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December 11, 2008 Could it be Caylee?Posted: 05:34 PM ET
ORLANDO, Florida–Minutes after attorneys in Casey Anthony’s murder case left Judge Stan Strickland’s courtroom today following a brief hearing, the sheriff’s office received a report that the skeletal remains of a toddler were found less than half a mile from George and Cindy Anthony's Orlando home.
Casey and Caylee Anthony A meter reader who walked about 20 feet into a wooded area to relieve himself found the black garbage bag. When he moved it, a small skull fell out. There was duct tape over the mouth of the skull. Though the area had been previously searched, the particular spot where the bag and skeletal remains were found was flooded at the time. While the remains have not been identified as those of Caylee Anthony, today’s developments apparently led the sheriff to seek a search warrant of the Anthonys' home. To obtain a search warrant, authorities need to establish probable cause to believe evidence of a crime may be found in the premises to be searched. There was no search warrant yesterday, there is one today. The difference in circumstances is the discovery of the remains. Authorities on the scene have been instructed not to disclose details of today’s discovery but it’s reasonable to conclude that the sheriff’s office believes the remains to be those of Caylee. Caylee was only two and a half years old at the time she was last seen on June 16, 2008 by her grandfather, George Anthony. Investigators have not found anyone who saw Caylee after that date. On July 15, Casey Anthony, currently under indictment for first-degree murder of her daughter, admitted to her parents that she had not seen Caylee in 31 days. She further admitted that she had not reported her daughter missing; rather, she conducted her own investigation. In what is, thus far, an entirely circumstantial case, Anthony’s behavior in that 31-day period has been, and will continue to be, scrutinized for just what her investigation entailed. The case against her will be built on Anthony’s behavior including the mountain of provable lies she told police, family and friends, and evidence of odors consistent with human decomposition emanating from her abandoned car. Caylee has not been ruled out as the source of a hair found in the trunk with evidence of decomposition at the root end. A week ago, the State Attorney announced that he would not seek the death penalty against Casey Anthony. That decision can be revisited if this newly-discovered evidence warrants the death penalty. There is an emergency hearing in the morning as the defense seeks an order to have its own experts present at any testing of the remains, if authorities believe them to be Caylee’s. –Beth Karas, In Session correspondent Filed under: Casey and Caylee Anthony |
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