Emotional Memorial For Caylee Anthony

More Than 1,000 People Turn Out To Remember Slain Toddler

(CBS)  More than 1,000 people turned out Tuesday in Orlando, Fla., for a public memorial service to remember slain toddler Caylee Anthony.

In the Orlando church filled with friends and strangers, Caylee Marie Anthony's family played her favorite songs … and shared their most intimate memories, CBS News correspondent Kelly Cobiella reports.


The 3-hour service drew supporters from hundreds of miles away. The Vinczan family drove 5 hours with a car full of children to mourn the little girl.

"I was hoping that she would come home alive and it just broke my heart when they said the bones were Caylee's, you know?" Monica Vinczan said.

A meter reader found Caylee Anthony's remains last December in a field close to her grandparents house in central Florida. Her mother Casey is charged with her murder.

The jail where Caylee's mother is being held is less than a mile from here. Casey Anthony did not ask to watch the service according to jail officials. She didn't approve of it.

In her first statement since being charged with her daughter's death, Casey said she preferred a private service. "I can't be there for Caylee's funeral," the statement said, "but some day I want to go and visit her grave and tell her how much I miss her."

"Casey, I hope you're able to hear me today. I love you and wish I could comfort you right now, and wipe away your tears," said Cindy Anthony, Caylee's grandmother.

The Anthony family tried to show a united front at the service, asking for prayers for their daughter Casey as well as their granddaughter Caylee.

The day after the memorial, Brad Conway, George and Cindy Anthony's attorney, talked to Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez about the service.

"Why did George and Cindy want to make this public?" Rodriguez asked.

"So many people have come out and supported them, shown them compassion and reached out to their little girl, Caylee, and they wanted everybody to have a chance to heal with them," Conway said.

"At one point in the memorial, Lee, their son, Caylee's uncle and Casey's brother, seemed to be speaking to his sister in jail, sort of imploring her to be honest. What does this family want from Casey, who is accused of murdering Caylee?" Rodriguez asked.

"They want the best for her. And I'm not sure where that will lead," Conway said. "This case is far from over. There's a lot more work that needs to be done by the state attorney's office as well as Mr. Baez and the defense team. They want her to know that they love her, support her and they will always be there for her."

They did mention that a lot during the memorial," Rodriguez noted. "They asked everyone not to judge their daughter. Should we take that to mean that Casey's parents now believe that she killed Caylee, either by accident or on purpose?"

"No, I don't think you should draw any conclusions from that," Conway cautioned. "We simply don't know and I don't think anybody knows, even the state attorney's office with all of the evidence and investigation that's gone into this case, there are hard conclusions to be drawn from circumstantial evidence, and there's a search for the truth and hopefully we get to that point, but we won't know that until the end."

"Brad, do you think by the time this is over, we will know why Caylee died?" Rodriguez asked.

"I think we will know why," Conway said. "Sometimes in criminal cases, the truth is somewhere in the middle. It's hard to get to that ultimate and absolute truth in any case, but I hope we get close to it."

[Lovella1021]

This is a very sad case!!! I hope & pray for justice for Beautiful Caylee for her precious life was cut so short for no other reason than jelousy & envy an being in the way of Casey's Partying!!! She does not deserve the death penalty.. She deserves to be throwed in a jail cell an left to rott!!! the same way she left that beautiful lil girl to decompose in a garbage bag!!!

[Lovella1021]

i just want to say shame on you people who's condoning George & Cindy for they have not only lost their beautiful granddaughter But as well PEOPLE this is their daughter they are going to try and protect her even thoe they know in their heart's Casey did this!!!These are 2 innocent bistandards PEOPLE BACK OFF!!! PUT YOURSELF IN THEIR SHOE'S !!THEIR LIVES ARE BEING RIPPED APART FROM EVERY DIRECTION... They are victims to....

[mymiav23]

something about this case has grabbed my heart since the beginning, ive followed the story hoping theyd find her alive but when i heard the news i was even more heart broken. i have a two yr old baby girl Mia, she is my life and its mind boggling to me a mother under any circumstances could commit this crime with her own hands, something in my heart tells me casey knows how it happend but i just cant believe she did it her self, maybe i just dont want to belive it. eighther way shes wrong and i cant imagine how she must feel with all of that guilt eating her alive i can only pray that the truth is found so precious caley can rest in peace and in the meantime never take my princess for granted and love her more each day GOD BE WITH CAYLEE AND HER FAMILY !!!

[kristinam3]

I absolutely believe that Casey Anthony is guilty of her daughters death. It is very sad that a mother could actually do something like that to her own daughter. Whether she actually did it herself or made someone else commit the murder she is still guilty. I have a 3 year old son, and i know how much love i have for him! You are supposed to protect your children no matter how aggravated they make you! It seems as though Casey likes to party and when you have a child you really can''t live the party life anymore, Caylee must have been to much of a nuisance for Casey. She is not a Mother! I don''t think she ever wanted to be a mother! Casey is insane and demented! I hope she gets the death sentence! Every time i see the pictures of Caylee on TV or in magazines a tear comes to my eye. Now she will never be able to be hurt again, now God is protecting her!

[watcher19]

difficult...red flags? I am sure there were plenty. but the grandparents, don''t forget, were the ones to call the police. Lee could have helped after the fact but really, but do any of you think THEY WANTED this to happen?? I think not. disfunctional..yes. Did she do it? most likely yes. the family is mourning the loss of their grandchild - painfull, the loss of their daughter -painful, the loss of future hopes- painful, the loss of their family structure, respect, normal life, etc etc...come on people. even if they are playing the CMA card...their emotions and behavior will be all over the place. The whole thing is tragic. too sad. a parents nightmare. we could go father and blame society..blah blah...let''s not go there

[browneyes246]

And to JJ2086, lets leave the race card out of this. We have racism issues in too many things today and this case has absolutly no racism in it, so don''t do that. Casey''s looks have nothing to do with it, they need to make sure they get all the evidence and as you saw they were still collecting some evidence a little less than a month ago. they can not do the trial without all the eveidence being looked at over and over and over, especially when there is a possibility of death as a punishment that is why it is taking so long, that and ONLY that. I can''t stand people like you who have to pull the race card on every little thing and voice it in every public venue. Everyone is intitled to free speach, but grow up. not every little aspect of every story revolves around race and I feel very sorry for you if you believe that it does.

[browneyes246]

Just for the record In my comment I am in NO WAY talking about Casey, this refers to Cindy, George, and yes... even Lee. This family has been through the ringer. With all these accusations and all the truths that have been steadily comming out they have not had a real chance to mourn the loss of this little girl. We are all incredibly upset at all of these circumstances but we need to leave George, Cindy, and Lee alone AT LEAST for the time around these memorial services to let them say goodbye to their family and mourn their loss, and to the people who said that this public memorial service was a joke, you don''t know that, so please don''t be scum and judge so quickly, at least they are giving the public a chance to say goodbye to this little girl that was yanked away. Most of us know what it is like to lose a family member but when one is taken away so harshly and at such a young age, the bad feeling and the denial gets magnified. We have been scrutinizing them for that past 8 MONTHS and we will continue again around the actual trial, but leave them alone and let them deal with their loss without us jumping all over them at this time of greif... They may know what happened to little Caylee but they are not the ones who inflicted it on her, so again, let them deal with their loss. You don''t have to be supportive, just be humaine... even though some members in that family are not humaine ::cough:: CASEY, don''t sink down to their level. Show some respect.

[stormysharp]

How sad that the Anthony family now has a conscience or should I say a GUILTY CONSCIENCE that they will have to live with this for the rest of their lives WITHOUT CAYLEE MARIE ANTHONY. Each and every time that ANY of the ANTHONY FAMILY who chose to LQQK the other way and ignore all of the %u201CRed flags%u201D that were there each and every time that Casey took advantage of them personally (whether a friend or family member) They say that the hardest person that anyone will ever have to deal with is %u201CYourself%u201D well each and every time that they LQQK into the mirror I hope that it gets harder and harder for them%u2026.day by day. As for the foundation whose purpose will be to continue to generate awareness for missing children and to establish programs to assist in the well-being of those children in need of comfort and support during difficult and stressful times%u2026TOO BAD THAT THE ANTHONY FAMILY didn%u2019t seek psychological and/or psychiatric counseling to deal with ALL of the issues that led up to this UNFORTUNATE outcome for CAYLEE MARIE ANTHONY. If Casey would have been held accountable for ALL of her illegal activities than she would have been in jail and unable to have committed this horrific crime against this beautiful little girl. I feel that Casey%u2019s parents (George and Cindy) should be held accountable because they enabled Casey to do this%u2026they are just as horrible as Casey if not worse.

[rinnbear]

the only sane one in the family is George, as far as far Lee put him in a cell next to his "wonderful cma" and Cindy get out of denial!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dlara61]

Yeah what the heck was all that "CMA" CMA" "CMA" from Lee. Maybe it''s true, he was trying to get some kind of message to that murdering sister of his. He sounded so ridiculous.

Cindy Anthony is a pickle. She doesn''t show much emotions either. Grandpa Goerge was the only one that looked broke.

[andie52]

After following this whole fiasco from the beginning it%u2019s difficult to work up any sympathy for either grandparent or Caseys brother. This is one dysfunctional group of people and their daughter is sitting in jail playing footsie with her attorney. They hired their own attorneys and refused to give statements without immunity. They are as culpable as Casey.

[sandy22980]

its so sad about caylee, so young.may she rest in peace now. she will make a beutiful angel in heaven. god must had needed a little angel. to grandfather, god be with you at this time of need. your family will be in prayers.

[jj20086]

This service was a joke. The whole family is putting on a show. Cindy looked like %u201Cthe cat that swallowed the canary.%u201D "CMA"... that''s Lee telling Casey Cover My A**. I am so sick of the lying *** (Casey) smiling and laughing while sitting in court. I bet if Casey was black or fat the trial would already be over and she would be sitting on death row.