Expert: Caylee Autopsy Blurs Case Vs. Mom

(CBS/AP)  Duct tape was placed over the face of slain toddler Caylee Anthony before her body began decomposing, and her remains were scattered among trash bags protruded by roots, according to an autopsy released Friday.

The autopsy says the girl was killed, though the method was unclear. The report also didn't say whether the duct tape was put on before or after her death.

Caylee's mother, Casey Anthony, has been charged in the girl's death. She has pleaded not guilty and says a baby sitter kidnapped her toddler. She waited a month to report Caylee's disappearance to authorities. Prosecutors say they'll seek the death penalty if Casey Anthony is convicted of first degree murder.

The autopsy revealed "little new," says CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann.

And defense team member and leading forensics expert Dr. Lawrence Kobilinksy points out, "We don't know the exact cause of death, and it leaves open a lot of questions."

Caylee's remains were found less than a mile from her home in woods in Orlando, Fla. last December, six months after she disappeared. They were apparently scattered by animals and while most of her body was recovered, the autopsy says small bones from her wrists, hands, fingers and ankles were missing.

Also found with the remains were glittery pink letters made of cloth that spell out the phrase "Big Trouble Comes Small." The letters appear to be the remains of a shirt.

The report said no drugs were detected in Caylee's remains, no trauma was evident on her skeleton and the decay of the body prevented more specific analysis of her killing. "Although the cause of death cannot be determined with certainty," wrote Dr. Jan Garavaglia, chief medical examiner in Orange County, "the manner of death is homicide."

The report was put out following an order from Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland. The child's grandparents, who are still standing behind their daughter, Casey, fought its release.

"They are apprehensive and are not looking forward to the speculation and the dissection of the report by everybody who wants to make a comment on it," said Bradley Conway, an attorney for the grandparents, George and Cindy Anthony.

A spokeswoman for the defense attorney representing mother Casey Anthony said she had no comment.

Also released Friday was a forensic report prepared for the Orange County Sheriff's Office by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee examining the trunk of Casey Anthony's car. The analysis found 51 chemicals in a carpet sample, 80 percent of them consistent with decomposition, though some of those compounds may overlap with known or possible gasoline components.

On The Early Show Saturday Edition, Kobilinsky, a professor of forensic science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said, "Essentially, we have two distinct areas. We have the vehicle, we have the scene where the child was found. And, of course, the linkage is, I think, weak, and it's is a matter of how you interpret, how you put these things together."

Prosecutors, he told co-anchor Erica Hill, have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the link was there.

He even called into question the conclusion that Caylee was slain. "The determination that this was a homicide is really based on circumstantial evidence," Kobilinsky said. "The way the body was found, the position, and, you know, the whole story that surrounds the case. "

And the toxicology results in the autopsy, he asserted, don't help prosecutors, either. "I think the prosecution has a story, they say that chloroform has been used in the death of the child, and they have to prove that. So far there is no evidence based upon the autopsy that that was involved in the case whatsoever."

[baileyccc]

The attorney John Morgan was correct in his assessment that in the Anthony family home it was a volcano ready to erupt. These parents are "the dumbest parents in the world" not to have known their daughter was not working. I have never seen parents so hated by the public and their stories riddle with lies. Baby Killers are the "lowest of the low" and she will get her due in prison or the outside if she ever gets out alive. These dysfunctional parents are headed for divorce or even worst. If the true father of this dead child is found and I think the FBI just might know who he is; he would received all the profits to be made because he is the dad of this tragic child and leave these two "train wreck" grandparents in the cold. What a perfect ending to a terrible tragedy.

[jeansee7]

When Dr. G made her conclusion of Homicide... she did this based on all evidence not just pieces.... The entirety... the child was not sick...video shows healthy child... Grandfather sees her alive and well last time she is seen... This child certainly did not throw herself into garbage bags and laundry bag with Duct tape covering her mouth and nose into a swampy woods area...KNOWN TO her mother as a teen hangout and place to bury your pets....bones being chewed on by animals and plants and roots appear to show the remains were out there for 6 months....This would fit of last time Child was seen...
Now would not good common sense say HOMICIDE? No accident with this duct tape and child not being reported for over 31 days as missing...Too many actions by the mother that shows guilt and covering up the henious act...lies,stealing,hiding and avoiding her family....all in my opinion

[momba22]

In all of the many years I observed and read about this type of behavior, I have never seen or heard of a family more hated, vilified, despised as these Anthonys. After the trial, whatever the outcome, where will they go??

[fwdavenport]

No loving mother could go a day much less a month without knowing where her child was. And all the partying with out a care in the world while her child is missing. How many more guilty people, some that have been proven of committing other murders after being released, are we going to allow to endanger innocent, trusting in the system, citizens before we start locking them up and throwing away the key?

[bondgirl362436]

How can they know that the child did not die from Chloroform? All that was left of the child was a skeleton. No skin or anything to test only bones. The child could of had bruises on her at the time of death, could have been strangled etc. But since she had been in the woods nearly six months there is no skin to test, no blood test could be run to find out more about how this poor child died. The main thing we know is, she was killed. How, we will never know, but I do believe she died at the hands of her own mother. She has never acted like she has grieved over her child. Whenever you see her on TV she has a smurk look on her face. All the pictures of her partying and entering "hot body contest" within the 30 days her child was missing. She did not care. She wanted her dead. And she still would not have reported it if the grandmother had not pressed her about where the child was. No reasonable mother would be partying while her child was missing. She is guilty, plain and simple.

[jxknowles]

I'll keep an open mind on the homicide case until I hear all the evdidence. That said, Casey Anthony's behavior as a mother alone warrants life imprisonment.

[npkppprc]

The only people claiming lack of evidence is the defence dream team. Look at the totality of the case, the whole family is involved with the cover up. This was no accident and the child deserves justice.

[baileyccc]

Everyone keeps going back to the day June 16 when George saw Caylee and Casey leaving for a job that she did not have. The truth is she left in a fit of rage on the night of June 15 after a horrible fight with her nasty mother. George is lying to cover up the fight, lying seems to be a family tradition.

[baileyccc]

What a joke this Kobilinsky is. I think one can tell which side is signing his paycheck. The precious angel's body is speaking volumes and they know it. Smoke and mirrors can only go so far in the obvious case of murder. When the lying grandparents take the stand this will be the final nail in Casey coffin. Remember you heard it here first, just like Susan Smith she will get pregnant behind bars.

[hamiltongrad]

Remember Richard Jewell, falsely accused of the Atlanta bombing ?

[jeansee7]

Big difference here ...... a completely different set of circumstantial evidence....Who else could or would of harmed this child? Who?
NO one else had a motive... Noone else had this child in their possession.... CASEY ANTHONY DID!