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Local 6 News Gets Exclusive Tour Of Anthony House During Interview

Caylee Anthony, 3, Last Seen In Mid-June

POSTED: Wednesday, November 19, 2008
UPDATED: 12:33 pm EST November 19, 2008

Local 6 News reporter Jessica D'Onofrio was granted an exclusive tour of the home of Casey Anthony's parents, who say they have proof that their granddaughter, Caylee, is still alive.
PHOTOS: Inside Anthony Home
PHOTOS: CSI Checks Casey's Car
PHOTOS: Dive Search, Confrontation
PHOTOS: Prayer Vigil For Caylee
PHOTOS: Casey Baby Photos
Casey Anthony, 22, remains jailed on first-degree murder charges in the disappearance of Caylee, who is now 3 years old.

Casey Anthony and her daughter lived in the Orange County home of George and Cindy Anthony, although Casey Anthony often stayed elsewhere, sometimes with Caylee.

"Having Thanksgiving come, it's not going to be our normal, you know, our normal Thanksgiving," Cindy Anthony said.

"A lot of people want to say, 'Cindy and George are in such denial. Why can't they see it the way we see it?'" D'Onofrio said.

"Until I know 100 percent, I am not going to give up," Cindy Anthony said. "There's no concrete evidence. There's only circumstantial evidence."

Cindy Anthony told D'Onofrio that Orange County sheriff's detectives admitted to her that the evidence found in Casey Anthony's car -- the smell of death, a stain, decomposition of human remains -- does not prove that Caylee is dead or that Casey Anthony killed her.

Cindy Anthony said she's upset that the sheriff's office has apparently rushed to judgment by not searching for Caylee.

"Elizabeth Smart. The police department there thought she was dead, but yet they followed up and brought Elizabeth home to Ed Smart," Cindy Anthony said.

Elizabeth Smart was found alive nine months after she was kidnapped from her Salt Lake City home in 2003.

Cindy Anthony recounted the days when her daughter was first bailed out of jail.

"Casey didn't want to come in (her bedroom) at first because this is where she and Caylee spent most of their time," Cindy Anthony said. "We got an air mattress and she wanted to stay in our room -- and we have a big enough bedroom that she had a big enough space -- for the whole first week."

Casey Anthony's bedroom is covered with pictures of Caylee, from ultrasound images to her birth and several pictures of them together.

"It became more comforting for her to be here. She'd sleep with (her) Teddy (bear). And it was hard. Very, very hard," Cindy Anthony said.

Cindy Anthony said her daughter watched TV while she was home, including local news the day stories were being aired about tests indicating that a dead body was likely in her car trunk.

A woman who was staying with the family and monitoring Casey Anthony's release from jail said Casey Anthony reacted to the stories by saying, "Several people borrowed my car in the past."

Protesters were camped out in front of the Anthony home at that time, and Cindy Anthony said Casey Anthony peered out of a window the night her father got into a heated argument. Casey Anthony called 911, urging authorities to arrest the protesters.

Cindy Anthony said going into Caylee's room is not easy to do.

"This is Caylee's room. It's very hard to come into now. And people are going to start to send Christmas presents already to Caylee," Cindy Anthony said. "I open the door a couple of times a week. I was in her room earlier today, sitting and reflecting and crying."

Cindy Anthony said she will likely go Christmas shopping for Caylee, too.

"I think about the days she'd go into her little cottage and she'd ring the little doorbell and she'd go, 'Ding dong," said George Anthony from his back yard.

Casey Anthony's brother, Lee, 26, who was visible when Caylee first went missing, has not been seen as much lately.

"He's trying to sustain his income for himself. I mean, he hasn't worked for two-plus months. It's hard for him to work every single day," George Anthony said. "This can tear a family apart if you let it."

The Anthonys said they have proof that Caylee is alive, and they plan on holding a news conference later this week to discuss the details.

"Meanwhile, investigators are still trying to get more information out of George and Cindy with little success," D'Onofrio said. "They believe they have a lot of information they're keeping from them. Detectives still want to talk to Cindy about the smelly clothes in Casey's car she washed. They also believe George and Lee know more than they're willing to share."

Cindy Anthony refused to talk about pictures showing her daughter partying at clubs while Caylee was missing.

Witness List Released

The state's witness list in the first-degree murder case of Casey Anthony was released on Tuesday.

The list of potential witnesses who could be called to testify in the trial, which is scheduled to begin in January, contained 82 names, including Anthony's parents and her brother.

The state also named Casey Anthony's most-recent boyfriend, Tony Lazarro, several of her friends and the Anthony's neighbor from whom Casey Anthony borrowed a shovel.

Several workers were listed as well, including the manager of the Orange County Amscot where Casey Anthony abandoned her car, employees of the impound lot who towed the car, which was described as reeking of death, and employees of the Sawgrass Apartments, where Casey Anthony claims she left her daughter with a baby sitter.

Zenaida Gonzalez, a woman who has the same name as the baby sitter with whom Casey Anthony told investigators she left Caylee with, has also been named as a potential witness.

Although Caylee's great-grandfather was not named as a witness, his wife is on the list. She and two employees of the great-grandfather's nursing home could be asked to testify about seeing Caylee the day before she was last seen.

The manager of the Altamonte Springs Chuck E. Cheese's is also named. A possible Caylee sighting was reported at the restaurant, although surveillance video proved differently.

Local 6 News reported that some names not appearing on the potential witness list came as a surprise.

Numerous Orange County sheriff's investigators are on the list, but no one from the University of Tennessee "body farm," the Oak Ridge National Laboratory or the FBI -- all of whom analyzed key evidence from Casey Anthony's car and concluded that a dead body had been in the trunk -- were listed.

The state could add witnesses later, however.

Anthony has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter and four counts of lying to investigators.

Gag Order Hearing Reset

A hearing on a prosecutor's request for a gag order in the case has been reset.

On Nov. 25, an Orange County Circuit judge will also hear requests from the defense to reveal evidence and from the Orlando Sentinel, which opposes the gag order in the first-degree murder case against Casey Anthony.

Casey Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, also wants more tips of Caylee sightings that were phoned into law enforcement, more information about the hair found in Casey Anthony's car trunk and the name and work schedule of every employee of the Amscot.

Caylee Follower Gains Fame

A man obsessed with missing child cases has become an Internet celebrity after purchasing an old TV news live truck, mounting cameras to its mast and broadcasting live images from areas involved in the search for Caylee on his Web site.

William Murtaugh, known as "Murt" on the Internet, said he is not alone in his thirst for coverage about Caylee.

"There are people out there who are literally addicted to Caylee," Murtaugh said. "The commercial media cannot provide everything we want. We want more. We're addicted to it," Murtaugh said.

Murt's Web site -- murtwitnessone.com -- serves as a home for armchair cybersleuths, and he said the TV truck he purchased has made a big difference.

"It looks neat. It gets me in with you guys. Instead of pulling up in an old Cadillac, I can pull up in this thing and you're more or less accepting of it," Murtaugh said.

Murt has mounted surveillance cameras to the truck's 60-foot-tall mast, allowing him to send images to his Web site, which also contains a chatroom for his users.

"They'll say, 'Murt, move the camera. Jesse Grund (Casey Anthony's former boyfriend) is over here' or they'll say, 'Murt, there's a lady with a sign over there,'" Murtaugh said.

When Murt is not at a search scene involving the case, he takes his truck to places like the Anthony family home, the Sawgrass Apartments and other Caylee-related locations.

Murt, who is a professional truck driver and car dealer, said his Web site is only a hobby.

"It's not about me. It's about Caylee," Murtaugh said.

Murt said about 3,000 users visit his Web site, but he also has detractors, who say it's strange that a man follows a case so closely or believe that he will try to profit off the case.

Murt also once claimed online that he knew the abductor of Trenton Duckett, the boy in an unsolved missing child case in Central Florida. Murt apologized for the stunt, calling it an amateur attempt to crack the case.

Bounty Hunter Weighs Offer

Celebrity bounty hunter Leonard Padilla, who has organized a dive team to search for the remains of Caylee in a river at an Orlando park, is considering an offer that would pour $200,000 into the search for the missing girl if he grants a production company exclusive rights to film the search.

Padilla told Local 6 News that he has been contacted by a California-based production company about the offer. He said the money is not a payment to him but would fund a two-month search effort for Caylee.

Padilla said he has not made a final decision about the offer.

His dive team returned to Blanchard Park on Monday to continue a search of the Little Econ River.

Padilla also has not yet taken a lie-detector test, which was requested by the FBI last week after he caused a media frenzy by claiming to locate what appeared to be bone fragments and children's toys possibly belonging to Caylee during the search of the river. FBI agents apparently want to verify that Padilla did not plant the items.

Divers have not found anything related to the Caylee case during their weeklong search.

War Of Words

A war of words has broken out between the family of Casey Anthony and Zenaida Gonzalez's attorney, who said on Monday that Cindy Anthony "seems to be enjoying this whole thing."

Casey Anthony told investigators that she left Caylee with a baby sitter named Zenaida Gonzalez at the Sawgrass Apartments in Orange County, and the pair was gone when she returned to pick her daughter up.

Attorney John Morgan, who represents a woman by the name of Zenaida Gonzalez with the only known connection to the apartment complex, has filed a lawsuit against Casey Anthony, saying his client's name has been tarnished and Casey Anthony's claim has affected his client's ability to find employment.

"I think the mother (of Casey Anthony) -- in a way -- seems to be enjoying this whole thing," Morgan said. "Instead of talking about chasing ambulances, I would be chasing after Caylee. I would be in the woods. I would be door to door."

The harsh words come after Cindy Anthony lashed out at Morgan following a prayer vigil on Sunday.

"I think the whole thing is ludicrous," Cindy Anthony said. "Attorney Morgan -- it's frivolous -- he needs to just get back to chasing the ambulances."

"Even though she throws those stones at me, I still feel a great amount of smypathy and empathy for them because they've lost their granddaughter -- probably -- and their daughter is in jail," Morgan said.

Morgan said he is attempting to schedule depositions with Casey Anthony and her attorney as early as this week.

Casey Anthony has filed a counter-suit against Gonzalez.

Report: Party Life Constrained

A Local 6 News investigation into the timeline of the Casey Anthony case has revealed how the woman's well-documented partying was restricted by the needs of Caylee.

Local 6 News reporter Tony Pipitone said records show Anthony's partying was constrained by what she called "mommy duties," especially in the month of May.

On May 3 at 4:21 p.m., Anthony and then best friend Amy Huizenga made plans to attend a party.

"Any more details on that party?" Anthony asked.

But about two hours later, Anthony sent Huizenga a text message reading, "Cross your fingers that my parents get back soon. God I need this tonight."

"But apparently, her daughter, Caylee, needed her more," Pipitone said.

Two hours later, Anthony sent another message.

"I'm trying to get a hold of my mom to see when they're coming home. Sitting around waiting sucks," Anthony said.

Three hours after that, Anthony gave up on her party plans, telling Huizenga that she would take a rain check.

"Downtown tomorrow? My mom owes me," Anthony sent in a text message.

About a week later, a boyfriend sent a message about his regret over Anthony being absent from the party scene.

"Thought you were coming out last night," it said.

"Yeah, so did I," Anthony replied. "Mommy duties."

On May 23 at 7:48 p.m., Anthony told Huizenga, "I'm going to stay home," promising to go out the next night. "I already cleared it with my madre."

Anthony attended a party that weekend, which combined with her daughter's disappearance, gained her national notoriety, Pipitone said.

On May 24, Anthony sent Huizenga a text that said, "The cops came around 1:15 and broke up the party."

The next night, Anthony attended an "anything-but-clothes" party and sent another message to Huizenga.

"You will officially see the American flag in all its glory tonight," Anthony's message said.

Anthony also attended a Friday night hip-hop party at the Fusion nightclub, telling a former boyfriend on June 13, "You guys should definitely come. $5 cover, super hot shot girls, a hot body contest."

Three days later, Anthony moved in with Tony Lazzaro, who ran shows at the nightclub, where infamous photographs of Anthony were taken on June 21.

"Casey and friends vamp and dance the night away. Not a care in the world. Even as police suspect Caylee was by then dead and her body possibly disposed of just days earlier," Pipitone said.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

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