Over the next four days, more bones were found in the wooded area near the spot where the remains were initially discovered. On December 19, , medical examiner Jan Garavaglia confirmed that the remains found were those of Caylee. Casey's trial lasted six weeks , from May to July , as the prosecution sought the death penalty. The prosecution alleged Casey wished to free herself from parental responsibilities and murdered her daughter by administering chloroform and applying duct tape.
The defense team argued that the toddler had accidently drowned in the family's swimming pool on June 16, , and that Casey's father, George, disposed of the body.
Only July 5, , the jury found Casey not guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and aggravated manslaughter of a child. Although earlier court papers indicated that the death penalty would not be in play, the new notice of intent cites "sufficient aggravating circumstances" to justify its imposition.
The trial begins with the prosecution's opening salvo of Casey being a party girl with no use for a young daughter, as evidenced by the month spent shopping and drinking during Caylee's absence. Those remarks are soon eclipsed by Baez's stunning opening statement which asserts that Caylee drowned in the family swimming pool and that George sought to cover up the accidental death.
The lead defense lawyer also alleges that George had molested Casey, thereby igniting her habit of lying to cover up the pain and that Kronk, the utility worker, had found Caylee's body and planted it in the woods. Taking the stand as the first witness, George denies that he ever molested his daughter or knew anything about Caylee's drowning.
Simon Birch, the manager of the towing company that impounded Casey's car in June , testifies that he had encountered multiple vehicles with dead bodies during his three decades in the business and that the smell from Casey's car was consistent with those past experiences.
Arpad Vass of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory explains how the "shockingly high" amount of chloroform — a chemical released by decomposition, as well as one that can be used to knock someone unconscious — detected in the car trunk led to his conclusion that a dead body was indeed present.
However, his testimony is contradicted the following day by an FBI scientist, who compares the chloroform level in the trunk to the amount found in household cleaners.
A software designer testifies that someone had searched for "chloroform" a whopping 84 times and also looked up such terms as "head injuries," "ruptured spleen," "chest trauma" and "internal bleeding" on the Anthonys' home computer in March , during the regular work hours of George and Cindy. The designer later reports an error in his detecting software and determines that the user visited a site related to chloroform only once.
In a crucial day for the defense, Cindy claims that she was the one who researched chloroform on her computer. She also testifies that a stain found in the trunk, allegedly caused by Caylee's decomposing body, was there when the family purchased the car eight years earlier. Continuing with the narrative that Casey was overly burdened by Caylee, lead prosecutor Jeff Ashton emphasizes to the jury how the young mother was motivated enough to go to extremes to achieve her freedom. While forbidden from revisiting the unsupported molestation claims, Baez nevertheless delivers an effective closing argument by pointing out the lack of evidence that could definitively place Caylee's body in the car trunk or tie Casey to her daughter's death.
Protesters outside the Orange County Courthouse on July 7, After almost six weeks of testimony and pieces of evidence presented in court, the jury of seven women and five men takes less than 11 hours to reach a verdict of not guilty. Casey exits the Orange County Jail shortly after midnight, passing the approximately protesters who showed up to demand justice for Caylee. The world was riveted to the long-running saga of the American exchange student who was accused of killing her roommate.
The defense claimed he found the body far earlier and moved it to its final location to get a reward, a claim which he denied on the stand. They had a difficult time proving this history, however, as the only witness who connected Anthony to any molestation was her ex-fiancee, and his testimony was not allowed by Judge Perry.
This opened the door for the prosecution to bring in his suicide note as evidence during rebuttal, and that is exactly what they did. On June 30th, the defense in the Casey Anthony trial rested its case, and July 1st the prosecution began its rebuttal, expecting to finish by the end of the day. Perry declared there would be no court on July 2nd, and closing statements would be made on Sunday July 3rd, allowing the jury to begin deliberation by the holiday. They argued that the defense theory of the case—that Caylee died in an accidental drowning covered up by her grandfather—was illogical.
On July 5th, they pick up where they left off after six hours the day before. They found her guilty of the four counts of giving False Information to Law Enforcement with which she was charged, but not guilty of the murder and child abuse counts. Since she has spent approximately three years in jail already, and has had good behavior, Anthony will complete her sentence in a week on July For more on the story, go here.
This probation is for her check fraud conviction, unrelated to the murder trial that made her famous. Among other things, her probation forbids her to consume drugs or alcohol, associate with known criminals, or own a firearm, and she must report regularly to a probation officer.
Her lawyers are fighting the motion in court. However, the defense attorneys argued this was an unfair amount to expect her to pay especially since she was only charged with four counts of lying to the police. This limitation restricts her from being billed for any murder investigation or prosecution costs.
A hearing determined that Anthony cannot be charged with any costs after September 29, since that marked the end of the missing person phase of the investigation. The judge gave investigators until September 18, , to submit revised reports and the total costs could then be raised accordingly. According to the Florida DOC report, she had no violations this month to the terms of her probation.
She reported she still has no job or source of income. The DOC report can be found here. Some of the terms of her probation include finding a job, not doing illegal drugs, and reporting to a probation officer monthly.
Anthony was deposed for the civil suit in October, and used the fifth amendment the right against self-incrimination 60 times to avoid answering questions. On December 8th, , a hearing took place to decide whether she will be forced to answer these questions. The judge has reserved ruling on the issue. For updates on this go here.
However, the courts struck two of these charges, arguing that they constituted double jeopardy. Double jeopardy insinuates being convicted twice for a single crime, and is not permitted under the law. Additionally, lawyers for Anthony argued that the four lies should be counted as a single offense. This was not accepted by the court, as there was a sufficient break in time between the two lies making them separate criminal acts. Anthony has the right to appeal the remaining two convictions.
For more information go here. Twitter Facebook Instagram Youtube. Once the statements were completed the jury began deliberations.
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