The Casey Anthony Trial Timeline
Casey Anthony Leaving Jail on July 16, 2011 with her lawyer The Defendant
June 16, 2008 — 2 1/2-year-old Caylee Anthony is last seen alive leaving the home of her grandparents, George and Cindy Anthony, along with her mother Casey.
June 18, 2008 — Casey Anthony borrows a shovel from Brian Burner, a neighbor of George and Cindy Anthony. Burner says that Anthony returned it an hour later.
June 20, 2008 — Casey Anthony is captured in various photos partying at Fusion nightclub and participating in a “hard body contest.”
June 23, 2008 — Casey Anthony and her boyfriend, Lazzaro, break into a shed at the Anthony family home to borrow her father’s gas cans to fill her car, which had run empty.
June 24, 2008 — Casey Anthony gets into a fight with George Anthony about the gas can and she storms out of the home. She tells her father that Caylee is with the babysitter, Zanny.
June 25, 2008 — Cell phone records show she was in the area of her parents’ home.
July 15, 2008 — George and Cindy Anthony pick up Casey’s car from a tow yard. George Anthony observes a strong odor emanating from the vehicle. Later, back at the Anthony family home, Casey tells her mother and brother, Lee Anthony, that she hasn't seen Caylee in a month and that a babysitter named Zanaida Fernandez Gonzalez (Zanny) kidnapped her.
July 15-16, 2008 — Casey Anthony takes police to the last place she says she saw Caylee. It turns out to be a vacant apartment. Authorities also take her to Universal Studios where she said she worked. She kept walking with them and then suddenly halted when she was almost at the door of what she claimed was her office. The police testified that she then suddenly stopped and stated that she really did not work there. In fact, supervisors told the police that she hadn’t worked there in more than two years.
October 14, 2008 — Casey Anthony indicted on charges of first-degree murder, along with aggravated manslaughter, aggravated child abuse and four counts of providing false information to law enforcement.
December 11, 2008 — The skeletal remains of Caylee Anthony are discovered in a wooded area not far from the Anthony family home.
January 22, 2009 — The Florida State Attorney's Office releases 311 pages of new documents in the Caylee Anthony case. According to the documents, Caylee's skeletal remains had been placed in a cloth laundry hamper bag, prior to being placed inside a black plastic garbage bag. The documents further reveal that a backpack with the word 'adorable' on it, a Winnie the Pooh blanket, a size 3T shirt, a pair of child's striped white shorts and small, cloth-type, iron on letters were found inside the bag. A search-warrant affidavit which detailed the discovery of the remains also described a "heart shaped" sticker that had been placed on duct tape that was found wrapped around the child's skull.
January 23, 2009 — Casey Anthony's father, George Anthony, is escorted to a hospital by police after he allegedly sends suicidal text messages to family members.
April 14, 2009 — The State of Florida seeks the imposition of the Death Penalty.
June 19, 2009 — The Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office released the 36-page Medical Examiner's report on Caylee Marie Anthony's autopsy, along with dozens of other pages of forensic reports.
August 25, 2009 — The state releases more than 2,000 pages of documents in the case, including photos from a picture-sharing Web site and aerial photos of where Caylee's remains were found.
September 8, 2009 — A judge in Orlando postpones making a decision on whether to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed against Casey Anthony by Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez.
September 17, 2009 — Casey Anthony's defense team files a motion to dismiss the murder charges against her because the state allegedly failed to preserve evidence in the case.
September 29, 2009 — The state releases additional discovery documents in the case, including forensic reports from the FBI lab in Quantico, Va., that confirmed Caylee's identity. Among the documents is a report that states the duct tape found on Caylee's mouth had been contaminated by an FBI evidence examiner.
October 6, 2009 — Assistant State Attorney Linda Drane Burdick responds to the defenses motion to dismiss the charges against Casey Anthony, claiming the motion is "legally flawed". Burdick contends it will be decided at the "close of all evidence" whether the state has proven its case.
October 9, 2009 — The state releases 1,400 pages of documents in the case, including photos and evidence from the FBI crime lab. Among the photos are pictures of Casey Anthony's infamous "La Bella Vida" (beautiful life) tattoo.
October 20, 2009 — Judge Jose R. Rodriguez denies the motion to dismiss the defamation lawsuit against Casey Anthony.
November 6, 2009 — The state releases more discovery documents in the case, including reports that a bullet shell casing was found in the vicinity where Caylee Anthony's remains were found.
December 11, 2009 — Casey Anthony breaks down in court when Jeff Ashton gives the State's account of how Caylee was murdered.
December 18, 2009 — Judge Stan Strickland denies a request to take the death penalty off of the table in the prosecution of Casey Anthony.
February 16, 2010 — The state releases three CD's of photos and documents in the case, including photographs of a syringe, Gatorade bottle and a child's car seat.
April 6, 2010 — Prosecutors release copies of letters that were allegedly exchanged between Casey Anthony and a jailhouse companion. Within the letter, Anthony allegedly claims Zenaida Gonzalez does not exist. Prosecutors further allege the letter reveals details about Caylee's remains that only her killer would be privy to.
April 19, 2010 — Judge Stan Strickland steps down after Casey Anthony's defense team files a motion accusing him of having a personal relationship with a pro-prosecution blogger. Strickland granted the motion not on the basis that the relationship was inappropriate, but because the accusation would "generate renewed allegations of bias". Judge Belvin Perry Jr. is appointed to take over the case.
April 23, 2010 — The state releases 300 pages of documents in the case, including FBI lab notes, which show investigators tore apart four vacuum cleaners that had been taken from the Anthony family home. The vacuum cleaners were examined for human hair with characteristics of human decomposition. None were found.
July 15, 2010 — Judge Belvin Perry rules the jury will be permitted to hear a 911 call made by Casey Anthony's mother, Cindy, in which she says the odor coming from her daughters car smells like a dead body.
July 26, 2010 — Casey Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, lashes out at an unidentified blogger for allegedly using photos from his Facebook profile. In addition to removing the photos, Baez claims he has contacted a civil lawyer to prepare a court case against the blogger.
July 30, 2010 — Casey Anthony's defense attorneys spend three hours deposing Roy Kronk, the former Orange County employee who found Caylee Anthony's remains in December 2008.
August 9, 2010 — Casey Anthony's defense team files a motion accusing George and Cindy Anthony's former attorney, Mark NeJame, of obstruction and promoting his own interests by approaching crime writer David Lohr about writing a book on the case and discussing a plea deal Anthony had allegedly been offered. NeJame acknowledged he did discuss a book with Lohr, but says there was a misunderstanding about the plea deal.
August 16, 2010 — George and Cindy Anthony's attorney, Brad Conway, steps down because of a motion filed by Casey Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez. The defense attorney claimed Conway was given unrestricted access to documents belonging to Texas EquuSearch, the missing person search and recovery group that searched for two-year-old Caylee Anthony. Baez claimed he was not given the same access to the documents.
August 30, 2010 — Casey Anthony's lawyers submit an amended witness list to the court that includes Anthony's family members, expert witnesses, law enforcement officials and David Lohr, a crime writer who covered the search effort for Investigation Discovery.
September 28, 2010 — Judge Belvin Perry denies a request made by Casey Anthony's defense attorneys to allow Dutch experts to do additional DNA testing on evidence that is to be submitted at trial. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Perry said he did not feel comfortable allowing evidence to leave the court's jurisdiction.
November 2, 2010 — The State of Florida releases 1,000 pages of evidence in the Casey Anthony case. The documents include letters that were sent to Casey Anthony in jail, as well as e-mail conversations among Anthony family members from 2008.
November 29, 2010 — Judge Belvin Perry denies a request made by prosecutors to order Casey Anthony's defense team to turn over information about their expert witnesses, including contracts, communications and billing records. In making his decision, Perry said prosecutors could obtain the information via the witnesses themselves or a subpoena.
2011February 11, 2011 — Judge Belvin Perry rules that Casey Anthony's alleged history of lying and stealing is admissible in court.
February 15, 2011 — Judge Belvin Perry rules that postings by Casey Anthony allegedly made to social networking websites prior to her indictment can be presented to a jury by prosecutors. Perry also ruled that only portions of Anthony's sex life will be admissible at trial.
April 27, 2011 — Judge Allows Chloroform Test evidence to be presented at trial, rejecting a motion by Casey Anthony. The prosecution claims tests revealed significant amounts of chloroform in the trunk of Casey's car.
May 9, 2011 — Jury selection begins in Clearwater for Casey Anthony’s murder trial.
May 24, 2011 — Trial begins in Orlando, Florida. The prosecution shows jurors a photo during opening statements of Caylee Anthony alive and smiling, along with a picture of the girl’s skull as it was found in 2008. They say Anthony used duct tape to suffocate her. The defense contends the child actually drowned in her grandparents’ swimming pool.
June 17, 2011 — Casey Anthony defense expert contradicts state entomologist.
July 3, 2011 — Closing arguments are given.
July 5, 2011 — Casey Anthony acquitted of all felony charges (i.e., of first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter, and aggravated child abuse), but is convicted of misdemeanor charges of giving false information to police.
July 7, 2011 - The judge sentences Casey Anthony to one year in jail and $1,000 in fines for each of the four counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer. Based on three years credit for time served plus additional credit for good behavior, her release date was set for July 13, 2011.
July 16, 2011--Casey Anthony was released from jail just after midnight on July 16.
Links and Resources:
The Caylee Daily
