Investigator: Decomposing Body That Of Caylee Anthony

Casey Marie Anthony, August 9, 2005-June 16, 2008. Rest in Peace little one.

It is with a heavy heart that I post this article, published this afternoon on WESH.com.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- For the first time on the record on Sunday, Orange County investigators acknowledged that recent FBI lab tests confirmed that Caylee Anthony's body was in her mother's trunk and that the child is dead.

Evidence from a Central Florida body farm showed that an odor emitted from Casey Anthony's car's trunk was human decomposition.

A lead investigator in the case told WESH 2's Bob Kealing that lab results indicated Caylee's dead body was in the trunk of that car. Sources also confirmed that a stain in the trunk was not what clinched the decision that Caylee was in the trunk, but it was the strands of hair that investigators suspected all along were Caylee's.

Investigators had not, until Sunday, disclosed that the decomposing body was, in fact, Caylee.
"The information we've gotten back from the lab that she was in the trunk of that car and that she is dead is certainly something we take seriously," said Orange County Sheriff's Office Sgt. John Allen.

The 3-year-old's grandmother, Cindy Anthony, called 911 in June saying she had not seen her granddaughters in several days and her daughter's car smelled like a dead body.
Cindy Anthony later rescinded her comment, saying the smell was an old pizza and some cleaning fluid.

On Sunday, 150 volunteers came out to help Texas Equusearch, an organization using computer mapping and other high-tech means to try to find some evidence of Caylee Marie Anthony.
"We've come across a lot of areas," said Mandy Albritton with Texas Equusearch. "We've ruled out a lot of areas she's not, so that's progress."

Orange County detectives are directing search teams to areas associated with their investigation, like a wooded area near the Amscot where Casey Anthony abandoned her car.
"The information we've gotten back from the FBI lab has clearly helped us focus our investigation," Allen said.

Police sources said the lab test that clinched the decision was on strands of hair belonging to Caylee that showed signs of decomposition. However, those tests did not provide a probable cause for how the child's body ended up in the trunk. Investigators said they're continuing to look into that.

"I want an apology from Sheriff Kevin Beary," Cindy Anthony said.

Meanwhile, Cindy Anthony said she's still fuming over her daughter's re-arrest on Friday. She refuses to buy into evidence that her granddaughter is dead.

"We need to start looking for a little girl that's walking and living and breathing and someone actually has her," Cindy Anthony said.

Sheriff's investigators said the timing of the arrest Friday was not orchestrated. They said these latest economic crime charges are a separate matter from the child neglect case.

With two new felony counts and one misdemeanor, Casey Anthony is now facing to 17 years in prison if convicted of everything.

Bondsman rescinds Casey Anthony's bail

Check charges put Casey Anthony back in jail
Sarah Lundy, Amy L. Edwards and Helen Eckinger

Sentinel Staff Writers
August 30, 2008

Hours before she was to see a judge this morning on new charges, the earlier bail keeping Casey Anthony -- mother of missing 3-year-old Caylee Marie -- out of jail was rescinded early Saturday by the Clearwater bondsman who helped secure her freedom last week.

This afternoon, Anthony appeared before Judge Mike Miller at the Orange County Jail on new charges stemming from $746.87 in checks a friend accused her of stealing in July. During the hearing, which lasted for little more than a minute, Anthony looked impassively at Miller as he informed her of her rights and set her bail on the latest charges at $3,000.

To get out of jail now, Anthony would have to post $503,200 in bail. Investigators took her back into custody Friday night as people gathered outside her home and jeered, calling her a murderer and baby killer.

Al Estes Bail Bond Agency of Clearwater endorsed, or turned in, the bail bond on the original charges. Anthony again is being held on those original counts as well. Officials were expected to retrieve the ankle-monitoring system from her parents' home, pretty much ruling out any immediate release.

Friday, the 22-year-old mother showed little emotion as she walked out of her parents' east Orange County home with her wrists handcuffed behind her back and was placed in the front seat of an unmarked patrol car. Anthony, who was ironically wearing a T-shirt that read, "Have you seen me?" with Caylee's picture on the front, was taken to the sheriff's headquarters before being transported to the Orange County Jail. She had not been booked by early today.

Casey Anthony's attorney, José Baez, said law enforcement is more interested in making his client look bad than finding the missing girl. Speaking outside the Anthony house late Friday night, Baez said sheriff's detectives "decided to make a spectacle of this event.""They chose this moment to grandstand and to utilize their power to go ahead and make an arrest on something that they knew two months ago," he said as Cindy Anthony, the child's grandmother, stood by his side. Baez pointed out that homicide, not economic-crimes detectives, arrested Anthony. The attorney said he was aware Anthony was possibly going to be arrested Friday night. He said he told detectives via fax he would surrender her. But that didn't happen.

"When they knew a lot of people were going to be here, a lot of cameras were going to be here, and they decide to put on a little show on minor economic crimes," he said. "They're more interested in making her look bad . . . instead of finding Caylee. "Many in the crowd clapped at seeing Anthony taken away by authorities about 8:30 p.m. "I'm happy that they finally took her," said Theresa Rider, 71, of Orlando who went to the house because she wanted to express her opinion to the Anthony family.

Like Rider, many in the crowd showed up at Anthony's Hopespring Drive home out of frustration that Casey Anthony was free. She was released last week after a bounty hunter from California helped post her $500,200 bail. Several came with signs that read, "Rot in Jail," and "Who is the bigger liar? Cindy Anthony or Killer Casey? May God have mercy on you."

Earlier in the evening, Cindy Anthony came outside to talk to a woman who was chanting, "Casey Anthony is a murderer!" She invited the woman who identified herself as Kittie Gonzalez to come inside to sit and talk, but Gonzalez refused.Gonzalez asked Cindy Anthony whether she asked her daughter where Caylee is located. "Yes, and she doesn't know," Cindy Anthony replied. "She deserves to go to jail," Ashley Griffin, 23, of Christmas said, standing on the sidewalk in front of the Anthony house with a sign.

Those milling about Hopespring Drive watched as more than a half-dozen patrol cars pulled up shortly before 8:30 p.m. The lead detective -- Yuri Melich -- went inside with others. They emerged less than 10 minutes later with Anthony. The allegations of stealing checks were first mentioned when Anthony was arrested July 16 on charges of child neglect and filing a false statement to law enforcement. Her friend, Amy Huizenga, 24, filed the complaint with Orlando police after she found checks missing from her car, which she had lent to Anthony. Detectives say Anthony stole checks and cashed five of them -- three for purchases at Target, one for groceries at Winn-Dixie and one for $250 in cash.

She was being held Friday night on charges of uttering a forged instrument, fraudulent use of personal information and petty theft. Bail was set at $3,000. Orange County sheriff's Capt. Angelo Nieves said there is no significance to the timing of the fraud charges. Detectives simply finished investigating the case.

The toddler was last seen in mid-June and was reported missing to authorities July 15. This week, air-sample tests from Casey Anthony's car showed that the trunk once held a decomposing human body. DNA samples were taken and sent to FBI forensics labs. The results have not been made public. Nieves would not say Friday night whether the evidence in the trunk had been linked to Caylee.

This capped a day that started out with Casey Anthony receiving good news. The bounty hunter who helped secure her release decided he would not withdraw her bond, which he considered the day before. And members of a Texas-based group began to organize a search for Caylee. Volunteers are expected to convene today near the Anthony home in the Lee Vista area at 8 a.m. to begin searching for Caylee, said Mandy Albritton, search director of Texas EquuSearch, an organization that looks for missing people.

The search command center is located in the parking lot behind the Holiday Inn Select, 5750 T.G. Lee Blvd., near Orlando International Airport.

Broward deputies Taser mentally ill inmate twice in court

A Broward circuit judge had ruled the man, 22, was mentally incapable to stand trial
Joel Marino South Florida Sun-Sentinel August 30, 2008

FORT LAUDERDALE - Upset by a judge's ruling, a mentally ill defendant asked deputies to let him catch his breath before they carted him from the Broward Circuit Court back to jail on Friday, his lawyer said.

The deputies told him he had to go, according to Assistant Public Defender Anne LeMaster, and when he resisted, they shocked him with a Taser -- twice.

The county's Public Defender's Office says the deputies used excessive force and filed a complaint with the Broward Sheriff's Office. David Jones, 22, the inmate, was handcuffed and shackled, LeMaster said."It just seems as though Tasering was not necessary in this case," said Doug Brawley, head of the Public Defender's mental health division.

Jones asked for a brief break after Judge Geoffrey Cohen ruled the inmate was mentally incapable to stand trial and ordered transferred to a state mental hospital, LeMaster said.

Jones faces several charges from an April 21 arrest, including domestic battery by strangulation. Two deputies told him he had to leave. LeMaster said they tried to get Jones to stand up and one punched him in the face when he resisted. She said they then shocked him with a stun gun.

"He told them to remove the prongs and then became very abrasive," she said. "When they didn't, he said 'Why don't you just Tase me again?'" They did, she said.

Jones was hospitalized, but it was unknown if he returned to the Broward Main Jail on Friday night. "Any time a Taser is used, it's well documented and we'll look into it," said sheriff's spokesman Jim Leljedal.

Deputies arrest Casey Anthony, take her to jail

Cool! Just like on Law & Order!

Amy L. Edwards, Sarah Lundy and Walter Pacheco
Sentinel Staff Writers
August 29, 2008

Orange County Sheriff's deputies arrived at the Anthony home shortly before 8:30 p.m. More than half dozen vehicles - some marked and some unmarked - pulled up to the house. The lead detective - Yuri Melich - got out and went inside the home.

Moments later, the door cracked open, showing Casey Anthony inside standing near Sgt. John Allen, who is supervising the investigation. The crowd who was gathered outside cheered. Someone yelled, "she's in handcuffs."

At 8:33 p.m., deputies escorted her out with her hands cuffed behind her back. She showed little emotion as detectives put her in the front of an unmarked patrol car. She was wearing a t-shirt with Caylee's picture on the front and read "Have you seen me?"

Some in the crowd yelled "murderer" and "baby killer." It's unclear on what charges deputies are taking in custody for.

Casey Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, released a statement after his client's latest arrest. "This is nothing more than an attempt by law enforcement to play mind games with my client. They leaked the arrest to the media and deliberately avoided telling me so she could turn herself in in a dignified fashion. They clearly wanted the media to capture my client is the worse possible light. Coincidentally, I was on the phone with her when police arrived at her home to arrest her."

"What's clear is that law enforcement is more interested in making my client look bad than finding Caylee who's still missing and likely in danger."

EARLIER STORY: More than two dozen people tonight are milling around Hopespring Drive outside the home of Casey Anthony -- the mother of missing 3-year-old Caylee Marie. Some started yelling at the house. One woman who identified herself as Kittie Gonzalez walked by the house chanting "Casey is a murderer! She needs to go back to jail!"

Casey Anthony's mother, Cindy, came outside and spoke to Gonzalez for several minutes. As reporters swarmed the two, Anthony invited Gonzalez inside to sit down and talk. She asked her to calm down so her blood pressure would not rise. Gonzalez asked Cindy Anthony if she asked her daughter where Caylee is located. "Yes and she doesn't know," Cindy Anthony replied.

Other people began yelling at Anthony and eventually she went back inside. Two women in a Ford Explorer drove by with "Rot in jail Casey Anthony" written on the window. Two teenagers and a 23-year-old from Christmas showed up carrying signs that read "Casey Anthony is a baby murderer and Rot in Jail" and "Who is the bigger liar? Cindy Anthony or Killer Casey? May God have mercy on you. God knows the truth and so does detectives. Baby killer!"

"She deserves to go in jail," said Ashley Griffin, 23, as she stood on the sidewalk in front of the Anthony house. James Harris, 15, who was there with his sister and mother, agreed."The baby is dead," he said.

Harris's mother, Cathy, said they plan to be out there every night at 7 p.m. She was there when members of Texas-based EquuSearch, a group of volunteers that help search for missing people, arrived in and went inside the house. When Cindy Anthony opened the door for the volunteers, Cathy Harris yelled "liar!" Not everyone had a sign. One woman said she showed up to represent the good babysitters out there.

A Texas group of volunteers plans to join the search for Caylee Marie and has set up a command center in the Lee Vista area. The group, EquuSearch, will start sending volunteers out to search areas on Saturday morning. The locations are being figured out tonight, said the director Mandy Albritton. They use horses, dogs, choppers, divers and other resources to search for missing people. One of their tools is a remote-controlled plane that shoots pictures over wooded areas and bodies of water.

"We came in at the request of the Anthonys and in cooperation with the Orange County sheriff's office," Albritton said. "Our mission is search and rescue and we are still hoping that we will find Caylee alive." The group met with Caylee's grandmother, Cindy Anthony, today. More than a dozen volunteers have been arriving in Orlando this week to help search for the missing toddler.

Volunteers must be at least 18 years old and must bring a driver's license. They will register and be briefed before being sent out in groups of 7 to 10 people. Officials suggest volunteers who plan to do ground searches should wear long pants and sun screen, Albritton said. Joining in the search for Caylee is Beth Holloway, whose daughter Natalee Holloway was reported missing during a high school trip to Aruba in 2005...

Albritton and others set up the command center in the parking lot behind the Holiday Inn, off T.G. Lee Boulevard, near the Orlando International Airport. More volunteers are expected over the weekend from Miami-Dade County. She said the search will be costly - possibly more than $20,000 - and will accept donations, including ice, water, food and even a copy machine.

Meanwhile, bounty hunter Leonard Padilla has apparently changed his mind and told the Orlando Sentinel he no longer plans to revoke Casey Anthony's bond on Saturday and send her back to jail. On Thursday, Padilla told the Sentinel he feared for Anthony and her family's safety, and that's why he planned to put her back in jail. He said he and the bondsmen responsible for posting Anthony's $500,200 bond last week would revoke it on Saturday.

But at noon Friday, Padilla told th e Sentinel he spoke with Anthony's defense attorney, Jose Baez, about the security concerns.Padilla said he told Baez, "I want these changed because I don't feel comfortable." "If he takes care of those by this afternoon or by tomorrow we won't revoke [the bond]," Padilla said.

Padilla said people have called and e-mailed threatening to kill Anthony. He would not say what the safety concerns are and referred those questions to Baez. A telephone message and e-mail sent to Baez have not been returned. Meanwhile, e-mails released Friday morning by the State Attorney's Office shows that Baez approached Orange County investigators on July 25 about meeting with prosecutors about a possible limited immunity.

Prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick e-mailed Baez on July 29, saying she had not heard from him about what information Anthony could provide. As part of the deal, Anthony would have to waive - in writing - any evidence obtained as a result of her statements to investigators, Drane Burdick wrote.

On August 25, Drane Burdick sent another e-mail to Baez about the immunity they discussed on Aug. 12 and how it will expire on Thursday, Aug. 28."By that date, you will have had sufficient 'private time' with you client to determine if she wishes to participate in locating her child," she wrote. Since then, that deadline has been extended to Tuesday at 9 a.m.

"If you would like to attend to this matter over the Labor Day weekend, please send an e-mail to my work e-mail address and I will be able to retrieve it immediately on my Blackberry," Drane Burdick said. There was little activity outside Anthony's home this morning as the 22-year-old headed to Baez's office for yet another afternoon. Baez's office is one of the few places the mother of missing 3-year-old Caylee Marie is allowed to go. No reporters saw Anthony get into the minivan to go to Baez's office because the vehicle was in the closed garage.

Anthony's mother Cindy briefly opened her garage door this morning and stepped outside, but said nothing to reporters. The family recently posted "no trespassing" signs in their front yard. A woman, who only identified herself as a "friend," left the Anthony's Lee Vista-area home this morning and said they will find Caylee."

A lot of departments that are supposed to be trying to search with the tips they've received that are very -- the tips are right on target to where Caylee could be," the woman said before driving away. "No one's helping them. No one is helping them."

Meanwhile, State Attorney Lawson Lamar spoke Friday morning about the limited immunity offered to Anthony. He said prosecutors offered the immunity - which would only include her direct statements but other evidence generated from her information can be used at trial - weeks ago when they hoped Anthony may lead them to a live child. But that "hope is diminishing" with recent test results that prove a dead body was in the back of Anthony's car.

The limited immunity deal is off the table by 9 a.m. Tuesday. The lead prosecutor - Linda Drane-Burdick - is in daily contact with sheriff's investigators. An Orange County sheriff's official disclosed earlier this week that air-sample tests from Anthony's abandoned car showed the vehicle once held a decomposing human body."I think [Caylee's] dead," Padilla said Thursday. "I can't figure anybody else that would be in the trunk deceased."

At the same time, Anthony has made no effort to help him find Caylee, he said. Investigative findings detailed in 431 pages of legal documents released this week also made him question the mother's innocence. "You add all three of those up, and you're headed in one direction," Padilla said. Anthony was placed on home confinement after leaving the Orange County Jail on Aug. 21. Anthony spent more than a month behind bars before her bond was posted...

During a bail hearing in July, a sheriff's detective said investigators found strands of hair, a mysterious stain and dirt in the trunk of Anthony's Pontiac, which had been abandoned in a parking lot. A cadaver dog also alerted on the trunk, indicating the presence of human-decomposition odor.

That evidence led investigators to suggest that Caylee could be dead and her mother might be involved. On Thursday, tight-lipped sheriff's officials said they were continuing to look for Caylee as they receive analyses of the evidence by FBI and Florida Department of Law Enforcement laboratories. "We do not deal in assumptions," Capt. Angelo Nieves said. "We deal in factual information."

Larry Garrison, an Anthony family spokesman based in Los Angeles, refused to comment on the developments Thursday. He said he and the Anthony family are "outraged" at the Sentinel and would not speak to its reporters.

6 year old Bitten by Shark off New Smyrna Beach

08 May 2008

DELTONA, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35 ORLANDO) –

Officials say a 6-year-old boy was bitten in the foot by a shark off the waters of New Smyrna Beach.

Authorities say the boy was bitten Wednesday morning no morethan a couple of yards from the shore. His injury was minor. He received stitches at the hospital.

It's the 11th shark bite this year in Volusia County.

Just last week, three surfers were bitten on their leg or foot. Their injuries were also minor.

Shark bites teen at New Smyrna Beach

25 Jul 2008

New Smyrna Beach, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35, Orlando) -- A teenager is in the hospital after a shark bite. It’s the second time a shark bite in New Smyrna Beach has landed a surfer in the hospital.

17 year old Ethan Fulton was surfing near Ponce Inlet with friends Friday morning when a shark clammed down on his right foot. The staff and the physicians in the Bert Fish emergency room assessed cleaned the wounds started dealing with it and determined surgery was needed says Gary Mac, spokesperson for Bert Fish Medical Center.

Scott Petersohn with Volusia County Beach Patrol says Fulton’s friends never called his lifeguards for help. Petersohn says Fulton’s friends loaded him into a car then headed to the hospital.

During the trip, Petersohn says, Fulton began to lose consciousness so the friends stopped and called for help. According to Fulton’s father that’s not all his sons friends did. They did use a surfboard leash to put a tourniquet above the knee says Bruce Fulton.

Bondsman: Casey Anthony going back to jail on Saturday

Walter Pacheco, Bianca Prieto and Amy L. Edwards

Sentinel Staff Writer
August 28, 2008

Casey Anthony's bond will be revoked Saturday and she will be booked back into the Orange County Jail, bounty hunter Leonard Padilla just told the Orlando Sentinel. Padilla, the bounty hunter who helped bail Anthony out of jail last week, said he fears for Anthony and her family's safety.

Padilla also just told the Sentinel he no longer thinks Anthony's 3-year-old daughter Caylee Marie is alive. Officials said Wednesday that air-sample tests from Anthony's car showed it once held a decomposing human body.

"I think she's dead," Padilla said. "I can't figure any body else that would be in the trunk deceased." Padilla said of that information, coupled with other recently revealed investigative findings and the fact Anthony refuses to speak with him to help find Caylee: "You add all three of those up and you're headed in one direction." Padilla said he and the bondsmen who helped bond Anthony out of jail are not going to revoke her bond Friday because she has a scheduled appointment to meet with her attorney Jose Baez. "It's just a courtesy," he said.

Anthony was at Baez's office for several hours today and left quickly without speaking to reporters just after 3 p.m. Baez will not be making a statement to the press today. Padilla said neither Anthony nor her parents have talked to him about the plans to revoke her bail on Saturday. "She knows what's going on," Padilla said of Anthony. Al Estes, the Florida bondsman who actually posted the bond at the jail, was unavailable for comment Thursday morning and did not return a telephone message left at his office.

Padilla's comments come a day after air-sample tests from her car showed it once held a decomposing human body. Authorities investigating the Caylee's disappearance have offered Anthony a limited-immunity deal if she will lead them to the child, the Orlando Sentinel learned. If she takes the deal, the specific information Anthony provides could not be used against her by prosecutors.

The Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office would not discuss details of the inquiry Wednesday, but spokeswoman Danielle Tavernier said Anthony has been "invited to our office to shed light on the disappearance of the victim in this case." During a bail hearing in July, investigators said they had found strands of hair, a stain and dirt in the trunk of Anthony's white Pontiac, which had been left in a parking lot. That evidence led investigators to suggest that Caylee could be dead and that her mother might be involved.

Family members publicly dismissed the strong odor in the car, saying it must have come from a spoiled pizza. But during the July 15 phone call in which Cindy Anthony -- the missing girl's grandmother -- reported the disappearance, she said it "smelled like there's been a dead body in the damn car." Samples of air from the car were sent to the University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Center near Knoxville, where researchers gather data on how bodies decay and other information to help law-enforcement agencies determine time of death. A police dog trained to detect human decomposition also indicated the presence of a body in the trunk, sheriff's investigators have disclosed.

On Wednesday, Baez said detectives had not given him information about the anthropology center's findings. He said the information leaked to reporters and the resulting speculation "was very disappointing and shocking to us."

About 2:45 p.m. Wednesday, sheriff's Sgt. John Allen, the supervisor on the case, and three FBI agents arrived at Baez's office, where the lawyer was meeting with Casey and Cindy Anthony. Casey Anthony -- wearing big sunglasses and a T-shirt with Caylee's picture on the front -- left about 20 minutes later. She rode alone in the back of a vehicle driven by a bounty hunter associated with the man who helped bail Anthony out of jail earlier this month. She has been charged with child neglect and giving false information in the case.

At 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, Cindy Anthony walked out with Baez, giving no comment to reporters. The two climbed into Baez's car, and he drove her home. She left her Toyota sport utility vehicle, which has "Missing" posters about Caylee on the doors. Allen and three men with him left without commenting.

Baez would not give any details about the meeting but said no plea deal was discussed. When asked how Casey Anthony was doing, the lawyer replied: "This doesn't help any. . . . We are doing the best we can." Earlier in the day -- before news of the air samples and the possible legal deal -- the California bounty hunter who secured Casey Anthony's release said she has made no effort to help him find Caylee.

"She has not communicated with us at all," Leonard Padilla said. "She has no interest in communicating with us."Padilla, whose nephew posted Anthony's $500,200 bail last week, said that if he knew then what he knew now about the case -- and that the 22-year-old wouldn't cooperate with him -- he probably would not have helped get her out of jail.

Padilla said he still thinks Caylee is alive and that Anthony handed her off to someone. But he dismissed the story that the toddler disappeared in mid-June after being dropped off with a baby sitter named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez, which is what Anthony has told detectives."We don't believe [Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez] exists," Padilla said. Anthony's "got an invisible friend that's called Zenaida," he said. "She's got a world that she lives in that's apart from ours."

Caylee Anthony wasn't a child who was wanted, court records show

Amy L. Edwards, Sarah Lundy and Bianca Prieto

Sentinel Staff Writers
August 26, 2008

Casey Anthony wanted to give up her unborn child for adoption. But those plans were nixed by her mother, who insisted she keep the baby.

These new details and dozens more about Anthony, her family and her missing daughter, Caylee Marie, were made public for the first time Monday when prosecutors released more than 431 pages of documents in response to an Orlando Sentinel public records request...

The documents include interviews with Anthony's friends, who depict her as a caring mother and are shocked by the disappearance. Yet the same friends say Anthony lied and stole. Writings on MySpace show a family in turmoil. Detectives seeking the truth questioned Anthony but got little in response.

Among the investigators' findings:

*Anthony's mother, Cindy Anthony, posted a lengthy message on the social-networking site MySpace on July 3 -- nearly two weeks before Caylee was reported missing -- "This precious little angel from above gave me strength and unconditional love . . . Jealousy has taken her away. Jealousy from the one person that should be thankful for all of the love and support given to her . . . "

*A posting titled "diary of days" that appeared on Casey Anthony's MySpace page July 7 stated: " . . . What is given, can be taken away. Everyone lies. Everyone dies. Life will never be easy. . . . " Anthony posted the message while she was apparently watching American Psycho, a horror movie about a New York executive who is also a serial killer.

*Anthony's ex-fiance' Jesse Grund discovered she had deleted more than 200 photos of her and her with Caylee that were online.

*Childhood friend Kiomarie Torres Cruz said that during Casey Anthony's pregnancy, she wanted to put the baby up for adoption. Cruz told Anthony she would be interested in adopting the unborn child because she couldn't have children herself. Cruz said she thought Anthony was bipolar. At times, Anthony would ask her something one day, and then would not remember later that she asked the question.

*Longtime friend Ryan Pasley got a call from Cindy Anthony earlier this summer. He said she warned him against talking to Casey because "she's been lying about a lot of stuff and . . . stole money from her and her grandmother." Cindy Anthony called her daughter a "sociopath." When asked what would make Casey Anthony open up to detectives, Pasley replied, "the fear of God."

*Ricardo Morales said when he dated Anthony, she often brought Caylee to his home. All three slept in the same bed. "I feel like the person we're talking about now and the person I knew before are two different people," he said.

*Anthony Lazzaro, Anthony's most recent boyfriend whom she met online, said she was a loving and caring mother. Though he said Anthony "pretty much shacked up here," he saw Caylee only a few times. Anthony would tell Lazzaro that Caylee was at Walt Disney World or the beach and repeatedly would say they stayed an extra day. He felt "weird" about that. He described Anthony as being "a perfect girlfriend." While she stayed with him, Anthony did his laundry, cleaned and cooked.

*On July 2 or July 3, Anthony got a tattoo, "Bella Vita," which means "Beautiful Life," on her shoulder. On July 15, she went back to the tattoo parlor and made an appointment for herself and a friend for July 19.

*Simon Birch, a manager at the wrecker yard where Anthony's vehicle was towed June 30, noticed the odor from her vehicle. When Anthony's father, George Anthony, picked up the car July 15, the manager said the vehicle smelled like another once stored on the lot -- in which a man had committed suicide.

*Anthony's friend Amy Huizenga said Anthony "is someone who starts believing her lies." She said Anthony brought Caylee to a few adult parties held at night, which Huizenga didn't like. When questioned by detectives, Huizenga said, "I think something accidentally happened . . . Casey freaked out. I don't know how she solved that problem. But then created this story in her head . . . "

*On July 16, the day Anthony was arrested, detectives pressed her for truthful answers. A detective asked, " . . . Unless we start getting the truth, we're going to announce two possibilities with Caylee. Either you gave Caylee to someone that you don't want anyone to find out because you think you're a bad mom. Or something happened to Caylee and Caylee's buried somewhere or in a trash can somewhere and you had something to do with it . . . Either way, right now it's not a very pretty picture to be painting."

The detective continued, "Everything you've told us is a lie. Every single thing.

Anthony replied, "No it isn't."

Near the end of the interview, Anthony admitted she should have notified authorities sooner."I didn't want to involve a bunch of people that maybe didn't know the situation. The biggest mistake was not calling you guys right off the bat. . . . But the worse [sic] is I've done this to my daughter by allowing her to still be with a baby sitter."

Joseph Edward Duncan III: Molester admitted 3 other child deaths

Tuesday, August 26, 2008
By REBECCA BOONE

Associated Press Writer

BOISE, Idaho — A convicted murderer confessed that he killed three children before his 2005 attack on a northern Idaho family that left four people dead, an FBI agent told a federal jury.

FBI Agent Mike Sotka testified that after Joseph Edward Duncan III was caught at a Denny's restaurant with a kidnapped 8-year-old girl, he eventually confessed to the 1996 slayings of half-sisters Sammiejo White and Carmen Cubias in Seattle and the 1997 slaying of Anthony Martinez in Riverside County, Calif.

Authorities are trying to convince jurors at Duncan's federal sentencing hearing that the convicted child molester should be executed for the kidnapping, torture and murder of 9-year-old Dylan Groene in 2005. Duncan has already been convicted in state court of murdering the boy's older brother, mother and stepfather at their Coeur d'Alene area home.

Testimony in the case was to resume Tuesday.

At Duncan's request, an attorney advising him asked U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge to bar the testimony about Sammiejo, Carmen and Anthony, saying it was irrelevant and prejudicial.
Since the jury only has the choice of imposing the death penalty or life without parole when it comes to sentencing Duncan, there's no likelihood he could prey on children in the future, the attorney, Mark Larranaga, said.

But Lodge sided with Assistant U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson, who argued the confessions to multiple murders show a lifelong pattern of violence.

"All of his crimes ... certainly illustrate that he could be a danger in the prison setting," Olson said.

Margaret Delaney, the mother of Sammiejo, 9, and Carmen, 11, sobbed frequently on the stand as she testified about the day her daughters disappeared.

Delaney said she left the two girls with their 15-year-old brother and another younger sibling with instructions to stay at a motel where they were staying. Then Delaney went to pick up a change of clothing for the children and to a friend's house where she could get money to buy some groceries.

While she was gone, the two girls decided to walk to a nearby fast food restaurant to see if they could get some food, Delaney said.

Their bodies were found months later in a suburban subdivision in Bothell, Wash. Duncan said he grabbed the girls on an impulse, and that he killed them by hitting them in the head with a crowbar, Sotka testified.

Anthony's stepfather, Ernesto Medina, told the jury about the day his 10-year-old boy disappeared, April 4, 1997. Medina said he was in his apartment with his wife, mother-in-law and 4-year-old daughter when he heard other children outside screaming "A man's got Tony! A man's got Tony!"

Medina called 911, then jumped in his car and began searching the neighborhood, thinking the abductor was on foot.

Vultures in a remote part of a canyon led authorities to the little boy's body, bound with duct tape and partially buried under a pile of rocks.

The boys who had been playing with Tony Martinez before his abduction reported that a man in a white car had offered them a dollar each to help him find his lost cat. After looking for a time they approached the car to get their money, and that's when the man grabbed Tony.

Sotka said Duncan told him he bludgeoned the boy with a rock that he found at the scene and wasn't sure whether the child was dead when he left him in the desert, but knew the wound was fatal. Duncan also said he taped the boy's mouth shut to stop him from crying out, because he'd been haunted by hearing Carmen scream "No!" after seeing her older sister murdered, Sotka said.

Authorities matched a partial fingerprint found on a roll of the duct tape near the body with Duncan's thumbprint, Richard Kinney, a fingerprint expert with the California attorney general's office, told the jury. Prosecutors in Riverside County have charged Duncan in Anthony's slaying and are seeking the death penalty.

King County sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart said from Seattle on Monday that Duncan remains a "person of interest" in the murders of the two Seattle girls but has not been charged.

Of the seven people Duncan has acknowledged killing, only two are adults _ the rest are between the ages of 9 and 13. All but one were bludgeoned to death. Dylan Groene was shot twice.

Shasta Groene was rescued when Duncan was arrested in July 2005. Bless her soul.

FBI: Couple Offered Sex With Girl, 5, for Used Car

Sunday, August 24, 2008
Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio couple is accused of trying to trade sex with the woman's 5-year-old daughter for an apartment, a used car and child care for her 10-month old daughter.

Jennifer Richards, 25, and her married boyfriend, Sean Michael Block, 40, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Stein Nowak on Friday. Richards is charged with using interstate facilities to transmit information about a minor. Block is charged with distributing child pornography.

Nowak ordered Block held. Richards' detention hearing was delayed until Tuesday, the San Antonio Express-News reported Sunday.

According to an affidavit unsealed last Tuesday, the investigation began when an informant told the FBI about a text message allegedly sent by Block reading: "Nice piece 5 yrs old belongs to my gf and she wants to sell it."

Richards and Block crafted a deal that, in addition to the apartment and used car, included child care for Richards' 10-month-old daughter, whose sexual service the couple intended to sell later, Rex Miller, the FBI's lead agent on the case, testified.

The couple had also hoped to blackmail the informant, Miller said.

Richards "was of the belief that these sexual interactions would be a positive experience for (her daughter) and that Richards would receive sexual gratification" from watching, according to the affidavit.

Authorities said both children are no longer in Richards' custody and that neither child was sold for sex.

After reviewing computers the couple used and listening to taped conversations, Miller determined Block and Richards were making further plans to abduct, rape and "carve up" a teenage runaway.

Block allegedly sent an e-mail with a link to a Russian child pornography site, according to the affidavit.

Ronald Guyer, Block's lawyer, acknowledged the severity of the charges. But Guyer told the judge that there was no evidence that the behavior progressed beyond Block's fantasy.
"There has been no action on his part," Guyer told Nowak.

Richard's attorney did not immediately return a call or e-mail left Sunday by The Associated Press seeking comment.

The couple worked at the Cheesecake Factory at North Star Mall, where he was a bartender and she was a waitress.

Court records show that Block's now-estranged wife Sarah Block filed for a protective order earlier this week on behalf of the couple's 14-month-old child. Her lawyer said she filed for divorce Friday.

Leonard Padilla, Bounty Hunter: I Know Who Has Caylee Anthony

ORLANDO -- Bounty hunter Leonard Padilla came to Central Florida to pay the more than $500,000 bond to get Casey Anthony out of jail.

Padilla said he thought having her out would lead to Caylee's safe return. But on Sunday night Padilla said he thinks Casey handed off Caylee to a friend, because she was trying to get away from her parents.

He said he knows who has the girl and is giving them a deadline to turn her over before he goes after them. Meanwhile, Casey Anthony will report to the jail Monday to meet with her case manager for a weekly visit.

I think this guy is a great big blow-hard. I'm totally unimpressed with the howdy-doody outfits and tough talk. It's really going to hurt when he swallows that toothpick.

Arrest reports, other documents released in Casey Anthony case

Amy L. Edwards and Sarah Lundy

Sentinel Staff Writers
August 25, 2008

The State Attorney's Office just released more than 400 pages of court documents -- including arrest reports, transcripts of interviews with witnesses, poems on MySpace and pictures of Caylee as part of the Casey Anthony case.

The release was in response to a public record's request made by the Orlando Sentinel.

Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, tried to get the state to delay the release by filing a motion for a temporary injunction. Orange Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland denied Baez's request this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Anthony met with her home confinement case manager this afternoon. The case manager told Anthony, 22, she was allowed to meet with her attorney this afternoon, but she must return to her family's Lee Vista-area home by 6 p.m.

According to the Orange County Corrections Department, Anthony is allowed to leave her home at the following times:

Wednesday: Attorney visit. Out at 10 a.m. Return by 4 p.m.

Friday: Attorney Visit. Out at 10 a.m. Return by 4 p.m.

Sunday: Church. Out at 10 a.m. Return by 2:30 p.m. (weekly until further notice)

Sept. 2: Case Manager visit. Out at 12:30 p.m. Return by 3:30 p.m.

(weekly case manager visits will be on Mondays but will be on Tuesday next week due to a county holiday)

Check back for updates on the content of the court documents. Now, this is going to be interesting.

Casey Talking Freely With Parents

Friday, August 22, 2008

ORLANDO -- The Anthony family spokesman, Larry Garrison, said Caylee Anthony’s mother, Casey, is talking freely with her parents, and helping with new leads into the whereabouts of the missing 3-year-old.

Casey Anthony was released Thursday after spending over a month in jail.

Garrison said he has no doubt the child was kidnapped, and Casey is worried about her well-being.

He also said she was providing more details she couldn't give in jail, but he refused to go into details.

Prairie dogs possibly help aquifer

BY LAURA BAUER
Kansas City Star

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Jeffrey Harsh admits he would try just about anything to save the prairie dog.

Not content to sit and watch counties and landowners across the Plains wipe the land clean of the critters, he wants to do something -- plead the case of the prairie dog, if you will.

His recent plea has some wildlife preservationists nodding their heads in agreement but others chuckling.

The theory -- espoused by others over the years -- is that by burrowing the land above one of the world's largest underground water supplies, prairie dogs loosen the soil and allow rain to seep through and recharge it.

More prairie dogs throughout the Plains would mean more rainwater into the dwindling Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies water to eight states, including Kansas.

"Prairie dogs can penetrate the zone (of the Ogallala) that rainwater can't do on its own," said Harsh, who owns an animal refuge in western Kansas' Logan County. "People have deemed them as being from the dark side... but, yes, the prairie dog is a major player in allowing the aquifer to be replenished."

Some say that's just a myth, one more effort to save the prairie dogs. Many farmers and ranchers have maintained that the animals cause havoc on their land. Through the years, their population has been significantly scaled back to a fraction of what it was.

The war over the critters has become so fierce it landed in a Logan County courtroom last year. One farmer, Larry Haverfield, understands the need for prairie dogs and wants them on his land. But when other farmers complained, the county intervened and did what state law allows counties to do: lay poison when landowners won't.

But as for that theory about the water supply? "Help recharge the (Ogallala) aquifer?" Joel Schneekloth, a regional water resource specialist with the Colorado State University extension, said with a laugh. "I've heard a lot of wild, goofy ideas, and this is one of them."

Schneekloth says there's no scientific evidence that one of cattle ranchers' worst nightmares could be a water-supply blessing. As Schneekloth put it: "In our business, we have to go with science and what you can prove."

OK, Harsh and some wildlife preservationists said, then do some analysis. See whether it's true. And do it soon.

"Do it before it's too late, before they're all gone," Harsh said. "My goal is to lighten up on the poor critters. they are being obliterated."

Rare Ferrets Thriving

Rare ferrets seem to thrive
BY BECCY TANNER AND TRAVIS HEYING
The Wichita Eagle

Love blossomed on the Kansas prairie this spring and summer.

Some of the 24 rare black-footed ferrets reintroduced to western Kansas last December survived -- and at least four reproduced, wildlife volunteers confirmed after attempting to count the ferrets last week.

"The results have been superb," said Ron Klataske, executive director of Audubon of Kansas. The exact count is unknown. Klataske is hopeful that a third to half of the ferrets released in December survived.

The newest residents of Logan County are grouchy and reclusive. They can be spotted only briefly at night and are often tricky enough to avoid human contact.

But Thursday night, volunteers finally captured one of the ferret young. They checked his health, gave him a microchip and released him.

"He was chattering at us and barking at us. He was feisty," said Samantha Wisely, assistant biology professor at Kansas State University. "The moms are more mellow. They were captive raised and have seen people before. It was really nice to see a wild-born acting up and not wanting to be around people. He was doing his thing."

That's the best officials could have hoped for.

The young ferret is probably from the first litter of ferrets born in Kansas in more than 50 years.

Black-footed ferrets were believed to be extinct, until a small colony was found near Meeteetse, Wyo., in 1981. A successful captive breeding program has led to the reintroduction of the endangered species in several Plains states.

Federal wildlife officials hope to establish 10 self-sustaining populations across the nation by 2010, with 1,500 breeding adult ferrets. They plan to release an additional 30 ferrets on the same Logan County land in October.

Wildlife experts checked in on the ferrets last week to see how they were getting along.
All week long, beams of light scanned western Kansas cattle pastures like floodlights searching a prison yard.

The ferrets live in prairie dog holes and prey on prairie dogs. "Their eyes will be bright green," Klataske said. "Almost teal, really, and brighter than any other eyes you'll see out here." Wednesday night, volunteers like Klataske had little luck.

Klataske figured his best chance was to return to a prairie dog hole where a ferret had been seen the previous night. Much to his surprise, the hole had been filled in by prairie dogs attempting to entomb the small predator before it got to them.

Klataske dug out the hole, planted a trap, and hoped for the best, knowing it was unlikely the ferret would emerge from the same hole and into his trap.

The traps were checked hourly. In the meantime, Klataske continued searching the landscape for the bright green eyes. There was no shortage of jackrabbits, coyotes, deer and even a burrowing owl. But no ferrets.

Finally, at 5:30 a.m., Klataske's searchlights revealed what looked like two bright emeralds.
"It's a ferret!" he exclaimed. "And he's in the trap."

The ferret was a male. A microchip confirmed that it was one of the original 24 released last December. The ferret was sedated while biologists and veterinarians looked it over for ticks and parasites, vaccinated it and judged how it had been doing. All indications were that the animal was thriving.

Two hours after its capture, the ferret was taken back to the hole in a pet carrier and released. After a quick look around, it scurried into the hole.

Casey Anthony meets with lawyer for several hours

Susan Jacobson and Sarah Lund

Sentinel Staff Writers
August 23, 2008

A day after her release from jail with a monitor strapped to her ankle, Casey Anthony stayed out longer than the terms of her home-confinement allow but was given a one-time reprieve.

"We won't be doing this again," Orange County Corrections Department spokesman Allen Moore said.Anthony was scheduled to meet with her attorney, Jos� Baez, at his Kissimmee office, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday. The office called to ask for an extension to 5:30 p.m. and again at 5:27 p.m. to request 45 more minutes because of rain and traffic, Moore said. Anthony, 22, got home at 6 p.m., he said.

Meanwhile, Anthony is talking freely with her parents and helping them with new leads into the whereabouts of her missing daughter, Caylee Marie, 3, the family's spokesman said.

"There is no doubt that this child has been kidnapped," said spokesman Larry Garrison, who would not elaborate.Anthony, who is charged with child neglect and filing a false report, was released Thursday from the Orange County Jail.

Baez said in an e-mail: "The only person who Casey has made any statements concerning her case [to] since being arrested is myself."

Detectives have not received new information from Anthony or her attorney, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.Caylee was reported missing July 15 -- after Anthony said she hadn't seen the child for 31 days.Garrison also released a statement from Anthony's mother, Cindy, about media coverage.

"At what cost are you going to allow this media frenzy to affect my husband, my son and our well-being? All you want is your next picture. I refuse to see you cast aside the search for Caylee."

Bloggers Scouring Blanchard Park Woods In Missing Girl Mystery

Group Of Bloggers Find Clothes, Book Bags
August 17, 2008

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A group of Internet bloggers following the case of a missing Orlando girl have united and are searching wooded areas of Central Florida for the child in a mystery that continues to grab the nation's attention.

The group of bloggers scoured several wooded areas of Blanchard Park over the weekend for clues into the disappearance of missing Caylee Anthony.

The group found what they believe may be items of interest; two colorful book bags and some clothing hidden in the woods about a mile from a location where a car belonging to the Casey Anthony (Caylee's mother) was abandoned.

"Everyone's heart dropped," searcher Wyatt Locke said. "This is the first time in our search that everyone unanimously was like, 'Oh my gosh, this might be something.'"

A yellow sandal, a size-five pair of pants and a small tank top were also found in the woods.
Sheriff's deputies took possession of the found items and were trying to determine if they could be linked to the case.

The group plans to continue investigating the case.

"It is heart-wrenching," Locke said. "This is a little girl who has disappeared and been gone for two months. We want to help and want to find closure for this case. We are looking for anything. Anything and all that might give any type of information as to the whereabouts or what happened to her."

Searching for Bigfoot group to sue Georgia hoaxers

By CHRISTIAN BOONE, KATHY JEFCOATS
Wednesday, August 20, 2008

They claim their hoax was not for profit, but Atlanta residents Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer received $50,000 from a California Bigfoot tracker who now plans to sue to get the money back.

The two Georgia men’s tale of having found a Bigfoot carcass in the North Georgia woods really started to stink when California Bigfoot enthusiasts finally examined the body and found it was just a costume.

“There will be legal action” said Catherine Ortez, who works for Searching for Bigfoot, Inc. in in Menlo Park, Calif. The organization paid for rights to the men’s story and their find. “If this was a joke, it was very methodical and thought-out,” she said.

The Searching site was founded by Tom Biscardi, who authenticated and promoted the alleged Georgia Sasquatch. Biscardi, who did not return calls requesting comment, has his own credibility issues, according to a police officer in a nearby jurisdiction.

“He was involved in a similar hoax a few years back,” said Agent Dan Ryan with the Palo Alto (Calif.) Police Department.

In an interview with WSB-TV Wednesday night, Whitton and Dyer’s attorney, Steve Lister, blamed Biscardi for blowing his clients’ joke out of proportion.

“It started off as some YouTube videos and a Web site,” said Whitton, “We’re all about having fun.”

Whitton, 28, a Clayton County police officer for six years, was fired Tuesday after news of the hoax spread. Dyer, 31, is a former Clayton County corrections officer.

Though, according to their site, the pair are not averse to making money off their amusement. For $500, you can join them for a Bigfoot expedition. They also sell Sasquatch-related T-shirts and caps.

Repeated attempts to reach both men were unsuccessful, and Lister did not return calls seeking comment

Former La. police officer arraigned in Taser death

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

Associated Press Writer

August 21, 2008

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A former police officer accused of repeatedly jolting a handcuffed man with a Taser before he died pleaded not guilty Thursday to a manslaughter charge.

Scott Nugent, 21, also pleaded not guilty to a charge of malfeasance in office during his arraignment in court. The former Winnfield police officer was freed on $45,000 bond last week after a grand jury indicted him on both charges in connection with the death of Baron Pikes, 21.
Nugent faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted of the charges. Fired in May, he is appealing his dismissal.

Nugent allegedly shocked Pikes nine times with a 50,000-volt Taser while arresting the handcuffed man on a drug possession warrant Jan. 17, according to authorities.
Winn Parish coroner Randolph Williams ruled Pikes' death was a homicide.

George Higgins, one of Nugent's attorneys, called it "nonsense" for the coroner to conclude that the Taser jolts caused Pikes' death.

"It's not supported by science," Higgins said in a telephone interview after the arraignment.
A study released in June by the National Institute of Justice didn't find any "conclusive medical evidence" that exposure to so-called conducted energy devices, including Tasers, carries a high risk of serious injury or death.

Taser International Inc. spokesman Steve Tuttle said he couldn't discuss the Winnfield case because it involves an "ongoing legal matter."

"However, it should be noted that there are facts in this case that are disputed, including the findings of the medical examiner, and urge that judgment be withheld until the legal proceedings are complete," Tuttle said in a statement.

Taser International says it has sold more than 365,000 of its devices to more than 13,000 law enforcement agencies.

Amnesty International has identified 332 cases in the U.S. since 2001 in which people died after police struck them with a Taser, Amnesty researcher Angela Wright said Thursday.

Autopsy reports in more than 40 of those cases cited the Taser as a contributing factor in the death, but medical examiners usually attributed the cause of death to other factors, such as drug intoxication, Wright said.

"It's very rare that officers are charged" with a crime in connection with a Taser death, she added.

Nugent is scheduled to return to court Oct. 23 for a hearing on motions in the case. A tentative date for his jury trial is also expected to be set then, authorities said.

Last week, the mother of Pikes' 4-year-old son filed a wrongful death suit in federal court against city officials, Nugent and Taser International.

Taser International says it has a nearly perfect record in product liability lawsuits, with all but one of those 73 cases resulting in a dismissal or a verdict favoring the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company.

In June, a federal jury in San Jose, Calif., held Taser International partially liable for the death of a man who had a Taser used on him during an arrest. The company was ordered to pay $1 million in compensatory damages and $5.2 million in punitive damages.

Drew's lawyer: Cops knew Stacy's scheme

August 21, 2008
BY JOE HOSEY Herald News

Drew Peterson's attorney claims the cops have known all along that his missing wife planned to split while he was sleeping and that one of her classmates advised her to spend only cash to keep from getting found.

Attorney Joel Brodsky said he learned of the supposed scheme when prosecutors turned over documents Wednesday related to a felony weapons charge filed against Peterson in May.

Stacy Peterson disappeared Oct. 28.

But a Joliet Junior College student told State Police Stacy Peterson had complained over drinks with him the day before her disappearance that she "wanted out of her marriage," according a complaint supplied by Brodsky.

During the conversation, the student suggested that Peterson should only spend cash and not use her credit card, so she wouldn't be located, the complaint said.

Peterson responded to the student that "if she was to leave, she would leave in the morning when Drew was asleep."

Brodsky redacted the name of the student.

Charles B. Pelkie, spokesman for Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow, confirmed Brodsky received documents as discovery in the gun case.

Casey Anthony at home with family

Walter Pacheco and Bianca Prieto

Sentinel Staff Writer
August 21, 2008

An entourage of vehicles, including the black Dodge Durango transporting Anthony from the Orange County Jail, converged at the Anthonys' home. The garage door opened, the Durango pulled in and the door rolled down.

The other vehicles left the property, except for a BMW. Her attorney's co-counsel Michael Walsh walked out of the house and escorted two men from the BMW into the home. He told reporters that Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, will make a statement after his client spends some time with her family.

Shortly afterward, a Domino's Pizza driver pulled up to the Anthony home and delivered a medium pizza.

Before arriving at her parent's house, her brother, Lee Anthony, asked reporters to step away from the sidewalk. The Anthonys did not comment about their daughter, but threatened to fend reporters off their property.

"Take the hose to them," yelled her mother, Cindy Anthony. The threat sent reporters off the property and into the street.

The 22-year-old mother of missing Caylee Marie had walked out of jail just after 10:30 a.m. under an umbrella and flanked by Baez and another man. She was wearing the same blue hooded top she wore on the day of her arrest -- more than one month ago. Anthony was visibly shaken and had a blank look on her face as dozens of media crews swarmed around her.

All three walked into the Durango and headed to her parent's home, where she will remain under home confinement. Anthony left the jail fitted with an electronic device on her ankle that will monitor her activity.

Once she arrives at her parent's home, "[Anthony] must immediately hook up the receiver to the phone line and wait 20 minutes to call the home confinement officer who is also her case manager," Allen said.

Anthony, whose 3-year-old daughter was reported missing July 15, has been at the Orange County Jail for more than a month. Clearwater bondsman Al Estes posted her $500,200 bail at the jail Wednesday evening.

Moore said that by the time Anthony leaves the jail, all three hurdles that had to be cleared before her release -- including the home confinement requirement -- should be satisfied. One was notifying the Orange County Sheriff's Office of her release from the jail and the last was undisclosed.

Anthony faces charges of child neglect, a felony; and filing a false report, a misdemeanor."She is going to help find Caylee," said Anthony's attorney, José Baez. "There are certain things that the police haven't pursued. We're going to pursue that."

Quidina Edwards read a statement on behalf of Robert Sabo, senior vice president of Financial Casualty & Surety Inc., the Texas company that backed the bond: "Personally, I believe that there is no punishment too severe for anyone that harms a child. However, I also believe in our Constitution and the vital function our industry serves in helping individuals with their constitutional rights."

Casey Anthony will not get out of jail today, bondsman says

Casey Anthony will remain behind bars for at least one more day while her attorney and bondsman work out the details.Bounty hunter Leonard Padilla said that he and his nephew, bondsman Tony Padilla, will try to post bond as early as Tuesday morning, he said earlier today.

The Padillas spent nearly two hours meeting with Anthony's attorney Jose Baez at his office in Kissimmee. Anthony has been in protective custody, away from other inmates, for 33 days.

Leonard Padilla said Anthony intends to stay with her parents when she is released. The family is allowing one of his bounty hunter associates to stay with them in order to keep an eye on Anthony.

This morning, Anthony, 22, rejected a visit with her parents at the Orange County Jail.Parents Cindy and George Anthony rescheduled their visit for Thursday at 9 a.m. Brother Lee Anthony has an appointment on Saturday at noon.

Bondsman Tony Padilla arrived Sunday afternoon at Orlando International Airport from California with the purpose of bailing Anthony out of jail.

However, Anthony must clear three holds at the jail before she can get out, jail officials said.

Two of the holds, notifying Orange County Sheriff's Office of the posting and a confidential, internal hold, could be cleared quickly.

But the third hold, relating to the home confinement condition of her bond, could take longer to resolve. Anthony's parents home, where she would be staying if released, must be wired with a regular land-line telephone with no special features like voicemail or call-waiting, jail spokesman Allen Moore said.

The phone line cannot be provided through a cable or internet company. Anthony cannot be released until the phone line is installed. Once the jail receives proof of this type of phone, Anthony could then be released.

Anthony, mother of missing 3-year-old Caylee Anthony, was arrested on July 16. She has been charged with child neglect and filing false official statements.

Tony Padilla Bail Bonds, based in Sacramento, is affiliated with Texas-based Financial Surety, which is licensed in Florida.

Another Man Dead After Tasered By Police

MIAMI -- A South Florida man is dead after being Tasered by police Friday morning.

Police said Kenneth Oliver was acting strangely, knocking on people's doors in the middle of the night and screaming for help.

When police arrived in the neighborhood, they told Oliver to get down and put his hands behind his back.

Witnesses said they saw police use a Taser three different times when Oliver did not comply.

Miami-Dade police have not commented on the death, but said an investigation was under way to determine what exactly happened.

Casey Cancels Another Visit With Brother

ORLANDO -- The mother of missing toddler Caylee Anthony has cancelled yet another visit at the Orange County Jail.

Casey Anthony cancelled a visit with her brother, Lee, scheduled for Saturday afternoon, on the advice of her counsel.

News 13 has also learned Casey's defense lawyers visited her Friday night.

This could be the last week Casey Anthony spends in jail, as California bounty hunter and bail bondsman Leonard Padilla said he was coming to Orlando to post the $500,000 bond needed for her release.

Padilla and his nephew are set to fly into Orlando International Airport at 4 p.m. Sunday. The two will try to schedule a meeting with Casey's lawyer, Jose Baez. The bounty hunters said they are hoping to post the bond Monday.

Leonard Padilla said they are doing this to "find the baby, we do not believe that the baby, that the 3-year-old, is dead," Padilla said. "We believe that she [Casey] misplaced her, did something wrong, but we don't believe that she's dead. However, if it turns up that something happened, nothing is lost. It means she's going to be under 24-hour surveillance."

Padilla has been in the bounty-hunting business for over 30 years, and said he is confident he can help solve the case of Caylee Anthony. George and Cindy's next visit will be Monday at 9 a.m. Casey Anthony is expected back in court on Aug. 21.

Bounty Hunter To Bond Out Casey Anthony

Saturday, August 16, 2008

ORLANDO -- A California bounty hunter and a bail bondsman are expected to come to Central Florida to bail Casey Anthony out of jail.

News 13 spoke with bounty hunter Leonard Padilla, and his nephew, Tony Padilla, who is a bail bondsman.

They said they'll be flying into Orlando International Airport around 4 p.m. Sunday, and will try to schedule a meeting with Casey's lawyer, Jose Baez.

They said they are hoping to post the $500,000 bond on Monday. The Padillas said they're doing this to "find the baby."

"We do not believe that the baby, that the 3-year-old is dead,” said Leonard Padilla. “We believe that she misplaced her, did something wrong, but we don't believe that she's dead. However, if it turns up that something happened, nothing is lost. Means she's gonna be under 24-hour surveillance."

Leonard has been in the business for over 30 years and said he is confident he can help solve this case. Casey has been in jail since last month on a charge of child neglect.

Anthonys Hire Spokesperson

According to the Associated Press, the Anthonys have hired Larry Garrison to be their spokesperson, and answer any media-related questions. The appointments come days after several outbursts from George Anthony against the media frenzy surrounding the case.

Garrison said he took on the case because he believes Caylee is alive, and said the media circus has to stop. “I've seen a lot of crazy things, but the spin here, I've never seen anything this crazy and blown out of proportion, and most definitely we all know that the truth comes out in the end,” said Garrison.

Garrison has worked on several high profile cases, co-authored a book on the disappearance of Natalie Holloway, and was a spokesman for the family of John Mark Karr, the man who gained notoriety for falsely confessing to the murder of JonBenet Ramsey.

Matthew Wilson: Missing from Houston since December :Rice student called streets home

A Rice University computer science student whose disappearance eight months ago made national news was discovered not begging in the streets or roughing it in the wilderness, but using a laptop at the University of California, Berkeley.

Matthew Wilson, 21, was arrested late Wednesday and held for psychological evaluation after campus police came across him in a classroom after hours.
Some of those involved in the search suspect Wilson got involved with a group that rejects society, instead choosing to live on the streets.

The bespectacled Wilson was dressed in black, had shaved off his bushy red beard and told police he'd been living in the streets.

Asked for his name, Wilson said he was "Colin Lynch," then gave his real name when pressed. He will face criminal charges upon his release from a hospital, said Mitch Celaya, an assistant police chief for the university.

"When he is cleared we will take custody of him and process him," Celaya said.
The specifics of Wilson's evaluation were confidential.

Among the potential charges are lying to a peace officer about his identity, possession of stolen property and trespassing, Celaya said.

The serial number was scratched off the Sony laptop Wilson was using and he also had someone else's checkbook, Celaya said.

Investigators want to know if Wilson has any connection to a campus crime wave that involved stealing laptops and other items from students' backpacks.

Living on the streets

Later, while he was being questioned at the Berkeley police station, Wilson told a detective he'd been living on the streets for a few months.

"He shared with the detective that he had decided in December to come West and disappear and he felt that going West was a good place to disappear," said Sgt. Mary Kusmiss of the Berkeley Police Department, which has been working with Rice police and the University of California, Berkeley.

"(Wilson) also told the detectives that the student community is a good source of food, so he spent most of his days moving among the university student population," Kusmiss said. "It is the kind of culture and environment where somebody can blend in and disappear."

She said Wilson was aware people were looking for him and that he hadn't made any friends since coming to Berkeley.

Wilson's mother said she knows her son is going through rough times, but is thankful he is alive. "You don't know how good I feel about this. It is better than anything in the world," Cathy Wilson said from her home in Oklahoma as she prepared to head to California.

Wilson hadn't been seen by friends or family since withdrawing $500 from his bank account and mysteriously leaving Houston in December.

He failed to turn in his final exams at Rice and didn't say goodbye. Wilson had applied to four universities, including UC Berkeley, but enrolled at Rice because he received a full scholarship there, his mother said.

His disappearance touched off widespread speculation on what could have pushed him to abandon what many saw as a life of opportunity.

Wilson's silver Dodge Neon was found in June parked on a residential street in Berkeley.
When the car was towed away for impound, he essentially lost the only home he had, police said.

He then slept on campus, nestled between the outside walls of lecture halls and shrubbery, Kusmiss said.

His family said he hadn't touched his bank account or used his credit cards.

Bridget Melson, a psychotherapist and co-founder of Trinity Search and Recovery, which had been looking for Wilson at the request of his family, said he had apparently befriended a loose-knit alliance of societal rebels that encouraged people to reject society and live off the urban landscape.

"It is like, 'congratulations' if you can live the longest without getting a paycheck," she said. "Their goal is to kind of outsmart society. He did it for a little bit."

Working with some of the notes on anarchy left in Wilson's car, as well as some information gathered online, Melson's group created a profile of what he'd be doing.

He was fascinated with intense online computer games, such as World of Warcraft, and in January had registered to meet with a computer group in Berkeley. "He is very smart, and that is the typical MO for these kiddos," Melson said of his behavior.

No pressure

Cathy Wilson said she won't pepper him with questions about why he left or what he's been doing.

"I'm not going to say, 'Woe is me, Matthew, look what you've put me through,' " she said. "I want him to be all right. If he is living a good life, fine. If he is living on the streets, I'm not going to have that."

She suspects that the stress of trying to be excellent at school finally got to him.

As recently as two weeks ago, Cathy Wilson was on the Berkeley campus and the surrounding area to put up handbills about his disappearance.

B.J. Almond, a spokesman for the Rice University Police Department, said investigators are still gathering information about how Wilson was discovered. "We're real grateful to hear he's alive, but we're still trying to get all the facts straight," he said.

Wilson's family, along with Rice, had offered up to $25,000 for information on his whereabouts.
Demian Bulwa with the San Francisco Chronicle contributed to this report.

Well, if Cathy won't say it, I will. This little son-of-a-bastard needs to be flogged, then jailed until he has written a letter of apology to every person who offered up a prayer for his miserable soul. This is my fourth post about his having gone missing, plus for six months I had a permanent link to his missing poster. A spoiled gen-Yer. Makes me ill...

Casey Anthony: Jail house calls, video visits being withheld

Above: Don't forget who is missing: Caylee Marie Anthony, 3.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35, Orlando) -- The public will not be allowed to know the details of the conversation that took place between Casey Anthony and her parents George and Cindy during their jailhouse visit Thursday.

A detective with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office says all video of the Anthony visits are being withheld “due to a criminal investigative exemption.” This detective is the only one that can lift the exemption. The exemption includes past video conferences, and any future conferences.

George Anthony’s visit with his daughter August 3 was also withheld under this Florida statute.

For the first time since Casey Anthony has been jailed following the disappearance of her daughter, 3-year-old Caylee, we are getting an inside look of what exactly she is being given to eat.

A “jail menu” was released by the jail Thursday afternoon, outlying what each inmate is being fed for every meal. The menu is approved by a dietician and must also be signed off by the food service manager and client.

Casey’s breakfasts include a combination of cereal or grits, with sides of cheese, egg and bread. Bologna, turkey, salami or chili compromise the bulk of her lunch with sides of coleslaw or a different kind of vegetable. For dinner, Casey eats meatloaf, a pepper steak or chicken patty. Her dinner includes a vegetable, starch and dessert that is in the form of a cake or cookie.

Casey was arrested July 16 on charges of child neglect, lying to authorities and obstructing and investigation after she failed to report her daughter missing for more than one month. She remains behind bars on a $500,200 bond which her attorney, Jose Baez, made several appeals to have lowered, but was unsuccessful in doing so.

Thursday morning, Casey met with her parents via a video conference for 45 minutes at a visitation center across from the Orange County Jail.

After their visitation, George and Cindy Anthony remained stoic and silent as they exited the complex and got into their car.Thursday marked the first time since August 3 that Casey had allowed any family to visit.When George and Cindy first approached the jail Thursday, a reporter asked George how he felt about police saying Caylee could have died accidentally.

George became visibly upset and told the reporter to "shut up, shut up, shut up."

On Thursday, Casey Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, filed a subpoena requesting detailed information about the canines used in the case of missing 3-year-old Caylee.

Baez filed the paperwork with the Orange County Court this week. He is looking for information on any of the searches or examinations performed by the canines during the search for Caylee. Baez said he is asking for any videotape or audio from searches done at the grandparent's house, lakes, ponds or any bodies of water. He is also looking for the canines training records and certificates along with information on the deputies who handle the dogs.

He specifically wants to know just how accurate the dog’s performance is related to the day the canines smelled a strong scent of human decomposition in Casey Anthony’s trunk.The handler of the cadaver dog that picked up the scent of decomposition confirmed what his dog found in front of an Orange County judge.

It is testimony that has put a major question in the minds of many on whether or not the little girl is still alive. The sheriff’s office said they are still looking at this as a missing person’s case but on Wednesday, they admitted they are looking into all possibilities including accidental death.

Friday, August 15 marks exactly two months that Cindy Anthony says she last saw her granddaughter. The missing toddler was last seen on or around Father's Day, her family says. Casey told police she last saw her child with her nanny, Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez, but police have not determined this babysitter exists. She told police she attempted to find Caylee in her own way after her disappearance.

Casey's next scheduled visitor is her brother Lee, who is expected to visit her at 1:00 p.m. Saturday. Cindy and George plan to visit again on Monday.