Caylee’s Memorial Site Today

I had been planning on taking a trip down to Suburban Drive and the old Caylee Anthony memorial for a week or so, but I either didn’t feel up for it that day, I got busy doing something else, or it rained. This time of year it rains almost every day as fronts from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean converge on what is commonly referred to as Central Florida. It’s hot, it’s humid, and it’s dangerous as thunder roars it’s warnings throughout the region. Central Florida is often called The Lightning Capital of the World and for good reason. Many days it rains so hard you can’t see past your nose.

Yesterday, I decided it would be a good day for a ride. Gee, I need to get out more. By the time I left, it was already clouding up and rain was threatening to come at any moment, but people in Florida learn from the beginning not to let a little rain damper their plans. On the way, the rain did come, but one of the fascinating things about living here is that there can be a torrential downpour on one side of the street but not the other. Yes, that is true, and yes, I have seen it myself, several times. I figured that by the time I got there, it would be clear enough to take a look around. You learn to sense rain, believe it or not, and you get to know how to read clouds.

One of the funny things that plenty of people don’t know or understand about this state is the climate. Unless you’re a glutton for punishment, you do not stay outside for long periods of time. During the day, the sun beats down so hard on you, it can be deadly. I stopped sunning myself years ago and just from going in and out, I have a tan that comes from years and years of doing just that. In and out. Spending 5 minutes at a time, many times, day after day. It really adds up. At night, it can be brutally humid. The earlier rain is condensing and you can almost feel the vapor as it evaporates into the sky. There is no such thing as a cool summer night in Florida. Plain and simple, it’s hot. Even as the night temperature drops, the heat of the day brings steam off the ground. Bugs are out. Florida bugs. Unless you are in a populated area, like downtown Orlando, the critters rule the night. You itch. You scratch. What was that? Sometimes it’s imagined. Most of the time it’s not.

This is the last time I will mention the subject until I need to reference it again, but keep in mind that Casey had to stay in her car from the night of the 15th until 2:00pm the next afternoon. Cell phone pings proved she was there in the neighborhood, very close to the house from the evening hours of Sunday through 4:00pm on Monday and, absolutely, no one saw her; none of her neighbors in that close-knit area. If she killed her daughter at around 11:00pm as is the assumption, she went nowhere. With daytime activity at the school, she risked exposure if she parked her car near those woods. Summer recess does not mean no one is there, as one of yesterday’s photos will show. No one has come forward up to this point to say they saw her anywhere around the neighborhood. This also means that Casey had to have remained in her car at least 15 hours, in the vicinity of the house, from the time of the killing until her father left for work the next day and no one reported seeing her. In the stifling, hot and humid Florida summer. That’s if and only if Casey went back to the house at all. If she didn’t, that would change the time frame to over 17 hours in her car, until she reached Anthony Lazzaro’s apartment in Winter Park, where pings showed she went. If you firmly believe George lied about seeing Casey and Caylee leave on the 16th, which is certainly a possibilty, keep in mind that it could also be true that Casey sneaked back into the house later that night of the 15th or wee hours of the 16th, making no noise, and she remained hidden in her room until George left for work and, of course, he didn’t find that unusual at all seeing her car in the driveway, where she always parked straight in. No knock on either of the bedroom doors to make sure everyone was OK and no stirring. No peeking in to make sure everything was in order. No cell phone rings and no talking. It’s also interesting to note that the Anthonys access their house through the garage door and when asked by detectives, Lee stated that the front door was never used by anyone until July 15, when the place looked like an OCSO squad room.

I must state, in all fairness, that it did not rain on the 15th but Orlando International Airport registered 1.15 inches on the 16th. As I mentioned, it can rain in one spot and not in another and it can be a downpour. This is not to say anything about how much rain other areas, including the Anthony neighborhood, got that day or at what time of day. Here, it is not unusual to get 2 inches of rain in 15 minutes and moments later, the sun is shining brightly. Either way, the heat and humidity didn’t leave town whether it rained or not. The high was 92 on Sunday and 89 on Monday. Not unbearable, but not remotely comfortable enough to spend the day in a car. The nightly lows were 70-71 degrees and I assure you, that was around 4 or 5 in the morning. (1) Again, I cannot emphasize enough about the humidity and around these here parts, we call it a heat index, meaning that at 90 degrees, it feels like 100 or more.

One of the areas that’s been in the back of my mind for some time is the property just south of the wooded lot where Caylee’s body was found. A very credible commenter asked about it, too. On Google Maps, it looks like a developer had gone in to build homes, but stopped. You can see work had been done, but nothing else. Could Casey have driven there the night of the 15th and killed her daughter? That was an obvious possibility, so I decided to take a look and see if Casey could have been there and done that. It looks like the perfect spot to commit a murder and all of the cell phone pings would register right there by the house on Hopespring. My objective in this report is to look at the facts. I have no desire to cover-up the truth. You can decide what you want to believe. For sure, from that map, Casey would have had all the privacy in the world.

I didn’t have a clue about what I’d find. I relied on the Google map like every other blogger. South of the Suburban Drive intersection at Chickasaw Trail, there’s a street called Hastings Beach Blvd. That’s the only way to get to the place. I headed east and turned north on Florence Harbor Drive. That’s the street that dead ends into the woods. What I found were houses. Nothing but houses. Lots of them all around me, left and right. If you look at the arrow, it points in the direction of the photo I took of the spot (BELOW). The street ends at a cul-de-sac, one that stops you in your tracks with a chain link fence that says stay out, in so many words.

To verify my finding and to prove I have done no Photoshop manipulation, go to the Bing Web site and view a much newer version of the same location. I stopped and asked a man getting out of his car if these homes were here before the Caylee Anthony murder and he said, “Oh, yeah. I’ve been here a couple of years.” I asked him about the fence. How long has it been there? “As long as I’ve lived here.” To the best of your knowledge? “Yes.” He was getting groceries out of his trunk and I didn’t want to bother him with any more questions.

This should allay all theories that Casey killed her daughter here unless she slaughtered her in full view of people’s houses. No one saw or heard a thing, but in itself, it would have been a huge risk. From this point, I drove to Suburban Drive to take a look around. Bear in mind, this is not to dissuade people from theorizing any manner or time of death. This is to just show you, from a Floridian’s perspective, what it’s like here and for you to decide what is feasible and what isn’t. You can take this information and do whatever you want, but it is real and it is true. It may fit in your criteria for either of those two days in question.

♦

That was the business part of my trip. The rest was pleasure, although there is nothing pleasurable about the death of Caylee and where her body was dumped. As I left the Florence Harbor area, I got back onto Chickasaw and headed up to the intersection of Suburban, turning right. The next series of photos will speak for themselves unless I added a notation. The first one shows me heading to the location on foot. I parked my car about 100 feet away. The school is straight ahead, where Suburban dead ends.

The above photo is the actual site of the memorial. Take a look into those woods now and tell me what you see. What was once taken, the land has swallowed back up. Imagine if all of those stuffed animals remained there to get rained on. Weeds would have strangled poor Teddy or he would have drowned by now. Below is a different perspective.

The next photo is a view just to the right of the above one. It shows the back fence of the property on the corner of Hopespring Drive. The back yard runs along Suburban.

(ABOVE) It is here that I believe Casey accessed the woods, between the fence and the brush. This is pretty much what it would have looked like when the killer disposed of the body. Only, it was dark, for sure, but she knew her way around. You can see a small break in the woods beyond the brush. That was an entry point and not far from where Caylee’s remains, most of them, were discovered. Just to the left of this photo is the memorial site.

(ABOVE) About 30 feet to the left of the memorial is a look down into the woods. It’s interesting to note the area is still fairly free of growth. That tells me the team of dedicated and thorough examiners left no stones unturned and the ground has not yet recuperated. If you look closely, you’ll see a potted plant of some kind, most likely plastic, and a possible spot where bones were found. What you probably cannot see is that the ground is pretty saturated. At this time, it is not flooded, but in other photos the ground has a few inches of water. Remember, the side of the road drops down into the woods.

There were other pockets where tedious work had been done. Bones were scattered over a half acre when crews went in.

The next photo (BELOW) was taken just to the left of the above one. This or the one above is as close as I can get to showing you a very good idea of where Roy Kronk poked his head into the woods. It looks inviting, doesn’t it? That area was under water then, and parts of it are today.

What did he see back in those dog days of August?

Continuing west, I found the infamous FOR SALE sign that most of us saw plastered all over the Internet after news broke that the owner had put up an asking price of $89,900.

I cleared away some of the growth and I did it for a reason. It has nothing to do with trying to help the owner sell the property.

From that point, I headed back to my car, towards Hopespring. This next shot gives you another look at the back property fence and along the road. It is another angle showing how it almost backs right into the woods. If you look closely, you can see the roof of the house on the corner, the Gonzalez home. Next to him lives Zenaida Almodovar. Hmm… Zenaida? Gonzalez? Close to home? (See Creepy Cryptic Casey)

As I drove away, I was pointed in the direction of the school…

I asked a deputy manning the barricades during the recovery last December if the area down by the school was regulary patrolled. He told me it was. All schools are routinely checked throughout the night. The gated entrance is always kept locked, too.

Remember I mentioned there was a reason why I cleared out some of the growth around the sign? Believe it or not, there’s a method to my madness.

I took this back to my car and placed it into a sack.

In Memory of Caylee Marie Anthony

To everyone, friend or foe, I offer you this and I promise you my intention is honest and true. I have absolutely no other motive. If you e-mail me your address, I will send you a leaf as a token of remembrance. This will be something from the site of the original memorial. You can place it in a book or do what you please. I want nothing in return, no envelope, no stamp. This is purely a gesture of kindness in honor of little Caylee Marie Anthony. My adress is marinadedave@yahoo.com.

Afterward, I will destroy your address.

♥

Casey Anthony trial date cancelled – Plus date of death & motive

From the Orlando Sentinel:

Casey Anthony trial is delayed after defense team member told judge her teaching schedule would prevent her from being able to go to trial in three months, according to WFTV.com.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The October 12 date for Casey Anthony’s first-degree murder trial has been cancelled after a Tuesday morning meeting between the defense, prosecution and the judge. Eyewitness News was the only media at the meeting at the Orange County courthouse.

Defense team member Andrea Lyon told Judge Stan Strickland her teaching schedule would prevent her from being able to go to trial in three months. Judge Strickland cancelled the October 12 date and scheduled a status hearing on the first-degree murder trial for January 21.

“So, I’ll go ahead and strike that October trial date and we’ll set this status slash pretrial in January,” Strickland said during the Tuesday morning meeting.

Casey Anthony is accused of killing her young daughter Caylee and dumping her remains near the Anthony family home.

Additionally, the judge said that he wants an affidavit from Amy Huizenga showing she wants to invoke her right to a speedy trial in the check fraud case that the prosecution wants to move forward on. Casey is charged with stealing her friend’s checkbook and buying personal items with forged checks.

Lyon, the defense’s death penalty qualified attorney, also told Judge Strickland that she plans to file several motions after Labor Day, but details of those motions were not given.

A date of death and a motive

“She’s the best mistake you ever did?”

That was Detective Eric Edwards’ question after coaxing information from Lee Anthony during his July 29 interview last year. That’s what good detectives do, they get information out of you in ever so subtle ways. Lee and Edwards were discussing whether there was a genuine wedge between his mother and Casey. The detective was poking and prodding his way through Lee’s brain. He acknowledged there was competition between the two, and resentment. “That my mother has been the provider for Caylee, even down to the extent that my mother was the first person to hold Caylee when she came out of the womb. So my, my mom is convinced that my sister holds some, some kind of resentment to her.”

Edwards continued, “So outside looking in, a child has a child and the first person to hold is the mother, that’s not really receptive to the whole idea anyway because she’s looking down at her because it was a mistake? So maybe some resentment towards that, which you just said?”

“Uh-hum.”

“And then now constant, constant statements that you’re unaware when they happened that…”

“Uh-hum.”

“… ‘She’s the best mistake you ever did?’ So it’s harsh, harsh judgment almost?”

“Sure.”

“And she’s living under the thumb of that?”

“Sure. Absolutely.”

“And then now constant, constant statements that you’re unaware when they happened that…”

“Uh-hum.”

“… ‘She’s the best mistake you ever did?’ So it’s harsh, harsh judgment almost?”

“Sure.”

“And she’s living under the thumb of that?”

“Sure. Absolutely.”

Detective Edwards was really getting into it. He and Lee were developing a rhythm and Lee seemed to be comfortable in his surroundings. Later in the interview, Edwards asked Lee to describe the things he picked up from Tony Lazzaro’s apartment the night Casey was questioned.

“Okay, so you went and you picked up. Give me that list of items again.”

“Sure. Uhm…”

“From Tony’s apartment at Sutton Place.”

“Yes… I went and picked up my mom’s laptop… a very large uhm, leopard print duffel bag that had all of her clothing and items uhm, in there. Uhm, a uhm, a backpack, a white backpack with a kind of a, you know, a pattern or you know, a symbol on that uhm, that also had some more clothing items in there.”

There were wall to wall cops at the Anthony home that night. Squad cars were parked everywhere, up and down Hopespring Drive. Everything in that house was being controlled by law enforcement. George would have had to be a sharp, sharp man to pay attention to the bags Lee brought back from Tony’s at 2:25  in the wee hours of July 16. It was a late night, for sure, but there was a lot more to come and plenty of life changing events in the lives of all of the family members.

Towards the end of the interview, Lee relayed the story George told him about the 16th of June being the day he watched Casey and Caylee leave and that was the day she moved in with Tony. The significance of this is that it was Lee telling the detective before George did, and he did so in such a nonchalant, matter of fact manner, hardly like it had been previously rehearsed and long before the 15th or 16th became a hotbed of controversy to so many bloggers. George was just telling his son that he was positive of the day and he did so for his own peace of mind.

Lee also noticed there was nothing in Lazzaro’s apartment or in Casey’s bags that indicated Caylee was ever there; no clothes, no diapers, no crackers, no juice containers. Nothing. It was as if she had just disappeared. Does that sound like a cover-up to you? It reiterated what Cindy had said in her interview on August 4.

During George’s interview with detectives on August 4, he described one of the backpacks as white with monkeys (see page 7 of OCSO Search Warrant.) This is the same basic description Lee gave of the item. You can say anything you want about George and Lee lying to investigators to help Casey, but it makes no sense. It makes no sense because if a motive had been in place for months or years, the date of death is not all that significant when the discrepancy comes down to only a matter of hours between June 15 & 16. How would this possibly help Casey’s defense? No one is questioning who did it.  To argue with their testimony would be nothing more than a feeble attempt to prove that Casey did not have a previous motive and she acted out of anger on the 15th and that would render premeditation and the death penalty useless for the most part. Trust me, the state knows what it is doing and there are reasons why one date in particular stands out.

A Beautiful Life

When Casey sauntered into the Cast Iron Tattoo shop on July 2 of last year, artist Bobby Williams had no idea how much that day would end up meaning to him for the rest of his life. He was the one who tattooed Bella Vita, or Beautiful Life, on Casey’s left shoulder, the focus of investigators who filed a motion to take close-up pictures of the tattoo from her jail cell. He said that Casey came in and was there for about an hour. She acted very normal and most of the time he was working on her tattoo, she was on the phone with Tony Lazzaro in New York. No big deal. He said she never mentioned her daughter, not that there was anything unusual about it at the time because no one knew she was missing. So, all this time she was frantically searching for Caylee, she had time for a tattoo about a beautiful life. Trust me folks, this is a revelation. It shows premeditation. She had planned the murder and the tattoo was but one of the fruits of her labor.

“It’s definitely, definitely strange now that you put two and two together and the child’s missing and she comes in and gets something like that,” Williams told FOX35. “And she acts totally normal? Yeah, like nothing happened? It’s like is it because she’s living a beautiful life or beautiful life because her daughter is missing?” Yup. Definitely. For sure. He added that he didn’t get any sense that Casey was looking for a child or worried.

A Motive

In my opinion, all of this and plenty more evidence illustrated a desire to rid herself of her daughter and to celebrate afterward. She longed to be free and away from her family. She deliberately set forth in motion a series of actions that took care of her “problem” once and for all. She hated her mother. She detested her father. She accused her brother of sexual abuse, and she stole from everyone. All the while, everyone enabled her.

To be plain and simple, she wanted to be free from all responsibility, she wanted to run away with a man and start all over again and she wanted to bring her family down. She wanted to destroy them. She felt that her mother must suffer because of  her own suffering inside and it was the best way to pay her back. It was a cleansing and a methodical ritual. In its wake, she purposely left her family empty-handed and in shambles. Therein lies her motive, and her tattoo was clearly a declaration of her success. No more Mom. No more Dad. Best of all, no more Caylee. This is what the state will show, that it was a long term effort and not one single incident that set her off. It was a culmination.

The Date of Death

It is interesting to note that on none of the major networks, here in the Orlando market and nationwide, is there a discrepancy over the day Caylee was last seen. They all go with June 16 and there’s a reason for that, which I will get to. It is only in the world of blogging and, perhaps, on some of the forums dedicated to this crime, that June 15 surfaces. This is strictly based on the allegation that Casey and her mother had a huge argument over stolen money, taken from her grandparents, who Cindy had just spent a good part of the day with. No way was this the first time Casey and her mother fought. They had done it thousands of times, but more importantly, this was also the last time Cindy ever saw her grandchild. She left early the next morning for work. Nowhere is it mentioned that Cindy noticed Casey’s car missing as she drove off. Oh, my God! Where is Caylee?

In order for the June 15 theory to come to fruition, a whole set of motions must drop into place, with no deviations. I never bought into this theory because it’s too wild to imagine everything falling into this complex order and besides, it is not the official line. Not one person in the State Attorney’s Office, law enforcement, or anyone affiliated with the crime has made mention of this conspiracy theory and that George Anthony lied about the day he last saw Caylee alive. If no one officially affiliated with the case has strayed from June 16, why are others? From comments on my own blog and elsewhere, thousands of people believe the 15th was the day because no one could prove it wasn’t. That is the basis for their argument. And gut feelings for some. As much as I protested and begged for one little shred of information that the 15th was for real, I got nothing in return other than suppositions on their part and material from Florida that more or less linked the death to the 16th. Why did the State of Florida not choose to pursue any conspiracy propagated by George, Cindy and Lee? Because they already investigated it and found it to be without without merit.

Here is what the theorists propose:

1 ) Cindy and Casey had a big, bang-up fight over stolen money on the night of June 15, 2008.

2 ) The neighbors specifically heard Cindy and Casey argue on that date.

3 ) Casey stormed out of the house, dragging Caylee along with her.

4 ) Casey killed Caylee that night. That is a fact.

5 ) Casey remained extremely close to the house in order to maintain cell phone pings that placed her in or near the house.

6 ) George called Lee after 11:00pm to find out where Casey and Caylee were. Not all are in agreement on this one.

7 ) Lee lied to investigators.

8 ) Cindy lied to investigators.

8 ) George lied to investigators.

10 ) Casey spent the night in her car, in the sweltering summer heat of Florida, talking on her cell phone.

11 ) Casey remained in her car in the hot, steamy summer weather until 2:00pm the next day and specifically in the neighborhood, until George left for work. All cell phone pings came from the vicinity of the house.

12 ) Casey had her cell phone car lighter adapter, knowing she would need it.

OK, I’ll readily admit that anything is possible and this case has surely proved that, but I just don’t believe it because it detracts from the real motive and focuses more on an act of irrational behavior on one given night and without a whole lot of premeditation. It is rendered into one emotional outburst. If true, the state would not be seeking the death penalty. It would have been a crime of passion and more difficult to prove it was planned beforehand and with malice. Also, looking at the list, one might understand how much would have to fall into place for this to work and wonder why no one closely tied into the investigation has detailed this approach. Granted, the state has not shown all of its cards, so instead, I explored in areas where the sun does shine: document dumps. I took a direct route to a very, very credible source.

Shown below is a piece of paper, as close as I can get on a Web site, with a date that will tell you what the State of Florida vs. Casey Marie Anthony thinks. Someone asked me for something with the June 16 date on it, so here it is.  Bear in mind that this document has Dr. Jan Garavaglia’s signature attached to it. The date listed on page two is based on data supplied by law enforcement to the Orange County Medical Examiner’s office. It was after careful examination by investigators that this determination was made. Investigators do not randomly pick out a day of the month. They do not make up dates based on how bloggers think. They thoroughly looked into the possibilities of many different dates and this is what they concluded. Pay careful attention to the heading because it begins with the word FINDINGS, nothing else, and that word carries a lot of weight. No what ifs, no arguments and no speculation. The entire report is based from that date forward. This, my friends, is what the prosecutors will walk into the courthouse with come trial day and until further notification, this is the official stand on the last known date Caylee was seen alive as recognized by the authority of the State of Florida. This is Caylee’s autopsy report. Please observe that it does not say June 15 or any other date whatsoever:

Read it yourself. To verify my finding and to prove I did not alter this document, you can read it at the WESH PDF link on page 2.

END OF STORY.

X

Analysis: Did Caylee die on June 15 or 16?

The bloggers were restless in Anthonyville the past couple of weeks. Boy, were they. As nothing new surfaced in the Casey case, several blog writers went after each other with a vengeance. I found it comical because, as the real perp sits in jail, these people – including commenters – went on the attack and gathered around the wagons to pick sides. One week, they’re shooting poison tipped words at each other and playing make-up the next, only in real life, they’ll never fully trust each other again. All in the name of justice for Caylee. And the commenters who stuck by one side were somewhat left in the dust to hang by the other. What’s funny about it is that they’ve always been in agreement on vilifying the entire Anthony brood and that left but one cause for those angry debates: ego pitted against ego. It was almost cannibalistic in nature because the flesh of their messages was the same, with similar word bites skewed different ways. Thank goodness for the trolls. If not for them, who knows how many more blogs would have been chewed up and spit out? Trolls make much easier targets because they can’t defend themselves from attack. They were relegated to the spam dumpster months ago. Not that they didn’t deserve it.

♦

Here is something I’ve seen brewing for a long time now and I wonder why such highly opinionated bloggers aren’t dissecting it more because it is very intriguing to me and several contributors on this blog, and we have had our moments. One of the most interesting aspects of this case focuses on two different and very distinct dates, although only a very short period of time separates them. The dates in question are June 15 and June 16 of last year and the perplexing part dwells on the explanation of a concrete motive for murder. This is not to argue over whether it was accidental or not. The medical examiner already decided that. Why was Caylee killed? I haven’t seen an awful lot of infighting over this issue and, by all rights, it could easily erupt into something at any moment as people on-line set up opposite camps on the topic. I know where I stand, but I would never say never to the other theory and deny anyone their reasons for why they feel the way they do. First, I’ll try to explain the two sides and take a look into two possible motives for the kill.

Whether Casey and Cindy had a fight the night of the 15th is fast becoming legendary. There are no documents supporting that, not official ones, anyway, but some words have been said. Yuri Melich mentioned it to Cindy’s mother, but she didn’t have a clue. Leonard Padilla stated that Lee told him about a fight that night. That might have been where Melich heard it, but Leonard Padilla also implicated Roy Kronk in some sort of nonsensical daisy chain theory, where everyone is in bed together. Casey is controlling people from her jail cell, sort of like the opening sequence of The Outer Limits, where the voiceover says, “We are in control of your television set…” only replace “we” with Casey and “television set” with anyone who comfortably fits in at the time. Oh yes, and follow the money trail because everyone is involved in a cover-up so they can get rich. OK, there were probably others who said they heard about a fight, including neighbors, only the neighbors said they heard them on a number of occasions and not one of them could specify that night in particular. Fine, fine, but where’s this going?

If you follow this train of thought, you believe that Casey yanked Caylee out of the house the night of the 15th and killed her in a fit of rage. There lies the motive, plain and simple. That’s certainly a possibility and I would never say no with total authority, but I will say that if this is what caused Caylee’s death, then it would be a crime of passion and not a well thought out scheme. Because it might be this crime of passion, the state would not be seeking the death penalty and authorities would not be looking into other areas such as what the Anthony household computers held on them; with search terms like “chloroform” and “neck breaking.” Some have speculated that Casey and Caylee went to Lee’s apartment, 2 miles away, but Lee had roommates and no one has come forward making that claim. Just bloggers and forums. By cell phone pings, which are well documented, she had to be in the house the night of the 15th or very close by in her car, and unless she brought her cell phone adapter to plug into the lighter, her phone would have died long before Caylee, and she would have had to have been slaughtered somewhere in the open, risking discovery. Possible? Absolutely, but not very plausible in my book.

As of this date, the prosecution is going with the 16th as the probable date that Caylee was last seen alive by anyone other than Casey and that is based on George Anthony’s testimony to detectives, which I will detail later in this article. Remember that Cindy was interviewed first that day, and separately.

As much as lots of people hate the Anthonys and as long as they hate them, there’s no way these types can look at this case with a clear conscience and a straight forward approach. There is no objectivity, as they abjectly feel that every word spoken by George, Cindy and Lee are nothing but lies. And they hate them with every waking moment. Why? Who among us has the right to judge? None of the family have been charged with a crime; no lying, no obstruction of justice, no nothing. Are they guilty of telling the truth at all times? No, of course not, but to think that every word they say is a lie is absurd. Oh, and follow the money trail.

My contention is that George did, in fact, see Casey and Caylee walk out the door on June 16th because no one in law enforcement has said differently and I choose to stick with what the law says. Granted, none of it is set in stone and I will readily admit that the 15th is still quite the possibility, but no one from Attorney General Bill McCollum on down has said otherwise, and they have not found what George told them to be untrue. To be fair, no one from Big Bill on down has said anything about a specific date, but why the 16th makes sense to me is obvious. Casey planned the whole thing. Sure, she did a lousy job of it, but that’s why those computer search terms are so crucial. That’s why, when some of her boyfriends told her to lose the kid, she took it quite literally. She wanted a free life with no responsibilities. Her men, except for Jesse Grund, wanted no part of instant daddydom and she never wanted the little snot-nosed brat to begin with. I’ve thought for some time that it was several things that motivated her, with not wanting a child as one of them. Of course, her mother insisted that she go to term, she was the first person to hold the newborn and Casey has held her parents in contempt for a long, long time. Not only did she not want that child, there was no way her mother was ever going to have her, either. In a sad way, it’s a shame that Casey never had a pot to pee in or she would have gone to a clinic and disposed of the “problem” before she popped her little head out. It’s a cruel thing to say, but a one pound fetus is less to mourn over than a 30 pound toddler and at the time, Rick Plesea, Cindy’s brother, never would have had to end up telling her that Casey was pregnant and she never would have had to be in denial, which fueled Casey’s resentment. The amount of love Cindy and George gave Caylee drove a toxic wedge between any affection she might have had left for her parents as she gave up all hope of ever being treated like a daughter again. Caylee was her replacement and Caylee got the love and attention she felt she never got as a child. A bad seed was somehow planted in Casey when she was young and it had years to fester. This was a childhood that languished in school as she excelled in nothing and it wasn’t until she blossomed as a perky young woman that she realized what power she held over boys. Finally, she had something to latch onto; a talent. There was where she found her love and her family was lost forever. Thus gave birth to a final act of murder that was 3 years in the making as she became more and more determined to take the happiness Caylee gave to her parents away from them. I don’t want her and you can’t have her. What the final straw was we may never know, but it had been coming a long, long time.

On July 16th, Casey was arrested. The following day, she was officially charged with child neglect, lying to investigators and interfering with a criminal investigation. No one needs to explain the frustration she put her family through when she disappeared for an entire month, ignoring desperate text and voice messages from her frantic mother and making every excuse in the book about Caylee’s whereabouts when Cindy finally reached her. If anyone chooses not to believe that’s what was going on, there are documents to prove it’s true.

When Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies were summoned to the Anthony home on July 15, Casey gave a written statement that began, “On Monday, June 9, 2008 between 9am and 1pm, I, Casey Anthony, took my daughter, Caylee Marie Anthony, to her nanny’s apartment.”

How does the 9th fit in? It really doesn’t. Casey took that date from her mother’s original suggestion of the 9th being the last time she had seen Caylee. This is something they discussed before law enforcement arrived. Cindy had gotten her weeks confused because she later recollected the trip to Mt. Dora the following Sunday, on Father’s Day. Since we have established Sunday, June 15 as the date of Caylee’s last video, we can surmise that the 9th, a Monday, is actually the 16th, seven days later.

Casey continues, “I spent the rest of that evening pacing and worrying at one of the few places I felt ‘at home’, my boyfriend Anthony Lazzaro’s apartment. For the past four weeks since Caylee’s disappearance, I have stayed at Anthony’s apartment in Sutton Place. I have spent everyday since Monday, June 9, 2008, looking for my  daughter… I have not had any contact with Zenaida since Thursday, June 12, 2008.”

In my opinion, this is Casey’s cryptic way of announcing Monday as the day of death. On the same day, Casey told her brother she hadn’t seen Caylee in 31 days, which would have made that June 14, if counting back.* As confusing as all of the dates originally became, one credible thing came out of Casey’s statement and it may validate the day Caylee died. Casey, in her original statement to law enforcement, declares that the day of the week she last saw her daughter was a Monday. By her own admission, she does not say Sunday or Tuesday or any other day of the week. This is why law enforcement asserts that Monday, June 16, 2008 was most likely the final day Caylee Marie Anthony was alive. She also says on that date she began staying at her boyfriend, Tony Lazzaro’s house, which is true.  She validates it further by stating she left for the nanny’s between 9:00am and 1:00pm, which backs up George’s claim of the date and time he saw Casey and Caylee leave the house.

♦

On August 4, 2008, George Anthony sat down with Detective Eric Edwards and Detective Mark Hussey, both of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, to be interviewed about his knowledge of the events that led up to his daughter’s arrest. Remember, at the time, Casey was charged with neglect, Caylee was merely listed as missing and murder had not quite fit into the public equation, and certainly not from George and Cindy’s perspective. The following text is a part of the written transcript of George’s interview. The reason why I choose to believe his version of events has more to do with some of the things he said and not from a specific date, although it does back up the 16th theory. Why I feel it is true deals with the fact that it became the last time he saw Caylee and Casey had virtually fallen off the face of the earth. The next time he saw her was the day she angrily removed the gas cans from the trunk of her vehicle, on June 24.

This is the way George’s interview was transcribed. All spelling and grammatical errors are left intact. Detectives Edwards’ and Hussey’s comments are in green. George’s are in red. From page 9…

The night of the 15th when they come back, I know they had chili at uh, great grandma’s house cause she made her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, she’s very articulate about that, at 81 she’s got a lot on the ball. Um…

She’s tough.

Yeah. Uh do you remember…

I was…

…seeing the baby to bed that night or were you working?

I, I was working.

Okay when you came home who was at the house at that time, do you remember actually seeing…?

She’s tough.

Yeah. Uh do you remember…

I was…

…seeing the baby to bed that night or were you working?

I, I was working.

Okay.

I was working 3 to 11.

Okay when you came home who was at the house at that time, do you remember actually seeing…?

Well I, I’m, I’m almost positive that uh, Casey’s car was in the driveway and I would be lead to believe then that they were both there, Casey and Caylee, I know my wife was there because I got home shortly after 11:00. And the next morning, or let’s put it this way like 10 minutes to 1 that afternoon on the 16ht is when I actually saw Casey and Caylee together, they’re both leaving with backpacks and so my daughter said she was going to work and she was taking Caylee to the, to the nanny, to the babysitter. But I knew it was 10 minutes to 1 cause I was watching this food channel thing that I watch between noon and 1:00. So I’m positive that, that I know for a dog gone fact.

A minute or so later George describes the backpacks he saw with Casey…

But she had a backpack at the time?

Oh she definitely had some stuff cause she sat is on our one chair that was right there, one lazy boy recliner that we have. She just set it down and she says, “Hey”, she says, “I’m a be working a little bit late, uh, Caylee’s gonna be staying with the nanny, I’m gonna come back and stay there and I’ll see you and mom tomorrow afternoon”.  That’s not nothing unusual, she’s done that a few different times so. She said she already had, he says, “I already talked to mom, mom knows I’m gonna be staying over”, I said, “Okay just be careful and I’ll see you tomorrow type deal”. I was one of those…

And that’s on the 15th?

No that was on the 6…

Or the 16th…

That was 16, that was Monday.

Alright.

Here are parts of Cindy Anthony’s interview on the same day with the same detectives. Her statements are in red:

[On page 27 of Cindy Anthony's interview, she discussed (with the detectives) something I found peculiar. She had sent Lee over to Anthony Lazzaro's apartment to pick up Casey and Caylee's things on the night of July 15th...]

Until he picked it up, actually it was the morning of the 16th cause it was after midnight…

Like 2:00 in the morning.

Right.

It was like 2:30 and then he got back to the house with it.

Right.

And she was [Casey] very descriptive about the bag of clothing and…

We had two bags of clothes.

No, no, no Caylee clothes though?

No nothing…

No diapers or anything like that?

No the only thing that was left was what George had seen her with the 6, the morning of the 16th of June when he left. And he said Caysee had her backpack and her backpack was some of the stuff at Tony’s. And then um, Caylee’s backpack only had a couple of things in it. There was no clothes in there like there would be. There was a couple of diapers in there, a toothbrush, a couple of hair things. And then maybe some wipes and that was it. Which is unusual cause their backpacks are usually full…

What struck me was Cindy’s description of the backpack as being unusual. Unusual is not a word one would use to defend another person. Bear in mind that Caylee was gone a month and her mother had no clothes for her. Cindy relayed that to the detectives.

… to the brim and usually books, toys, clothes. Caysee from day one wherever she took Caylee, whoever was watching her she said there was always, there was always clothes and things for her there. And, and diapers and stuff even though Caysee did pack a bag. Cause I used to unpack Caylee’s bags all the time and take stuff out. Take, you know, left over food, you know cause she’d take little baggies of you know pretzels or Cheerios or she’d have different juice things and stuff like that. And I would usually empty stuff out, clean the stuff up and put it away and then we’d repack it every day cause you don’t wanna leave anything in there that would like spoil.

Clearly, Cindy is stating that something was amiss when the items were returned from Lazzaro’s and everything came down. If Cindy was lying to protect her daughter, she was doing a damn bad job at it. Further in the interview, Cindy asked deputies about the smelly pants in the car. Do you want them or is it OK to wash them. Deputies told her they weren’t interested. This is certainly not an issue of tampering with evidence as so many blogs and comments have accused. Read it yourself. Page 30-31.

What puzzles me are those who insist George lied during that interview. In my opinion, he had no reason to protect his daughter at that point. George firmly believed that Caylee was merely missing and he wanted to do his best to try to find her and bring her home. As for why, in particular, he remembered that specific day, I contend that it was because he never saw her again after that. I would most likely remember the last day I ever saw someone close. I can still vividly recall the last time I looked into my grandmother’s eyes and she died 32 years ago this month. At the same time, I will not allow myself to stick with the 16th as the date of Caylee’s disappearance strictly because it is the generally accepted day and one which fits nicely into play with law enforcement and the state. She could have driven off the night of the 15th in a fit of rage as some theorists suggest. I just don’t think so because I have not heard one official statement from the state of Florida that promotes it as feasible since nothing has proved George’s sworn statement to be untrue.

As for Cindy, just go on thinking everything she said was a lie, but be ready to acknowledge that Caylee’s backpack was really filled with her things because Cindy must have been lying about that.

In closing, this still leaves the door open on the date of death. The indictment against Casey states:

In the name and by the authority of the State of Florida:

The Grand Jurors of the County of Orange, duly called, impaneled and sworn to inquire and true presentment make in and for the body of the County of Orange, upon their oaths do present that CASEY MARIEE ANTHONY, between the 15th day of June, 2008 and the 16th day of July, 2008, in the County and State, did violation of Florida Statute 782.04(I)(a)(1), from a premeditated design to effect the death of CAYLEE MARIE ANTHONY, a human being, unlawfully kill CAYLEE MARIE ANTHONY.

And that’s just one charge out of seven. Just remember one very important thing. It was George Anthony’s crucial testimony against his daughter that indicted her. Was he lying? This was over 2 months after he gave his interview. Why was he a liar during the original interview and not one during the Grand Jury testimony? To me, this is a matter of selective and convenient thinking that bends the case to whatever one wants to believe. Bear in mind, too, that the indictment leaves at least a full month open for the murder. Does anyone want to argue it was June 24 that she died? Why not?

Oh yes, and one more thing. If the motive was anger brought on by this fit, this “argument” the night of the 15th, why does the indictment say premeditated?

*If you count days, day 1 is a full 24 hours before the initial date, so from July 15 to the 14 is 1 day. Day 2 would be the 13 and so on, so by the 31st day, the date would be June 14. But Casey stunk in math.

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Independence Day

Metropolitan Museum of Art - George Washington Crossing the Delaware Composition is the arrangement of different elements in a work of art. Let's look at a painting in which the artist used light, color, form, perspective, proportion, and motion to create the composition. This painting describes the historic moment when General George Washington led the American revolutionary troops across the Delaware River in order to surprise the English and Hessian troops in the Battle of Trenton the day after Christmas in 1776. Keep in mind that this reproduction is small: the original painting is more than 12 feet high and 21 feet long! Click on the image to see a larger reproduction. The artist Emanuel Leutze used a number of elements to express an emotional and patriotic message about this event. Choose an element below to find out more. Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, American, 1816-1868 George Washington Crossing the Delaware, 1851 Oil on Canvas; 12 2/5 x 21 1/4 in. (378.5 x 647.7 cm) Gift of John S. Kennedy, 1897 (97.34)

From Wikipedia:

In the United States, Independence Day, known as, and more commonly referred to by the phrase “Fourth of July“, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States.

The Declaration of Independence

I am proud to be an American

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New SCOTUS ruling something to think about come Casey time

The Sixth Amendment guarantees a defendant the right “to be confronted with the witnesses against him.”

- Justice Antonin Scalia

Last Thursday, the Supreme Court decided on something that could potentially change how crime labs are used in trials. In a 5-4 vote, it ruled that a defendant has the right to cross-examine, in front of a jury, the experts who prepared the reports. Justice Antonin Scalia spoke for the majority, saying that technicians who prepared the reports are like witnesses for the prosecution and under the Sixth Amendment, the accused has the right “to be confronted by the witnesses against him.”

The court looked into the case of a Massachusetts man who was found guilty of selling cocaine. Police officers had taken 19 small bags of the drug from a vehicle in which Luis Melendez-Diaz was riding. (There’s that hyphenated name thing again. He must have been a fictional nanny at one time.)

At his trial, the prosecution submitted evidence in the form of a certificate from the state lab that said the bags contained cocaine. So far, so good. But wait! It gets better (in a nod to the late Billy Mays) for the defendant, anyway. Melendez-Diaz objected, and his lawyer said he wanted to challenge that evidence. The objection was overruled and Melendez-Diaz was found guilty.

How does it get better, you may ask? Well, crime labs have done the bulk of the work throughout the years. Of late, a lot of the results have come under the gun, so to speak, due to DNA evidence that has shown at least 240 prisoners were not guilty of the crimes they were sentenced for because of faulty lab work. In many instances, they were convicted based on tests involving hair samples, clothing fibers, blood, ballistics from guns, teeth marks, or any combination of tests not including DNA samples. In the past ten years alone, a lot of criticism has been thrown at crime lab reports. Up until then, that was pretty much the litmus test because, quite often, they were assumed to be very accurate. In Melendez v. Massachusetts, the Supreme Court overturned his conviction by stating the defendant has the right to question those findings.

With this new Supreme Court ruling, it may alter the course of defense in the Casey Anthony trial when it finally comes to fruition, because almost all of the physical evidence against her is circumstantial and based on lab work. Yes, DNA evidence proved that the bones found in those woods near the Anthony home were Caylee’s, but from what the state has released to the public thus far, the rest of the DNA tests have only shown pieces and parts of evidence pointing to a possible murder scenario. Taken together, in other words with other evidence combined, the state paints a rather vivid picture of what transpired in June of last year, and enough evidence should exist to convict her mother of murder. What this new ruling does, though, is offer the defense more of an opportunity to smear that painting by picking each test apart at its roots. Instead of merely relying on a printed piece of paper with test results, the technicians in charge of each test – the person pushing the buttons and looking under a microscope – will be subjected to scrutinization by the defense as it attempts to diffuse those results by inferring they are unreliable and this new Supreme Court ruling says so. If the defense is good at its job and the techie is more of a techno-nerd than an orator, well, do you see what could happen if one of the attorneys gets the upper hand? In any event, don’t blame Baez. That is his job, as well as it is for every defense attorney in the country, and remember, the decision was not rendered for the sake of one person. It took over 240 innocent voices.

Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts

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Has the Casey Anthony case inspired the worst in us?

This post is the third in a series I’ve written about the three separate questions asked in Friday editions of the Orlando Sentinel in print and on-line. The questions are posed each Friday and published the following Friday. It continues that way week after week. As I’ve said before, the three questions usually tackle issues related to international, national and local affairs, but are not always related to only those topics. In this past Friday’s newspaper, one of the questions concerned the Casey Anthony case and I am happy to report that the majority of responses were pretty much the way I have seen it, especially here in the Orlando market. No disrespect to anyone’s television personality or what and who they are outside their jobs, but I’m getting a little bit annoyed by repetitive TV journalists who find shocking and breaking news every single day to keep their stations’ ratings high.

One of the questions was of no importance to anyone outside Orlando since it dealt with sparing police and firefighters’ layoffs. The second question pertained to America’s issue with health care and whether the federal government should reform it or not. 45.8% said yes and 54.2% said no. Bear in mind that the majority of people responding live in the state of Florida, central Florida in particular, although everyone, everywhere, is encouraged to participate each week.

The third question was one that’s been on my mind for some time and I’ve written opinions in the past on blog posts and comments.  Although the results may come as a surprise to some, here in The City Beautiful and surrounding communities, it’s exactly what we expected, I’m sure. Granted, I write plenty of articles about this case, but I don’t sensationalize it, I don’t keep reconstituting the same news and I don’t make a dime off of this story. Following are the question, the percentages and some of the readers’ responses. You can make your own conclusion and voice an opinion. You can also read the rest of the comments made on-line HERE.

Has the Casey Anthony case inspired the worst in the media and community?

YES: 82%

NO: 18%

Here are some of the responses given by viewers. None have been edited:

Worst in the Anthonys

The Anthony case has inspired the worst in the Anthony family as well. Things would not have turned so vicious if the family hadn’t joined in on the unbelievable lies. The media were called in initially by the Anthonys with their stories. Naturally, the other side was heard as well. That’s fair game, I say.

rachael4 Howey-in-the-Hills (from the Web)

It’s about goodness

I think the many posts on this forum expressing love for a 2 1/2 -year-old child who none of us ever met are testimony to the goodness of people … A lot of what is blamed on the media is really the playing out of Florida’s Sunshine Law and the throngs who buy papers or tune in when the Caylee murder is the topic. Morbid curiosity? Perhaps, but more likely the empathetic feelings for a little girl who was … never allowed to live her life.

pamk Mount Dora (from the Web)

Opposite is true

It is quite the opposite. The frenzied media and public were, at first, too aggressive. The Anthonys brought this all on themselves. They start off telling (some) truths, and then begin the lies, the cover-ups, the refusal to take lie-detector tests … It then became a whole different monster.

candi st cloud Merritt Island (from the Web)

Here are more opinions from Friday Back Talk on-line:

KatNZKeys

Too bad the OS could’nt list ALL of us…….

grace

no I dont think so this family is suffering so much also, they are human beings with a very trouble daughter and a big loss we must know also the worst in families to learn to take care of our children

June

I agree with the summation of the question, but it is only human nature to be curious. The Anthony’s put much of this on themselves, and we shouild not be blaming the media for the Anthony’s string of lies, revelations, turn-abouts, and innuendos that obviously need investigation if anyone is going to get to the truth. I would not trust the father, mother, brother, and certainly not Casey.

My biggest doubt has been the competence of Jose Baez. Casey should have taken a plea of insanity from the beginning. Her brother, father and mother should have been able to see the depth of the trouble Casey got herself into….but they apparently share the same lack of being in touch with reality.

We are all entitled to our opinions, and when they involve the death of an innocent child, it is NOT the Public, nor the Press that should be judged.

Without any doubt what-so-ever, we all have the gifted right to our own feelings. This case has hurt to the bone. We want answers. The Anthony’s hold the key to a locked box, and “they” have dangled it in front of “us” for too long.

We (the Press and the Public) could not have shown better respect and love for another human being. Caylee was a beautiful blossoming young girl, whose life was taken from her for the benefit of someone else’s insanity.

Regina

On this link you will find close to 25,000 people, whose hearts were touched deeply by the murder of Caylee Marie Anthony. She has united them in a fight to bring the missing home, to urge lawmakers to re-look the laws that fail to protect Americas’ children from their own parents, who wish to harm them. Caylee has been remembered lovingly by strangers from coast to coast and in other countries. Yet her own family has turned her memories, her photos, her short little story. into their own private ATM machine. While they collect from various media outlets-the state of FL continues to spend taxpayers dollars on this case.

MikeP

I don’t know about bringing out the worst, but coverage of it has definately become annoying. The local media outlets seem to hang on every minute happening like it is headline news.

Anyone lucky enough to not been inflicted with the daily news stories would think Cassy was a mass murderer or serial killer. At most, she is yet another mother who couldn’t handle motherhood and took the “easy” way out. She doesn’t even rate a movie of the week.

There were several more, including the usual suspects that make the rounds blaming all of the world’s woes on the Anthonys and their lies. Those names are familiar to most of us in the world of blogging about this matter and to be honest, their answers didn’t have anything to do with the question and it’s getting old. To them, it’s just another forum for more name calling. What trashing has to do with media and community – the real topic – is puzzling. If the question had been about sending more troops to Afghanistan, they would have said to send the lying Anthonys over there. Back to the matter at hand because it was a question about MEDIA AND COMMUNITY…

I think what produced such lopsided results was the media’s disregard for what news Orlando’s TV market wants to hear everyday. Everything is a BREAKING STORY! and what we are fed are nothing more than asides and incidentals most of the time. An example of this might be a story about the property where Caylee was found. OK, we heard that and then some. Later, the land was offered for sale. OK, we heard that, too, but why do a follow-up about why the property hasn’t sold yet and why is it so important to tell us it’s flooded after the latest rain? Is it really all that important to break into local programming to tell us Casey bought new curlers with her jail money? Those are the things that we hear every day and it explains why it’s getting old. Some day, we’re all going to walk away from this case and I’m already seeing a slow decline in readership around the Internet. Is it more from over-saturation or just from a lack of anything new of substance? God forbid it’s due to anyone losing interest.

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When the Beat it man stopped beating

Michael Joseph Jackson – August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009

About a year or so after I moved to Orlando, a friend of mine drove down from Atlanta to spend a few days before we were to head up to New Jersey to spend time with our friends in Beach Haven. He was driving a spanking new Mazda RX-7 and it was a great little car. My old friend, Steve Kangas, always had the nicest and most up-to-date toys in the universe. Let’s just say that by the time you got your very first digital camera, Steve had a better one a full six months before yours and it was a better model, to boot. Any time new technology takes hold, Steve has already left the building in search of something newer and better. Chances are, he has it, too.

On that one particular trip, he had a cassette tape – CDs weren’t out yet – and he popped in something by Michael Jackson.

“Michael Jackson!!!???” I exclaimed. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I was never a fan of pop music. Bubblegum stuff. Jackson Five.

It was about a 17 hour trip to New Jersey that day we left Orlando, but by the time we arrived, Thriller became one of the best albums I’d ever listened to and it’s no small wonder that it stands today as the best-selling album in the history of recorded music, with over 50 million copies sold worldwide since its 1982 debut. I still think it’s a masterpiece. No doubt, the man was an extremely gifted musician. Long before Britney Spears was a sparkle in her parents’ eyes and years before Rihanna learned how to lip sync, Michael Jackson showed the world what choreographed dancing and singing were all about. He influenced Rock, R&B, Jazz, Hip Hop and Soul and today’s singers owe a lot to him. No matter what you thought of him in life, he left an indelible mark on music history.

A real life Peter Pan, Michael Jackson was like a lost child stuck in a body he didn’t know what to do with.

The King of Pop is dead. Long live the king.

Beat it

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I say tomayto and you say tomahto

Forensic science has become a crucial part of our culture today. Turn on a TV set during prime time hours on any night of the week and some kind of crime drama is on. I like to call it Crime Time. NCIS and CSI programs permeate the airwaves where blood evidence, trace evidence and DNA play crucial roles in every plot. In real life, Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky is a forensic scientist and a member of Casey Anthony’s defense team. While we watch fictional accounts, real forensic detective work is rarely as exciting and foolproof as it’s portrayed on television. Neither is it as speedy, since most of the story lines are wrapped up in an hour, more like 43 minutes, not counting commercials.

Kobilinsky is Professor of Criminal Justice and Biochemistry at The Graduate Center and John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and Senior Adviser to the President at John Jay. Of the highly popular TV programs, he said, “It’s not as you see it on television. It’s very good entertainment and I enjoy watching it, but they make significant mistakes. They do it because they need to make crime solving more glamorous.”

One thing is certain: There is nothing glamorous about Caylee Anthony’s death and each side, the prosecution and defense, takes different approaches toward a real life crime and it is serious business. After the Orange County medical examiner, Jan Garavaglia, AKA Dr. G, determined Caylee’s death was a homicide, evidence took on a half full, half empty theme. One team cried murder and the other boldly decreed no proof of that!

Larry Kobilinsky joined the defense team in September, before Caylee’s remains were discovered in a densely wooded lot on Suburban Drive in Orlando. “To Mr. Baez, I think he as a good defense attorney [and he] is entitled to know what the science says. I don’t make things black/white, white/black, but I have to give him the best that science can offer,” he said then. He dismissed the medical examiner’s report concluding that Caylee’s death was a homicide.

“It is not clear how the child died, and we don’t know how the child died, we can’t determine whether or not it was a homicide,” he told WKMG-Channel 6 reporter, Tony Pipitone. Kobilinsky said there was no evidence of drugs found in the toddler’s remains, but did acknowledge that because only bone and hair samples remain, exposure to drugs cannot be ruled out. What remains clear are the words of Dr. G stating that duct tape over Caylee’s mouth and nose, including the hair, was placed there before decomposition. That leaves open two doors; that the child suffocated or it was put there soon after death. Either way, it looks like a murder and forensic analysis will be extremely crucial to the jury. For sure, photographic and x-ray images will have an impact on those 12 people and both camps are keenly aware of that.

Clearly, the duct tape more than suggests suffocation but it does not prove it. “I’ve been very critical of forensic procedures that are more art than science,” Kobilinsky said. “There is no clear protocol or system for the examiner who must make the call… it mostly comes down to feeling, opinion, and experience.”

On Monday morning’s NBC Today Show, a segment focused on how seemingly equal experts draw different conclusions from the medical examiner’s autopsy report. Two different experts, Dr. Werner Spitz, a defense pathologist, and Dr. Cyril Wecht, a forensic pathologist, were asked about the report.

“There is nothing that I know that puts the lid on this, that tells you that there was a murder here. Everything, as far as I know, is in question,” claimed Dr. Spitz.

After examining the report, Dr. Wecht speculated that the child suffered if she suffocated. Suffocation “would be the most likely way in which you would expect an infant, a young child, to be murdered,” he said. “It’s easily accomplished, obviously, and would leave no telltale marks.”

There are several key elements that will play crucial roles in scientific testimony at the trial, at least from the defense team.  They will stress that there is no DNA evidence and unless any other evidence is forthcoming, no fingerprints linking Casey Anthony to any of the duct tape. Of the duct tape, Kobilinsky noted that the state will claim it indicates a homicide, but “that is not necessarily the case. If, for example, the child died as the result of accidental trauma and then, subsequently, for whatever reason, somebody took the child and did whatever was done involving plastic bags and duct tape.”

What about the missing hyoid bone? Dr. G would have examined it for signs of strangulation and ruled on it, but the bone in a toddler could be so soft it wouldn’t break in strangulation, so could a true determination have been made? If Caylee’s mouth opened soon after death, which is normal when jaw muscles relax, it wouldn’t have been a pretty sight and that could explain a postmortem application of duct tape.

This is but a mere sample of what is in store come trial time, which will likely be at least a year from now. What this evidence seems to portend right now are signs that can really be broken into separate camps. It’s almost like arguing that a tomato is a fruit. No! It’s a vegetable! No, it’s a fruit! No, it’s a vegetable! According to U.S. tariff laws, a tomato is a vegetable, and from a culinary point of view, it is a vegetable, but due to the scientific definition of a fruit, the tomato remains a fruit.

In the end, the judge will have to call upon the wisdom of Solomon and the power of Moses to part the abundant sea of information so the jury can walk a cut and dried path between two sides awash in powerful waves of forensic evidence. In the meantime, our garden is swimming in overripe tomatoes, just waiting to be plucked – fruits or vegetables, take your pick.

A part of the whole

Yesterday, I rode with my parents over to Cape Canaveral where my sister and her husband live. We ate at a restaurant called Milliken’s Reef.

In the photo, my father, Samuel, is on the left. Next to him is my mother, Dorothy. Next to them are my brother-in-law, Bud, and my sister, Maggie. I’m the one behind the camera and you’ve already seen enough of my face.

This is the tiki bar where my banner photo was taken many months ago. I’ve never sat there, nor have I ever had a cool and refreshing cocktail beverage. We always sit inside the restaurant and I can say that each time I’ve eaten there, the food has been very good. They bring out free baskets of hush puppies while you await your order and I must say they are delicious. My insulin challenged pancreas doesn’t like them, but my taste-buds do.

Guilty as CHARGED?

When Casey Anthony’s friend, Amy Huizenga, went on vacation last year she loaned Casey her car. When she returned, she learned her checks were missing from the car. Soon after, she found out her bank account was cleaned out and her balance was zero. Casey was charged with check fraud soon after her daughter was reported missing and now prosecutors want that case to go to trial within the next two months.

Casey is charged with more than a dozen fraud charges. Those include fraudulent use of personal identification, forgery of a check (1) and uttering a forged check (2). Authorites say that Casey used her former friend’s checks to purchase more than $400 worth of clothes and groceries at Target and Winn-Dixie stores around the area where she lived. She also withdrew $250 in cash from Amy’s bank and tried to pay a $574 phone bill, but at that point there wasn’t enough money in the account to pay the bill.

Recently, Linda Kenney Baden said the murder trial probably won’t start until June of next year and prosecutors don’t want to wait that long to resolve the fraud case. Assistant State Attorney Frank George said, “Given the complexities of the two cases, it is unreasonable to allow the forgery case to languish another year without a resolution.”

No date for the fraud charges has been set yet and Orange Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland has not yet responded to the request.

Also, prosecutors want a picture of Anthony’s tattoo  of the words “Bella Vita,” which is Italian for “Beautiful Life.” She got the tattoo about two weeks after Caylee disappeared. Assistant State Attorney Frank George said a picture of the tattoo “would be relevant and material in evaluating issues to be presented in connection with the upcoming trial.”

The first-degree murder charge was filed separately.

(1) 831.01  Forgery.–Whoever falsely makes, alters, forges or counterfeits a public record, or a certificate, return or attestation of any clerk or register of a court, public register, notary public, town clerk or any public officer, in relation to a matter wherein such certificate, return or attestation may be received as a legal proof; or a charter, deed, will, testament, bond, or writing obligatory, letter of attorney, policy of insurance, bill of lading, bill of exchange or promissory note, or an order, acquittance, or discharge for money or other property, or an acceptance of a bill of exchange or promissory note for the payment of money, or any receipt for money, goods or other property, or any passage ticket, pass or other evidence of transportation issued by a common carrier, with intent to injure or defraud any person, shall be guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

(2) 831.09  Uttering forged bills, checks, drafts, or notes.–Whoever utters or passes or tenders in payment as true, any such false, altered, forged, or counterfeit note, or any bank bill, check, draft, or promissory note, payable to the bearer thereof or to the order of any person, issued as aforesaid, knowing the same to be false, altered, forged, or counterfeit, with intent to injure or defraud any person, commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

Southern Routes

There was a land of Cavaliers and Cotton Fields called the “Old South.” Here in this pretty world, Gallantry took its last bow. Here was the last ever to be seen of Knights and their Ladies Fair, of Master and of Slave. Look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered, a Civilization gone with the wind…

- From the opening of the film Gone with the Wind (1939)

For Elizabeth

Four years ago, my best friend, Stewart Bacheler, and I took a road trip from Florida to Houston to visit my sister and her husband, who had just undergone a bone marrow transplant for AML. Fortunately, that transplant was successful and he remains in remission today. We had a great trip and vowed to do it again one day. Stew and I have known each other since before high school. On Friday morning, June 12, we took ourselves up on that vow and ventured out to visit Enterprise, Alabama and Natchez, Mississippi. This time, we tried to avoid the Interstates by taking U.S. Highways and a few back roads instead, at least on the way out of town.

Now, before you ask me why Enterprise, let me tell you that during our last trip, we weren’t hauling any drugs. This time, between the two of us, a mere four years later, I’m surprised every drug-sniffing dog throughout the deep south wasn’t chasing after us, although every one of them came with a doctor’s prescription. Except for supplements. You name it, we had it for heart, cholesterol, blood pressure and, suffice it to say, prostate problems. Something told me we would be stopping more often because of our… going problem. Fortunately, there were plenty of convenience stores for when we felt the urge.

When we first discussed the trip, I was amenable to going anywhere. I said there must be places you’d like to see that your wife is not all that interested in. I mean, every wife and husband are allowed to continue having their own interests. Sure, he said, and we spent the entire time in strip clubs we read about on-line. Just kidding, because we never actually set foot in one. To be truthful, Stew spent some Army time at Fort Rucker in Enterprise, home of the world famous Boll Weevil monument in the town square. Word also has it that Enterprise is the Peanut Capital of the World, or so Stew and some of the natives told me upon arriving. I also found out that the monument is the only one in the world erected to honor an insect, an agricultural pest to be more precise. It seems that by 1918, farmers were losing entire cotton crops to the pesky critters and an “enterprising” businessman saw this as an opportunity to convert the area to peanut farming. The rest is history. In Coffee County, no less. Today, the statue stands as a testament to the power of positive thinking by turning bad news into a happy ending. That little bug put Enterprise on the map. By the way, I’m the younger looking guy on the left side of the picture.

When we rolled into town, we took a few side trips to see some of Stew’s old haunts. Before we left he checked out some places to stay and had a printout of motels nearby. I made a few phone calls to get a good deal and we ended up staying at the Roasted Peanut Motel, where every guest gets a jar of its World Famous Delicious Boll Weevil Peanut Butter, chunky or smooth – your choice! Actually, that’s not true. We stayed at Americas Best Value Inn & Suites and we didn’t get any peanut butter, chunky or otherwise. It’s a very pleasant place and the folks who run it are extremely friendly and accommodating. As a matter of fact, all along the trip everyone was very friendly and I will personally vouch for the intangible quality often referred to as Southern Hospitality.

While in town we needed a place to relax and have dinner since that was about the time we arrived. Stewart used to eat at a Mexican restaurant but he figured it would be long gone by now, 35 years later. He drove in the general vicinity and found the Morgan Square Shopping Mall. “Yes, it was in here…” We took a peek.

Nope, it was gone, but in it’s place was the Italian Euro Bistro, so we decided to give it a try. It was the funniest menu, too, because it was mostly made up of Italian and German dishes. I’ve never seen a restaurant that served cuisines so vastly apart from each other, but it was a good place and our server, Michelle, was very friendly to a fault because every time we spoke to her she called us SIR. Here was a pretty girl, a former Army MP from Hawaii, now living in Alabama. It helps that her military family retired in Enterprise. If you ever find the place, please say hello for me and don’t forget to try the garlic knots.

The next morning, we set out to find us some peanut farmers. Of course, we had to eat first and darn if there wasn’t a Waffle House right down the street from where we stayed. We sauntered in and bellied up to the counter to order some grub. There was a good old boy sitting a couple of stools away and he overheard us talking about Stew’s military background and my brother’s visits to Iraq. Bruce was his name and he was a nice fellow. Born and raised in Enterprise, he works for Anfab, some sort of military provider, like helicopter pads and stuff I’m not familiar with. As we were leaving, I told him to be on the lookout for my article on peanut trees.

“Peanut trees?” he exclaimed.

“Yes, peanut trees.” Unfortunately, ol’ Bruce is not Internet savvy, so he won’t be able to read about the trees we did end up taking a gander at, but he knew they were there and he was the one who told us where to go, all hush-like. The funny thing is, when we got there we couldn’t take any pictures of the trees because they have something to do with some sort of military application – peanut cluster bombs and top secret bio-fuels for jets – but the kind farmer did give us directions to a tree we would be passing on our way out of town. We stopped and I snapped a picture. Peculiarly, it looks very similar to a pecan tree except it has peanuts on it. Unfortunately, we didn’t come during the harvest season and none of the goobers left on the tree were worth eating. Oh well, next time.

When we left town, we took U.S. 84 all the way to Natchez, Mississippi, figuring it would be the most scenic route. It was pretty, alright, and there were nice, rolling hills along the way with lots of green trees to look at. Along that route, we passed two side by side churches and stopped. I liked them for their quaint and comfortable look. They had a prurient appeal to me, having grown up in a small church in rural New Jersey, where my grandfather preached.

As we were passing through Andalusia, also in Alabama, we stopped and I took a couple of pictures that kind of tell you the story of how malls and big box stores have hurt businesses in downtown areas throughout the years. Of course, the economic downturn hasn’t helped, either. Quite obviously, this was once a thriving town and I could just feel the presence of a very proud spirit in this community, still filled with hope and the American dream. As we got back in the car and slowly drove off, a nice lady asked us if she could help us find anything. Her friendly demeanor spoke volumes and it was a testament to the tenacious nature of the town’s citizens.

One of the interesting things we noticed along the route were road signs that warned us that we were entering police jurisdictions because I never knew there were any areas of the country that didn’t have that luxury. Nowhere did I see any signs that said NO POLICE ALLOWED! There were also signs that said we were entering city limits and I’ll be darned if I could even find a town in sight. About a half hour or so before we got to Natchez, we saw a working oil rig-a-ma-jig, whatever it’s called.

It was a long journey across most of Alabama and all of Mississippi, but after about seven and a half hours, we wheeled into Natchez, home to many beautiful antebellum homes. I’ve always been impressed by Greek Revival, Classical Revival and Federal style architecture, probably from my high school days and when I watched Gone with the Wind on a History class field trip, but also because it reminds me of the Civil War, something that’s always fascinated me. There’s a certain sadness about the south I just can’t explain other than to say that old plantations and slaves were a part of our American heritage and growing up in the north, I never got to see cotton fields and other things indigenous to the south, like magnolia trees. It was a sad day when this war ripped at our very fabric and unfortunately, someone had to lose. Fortunately, pockets in the south are still rich in culture and Natchez stands among the best.

Why this picture turned out so good is beyond me. Nowhere else was the river this blue.

As we entered the city, we bee lined it to the Mississippi River along the western edge. All of Natchez is quite a bit higher than the river and we found a road leading down to a little area bustling with activity. There were houses, storefronts, and the Isle of Capri Casino Hotel. Since we didn’t come to gamble, we didn’t. The casino is on the water because of state laws prohibiting them on land and it is designed to look like an old fashioned steamboat or paddlewheel. Real steamboats still prowl the river, but not while we were there.

The great Mississippi is a majestic river. It’s the second largest in the country with a length of 2,320 miles from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico, near New Orleans. I guess it’s always inspired me because of its size and the fact that I could be stepping in it in Natchez while my brother is doing the same thing in St. Louis. Growing up reading Mark Twain may have had something to do with it, too, Huck Finn and all. Here are a few pictures I took. We took the bridge from Natchez to Vidalia, Louisiana just for kicks. Plus, I wanted to view Natchez from the other side. After taking a peek, we stopped for gas. I asked the girl behind the counter what there was of interest to see in Vidalia. I knew that the onions with the same name come from a county in Georgia.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“No, nothing.”

“Oh. What about the onions? Do you sell them here in town?” I knew it was a trick question, but she was right on top of it.

“Yeah. When they’re shipped in we do.” I took her word for it that Vidalia, Louisiana was not much of a town and I figured she’d just as soon move away if only her gallant prince would ride in to buy a bag of out of state onions.

“Oh well, have a nice day,” and off I went. Alas, I wasn’t her prince.

One of the things we noticed by the river was a helicopter, but it looked a lot more like a whirlybird. It was right there in the open. No pilot was in sight and it looked ripe for the taking. “C’mon, Stew. Let’s take her for a ride.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. You’ve never flown one of these things before.”

“Look, they’re really quite simple. Let’s go.” We hopped inside and I revved her up. Stewart remembered me from my days of playing Army, but that was 37 years ago.

How I managed to start the thing, let alone fly it and land, is beyond me, but we got safely back to the right spot and no one ever noticed it was missing, but I must admit there’s one less bird flying around Natchez.

Now, it was time to eat dinner, despite both of us losing our appetites. I had picked up a nice, glossy visitor’s guide earlier in the day and noticed a place called Fat Mama’s Tamales. It was a fun place with good looking women and very good food to match. I had the signature tamales and they were delicious. It looked like a regular hangout kind of joint and that’s always a good thing. It did make me wonder why there wasn’t a place in town called Natchez Nachos, though.

The next morning we had already decided to see some of Natchez’s finer sites – the houses. I also noticed on the visitors guide that there were two cemeteries adjacent to each other, above town and overlooking the Mississippi River in some areas. That was added to our list of things to do, along with touring at least one house.

We started out and Stew decided to criss cross the city. I will just show pictures of the houses because we didn’t really know anything about them until we met Don.

On the red brick house with the white pillars, I went up the steps to take a picture of the massive door. One of the things Stewart told me was that the plantation owners had houses on their properties, but they owned homes like these in town for social functions and for winter months when crops fell silent. These were built to show their wealth and stature. Of course, back then Negro servants cooked and took care of the children while doing other chores. Many of these homes were built in the late 1700s to the mid 1800s. Today, some are private residences and others are B&Bs.

The guy in the picture is Don. Just below that is his house. We were still just driving around when I spotted the place. It was ornate in a different sort of way and I could tell it needed a lot of work.

“Hey!” I said. “Let’s stop here. I like this place. It’s got a certain feel to it. Plus, it’s for sale.”

“Sure, but what do you care if it’s for sale or not?” Point well made. There was no way I could buy it and I didn’t have the money anyway.

We pulled up to the curb and got out of the car, trusty cameras in hand. Suddenly, I saw some stirring on the front porch. The gentleman walked to the left side of the house, down the steps and over to us.

“Hello,” he said in a friendly tone of voice. We responded. “Are you interested in the house?”

“Well, yes,” I said, “but not in buying it. We’re from Florida.” And with that, he began to tell us of his work as a professor at the University of South Florida.

“In economics,” he added. I asked him about property values in Natchez. We talked about how bad it is in Orlando.“Well, let me put it this way. Before all this, the house was worth almost $300,000, but today, it’s listed for just under $170,000.”

“Wow, that’s a big drop. I notice you have a few broken windows upstairs, like in the attic.”

“We keep the upstairs closed off. I had cancer and I just got done with chemo and radiation. I don’t have the energy anymore to do the work. That’s why it’s for sale.”

Stew and I both remarked how good he looked.

“Yeah, and I didn’t lose any hair, either.”

Stew asked him about places to see. Where are the best ‘do not miss’ spots in town? He told us a number of things and I was hoping that Stew was paying more attention than me because I couldn’t remember it all until he mentioned Dunleith. “Yup, Dunleith is the most photographed house in the country. More so than the White House.”

“Really? The White House?”

Most definitely. Well, Stew and I put that place on our list. He said that one was a nice one to tour and so was Longwood. Meanwhile, a car pulled up and a lady got out. We told him it was great meeting him and I told him my name. “It looks like you have a prospect.”

“Yes and I’m down to my last flier. I’ve got to get more printed. I’m Don.” I don’t remember his last name, but we had firm handshakes between us and said our good byes. He was a true gentleman and I hope he sells his house.

At that point, we decided to take a look at the cemeteries and then swing back to tour one of the homes he suggested.

I don’t know why I’ve always had a fascination with cemeteries, but I do. I especially like the above ground crypts like you see in New Orleans. There’s a certain eeriness about them. Maybe, it’s because I’m on the same level with all those bodies instead of looking down at the ground and seeing grass. Plus, I realize that every body in there was once a living, breathing soul and most of them made some sort of impact on life and those around them. What did they do? Where did they live? What were living conditions like back then? Would we have been friends if we grew up in the same era? Those sorts of questions have always intrigued me. Where are you now? Or are you? I don’t have a strange fascination with death, it’s just the people who once were. The best cemetery I ever visited was St. Louis #1 in New Orleans. Yes, it’s kind of creepy and no, I wouldn’t especially want to hang around there at night, but I’m not easily spooked, either.

It is with dignity for the deceased when I step into their world and where they now reside, body-wise, anyway, and it was with Stewart when we walked through that New Orleans cemetery, so this was appropriate that it would be the two of us again. Natchez has two; the Natchez City Cemetery and the Natchez National Cemetery for veterans. The pictures will give you an idea about how the townspeople respect their dead.

The mausoleum where Stewart is standing had no door, only a metal gate that was chained shut. I poked my head up and into the tomb as far as I could and said a few words. Booooos were more like it. Stew said that when he had done the same thing at another cemetery, his wife got upset with him, like he was disturbing the dead. If I was disturbing anyone, they didn’t yell at me to stop. All I heard was a faint echo of my voice. And I sure hope I wasn’t rattling any bones.

The picture with the small tombstones was the final resting place for unknown Confederate soldiers killed during the Civil War. I remembered visiting an old cemetery in Shiloh, Illinois, a few years ago and seeing Union soldiers buried there. I wonder why so many of our boys had to go fight in a senseless war. All wars are senseless to me.

The final picture in the cemetery series was taken because I liked his name. There lies Moses Haas next to his beloved wife, Mina, resting peacefully under a shade tree for all eternity.

After reading names and dates, it was time to move on to the final chapter of our trip to Natchez, to tour one of the houses. We were rather intrigued by Don’s mention of the house that’s been more photographed than any other, so we decided to take a look at Dunleith.

As we started to come back down the hill, we noticed two buildings that, for sure, looked like sharecroppers houses from days gone by. I took pictures of both but I figured one would be enough to give you an idea of what home life might have been like for hard working slaves grueling every day in the hot and humid climes of Misissippi. This was probably a step up to many of them.

Dunleith (1) is a very special and grand house. Called Routhland, the original structure was built in the late 1700s by Job Routh and his wife, Ann Miller, but burned to the ground in 1855 after lightning struck one of the chimneys. This house was built in 1856 and how it came to be known as Dunleith is an interesting story and by clicking the numeral one next to the highlighted name, you can read about it. Today, the upstairs and annex are part of a bed and breakfast. The buildings are set on 40 acres in the outskirts of town. Dunleith is a very good example of Greek Revival. 26 Tuscan columns surround the house. I got a kick out of some of the houses I saw in town. Sometimes, you couldn’t tell whether you were coming or going since the front and back were just a bold and powerful. I guess, in a sense, it’s like the White House because no matter which side you look at, it’s just as impressive.

When we got there, we parked toward the back side and entered where room reservations are made. The very accommodating lady told us if we hurry upstairs, out the door and up the rear steps, we could make the tour, ready to start in about 5 minutes. We had already asked her how much it costs.

“Seven dollars, but if you’re over fifty-five it’s six.”

“Bingo! That’s us. Do you want us to pay you now?”

“No, you can pay when you’re through.” That’s how trusting people are in the south. We scampered up the stairs and eventually ran into Judy, our tour guide, waiting for us at the back door.

“Why don’t you walk around this porch and meet us at the front door.” We obliged her and by the time we got there, she was coming out of the front door.

“Hey,” I exclaimed, “you look just like that pretty lady we just met out back!”

“That was my twin sister, Trudy,” and with that, she started her tour. Others were sitting on cozy rockers on the shady porch as Judy beckoned us inside. The huge door weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 pounds.

Miss Judy was a delight. She took us through the downstairs rooms and explained in minute detail the intricacies involved as each owner added their personal signatures on interior designs. What was interesting, yet didn’t surprise me at all, was the French influence overall. Without adding another thousand words to my account of what we saw and heard, let me just say it’s worth the six or seven dollars to tour this magnificent structure. I took several photos inside the house, in spite of the sign clearly stating NO PHOTOGRAPHY INSIDE THE HOUSE, but I had permission from the master tour guide herself.

“This was meant for times before we had those new digital cameras,” she said when I asked. “As long as you don’t use the flash, it’s fine.” Unfortunately, I hadn’t had a chance to read the instructions, since it was new, and a lot of them didn’t turn out right as you will see in my last photo in this Dunleith series.

The portraits are of the original owners, Mr. and Mrs. Job Routh, dating from the late 1700s or early 1800s. There was a portrait of a former slave who ended up being a fairly powerful man about town, given that the slave owner recognized his intelligence and sent him to school. There’s a unique history to this house and it’s well worth reading about. There are several outbuildings. One is a restaurant and it looks similar to a castle. These buildings are thought to be a part of the original house, Routhland.

One of the stories she told is about horses kept in the basement during the Civil War. Brought there to hide them from the Union soldiers, the owner, Alfred Vidal Davis, used special glasses to get the soldiers drunk. We passed around a book showing the unique design and noticed their rounded bottoms. You see, Davis knew that by serving alcohol in those glasses, the soldiers could not set them down, so he kept pouring and pouring and by the time they got drunk, they left, never finding a horse in sight to pilfer away from him or his plantation. Oh, those dumb Yankees… being outsmarted by Mr. Davis himself. Incidentally, it was Davis who renamed it Dunleith because of his Scottish heritage.

If you look closely at the main picture of the house, you’ll notice stairs to nowhere to the left (and in front) of the SUV. What are they, you might wonder. In the days of horse drawn carriages, they helped the ladies step out and down to ground level, and while I’m mentioning carriages…

When we finished with the tour, we spent a little time talking to Judy and another couple before going back to pay our tab. I asked Stewart to drive around back to see the restaurant and some of the other buildings. One in particular that Judy had mentioned was the carriage house. You know we have come a long way as a nation when we elect an African American president and a Yankee general’s carriage sits on Rebel land because inside that carriage house, Ulysses S. Grant’s carriage was on loan. Sadly, the photo I took of it proves how inept I was at taking some of the pictures. I was used to my larger camera. This one was a lot smaller and not as easy to hold still at times. Oh, progress. In any event, that was our last stop except for the Subway shop we hit before leaving town.

We decided to take U.S. 98 to where we expected to spend our final night, in Mobile, Alabama. This way, we got to see other small towns and also, to pass through Hattiesburg, near the Alabama border. We wanted to at least get to Mobile so it wouldn’t be such a long trip home. Stewart needed to get home by Monday night to let the dogs out since his wife, An, left that morning for Atlanta. About a half hour away from Mobile, we stopped for gas and to find out where we could get the best deal on a room. When I asked the rather beautiful girl behind the counter, she was very helpful. My goodness, she almost looked like the perfect picture of a southern belle until she spoke. Too bad her parents never taught her how to take care of her teeth, but she did send us in the right direction a few miles ahead, just off I-65, which made it very convenient for hopping on I-10 in the morning, our route home. On our last trip, we made up stories of our motel room stays and it was quite funny, with An threatening to leave Stew because of our silly, made-up bedroom antics. Of course, we had to make up something new this time so when he called her from our motel room, he said that we ran out of money and the nice manager of a McDonald’s said we could sleep in our car in the parking lot, since they had wi-fi and all and we had brought our laptops. This upset her to no end and when she insisted on us getting a room – in fact, she asked exactly where we were so she could find one and put it on her credit card – he told her he was only kidding and she chose not to believe him. He told her to call the room number. That night, we went to a Japanese steakhouse and met a family from Germany. You know those places where you sit around the table and the chef comes to cook before your eyes? Anyway, they had been in the United States for a year and a half and it was interesting to listen to a Kraut speak English with a Deutsch and Alabama drawl. Yee Häw!

Well, there’s the story of our trip. My only regret is that I never became a dentist, because if I had, I would have asked that girl to leave town and come back to Florida with me. Oh well, next time I want to go to Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. One of these days I might just meet my Scarlett O’Hara.

On second thought, never mind, because here in this real world, I’m getting old. I’ve got pills to take. Those days are no more than a dream remembered, a part of me now gone with the wind…

The End

To see Stewart’s Photos of the trip please click HERE

©2009 Dave Knechel

Would you like squirrel on that pizza?

“The roots growing into the vertebrae and bags indicate that the body was placed there months prior to being found. There is nothing inconsistent with the body being placed there soon after the day of last being seen alive.”

Well, it’s official… The autopsy and other forensic reports released yesterday indicate no drugs were found in Caylee’s body at the time of her death and what those documents tell me is that Casey did not drug her over a period of time, which means no extended exposure to Xanax or chloroform or any other heavy duty medications meant to daze her into a deep sleep. This means that Zani (or Zanny the Nanny, depending on which one you prefer) was not Xanax, AKA Caylee’s elusive babysitter as some have theorized. Throw that one out with the dirty dish water. What it does not deny, though, is the theory that she was drugged on her final day alive, and that chemical compounds did not have a chance to seep their way into her system. Casey did not drug her daily and tote her around in the trunk of her car. No accidental overdose occurred and there is no such thing as an accidental homicide. Duct tape in her hair shows an intent to kill and/or cause great bodily harm. No one places tape over a toddler’s mouth, nose and into the hair to merely silence that child, especially multiple layers. Whether she suffocated or not we will never know, but suffice it to say her mother was the last family member to see her alive and the duct tape found in the house conclusively matches the tape found on the skull, mandible and hair. Did Zani sneak in there to steal a roll of tape when it would have been much simpler to buy a new roll?

Soon after George and Cindy Anthony told authorities that the car reeked of death, like there was a “damn dead body” in there somewhere, they did an about face and said it was from a pizza box. Now, I’ve always eaten a pizza before it had a chance to rot and I never thought about leaving it in the trunk to keep it piping hot in the Florida heat, but on a practical note, it makes all the sense in the world if we are to promote an earth friendly, green environment and take advantage of solar heat instead of a coal burning electric oven, with coal being the source of electricity.

It’s interesting to note that Casey and her parents, for any of the conspiracy theorists out there, do not completely agree on what caused the car to have that nasty stench of death. George and Cindy adhere to the pizza box theory while their not so loving daughter claims it was from dead squirrels that were plastered to the frame of her car, although no putrid flesh was found. Quite simply put, that’s what you call CYA, or cover your ass, in plain language. Casey knew that someone would recognize the smell and she had to have an explanation for it. The friends she text messaged might have believed her but it didn’t wash with the fuzz.

To prove how smart, cagey and thorough these law enforcement types were on this case, they sent a decomposed pizza and a non-breathing – meaning dead – squirrel to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee where scientists did some analyzing. Trust me, no squirrels were run over in an attempt to duplicate the conditions, so PETA, stay out of it. It was roadkill. Remember, trained K-9 dogs can differentiate between human and animal decomposition and they barked that the trunk odor was definitely from human residue.

The Oak Ridge report emphasized that previous statements about a decomposing pizza found in the trunk were not true, but to allay future issues, they went ahead and ordered a mushroom and pepperoni pie. Hmm… was that a thin crust? They analyzed it, still in its original box – after a lunch break, I’m sure – and after several days of decomposition. “It’s interesting to note that no maggots were found on the pizza,” and it still tasted fresh. No, I added that part.

Like I said, the poor tamiasciurus hudsonicus was the victim of a hit-and-run and was supplied by a zooarcheologist at the University of Tennessee. Researchers allowed poor Rocky J. Squirrel to decompose outdoors for about 10 days in a garbage can with fly access. In other words, no lid. After that time period, the researchers said that maggot activity and odor were “significantly less than expected.”

They also noted, “Results of this analysis showed very little similarity to the Florida carpet sample,” and that no sulfur compounds or chloroform were detected. In my opinion, this could be interpreted as a completely different result because in the Caylee case, the trunk was sealed, it was relatively airtight, and the heat in the Florida climate made it unbearably hot. The defense may try to suppress this evidence, but I believe it would be a losing cause since chloroform was present and there must be a reason for it being so high. I predict it will be one of the key pivotal points at the trial.

Of the 51 found and identified chemicals on the carpet sample from the trunk of Casey’s car, 80% were consistent with decompositional events. “Nearly all the compounds present in early human decomposition were detected in the trunk samples if their concentrations were high enough to detect,” the report said. This would directly lead to the assumption that a human body was in the trunk and nowhere else on or in the vehicle. Circumstantial, yes, but Casey said squirrels were stuck to the frame, not in the trunk where the concentrations were found.

Here are some other findings:

Crime scene technicians spent over a week minutely scouring the woods off Suburban Drive trying to find every little piece of the remains and anything else tied to the case. The autopsy report states that they collected “an almost complete skeleton of a young child with only multiple small bones missing. The missing bones include small bones from the wrists and hands, as well as fingers and ankle, hyoid and patella.” The hyoid is the only bone in the human skeleton not articulated to any other bone. It is held in place by thyroid ligaments. What this means is that as the flesh decomposes, it separates from the remaining skeletal remains and in this case, it drifted away.

I’ve already mentioned that the report shows several overlapping pieces of duct tape on the skull. “Although there is no trauma evident on the skeleton, there is duct tape over the lower facial region still attached to head hair,” it said. “This duct tape was clearly placed prior to decomposition keeping the mandible in place.”

Parts of the skeleton were intermixed with the two plastic garbage bags and a canvas laundry bag. “The bags have a woodsy, outdoor odor with no smell of decomposition.” The report also noted that vertebrae were found clustered away from the skull. This means that water and/or other natural weather conditions and animals were responsible.

Medical examiners made note of multiple roots extending through parts of the plastic bag and bones. At least one root was 10 centimeters in length and “completely extends through the bag.”

“The roots growing into the vertebrae and bags indicate that the body was placed there months prior to being found. There is nothing inconsistent with the body being placed there soon after the day of last being seen alive.” Roots had also grown through a Winnie the Pooh blanket found at the scene with the plastic bags.

♦

Since the release of these reports, I’ve noticed plenty of commenters mention that justice was served when the results were published. I find this to be rather perplexing and it highlights some of the things wrong with this case and how people unfamiliar with law interpret the issues and many of the factors involved. Clearly, Caylee’s body was in those woods longer than the theorists claim, yet many of them will not back down when facts are staring them straight in the face. The most viable conclusion is that she was in those woods since the end of June, minimally. Please cut Kronk some slack. Baez, Dominic Casey, George & Cindy and Brad Conway do not sit around kissing each other’s rear ends, so you should discount any theories about them absolutely knowing beyond a shadow of doubt that the body was in there and Kronk had something to do with it. If anyone really knew it was there, it would have been disposed of or found much earlier.

But the biggest and most offensive obstacle is justice itself. Yesterday’s hearing was about allowing the autopsy and forensic reports to be released because of Florida’s open laws. Some of you call them Sunshine Laws. This was not at all about justice. It was strictly about our right to know since all autopsy reports are a matter of public record. It is the legal right for an attorney to fight the release as much as it is my right as a Floridian to read it. Just because you can read it too does not make it justice. The Anthonys had every right to beg and if you went through the same type of misery, you would do the same thing, no matter how biased and filled with hate you are for them. I was almost completely convinced that the judge would be compelled to rule the way he did. He didn’t like it, but the law is the law and in the end, he did the right and only thing. What we get to see from those open laws has absolutely nothing to do with justice. All of these documents will be presented at trial, whether they are released to us or not. Then, and only then, is when justice will be served. Justice is all about Caylee and it has nothing to do with me, you or anyone else. Because of the subject matter in this case, I understand how emotions run high, but we all need to find the line that separates facts from emotions and keep them apart.

Judge releases Caylee’s autopsy report: READ THE AUTOPSY HERE

A hearing took place this morning at 11:00 am in the case against Casey when George and Cindy Anthony asked Orange County District Court Judge Stan Strickland to stop the release of their granddaughter’s autopsy report, which is public record. Authorities have previously said Caylee was murdered but the cause of death could not be determined.

In the request, Brad Conway, George and Cindy’s attorney, wrote that disclosing the autopsy report at this time would “cause great anguish to the Anthony family” as they continue to mourn and struggle with the loss of their only grandchild. The Anthonys do not want to endure “endless comment and speculation in the media and public forums.”

Casey was not at the hearing, but her attorney, Jose Baez asked the judge for a 48-hour stay on the release of the documents. Strickland denied the request and in the end, he denied the motion request. He said the public “has a right to view the same items I look at.” Strickland added that the autopsy report can be released as early as today. [I have since updated and it includes the autopsy report, along with key findings, and a video of the hearing, along with the motions.]

A very emotional George Anthony stormed out of the courtroom near the end after hearing the ruling, followed by his wife. “This last year has been an emotional strain on our entire family,” George told Strickland this morning. “Although the public has a right to know… we ask the court to hold the release.”

George returned to his seat next to his wife, Cindy, clutching a crumpled tissue and a framed picture of Caylee.

The Orlando Sentinel had requested the report, along with other media outlets. The Sentinel’s attorney, Rachel Fugate told the judge “I sympathize with the Anthonys… but that doesn’t mean a public record, an autopsy report, should be closed.”

In his decision, Judge Strickland stated, “It is just findings and medical examiner’s reports. No photos. Information is just factual. No editorializing. It’s quite dry, other than the terrible content.” He added that the public “has a right to view the same items I look at.”

After the hearing, Brad Conway said the autopsy report, which is very specific, has not been read by the Anthonys. “Because of the advanced state of decomposition that the coroner was dealing with, there was very little to work with. It was very thorough, but it doesn’t answer any questions. What it does do is leave speculation open for everybody that wants to decide what did or what didn’t happen,” he added, and that he was very disappointed for his clients.

In my opinion, there has been all kinds of speculation on blogs, forums and other media sources since the crime made the headlines. If anything, this will stir up more of the same whether the report had been released or not, so I see no harm in releasing what, by Florida law, is a matter of public record. For those of you who believe motions like this are slowing down the wheels of justice for little Caylee, get your heads out of the sand. This has nothing to do with the trial. Start thinking with your brain instead of your heart.

>>>>>Report of Examination<<<<<

>>>>>Forensic Report Released June, 19, 2009<<<<<

>>>>>FBI Lab Report<<<<<

WFTV VIDEO OF HEARING

Motion to Restrict Disclosure of Autopsy

Order to Stay

• ALL X-RAY AND PHOTO EVIDENCE REMOVED FROM PUBLIC VIEW

• NO SOFT TISSUE

• VERTEBRAE FOUND CLUSTERED AND AWAY FROM SKULL AND BAGS (FROM ANIMAL ACTIVITY)

• PLANT ROOTS ADHERING TO AND GROWING AROUND BONES

• OVERLAPPING PIECES OF DUCT TAPE ON SKULL AND MANDIBLE

• DUCT TAPE STILL ATTACHED TO SCALP HAIRS

• TAPE KEPT SKULL AND MANDIBLE FROM SEPARATING

• NO EVIDENCE OF TRAUMA

• NO DRUGS FOUND IN BONE AND HAIR SAMPLES

• CAUSE OF DEATH CANNOT BE DETERMINED

Judge Strickland to media: No jailhouse video release

Orange County Circuit Judge Stan Strickland ordered that the video taken at the Orange County Jail on December 11 be sealed today. This means the public will not see the video of Casey Anthony’s reaction the day she learned a child’s remains were found about a third of a mile from her home. “While the court is loathe to shield any public record, an argument can certainly be made that the contents of the video are highly inflammatory,” Judge Strickland wrote in his three-page order.

The judge said he watched the video and based his decision on a three-part test, which included whether it would impact a potential jury pool. “Given the nature and scope of the pretrial publicity, it is not unreasonable to assume that many persons in the potential jury pool might view this video and develop a ‘hardened’ attitude in reference to the defendant’s guilt,” Strickland wrote.

After hearing of the discovery of a child’s body near her home, Casey was moved from her cell to the jail’s medical facility where a TV was airing a report of the find. Her reaction was recorded while watching the news. At that point, no positive ID was confirmed regarding the remains, but everyone pretty much knew it was Caylee.

Casey Anthony’s defense team did not want the video released and successfully argued that it would taint a potential jury pool andalso it would violate her Constitutional rights. Media had filed legal papers to persuade the judge to release the video and I would venture a guess that an appeal is already in the works.

I realize that some of you may not agree with me, but I understand the decision. My opinion has nothing to do with Casey in particular. It should apply in every capital crime case. The only people who really need to see the video are members of the jury after the trial is underway. Clearly, it could affect a jury pool and the only real reason why the media wanted it was to titillate the public. The only people who demand it have already made up their minds about Casey’s guilt. What more would it prove to them? Is it to satisfy their lust to watch her squirm? The judge made the right decision.

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Butterflies are free to fly

“As much as you love Caylee, please… just don’t forget the others.”

- Richard Grund

Caylee loved butterflies, so it was no surprise that at the end of the memorial held on June 16 at Jay Blanchard Park, a basket holding butterflies was released to the skies along with balloons – with each balloon honoring a missing or murdered person. One of the butterflies flew right to the floral arrangement at the front of the pavilion.

In the beginning, Richard Grund said he was asked to hold the memorial on Suburban Drive but he said no, that was where something happened to Caylee and it’s not how he wants to remember her. He wants to remember her running around and swinging, just like in that park. Then, he spoke of Caylee. He mentioned those who could not attend and he read a message from Marc Klaas, father of Polly Klaas and now a child advocate who established the KlaasKids Foundation. He spoke of his son, Jesse, who loved Caylee like his own daughter, even when he found out he wasn’t her father. Most of all, he spoke of all children and how we must do everything we can to stop the innocent murders and crimes against our youth, here and around the world.

Children are born as babes in the woods. They are free from sin. How can anyone harm a child? This was his message to the few who came to listen; some who were a part of Caylee throughout her short life. They were friends, neighbors and strangers, but on this day, we were all together to remember the little angel named Caylee Marie Anthony and her presence was felt by all of us.

I’d guess there were about 40 people; not a big crowd, but a very comfortable one. Everyone was nice. One of the things I noticed was that these were ordinary people, the types you’d sit next to in church or at a casual restaurant, the ones you’d feel very comfortable with and easy to strike up a conversation with as you mill about. I had a chance to thank Richard for his dedication to Caylee and her memory. I spoke with Lois Peter and told her we had met the day Leonard Padilla was with the dive team. “As a matter of fact,” I said, “you were at the top of my first blog post about this case. You were wearing your Caylee t-shirt.”

“Back then,” she responded, “I was coming to the park every day.”

I spoke to a friend of hers who told me that her son was messed up on drugs and she had the chance to adopt his child, now four years old. She said she lives near the Anthonys and that place where she still cannot bring herself to drive by to this day. I thought about how her child will never get to meet Caylee now. She said another son went to school with Casey and no one would have believed this.

When the basket of butterflies was opened, only one flew out, the one that went to the flowers and stayed even when everyone was invited to take a rose. In the end, I took a carnation I will preserve in a book with a note explaining where it came from. Dakota Skii wondered why the other butterflies were staying still. Were they dead? she wondered? No, I responded. They were a little shocked and dormant. That’s their way of defending themselves and it was calming to her, reassured that the frail and beautiful creatures were safe from harm.

In the end, I was reassured, too, because everyone there was no different from anyone else. These were people who were moved by Caylee and it was a love fest of sorts. Everyone gathered to pay homage to her and to greet each other with open arms. It was not the largest crowd, but every heart was huge and I could feel it.

The memorial was organized by In Memory of Caylee Marie Anthony.

The following photographs were taken by me. I shot 72 pictures and selected many to show you. I hope each one tells a little story about what it was like and how comforting each person in attendance was. If you have any questions, please ask me. Each picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. It will open in a new page. Click it again. Thank you for taking the time to read this and take a look.

The images are in descending order – the way I took them.

All photos © David B. Knechel 2009 – All rights reserved

A sad day to remember

Remembering Caylee

A year ago yesterday Caylee Anthony was flipping through her book, Suppertime for Frieda Fuzzypaws. Life was fun and filled with joy and everyone she touched felt her warmth. She brought happiness to everyone who met and knew her. The following day, it would all come tumbling down. It was on that day that little Caylee Marie was never seen again. On June 16, 2008, she said good bye to her grandfather and left the Anthony home with her mother, Casey Anthony. Casey said she was going to drop her off with a babysitter before going to work at Universal Studios.

The following month proved to be very strange for the Anthony family as Casey dodged her parents at every chance. George and Cindy were used to seeing Caylee every day since she and her mother lived in the same house. After the 16th, Cindy only reached Casey a few times on her cell phone by briefly speaking to her or texting. Each time, Casey had an excuse for Caylee: She’s with the nanny. She’s at the beach. She’s taking a nap.

On July 15, Casey ran out of excuses and a tragic nightmare began.

George and Cindy were notified that their Pontiac Sunbird, Casey’s car, had been towed to Johnson’s Towing after being abandoned two weeks earlier at the Amscot located on Colonial Drive and Goldenrod Road on the east side of Orlando. When they went to retrieve the car, they were overcome by the stench of death eminating from inside the vehicle. “When I first went there to pick up that vehicle I got within three feet of it I could smell something,” George Anthony later told investigators. “I think I whispered out to myself, ‘Please don’t let this by my Caylee.’ “

Cindy was so frightened that she called one of Casey’s best friends, Amy Huizenga, to track her down and to find out once and for all where Caylee was. Of course, Casey said she was with the nanny. Overcome by anger, Cindy drove Casey to a nearby Orlando police station but it was closed. Finally, she confided in her brother, Lee, that Casey had been missing for a month.

Cindy Anthony desperately calls 911. She begs dispatchers for help: “I told you my daughter was missing for a month,” she frantically tells the operator. “I just found her today, but I can’t find my granddaughter. There’s something wrong. I found my daughter’s car today and it smelled like there’s been a dead body in the damn car.”

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office responds quickly and by the next day, the local media has latched hold of a story that will take center stage for month after month, while investigators listen to lie after lie from Casey. She told authorities she worked at Universal Studios. She described how she dropped Caylee off at Sawgrass Apartments. She tells them she left her with a nanny named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez. After looking for the nanny, investigators concluded that she doesn’t exist. On the 16th, detectives arrest Casey for child neglect, filing false statements and obstructing a criminal investigation.

Six days later, Detective Yuri Melich testifies that dogs used to find dead human bodies were alerted to the trunk of Casey’s car and under a playhouse in the Anthonys’ backyard. It was then that Orange Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland sets Casey’s bond at $500,000. “I just heard some fairly compelling evidence as to a body decomposing,” the judge says.

For the next 11 months, the circus comes to town and this story becomes the biggest thing to ever hit Orlando. It’s been a whirlwind ride ever since. Casey is in and out of jail on bond until finally, on October 14, prosecutors, with George Anthony’s help, tell a grand jury about forensic evidence found in Casey’s car. Later that day, State Attorney Lawson Lamar announces Casey’s indictment for a number of charges, including first-degree murder.

On December 11, Casey’s body was found. After investigators studied the remains, prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick filed notice of the state’s intentions to seek the death penalty. The judge had originally set the start of the trial on October 12, but this was before the death penalty was factored in. Many speculate that the trial won’t get underway until some time next year. Meanwhile, justice will not come swiftly for little Caylee Marie. One day, it will come and she will rest in peace, but until then, we must wait. We must be patient.

Tonight, there will be a memorial service for Caylee at Jay Blanchard Park. Since I live here in Orlando, I plan on attending. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you all about it.

CBS Early Show interview with George and Cindy

Good Morning America interview with Brad Conway

No Caylee autopsy report today

Orange County Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland issued an order late Thursday that will delay the release of the autopsy report on Caylee Anthony that had been expected to be made public this morning, along with nearly 1,000 other documents related to the case. “For reasons unknown to the court the motion was served only upon the State Attorney’s Office,” Strickland wrote in the order. “The real party in interest in this matter is the various news media.”

Casey Anthony’s parents, George and Cindy, had made the motion public early yesterday that was filed on their behalf by their attorney, Brad Conway.

“George and Cindy Anthony are respectfully asking . . . to restrict the release of the autopsy results,” according to the motion. “The information contained within the report will cause great anguish to the Anthony family, still struggling with the loss of their only granddaughter.

“Releasing the autopsy report to the media at this point in time causes endless comment and speculation in the media and public forums, such as the Internet. The publication of these results has already been the topic of countless television programs despite the fact that the actual autopsy report has not been released.”

The Anthonys realize they will be released at trial and they are emphasizing that that’s where they belong, not in the document dump.

According to the Orlando Sentinel Web site, “The State Attorney’s Office is releasing the information in response to public records requests. Prosecutors are required by law to release the documents that they provided to the defense. Some information, such as autopsy photos, can be exempt from public record laws.”

Please follow updates on released material in the comments section on this post throughout the day.

Private investigator Dominic Casey responded to questions yesterday concerning whether he should be charged with contempt of court for not showing up for a deposition in the Zenaida Gonzalez defamation lawsuit, held at the offices of Morgan & Morgan in a mock courtroom. “How would information from Dominic Casey help the Zenaida Gonzalez defamation case?” attorney Diana M. Tennis asked in her brief to have the contempt motion dispelled. “It wouldn’t.”

Casey, who does investigative work for George and Cindy Anthony, failed to show up on March 25 to answer questions. “This litigation is a cynical and frivolous exploitation of a family’s tragedy,” his attorney said in a motion filed for a protective order in the Orange County civil case against Casey Anthony.

Please check comments for new information regarding today’s document dump.

From the Orlando Sentinel today…

(with my apologies because I like to write my own articles)

A crime-blog writer told investigators that Cindy Anthony suspected her daughter of having something to do with Caylee Marie Anthony’s disappearance, according to documents released today.

Crime-blog writer Sean Krause told investigators on Dec. 2, 2008 that Cindy Anthony suspected her daughter, Casey Anthony, of having done something with her granddaughter, Caylee Anthony, the new records show.

“I spoke with [Cindy Anthony]…it was the first time that she agreed that she actually really believed that her [Casey Anthony]…actually did something to Caylee,” Krause told Orange County investigator Cpl. Yuri Melich.

Krause, who died from cancer in February, said Cindy Anthony later retracted her comment, but wouldn’t explain why she changed her mind.

He also told investigators he had received e-mails from Cindy Anthony’s Yahoo! E-mail account, telling him that she had a scoop for his crime blog, The Daily BS.com.

When speaking to Cindy Anthony later, she denied ever sending the e-mail or others pertaining to any information for his crime blog.

Investigators also asked Krause about the person representing Casey Anthony’s defense attorney Jose Baez. The Press Corps Media representative, who called himself Todd Black, had contacted Krause to tell him that the FBI’s forensic tests were faulty.

Krause ignored Black’s comments.

Krause’s interview with investigators is part of the discovery released today by the State Attorney’s Office.

Today’s discovery does not include the autopsy report of slain toddler Caylee Marie Anthony because a judge late Thursday issued an order delaying the release of that information.

The order was issued because of last-minute objections raised by Casey Anthony’s parents, George Anthony and Cindy Anthony.

The grandparents of the slain 2-year-old said releasing the autopsy report would be upsetting.

Casey Anthony, 23, is charged with murder in her daughter’s death. Caylee Marie Anthony’s body was found Dec. 11, a short walk from her home in east Orange County.

The documents that were released today include depositions, including several that have been previously released.

If your comments are not showing up, they may be getting caught in spam for no reason at all. I will do my best to release them as soon as I can, but in the meantime, try copying (Ctrl+C) what you write and pasting it (Ctrl+V) in again. You may have to change the words a little.

x

Caylee autopsy to be released tomorrow

George and Cindy Anthony are desperate to keep the autopsy results of their granddaughter sealed until, at least, after the murder trial of their 23 year old daughter, Casey. Unfortunately for them, the toddler’s autopsy will be made public as part of the normal discovery disclosures released tomorrow by the State Attorney’s Office, as required by state law.

George and Cindy’s attorney, Brad Conway, filed a motion that the autopsy will cause “great anguish” to the family according to WESH reporter Bob Kealing, who broke the story on its noon broadcast. “This request certainly begs the question: What’s in that report that the medical examiner did not make public when she announced back on Dec. 19 that Caylee’s death was as the result of a homicide and the decomposition was so advanced that they could not make a definitive determination on how she died,” Kealing said.

The Anthonys acknowledge that the autopsy findings will be released at the trial, but object to them being released during discovery. They feel that the results being aired will cause endless comments and more speculation on TV and the Internet. According to the motion, which a judge is expected to rule on, “As custodians to Caylee’s remains and (as) her grandparents, George and Cindy Anthony are respectfully asking this court to restrict the release of the autopsy results.”

Dr. Jan Garavaglia, better known as Dr. G on TV, is the Orange/Osceola medical examiner. She said the results contain her opinion about what happened to Caylee and publicly ruled it a homicide back in December. She also maintained that it would be impossible to determine what caused her death.

The toxicology results may shed light on whether Caylee had been exposed to chloroform – if they are released. Please note I did say may.

The defense had already received these documents, including a raw video of PI Dominic Casey’s search in the woods where the remains were found a month later, and a 3-D animation of the scene off Suburban Drive.

Who knows what it all this will say, but the state will be releasing almost a thousand pages of new evidence tomorrow morning, a spokeswoman for State Attorney Lawson Lamar said.

Drat, I will be on the road.

Real life Hatfields & McCoys – living right here in O’do

Where is that Dueling Banjos song when you really need it? You know, the one from Deliverance. It keeps plucking inside my head since the latest flare-up between George & Cindy Anthony and Lois Peter, her granddaughter and a couple afore mentioned pals.

Last week, Daisy Mae, I mean, Lois and her posse from St. Cloud went to the now DEE-funkt Caylee memorial just off SEE-burban Drive to nip it in the bud, so to speak, and to find out what low-down, scum suckin’, mule breath critters were removing Christian crosses that wuz placed there days earlier. I reckon they were awantin’ to replace said stolen crosses when all heck broke loose. What actually transpired was that Lois and her lady friends pounded a new cross in the ground on the night of June 1 and waited in lurch to see who might come a-callin’. Takin’ a gander over yonder, lo and behold, they seen Mister Kid Finder hisself, Dennis Milstead show up several hours later, drivin’ up and down the road or back ‘n forth depending on which direction the wind was a’blowin’ that night.

When they hopped in their VEE-hicle to take off a-runnin’ ol’ Millie Boy took after them, chasin’ em through the citified streets of east Orlando and south, faster than a rooster in heat, finally ending when the posse left the neighborhood. Only thing is, they circled around and came back for who in tarnation knows why, but they did, and here’s where it gits sticky. Miss Peter herself, or so she alleges, saw Miss Cindy stuffin’ something in the trunk of her car, with Georgie Boy behind the wheel, so she alleges. It wuz right then and there that Miss Lois never seen that home-made cross sign agin and it wuz at that point one of the fine, upstanding Christian ladies took a snapshot of Georgie with one of them there fancy digital camera thingies and later plastered it all over thee Internet. Only thing is, no one knows between ‘em all who did the clickin’, but sure ’nuff, it does look an awful lot like Miss Casey’s pappy. Suddenly, Mister Millie-stead and the Anthonys take off a-chasin’ and before you know it, they scares them outta town in hot pursuit down Nar-COO-SEE Road, where Miss Lois and Company flags down an occifer of the law, state police style, who tells ‘em all to settle down and git on home. If’n you thinks this is the end of it, guess again. Sure ’nuff, soon after the incident, charges were lodged against the Anthonys for tryin’ to attack these fine, upstandin, church-goin’ ladies and the granddaughter.

Now, the Anthony’s high filutin’ attorney friend says that ain’t the way it happened. Mister Brad, that bein’ Brad Conway, a lawyer in good standin’, describes the situation a little bit different. He says that the car one of them ladies wuz drivin’ around the neighborhood real suspicious-like, including up and down or back ‘n forth Hopesprung Drive, dependin’ on how the winds a’blowin’, had pertnear run over Mister Georgie himself. Seems like he was trying to stop said VEE-hicle to let ‘em know he was callin’ the law on them. Cease and desist-like. Only, they paid him a no never-mind and hauled butt, forcing him to move out of the way real fast-like, just about clippin’ his big toe and other parts.

Anyway, to make a long story short, and I kin go on a’ramblin’ – case dismissed. Mister and Missus George and Cindy won’t be facin’ any charges after an investigation by Orange County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Miss Susan Soto who made the DEE-termination that no criminal violations occurred. In other words, y’all go yer separate ways. Dang shame, too, ’cause the thing is, I know who’s takin’ sides and the World Wide Web folks is sidin’ with Lois, only I know for a fact that none of ‘em are worth a hoot and it’s about time we all forgits the problem. Only, folks won’t.

Oh yeah, that song. Golly gee willickers, I kin hear it all thee way across LEE Vista Bully-vard and down Nar-COO-SEE.

YEE HAW!!! This might be a family feud that’ll never die. Y’all come back now.

Dueling Banjos – From Deliverance

911 call from Lois Peter

Video interview of Lois Peter

Should the jailhouse video of Casey be released to the public?

In a recent post I introduced polls the Orlando Sentinel publishes each Friday in print and on-line. Three questions are posed related to international, national and/or local events of interest. The questions and responses are published the following Friday, along with three new ones. This is repeated every week. Two Fridays ago, one of the queries was whether George and Cindy Anthony should continue their interviews or stay off the airwaves. I did a little write up on the results and published it on May 26. You can read it here.

In this past Friday’s poll, the three questions were once again about matters of public interest. One was related to whether central Floridians, mainly in the metropolitan Orlando market, would continue using toll roads since the price went up. 65.7 % of the respondents said NO, while 34.3 % said YES. That’s certainly not of much interest to anyone not living here, so I will move to the second question. This one asked whether Sonia Sotomayor is the right choice for the Supreme Court. Of course, this one is of national interest, but only in the United States. The response was 37.7 % YES and 62.3 % NO. In the third question, respondents mostly came from central Florida but it appealed to a cross section of the country and in other areas of the world, as well. It’s a rather important one because people from every walk of life have taken a keen interest in the death of Caylee Anthony as well as the trials and tribulations of her family and other unique individuals involved in the case. It’s turned into a media war and that encompasses bloggers and forums as well. Since I live in Orlando, I can attest to the voracity of the local media outlets interested mostly in enhancing their ratings and revenues as much as possible and we all know how bitter and split the Internet has become. Recently, a commenter on another blog called me a “bald headed freak.” I was more honored than hurt, but you can clearly see how some have overstepped the bounds of decency and humanity, all because of this case. Interestingly, that same commenter left a blog because several others made fun of her pot-bellied pig. Had they done that here, I would have come straight to her defense.

I’ve already made my opinion known regarding the release of the jail video of Casey when she was informed that a child’s body was discovered in the woods just off Suburban Drive and right around the corner from where she and Caylee lived with George and Cindy on Hopespring Drive. My decision has absolutely nothing to do with any love or hate for Casey or her family. I believe the release of the video would be an intrusion and it does not belong to the public just because of a morbid fascination with everything Casey does. Otherwise, why not also release videos of her sitting in her jail cell when she’s reading or performing the most intimate of bodily functions? After all, some of you think you have the right to know.

In my opinion, this is something for the court to view. By court, I mean the judge and jury in particular because they will ultimately decide Casey’s fate. The decision does not rest in the public’s hands and to expose it would only be for selfish reasons, no different from slowing down at the scene of a car crash to see the destruction of someone’s life. In this case, there will be no blood and gore, no twisted metal; it is to watch with glowing intent the pain and suffering of someone who may be facing death. It is for the satisfaction of watching her agonize; something to gloat over, plain and simple. Well, here’s the chance, only I really don’t think it belongs to our eyes and ears. It’s eerie. It’s odd. It’s strange that we get great satisfaction out of watching someone else. It’s wrong because it shows nothing more than our voyeur side. By showing it to the world, how will it affect the final outcome? It won’t, but YouTube will be happy as it eclipses Susan Boyle as the most downloaded video.

Anyway, my opinion is not the way most people reacted. When specifically asked “Should video be released of Casey Anthony’s reaction to Caylee’s remains being found?” the majority of respondents said yes. Here are the results:

71 % YES

29 % NO

Here are five opinions printed in the Friday paper:

No right to privacy in jail

Methinks they doth protest too much. If they keep proclaiming her innocence, then why not show the video? She has no right to privacy in jail. What does she think jail is for – hanging out?

The defense and the Anthonys are so busy blaming the media for tainting a jury pool, but look at how they are constantly looking for a camera or some media attention.

This does not make sense. The video should be released, but if it is not, we already know how she reacted.

- Candi Merritt Island (from the Web)

[OK, Candi, but I'd like to see your reaction to watching her do a number 2 in her cell. After all, she has no right to privacy. Then, I'd like to see your reaction, but we already know it will be one of disgust. Who needs to see that?]

Information overload

I have never seen an ongoing investigation/murder trial preparation where so much information has been dumped on the general public. When this trial [blows] up on the prosecution, they will only have themselves to blame.

- Steve S Orlando (from the Web)

Already read about it

We don’t really need to see [Casey Anthony's] reaction. We’ve heard or read about it… A poster on another thread said [Jose] Baez probably doesnt want us to see how unaffected she was, and you know that may be true.

The jail deputy said she started to talk about football. What kind of person would start talking about football when she just heard that her baby’s remains had been found?

- tribe mom Sarasota (from the web)

[Because the remains hadn't been identified at the time? More on that later.]

Medical file private, jail video not

Your medical files are the only thing that should be protected. Every time I go to the medical clinic, other people in the office (patients, etc.) can see me, or see how I would react if I were left and forgotten, while waiting for my appointment. The only thing private is when I actually see the doctor and my medical file. I don’t see how in the heck this video could be called private.

- Cheryl Broken Arrow, OK (from the Web)

[When she menstruates, it is not private? She's not seeing her doctor, is she?]

Why not add to the mix?

Why would they not show the video of her reaction? They have plastered all of her actions all over the world. Come on, give it to the public.

- I smell a squirrel Orlando (from the Web)

[This is precisely why I disagree. Give it to the public, as if the public owns it or her or any part of it. This belongs in the hands of the court system.]

The reason why some of my comments under the responses are so graphic is because this is what some of you want. You want to see her in a compromising situation. In my opinion, it would open up a can of worms to everything she does in jail. Everything, whether you like it or not. In other words, who has the right to pick and choose what is aired in public? At the same time, I think the question was a little bit loaded because it asked about Caylee’s remains and at the time of discovery. Although most of us had a very good idea who the bones belonged to, they were not yet identified and the appropriate way of asking the question should have been about her reaction to remains being found, not whose specific remains. I realize we do know the results and so does Casey, but by asking a question a certain way, it can taint an answer. Most of my issue is not from how it was asked. It’s not about the question at all. It’s about where the line is crossed from what is private and what the public demands to know. How many people are “dying” to see the autopsy photos, too?

Again, please feel free to give your opinion on this matter and explain your reasons why. I won’t interfere because I’ve already stated my opinion and this is not a forum for discourse, just thoughts and ideas.

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