CASEY ANTHONY

Jeff Ashton, the prosecutor who handled the Casey Anthony case and who is now a judge in Orange and Osceola counties, will not be charged in an investigation into child abuse allegations, according to the state attorney handling the case.

Over 12 years ago, Casey Anthony walked out of the Orange County jail a free woman.

The penalty trial of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz will be delayed until April.

Newly released body camera video shows Casey Anthony pointing out her damp clothes after she said a romantic rival threw a drink on her at a bar in West Palm Beach.

Casey Anthony’s outing at a Florida bar was interrupted when she and another woman started arguing about a man they were both dating at the same time, according to police.

Harvey Weinstein wants his money back.

ORLANDO, Fla. – The first time most Floridians heard about forensic botany was during the Casey Anthony murder trial in 2011. Hardy said he knows of at least 60 cases where forensic botany has been applied. “Forensic botany is the application of plant evidence to legal matters,” Hardy said. AdAnd researchers are investigating if forensic botany can help locate a body in the woods faster by looking for differentiation in treetops. Hardy said forensic botany is an ideal investigative tool because it’s always unbiased.

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – A new coronavirus vaccination site was announced for Lake County. The Florida Department of Health said they will be administering vaccines to patients with appointments at the Cooper Memorial Library and Lake Sumter College. | Casey Anthony files paperwork to open private investigation firm]After Thursday the site at the Cooper Memorial Library will close. The site will be moved to the Clermont Arts and Recreation Center. Health officials said when Lake County receives the second shipment of vaccinations they will be opening department of health sites up to walk-ins.

Casey Anthony recently launched a private investigation business out of South Florida, state business records show. Anthony was acquitted in 2011 on charges related to the disappearance and death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony, in Orange County. The address on Cortez Road is associated with private eye Pat McKenna, known for his connections to the O.J. He was also a consultant on Anthony’s case. Anthony does not have a Florida private investigator’s license, according to state records.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Lawyers for the Ohio hospital doctor charged with murder in 25 patient deaths accused the prosecutor of misconduct and asked Tuesday that the court dismiss the indictment handed up by a grand jury. Former intensive care doctor William Husel is accused of ordering excessive painkillers for patients who died shortly thereafter in the Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System. They also requested a copy of the transcript of the grand jury proceedings, which are generally secret. Mount Carmel also has made changes in its operations and reached related settlements totaling more than $16.7 million over the deaths of at least 17 patients. Husel and some of his former colleagues also filed defamation cases that accuse Mount Carmel of spreading a false narrative about what happened.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Casey Anthony is planning to make a movie based on her life, according to a DailyMail.com report. She told DailyMail.com the movie should be finished in 2020. DailyMail.com reports the names of many people in the movie will be changed because of legal reasons. Actors in the movie are from an amateur theater group, DailyMail.com reports. Anthony told DailyMail.com the filmmakers of her movie have never made a film before.

TAMPA, Fla. – A judge ruled on Tuesday two defamation lawsuits against Casey Anthony will continue in court. Anthony now faces a deposition by the attorneys for Zenaida Gonzalez and may have to answer questions about the death of Caylee Anthony. Gonzalez is suing Anthony for defamation, saying her reputation was damaged after Anthony claimed her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, was kidnapped in 2008 by a nanny with a similar name -- Zenaida Gonzalez. Anthony was charged with murder in her daughter's death but was acquitted in 2011. Anthony filed for Chapter 7 protection in January in Tampa, claiming $1,000 in assets and nearly $800,000 in liabilities.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Attorneys for Casey Anthony have filed a motion to dismiss two defamation lawsuits against her by Zenaida Gonzalez and Roy Kronk. Both Kronk and Gonzalez say they were defamed by Anthony and they should be considered creditors. Gonzalez is suing Anthony for defamation, saying her reputation was damaged after Anthony claimed her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, was kidnapped in 2008 by a nanny with a similar name -- Zenaida Gonzalez. Anthony's attorney has said that details Anthony offered about the accused baby sitter did not match Fernandez-Gonzalez and clearly showed Anthony wasn't talking about her. He claims his reputation was harmed when Anthony's attorneys wrongly implicated him in the Caylee's death.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Casey Anthony will be deposed next month in a civil case filed by Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez, and Anthony will not be able to plead the Fifth, according to attorney Matt Morgan. Morgan, who represents Fernandez-Gonzalez, tweeted Thursday morning that Anthony's deposition has been scheduled. Fernandez-Gonzalez is suing Anthony for defamation, saying her reputation was damaged after Anthony claimed her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, was kidnapped in 2008 by a nanny with a similar name -- Zenaida Gonzalez. Anthony's attorney has said that details Anthony offered about the accused baby sitter did not match Fernandez-Gonzalez and clearly showed Anthony wasn't talking about her. Texas EquuSearch, a group that performed several searches for Caylee after she was reported missing, is also suing Anthony.

TAMPA, Fla. – Two defamation lawsuits filed against Casey Anthony will remain in federal bankruptcy court in Tampa, a judge ruled on Tuesday. WTSP-TV reports a motion filed by Zenaida Gonzalez, the woman with a similar name to the fictitious babysitter who Anthony claimed kidnapped Caylee Anthony in 2008, and Roy Kronk, the Orange County meter reader who found the body of Anthony's 2-year-old daughter, wanted their cases to continue in Orange County Circuit Court. The Tampa federal judge denied the motion, meaning that the two defamation suits will remain in bankruptcy court. The ruling comes a week after Local 6 uncovered a new memo in which her attorney suggests that Anthony may have to "disappear" if she's forced to go to trial. Anthony was charged with murder in her daughter's death but was acquitted in 2011.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Casey Anthony's attorneys argued on Monday that the bankruptcy court, not the state court should decide Anthony's defamation civil lawsuit. Anthony's attorneys said the bankruptcy court should decide if Anthony defamed Zenaida Gonzalez, who claims Anthony framed her as a kidnapping babysitter. Among the attorney's arguments was that last week's TODAY show interview with Judge Belvin Perry tainted any state court jury, so the defamation issue should be resolved in the federal bankruptcy courts. The judge will have to decide to resolve in the defamation suits in state court or federal court at the next hearing, which is set for May 30 at 3 p.m. The judge could also decide to handle the defamation cases himself in bankruptcy court.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Casey Anthony says she filed for bankruptcy protection in Florida late Friday, a move that would bring all of her civil cases in state court to a complete halt. "She needs closure in this matter in order to move on with her life," said Anthony's civil attorney Charles Greene. We're going to stay the course we are prepared and ultimately Zenaida will get her day in court and Casey Anthony will be held accountable," said Morgan. Ladan says creditors would most likely challenge the bankruptcy, claiming Anthony may soon have the opportunity for significant income. Earlier this week, the 5th District Court of Appeal set aside two of the four convictions Casey Anthony faced for lying to detectives during the investigation into her missing 2-year-old daughter.

LAKE WORTH, Fla. – Casey Anthony, who has been in hiding since her July 2011 acquittal, may have been spotted dining at a Lake Worth restaurant, according to the Daily Mail. A cellphone picture shows a woman believed to be Anthony with a basket of chicken wings and French fries at a Flanigan's Seafood Bar and Grill on Tuesday, according to reports. Gossip Extra, which obtained the exclusive picture, reports that Pat McKenna, a private investigator who worked on Anthony's case and also help clear OJ Simpson, was seated across from her, according to a credit card receipt. Anthony was acquitted of the murder of Caylee Marie Anthony in July 2011. She served probation on check fraud charges for one year in Florida at an undisclosed location.

For weeks, Casey Anthony sat at her murder trial with her defense team anxiously waiting for prosecutors to drop a bombshell: computer evidence, the state would argue, showing Anthony researched how to kill with poison and suffocation on the same afternoon her daughter, Caylee, was killed by poison and suffocation.

ORLANDO, Fla. – New documents have been filed in the civil case between Casey Anthony and Zenaida Gonzalez on Tuesday to find out if Anthony is reaping benefits from a Dr. Phil donation, according to Gonzalez's attorney Matt Morgan. Gonzalez shares a similar name as a fictitious baby sitter -- Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez -- whom Anthony initially said kidnapped her 2-year-old daughter in 2008. At Anthony's murder trial last summer, Anthony's defense claimed Caylee drowned in the family's swimming pool and, therefore, had not been abducted. Morgan told Local 6 he filed new documents to find out if Anthony received money from Dr. Phil, who People Magazine reported giving $600,000 to the Caylee Marie Anthony Foundation after an interview with Anthony's parents on his show. George and Cindy Anthony's lawyers or lawyers for Anthony haven't commented on the report.

NEW YORK – Lawyers Jeff Ashton and Cheney Mason -- two key players in the Casey Anthony trial -- will speak about the case during a conference in New York. Pace University is hosting the conference called "Trials And Error: Behind the Headlines of America's Most Controversial Cases." [Special Coverage: Casey Anthony]The forum will last from 7:30 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. The public is invited to watch the discussion online through Pace University's website. Anthony is currently on probation on unrelated check fraud charges and has been in hiding since being released from jail in July 2011.

The Casey Anthony trial is being made into a Lifetime movie and the actor who will play prosecutor Jeff Ashton has revealed himself.

Jeff Ashton, one of the prosecutors in the Casey Anthony murder trial, officially announced Tuesday that he’s running for state attorney.

Officials told Local 6 News on Tuesday that prosecutor Jeff Ashton, who represented the state in its case versus Casey Anthony, is retiring.