News & Politics - Skeletal Remains found near Caylee Anthony's home

++Audrina++ · 12-11-2008, 10:49 AM

Quote:

The skeletal remains of a small child were found Thursday near the home of missing Orlando toddler Caylee Anthony's family.

There was no immediate word on whether the bones, reportedly discovered wrapped in a plastic bag and bound with duct tape, were those of a boy or a girl.

"All we know is that remains of a child have been found," a police spokeswoman told FOXNews.com. Orange County sheriffs and forensics teams went to the scene at the intersection of South Chickasaw Trail and Suburban Drive in Orlando.

Sheriff's Office spokesman Jim Solomons told The Associated Press that a utility worker found the body at 9:32 a.m. EST Thursday.

Police said the Anthony family has been notified of the discovery.

source foxnews.com

Most likely its her body. How sad

mcdreamylover · 12-11-2008, 12:24 PM

I think it's her too. However the grandparents are still in denial. They're texting reporters saying it's not her. While I feel bad for them sooner or later they're going to have to face reality and realize that Caylee is gone and their daughter is a cold blooded killer.

++Audrina++ · 12-11-2008, 01:37 PM

I just don't understand how someone could harm their child presuming Casey did this. Looking at that little girl then thinking of whats left of her...a bag of bones and a bare skull...I mean really. Its heartbreaking. I was watching Foxnews and my 5 yr old niece looked at me and said "why did they just find her bones?" I busted out in tears and I said..."a very bad person hurt her." I mean what else could you say?

Quote:

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Authorities say they are seeking a search warrant for the Orlando home of a missing 3-year-old girl after a small child's remains were found nearby.

Orange County sheriff's spokesman Carlos Padilla said Thursday that investigators cordoned off the home belonging to the grandparents of Caylee Anthony, who often stayed at the home with her mother.

Caylee's mother, 22-year-old Casey Anthony, insists that she left the girl with a baby sitter in June, but she didn't report her missing until July. The mother has been charged with first-degree murder.

On Thursday, a utility worker stumbled upon remains of a small child less than a half-mile from where the girl lived. Investigators were trying to identify the remains. The medical examiner left with the remains about 3 p.m.

-AP

AshlynDenae · 12-11-2008, 02:19 PM

Oh my god.

This is what we've been waiting for, right? Finality, conclusion. That poor little girl deserved to be found.

This case breaks my heart. I can't wait to see KC convicted.

Dana_Lana · 12-11-2008, 02:31 PM

Oh WOW.

AshlynDenae · 12-11-2008, 02:40 PM

This is the news people following the case have been waiting for. I wanted to believe the sightings could be real, that Caylee could be saved... but the lies show the truth. KC is supposably having panic attacks in jail today. Wonder why?

How could someone do that to her daughter?

AdriaMichelle · 12-11-2008, 07:36 PM

Oh my god. This is just horrible. I was also hoping for little Caylee to be found alive.

Its just so sad and heartbreaking on so many levels. Why oh why.

I agree - AshlynDenae -

AshlynDenae · 12-11-2008, 07:55 PM

The only light in all this darkness is that this raises the chance of a conviction of at least a life sentence for Casey.

I was watching Nancy Grace tonight, and she kept showing that video of Caylee singing "You Are My Sunshine," on what was likely the day she died. I think they should lock Casey in a room and force her to watch that video over and over again for the rest of her miserable life.

**sunnykerr** · 12-11-2008, 08:32 PM

This is so sad. It's all so sad.

We're waiting for proof positive that two seemingly perfectly nice people raised their granddaughter's murderer. It's gonna be such a sad time for them.

As for Casey Anthony... someday, if it hasn't already, she's gonna realize what she's done. She's still a child herself. It doesn't excuse her actions in the least bit. I'm just saying, she presumably has a long life ahead of her and she'll have to live with having done the darkest deeds a mother can ever commit.

AshlynDenae · 12-11-2008, 09:18 PM

Part of me wonders if she's such a sociopath that the only person's welfare she'll be concerned for is her own. In those jailhouse tapes she kept talking about how much she wants out of prison. I can't imagine she'll like knowing that that is how she will spend the rest of her life.

AdriaMichelle · 12-12-2008, 08:07 AM

I think in time Casey will realize what she has done. However, it will most likely take a long time. The grandparents I think are in much in denial of what happened, and they don't want to believe the remains could possibly be Caylee.

Just reading what you had mentioned AshlynDenae about what Nancy Grace had on her show makes it all very tragic.

AshlynDenae · 12-12-2008, 11:32 AM

They are going to be heartbroken. She was so close to their home all this time... that is going to be maddening for them.

Of course, I heard they're doing another Larry King interview on the finding of the remains, which hardly seems like grieving grandparents. Guess they're still in denial.

vc318 · 12-12-2008, 07:59 PM

This is so sad, Has there been any confirmation yet if it's really her?

++Audrina++ · 12-13-2008, 09:03 AM

Yes more than likely its Caylee..

Quote:

Signs Point To Caylee's ID After Remains Found Near Anthony Home
Measurements, Hair Color Similar, Attorney Says

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Evidence mounted Friday that a child's skull discovered near Caylee Anthony's home belonged to the missing toddler, although investigators cautioned it could be a week or more before they have conclusive DNA evidence.

A day after a utility worker found the remains of a child in a wooded lot, a defense attorney said some characteristics of the remains matched 3-year-old Caylee, while Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary said clues linked the remains to the child's nearby home.

Caylee's mother, Casey Anthony, 22, was charged with first-degree murder months after the girl disappeared in June and was not reported missing until July.

One of her attorneys, Linda Kenney Baden, said during a court hearing Friday that "anthropological measurements and hair color" of the remains were said to match Caylee.

Beary said earlier Friday that a search of the grandparents' home where the mother and daughter lived had also yielded links to the remains that he would not reveal. There are no other similar missing-child cases in the area.

Asked if he believed it was Caylee, Beary said: "My gut says yes, but I have to wait seven to 14 days for the DNA analysis to absolutely make sure."

The judge still denied a defense motion to examine the remains, saying they must wait for positive identification.

The middle-class Orlando suburb where the family lived waited for the identification of the child with sadness and some hope the wrenching saga could soon end.

The streets around the Anthony home have been busy since the summer when the girl -- then 2 years old -- was first reported missing. The odd circumstances -- a child missing for more than a month before being reported, her mother's lies and eventual murder charges -- led to news conferences and even protests outside the home as the saga of the little girl grew more complex.

Even a recording of the 911 call reporting the remains and released on Friday highlighted the notoriety of the case and the neighborhood consumed by it.

When a utility employee told the 911 dispatcher that one of its workers found a skull in "the Caylee Anthony area," the dispatcher exclaimed, "Oh" and warned them not to disturb any evidence or call attention to the discovery until authorities arrive.

On Thursday and Friday crime scene vehicles lined the area where the remains were found, within walking distance of the Anthony home, but gawkers were largely absent.

Stephanie Condenzio, 21, who lives down a street adjacent to the Anthonys, said she moved in to the area with its ranch-style homes about the time Caylee was reported missing. Condenzio said Friday that she feels sorry for Caylee but has little sympathy for the family.

"It's just been a circus around here ever since then," she said. "We really didn't know what to think."

Amanda Santiago, 35, who lives in the neighborhood and has a 5-year-old daughter said she had conflicting feelings about the discovery of the remains.

"You feel relieved that this family has closure," she said. "But you feel sadness because when you're a parent, you know how that feels. You couldn't even imagine losing a child. It breaks your heart."

Casey Anthony has insisted that she left the girl with a baby sitter in mid-June, but she didn't report Caylee missing for another month. The child's grandmother first called authorities in July to say that she hadn't seen Caylee for a month, and that her daughter's car smelled like death.

For the past several months, Anthony's family, police and volunteers from around the country have searched for the girl. But as the case unfolded, suspicion fell on Casey Anthony. There were photos of her partying after her daughter went missing, and police said she lied about where she worked and other details of her daughter's disappearance.

Last month, officials released documents showing someone used a computer at the Anthony home to conduct Internet searches for terms like "neck breaking" and "household weapons."

Casey Anthony was told about the discovery in jail on Thursday, and was placed under psychological observation -- not suicide watch. Her attorney, Jose Baez, visited her and said Friday she was "struggling" with the news.

"We're doing our best to keep her focused," Baez said.

Defense Motion Denied

Orange County Judge Stan Strickland denied a defense motion requesting that its experts observe the autopsy of the discovered remains.

Baez filed the emergency motion on Thursday shortly after the remains were found.

The state said it would agree to notify the defense when FBI agents and investigators complete the search of the wooded area, which could be completed by Friday night. Local 6 News reported that the defense may have to hire a security team to preserve the crime scene.

The hearing lasted about 30 minutes, and Casey Anthony was not in attendance.

Timeline Revisited

After the discovery of the remains, Local 6 News investigative reporter Tony Pipitone revisted cell phone records released in the Casey Anthony case to track her whereabouts.

Caylee was last seen June 16, the day George Anthony said he last saw his daughter and granddaughter together.

"Ten minutes to 1 (o'clock) that afternoon on the 16th is when I actually saw Casey and Caylee together -- both leaving with backpacks. My daughter said she was going to work, and she was taking Caylee to the nanny, to the babysitter," George Anthony said in a released police interview.

Investigators said they do not believe the baby sitter existed.

Seven hours later, Casey Anthony was seen on surveillance video renting a movie at a Blockbuster with her boyfriend, Tony Lazzaro, and Caylee was not with them.

Casey Anthony returned home on Tuesday, June 17 around 2:30 p.m. but went back toward Lazzaro's home less than three hours later, phone records show.

But June 17 was just one day after Caylee was last seen alive, and investigators believe that's when Caylee likely died, Pipitone reported.

Scientific evidence suggests that human remains that decomposed in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car were there for up to two-and-a-half days after death.

Pipitone said that fact may lead investigators to focus on Wednesday, June 18 to June 19.

A neighbor told investigators that Casey Anthony borrowed a shovel on June 18 and also backed her car into her grandparents' garage, which was unusual, the neighbor said.

Cell phone records show that Casey Anthony pinged a tower near her parents' home from around 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on June 18, then her phone pinged along the Econ Trail, south of Lake Underhill.

The area between those two locations is the wooded area where the remains and skull of a child were located on Thursday, Pipitone reported.

Casey Anthony's phone pinged near her boyfriend's apartment before going silent at 6:57 p.m., records show, and did not ping another tower until 8:32 a.m. Thursday, June 19, also near his apartment.

It is not known where Casey Anthony was during that 13-hour span.

Experts Discuss Discovery Of Remains

Pipitone also discussed the finding with a former prosecutor and a defense attorney, and the impact the discovery could have on the Casey Anthony case.

"What does it do to the state's case now that there' s a body?" Pipitone asked former prosecutor Elizabeth Rahter.

"Oh, it hugely bolsters the case. A jury is always a little reluctant to convict because they don't want to convict an innocent person. Absolutely you would not want to do that. So now, there's going to be no doubt that she's dead," Rahter said.

Defense attorney Cheney Mason said claims made by Casey Anthony and Baez that Caylee was alive will now work against them at trial.

"Then all the talking, all the press interviews and the parents going on this show and that show and the lawyer going on different shows establishes they have no credibility whatsoever," Mason said.

The testing of the remains could be the key to the case.

"The most important thing is how did she die?" Mason said. "It could have been an accidental death -- and we've talked before -- an improper disposal, it could have been a brutal homicide. We don't know, and until the medical examiner is finished and renders a report, no one is going to know."

Rahter said an accidental death would be hard to believe.

"What would a reasonable person do in the case of an accident? Call 911 or call your parents or call a close friend. Do you go borrow a shovel from a neighbor, probably not?" Rahter said.

Mason said an insanity defense would be even more difficult to prove, Rahter said.

"It's really difficult to be not criminally responsible. You have to prove they know right from wrong and they understand the consequences of their actions. Obviously, Casey understood the consequences of her actions because she worked really hard to cover it up," Rahter said.

If the case plays out how many think, the experts agree on what will likely happen.

"You can pretty well predict there's going to be a life sentence, either a plea and get it over with or have a circus trial and then be convicted and get life," Mason said.

"Yeah," Rahter said.

Pretrial Hearing

Local 6 has confirmed that a motion for a change of venue has been prepared by Baez, but the motion has not yet been filed.

A pretrial hearing was held Thursday morning in the first-degree murder case, and Baez waived his client's right to a speedy trial, and the case was moved to the court's March docket. A status hearing was scheduled with a tentative date of Jan. 15. Anthony's trial had been scheduled to begin Jan. 5.

Anthony did not attend the hearing.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

source: local6news.com...an orlando news station.

**sunnykerr** · 12-13-2008, 09:06 AM

I don't see the grandparents giving Larry King an interview as contradictory to their grief in any way, shape or form. If they're in denial, then they're not even grieving yet. And, if they believe their daughter to be innocent (I'm not very familiar with this story at all, so I don't know where they stand on that), it could be their attempt at defending their daughter, which is a very natural thing to want to do for a parent.

More importantly perhaps, even if they know their granddaughter is dead and their daughter is guilty, I could easily see this as an attempt to eulogize their granddaughter and to do their level best to use their own tragedy to help others.


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