Up To The Minute Update II

[Bailey]

By Amy L. Edwards and Bianca Prieto, Orlando Sentinel

4:49 p.m. EST, January 25, 2010


Casey Anthony is now a convicted felon.

The 23-year-old, accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee Marie Anthony in 2008, pleaded guilty Monday to 13 charges in an unrelated check-fraud case.

Orange County Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland found Anthony guilty on six of the charges: one count of grand theft, four counts of check forgery, and fraudulent use of personal identification.

Strickland withheld adjudication for the remaining seven counts.

He sentenced Anthony to time served — 412 days she's already been jailed — and one year of probation. He also ordered her to pay the court and investigative costs associated with the check-fraud case.

Anthony is charged with stealing hundreds of dollars from a friend, Amy Huizenga, in July 2008. Investigators have said Anthony used Huizenga's checks to buy more than $400 worth of clothes and groceries at area Target and Winn-Dixie stores.

Standing between defense attorneys Jose Baez and Andrea Lyon, Casey Anthony delivered a brief, tearful, statement to the court.

"I'm sorry for what I did," she said. "I sincerely apologize to Amy, I wish I would have been a better friend."

Anthony, her team of lawyers, three prosecutors and a slew of national and local media gathered in the largest courtroom at the Orange County Courthouse for the fraud case and to discuss two other motions in the murder case.

The defense wants to question under oath the ex-wife of Roy Kronk, a meter reader who found Caylee's remains in December 2008.

Anthony's attorneys claim that testimony from Jill Kerley, who was married to Kronk for about four months, introduce evidence that Kronk should be a suspect in the case. Kerley lives in Tennessee, and because of an illness cannot travel here, the defense stated.

Strickland granted the defense's request to depose Kerley and to save her testimony. State prosecutors have the right to depose Kerley first.

Prosecutors wanted Strickland to order Anthony's defense attorneys to provide the names and addresses for any witnesses they intend on calling at hearings or trial.

The lawyers are all supposed to get together, set up a deposition schedule and talk about a possible trial date.

Prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick said based on the pace of things so far, trying the murder case this summer will be next to impossible.

Baez, meanwhile, said he wants the case to move along but that the defense is going to be thorough as it proceeds.

Casey Anthony's parents, George and Cindy Anthony, attended the sentencing and left without comment.

Afterward, Baez said Casey Anthony always wanted to plead to the check-fraud charges.

"She will plead to what she's guilty of and nothing more," Baez said. "That has been her approach all along."

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,4803774.story

[Bailey]

By Kevin P. Connolly, Amy L. Edwards and Bianca Prieto, Orlando Sentinel

12:20 p.m. EST, January 26, 2010


An attorney for accused child killer Casey Anthony said on the Today Show this morning that the media needs to "take a different look at itself."

The recorded comments from Andrea Lyon comes one day after Anthony, accused of killing daughter Caylee Marie Anthony, made headlines after being found guilty on six charges related to a check-fraud case.

The piece on the Today Show noted Monday's verdict and included information about the Anthony-inspired play in Australia called "Tot Mom."

When a reporter asked Lyon about the play's significance and coverage of the Anthony case, she said:

"It tells me that the media process needs to take a different look at itself. You know, it's one thing to cover a trial and cover a case. It's another thing to create one."

Lyon has been critical of the media in the past.

Anthony, 23, is being held without bond at the Orange County Jail on a charge of first-degree murder, accused of killing her daughter in 2008.

She pleaded not guilty in the murder case.

On Monday, she pleaded guilty to 13 charges in a check-fraud case.

Orange County Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland found Anthony guilty on six of the charges: one count of grand theft, four counts of check forgery, and fraudulent use of personal identification.

Strickland withheld adjudication for the remaining seven counts.

He sentenced Anthony to time served — 412 days she's already been jailed — and one year of probation. He also ordered her to pay the court and investigative costs associated with the check-fraud case.

Anthony was charged with stealing hundreds of dollars from a friend, Amy Huizenga, in July 2008.

Anthony is accused of using Huizenga's checks to buy more than $400 worth of clothes and groceries at area Target and Winn-Dixie stores.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,5643842.story

[Bailey]

Casey Anthony's attorneys want meter reader Roy Kronk investigated

By Bianca Prieto, Orlando Sentinel

10:41 p.m. EST, January 27, 2010

Prosecutors have no doubt about the identity of 2-year-old Caylee Marie Anthony's killer. Her 23-year-old mother, Casey Anthony, did it, and she's the only suspect they ever had, they say.

But now Anthony's attorneys are stepping up efforts to put someone else under a microscope — the man who found the toddler's remains.

Roy Kronk discovered what was left of the toddler when he was a meter reader for Orange County in December 2008, nearly five months after the Anthony family reported her missing.

The idea that Kronk should be a suspect — an idea first raised by Anthony's defense team in November — is one experts that say is designed to raise doubts among jurors during Anthony's murder trial.

It's also an idea that's not going away anytime soon, even though Kronk and his attorney steadfastly dispute the allegation.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Anthony, who has pleaded not guilty.

This week, her lead attorney, Jose Baez, said on national television that she won't admit to guilt in the murder trial, as she did Monday in an unrelated check-fraud case.

On the same day Anthony was found guilty of six theft-related charges, a judge cleared the way for her defense team to dig up more on violence allegations in Kronk's past.

Orange County Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland is allowing her team to question Jill Kerley, one of Kronk's former wives, under oath.

Kerley already told a private investigator for the Anthony team that Kronk once tied her up with duct tape and kidnapped her for two weeks, records say. Her allegations were videotaped and released to the media.

Duct tape is central to Caylee Anthony's death. Forensic evidence released by the State Attorney's Office shows the toddler's mouth was covered by duct tape when she died.

It is not clear whether Kerley ever filed a criminal complaint against Kronk. Florida records show he doesn't have a criminal history in this state.

Tennessee criminal records show Kerley is a convicted felon who is on probation. Records show she has been charged several times with writing bad checks as far back as 1998.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation records also indicate that Kerley, who is a nurse, was arrested in 2000 on a controlled-substance charge. The outcome of that case was not available.

If her testimony is entered into the record, it's likely prosecutors will point to her criminal past.

Kronk's attorney said his client doesn't have a violent past, never hurt his ex-wives and had nothing to do with Caylee other than finding her bones.

"This is the continuation of a series of stories that the defense has had to cobble together to come up with a way to defend this case," attorney David Evans said. "To me, the suggestion that Roy Kronk should be suspect makes even less sense than the nanny story."

Evans was referring to the person Anthony said abducted her daughter — a nanny named Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez, who investigators said doesn't exist.

Even though court papers filed by Anthony's attorneys say Kronk should be a suspect, Baez said, "We've never pointed the finger at him."

He called Kronk a critical witness: "We believe he should have been looked into."

Asked about what connection there could be between Kronk and Caylee, Baez replied, "That's nothing that we're going to discuss at this time. We're going to bring it out in court."

Detectives with the Orange County Sheriff's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have spoken to Kronk at length on several occasions, Evans said. The Sheriff's Office said Kronk was never a suspect in the case.

The focus on Kronk is aimed at raising doubts among jurors as well as discrediting Kronk, a witness for the state, according to Orlando attorney Mark O'Mara.

"This is something that the defense can look at and can either expose or maybe even inflate, because one of their jobs in a case like this is to show or expose reasonable doubt," he said.

Evans said he is not concerned about what Kronk's ex-wife might say under oath.

"It's one thing to spew venom to a private investigator, but a different scenario when you're under oath and being cross-examined," Evans said.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,2772056.story

[Bailey]

By Bianca Prieto, Orlando Sentinel

4:49 p.m. EST, January 29, 2010


Casey Anthony this week made her debut on a state Web site of convicted criminals.

Casey Anthony, accused of killing her daughter, Caylee Marie, is now among the thousands featured on the Florida Department of Corrections' Web site.

Casey Anthony's name turned up on the site — http://www.dc.state.fl.us —after she pleaded guilty in a felony check-fraud case.

As a result, Anthony, 23, is now a felon — even though she isn't serving her sentence in one of Florida's prisons.

Anthony is being held without bond in the Orange County Jail on a first-degree murder charge. That's where she's serving her check-fraud sentence, which includes one year of probation.

The state's Web site lists all the people who are incarcerated, serving probation or parole, or who have escaped from supervision.

Normally, the site also provides photos of those people. But, in Anthony's case, the photo is missing, as well as certain details about her physical characteristics, like hair and eye color.

The state's not in a hurry to update its Web site.

A probation officer will soon visit her at the jail to explain the conditions of her probation and what to do if she is released from jail, said Gretl Plessinger, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections.

The probation officer may take a photo of her during the visit for the Web site, Plessinger said. Afterward, the probation officer will check on Anthony's status at the jail regularly.

"She's in jail, so we know where she is," Plessinger said. "She is not out in the community like our other offenders."

On Monday, Anthony pleaded guilty to 13 charges in a check-fraud case.

Orange County Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland found Casey Anthony guilty on six of the charges: one count of grand theft, four counts of check forgery, and fraudulent use of personal identification.

Strickland withheld adjudication for the remaining seven counts.

He sentenced Anthony to time served — 412 days she has already been jailed — and one year of probation. He also ordered her to pay the court and investigative costs associated with the check-fraud case.

The stolen money has already been repaid to Anthony's then-friend Amy Huizenga.

Anthony was caught on video writing checks at local stores, buying clothes and food. She also tried to pay a more than $500 cell phone bill, but by then the account had been drained.

In court, Anthony apologized to Huizenga, who was not present, and said she wished she had been a better friend.

Anthony cannot have any contact with Huizenga under the terms of her probation.

The state's Web site also offers another detail about Anthony's check-fraud punishment: Her probation is scheduled to end Jan. 24, 2011.

In the murder case, Anthony is accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee Marie Anthony in 2008.

She told authorities the toddler was kidnapped by a baby sitter — a person authorities said doesn't exist.

Anthony has pleaded not guilty in the case. Her lead attorney, Jose Baez, said Anthony is not going to plead guilty in the murder case. It's unclear when that trial will begin.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,4673826.story

[Bailey]

Caylee and Casey Anthony — posted by halboedeker on February, 1 2010 3:24 PM



Readers have been asking about a Feb. 1 deadline — that would be today — in the Casey Anthony case. She is charged with the first-degree murder of her daughter, Caylee.

In October, the Sentinel wrote that Judge Stan Strickland “ordered the defense team to turn over its witness list to prosecutors by Feb. 1. Prosecutors want to question the witnesses who support the defense’s claim that Anthony is innocent.”

But this deadline was rendered moot on the day Anthony pled guilty in her check-fraud case. The prosecution and the defense agreed to work out a new schedule of deadlines for the case, including a potential trial date. That schedule has not yet been made public.

There was a deadline today, however, for the defense to provide information that would support defense attorney Todd Macaluso’s claim that Anthony is innocent.

As of late this afternoon, it was unclear whether the defense had filed that information.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/ent...e-in-case.html

[Bailey]

By Sarah Lundy and Bianca Prieto, Orlando Sentinel

2:41 p.m. EST, February 2, 2010


Prosecutors did not receive any paperwork from Casey Anthony's defense team that backed up one of her attorney's comments in court that someone else left the body of Anthony's daughter in the woods, according to the State Attorney's Office.

Four months ago, Orange Circuit Judge Stan Strickland told the defense team they had until Feb. 1 to provide information.

Prosecutors requested this after Todd Macaluso, one of Anthony's attorneys, said in court: "There's substantial evidence that we've discovered . . . that the body or the remains of Caylee Anthony were placed there after Casey Anthony was locked up in the Orange County Correctional facility."

According to the defense, the Feb. 1 deadline dealt with names of witnesses connected to the crime scene. However, the defense says the issue has not been addressed in court yet.

Anthony, 23, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee Marie. The remains of the 2-year-old were discovered Dec. 11, 2009 in woods near her family's east Orange County home. The state is seeking the death penalty.

The attorneys involved are working out a schedule for the release of discovery. No trial date has been set yet.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,2529495.story