Casey Anthony Trial Update: Medical examiner can't discern cause of Caylee's death - CBS News

by mom_in_il Fri Jun 10, 2011 10:10 pm

June 10, 2011 5:06 PM
Casey Anthony Trial Update: Medical examiner can't discern cause of Caylee's death
By Camille Mann

Excerpt:

(CBS/WKMG/AP) ORLANDO, Fla. - Chief Medical Examiner for Orange/Osceola Counties, Dr. Jan Garavaglia, took the stand in Casey Anthony's murder trial today concluding that Anthony's 2-year-old daughter Caylee's death was a homicide.

In Garavaglia's autopsy, she determined that Caylee's manner of death was homicide, but she did not conclude a cause of death, reports CBS affiliate WKMG.

"It's very difficult, when the body is that decomposed, to say why they died," she said, reports the station.

According to Garavaglia, there was no noticeable trauma to Caylee's bones, but it is impossible to know if there was trauma to her tissue.

She said three factors contributed to her conclusion that Caylee's death was a homicide. First, Caylee was not reported missing. She said an accidental death, such as drowning, would have been reported. Second, the fact that Caylee's body was hidden, and finally, the presence of duct tape on Caylee's face.

Garavaglia told jurors a child could die from an excessive dose of chloroform. Traces of the chemical were found car and air samples taken from the trunk of Anthony's car according to prosecution witnesses.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20070588-504083.html#ixzz1Oui4W6Pc