Larry Garrison resigns, says truth better than spin

Anthony Family Spokesman Resigns, Saying Truth Better Than Spin
Caylee Anthony Last Seen In June

POSTED: 8:30 am EST November 12, 2008
UPDATED: 1:58 pm EST November 12, 2008

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The spokesman for the Anthony family who was hired amid the media crush following the disappearance of their granddaughter, Caylee, and the arrest of their daughter, Casey, has resigned. PHOTOS: Prayer Vigil For Caylee

Larry Garrison, the spokesman for George and Cindy Anthony, released a statement on Wednesday about his resignation.

"Due to the erratic behavior over the last several months exhibited by the Anthony family, Larry Garrison is resigning as their spokesperson. It is my opinion that others have manipulated them into situations, that would not dignify the family. I can no longer be part of that behavior. I wish them all the peace and resolution they so deserve. The truth always comes out in the end, and in this case 'The truth is better than the spin,'" the statement said.

Possible Caylee Sighting Proven False

Meanwhile, a possible Caylee sighting inside a Gainesville grocery store turned out to be false, according to police.

George and Cindy Anthony went to Gainesville after the sighting at a Winn Dixie over the weekend, but police said they have confirmed the identity of the girl, who is not Caylee.

A national search continues for Caylee.

Bounty Hunter Holds Prayer Vigil

Celebrity bounty hunter Leonard Padilla on Tuesday held a prayer vigil for Caylee, a day after he angered the missing girl's grandparents by calling it a memorial service.

Padilla, who once bailed out Casey Anthony from jail, said he made a poor choice of words in describing the service, which was held at Blanchard Park to honor Caylee.

Richard Grund led the prayer vigil, quoting scripture and talking about Caylee. Grund, the father of Casey Anthony's ex-finace Jesse Grund, at one point mistakenly thought he was Caylee's grandfather.

"Caylee was a gift -- is a gift -- and she is loved, and that's why you're here," Grund said.

About 100 people participated in the 9 a.m.prayer vigil, including Equusearch volunteers and protesters who once gathered outside Caylee's grandparents' home.

Padilla said he organized the service to give the community closure.

"Finality for some of the people who have been out here 30 or 40 searches. I've made two trips out here," Padilla said. "You have to believe in something, and I want to believe that (Caylee's) final resting place where she met God was in this place rather than a garbage dump."

Padilla said he's convinced that Casey Anthony dumped Caylee's body in the Little Econ River at Blanchard Park.

Some people have questioned Padilla's motives, calling his involvement a publicity stunt.

Anthonys Lash Out

George and Cindy Anthony went to Blanchard Park Monday, where Padilla's divers were searching the Little Econ River for Caylee, and lashed out at him, not for the search but because he said he would conduct a memorial service for Caylee.

"No one here is giving a flipping, God's anything about her, except us two right here," said Cindy Anthony while pointing to her husband, George Anthony. "I'm not on TV every night on Nancy Grace with this stuff."

"Do you think it's all about publicity for him?" Local 6 News reporter Mike DeForest asked Cindy Anthony.

"What do you think?" she replied. "I have not a problem with him being out here. I have a problem with him having a memorial service for Caylee (on Tuesday)," Cindy Anthony said. "You'd have a problem with it, too."

"Why do you feel it's your place to host (a memorial service)?" DeForest asked Padilla.

"Nobody else is doing it," he said. "You want to do it?"

Padilla said despite the Anthonys' protest, the service will be held at the park. Padilla said he believes Caylee is dead and that her body is likely somewhere in the river.

"I haven't got a clue what she's thinking or why she even bothered to come out here," Padilla said of Cindy Anthony. "She knows exactly who I am, and what I'm about."

Padilla said he will not lead any more searches for Caylee and only expects to be in Orlando for a few more days.

Padilla said he received a tip from a friend of Casey Anthony, leading to the dive search. Padilla said the friend showed him a picture of a cross that she had taken at Blanchard Park and it matched some arts and crafts that were in Anthony's room.

"She could have easily gone to the park, taken the body out, ruptured the bag when she pulled the body out of the trunk -- which left fluids in the trunk -- gotten it all over herself, taken it to the edge of the water and dumped it in there," Padilla said.

Padilla said that theory would explain a stain on one of Anthony's shirts that Cindy Anthony cleaned before it was turned over to investigators.

Casey Anthony, 22, remains jailed on murder charges.

Gag Order Hearing Delayed

Meanwhile, a hearing on a sweeping gag order in the case against Casey Anthony was postponed on Monday.

It is not known when the hearing, which would restrict attorneys, witnesses, law enforcement and the Anthony family from commenting publicly about the case, will be held. The purpose of the order would be to protect potential jurors from being influenced by pretrial publicity, Local 6 News reported.

1 Caylee Search Ends

Texas-based Equusearch leader Tim Miller and his team are leaving Orlando after spending the weekend searching for Caylee, who was last seen in mid-June but was not reported missing until mid-July.

Miller said last week that he expected about 4,000 volunteers, but only 1,000 to 1,500 people participated in the search, which covered 25 miles of land and wooded areas near Orlando International Airport.

"The turnout wasn't as big as I anticipated. I think that people are just accepting the fact, probably, that Caylee's not going to come back," Miller said.

The search thus far has cost nearly $100,000.

Miller said his search team is headed to North Carolina to search for four newly missing people.

Equusearch resumed its search in two parks in Orange County, an area near the Orlando International Airport and a wooded area near the home of Caylee's grandparents.

Organizers said on Friday that they thought the search would attract more than 4,000 volunteers in what could have been the largest search in U.S. history,

The group prepared about 350 team leaders on Friday, who were sent out in groups of two or three to different areas to determine what type of equipment and how many people would be needed in their search.

Miller and Mandy Albritton of Equusearch said the search is a huge undertaking.

"This is the biggest and largest search that Texas Equusearch has ever done," Albritton said.

"In the very best conditions -- if this little girl is out there -- she's skeletal remains, and it's going to be extremely easy to miss," Miller said.

Padilla, who bailed out Anthony from jail months ago when she was only charged with child neglect, shared information with Miller.

"We'll basically brief (Equusearch) on what we had," said Padilla, who has analyzed pings to towers from Anthony's cell phone records.

"The woman lives her life 10 minutes at a time. It never, ever affects her adversely. Child's dead? OK. What do do? Oh, I've got to go (to) Blockbuster tonight," said Padilla, making note of the fact that Anthony was captured on surveillance video shortly after Caylee's disappearance.

Miller said Padilla's information coincides with where they planned to search.

Cindy Anthony, who believes her granddaughter is still alive, did not assist in the search.

"I talked with Cindy yesterday, and we hugged -- and we even had some tears come out -- but I don't believe that (Caylee's) alive," Miller said.

Miller held a meeting Friday at 6 p.m. at the Tabu nightclub in Orlando for anyone who was interested in joining in the search, which began Saturday at 8 a.m.

Casey's Mental Health

The mental health of Casey Anthony could be the key to determining her fate, according to a Local 6 News report.

Anthony is scheduled to go to trial in January.

Anthony has undergone two psychological evaluations, but the reports have been sealed by the judge who ordered the tests after Anthony's arrest in July.

Local 6 News investigative reporter Tony Pipitone interviewed Lake Mary psychiatrist Dr. Ryan Hall, who has not examined Anthony and could not comment to her specifically, but he has studied women who have killed and their motivations for the killings.

"You have to look at the motivation -- why they're doing -- why they think they have to (kill their own child)," Hall said.

Psychiatrists focus on five general reasons, Hall said.

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Altruistic, which was explained as the person doing the child a favor.

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Psychotic, when the killer is having hallucinations or delusions.

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Accidental, which usually result from abuse.

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Revenge, getting back at someone, usually a spouse or the child's parent.

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Unwanted child.

Hall said that only in extreme cases can the killer be found not criminally responsible for the death.

"You have to have a severe mental illness, and two -- due to the severe mental illness -- you have to not realize what you were doing was wrong," Hall said.

Andrea Yates, the Texas mother who is in a psychiatric hospital after drowning her five children because she said she was battling Satan before calmly reporting the deaths to police, is an example of that type of person, Local 6 News reported.

Pipitone said the prosecution of Anthony thus far seems closer to that of Susan Smith, who let a car containing her two children roll into a lake, where they drowned. Smith blamed carjackers who never existed, and she's serving a life sentence in South Carolina.

"She was interested in an individual, (and) he said he didn't want to be with a single mother. She killed her two kids. There was concealment, it was planned out, she made false statements to police, she was trying to avoid detection (and) she knew what she'd done was wrong," Hall said.

Investigators believe Anthony is concealing the location of her daughter's body.

"No more lies. No more bull coming out of your mouth. We've been very respectful. We're taking our time and talking to you, but we're tired of all the lies. No more lies. What happened to Caylee?" Orange County sheriff's Detective Yuri Melich said in a July interview at Universal, where Anthony had said she worked.

"I don't know," Anthony said.

"You do know," Melich replied.

"I don't know," Anthony repeated.

"What happened to Caylee?" Melich asked.

"I don't know where she is. That's the God's honest truth," Anthony said.

If Anthony were delusional, she would really believe that she worked at Universal and left Caylee with an imaginary baby sitter, Pipitone said. The state claims that Anthony is lying.

Psychiatrists, like Hall, routinely determine whether someone is delusional or simply deceptive.

"You have to look at what the motivation is there. Is it that they don't want to admit they're really unemployed? Do they have to let people think they're greater than they are? So there could be personality factors, (a) need for narcissism, needs to seem greater than they are. Or they could be trying to hide embarrassment or shame," Hall said.

If Anthony has no severe mental illness, there's no way she can avoid prison, if convicted, Local 6 News reported.

"People found insane go to the state mental hospital, but that's reserved for truly psychotic people. Casey just doesn't seem to fit that bill," Pipitone said. "She's not been convicted of anything, but clearly she has issues that could lead to the death penalty being taken off the table or mitigate against a death sentence if she ever were convicted."