Files Released in Casey Anthony Case Show a Family Unraveling

Files released in Casey Anthony case show a family unraveling

Bianca Prieto |Amy L. Edwards and Sarah Lundy, Sentinel Staff Writers

February 19, 2009

The duct tape wrapped around Caylee Marie Anthony's skull could have come from the home she shared with her mother and grandparents -- or from the homes of thousands of other people.

Investigators also found no fingerprints on the tape that would reveal who sealed the dead child's mouth.

These details emerged from more than 500 pages of documents and hundreds of pictures released Wednesday by the State Attorney's Office.

The reports contained no apparent bombshells for Casey Anthony, the mother accused of killing 2-year-old Caylee. But they reveal more examples of Anthony's emotional woes and family troubles.

he records also illustrate the tedious work involved in sifting through garbage, vegetation and other debris in the thick wooded lot off Suburban Drive where Caylee's remains were found Dec. 11.

"Evidence on the body suggests that the child's death was not accidental but an intentional act," Orange County Sheriff's Detective Yuri Melich wrote on a Feb. 5 report included among the documents. "As of this writing, there is nothing to suggest that anyone but Casey Anthony is responsible for the death and disposal of Caylee Anthony."

Casey Anthony's defense team released a statement later that attacked the forensic analysis that pointed out similarities in some of the evidence collected at the Suburban Drive lot and items found in the Anthony house -- including the duct tape and a canvas laundry bag found with the remains. The team noted that no fingerprints were found on the
duct tape.

"The state's forensic report on duct tape, plastic bags and other items is a one-sided law enforcement-generated report and is biased and speculative," spokeswoman Marti Mackenzie said in an e-mail.


Signs of strain

The documents show Anthony's relationship with her family was strained long before Caylee was reported missing in July.

One friend told investigators that 22-year-old Anthony complained about having a bad relationship with her father, George Anthony. And her parents had considered getting custody of Caylee, the report said.

Anthony even considered herself a bad mother but didn't explain why, the friend told authorities. Anthony told the same friend that she was feeling "crazy" and considered committing herself to an institution, the report said.

Another friend revealed something similar -- Casey Anthony told her in 2006 or 2007 that she felt like she was having a breakdown.

In February 2007, Anthony told her friends she had a miscarriage. None believed it was true, according to the report.

After Caylee vanished and Anthony was initially released from jail, the family turmoil continued.

Anthony once caught her mother, Cindy Anthony, sending e-mails under her daughter's name.

The two argued about it, but Cindy Anthony told her daughter, "if this can find us Caylee, then you know I'm going to do whatever I can."

Caylee's remains were found blocks from the Anthony home by a meter reader.

Local, state and federal crime-scene investigators worked with a forensic anthropologist and a forensic entomologist as they scoured the scene for days. Evidence reports showed that Caylee's remains were scattered among at least 40 spots on the property. Investigators marked her bones with flags -- even her teeth were scattered.


Studying the tape

The duct tape wrapped the skull was examined by the FBI lab in Quantico, Va. While the FBI's latent print unit was examining the duct tape, analysts found "residue in the perfect shape of a heart."

A picture of the crime scene showed a pink heart stuck to what appeared to be a cardboard mat.

After the toddler's remains were found, investigators took dozens of items from the grandparents' home, including Caylee's shoes, clothes and two pairs of white children's sunglasses.

Detectives removed a stained rug on the porch, along with a jug and bottles of pool chemicals. A gasoline can with a piece of duct tape stuck to it -- the same brand as found on Caylee -- also was seized.

Tape by that manufacturer can be purchased at Walmart or Ace Hardware stores.

They found a Whitney Design canvas laundry bag wrapped in a black plastic bag on the top shelf above the washing machine in the Anthony home. That was the same kind they recovered from the crime scene.

Various kinds of heart-shaped stickers were taken from Casey Anthony's room.

The sheriff's office asked the FBI to compare a number of items taken from the home -- including material in vacuum cleaners -- with evidence seized in the woods.

Anthony's defense attorney Jos� Baez said in a statement: "It is just as important to focus on the fact that there are no fingerprints on the duct tape and there never was any red sticker of any shape or size found on the tape."

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