Top Story of the Decade

Top Local Stories Of The Year, Decade: #1. Casey Anthony

Thursday, December 31, 2009 6:47:10 AM

News 13 rings in 2010 with a look back at the Most Memorable Central Florida stories of the year.

Our No. 1 most viewed story in 2009 is also our biggest local story of the Decade.

ORLANDO -- Caylee Marie Anthony gained national attention after she disappeared in June 2008, but the spotlight quicily moved to the 2-year-old’s mother, Casey, upon news that investigators found her details suspicious, and learning she didn’t report her daughter missing for more than a month.

Caylee’s grandmother, Cindy, called 911 when Casey would not tell her where the child had been. Cindy said she hadn’t seen her granddaughter for weeks, and become very alarmed when she admitted she smelled the odor of “dead body” in the trunk of Casey’s car.

Questions, suspicion and attention grew as investigators dug deeper into the case.

Casey has insisted she left Caylee under the care of a babysitter named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez. Authorities, however, said anyone interviewed with that name had never met Casey Anthony.

From the start of the case, investigators said they had trouble getting straight answers from the Anthony family, causing suspicion and media attention to grow. The case took many twists and turns over the course of the next few months.

Casey was arrested on July 16, 2008, the day after Caylee was first reported missing, on charges of giving false statements, neglect of a child and obstruction of a criminal investigation.

Casey was released on Aug. 21 after California bounty hunter Leonard Padilla posted her bond, but she was arrested again eight days later on unrelated charges of forging $700 worth of checks, and using a friend’s credit card without permission.

She was released a second time Sept. 5, and outfitted with a tracking device, but on Oct. 14, Casey was arrested for the final time after a grand jury indicted her for first-degree murder.

It wasn’t until Dec. 11 that little Caylee’s remains was finally found. An Orange County meter reader found a child’s remains in the woods near the Anthony home.

Days later, shortly after 2 p.m. on Dec. 19, 2008, Medical Examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia confirmed the remains belonged to Caylee Marie Anthony.

The Case Against Casey in 2009

Throughout the year, the case against Casey continued to make headlines with court appearances, releases of tens of thousands of pages of documents and evidence, and other lawsuits springing up related to the case.

The defense has repeatedly tried to get Casey’s charges thrown out, to no avail. Casey’s attorneys have even said they believe the meter reader who found Caylee’s remains may have actually been responsible for her death.

Casey Anthony remains behind bars at the Orange County Jail, while lawyers on both sides continue to fight the case in the courtroom.

A trial is expected to start in 2010. The state has asked a judge to consider the death penalty. Casey’s family has maintained her innocence on all charges.

Much more at link:
http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Sidebar/2009/12/31/top_local_stories_of_the_year_decade_1.aspx