PICS + VIDEO:

PICS + VIDEO:
New Watch It! (Or Not) Slideshow

°

Homepage / Orlando News
Text Size

Judge Denies Anthony Defense Motion For Search Site Evidence

Utility Worker Found Skull, Human Remains

POSTED: Tuesday, December 16, 2008
UPDATED: 5:05 pm EST December 16, 2008

A judge on Tuesday denied requests from Casey Anthony's attorneys to require investigators to turn over all photos, videos and drawings taken from the woods where remains of a child were found last week.


VIDEO: Teen Hangout | 'Significant Finds'
VIDEO: More Bones Found | How Were Bones Missed?
VIDEO: Evidence Seized | Clothing Found
PHOTOS: Evidence Taken From Home | Remains Found
PHOTOS: Bone Search | Casey Baby Photos

The judge also denied motions from her attorneys to appoint a forensic expert in the case and allow a second autopsy of the remains.

The child's remains found last week have not been positively identified. Autopsy results are expected within the next week or two.

Casey Anthony, 22, was charged in October with murdering her daughter, who was first reported missing in mid-July. Investigators say Anthony waited a month before reporting the girl missing. She claims Caylee was kidnapped by a baby sitter.

Anthony did not attend the hearing.

'Significant Find' Made At Site

Investigators on Monday said they have made "significant finds" during the search the wooded area near the home of Caylee's grandparents, who hope that a child's skull found there doesn't belong to their granddaughter, although they are realistic about the possibility that the remains may be hers, their attorney said.

George and Cindy Anthony are asking for privacy until the medical examiner is able to identify the remains found last week in woods near their home, attorney Bradley Conway said.

"They're not grieving yet because we don't know whose body this is," Conway said. "But if it is identified as Caylee, they are going to go through that grief process privately, and when they're ready to speak they will."

Authorities said Casey Anthony waited a month to report her daughter missing last July. She initially told police that she left the child with a baby sitter, but detectives said her story was untrue. Her parents still believe her story and support her, the attorney said.

Caylee and her mother lived with George and Cindy Anthony. The grandparents have returned home after spending time in a hotel while investigators searched their house for evidence late last week. Their attorney said that items were taken from their home which were not on a search warrant.

Crime scene technicians and detectives on Monday continued to search the woods near the Anthony home, where the skull was found last week by a meter reader. Capt. Angelo Nieves, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Office, said he couldn't confirm reports that more bones had been found in the area over the weekend.

"There have been significant finds there at the location," Nieves said. "We're not providing additional information as to what evidence has been recovered."

Several experts also were being called in to examine the site over the next few days, including a botanist, a forensic anthropologist and an entomologist, or expert on insects, Nieves said.

Conway said the grandparents were not being investigated for any crimes, such as obstruction of justice. George and Cindy Anthony have been fingerprinted by investigators but only to rule them out as suspects. They are cooperating with detectives, he said.

"They have not obstructed any investigation," Conway said.

"They haven't destroyed any evidence. They have in no way interfered with what the ... sheriff's office has to do."

The Anthonys have placed cameras at their house and hired a security team because they are wary of neighbors or others who may try to profit from Caylee's disappearance by selling information or photos to tabloids, Conway said.

"They don't know who to trust other than themselves and the team that is assigned to protect and defend them," he said.

Text Size
Text Size

Sponsored Links

Links We Like

Sponsored Content
Check out our picks for the most luxurious and unique homes that were on the market in 2009. More

Find out what a sputtering economy and an increasingly difficult to crack job market means to you. More

The following tips can help your car become a less inviting target and slow down, discourage or actually prevent car theft. More

Believing urban legends about sex could be hurting your sex life. Get the truth behind common sex myths. More

Most Popular