November 20, 2009 3:01 PM

Could New Evidence Help Caylee's Mother?

By
CBSNews
(CBS)  Attorneys for Casey Anthony say they have new evidence that could indicate she didn't kill her two-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony, and instead could implicate the man who helped police find Caylee's remains.

Casey is awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges. She's pleaded not guilty and says a baby sitter kidnapped Caylee. Prosecutors say they'll seek the death penalty if Casey is convicted of first-degree murder.

Caylee Anthony Timeline
Photos: Missing Caylee

Caylee was last seen in June 2008. Her disappearance wasn't reported until a month later. Her body was found in December 2008 in a wooded area less than a mile from the Orlando, Fla. home she and Casey shared with Casey's parents.

But, reports CBS News Correspondent Kelly Cobiella, Casey's lawyers are asking the judge in the case to allow evidence they say shows the meter reader who helped in the search for Caylee's body could be the little girl's killer.

Roy Kronk was hailed as a hero last year, for helping police find Caylee's remains.

But Casey's lawyers say they've uncovered a dark side.

They gave CBS News video of April Hensley, who was 11 when Kronk lived with her mother, telling them, "Sometimes he would, you know, walk in while I was putting my clothes on."

April, along with two of Kronk's ex-wives, were interviewed by Casey's attorneys, who assert Kronk has a history of being inappropriate with children, and violent toward women.

Also on video provided to CBS News, an attorney for Casey asks one of Kronk's ex-wives, Jill Keerley, "When you learned that Roy Kronk had found the remains of Caylee Anthony, what went through your mind?"

"That he had done it," Keerley replies.

"Done it, meaning...?" the lawyer asks.

"He probably was the one who murdered Caylee Anthony, or had something to do with it," Keerley responds.

"You had mentioned that he had a certain saying about duct tape," the lawyer says.

"Yeah," answers Keerley, quoting Kronk, " 'It's a hundred-mile-an-hour duct tape, nothing can get through it.' "

Investigators found duct tape on Caylee's skull.

Casey's defense team admits it has no physical evidence to support its theory, Cobiella points out. And Kronk's lawyers say this is just a ploy to deflect blame from the real suspect -- Casey Anthony.

Legal analyst Wendy Murphy told Cobiella, "(Caylee's) mother is the one who's charged with a crime here. So, you can point the finger at Mr. Kronk all day long ... it doesn't explain away the evidence against Casey Anthony."

There are no police reports on Kronk, or arrest reports, that have surfaced, Cobiella adds, to substantiate the claims against him. And investigators ruled Kronk out as a possible suspect early in the investigation.

Attorney Linda Kenney Baden is among the ones representing Casey Anthony. She spoke with "Early Show" co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez about the latest developments:


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Add a Comment See all 38 Comments
by carilovesscott December 9, 2009 9:04 PM EST
if kronk did it, what about zanny??? now she didnt do it or was she working with kronk? what a mystery!!
Reply to this comment
by gosstom November 21, 2009 8:15 PM EST
All the defense attys are doing is trying to plant a seed of doubt in the minds of prospective jurors so that they can plea bargain for a lighter sentence. Pure legal Smoke and Mirrors. Take it at face value.
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by Wiseone57 November 21, 2009 7:55 PM EST
this should be written in ENGLISH! after all this is America.I'm speaking of the first comment of course. but, I think the defense is WRONG FOR TRYING TO PLACE THE BLAME FOR THIS MURDER ON KRONK. THEY KNOW WHO KILLED THIS CHILD.
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by mccowanphil November 20, 2009 6:31 PM EST
The main problem with most all police investigations is that they look for the most convenient suspect and forget all the others. After all, it's all about closing cases no matter who gets in the way - innocent or not! They should have to publicly put down in an affidavit to the court what information they have and the probable cause for the charge so all can see it. Gotchas shouldn't be allowed when we are dealing with someones live whether they are guilty or innocent.
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by Garydakota1 November 20, 2009 6:07 PM EST
nirak2-2009 , I love how you said how do lawyers sleep at at night knowing their client is guilty, yet they will try and ponit the finger at someone else to get a win. HUMMMMMMM!!!!!!!! that's funny you would say that because if you want to get right down to it you could ask te question (How do prosecutors live with themselves when thet will try and convict an innocent person, let they state strap them to the lethal injection table and snuuff the life out of them just to advance there careers?) I'm not saying that's the case here, but this is the way are legal system works. The system is a joke and most the people running it are going to hell.
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by death_prevails November 20, 2009 5:53 PM EST
I HATE THIS SICKO AND HER SORRY AZZ ATTORNEY!
Reply to this comment
by death_prevails November 20, 2009 5:46 PM EST
This is just stupid, anyone but the SICK EVIL biotch, GET OFF ME! She did, she knows it, God confirms it. FRY TRASH FRY> BOZO is PITIFUL!
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by baileyccc November 20, 2009 5:22 PM EST
Keep throwing things at the wall Baez, nothing is going to stick. When the prosecution makes it's case in court there will be no doubt who killed Caylee. Baby killers are the "Lowest of the Low" and Casey will meet her demise in prison. No one and I mean no one cares for a baby killer.
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by bigmo47 November 20, 2009 4:42 PM EST
This guy is either involved or he needs to play the lottery. No one has luck like this. There are thousands of people looking for this little girl (dead or alive) and he finds her twice. First, a plastic bag that the police can't locate when they return to investigate. 6 months later he discovers the body, in the bag, in the same location. Very odd indeed. It's kind of like he tried to lead them to the body the first time but the keystone coppers messed that up, so he had to hand it to them the 2nd time. As for these stories, from his ex-wives, I don't know if they are true or not, but they may want to take a long hard look at this guy, before he makes them look like fools again.

As for Casey, she should go to jail for life whether she did this alone, had an accomplice or wasn't involved in the murder (not likely). There is no way that a mother behaves the way that she does when her child is missing. I don't know what she was thinking, it's not like she can nonchalantly say that Caylee ran away (like a pet). Did she really think that people weren't going to ask about that DAUGHTER she used to have?

Either way, the cops need to explore all avenues and conclusively rule out all other viable suspects before they go to trial. If they aren't careful they may wind up with a case that's so muddled, they can't get a conviction on anybody. The defense attorney's tactics may seem underhanded and outrageous, but that's what these guys are paid to do.
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by nirak2-2009 November 20, 2009 3:19 PM EST
Linda Kenney Baden will do anything and everything in her power to keep her record of never losing a case, even it means pointing a finger at a innocent person who has been investigated and came out clean.
I just ask myself how can lawyers sleep at night when they know their client is guilty and yet they smear another person
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by Wiseone57 November 21, 2009 8:07 PM EST
THE BLOND COW LOST THE PHIL SPECTOR CASE AND SHE WILL LOOSE THIS ONE TOO. SHE AS MUCH AS SAID ON CBS YESTERDAY THAT ROY KRONK IS GUILTY SHE SHE KNOWS HE ISN'T.GOD KNOWS THE TRUTH AND THE TRUTH WILL PREVAIL IN THE END. I WONDER HOW MANY OTHER PEOPLE THEY ARE GOING TO THROW UNDER THE BUS.ALSO, SEEING THAT THE DEFENSE HAS TIME TO APPEAR ON TV SHOWS,THE JUDGE NEEDS TO RESCHEDULE HER TRIAL SOONER THAN JUNE 2010.MAYBE IT SHOULD START IN MARCH OR APRIL.
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