Investigators find 'additional items' near Caylee Anthony's home

Investigators find 'additional items' near Caylee Anthony's home

Sarah Lundy, Amy L. Edwards | Sentinel Staff Writers
12:33 PM EST, December 17, 2008
Today's updates: Sarah Lundy and Amy L. Edwards

Investigators will probably remain at at crime scene until Thursday afternoon
12:32 p.m.

Investigators will probably remain at the crime scene where a child's remains were found until Thursday afternoon, Orange County Sheriff's Capt. Angelo Nieves just said during a noon news conference. The body is thought to be of missing toddler Caylee Anthony, though an official identification has not been made. The body was found Dec. 11.
He said authorities are still pulling brush out of the area, which is about a quarter mile from the Anthony house, and they are finding "additional items."

He wouldn't identify those items.

"We continue to sift through the location," he said, adding it has grown to more than half an acre.

Various experts for the state are being flown in to examine the scene.

An anthropologist was out there this morning, and an entomologist from Illinois was there earlier.

State prosecutors and FBI agents arrive at scene of remains
9:49 a.m. Assistant state attorneys Jeff Ashton and Linda Drane Burdick, as well as FBI agent Nick Savage arrived at the scene of the remains this morning.

The area is much quieter this morning, with only a handful of newscrews at Suburban and Hopespring drives. There is no media parked outside the Anthonys' home, which is down the street from the remains.

More items, including stuffed animals, balloons and a pink Christmas tree ornament with a silver cross, continue to be left at a nearby makeshift memorial. Some have left personal notes.

One note signed by several people read, "Caylee Marie you are loved. May you rest in comfort in the arms of Jesus."

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From the Dec. 17 print edition of the Orlando Sentinel.

A judge refused Tuesday to let Casey Anthony's lawyer monitor evidence emerging from the discovery of a child's remains last week, saying he wouldn't assist in "interfering with a murder investigation."

Attorney Jose Baez wanted Circuit Judge Stan Strickland to force investigators to turn over pictures, video and schematic drawings of a wooded area off Suburban Drive where crime-scene technicians continue to collect evidence.

The lawyer also sought permission to conduct a second autopsy on the bones, along with assurances the remains would be preserved for examination by his experts. Strickland refused these requests, too, saying Baez would have to wait until the state completes its inquiry.

Authorities have not identified the decomposed remains found in a plastic bag, but many suspect they are those of Anthony's missing daughter, Caylee Marie, who was last seen in June. Anthony, 22, is charged with first-degree murder in the case.


Strickland conceded the circumstances were unusual -- people usually are charged with murder after a body is found, not before. He said he understood why Baez filed the requests but that he couldn't tell the medical examiner what to do or interfere with authorities' process.

"There is not a time clock on an investigation," he said.

Baez said media reports have shown investigators sifting through soil and hauling debris out of the crime scene, which is a quarter-mile from the home of Anthony's parents. The defense has several experts, including an entomologist and an anthropologist, ready to review what is left after federal and local crime-scene officials finish at the site.

If forced to wait, defense experts will have little of the original scene left to inspect, he said.

"We are in a situation where it is no longer a crime scene but an excavation site," Baez said.

In addition to crime-scene photos, the lawyer wanted pictures of the remains, out of fear testing procedures might destroy evidence.

"This is an ongoing process. You never know what is not important today may become important later on in the case," Baez said after the hearing. "You want to make sure it's preserved. . . . That was our entire goal here."

Ann-Marie Delahunty, an Orange County Sheriff's Office attorney, said it's an active investigation and that authorities are not ready to turn over all their photos to the defense.

She said some photos -- those approved by investigators -- could be released to Baez if he makes a public-records request.

"We will not release photographs of the skull of this little girl to then be broadcast all over the news before the body has even been identified, before the parents have been notified," Delahunty said.

It was the first time an official had referred to the remains as a "little girl."

Even the defense is working the case as though the bones will be identified as Caylee's.

Baez said, "We are operating under every assumption that it is because the fact the law enforcement is paying so much attention to it."

Amy L. Edwards and Red Huber of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Sarah Lundy can be reached at slundy@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6218.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-bk-casey-anthony-121708,0,5470400.story?page=1

Clothing Also Found In Bag With Child's Remains

FBI Analyzing Tooth, Hair Found At Crime Scene

POSTED: 12:13 pm EST December 17, 2008
UPDATED: 6:30 pm EST December 17, 2008

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The state confirmed Wednesday that clothing was also found in the trash bag full of a child's remains discovered near the Anthony home.

Related Content: Video | Special Section

The remains were found last Thursday just blocks away from the home of Caylee Anthony, who was first reported missing five months ago.Her mother, Casey Anthony, has been jailed on a first-degree murder charge.

The clothing discovery is the strongest sign yet that the state believes the remains belong to Caylee, reported WESH 2's Bob Kealing.

Authorities said they're uncovering new evidence almost every day.

Sources said they believe the victim was dumped soon after the slaying.

Prosecutors visited the crime scene along Suburban Drive on Wednesday. They learned that crime scene investigators and FBI forensics experts wouldn't be done processing the area until at least Thursday.

Teams carrying machetes continued cutting into the wooded area, and they expanded the search area from a half acre to an acre.

Investigators said the crime scene continues to give up more and more clues. Crime scene investigator technicians hope to piece together not only who the child was, but how the child died, and perhaps when the remains were dumped there in a plastic bag.

Two prosecutors met with investigators on Wednesday morning for a progress report on the search effort.

A short news conference was held to announce the search would stretch into an eighth day.

"We expected that it might have been late this afternoon that this scene might have been able to be cleared, but as we continue to discover items at the scene, we'll continue to hold the scene irregardless of identification. The medical examiner will make that determination as to when it is proper to make a proper announcement regarding identification," Orange County Sheriff's Office Capt. Angelo Nieves said.

Authorities also announced that FBI analysts began work to identify the remains by using a tooth and hair found at the crime scene.

One woman said off camera Wednesday that she was part of a Texas Equusearch team that scoured this area. She claims to have photographic evidence that proves the remains were not there when they searched. Investigators reviewed the photos and took her statement.

Earlier Wednesday, lead investigators briefed two state attorneys whose job it is to prosecute Casey Anthony on murder charges.

A steady stream of people continued to come to the scene to pay their respects and reflect.

http://www.wesh.com/caseyanthony/18299352/detail.html

Teeth, More Bones Found In Search Near Anthony Home

Remains Not Yet Identified

POSTED: Thursday, December 18, 2008
UPDATED: 7:38 am EST December 18, 2008

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Teeth and more skeletal remains have been found during a search of a wooded area near the home of Caylee Anthony's grandparents, causing officials to expand the search area to more than a half-acre, Local 6 News reported.

VIDEO: http://www.clickorlando.com/news/18306284/detail.html#video

The search began last week after a utility worker found a skull and the remains of a child in the woods, located less than a half-mile from the George and Cindy Anthony's home, which they shared with their daughter, Casey Anthony, and Caylee, who was last seen in mid-June.

The remains have not yet been identified.

Casey Anthony, 22, remains jailed on first-degree murder charges in the disappearance of her daughter, who was not reported missing until mid-July. Her trial is scheduled to begin in March.

Prosecutors visited the search site on Wednesday to ensure the quality of work being done by investigators.

"As we make additional discoveries on the scene here, they will continue to provide that information, properly label it, sort through it, make sure that it's returned to the medical examiner's office as well," Carlos Nieves of the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.

A team of scientists, including anthropologists, a forensic botanist and a forensic entomologist, have been researching insect and plant growth and climate changes in the area in an effort to pinpoint when the remains were left there.

A nearby makeshift memorial displaying stuffed animals, balloons, letters and flowers in honor of Caylee has more than tripled in size since Monday, Local 6 News reported.

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/18306284/detail.html