’s willingness to cooperate with law enforcement.

July 22, 2008 — Because of police testimony about allegedly incriminating evidence from the car, Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland sets Casey Anthony’s bail at $500,000.

July 29, 2008 — Judge denies defense motion to ban the release to the media all jailhouse recordings, 911 tapes and visitor logs.  Florida public records law mandates record requests by media be honored promptly.  Over the next three years thousands of pages of audio, video, forensic information and legal documents detailing the criminal investigations will be released.

August 5, 2008 — The State Attorney’s Office files formal charges against Casey Anthony for one felony count of child neglect.

August 8, 2008 — WFTV reports that investigators suspect Caylee may have drowned in the family swimming pool on June 16.

August 11, 12, 13 – Meter reader Roy Kronk reports suspicious bag to police.  A police officer meets Kronk at the scene and Kronk tells him he had seen a skull and bones in a bag. However, the officer was rude and conducted only a cursory search. 

August 21, 2008 — After bail bondsman Leonard Padilla pays Casey Anthony’s $500,000 bail she is fitted with an electronic monitoring device and released.

August 29, 2008 — Casey Anthony is arrested again on charges of writing four checks worth nearly $650 on Amy Huizenga’s checking account without permission.  Orange County police said the charges are “unrelated to the investigation.”  Prosecutors offer Casey a limited immunity deal related to “the false statements given to law enforcement about locating her child.”  She refuses it soon after.  (The offer is renewed on August 25 and again refused.)

September 5, 2008 — Casey Anthony’s parents post a $500,000 bond and she is released from county jail into their custody after being fitted with an electronic tracking device.

September 6, 2008 — Deputies seize a handgun from the trunk of George Anthony’s car because having a gun on the property violates Casey’s bail.  George says he planned to use it to force Casey’s friends to tell him what happened to Caylee.

September 10, 2008 — The whole family allegedly refuses to take a lie detector test offered by both the FBI and local authorities.

September 15–16, 2008 — Casey Anthony turns herself in on new check fraud charges, fraudulent use of identification, and petty theft.  She is released the next day on $1,250 bond, and again fitted with an electronic tracking device.

September 25, 2008 — Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez, the woman Casey Anthony reportedly named as an alleged baby sitter and suspect in the case, files a defamation lawsuit against her.

October 14, 2008 — Casey Anthony is indicted by a grand jury on charges of first degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child, and four counts of providing false information to police. She is later arrested.  Judge John Jordan orders that she be held without bond.  Because it is a capital crime, Casey Anthony faces possible death penalty.

October 21, 2008 — Charges of child neglect are dropped against Casey Anthony on assumption the child is dead.  On October 28 Casey Anthony is arraigned and pleads not guilty to all charges.

November 8–9, 2008 — Texas EquuSearch leads hundreds of volunteers in a search of a grid for Caylee, but when nothing is found they suspend their search.

November 15, 2008 — A psychic instructs the Anthony family’s private investigator Dominic Casey to search the area where Caylee’s remains later are found. The search is videotaped. The family’s attorney denies asking Dominic Casey to search there.   The area was under several inches of water at the time.

December 5, 2008 — The state initially says it will not seek the death penalty against Casey Anthony. 

December 11, 2008 — After yet a fourth tip from Roy Kronk, skeletal remains of what appeared to be a small child are found one-quarter mile from the Anthony home. Orange County Sheriff’s Office obtains warrant and searches Anthony residence. 

December 19, 2008 — Police announce DNA testing confirms that the remains belong to Caylee Anthony.

Casey Anthony

2009

January 23, 2009 — Police discover George Anthony, who had been text messaging family members, despondent and possibly under the influence of alcohol and medication in hotel room. Police also discovered a lengthy suicide note.

January 29, 2009 — Judge Stan Strickland orders Casey Anthony to appear at all court hearings in her case.

April 14, 2009 — The State of Florida reverses self and will seek the imposition of the death penalty.

September 17, 2009 — Casey Anthony’s defense team files a motion to dismiss the murder charges against her because the state allegedly failed to preserve evidence in the case. The motion is denied.

November 24, 2009 — Defense attorneys accuse EquuSearch’s Tim Miller of lying to the court in their claim that only 32 people searched in the area where Caylee’s remains were eventually found and that the number was much higher.

December 18, 2009 — Judge Stan Strickland denies a request to take the death penalty off of the table in the prosecution of Casey Anthony.

Police Investigate

2010

January 26, 2010 — Casey admits guilt for 13 fraudulent check charges, takes responsibility for her actions, and makes full restitution. The judge sentences her to time served.

April 19, 2010 — Judge Stan Strickland steps down after Casey Anthony’s defense team files a motion accusing him of having inappropriate conversations with a pro-prosecution blogger.  Strickland granted the motion because the accusation would “generate renewed allegations of bias”. Judge Belvin Perry, Jr. is appointed to take over the case.

May 11, 2010 — Judge Perry will allow the state to seek the death penalty.

August 14, 2010 — Cindy Anthony on the “Today” Show calls Casey a victim, and claims she’s not involved with what happened to Caylee’s remains.

August 16, 2010 — George and Cindy Anthony’s attorney, Brad Conway, steps down because he disputes a Jose Baez motion claiming Conway was given unrestricted access to documents belonging to Texas EquuSearch to which he was not given the same access.

Cindy Anthony on the witness stand

2011

January 4, 2011 — Judge Belvin Perry postpones ruling on over two dozen defense motions to exclude evidence from the trial.  Over the next several months Perry rules for or against these various motions to exclude evidence.   He admonishes, and later financially sanctions, defense attorney, Jose Baez, for failing to turn over expert witness discovery information to prosecutors before a certain deadline.

April 1, 2011 — After numerous outbursts by lawyers in court over what is and is not scientific evidence, Judge Perry ruled more such behaviour would result in a fine of $100 per outburst, with the proceeds to go to the United Way.

May 20, 2011 — After eleven days of jury selection, Judge Perry swears in a jury of five men and seven women, plus three men and two women as alternate jurors.

May 24, 2011 — Trial begins in Orlando, Florida.  The prosecution states Casey Anthony used duct tape to suffocate Caylee Anthony.  The defense contends the child actually drowned in her grandparents’ swimming pool, that Casey’s father George Anthony warned Casey she would be imprisoned for life for child neglect and then covered up the death; thus she failed to report the incident for 31 days.   Also, because George Anthony had sexually molested Casey as a child she had a habit of hiding her pain and lying.  Baze admits Casey had fabricated the story of the nanny named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzales.   Baez also questions whether Roy Kronk, who found the remains, actually removed them from else where and questioned police motivations for pursuing a murder investigation.  Prosecutors call George Anthony as their first witness and he denies to them having sexually abused his daughter Casey or covering up the death of Caylee.

May 25, 2011 — Various friends of Casey Anthony testify about her fabricated stories during June and July 2008 of having a job and employing a nanny for Caylee. Neighbor testifies that in mid-June 2008 Casey and a boyfriend borrowed a shovel from him to dig up a bamboo root.

May 26, 2011 — Former boyfriend testifies Casey told him her brother, Lee Anthony, sexually groped her. George Anthony says he did not smell decomposition in Casey’s car on June 24, 2008 and states he put duct tape over a hole in one of the plastic gas cans she had returned to him.

May 27, 2011 — Tow truck company manager and George Anthony testify that from their experience the smell from Casey’s car resembled human decomposition.  George Anthony denies to Jose Baez having sexually abused Casey.

May 28, 2011 — Former boyfriend testifies about Casey’s normal behavior on June 16, 2008. Cindy Anthony testifies that they swam that day and that Caylee could get up the ladder into the pool. She also believed Casey worked at Universal Orlando Resort and had a babysitter named Zanny.

May 31, 2011 — Cindy Anthony says her description of Casey’s car smelling “like someone died” was just a “figure of speech.”   She tried to get rid of the smell by spraying Febreze household odor eliminator.  She says she found the pool ladder in the pool the evening of June 16.   Casey’s friend Amy Huizenga talks of Casey’s frustration about getting help with Caylee and reveals that on June 27 Casey texted her about a dead animal on the frame of the car.

June 1, 2011 — The first officers to arrive at Anthony home on July 16, 2008 say they did not smell human decomposition in Casey’s car and admit they did not search the other two family cars.   They testify about Casey going to Universal Orlando Resort with Casey that day, where she confessed she no longer worked there and did not have a nanny named Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez.

June 2, 2011 — Video tapes of Casey lying to her parents in jail and denying to an officer on July 16, 2008 that Caylee had drowned in the pool, as he suggested.

June 3, 2011 — Investigators describe evidence collection from Casey’s car and obtaining from the towing yard the garbage bag that had been in it.  One investigator states he smelled human decomposition.

June 4, 2011 — An FBI forensic scientist testifies the single hair removed from the car trunk was similar to a hair from Caylee’s hair brush and had “root-banding” consistent with that from a decomposing body.

June 6, 2011 — Dr. Arpad Vass of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory describes using a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer to find signs of human decomposition and a high level of chloroform in the trunk of Casey’s car.  The defense challenges Vass’ financial motivation and the chain of evidence.

A little too late

June 7, 2011 — FBI forensic chemist confirms chloroform residue in trunk of Casey’s car but admits household cleaning products leave traces of chloroform.  Dog handler describes dog alerting to human decomposition in the trunk, as well as Caylee’s playhouse.

June 8, 2011 — Second dog handler says his dog smelled decomposition in back yard. Computer analysts confirm a search for “chloroform” on Casey’s computer March 17, 2008 and “how to make chloroform” on March 21, 2008.

June 9, 2011 — Software analyst John Bradley states someone used the Anthony computer to search the website Sci-spot.com for “chloroform” 84 times on March 21, 2008. He admits that automatic page reloading could account for that number and there was no way of knowing who performed the searches.  Investigators show photographs of the remains, including of duct tape that appears to be over the mouth area.  One admits that duct tape might not originally have been on the mouth and could have shifted position as he collected remains. Casey Anthony becomes ill looking at the photographs and the jury is dismissed for the day.

June 10, 2011 — Medical examiner states that the death is ruled a homicide because of the delay in reporting the disappearance, the fact the body was hidden and the existence of duct tape, but admits she did not know how the child died.  Crime scene investigators describe similar maggots found in the car trunk and at the crime scene.

June 11, 2011 — An expert in forensic entomology states he found flies related to decomposition in the trunk of Casey’s car.  Orange County crime scene investigators identify a piece of Henkel brand duct tape found at the scene and testify it is the same brand as George Anthony put on the red gas can.  One states that no Henkel brand tape was found else where in Anthony’s home.

June 13, 2011 — FBI examiner states a hair from the child’s skull is consistent with but not identical to the single hair found in the trunk. FBI agent could not find fingerprints on duct tape found near the remains but initially did find adhesive in the shape of a heart on a corner of a piece of duct tape; later she could not find it again.^[67][68][69]

June 14, 2011 — FBI quality assurance specialist says the hair found in trunk could have come from any member of the Anthony family.  A crime scene investigator says heart shaped stickers were found in Casey’s room but did not link them to the one alleged to be on the duct tape.  Testimony about and photo of Casey’s “Bella Vita” tattoo made on July 2, 2008.

June 15, 2011 — Prosecution rests its case. Defense makes a motion to acquit based on insufficient evidence a murder was committed, which the judge denies based on previous case rulings.

June 16, 2011 — Defence begins it’s case, often recalling state witnesses for further testimony. Crime scene investigator says no blood was found in Casey’s car or incriminating stains on her clothes.   FBI analyst states no DNA evidence was found in the car or at the crime scene. She states FBI did a paternity test that showed Lee Anthony was not Caylee’s father.  Crime scene investigator and forensics supervisor state a heart-shaped sticker was found far from the body.  An FBI forensic document examiner found no evidence of a heart shaped sticker on the duct tape found near the remains. 

June 17, 2011 — Entomologist called by the defense states if there was a body in the trunk, there should have been hundreds or even thousands of blow flies trapped in the trunk as well.

June 18, 2011 — Defence calls a new witness, Dr. Werner Spitz, who questions the medical examiner’s autopsy, including the failure to open the skull, and says there was no indication the death was a homicide.  He believes the duct tape was placed on the skull after decomposition and that the crime scene photos of the position of the hair on the skull were staged, possibly by the medical examiner.

June 21, 2011 — A defence-called forensic botanist challenges the prosecution’s theory of when the body was placed at the crime scene. An expert in analytical chemistry who works with Dr. Vass challenges the process of testing for the presence of chloroform.

June 22, 2011 — An FBI forensic examiner says no dirt from the crime scene was found on shoes at the Anthony home or a neighbor’s borrowed shovel.  FBI forensic toxicologists found no toxins in the hair from Caylee Anthony’s skull.  A scientist who worked with Dr. Vass who testifies tests did not conclusively prove there was a body in the trunk.  The FBI’s forensic chemist examiner could not find traces of chloroform in the car.  The FBI forensics expert found no hair in the trunk liner showing signs of decomposition.  She also testified the duct tape at the crime scene was dissimilar to that in the Anthony home.

June 23, 2011 — An FBI hair and fiber expert says only one hair from the car truck had a sign of decomposition.  There is a long debate among prosecutors and defense over the reliability of “root banding.”  An expert in forensic toxicology testifies Dr. Vass’s test “lacked organization and planning” and had “minimal standards of quality control. ” He also mentions that chloroform is a byproduct of chlorinated swimming pool water.

June 24, 2011 — The defense shows Cindy a photograph of Caylee on the pool ladder and she again mentions the ladder was in the pool on June 16 when she returned home, adding that she called George to ask about it.  The defense also showed the jury a picture of Caylee appearing to open a sliding-glass door at her home. Cindy says Caylee was capable of opening the sliding door to the yard and the pool.  Lee Anthony states he was not told Casey was pregnant until days before Caylee’s birth.  Search volunteer testifies about duct tape being used at search headquarters.

June 25, 2011 — Judge Perry temporarily halts proceedings after defense motion to determine if Anthony was competent to proceed with trial, based on a privileged communication from Casey Anthony.

June 27, 2011 — Casey Anthony found competent to continue after psychological evaluation.  June 27 also is the date the prosecution states it discussed with defense attorney Jose Baez software analyst John Bradley’s post-testimony admission to prosecutors that there was only one search for chloroform, not 84.  In testimony, the lead detective admits cadaver dogs had not searched inside the Anthony’s home, or in two other Anthony cars.  A professor of chemistry called by the defense says there is no scientifically valid instrument that can identify decomposition, that there is no consensus on what chemicals are typical of human decomposition and that chemical compounds identified by Dr. Vass in air samples can be found in household products and garbage.  Three witnesses discuss the November 2008 videotaped search by Anthony family private investigators in the woods where Caylee’s body later was found.

June 28, 2011 — A Texas EquuSearch team letter discusses their November search for Caylee of the site where the body later was found.  George Anthony denies he had an affair with Krystal Holloway, borrowed money from her, or told her Caylee’s death was “an accident that snowballed out of control.”   He admits going to her home and sending her a text message.  He testifies he bought a gun to threaten Casey’s friends into telling him where Casey was, even though he knew having one violated Casey’s bail. Cindy Anthony denies she sent private investigators to search the site where Caylee’s body later was found; her son Lee Anthony and the case’s lead detective then testify she did so, after talking to a psychic.  Roy Kronk testifies about his calls to police and finding the body.  He denies he told his son finding the body would make him rich and famous, but admits he did receive $5,000 after Caylee’s remains were identified.  Judge Perry does not allow jury to hear Casey’s ex-fiancée say that Casey told him Lee had once tried to grope her while she was sleeping.

June 29, 2011 — Cindy Anthony says Casey’s response to the media theory that Caylee drowned was “Surprise. Surprise.”  Baez asks George Anthony about his suicide attempt in January 2009 and the next day the judge allows the jury to see the suicide note.  Roy Kronk’s son states that Kronk did say that finding Caylee Anthony would making him rich and famous.  Kronk testifies about why he changed his story about lifting the skull.  An expert on grief and trauma testifies that pretending nothing had happened and partying was one of many different ways people, especially young people, express grief.

June 30, 2011 — Casey Anthony tells Judge Perry she does not want to testify.^[95] Perry will not allow the jury to sniff air samples from the car trunk.  Defense calls search volunteer Krystal Holloway who states that she had an affair with George Anthony.  She states that George Anthony told her that Caylee’s death was “an accident that snowballed out of control.”  Under cross-examination she also agreed with her earlier statement to police in which she said George Anthony did not say he knew it was an accident.  After Holloway steps down, Judge Perry tells jurors that her testimony could be used to impeach George Anthony’s credibility, but that it is not proof of how Caylee died.  George, Cindy and Lee Anthony testify that their pets had been buried in the back yard. Cindy calls it a “tradition” to wrap them in blankets and a plastic bag; duct tape was used to keep the plastic bags from opening. After this final witness, the defense rests.  The prosecutor rebuttal begins with showing the jury photographs of Caylee’s clothes and George’s suicide note.

July 1, 2011 — The prosecution continues rebuttal with two representatives of Cindy Anthony’s former employer explaining why their computer login system shows Cindy was at work the afternoon she said she went home early and searched her computer for information about chloroform.  A police computer analyst says someone had purposely searched online for “neck + breaking.”  Another analyst testifies she did not find evidence that Cindy Anthony had searched certain terms she claimed to have searched.  An anthropology professor is recalled to rebut a defense witness on the need to open a skull during an autopsy.  The lead detective states that there were no phone calls between Cindy and George Anthony during the week of June 16, 2008, but admits he did not know that George had a second cell phone.

July 3, 2011 — Judge Perry rules that during closing arguments the defense could argue there was a drowning because there was sufficient evidence of that, but could not argue George had sexually abused Casey.  Prosecution does an hour and a half of closing arguments, offering a timeline of events and asserting that Casey suffocated Caylee by putting three pieces of duct tape place over her face.  The alleged motive was that the child interfered with her partying and spending time with her boyfriend.  The prosecution states the defense’ story that Caylee drowned and George encouraged her to cover up the accident made no sense.  The defense counters with four hours of arguments insisting there was no proof of how Caylee died, challenging the prosecutors’ most important evidence as “fantasy,” and emphasizing the reasonable doubt that Casey killed Caylee.  It again insists that after the child drowned, Casey panicked and George Anthony made the death look like a murder and put the body in the nearby woods.

July 4, 2011 — Prosecutors present a rebuttal to the defense closing, telling jurors their forensic evidence had proved their case, while the defense made claims they did not prove.  The case then goes to the jury.  Judge Perry issues final instructions to the jury.

July 5, 2011 — After more than ten hours of deliberation, the jury acquits Casey Anthony of all felony charges (i.e., of first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter, and aggravated child abuse), but finds her guilty of four misdemeanor charges of giving false information to police.

July 7, 2011 — Judge Perry sentences Casey Anthony to one year in county jail and $1,000 in fines for each of the four misdemeanor counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer.  The judge orders all sentences to run consecutive to each other, with credit for time served.  Based on three years credit for time served plus additional credit for good behavior, her release date is set for July 17, 2011.  Judge Perry announces he will not release the juror’s names for seven days saying some people “disagree with their verdict” and “would like to take something out on them.”

July 13, 2011 – Texas EquuSearch, which assisted in the search for Caylee, sues Casey Anthony for the costs of the search.

July 15, 2011 — Casey Anthony appeals convictions of providing false information to a law enforcement officer.

July 17, 2011 — Casey Anthony is released from jail at 12:10 AM, with $537.68 in cash.

July 19, 2011 — Prosecutors write a letter responding to a New York Times article about alleged withholding of exculpatory evidence about the chloroform searches and says they were about to give the jury a Notice of Supplemental Discovery but did not do so because jurors had reached a verdict.

July 26, 2011 — Judge Belvin Perry rules juror names will remain secret until October 2011, citing public “outrage and distress” over the not guilty verdict. He also appeals to Florida legislators to bar the release of juror’s names in some cases “in order to protect the safety and well-being of those citizens willing to serve.”

August 1, 2011 — Orange Circuit Judge Stan Strickland signs amended court documents that order Casey Anthony to return to Orlando within 72 hours to serve one year of supervised probation for the check fraud charge that Anthony pled guilty to in January 2010.  Jose Baez accuses Strickland of bias in the ruling.  Strickland excuses himself from the case.

August 5, 2011 — Baez obtains an emergency hearing with Judge Perry arguing Anthony already had served her probation and that Strickland no longer had jurisdiction over her. Perry postpones a decision calling the situation “a maze.”

August 10, 2011 — The Florida Department of Children and Families releases report concluding that Casey Anthony failed to protect Caylee, and that Casey’s actions or lack of actions resulted in the death of the child. The finding has little legal relevance.

August 12, 2011 — Judge Belvin Perry upholds Judge Strickland’s order, ruling that Casey Anthony must return to Orlando to serve one year’s probation for check fraud, reporting no later than noon on August 26.  The judge declares that her residential information during the probation period may be kept confidential because of threats made against her life.

August 23, 2011 — After defense attorneys file motion to appeal Judge Perry’s probation ruling, the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeals upholds it.  Casey Anthony reports for probation at a secret location on August 24.

September 15, 2011 — Judge Belvin Perry rules Casey Anthony must pay $97,000 of the $517,000 the state of Florida wanted her to pay for investigative and prosecution costs to the state under a provision of Florida sentencing law. He ruled she only had to pay those costs directly related to lying to law enforcement about the death of Caylee, i.e., search costs up to September 30, 2008, when the Sheriff’s Office stopped investigating a missing-child case.  In earlier arguments Attorney Cheney Mason had called the prosecutors’ attempts to extract the larger sum “sour grapes” because the prosecution lost its case. He told reporters that Anthony is indigent.

September 23, 2011 — Judge Belvin Perry rules Casey Anthony must pay an additional $119,000 for the recalculated costs of the sheriff’s search for Caylee Anthony, for a total of $217,000.

October 8, 2011 — Casey Anthony answers a few questions and takes the Fifth Amendment repeatedly in a video deposition regarding the Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzales lawsuit.

October 25, 2011 — Judge Perry releases names of jurors in Casey Anthony trial.

(Timeline courtesy of Wikipedia)

CAYLEE’S LAW

Just days after the not guilty verdict, several Sates in the U.S. Began drafting ‘Caylee’s Law”, which tightens the noose on parents and guardians who do not report the disappearance of a missing child in a timely manner.  Something that should be common sense –  for those who have common sense and have not caused the disappearance themselves.  It is a moral obligation for all to take appropriate actions when we believe another life is in jeopardy.  Another question I would pose is, “why did the grandparents wait so long to report the child missing themselves?” Or at least have an appropriate authority investigate when their daughter failed to produce the child earlier?

A poignant message in support of Caylee's Law

This is a very tragic story, one we are not likely to forget, once known.  It is not about the Anthony family.  It is not about the media or press.  It has been exploited abundantly, but there are plenty of people out the who know exactly what I mean – it is about a little girl who is no longer in this world because someone stole her life.  A heinous crime of hideous proportions.  That killer walks the same streets we do every day.  Is the person that stole little Caylee’s life even the slightest remorseful?  Where is the justice for Caylee?

We all have our opinions on these things, and I for one, am struggling to contain mine.  You will always be in my thoughts and prayers, Caylee.

Sweet Dreams Precious Angel. May God Watch Over You.

Listen to Caylee’s Song – She’s Going Places .. Here 

Song performed by Rascal Flatts – Link leads to YouTube. Song posted by  ’ripBenoitFamily’

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My deepest gratitude to Ant World for this topic, and the profound conversations that led to much of the content in this Post.