The Science of Doubt: Forensic Controversies in the Casey Anthony Trial

Transcript of a phone call received by Orlando Police on July 15th 2008

Dispatch: 911, what's your emergency?

Cindy Anthony: I called a little bit ago, the Deputy Sheriff! I found out my granddaughter has been taken away. She has been missing for a month.

Cindy Anthony: We're talking about a 3-year-old little girl. My daughter finally admitted that the babysitter stole her! I need to find her!

Dispatch: Your daughter admitted that the baby is where?

Cindy Anthony: That the babysitter took her a month ago. My daughter has been looking for her. I told you my daughter was missing for a month. I just found out today, but I can't find my granddaughter...

Cindy Anthony: She just admitted to me... that she's been trying to find her, herself! There's something wrong. I found my daughter's car today. And it smells like there's been a dead body in the damn car!

Dispatch: Okay, what is the 3-year-old's name?

Cindy Anthony: Caylee...C A Y L E E Anthony.

Dispatch: Caylee Anthony?

Cindy Anthony: Yes!

Dispatch: How long has she been missing for?

Cindy Anthony: I have not seen her since the 7th of June.

Dispatch: Is your daughter there?

Cindy Anthony: Yes!

Dispatch: Can I speak with her?

Cindy Anthony: Casey? Here. Talk... they wanna talk to you...

Casey Anthony: I don't have anything to talk to them.

Cindy Anthony: Answer the questions...

Casey Anthony: Hello.

Dispatch: Hello?

Casey Anthony: Yes?

Dispatch: Can you tell me what's going on a little bit?

Casey Anthony: I'm sorry?

Dispatch: Can you tell me what's going on?

Casey Anthony: My daughter's been missing for the last 31 days.

Dispatch: And you know who has her?

Casey Anthony: I know who has her. I've tried to contact her. I actually received a phone call today. Now from a number that is no longer in service. I did get to speak to my daughter for about a moment... about a minute.

Dispatch: Who has her? Do you have a name?

Casey Anthony: Her name is Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez.

Dispatch: Who is that? Babysitter?

Casey Anthony: She's been my nanny for about a year and a half. Almost two years.

Dispatch: Why are you calling now? Why didn't you call 31 days ago?

Casey Anthony: I have been looking for her and have gone through other resources to try to find her... which was stupid.

Casey Anthony: I think the officers are here.

Dispatch: The officers are there?

Casey Anthony: Yes.

Background

Caylee Marie Anthony was born on August 9, 2005, but lived a short life as she was last reported seen on June 16, 2008, and her remains were found on December 11, 2008. The 911 call transcript that you read before happened on July 15th 2008. Casey, a single mother of 22 years old, had left home on June 16th 2008 with her little daughter and never returned home.

In the phone call, she mentioned someone called Zenaida, who exists in reality but has no acquaintance with Casey, Cindy, or Caylee. In fact, here's a tip: everything that Casey says from here has never happened, and she made everything up. For example, Casey says that she has been working in Universal Studios on July 16, 2008, but it was soon revealed that she had been fired from there years ago. So, was Casey lying constantly? Or was she just delusional?

Casey was first arrested on July 16, 2008, because of making a false statement and negligence of a child. Yet, she was released from the Orange County Jail in August 2009 on accounts of helping with the investigations.

On August 13, 2008, Roy Kronk informed the police about a skull near a gray bag. A search was conducted but with inconclusive results. On December 11, 2008, the police finally found the remains of a child in a trash bag. Besides, there was some "duct tape which was hanging from hair attached to the skull and some tissue left on the skull." On December 19, 2008, the remains were confirmed to be of Caylee Anthony's, and as a consequence, the death was ruled a homicide, but the cause of the death was never found.

Trial

June 6, 2011: Forensic expert Arpad Vass testifies that the only plausible explanation for the odor in Anthony's car trunk is the presence of a decomposing human body.

July 5, 2011: The jury gives a verdict of not guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and aggravated manslaughter of a child. Anthony was found guilty in four counts: false information and misdemeanor.

July 7, 2011: Casey Anthony is sentenced to four years in jail and fined for $1,000 for each count. However she is released from jail in August 11, 2011. A report released by Florida's department of Children and Families however holds her responsible for the death of Caylee and hence she owed nearly $98,000 for the costs of investigating Caylee's disappearance.

Casey Anthony had never confessed to killing her daughter. In fact sources say she is waiting to tell her side of the story. She once said, "I didn't do what I was accused of, but I fought for three years. Not just for me, but for my daughter"

Forensic Evidence

Physical Evidence

• The duct tape, found attached to the skull of Caylee Anthony, is physical evidence from the crime scene. It is believed that the duct tape found was used for suffocation of the nasal cavity. The lower jaw is often found detached from the skull because the connective tissue has decayed. However, in this case, the lower jaw was found attached to the skull by "hair, litter and roots."
• The prosecution argued it was placed over her mouth to suffocate her, while the defense countered there was no definitive proof that the duct tape was a murder weapon.
• Investigators found the scent of human decomposition in the trunk of Casey Anthony’s car. A forensic team used "sniffer" dogs trained to detect human remains, and the dogs alerted to the trunk.
• A hair strand found in the trunk was identified as having similar characteristics to Caylee's, with a "postmortem banding" pattern consistent with decomposition.

Forensic Entomology

Insect species present at the body site indicated the body’s long-term presence, that it had been there since June or July before being discovered in December 2008. He also explained that insects collected from the trunk of Anthony’s car indicated the presence of a body for a short time before being removed.

DNA Evidence

No blood was found in Anthony's trunk. There was lack of conclusive DNA evidence on the duct tape found on the remains.

Forensic Botany

• The plant evidence present at the site where Caylee’s remains were found suggested that the roots growing in the hair mass could be as young as a few weeks old. This plant evidence, therefore, does not suggest the body was there for six months, as the prosecution alleges.
• The plant evidence found in Anthony’s car did not appear to have come from the scene where the remains were found.

Cyber History

• Internet search records from the Anthony home included searches for "chloroform," "neck breaking," and "household weapons," which the prosecution argued indicated premeditation.
• The defense contested these findings, arguing that some of the searches were over-interpreted or conducted by other family members.

The Verdict

Casey Anthony was given the verdict of 'not guilty' after 33 days of testimony in 2011 and remains one of the most curious and twisted mishaps of forensic science in the history of criminology. The defense argued that Caylee’s death was accidental, possibly from drowning, and that Casey’s erratic behavior was due to family dysfunction and abuse, which the prosecution couldn’t disprove conclusively.

Recently, there’s been renewed public attention around Casey Anthony’s case due to recent interviews and documentaries featuring her family. Casey Anthony, who was famously acquitted in 2011 of the murder of her two-year-old daughter Caylee, has been largely out of the public eye. However, in November 2022, Anthony gave her first televised interview since the trial in a Peacock docuseries titled Casey Anthony: Where the Truth Lies. In the series, she suggested that her father, George Anthony, played a role in Caylee’s death, a claim her father has vehemently denied. Her narrative challenged key aspects of her original defense, reigniting interest in the case.

Adding to the coverage, a new documentary series on A&E and Lifetime, Casey Anthony’s Parents: The Lie Detector Test, aired in January 2024, spotlighting her parents. The series focuses on George and Cindy Anthony as they answer questions about the case and take polygraph tests to address ongoing questions about their involvement. These recent programs have revisited significant elements of the case, including conflicting accounts and theories regarding Caylee’s death and the emotional impact on the family over the years.

The resurgence of these documentaries has drawn renewed public interest and media coverage, revisiting one of the most highly publicized cases in recent American history.

Sources

• Helling, S., & Entertainment, T. I. H. (2011). Outrage!: The Casey Anthony Story.
• Ashton, J., & Pulitzer, L. (2012). Imperfect justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony. Harper Collins.
• Orlando Sentinel
• CNN