Crime and its Circumstances
The case under consideration is one of the historical U.S. murder cases. This controversial case attracted significant public interest while reviewed and is still discussed almost ten years after the crime took place. The probable sequence of events that led to the tragedy was revealed during the trial. Thus, a 2-year-old Caylee Anthony was reported missing by her grandmother, Cindy Anthony, in the middle of July 2008 (Bloise, 2017). The girl’s mother, Casey Anthony, initially claimed that her daughter disappeared after she had been left with a nanny, who went missing as well. Nevertheless, the person of a nanny was not identified, and no individual with that name was found. Casey was acquitted of the murder of her daughter even before her body was found.
Only in December 2008, skeletal remains wrapped in a blanket and put in a trash bag were found in the wood near Anthony’s home. These remains were identified as belonging to Caylee Anthony. There were traces of duct tape revealed at the front of the skull, which was considered to be one of the reasons for the girl’s death. Still, it was not proved to be a primary reason, and the defense team claimed that the child had accidentally drowned in a swimming pool at her grandparents’ house and that grandfather disposed of the body.
Only in spring 2011, the jury was selected. In July 2011, the jury of five men and seven women, after more than ten hours of discussion, came up with a verdict that Casey was not guilty of first-degree murder or child abuse. Still, she was convicted of four misdemeanor cases of giving false evidence to the investigators (Bloise, 2017). The woman was sentenced to four years in jail for four instances of providing false evidence and was expected to pay a fine to the police and the authorities. Nevertheless, an appeals court canceled two of four convictions for giving incorrect information in January 2013.
Probable Cause for the Suspect’s Arrest
Initially, Casey Anthony was arrested for child neglect. However, the investigation revealed the odor of human decomposition in her car, and the expertise proved that human remains were carried in the trunk. In autumn 2008, the woman was accused of capital murder while she pleaded not guilty. It looks that the cause of the woman’s arrest was the fact that she concealed her daughter’s disappearance and invented a fictional nanny who could have kidnapped the girl. Also, she did not try to find the child, and it was her mother, Caylee’s grandmother, who called the police when she realized that the child was missing. All those events looked suspicious and led to the woman’s arrest. Later, when the girl’s remains were detected near the house of the family, there appeared more reasons for the arrest.
Crucial Pieces of Evidence Used at Trial
There were few significant pieces of evidence presented at trial. First of all, the forensic experts analyzed scent in Casey’s car and concluded that it could be left there as the result of human remains transportation. Also, a strand of hair that proved to belong to the girl was detected in the trunk of Casey’s car. The expertize revealed that hair was from a dead body, which was used by the prosecution. The primary evidence was the skeletal remains of the girl found not far from the Anthony home in the wood. Another evidence revealed by experts and presented in the court was the duct tape found near the victim’s mouth that could probably be used to keep the child silent. The fact that the body of the girl was found near the family house and the scent in Casey’s car worked against the defense. Moreover, the blanket found with skeletal remains matched the girl’s bedding at her grandparents’ house. Nevertheless, the piece of evidence with duct tape was also used by the defense to prove that there were no traces of Casey’s DNA on the video.
My Position
Having studied this controversial case, my position is as follows. Indeed, the behavior of Casey Anthony is suspicious. The woman did not report the fact that her little daughter disappeared and concealed that fact until her mother called the police. Later, she lied to the detectives and invented a story about a nanny who could have kidnapped the child. On the other hand, there was no direct evidence of her guild. Therefore, the decision of a jury can be understood despite the prosecutor’s closing arguments and the appeal to consider the evidence. Finally, Casey Anthony was found guilty of providing false evidence and not guilty of murder. I disagree with the jury’s decision because of the evidence presented at trial. Even if Casey did not kill her daughter, she was involved in concealing the crime, which also should be punished. On the whole, her behavior is strange, and the complexity of the collected evidence, to my mind, proves her direct involvement in the case.
Reference
Bloise, G. (2017). Case study of Caylee Anthony thru the forensics investigation. Forensic Research & Criminology International Journal, 4(4), 1-5.