Report claiming Casey received letters from Scott Peterson refuted

Woman's missing daughter last seen in June

Published On: Jan 12 2012 04:51:08 PM EST  Updated On: Oct 29 2008 02:57:29 AM EDT
ORLANDO, Fla. -

The California Department of Corrections told Local 6 News on Wednesday that a published report stating that convicted killer Scott Peterson has been writing Casey Anthony is false.

The Orlando Sentinel, citing sources, said it is not known if Anthony, who has been charged with first-degree murder in the disappearance of her daughter, Caylee, has responded to Peterson.

A spokeswoman for the California Prison System said the report is "not true" and that officials know with "100 percent certainty" that Peterson, who is on death row, did not write a letter to Anthony.

Peterson was convicted of killing his wife, Laci, and unborn son, Conner, three years ago. Laci Peterson was reported missing in December 2002 from her Modesto, Calif., home.

"We have no knowledge of any communications between Orange County inmate Casey Anthony and California inmate Scott Peterson. There is no public record which would reflect or confirm such communications. All mail coming into the Orange County Jail system is screened for contraband, money, and other security-related issues. Policy forbids Orange County inmates from writing each other, but there is no prohibition against writing or receiving mail from inmates in other correctional institutions," Allen Moore of the Orange County Corrections Department said in a statement.

Todd Black, spokesman for Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, said Anthony has not been corresponding with Peterson.

"It is wholly false that convicted murderer Scott Peterson is writing to Casey Anthony," Black said in a statement. "Attorney Jose Baez is in possession of the letter in question, and it is from an entirely different individual."

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

Caylee Tips Released

Meanwhile, about 1,500 pages of new information have been released in the search for Caylee Anthony, whose mother, Casey, reaffirmed her not-guilty plea in her daughter's disappearance.

Thousands of tips called in to investigators about the missing 3-year-old, who was last seen in mid-June but was not reported missing until a month later, were released on Tuesday.

The majority of the tips reviewed by Local 6 News were submitted by seers and psychics, who phoned in visions and dreams.

Some of the tips included photographs of where to search, while others were very vague.

None of the tips reviewed by Local 6 News involved a sighting of Caylee being alive.

Baez requested the information two weeks ago to help prepare his case.

Trial Date Set

Casey Anthony was arraigned on Tuesday and will stand trial, which is scheduled to start Jan. 5.

Casey Anthony was not present at the arraignment on Tuesday. The 22-year-old had entered a written not-guilty plea on Oct. 17 to a charge of first-degree murder.

Casey Anthony said she left Caylee with a baby sitter. The girl has not been found.

Attorney: Evidence Weak At Best

A veteran defense attorney on Monday said the evidence in the case is weak at best.

Attorney Diana Tennis said she is not sure the state's case against Anthony is solid.

"There's a big difference between interesting science evidence and evidence that actually gets to a jury," Tennis said.

Authorities on Friday released a report from a Tennessee lab that found five compounds consistent with body decomposition. Tests found evidence of decomposition on a hair strand found in the trunk, described as "microscopically similar" to one found on Caylee's hair brush.

"This whole talk about the 'body farm' and these interesting tests that this one organization is doing is very, very fascinating. It may be good information, but it's also possible that the jury is never going to hear about it," Tennis said.

Tennis cited the example of lie-detector tests, which law enforcement agencies consider credible but courts do not.

"No matter how good the science may be, that doesn't mean the judge is going to let the jury hear about it if it's not completely trustworthy," Tennis said.

A national search for Caylee continues.