Read the Indictment in the Casey Anthony Case

October 14, 2008

A Florida grand jury today passed down a 7 count indictment against Casey Anthony, mother of missing two-year-old, Caylee Anthony. Investigation Discovery has since received a copy of the indictment, which you can read here.

In case you missed today's events, here is a brief recap of what happened:

Witnesses in the case began to show up at the court house at 9:00 a.m. today. Casey Anthony's father, George Anthony, was the first to testify in the case. He took the stand at 9:25 a.m. and remained on the stand until 10:40.

Following George's testimony, Orange County Sheriff's Deputy Jason Forgey was called to the stand. Forgey is the cadaver dog handler who gave testimony during Anthony's bond hearing. Forgey's testimony before the grand jury lasted approximately 30 minutes.

At 12:05 p.m., FBI Agent Nick Savage was called to the stand to testify. Shortly thereafter, the hearing was adjourned for lunch.

While the grand jury was at lunch, Casey Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, held a press conference outside his office. During the media briefing, Baez said that people should not to jump to conclusions. He said that his client had been subjected to a nightmare and that people should try "to understand what she is going through."

Anthony stood by her attorney's side, wiping away tears, but said nothing on her own behalf.

Baez wrapped up the press conference by saying:

"When we have finally spoken, everyone will say: 'now I understand.'"

The grand jury reconvened at 1:00 p.m., during which time FBI Special Agent Nick Savage completed his testimony. Afterwards, the last person scheduled to testify, Orange County sheriff's Detective Yuri Melich, took the stand.

The grand jury finished hearing testimony in the case at about 3:00 p.m. They deliberated for roughly an hour before deciding to indict Anthony on a total of seven counts:

First Degree Murder
Aggravated manslaughter of a child
Aggravated child abuse
Four counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer

Anthony was reportedly with her mother, in route from her attorney's office, when the verdict came in. She was arrested a short time later and booked into the Orange County jail.

Anthony could receive the death sentence if she is convicted on the murder charge.

In related news, Dr. Maurice Godwin, President of Godwin Forensic Consultancy, has used his Predator computerized system to identify specific areas of interest in the search for Caylee Anthony. Read all about it here.

Discuss The Caylee Anthony Case

Related Content:
Full Coverage : Casey Anthony Case

Comments

[Diana]

Oh, I'll bet she is having nightmares! Tho I am not sure if it is her memories of what she did to her daughter or what is going to happen to her in prison. I hear they like girly girls where she is going.

[Ardra]

So glad to hear Tim vow to continue, and escalate the search for a body, he said on NG it would be "the largest" search they'd ever done.

David, I hope you can find out more about the mysterious car swap Casey did under an underpass from her mom's car to the SUV, that I heard belonged to her bail bondsman.

Sure sounds like something fishy was going on there. They didn't allow her to actually attempt to run, so maybe we'll never know the true intentions of that action.

[ladysheila]

Some of us knew that it is perfectly legal for law enforcement to 'leak' untrue stories (yes, you heard me correctly) to the public in order for someone to come forward with the truth. Knowing that, I didn't know for sure if the chloroform (difficult to get for the average Joe) or the said 'smell' in the trunk or ploys to get Casey to admit to whatever she might have known were true. But, David, I have a question and have to assume that, you can't charge someone with first degree murder as the grand jury has done unless they have heard REAL evidence has to hear REAL evidence at that point, is that correct? This means, if I am assuming correctly, that she is up --it creek without a paddle, si?

[Partebabe]

If Casey Anthony confesses at this point and is offered a lesser charge, my what an example we will set for criminals... lie right up until the end, after all the money is spent on forensics, peoples emotions are drained, and the body of an innocent child is rotting in the ground without a proper burrial. She should have come clean in the beginning. If she is convicted of this crime she deserves death. An eye for an eye.

[Lori]

Amazing to FINALLY see it all in writing...I'll bet she never figured "LIES" could be charged against her in court. I was in awe seeing her LIES charged against her. Fantastic!

Caseys mother Cindy raised a spoiled liar with no thought of others. Maybe if there had EVER been consequences for her actions growing up she would of formed normal thought processes the sum of us seem to hold.

To all parents out there--Never let your children get away with lieing and stealing! Look at this case...it IS like letting your kids get away with murder! Or at least they may believe they can. Casey sure did.

Fantastic work to investigators, the media, and the Florida Court System. Now lets FIND Caylee. Her "mother" is finally where she belongs.

[Ben Thar]

These charges have been drawn up carefully. Based on various pieces of evidence which appear to be more than rumors, I would say Casey planned something which would constitute a felony in itself and was caught off-guard when the child died. (Look for clues that she did not know what to do with a body.) This would support conviction on a charge of felony murder, rather than first degree homicide. The difficulty in writing formal charges comes from uncertainty about the intent, needed to prove any premeditated crime. Casey has a long history of keeping everyone off balance. Without specific legal expertise, her established habits can still help her if they happen to match weaknesses in the legal system.

She appears to have gone off track in development about 6 years ago. At that point, she began doing exactly the opposite of what her parents wanted. She has long experience manipulating parents, and her present levers to move them are about as powerful she could have. They don't want to believe the unthinkable. Their granddaughter is missing. Their daughter is at risk. Worse, they have been trapped in that house with her with little outside emotional support. Wonder why they are acting strange?

The game she seems to be playing is what I call "I've got a secret". (Probably betraying my age.) In this, the child behaves in such a suspicious manner that parents can scarcely avoid making accusations, necessarily based on incomplete evidence, and frequently wrong in detail, if not in spirit. The manipulator doesn't give any points for near misses, and uses hidden information to reveal mistakes. This often results in apologies, which can be used for further manipulation.

In the legal system, the first-degree homicide charge may be such a mistake, despite being highly plausible; the defense need only introduce reasonable doubt for acquittal. If the truth supports felony murder, revealing new information on that charge will not result in a second trial after acquittal because that would count as double jeopardy. The second and third counts are designed to catch her if she reveals such evidence after the case has gone to trial. If she pulls such a stunt, the remaining 6 counts could put her away for about 30 years.

Don't expect this defendant to make anything easy for anyone.

[kris]

Everyone can tell she wanted to get rid of her daughter- SHE CATERED TO HER BOYFRIEND AND HIS FRIENDS BUYING THEM FOOD BEER & bedtime nighties! Instead of caring her daughter she cared for some guy more & herself which is SICK!
I get tired of hearing Baez say we will see the truth come out- How aggrevating- if they were honest they would have told the truth already.
I wonder the Most what Padilla meant buy how the world will be shocked when they hear about the dna and Caseys Brothers dna implying Lee was Caylees father?
& what he meant about the dumpster.
I think Casey picked the wrong attorney and she will see the death penalty. She should have just told the truth from the begining.
(Caylee is in Heaven with God in a way better place than this world_ what a precious gift she was)

[cb]

On the capital murder charge, I don't believe, in any way, that Casey Anthony should be tried with the death penalty sentencing as an option, nor that she will be.

First, there is no body. No one can determine cause of death. It may have been an intentional action and yet it might not have been. If Caylee's body is discovered, and the method of homicide was blunt force trauma, a stabbing, or a gunshot wound, we can surmise that the homicide was intentional. Otherwise, the cause may be indeterminate.

Since I am not a forensic scientist, I don't know if bones (which may be all that remains) can be chemically analyzed for the the presence of chloroform. But even if I assume that this can be done, it still doesn't necessarily indicate a premeditated act of intentional homicide. The chloroform may have been used with the purpose of temporarily rendering Caylee unconscious. That falls under the category of aggravated manslaughter and aggravated child abuse, I would guess.

Secondly, although her behavior after the disappearance was no less than reprehensible, with her apparent indifference to the child's plight, and all of the lies that she conjured up; let's face it, she isn't a serial killer (at this point, at least). We can't assume that what she did ranks up there with more depraved killers given the death penalty. Additionally, jurors, for whatever bias, loathe to put women on death row. Aren't there only a handful of cases where women were sentenced to death?

Thirdly, if the only evidence that was recovered is regarded as 'cutting edge technology', there may be lingering doubts about it's validity and whether it has withstood rigorous challenges to results and conclusions. I am not saying the the testing methods are invalid or unconfirmed, I'm simply stating that jurors may have a difficult time sentencing someone to death with evidence that hasn't been used in a trial before.

After considering some of these elements, I am wondering if this case was brought to trial for political maneuvering. If the police are as confident as Tim Miller that the body (or what's left) will be recovered, why would this indictment need to be handed down now before the body was located? I think that the police probably would have wanted to find Caylee first.

That being said, I await, with bated breath, Baez's explanation as to how all of this went down and why Casey never acted to locate her child. That may be even more difficult for jurors to swallow than untested scientific analysis.

[Carolina]

AT LAST!!!! Maybe Caylee will have justice after all. She can continue to lie to everyone and take it to the grave. One thing is for sure...she'll never be able to escape her own private hell,(her mind), seeing the same movie over and over again of herself killing her own child. I hope she sees Caylees frightened eyes over and over again as she's killing her. Oh! And for giggles throw her in with the general population in prison. They'll take of her for good.

[Diana2]

Are these new charges in addition to her previous 12(I think?) or so charges of fraud? How do these new ones impact the others?

[vickie]

It sounds like Andre, is really Cindy. How could anyone that has followed this case think that MOTHER, Casey could not know what was happening to her child. Maybe she did not do the Final end to her child but she surley knew what happened, and is coveing it up. Casey is right where should be. Great Job by the Sheriffs office and the Court System!!!!

[knarahs]

When you provide copies of official information, you really should redact personal information, such as telephone numbers, etc.

[Tom]

I also loved that she was charged with "lies". That was brilliant. Now the real question is: will she plead not guilty on all seven counts? That would be pretty dumb considering there is audio of her saying "I lied". This indictment screams for a plea.

[Tom]

I really hope they do not give her the death penalty. It would be much better for her to get life with no chance of parole. Since she is only 22, that translates to a long time in prison. No texting, no myspace or facebook, no stripper poles, no anonymous sex, no booze, no Target or Winn Dixie, no more imaginary jobs, no more celebrity sunglasses, etc. That will be torture for her and she deserves no less. I also wish they would put her into general population because those other women would take care of business and I am sure Casey would get a whole new attitude. Alas, it will never happen. She will be protected the rest of her miserable life.

I would love to be wrong in my venemous hatred of Caylee’s “mother”. I would like nothing more than that beautiful little girl to be found alive. But I am afraid the old cliche is true. If it looks like a duck, if it walks like a duck, if it sounds like a duck, odds are it’s a duck. And I would say at this point that Casey is totally ducked!

[Ardra]

I do also agree that a life sentence is far worse punishment for a personality like hers than death.

Incarceration until she isn't "hot" anymore is probably the worst punishment her mind could imagine.

[mnm]

I know that the death penalty is more expesive than keeping a prisoner in jail(or so I've heard) for the rest of their miserable lives, but thats a cost I would gladly be willing to pony up the money for. Casey meet Mr. needle.

[Mellisa]

I wanted to know, now that Casey Anthony has been issued these indictments; what is next? She was heard before the Judge this morning reguarding the charges brought against her, but how long before a trial? They say she has the right to a speedy trial, but what does this mean? Week, months or years?

[Jamie]

I've got to be honest, I'm not very confident in these charges. I feel like this was an ill move, unless investigators have much more evidence than they've lead on.

First of all, they have no body. Past history has shown that it is very difficult to convict for murder without a body. Secondly, they have absolutely no proof that Casey killed Caylee. Yes, there's evidence that a decomposing body was in her trunk, but there's no proof that it was Caylee. Yes, most would think it's obvious that it was Caylee's, but without proof there is room for reasonable doubt. And if they proved it was indeed Caylee's body... Well, it's still a very far stretch to prove murder. It would still be very likely that the child died accidently, which is reason enough for the jury not to convict.

Remember, if there is ANY room for reasonable doubt that she intentionally murdered her child, she will not be convicted. Also keep in mind - if they find the child's body in the future, or find new evidence that proves Casey did kill her - Casey will not be able to be re-tried. She will get off scott-free.

[Mitch]

Capital Punishment? Yes!! Doesn't matter if there is not a body to determine cause of death at this point! She had her chance to tell the truth, she had the chance to claim accident, she had the chance to tell where the body was. She is lying to hide something and to show that this is not tolerated - don't stand for it.

My gosh CB - "First, there is no body. No one can determine cause of death. It may have been an intentional action and yet it might not have been. If Caylee's body is discovered, and the method of homicide was blunt force trauma, a stabbing, or a gunshot wound, we can surmise that the homicide was intentional. Otherwise, the cause may be indeterminate."

CB...At this point why should we care if the death was not an intentional action? She should have, could have and now never will have told us the truth of death, where the body is and on and on and on. Lies, Lies and more lies!!! Put the foot down and the needle in!!

[BeckyM]

"Baez wrapped up the press conference by saying: 'When we have finally spoken, everyone will say: 'now I understand.'"

Yeah, yeah, yeah... haven't we heard this line before from a defense attorney? Was it Scott Peterson's case? I can't remember because of course they NEVER do explain the bizarre behavior!

Let me guess, Baez, Casey passed Cayley off to a scum babysitter or boyfriend who has disappeared with the kid to sell her off to the kiddie porn sex trade. Yeah, right.

Cadaver dogs are trained to report on HUMAN decomposition; they don't train those dogs with dead squirrels! LOL! But be prepared folks for Baez to say the forensics is "made up" and "political" and all that jazz... who cares? When Casey doesn't take the stand, and all her lies are reported again and again on the stand, and when all her "friends" state they never met a babysitter... well guess what a jury is going to decide?

For the folks who think it's hard to convict w/o a body, they must not study these type of cases. There has been plenty of trials where conviction has occured w/o a body; all they have to prove is that there is enough evidence that the child did not survive (I am thinking brain matter will have been found in the trunk of Casey's car). Yeah, it's hard to keep going w/o part of your brain!

[Lydia]

Im a mother and if god forbid somehting happen to my children id be hysterical and seaqrching day and night and praying in ac church for her safe retunr not clubbing and shoppping in taregt more concerned with a new outfit. Shes guity no doubt and i hope she is convicted but what doesnt make snese is her paretns either they havent seen the childin a month and belive she is witha baysitter who leaves there child with a baysitter for a month? I hope she i having nightmares i hope that child haunts her in her dreams every night and I hope she rots in jail like the pig she is

[kris]

Hi Jamie

They defanantly have more info than we know right now. They have ALOT ( we will see more to come) People jump the gun and just think on what they see now- Law enforcement acted quickly to EVERYTHING including the leads Caylee may be alive- they exhasted everything and they have ALL the proof- I read the documents on the alive leads and they worked them unlike Cindy Anthony is claiming they did not.

I know there is another person involved as well they are trying to track down. We will see the truth as Baez says after the hearing is concluded!

(SHE BURIED HER DAUGHTER IN THE BACKYARD- THERE IS PROOF ON THE SHOVEL- PROOF CAYLEE WAS DEAD IN THE backyard then the TRUNK~~ SOLID PROOF- SHE PANICKED AND SOMEONE HELPED HER MOVE THE BODY- THEY HAVE MORE TEXT MESSAGES THAN WE CAN SEE- MORE EMAILS AND THEY HAVE A DEADLOCKED TIMELINE WITH ALL KINDS OF PROOF)
May it be an accident or not she was neglectful- and if she was any kind of real mother she would poor out her heart and tell the truth- but she has no heart. this would have turned out different had she told the truth from the begining- I do not by that she has to stay quite for the safety of her daughter- her daughter is legally dead. and she is not that honorable!

[ellaine]

I am confident of the charges against Casey.

First, it is not difficult to prove murder without a body for as long as there are other evidence to prove death and premeditation. In fact there are so many murderers convicted without the body, because in most cases murderers would do everything to hide the dead body to avoid prosecution.

Second, there are substantive forensic evidence in this case proving that there was a body in the trunk of the car. DNA tests were taken to identify the owner of the hair stands and that the owner was dead. They all point out to one conclusion- it was Caylee's and she was dead when the hair stand was detached from her head. Put them together, you have a dead Caylee in the trunk of Casey's car.

Third- weapon of murder- chloroform. Substantial traces of chloroform found in Casey's trunk where Caylee's dead body was placed. Searches for chloroform found in Casey's computer. That tells you premeditation.

Fourth- Motive- Caylee is a hassle to Casey's wildlife of party and boyfriends. Is she capable of hurting a child? Yes. She is a sociopath- she absolutely has no consideration for the rights of others: stealing, lying, betraying the trust of the people who love her. She even stole the money of her old grandparent intended for nursing home needs. Stole the money of her friend who trusted her. She has no emotional attachments as evidenced by her behavior after her child was missing- partyng; drinking; sex; stealing; but no concrete evidence of trying to find her missing daughter.

Fifth- her postmurder behavior- Casey did not report her child was missing. She purposely lied to police to mislead the investigation. Very typical of murderers because cooperating with police means jail.

There are more than enough circumstancial evidence here to prove she killed her daughter with chloroform and hid her body in the trunk of the car and then disposed her child's dead body.

As the evidence unfolds and the severity of the charges sink in to Baez, Casey and her parents, Casey would have to admit guilt to a lesser offense in order to avoid the death penalty. Anyway, she can still party, booze and orgie for life with fellow inmates!!!

[Buddy Parham]

I have followed the case since the beginning. I think Casey,
by mistake or otherwise did have something to do with her daughter's death. When it happenend she hauled the body around in the trunk of her car until she desided, or someone
else told her to throw the body in one of those alligator
infested lakes. Therefor the body was eaten up within minutes
by alligators and therefor will never be found. The gators
don't just eat the flesh and spit the bones out.
I also think the grandparents, George & Cindy know more about
the case then they are letting on. How can anyone be that nieve.