They found Caylee...*Update In Red*

[mommanott]

Remains Linked to Missing Girl

By TAMARA LUSH

,

AP

posted: 48 MINUTES AGO

comments: 1716

filed under: Crime News, National News

 

      ORLANDO, Fla. (Dec. 12) -- A medical examiner found evidence among a child's remains that link them to the home of a missing toddler, the county sheriff said Friday, offering the strongest indication yet that the remains may be those of Caylee Anthony.

Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary said investigators searched the home early Friday after the medical examiner found "some clues that came out of the remains" that "linked it to the house." He would not say what clues were found.

 

   "We took some things out of the house that the forensic people are very interested in," he said.

The remains were found Thursday by a utility worker on a wooded lot less than a half-mile from the house where 3-year-old Caylee lived with her grandparents and her mother, 22-year-old Casey Anthony.

Casey Anthony was charged in October with first-degree murder, even though the toddler's body hadn't yet been found. She has insisted that she left the girl with a baby sitter in June, but she didn't report Caylee missing until July.

Beary said his investigators and the FBI would work around the clock and through the weekend to identify the child. CNN reported Friday that Anthony's attorneys said strands of hair and other features of the remains matched Caylee.

A judge on Friday denied a motion from the defense attorneys to inspect the remains.

Asked if he believed if the remains are Caylee, Beary said: "I think it's a good possibility, but I have to wait seven to 14 days for the DNA analysis."

There are no other similar missing-child cases in the area.

 

    "I say my prayers every day and one of them is to solve this case," said Beary, who is retiring in January. "I just hope that we solve the case on my watch."

If the skull found in an area that had until recently been flooded proves to be Caylee's, prosecutors will have the crucial evidence they need to convict Casey Anthony, legal experts said.

"If the defense had been able to go to trial without a body being discovered, hopes for reasonable doubt might have been compelling," former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey said. "(But) if the body proves to be Caylee, then it immediately becomes an uphill case for the defense."

Prosecutors announced last week that they would not seek the death penalty against Casey Anthony. Even if the remains are Caylee's, experts said it was unlikely the state would reverse its decision because prosecutors still have not determined a motive.

A spokeswoman with the state attorney's office said Thursday that officials wouldn't comment until the investigation was complete.

 

DNA tests confirm remains are Caylee Anthony

• By MARK WANGRIN, Associated Press Writer Mark Wangrin, Associated Press Writer - 6 mins ago

ORLANDO, Fla. - Skeletal remains found in the woods are the Florida 3-year-old who has been missing since June, but they don't reveal any clues about how she was killed, a county medical examiner said Friday. A utility worker stumbled upon the remains last week, less than a half-mile from where the girl lived. DNA tests confirm that the remains match Caylee Anthony's genetic profile, said the medical examiner, Dr. Jan Garavaglia.

Caylee's mother, 22-year-old Casey Anthony, was indicted in October on first-degree murder and other charges, even though no body was found. She has insisted that she left the girl with a baby sitter in June, but she didn't report her missing until July.

It took authorities several days to analyze the remains, and some tests are still being completed. Some of the bones were as small as a pebble and had been scattered, and the fragments were hard to find by excavators who searched on their hands and knees, authorities said. The bone fragments did not reveal any trauma before death, Garavaglia said, but exactly what happened to the girl remains a mystery.

"Bottom line is, folks, no child should have to go through this," said Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary.

A search team said they did not check the wooded area sooner because it was submerged in water. Beary said his department was investigating reports that the utility worker who called in the tip leading to the discovery of the remains had tried several times in August to call in his suspicion about a bag in the area.

"If we missed a window of opportunity we don't know," he said. "I'm not throwing anybody under the bus because we don't know. That's why we conduct an administrative review."

Casey Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, was with her at the Orange County Jail shortly after she found out the news from a jail chaplain, said Todd Black, a spokesman for the attorney. She was notified about 15 minutes before the news conference about the positive identification. Black said he wouldn't comment on her reaction.

A message left for the attorney representing George and Cindy Anthony, Casey's parents, was not immediately returned.

Tags: body, caylee, confirm, death, dna, florida, found, missing, murder, remains, sad

Add A Comment

[randi1978]

Dec. 12, 2008 at 2:32 PM

While deep down I knew what the outcome of this was going to be before the body was found.....it is still sad all the same.  I think we all had some small sliver of hope that she was alive, in spite of the overwhelming evidence that was pointing to the dreaded obvious.