ORLANDO, Fla. -- The attorney representing George and Cindy Anthony, the parents of Casey Anthony, who is charged with first-degree murder in the disappearance of her daughter, Caylee, resigned on Thursday, saying he didn't have the control over the case or his clients that he needed to be effective.

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PHOTOS: Inside Anthony Home
PHOTOS: CSI Checks Casey's Car
PHOTOS: Dive Search, Confrontation
PHOTOS: Prayer Vigil For Caylee
PHOTOS: Casey Baby Photos

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Casey Anthony, 22, remains jailed in the disappearance of Caylee, who was last seen in mid-June.

Mark NeJame had represented George and Cindy Anthony since Sept. 4.

"I won't comment about what they did or didn't do. All I will say is that I need to be in control of my clients. I need to be in control of my cases," NeJame said.

NeJame released a statement about his decision:

"Unfortunately, I have made the decision that it is best not to continue my representation of George and Cindy Anthony.

"George and Cindy have a belief that their beloved granddaughter, Caylee, is still alive. Tips and leads continue to come in. I believe strongly that they should have every right to maintain their hope and faith that one of these "sightings" will miraculously be the one that brings Caylee home to them. What parent or grandparent would surrender such hope?

"Who is one person to tell another parent or grandparent when it is time for them to abandon their faith? When does a stranger have the right to judge another who has endured such a loss? The attacks made against them by some are deplorable.

"Let them be to do what they feel they must to find their beloved granddaughter, Caylee. Knowing this case as well as probably anyone on earth, there is no doubt that they do not know where Caylee is. Allow them to walk their own path.

"I only agreed to represent George and Cindy Anthony, so long as there were no restrictions placed on me whatsoever as to finding Caylee, regardless of where this might lead. Quite simply, this meant that I could do whatever I needed to find Caylee whether she was alive or not. It impressed me that George and Cindy, both believing that Caylee was still with us, had an overriding and primary concern in finding Caylee, even if the result was not as they would hope. The other condition I required was that I would have absolutely nothing to do with representing Casey or assisting in her legal defense.

"Abundant efforts have been made towards finding Caylee. I have worked with so many involved in this matter towards the goal of finding this dear, missing child who has captured the hearts of so many. Some ignorant and judgmental members of the public though have made hateful and inaccurate accusations against me and others, when they had no idea whatsoever what was really going on. As my new, good friend, Tim Miller from Equusearch, tells me 'everybody associated with this case gets body slammed.' However, like Tim, when you know in your heart that you're doing the right thing, you just move forward knowing that right will ultimately win out. Some have falsely accused me and some others of being in this for the money. If they only knew how utterly wrong and misguided they are.

"I had come to a personal opinion and theory for quite some time whether Caylee was still with us or not. However, my opinion was only one like any other … an opinion. The only person without an opinion though is Casey Anthony as only she knows the truth.

"I believe that the singular person out of the 6 billion people in the world who holds the key to finding Caylee is her mother, Casey Anthony. Although I was quite successful in resolving a multitude of matters, I am unable to go further to help George and Cindy find Caylee in my current role. I can only provide my best advice and must respect any client's prerogative to do what they deem is best, whether they choose to follow my guidance or not. However, there is little value or use I can provide to any client if they choose to act and comment at will.

"As someone who has learned and knows the inner workings and details of the case and its various characters intimately, the rampant sensationalism and unfounded accusations must stop. Allow Cindy and George Anthony the respect and decency of dealing with their hope and efforts to find their missing and beloved Caylee as they need to. Allow those with differing opinions on finding and searching for Caylee, whether she is with us or not, to do their jobs without interruption. Finally, the judicial system is in play and justice will be best served by mindless meddlers staying out of something they know little of. There are many wonderful people involved in efforts to find Caylee and there are, unfortunately, many who are exploiting this child. Sadly, most in the public are clueless about who is doing what and what is really going on. The negative actions of some are only counterproductive and hurtful to the cause of those many good people who are doing so much to do something positive with this most sad and tragic situation.

"There should only be one goal and that is to find Caylee Marie Anthony."

Attorneys Debate Case

Meanwhile, Local 6 News reporter Tony Pipitone continued his investigation into the murder case by presenting the known facts to a former assistant state attorney and a prominent defense attorney.

Pipitone presented questions to former assistant state attorney Elizabeth Rahter and longtime criminal defense attorney Cheney Mason.

"First, the venue. Where the trial should be held," Pipitone said. "From the defense side, is it in your interest to move this trial out of the county?"

"Well, it may very well be. But what county would you move it to that hasn't been saturated with this story," Mason said. "Prosecutions usually -- almost without exception -- oppose a change of venue."

"Elizabeth, would you oppose it?" Pipitone asked.

"Yes, I would make the same arguments he made. You can't go anywhere," Rahter said.

Mason said seeking a change of venue could undercut another possible defense strategy, the demand for a speedy trial.

Anthony was indicted Oct. 14, meaning the state has 175 days -- until April 7 -- to start her trial, unless Anthony decides to waive her right.

"As a defense attorney, do you want a speedy trial in a case like this, where there's no body?" Pipitone said.

"That's an interesting question. Without the body, the state's going to have an enormous burden, and I don't think they can prove the case," Mason said. "I would certainly give strong consideration to moving on to trial without delay."

"As a prosecutor, why would you even go to a grand jury without a body and force yourself to try this case?" Pipitone asked Rahter.

"It's a lot better to deal with witnesses while they're fresh. And the problem with a lot of murder cases is they take years to try, and if you wait that long then their memories start to fade," Rahter said.

"They thought that by bringing an indictment, charging first-degree murder, which could potentially lead to the death penalty that that would be coercive enough to cause this defendant to start talking," Mason said.

"It's the first day of your speedy trial, Elizabeth. No medical examiner, no body. What do you have?" Pipitone asked.

"So you're missing a key witness, and so you deal with it. You work around it," Rahter said. "You have Cindy (Anthony, Casey Anthony's mother), who smelled the dead body and said it smelled like a dead body. You have George (Anthony, Casey Anthony's father), who used to be a deputy, and says it smelled like a dead body. You have K-9 dogs that alerted on the car. And so there's a dead body. The question is: How many dead bodies does Casey Anthony drive around in her car?"

Mason said it's very difficult to prove a murder case without a body.

"There's absolutely no evidence other than somebody saying they think they smelled what smelled like a dead body," Mason said. "What if they're right? What if there is a dead body? Does that prove there's an unlawful killing? The answer is no, because every homicide is not murder. This child could have accidentally died any number of ways, and they'll never be able to prove without a body or a confession."

Pipitone said the state does have scientific evidence that it could use, including chemicals indicating a decomposing human body were found in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car.

"They're going to have to present evidence to convince the court that such tests are generally accepted by the scientific community. And since you've called me, I've inquired. I'm not aware of a single case that's been admitted anywhere," Mason said.

"So this is hocus pocus science?" Pipitone said.

"Yes. I'd just have to agree with that," Mason said.

"How can I put this person on trial for her life when the scientific evidence has not been used anywhere else?" Pipitone asked Rahter.

"They have to show that it's accepted in the scientific community. It's hard, a high hurdle in Florida to pass," she said.

"So that's going to be tough for the prosecution?" Pipitone said.

"Yeah, but it's helpful that it's corroborated," Rahter said.

A hair pulled from the car trunk was consistent in length and color with Caylee's hair, showing signs of decomposition, Pipitone said. DNA tests reveal the hair came from Caylee or any of her maternal ancestors, from her mother to her great-grandmother, Pipitone said.

"Is that not evidence of death?" Pipitone asked Mason.

"I don't believe it necessarily is. They can certainly argue it, but I don't think it proves it's a death. It's proving it's an old hair with some tissue that has decomposed," Mason said.

"He's good. He's tearing apart the state's case here, and basically says there is no case," Pipitone said.

"Every case is circumstantial," Rahter said. It has to be caught on videotape, right? Otherwise, it's circumstantial. Right? So here you have the smell of a dead body, you have chloroform in the trunk, you have somebody who's continually covering stuff up, making up lies, spewing stuff forth and somebody that's missing. You prove it like every other case."

"Without the body, the state is really in a hole," Mason said. "Really, really bad without the body."

A challenge but not impossible, the former prosecutor said.

Anthony Book Deal

Local 6 News confirmed that George and Cindy Anthony are planning to write a book, but a deal is not yet in place.

The book will not be a tell-all about the case involving their missing granddaughter, Local 6 News reported.

The book will focus on what families should do if their child is missing.

Tour Of Anthony Home

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.

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.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.